Hey people I hope you are all fit and well?
Todays second article (I have a day off so I'm playing catch-up yay) is about the typical questions I get asked or statments I hear on the gym floor and examining why these common beliefs just don't cut it.
so here goes, happy reading :)
1) I do hundreds of crunches to burn belly fat
Sorry this one just annoys the hell out of me as no matter how many times you explain it those clients still climb back on the sit-up wagon.
Basically this just comes down to how your body works.
Are crunches and sit-ups good exercises?...yes,
Do they utilise enough calories to see body fat shift?...no
Do they specifically target body fat for any calories they do burn? ...no
Typically speaking any isolation exercise ie crunches, bicep curls, tricep extensions, are going to strengthen and tighten that area of muscle but will have no effect on the fat surrounding that muscle.
The only way to burn fat from problem areas is through large muscle group exercises, compound resistance exercises and cardiovascular training, and a clean mildly restricitve diet that in combination create a calorie defecit.
Even at this point your body will still decide gentically and hormonally where the body fat will be removed from first and last.
You can actually spot reduce specific fat store problem areas through hormonal manipulation (see a future article) but not through site specific exercise.
Myth BUSTED!
2) The more you sweat the more you lose!
This is an understandable presumption to make that the level of sweating during your workout is indicative of how hard you are working and how many calories you subsequently burn.
However, what it is important to understand is that sweating is just a homeostatic mechanism for the body to regulate temperature.
Homeostasis is just the process of the body keeping all its systems at a consistent level.
So when we get overly hot, in extreme climates or when running on a treadmill the body excretes fluid (sweat) to allow cooling of the blood as the sweat evaporates of the skin.
Each persons individual control of temperature will be slightly different based on their natural physiology and current internal environment, so the amount they sweat in response to a given amount of exercise will also vary, thus the amount you are sweating is not neccessarily indicative of how hard you are working or how many calories you are burning.
people often associate this sweating with weight loss but in reality you will replace much of the water (sweat) loss when you next drink after exercise.
so throw away the sweat suits and only use your bin liners for their intended purpose (to make capes at halloween).
Myth BUSTED!
3) No Pain, No Gain,
So this is a difficult one because it comes down to your definition and understanding of pain.
the dictionary defines pain as: An unpleasant sensation occurring in varying degrees of severity as a consequence of injury, disease, or emotional disorder.
so this would suggest that all pain is related to injury, disease or emotion. In which case you would be well advised to avoid anything painful at any level so the no pain no gain phrase would definately contradict this meaning.
However in the field of exercise and sport that definition of pain may need extra clarity.
Pain in exercise may be described as the uncomfortable burning sensation of a muscle performing hard work, for example most people that have performed any significant weight or resistance training will have experienced the burning sensation as you near the end of a training set.
I feel that in this instance yes, potentially, as long as you have trained progressively up to this point and use safe overload principles, then no pain no gain gives a generically acceptable statement that just confirms that you get out what you put in to your exercise program.
However pain that is more sharp than burn, or pain that arises in a non related area of the body to the movement occurring is definately not applicable to the no pain no gain mantra so please do get any of these pains checked out by a physiotherapist or a corrective exercise specialist.
Myth: Inconclusive depending on your definition of pain.
Thanks for reading,
stay healthy and happy,
Nathan
Friday, 5 March 2010
Are you running before you can walk?
As a personal trainer and fitness coach, I have often experienced people's desires to try the latest and greatst exercise, that they have typically seen in magazines, that claim to be the next best thing to get a 6 pack or lose the love handles or bingo wings.
Whatever your reasons for starting an exercise program it's vitally important to follow a progressive plan based on where you are now and where you want to be.
Don't run before you can walk!
So the point of this article is to give you a guide to the progressions you should be making to ensure your exercise program is safe and effective.
To get the best from your body you would be well advised to follow the following continuum....
Mobilise, Stabilise, & Strengthen.
1) Mobilise
Too often when people embark on a new exercise regime they jump feet first into energetic cardio routines or lively classes without first having a trained professional examine what their body is capable of.
Your first point of call should be a postural and movement analysis (often referred to as kinetic chain analysis) that allows you to understand which of the muscles in your body are tight, long, weak, strong, inhibited or facilitated.
Because of our current society's tendancy to be seated (in the office, the car the couch) many of us will exhibit tight facilitated musculature that pulls our posture out of position.
Once you understand which of the muscles in your body are tight you can target them specifically as part of a flexibility plan specific to your body... rather than the typical finsh a session stretch your hamstrings and go philosophy of most training sessions.
Ask yourself the question... why do you stretch the muscles you currently stretch?
So why is this important?
If you start to perform even simple movement patterns such as cycling and cross training at the gym, without mobilising or stretching/releasing tight musculature you are putting yourself at risk of injury and potentially making current postural deviations worse.
For example anyone with an office job would be well advised to avoid cycling or any seated exercise unless they have a specific hip flexor lengthening plan.
Find a good trainer, get assessed, then start to re-balance your muscles for a body that moves more naturally, burns more calories and stays injury free.
