Who needs a gym?

     I've heard a slew of excuses as to why people "cannot" meet their fitness goals.  Most use these excuses to mask why they haven't even tried.  I'm not writing to be upset or judgmental about these people and their excuses, but rather I want to understand.  Through some probing questions and great consultations, I've come to realize that the number one reason that individuals struggle to meet (or begin) their fitness goals is their feeling that they don't have the proper equipment (ie treadmills, dumbbells, etc).  This, of course, is the best excuse following the sheer will power problem.  Here's the kicker: what if I told you that meeting your fitness goals actually requires no equipment at all?  As a fitness trainer and coach, I can tell you it's much more fun when you've got some fancy equipment to play with while shedding the poundage.  However, I can also tell you that you can achieve great results with absolutely nothing at all...well, aside your own bodyweight.

     Bodyweight exercises are quite possibly the most overlooked exercises in the fitness industry.  Most folks feel as if they MUST have a barbell, kettlebell, medicine ball, or fancy machine in order to really "feel the burn" and get results.  That's simply not true.  In fact, with proper programming and execution, you can see fast, effective results in the same amount of time with no toys at all.  There's no need to sling weights off and on the bar or rack and un-rack med balls or kettles.   The bonus is you don't have to pay the monthly premiums, or be concerned about who's watching you while you're training.  Another bonus to bodyweight training is the ease of progressing and regressing certain exercises.  

     Let's take a look at a common bodyweight exercise and examine how much you can do for your body without having to purchase any equipment.  The standard push up.  One of the most common exercises, performed by everyone from elementary school kids, athletes, soccer moms, servicemen, heck, even some grandparents are still rocking this classic in their training.  The standard push up may seem boring, but it has so many great qualities, working primarily your chest and arms, but also building shoulder stability, and activating core musculature like the transverse abdominus and the erector spinae (you can google those if you don't know what they are).  What most of us fail to realize is that simply holding your entire body off the ground in push up position requires an incredible amount of stability and neuromuscular control.

     Did I mention that progressions and regressions are easy with bodyweight training? Yes, yes I did.  To progress a standard push up, simply elevate your feet above your head (decline push up), or lift one leg while performing the exercise.  Heck, use one arm at a time!  It's that easy.  If a standard push up is a little too difficult for you right now (don't worry, everyone has to start somewhere), then simply raise your hands above your feet (incline push up), or work from your knees rather than your toes.  As with all training, you want to challenge yourself, increasing the level of difficulty as needed to increase strength and encourage proper muscle growth and tone.

     Don't let the "I don't have any equipment" excuse get the best of you.  YOU are all you need for resistance training.  If you need some accountability or a little extra push to get moving, feel free to contact me, because I'd love to help.  Next time I'll discuss more bodyweight exercises, as well as some programming ideas, but until then, start working on those push ups.

Stay Strong,

Chad

The Core

Webster defines the term "core" as, "the central or most important part of something".  In reference to the core of our bodies I think this definition is delicious.  Ever heard the term "core values"?  Or what about someone saying they've been "cut to the core".  That's deep.  What I'm trying to do here is stress just how important this core of our bodies actually is.  Before we get to the nitty-gritty (Nacho Libre voice), let's discuss what exactly I'm talking about.

Most folks are going to hit the gym for their "ab" work, and end up doing a thousand crunches, then walk away feeling like they've dominated their "core".  There's one simple, yet GIGANTIC problem here.  If you pop the hood of a vehicle, and check out it's "core", you'll find a million different parts, each of which as valuable as the next.  Everything has it's purpose, and works together as a core system to create that wonderful driving experience that we all take for granted.  In the same respect, the core of our bodies is a slightly complicated system, made up of many different parts, all important, and all working together to get us moving and keep us safe.

The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) defines the core as the Lumbo-Pelvic-Hip Complex (or LPHC), with the Thoracic and Cervical Spine.  This is where all movements begins, and is responsible for creating proper muscle balance throughout the body.  Rather than try and explain the 29 muscles that make up the LPHC, let's just put them into 2 groups:  The Movement System and The Stabilization System.  These groups are pretty self-explanatory, one group provides the movement while the other group stabilizes that movement.  Imagine if you had great movement muscles with no stability.  You're just asking for injury.  What about having incredible stability muscles with no movement?  That would give you that great taxidermy look.

Movers vs. Stabilizers

Movers that you will usually hear about are: Lats, Obliques (external), Erector Spinae, Hips, and  Hamstring Complex (yes, your hammies are considered in part of your core as well).  You build these muscles with your sweet 1,000 oblique twist sets, followed by Lat Pulling everything you can (as opposed to a few pullups), and maybe throwing in some leg curls.  That's all fun and good, but if these movers don't have stabilization help, it's only a matter of time before we do more damage to the spine.

Stabilizers you may know about are: Transverse Abdominis, Oblique (Internal), Pelvic Complex.  The average gym-going individual will take care of these muscle groups with side planks, russian twists, and side bridges.  Designing your core training sessions with stabilizers in mind will not only help you perform better, but will also keep you much safer.

The bottom line, if you've learned nothing else from this post, is to recognize that the core is an intricate system of both mover and stabilizer muscles.  Both of which need to be properly trained and maintained to ensure the best muscular performance and injury prevention.  So next time you hit the gym, maybe cut back a little on the focus on the 6-pack, and work all around your core.  Trust me, when everything is working together properly, the 6-pack will come.

As always, should you have any questions, comments, concerns, or your looking to start training, shoot me a call/text/email/etc. I'd love to hear from you.

Stay Strong,
Chad