Re-examining the Value of Aerobic Exercise

By Charles Staley

Ever since the “jogging craze” of the ’70’s, aerobic exercise has been the method of choice for those attempting to “lose weight.” Gradually, the resistance training area of most gyms and clubs is being scaled back to accommodate all manner of equipment designed to elevate the heart rate. With the aerobic revolution in full gear, I feel compelled to ask, “Why are people getting fatter and fatter?”

For those who have critically studied sport training and exercise physiology, this is a rhetorical question.  A quick look at any national level track meet speaks volumes about the effects of aerobic versus anaerobic training.  Compare the physiques of 100 meter sprinters against long distance runners, such as marathoners. Although sprinters do little or no aerobic exercise (it’s not specific to their events), they are just as lean (if not leaner) than their aerobic counterparts. They also have more attractive physiques, which is a by-product of the muscle they’ve gained from hours in the weight room and short-term, intensive running. By contrast, the marathoner’s lack of muscle gives him a “flat” physique. His extensive and frequent forays into the aerobic zone have caused his body to lose muscle (since muscle weighs more than fat, it is the body’s preferred tissue to cannibalize in the interest in lightening the load).  If you’ve been trying (unsuccessfully) to lose 10 to 20 pounds of unwanted fat, despite spending hours upon hours on the stairclimber, read on. Anaerobic exercise may not be politically correct, but it IS physiologically correct—if fat loss is your objective.

Since our language affects the way we think, let’s begin by revising our vocabulary for a moment. I’d like to encourage you to delete a few words from your personal dictionary. Words like tone, shape, contour, sculpt, and all the rest of the vague descriptions you hear on late night infomercials. These terms are irrelevant with respect to the adaptations you can expect from any form of exercise. In reality, there are only two bodily tissues that you have two ways: You can gain, or lose. (By the way: tone simply refers to a state of partial, involuntary contraction, a result of muscular work. Even the most rotund can have muscle tone, and the thinnest people sometimes have no tone.)  So the goal is to gain muscle and lose fat. When you do so, let everyone else call you toned and sculpted.  Of course, many people, influenced by the exceedingly massive (and rare) physiques adorning the covers of muscle magazines, shirk at the prospect of gaining muscle. It’s a shame— myophobia keeps more people from achieving their fitness goals than any other single factor. Just a few pounds of added muscle can make a dramatic difference in your physique, not to mention your health and well-being. Muscle (unlike fat) needs calories to survive. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be. Bigger muscles burn more calories than smaller ones, even during sleep!

Personal trainers— people who earn their living by making substantial changes in their client’s bodies— regard resistance training as the most important item in their professional “toolbox.” Dave Sinnot, trainer of many top Hollywood stars, including Sean Penn and Angela Bassett, is amazed at people’s avoidance of weight training: “People who think that aerobic training is the ultimate fat loss method are totally missing the boat. I’ve worked with people who spend half their waking hours doing some form of aerobics.  They complain that they aren’t getting results anymore. As soon as we shift emphasis to weight training and nutritional modifications, they always start improving immediately. It’s like their body was begging for it!” Dave related to me that Angela Bassett (star of “What’s Love Got To Do With It”) was not blessed with great genetics as many people assume, and was actually “pudgy” when he started working with her.  What’s the best approach for people wishing to improve their body composition? First, don’t eliminate your aerobic sessions. It’s a good practice to do a handful (three or four) of 20 to 40 minute sessions a week. More than that, and your body starts to drop valuable muscle in an effort to adapt. Second, take another look at your resistance training program. Most people simply don’t spend adequate time and effort in the weight room, and those that do make one or more of the following four mistakes:

1) Too many exercises: One exercise per muscle group per workout is plenty. The key is to pick the right exercises, and work them hard. Forget about “hitting the muscle from different angles” and “shaping” exercises— this is all propaganda stemming from bodybuilding circles.

2) Ineffective exercises: Don’t avoid so-called “hard core” exercises for fear of getting a result. Choose multi-joint exercises, such as squats and their variations, bench presses and their variations, lat pulldowns, and shoulder presses. Smaller muscles such as biceps, triceps, and calves will receive adequate exercise when you do the multi-joint movements mentioned above.

3) Insufficient intensity level: High reps DO NOT “tone” a muscle! For beginners, high reps are important to strengthen connective tissues, and to allow for technique mastery. But for optimum muscle building, stay in the 6 to 12 range for the majority of your workouts. If and when you get to the point where you don’t want additional muscle, just cut back on the volume and frequency of training.

