5 Reasons You AREN'T Exercising (Part 3)

3.  You Don't Know How

        This might be my favorite of all 5.  The absolute worst thing anyone can do to themselves is try and hit the gym without knowing what they are doing.  There are 2 specific reasons I like to discourage ignorant exercise participation: First, you could be seriously wasting your time.  Second, it’s incredibly dangerous.  You could really injure yourself if you don’t know what you’re doing with proper equipment, even attempting bodyweight exercises.  Imagine asking a 6 year old to operate a forklift.  Sure, if they're pretty bright, they might get some of the movements down, but ultimately, they will probably destroy something (probably themselves).  Guidance in training is vital, to both improve your capabilities and prevent injury.  I don’t like to consider myself just a guy to bark orders, but instead I prefer to give every client an understanding as to why we do what we do.  Knowing is half the battle (G.I. Jooooooooe; sorry, I had to).  I hope that at some point all my clients will have the ability to train on their own,  safely and efficiently.


Stay Strong,
Chad

5 Reasons You AREN'T Exercising (Part 2)

2. It's Too Expensive

        If you’re like me (and most Americans) you appreciate qualifying the value of something before you invest your hard-earned dollars.  And let’s be honest… fitness training can seem a little intense at face value.  Knowing what I know today, let me help put things in perspective:

According to the Office of Actuary Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the U.S. spent $2.26 trillion in 2007. This is more than any other country in the world. (According to the World Health Organization).

I don’t know about anyone else, but $2.26 trillion seems like a LOT of goulash.  This begs for the giant “WHY?” of this scenario.  Why is our health care spending so incredible?  What brought us to this place where we need the most health assistance in the world?  All politics aside, I’m convinced we can find our answer right at the heart of the American dream.  We have much freedom to enjoy.  Food to eat. Televisions to watch.  Internet access on every corner (if not in our homes, too).  Ah, sweet freedom.  However, we neglect the notion that  “with freedom comes responsibility.” –Eleanor Roosevelt

Our culture in America has conditioned us to eat, drink, and be merry, and throw caution to the wind, even at the risk of our own health. What I want to see is a culture shift, beginning in our own communities, of health and fitness awareness.  Sure, feel free to enjoy your liberties in our amazing country, but don’t neglect your responsibility to take care of yourself.  You’ll find several benefits to engaging in a culture of health and fitness, including more energy, focus, better sleep, a better attitude (in most cases), and most important: less money down the drain at fast food restaurants (and more important: doctor’s offices)

Sure, we need to regularly visit the doctor to make sure we’re doing well.  But do we really need to put ourselves in a position where we are throwing down $2.26 trillion?  Probably not.  Of course not.  Why not engage in a culture of fitness and ditch the old ways of letting ourselves go?  Having been one of the worst offenders of enjoying the American dream without personal fitness responsibility, I can tell you it’s much better in the culture I’ve found now as opposed to where I was back then…trust me.

So let’s qualify value here:

you SPEND a little money per month;
you GAIN a functional, strong, healthy body
you GAIN a better view of that person in the mirror
you GAIN a more positive attitude
you GAIN a community of people working toward the same goals you are
you GAIN a friendly, entertaining, and challenging fitness trainer/coach

Sounds pretty good to me.  More to come soon.
Stay Strong,
Chad

5 Reasons You AREN'T Exercising (Part 1)

This begins the 5 part series of Reasons You AREN'T Working Out.  I've gathered some information from clients old and new, as well as a few friends and colleagues as to the top reasons to avoid the workout.  Here's the first of what I've come up with:

1. You Don't Have Time 

        Now there's no use trying to find a 25th hour in the day...it's just not gonna happen.  At the same time, recognize that just because your friends spend 3 hours a day at the gym doesn't mean that's the only way to get smokin' body.  You don't even have to spend a full hour to see impressive results.  I can create a custom-tailored program to get the heart pumping and shed the pounds (and the stress) in just 35 minutes!  You'll be just as effective as the folks you see pounding the dreadmill for a couple hours, only you'll have more free time, as well as the energy to be even more productive!
 The key is focusing on your goals.  Through your FREE fitness consultation, you will be assisted in creating goals (if you haven't yet) and a plan can be created just for you to meet those goals in the most efficient ways...meaning more time for you, and less stress.  Even if you don't live near me or think I smell or have some other reason keeping you from me, please, I beg you, set some goals.  If you set goals, then you KNOW where you're headed.....and knowing is half the battle.
 Stay Strong,
Chad

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

Tabata Training......uh, what?

Tabata (Tuh-bot-uh) training was started by a Japanese dude named, you guessed it....TABATA!  Izumi Tabata to be precise.  It is basically a variation of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).  However, it's not just high intensity.  It's ridiculously and deliciously high intensity.  Standard Tabata training looks something like this:

<Insert Exercise Here>
20 seconds exercise
10 second break (repeat to complete 8 total rounds or 4 min. total time)

***You score yourself based on the lowest rep count in any 20 sec. period of work    
ie        Round 1-4: 12 reps completed
           Round 5:      6 reps completed
           Round 6-8: 8 reps completed
           YOUR SCORE:  6


The idea is to work EXTREMELY hard for 4 minutes of time, rather than working moderately hard for longer periods of time.  What Izumi found out when he tested this theory was those who participated in Tabata-style training as opposed to "normal" training developed a greater aerobic AND anaerobic threshold.  What this means is that not only were they pushing their cardiovascular systems to growth and increased capability, but they were also challenging and growing muscles.  When I research training styles/types, my goal is to find the most effective means by which to create results in the minimum amount of time.  Tabata training is an effective AND efficient.  As with any workout routines, you will eventually get bored or lose focus, so feel free to change it up, and maybe add Tabata only from time to time.  Maybe you're on the road, or trying to wrestle around your day with 5 kids, and you only have a limited window in which to train.  Add some Tabata to your week.