2) Stabilise:
great so we can now build mobility into our program to protect the joints and muscles what's next?
Stabilisation of the joints within the body is our next step to true strength and fitness.
Before we can start to add any true strength work into our program the joints and supporting structures must be stable through their natural ranges of motion.
Using static strengthening, or isometric exercise, we can create basic strength around a joint whilst ensuring perfect postural position and exercise technique.
An example of this would be a supported squat position. Instead of a dynamic squat that has high potential for movement error and compensation we would move into a squat position and take the time to analyse and correct our position for perfect practice...as practice makes consistent! You could use a friend, a mirror, or a trainer to look at your position and give you verbal and physical feedback to improve your position.
These static positions allow you to learn how a position should feel, how the muscles and joints feel in the correct allignment, so that when we introduce movement you know instinctively that you are achieving the desired action.
This is particularly essential for core exercise.
Often people rush into crunches and sit-ups as they presume they are the best exercise for the abdominals as their PE teacher or football coach always insisted on them, when really the abdominals are designed for stabilisation of the spine.
Exercises such as the plank, abdominal hollowing, pelvic bridges and supermen will all provide a more effective stabilisation training effect that supports the spine and reduces the chance of injury or chronic pain through exercise and daily activites.
It is important too to not neglect the stabilsers of the shoulder, the rotator cuff muscles which must be strengthened prior to large muscle exercises like the chest/bench press, shoulder press, lat pull down etc.
3) Strengthen:
Now that we have rebalanced the tightness/weakness in our muscles and addressed the need for stabilisation of the bodies joint structures we can begin to strengthen the major muscle groups of the body.
First we will need to build strength endurance, this allows the neuromuscular pathways to develop correctly so that what our brain thinks...the muscles do, and prepares the ligaments and tendons of the joints and muscles for harder work in the next stage.
Typically this involves comfortable weights or bodyweight exercises that we can perform in the 15-20 repetition range.
After 4-6 weeks of this progressive endurance program we can the add a greater strength element. Increasing the weight now to a level where you can only perform 6-10 repetitions with good technique. Again perform this progressively for 4-6 weeks and then alternate these cycles throughout the year.
So there you go people, a generic guide to the progressions you should be making through the initial 6 months to a year of your fitness program to ensure a balanced strong body.
There is more to learn with regards training for specific outcomes so look out for future articles but until then,
Stay healthy and happy,
Nathan
www.nathanlee-pt.com
Whatever your reasons for starting an exercise program it's vitally important to follow a progressive plan based on where you are now and where you want to be.
Don't run before you can walk!
So the point of this article is to give you a guide to the progressions you should be making to ensure your exercise program is safe and effective.
To get the best from your body you would be well advised to follow the following continuum....
Mobilise, Stabilise, & Strengthen.
1) Mobilise
Too often when people embark on a new exercise regime they jump feet first into energetic cardio routines or lively classes without first having a trained professional examine what their body is capable of.
Your first point of call should be a postural and movement analysis (often referred to as kinetic chain analysis) that allows you to understand which of the muscles in your body are tight, long, weak, strong, inhibited or facilitated.
Because of our current society's tendancy to be seated (in the office, the car the couch) many of us will exhibit tight facilitated musculature that pulls our posture out of position.
Once you understand which of the muscles in your body are tight you can target them specifically as part of a flexibility plan specific to your body... rather than the typical finsh a session stretch your hamstrings and go philosophy of most training sessions.
Ask yourself the question... why do you stretch the muscles you currently stretch?
So why is this important?
If you start to perform even simple movement patterns such as cycling and cross training at the gym, without mobilising or stretching/releasing tight musculature you are putting yourself at risk of injury and potentially making current postural deviations worse.
For example anyone with an office job would be well advised to avoid cycling or any seated exercise unless they have a specific hip flexor lengthening plan.
Find a good trainer, get assessed, then start to re-balance your muscles for a body that moves more naturally, burns more calories and stays injury free.
2) Stabilise:
great so we can now build mobility into our program to protect the joints and muscles what's next?
Stabilisation of the joints within the body is our next step to true strength and fitness.
Before we can start to add any true strength work into our program the joints and supporting structures must be stable through their natural ranges of motion.
Using static strengthening, or isometric exercise, we can create basic strength around a joint whilst ensuring perfect postural position and exercise technique.
An example of this would be a supported squat position. Instead of a dynamic squat that has high potential for movement error and compensation we would move into a squat position and take the time to analyse and correct our position for perfect practice...as practice makes consistent! You could use a friend, a mirror, or a trainer to look at your position and give you verbal and physical feedback to improve your position.
These static positions allow you to learn how a position should feel, how the muscles and joints feel in the correct allignment, so that when we introduce movement you know instinctively that you are achieving the desired action.
This is particularly essential for core exercise.
Often people rush into crunches and sit-ups as they presume they are the best exercise for the abdominals as their PE teacher or football coach always insisted on them, when really the abdominals are designed for stabilisation of the spine.