4) Lack of progression and variety: If you don’t seek increases in strength, your body will stop responding. Similarly, if you train in exactly the same manner for extensive periods of time, your body will adapt to the monotony, and stop responding, no matter how good the training program is. For this reason, there is no perfect training program. Most successful trainers use several programs, which they rotate as needed.

As a final suggestion, remember that the entire personal training profession was founded upon the fact that resistance training works! Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you’re beyond benefiting from one. Personal trainers make their living by getting fast results for people. For information on finding a certified trainer in your area, please call the ISSA at (800) 892-ISSA.

Consider These Facts:

1) According to a recent study presented in IDEA magazine, the average female aerobics instructor has 18% bodyfat. This is higher than the average female competitive weightlifter (16%).

2) According to a recent study published in Muscular Development magazine, muscle necrosis (tissue death) and inflammation can be observed in the calves of marathon runners 7 days after a race.

3) According to Dr. Marc Breehl, a leading anesthesiologist specializing in cardiac surgery, the enlarged hearts of aerobic athletes are weaker, not stronger than those with anaerobic backgrounds.

4) Resistance training has numerous benefits to the heart and vascular system, including improved ejection fraction of the left ventricle, and improved elasticity of the arterial walls. This from Power: A Scientific Approach, by Dr Fred Hatfield.

5) Virtually everything we do in life is anaerobic. Aerobic activity is an artificial state which the human organism is not well adapted to. For the majority of individuals, loss of function associated with aging is due to lack of strength, not aerobic capacity.

Like I always say:   Get Strong Stay Strong!

Chris

Put Some FUN in Your Training in 2010!

By Phil Stevens via Staleytraining.com

As the old saying goes; All work and no play makes Phil unhappy, injured, unmotivated and downright discombobulated. Make 2010 the year you make a pact to above all bring fun back into your life, back into your training and nutrition. Fun or more so the lack of effects your life as it pertains to training in more ways then you know.

For start let’s look at simple choices people make on exercising. If you have had the joy to go and see Charles speak at the Your Work Out Sucks seminar, or more recently viewed the videos of one such seminar we hosted on Youtube you’d get this message point blank. One thing I, we, preach is training above All should be enjoyed. You should love it and look forward to it. Athletes view call training practice not the more negative exercise. If what you are doing is not FUN. If you lack motivation, your training doesn’t leave you with a passion and something to strive for change. There is more than one way to skin a cat.

I would urge you first to find an activity or sport your thoroughly enjoy. Something you have a passion for. Then once you have that in turn gear your training to it. If you love Olympic curling great play that its sport it is exercise. So is tennis, ping pong, flag football, hiking rock climbing, and many, many more. Then you can gear your training. Your gym time and the way you eat to become better at what you enjoy.

The gym, training, it should enhance and better your life and sport, not detract from it. Don’t let training be an Achilles heel, find a form and activity you enjoy and make it a pact this year to train for YOU. At what YOU want for the reasons and the physique you want and get joy out of NOT at or toward something others say you should want. If you don’t have or desire to have a six pack, or to be huge and powerful and lift ginormous loads and be a mass of humanity Fine that’s great. ID that. You need to train and live for you. Until you do you aren’t living, you are existing and living for others. Find what you love, have fun at, and enjoy. Aim your training around that. Find others and find a coach open minded enough, and smart enough to help you with YOUR goals for you, not their goals for you. Once you do that you’ll be amazed at how all the other stuff falls into place. This in itself will make training more fun.

Like Dan John so eloquently explains when he speaks of his football players. Some of the hardest and best work they do is when he purposely lets them PLAY. Once a week he will have them break up into teams and they will play a game. Maybe its kick ball, or soccer or ultimate Frisbee. It’s something besides their sport, and is seen by them as play. Once in action thought you see it time and time again the players are going balls out, sprinting faster, running longer and harder then when lined up and forced to in practice, all the while they are laughing. Why because they are having fun. He broke the monotony of their practice that in time can be seen as work up, and added a new element of fun.

Training SHOULD be Fun. You can and should laugh, and have a good time while you are also busting your butt to get the results you want. Its shouldn’t be more stress and discomfort then enjoyment. Go watch some kids run around and play on a play ground. Running like chickens with their heads cut off not a care in the world, going up ladders down stairs over monkey bars up a tree, through a pipe and over a wall. They are in reality, and literally, training their butts off, but they are having fun and don’t view it as exercise. You need to find an activity that’s makes you do the same. If it’s not power lifting fine, that’s normal it’s not for everyone. Find what does and no matter what it is, I assure you some type of resistance training can be used to better it even if it’s one day a week. However, instead of dreading it you’ll enjoy that as it is part of and to better something you love.