Tabata training can be performed by choosing just about any exercise to be repeated for the proper time and rounds.  Exercises I use most often for my clients and myself are pushups, situps, squats, and lunges.  What you'll find rather quick is that round one you will feel like the king or queen of Tabata...but wait.  Though you DO get a break, that 10 seconds will go quickly.  It's designed to give you just enough time to breathe and recognize that you have to start again momentarily.  Now what most folks don't recognize when they start their routine is just like starting and stopping your car, you will use more fuel than simply continuing on.  That's where the burn comes in.  As you start and stop through several rounds, your body fatigues faster and faster...but I challenge you to keep your score as high as you can.  Remember, to get that stubborn body fat to go away, you have to burn the junk out of your body first.  Train hard, and get excited as the results come in.  As always, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or would like to talk about training sessions, feel free to hit me up.

Stay Strong,
Chad

Training Frequency...and pain.

So a couple of days ago I woke up at the late hour of 4:45am, swung my legs off the bed, and started to get up and get going.  Unfortunately, my legs weren't as inspired to get up as the rest of my body.  I just about completely bit it getting out of bed because of sheer sore legs.  Why?  I'm glad you asked.  For about 2 weeks, I had taken a break from strength training and heavy lifting.  Then I went back to start it up again.  Unfortunately, I'm a competitive person.  I can't just do things halfway.  I went all out with back squats, deadlifts, and lunges (5x5 squat and deadlift, 80 overhead lunges) until I beat my chest and felt like a man! It was epic.  Until that next morning.  Matter of fact, my legs are still somewhat sore to the touch.  

Frequency all relates to how our bodies can handle the stress of each workout.  Now two weeks ago, I would've been up out of bed no problem, but my body had forgotten how to recover from such a vicious beating over those two weeks off.  What does it all mean Basil?  I'm glad you asked!  What that means, is before I go attack my poor quads again, they NEED to rest.  And I don't mean just sitting in a chair for a couple hours watching television.  I mean getting in a good night's sleep, stretching, fueling, and hydrating properly.  If we give our bodies the proper amount of rest, we will build healthy and effective muscles that we can rely on to do the job when we need them.  If we don't give them enough rest, we cannot guarantee their performance, or that they'll even stay healthy.  With medical costs the way they are, I'd say it would be smart to shoot for healthy muscles.  So how often should you put stress on the muscles?

Let's first define what it means to stress the muscles.  There are 2 very basic aspect of physical fitness/exercise: Resistance Training (RT) and Cardiovascular Training (Cardio).  RT is training that uses a resistance to the force of muscular contraction.  Most people know this as "strength training", with the use of weights or machines.  This can also be done simply by utilizing bodyweight during exercises.  Cardio is typically sustained exercise involving larger muscle groups (ie legs).  Cardio is performed to strengthen the heart and lungs, and challenge the body to handle cardiovascular stress.

From general health and wellness to body-sculpting, I would suggest the same routine:  one day RT, next day rest/Cardio, etc.  Now of course everyone is different and different peoples' bodies will respond to different types of treatment.  For the general public, however, it's a pretty safe bet to work your muscles hard one day, then rest them the next, for an easy to follow pattern.  What's important to recognize is that cardio can be performed even on rest days, because it is not as specifically strenuous to certain muscle groups.  You may choose to do cardio and RT on the same day, and that's perfectly acceptable.  Just be sure that you rest on the days in between.  Now here's a few more specific setups for different styles of training:

STRENGTH TRAINING (gaining/building strength):

Monday-Lower Body (75% max. ability) 

Tuesday-Cardio

Wednesday-Upper Body (85% max. ability)

Thursday-Cardio

Friday-Lower Body (85% max. ability)

Saturday-Upper Body (75% max. ability)

Sunday-rest/Cardio

TONING/DEFINITION:

Monday-Full Body (75% max. ability)

Tuesday-Cardio

Wednesday-Lower Body (75% max. ability)

Thursday-Cardio

Friday-Full Body (75% max. ability)

Saturday-Upper Body (75% max. ability)

Sunday-rest/Cardio

WEIGHT LOSS:

Monday-Full Body Circuit Training (75% max. ability)

Tuesday-Cardio (minimum 40 minutes)

Wednesday-Full Body Circuit Training (85% max. ability)

Thursday-Cardio (minimum 40 minutes)

Friday-Full Body Circuit Training (85% max. ability)

Saturday-Cardio (minimum 40 minutes)

Sunday-rest/Cardio

GENERAL HEALTH/WELLNESS:

Monday-Full Body (55% max ability)

Tuesday-Cardio

Wednesday-Full Body (75% max. ability)

Thursday-Cardio

Friday-Full Body (75% max. ability)

Saturday-Cardio/rest

Sunday-Cardio/rest

Remember again, not everyone has the same body/ability/schedule etc.  These are just ideas to help point you in the right direction.  If you need 2 days to do RT, then pick the Wednesday Friday setup and put them on whatever days you have available.  I would suggest following one of these patterns if you would like to see the fastest results.  Whatever you do, give it all you've got, and like always, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, please don't hesitate to ask.

Stay Strong,

Chad