Nutrition is the same way. I’ll save a detailed discussion but there are too many diets out there and they ALL work. If you are getting results but hate your diet, find a new one, keep looking until you find one you can live with and enjoy.

So…Want Even MORE Strength, Muscle-Building and Fat Loss Info, Just Like This?

…and get a FREE copy of “The Unnatural Athlete” ($29.95 value!), Charles Staley’s most politically-incorrect views on training, nutrition, fat loss, muscle-building and more!

OK, so your training hard. Your giving it your all and more, Your having FUN and love your training. You never miss a training session, never take a break not even for the holidays you LOVE this so MUCH. Yet your ran down, possibly injured a lot, even if lil nagging injuries is what ails you. Maybe your having too much fun training and not enough FUN in other aspects of your life away from training. Get some other FUN in your life. Whatever fun is for you be it hanging out with friends, going to movies, out for the night, a weekend away with NO organized training, relaxing and reading. Whatever.

FUN away from training can impact your training, nutrition, and physique in an enormous way. More than you think. It can impact recovery, both physical and mental/CNS. Just the act of laughter and joy has a huge effect on the human body and the way the rest of your day, week month goes and how the other systems in your body work. Does your life lack other FUN?? If so you better find some this year. The harder you work, even if its FUN, the harder you need to rest and play.

Now let’s go have some fun in 2010.

Get Strong! Stay Strong!

Chris

FUNNY SANTA PICTURES

MERRY CHRISMAKWANZAKAH EVERYONE!

Have a safe and Happy Holiday! (and dont eat too much!  OK maybe 1 day.)

Chris

Jump-Hop-Hop; Load Better to Explode Better

By Doug Gray

Jumping is an action that has implications to everything we do. Squatting, walking, running, lunging, etc. has components of jumping involved. Therefore, jumping better will pave the way to functioning better. A common element of plyometrics and calisthenics is jumping. Jump training is a point of focus in sport, yet has extreme implications to life in general. The topic of jumping initiates many questions to consider, such as the following:

• Is your jump training directly carrying over to that which you are training for?

• Is your jump training better preparing you to execute activities more efficiently, whether in sport or active daily living?

• Is your jump training incorporating all three planes of motion (as the body is intended to function)?

• Is your jump training properly sequenced to be safe and guarantee progress / improvement?

• Is your jump training properly preventing future injury?

• Is your jump training dynamic and variable (i.e. – incorporating two feet to two feet, two feet to one foot, one foot to two feet, and one foot to the same foot)?

As the above questions trigger contemplation to the purpose, logic, and sequencing of one’s training regime, it sets the table for exploration on how to better train the body. A great starting point is identifying and discussing a functional threshold.  A functional threshold … the body’s ability to successfully perform the multiple tasks required for what one needs to do and what one wants to do in life. In essence, it leads to productively owning ones three‐dimensional space in completing the desired task at hand. The spectrum of “needs” and “wants” is long and variable, yet lends itself to the following point: it is in ones best interest to expand his / her functional threshold in order to enhance overall performance.

Jump‐Jop‐Hop Explosion, which is part of the Gray Institute’s 3D Matrix Performance Series, is a workout intended to increase one’s vertical, to protect one from injury, as well as to improve one’s strength, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, coordination, agility, power, speed, reaction, etc. More importantly, it is designed to enhance one’s overall health, wellbeing, and longevity by creating an environment where one can expand his / her functional threshold. Jump‐Jop‐Hop Explosion, as all DVDs in the 3D Matrix Performance Series, consists of both instructional and follow‐along segments.

The terms jumping, jopping, and hopping all refer to the act of loading the lower body and trunk to efficiently and effectively (as well as explosively) unload the body to become airborne in defying gravity. Pure jumping is defined as leaving the surface (or ground) on one foot or both feet and landing on both feet. Pure jopping is defined as leaving the surface on both feet and landing on one foot. Pure hopping is defined as leaving the surface on one foot and landing on the same one foot.

The Chain Reaction™ biomechanics involved with jumping are very similar to that of the lead (or front) leg in gait (or walking). In understanding this better, it is valuable to identify what is known as a Transformational Zone (TZ). A TZ is defined as the period of time when motion changes direction. Moreover, a TZ is the point where eccentric lengthening (loading) of a muscle transforms into a concentric shortening (unloading). The TZ of jumping (when the body compresses before exploding upward or outward) calls for a three‐dimensional Chain Reaction™ throughout the entire body (feet / ankles, knees, hips, trunk, etc.). This load and explode sequencing is a common denominator for all forms of movement. For that reason, Jump‐Jop‐Hop Explosion is not strictly for jumping population, but for all walks of life.Jump‐Jop‐Hop Explosion is a workout that trains the body’s muscles and joints to load and explode in a variety of ways in performing jumps, jops, and hops. Embedded into the workout is a progression that gradually intensifies the workout from round to round (consist of three rounds) by beginning with jumps (two feet to two feet), then shifting to jops (two feet to one foot) and hops (one foot to same one foot). Also, very important to the topic of the DVD, a strategy of safety and progression is performing the workout in initial ranges of motion until the body is comfortable and strong enough to be challenged more (which would involve moving then into mid ranges of motion, and then moving into end ranges of motion).

Additionally, Jump‐Jop‐Hop Explosion positions the body from the top‐down to facilitate and different Chain Reaction™ to add variety and functionality to the workout. For example, both hands are positioned differently in certain portions of the workout to put parts of the body at a biomechanical advantage, while putting other parts of the body at a biomechanical disadvantage, in order to mimic sport and daily activities that the body needs to perform. Of course, these positions are logically organized into all three planes of motion (in front of, above and behind, to the right of, to the left of, rotationally to the right of, and rotationally to the left of the body). Placing the hands in front of the body (anterior at hip) recruits more of the back hip (glute muscles) to execute the task, whereas placing the hands above and behind the body (posterior at overhead) recruits more of the front hip to execute the task. Different positions of the body allow gravity to compress the body differently, as gravity is the competitor of jumping, yet also the best friend when it comes to loading the body to jump.

According to the Gray Institute’s Functional Video Digest Series v2.4, “Jumping: Unleashing the Load” CLICK HERE, jumping is a tri‐plane phenomenon. Also, to enhance jumping, it is imperative that new pathways of loading the body are established and existing pathways are deepened and enhanced. Jumping is not only vertical, but also horizontal and rotational. All these dimensions need to be exploited in any jumping program to better prepare and protect the body in all areas of performance, in which Jump‐Jop‐Hop Explosion successfully exhibits. This needs to be the goal for any athlete: to develop and enhance the gifts and talents that he / she has been given. Therefore, all dimensions need to be attended to in expanding one’s functional threshold. Jump‐Jop‐Hop Explosion is an integral step to this process.

Moving the Force-Time Curve to the Left

By  Charles Staley

Twenty years ago, strength training was considered taboo for martial artists.

Today, it is gaining in popularity, despite the fact that it is rarely carried out in a rational manner. Due to strong influences from the world of bodybuilding, most martial artists are only getting half the potential benefit that strength training has to offer.

Specificity and Strength Training

Virtually all martial arts depend upon the ability to develop force very rapidly. Technically, the rapid execution of a technique results in more damage to the target. Tactically, rapidly executed techniques have a greater chance of landing, since they are more difficult to defend against than slower movements. From a defensive point of view, rapidly performed blocks and parries, as well as defensive footwork, are made more effective if executed rapidly.

Strength training for sports normally progresses through three phases: hypertrophy (muscle mass), absolute strength (the most force that can be produced irregardless of time required), and finally, speed strength (the ability to develop force rapidly). In the case of the martial arts, most athletes spend most or all of their time developing hypertrophy. A few progress to methods designed to develop absolute strength. Fewer still venture into speed-strength territory.

Critical to this article is the concept that the ability to develop high levels of force (such as displayed during a 400 pound bench press) is not as important as the ability to develop a high level of force within a very short (less than a second) period of time. The development of muscle mass and absolute strength are important because they form the foundation for speed-strength, but by themselves, they are next to worthless.

Hypertrophy Training

Sometimes called “the bodybuilding method,” hypertrophy training involves the use of moderate (between 70 and 85 percent of maximum) loads for sets of between 5 and 10 repetitions. Such loads provoke an increase in protein synthesis within the muscle cells, leading to an enlargement of the existing muscle tissue.

This enlargement is the first step in developing speedstrength, since increases in muscle cross-section are highly correlated to increases in absolute strength. An athlete stays in the hypertrophy phase for as long as is necessary and/or appropriate— while hypertrophy is a necessary first step, too much of it can be counter-productive (i.e., growing out of your weight class, or developing flexibility deficits, etc.). When the desired level of hypertrophy is developed, the athlete moves on to absolute strength training methods. Note: Athletes should increase protein intake while in this phase to help the body resynthesize muscle tissue.

Training for Absolute Strength

Absolute strength is developed through the use of high (85+ percent of maximum) loads. Repetitions range from 1 to 4. Such training improves neurological efficiency, or the ability to recruit higher percentages of existing muscle fibers. Fast twitch muscle is preferentially recruited over slow twitch fibers at this intensity range. The development of absolute strength is considered to be a prerequisite to speed-strength, but this training method should only be attempted by mature, experienced athletes, due to the high loads involved.

Developing Speed-strength: Moving the Time-force Curve to the Left

Once absolute strength is brought to a high level, the next task is to move the force time curve over to the left. Several methods can be used for this purpose: plyometrics, the use of modified Olympic lifts, and the lifting of submaximal (70 to 80 percent of maximum) weights at a high rate of speed. The emphasis is on improving the rate of force development (R.O.F.D.).

During the period of time devoted to speed-strength work, one can expect gains in hypertrophy and absolute strength to degrade to a certain degree. For this reason, a rationally designed training program will constantly alternate between phases devoted to hypertrophy, absolute strength, and speedstrength, in that order.

For mature athletes who already have sufficient muscle mass, the hypertrophy phase will be greatly abbreviated, however. For competitive martial artists, training cycles are planned so that the speedstrength phase coincides with the competitive season. In this way, sport-specific strength is brought to a peak when it is needed most.

Strength as a Means to an End

I caution the reader to remember that strength, as a component of physical preparation, is not an end but a means to an end. It simply allows the martial artist to achieve high results on the technical and tactical levels of preparation, and thus, to a high level of psychological preparedness.

Get Strong! Stay Strong!

Chris

Recovering from an Upset Stomach? Eat (and Avoid) These 10 Foods

I don’t know about you, but having the stomach flu or an upset stomach is one of the worst common “sicknesses” I can think of. Whether you are paying tribute to the porcelain god from one end or the other (or both), a stomach flu bug or a bout of food poisoning is enough to make you never want to eat again . . . EVER. Luckily there are some foods to get you on the way to your old self in no time. Keep reading for the 5 foods to eat (and the 5 ones to avoid) when recovering from a stomach bug . . . or even too much Thanksgiving turkey!

When you have an upset stomach, you will want to eat these foods:

1. Peppermint

If you have an upset stomach, peppermint tea will help ease your nausea and can also quell your upset stomach. The peppermint you choose should not be too sugary and is best consumed in a tea form. Peppermint tea is one of the most soothing foods for an upset stomach and will calm your nausea in no time. Peppermint tea is also ideal for women who are suffering from morning sickness as it does not have any negative side effects but is very effective for squashing nausea.

2. Ginger

Another food that is excellent for your digestive system and can quell nausea is ginger. Ginger is also loaded with antioxidants and is good for your entire body. You can eat ginger raw or you can also use it in meals. If you are suffering from nausea, you can drink ginger tea as this, like peppermint tea, can keep you from getting sick.

3. Rice

Rice is easy on your system and is an ideal food for someone who is getting back into eating solid foods after being sick. Rice is filling but is also a light meal and is easy to digest. Rice can be made with chicken broth as a remedy for curing a cold and as a simple way to get some bland food into your stomach.

4. Crackers

Eating crackers is another way that you can help ease your way back into solid foods if you have been sick and have not been on solid foods for some time. Crackers are often recommended for pregnant women who experience morning sickness. Just make sure you choose crackers that are low in sodium and free of unhealthy fats.

5. Bananas

Bananas are easy to digest and are often one of the first foods given to babies (who simply by their young nature have sensitive stomachs). Like rice, bananas are filling without upsetting your stomach. Bananas are also one of the best foods for an upset stomach as they are not heavy, but do provide you with needed nutrients that you may have lost when sick (such as potassium).

When you have an upset stomach, you will want to avoid these foods:

1. Dairy

Eating dairy after an upset stomach may seem like a way to calm down the stomach, but usually produces an opposite effect. Cheese is very binding and may cause constipation, while milk may cause (or worsen) diarrhea.

2. Caffeine

Caffeine (such as that contained in drinks like coffee or tea, or in chocolate) is hard on your stomach to begin with, so you for sure don’t want to jump right into these drinks/food when recovering from a troubled tummy. Once you’re back on your feet you can go back to your morning cup of java or give in to your chocolate cravings. Until then – hold off.

3. Spicy Foods

Much like caffeine, spicy foods can wreak havoc on your stomach in a normal situation, much less when you’re already sick. If you’re a fan of Mexican, Italian, Asian, or Indian fare,  you should definitely stay away for at least a few days. You’ll enjoy those foods much more when you’re back to your healthy self!

4. Nuts

Nuts are hard to digest for certain people and although they are good for you, they can disturb your digestive tract even more if it is already in distress. Stay away from nuts when you are suffering from a stomach bug.

5. Tomatoes

The lycopene in tomatoes is a tremendous nutrient that you should be getting on a regular basis, but the acidity in this fruit can aggravate an already upset tum. Save  your tomatoes and tomato-based foods for when you’re fully recovered!

Don’t let the stomach flu (or food poisoning, or morning sickness, or too much Thanksgiving fare) get you down! By getting the “good” foods and avoiding the “bad” you can recover safely and quickly (and with fewer trips to the bathroom).

Get Strong! Stay Strong! (and keep your food down!)

Chris

Releasing the Brakes-The Science of Total Training

 

An excerpt from Alwyn Cosgroves article: Releasing the Brakes

Imagine that a guy walks into my gym, and he’s looking to add 10 pounds of muscle — a simple and straightforward request. The first thing we do is go through a short checklist:

1. Is he lifting?

2. Is he eating enough, and eating enough protein?

3. Is he lifting often enough, heavy enough, and with good technique?

Obviously, if someone wants to gain size and he isn’t lifting weights, there’s no mystery about the first step. We get him on a training program, introduce him to the magic of progressive resistance, and watch him grow.Since nobody is confused about the need to lift in order to gain muscle, let’s move on to the next two points.  You’d be surprised how many people lift weights but don’t eat enough total calories to reach their goals. Same with protein intake: It seems obvious, but some people do need to be told to eat more. So once we figure out what he’s eating and when, fixing the problem is relatively straightforward.

“Heavy enough” and “often enough” are subjective, of course, but once we understand what he’s been doing, these are easy variables to manipulate. Technique? Well if you’ve been to any commercial gyms recently, you’ll see a lot of underdeveloped guys lifting with really bad form. If our guy’s form on the squat and deadlift leaves a lot to be desired, we might be able to add size just by teaching him to use the right muscles on basic lifts.  But what if the problem isn’t so easy to detect and fix? What if he’s doing everything we expect him to do with his training and nutrition, but he’s still not making the gains he wants to make, and that we’d expect him to make, given the effort he’s putting in?

Our next step is to release the brakes.  When Pushing Harder Doesn’t Help.  I got the “release the brakes” idea during a conversation with Dax Moy, a British trainer and gym owner. We were talking about “accelerating” client progress, and came to an interesting conclusion:  All of us in the fitness industry, trainers and trainees alike, have been brainwashed into thinking that the only way to improve results is to push harder. If you aren’t making gains, it’s because you aren’t training hard enough or often enough. Doesn’t matter if we’re talking about systemic gains in muscle size or body composition, or strength in particular lifts, or the size of individual muscles or muscle groups. The answer to every problem is to punch down harder on the accelerator.  But think of a car with the parking brake on. If you push harder on the gas pedal, you’ll only run out of fuel quicker, right? But if you take off the brake, the car will go farther and faster, and probably use less fuel in the process.

This leads to two important conclusions: First, removing the impediments to your progress will probably help more than adding another set of squats, bench presses, or sprints. Second, it’s pointless to increase load and volume while those impediments are in place.  So What’s Holding You Back?

A friend of mine went to see a chiropractor for a back problem. The problem: misaligned vertebrae in his lumbar spine. The culprit: heavy Romanian deadlifts.  My friend is strong as hell — he was using close to double his body weight in the lift. His glutes and hams could handle the load, but his lower back couldn’t. Since my friend’s goal is to get even stronger than he was before the injury, what’s his best strategy? Keep pushing, despite the fact his injured back has already shown it can’t handle bigger loads? Or design a program that releases the brakes by strengthening his weakest link?

We switched to a heavy emphasis on core training that allows direct loading of his lumbar area, along with heavy single-leg RDLs, which maintained the strength of his glutes and hams without the risk of a lower-back injury.  Core strength is often the underlying issue, whether we’re talking about something major like misaligned vertebrae or something that’s annoying but minor, like a lagging body part. The core muscles need to stabilize and protect the spine, particularly when the extremities are in motion. If those muscles aren’t strong or stable enough, the first clue could be a lack of size or strength somewhere else.

Quick experiment:

Stand up and hold a single dumbbell out to your right side, as you would in the finishing position of a lateral raise. What muscles are working? Obviously, it’s your right deltoid. If you’re a trainer or otherwise knowledgeable about exercise physiology, you can probably name a few other muscles in the shoulder girdle that come into play, but we can all agree that the prime mover here is the deltoid.  But think about how your torso stays upright with that dumbbell hanging out in space. Your center of gravity has been thrown off, so something besides your right deltoid must be working pretty hard to keep you from listing to the starboard side. In this case, it’s your left oblique. It’s working to stabilize your spine, allowing your right deltoid to lift that weight and hold it out there away from your body.

Now imagine that the oblique on your left side is weak, or recently injured. You wouldn’t be able to lift that dumbbell, since the muscles charged with protecting your spine aren’t prepared to do their job. Your body cares more about the health and safety of your spine than it does about the size of your shoulders.  Your best strategy, then, is to rehabilitate and strengthen your obliques, thus releasing the brake on your muscle development. Stomping on the accelerator by increasing the volume of your shoulder training wouldn’t do any good, and might make things considerably worse.

Let’s assign some completely hypothetical numbers to this example, and say your right deltoid can lift 30 pounds for 10 reps. To achieve overload and force growth, we have to train the deltoid to do one of two things: lift 31 pounds for 10 reps, or 30 pounds for 11 or more reps.  But let’s say your core muscles, either because of injury or disuse, can only handle 29 pounds for 10 reps.  A bodybuilder might say the solution is to find a way to overload the delts while bypassing the core. Maybe he’d use machines designed for that purpose, or wear a lifting belt for his lateral raises, or do something else that wouldn’t occur to me. Ultimately, the strategy is counterproductive; even if it works, it only exacerbates the imbalance, which makes the brakes work harder to slow your body down and keep your spine safe.

See more at alwyncosgrove.com

Get Strong! Stay Strong!

Chris

 

 

Mobility Training May Be the Most Important Factor in Musculoskeletal Health

By Steve Maxwell

Mobility, or joint mobility, is the ability to move a limb through the full range of motion–with control. Mobility is based on voluntary movement while flexibility involves static holds and is often dependent upon gravity or passive forces. Mobility demands strength to produce full-range movement, whereas flexibility is passive, thus not strength-dependent. Some authorities refer to mobility as ‘active flexibility’. It is possible to have good mobility without being especially flexible, just as one can be flexible with poor mobility, i.e., control. Of the two, mobility is more important. It is better to be inflexible with good mobility than flexible with poor mobility. The percent difference between your mobility and flexibility is the same percent chance of creating a musculo-skeletal injury during physical activities.

Sports, recreational activities and other daily physical practices can result in reduced range of movement in any participating joint. When the joint is unable to move through its full range, we call it compromised. When compromised movement is present in a joint, surrounding joints take up the slack, creating extra stress all around. A typical example are immobile ankles and feet underlying stress and injury to the knees, hips, and lumbar spine. It’s a cascade effect, albeit in reverse:  the body tissues are held together with sheets of connective tissue called fascia, so stress extends upwards from the feet. Poor mobility in one area can cause pain and stress in seemingly unrelated areas, but once fascial anatomy is understood, the idea that immobile feet could cause neck or shoulder stiffness is no longer a conundrum.

Mobility work reduces the potential body imbalances inherent in our athletic and recreational pursuits. For example, it’s widely accepted that running for distance shortens the hamstrings, calf muscles and hip flexors, resulting in decreased free movement in simple full-range exercises, such as bodyweight squats. Well-documented is the compromised range produced by heavy weight-lifting and body building strength sports–yet, properly conducted, weight training can improve range of motion! All too often, in practice, weight lifters endow themselves with tight, restrictive movement by over emphasizing short-range movements and excessive hypertrophy.  Worse, especially in the U.S., is that ubiquitous non-activity: sitting. Sitting in a chair, at a desk, while hunching over a computer is a recipe for a compromised structure full of imbalance and continual pain.

The solution? A joint mobility program. Joint mobility exercise stimulates and circulates the synovial fluid in the bursa, which ‘washes’ the joint. The joints have no direct blood supply and are nourished by this synovial fluid, which simultaneously removes waste products. Joint salts, or calcium deposits, are dissolved and dispersed with the same gentle, high-repetition movement patterns. Properly learned, joint mobility can restore complete freedom of motion to the ankles, knees, hips, spine, shoulders, neck, elbows, wrists and fingers. It’s especially important to keep the spine supple and free and if there were such a thing as a fountain of youth, joint mobility exercises come very close.

Use mobility exercises as a warm up, an active recovery during other activities, or as a stand-alone workout. You can rejuvenate yourself and reclaim the movement of a child with a good joint mobility program. Joint mobility makes a wonderful, energizing morning recharge and sets the day up on the right foot.

Get Strong! Stay Strong!

Chris

7 Reasons Why You Just Can’t Lose Weight: Here’s What to Do About It!

 

By Sylvia Anderson

You’re eating a balanced diet. You’re exercising daily. You’re staying away from junk food. But the numbers on your scale still refuse to budge. So why aren’t you losing weight when you’re doing all the “right” things? Keep reading to find out why you’re not shedding those pesky pounds . . . and what you can do to change that!

 

1. You’re Not Exercising Portion Control

One major reason why people don’t lose weight is because they serve themselves excessive portion sizes. For example, the recommended USDA portion size for meat is four ounces, or about the size of a deck of cards. Compare this size to the average size of a filet at a steakhouse, which is at least twice that size, and you can see why America is suffering from an obesity epidemic. Beware of hefty portions both when eating out and when eating at home.

 

2. You Skip the Most Important Meal of the Day: Breakfast

If you’re not losing weight, you should ask yourself if you are eating a nutritional breakfast. Breakfast is still regarded as the most important meal because it sets the tone for how you distribute your calories for the rest of the day. For instance, eating a breakfast of whole-wheat toast, eggs, and fruit will leave you feeling satisfied for a longer stretch of time. You will be less prone to snack and binge on unhealthy foods the rest of the day.

 

3. You Eat Only One Meal

Many dieters also make the mistake of fasting during the day and eating one large meal at dinnertime. While you may think you’d eat fewer calories by taking this approach, by the time evening arrives you are so hungry that you end up overeating. In fact you likely end up eating more fat and calories than you normally would if you had eaten three healthy meals and two nutritious snacks that day. Additionally, these large meals are often extremely heavy and caloric, and a bad choice so close to your bedtime.

 

4. You Don’t Pay Attention to What You’re Eating

People also fail to lose weight due to “calorie creep.” A common example of this is when people eat while they cook. Even taking small bites of foods can deposit hundreds of calories into your body. This amount is staggering when you consider that the average person’s recommended calorie intake is 2,000 calories per day. To combat “calorie creep,” you should pay attention to each morsel of food you put into your mouth. Do not distractedly eat small bites of food and expect that it won’t count as calories. Try keeping a food diary and making sure that you record every single piece of food or sip of drink you take. You might be surprised at the excessive amount of calories you take in.

 

5. You Are Eating the Wrong Foods

Another dietary reason why you’re not losing weight may have to do with your distorted ideas of a food’s nutritional value. Many people believe yogurt is good for you because it is a source of protein and calcium. While this is true, if you are eating full-fat yogurt instead of low-fat yogurt with healthy probiotics, you are doing yourself more harm than good.

 

You may also be getting extra fat through your cooking oil. If you’re using more than one tablespoon of oil or butter for cooking, you are adding many harmful saturated fats to your diet. Moreover, while olive oil is a healthy cooking-oil option, take care not to add more than a tablespoon because this oil is still heavy in fats.

 

6. You Are Drinking Your Calories

Some dieters pay meticulous attention to what they are eating, but forget that calories come in liquid form as well! Whether its juice or wine or a sports drink, those calories also count towards your daily amount. Think diet soda is the answer? Think again. Recent research suggests that even diet soda may spur you to crave sugary, calorie-laden foods. The best option, of course, is water. If you can’t stomach plain water, try adding a lemon or lime slice to make it more tolerable.

 

7. You Are Not Exercising Effectively

Lastly, you should examine your exercise routine. Are you using proper form when you do sit-ups and lunges? That is, are you honestly using only the muscles you’re supposed to be targeting? When doing exercise, proper form will get you the results you want and greatly further your weight loss. Also, you need to make sure that you’re getting your heart rate up when doing cardiovascular exercise. If you walk every day, but only do so at a snail’s pace, you’re not doing much to aid your weight-loss efforts.

 

Don’t despair! By taking a closer look at your approach to losing weight, you may just uncover some vital mistakes such as those above. Fix those mistakes immediately, and you’ll see results in no time.

Get Strong! Stay Strong!

Chris

 

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!