Exercises such as the plank, abdominal hollowing, pelvic bridges and supermen will all provide a more effective stabilisation training effect that supports the spine and reduces the chance of injury or chronic pain through exercise and daily activites.
It is important too to not neglect the stabilsers of the shoulder, the rotator cuff muscles which must be strengthened prior to large muscle exercises like the chest/bench press, shoulder press, lat pull down etc.
3) Strengthen:
Now that we have rebalanced the tightness/weakness in our muscles and addressed the need for stabilisation of the bodies joint structures we can begin to strengthen the major muscle groups of the body.
First we will need to build strength endurance, this allows the neuromuscular pathways to develop correctly so that what our brain thinks...the muscles do, and prepares the ligaments and tendons of the joints and muscles for harder work in the next stage.
Typically this involves comfortable weights or bodyweight exercises that we can perform in the 15-20 repetition range.
After 4-6 weeks of this progressive endurance program we can the add a greater strength element. Increasing the weight now to a level where you can only perform 6-10 repetitions with good technique. Again perform this progressively for 4-6 weeks and then alternate these cycles throughout the year.
So there you go people, a generic guide to the progressions you should be making through the initial 6 months to a year of your fitness program to ensure a balanced strong body.
There is more to learn with regards training for specific outcomes so look out for future articles but until then,
Stay healthy and happy,
Nathan
www.nathanlee-pt.com
Saturday, 2 January 2010
Strike a pose! Make 2010 the year you improve your posture
Hey guys,
Happy new year :)
Posture probably isn't the hot topic everyone is thinking of at this time of year because it's not a fat burner is it?
That's what we all want after new year right...the latest greatest way of burning off the excesses of the festive period?
So changing how you sit, stand and move...that surely can't effect fat loss?
WRONG!
Granted if we take a narrow view of the acute variables then sitting that bit taller or standing without restriction isn't going to burn as many calories as say a 20 minute burst of interval training.
However, lets take that 20 minute interval training session as an example. If you wanted to maximise fatloss your higher intensity running, rowing or cross training speed wants to be as high as possible.
So what affects this speed and ability to maintain this speed?
Efficiency!
The more efficient your movement, the faster you will be able to perform, the longer you will be able to perform and therefore the more calories you will burn within any given session.
So how can you improve efficiency?
Through posture!
Posture doesn't just refer to whether we sit tall or slouch, there's far more to it. It refers to the balance between our joints and muscles within the musculoskeletal system.
The balance of these muscles and joints are refered to as the kinetic chain. If any part of the chain is unbalanced it has a knock on effect throughout the rest of the body leading to reduced mechanical efficiency...or put simply you just dont move as well as you should.
Ok, so we know that posture is important but what affects posture and how do we know if ours isn't as good as it should be?
The biggest affect on posture is your daily routine. The way you get in and out of the car, the way you sit at your desk, even the way you sleep. All of these things will affect the balance of your muscles and the stability/mobility of your joints.
For example, compared to even 10-15 years ago we are spending more time in a seated position. In a seated position the muscles across the the front of the hips, the hip flexors, are in a shortened position. Over time this adaptive shortening becomes permanent. Now when we are in a standing position our pelvis tilts forward causing instabilty and inefficiency of movement.
To see if this may be the case for you, look at how your belt sits. If the front of your beltline sits lower than the back there is a good chance that your pelvis is unecessarily tilted forward.
This is going to hinder movement and thus reduce our ability to burn fat through exercise, but in the grander scheme of things this is one contributing factor to low back pain...which IS guaranteed to put a halt in your exercise based fat burning.
So what can you do?
Without being able to assess your posture like I can with my personal training clients I can't give you individual guidance, however the following should help :)
- take a break: if you are in the same seated position every day at work, home or in the car, get up and move. Moving once an hour even to walk around the office will relax the muscles around the pelvis reducing the likelyhood of inbalances developing.
- stretch: often people will stretch after workouts as they have read that it's good for you. It is, but you should only be stretching muscles that are tight (see a good trainer to find out)! Again with much of our daily work in front of us, typing for example, our shoulders fall forward creating tightness in the pectoral (chest) muscles. So when you get up from that chair make sure to open out the arms, draw the shoulders back and relax the chest.
- set a reminder: it could be an alarm on your phone or a visual cue on your computer screen that reminds you to sit with good posture but whatever it takes make sure you have something that reminds you to sit naturally tall.
Ok guys it's over to you now, make the most of your posture and you will make the most of your exercise for fat burning whatever form it takes whilst also reducing your chances of musculoskeletal injuries.
to your health and happiness,
Nathan
Happy new year :)
Posture probably isn't the hot topic everyone is thinking of at this time of year because it's not a fat burner is it?
That's what we all want after new year right...the latest greatest way of burning off the excesses of the festive period?
So changing how you sit, stand and move...that surely can't effect fat loss?
WRONG!
Granted if we take a narrow view of the acute variables then sitting that bit taller or standing without restriction isn't going to burn as many calories as say a 20 minute burst of interval training.
However, lets take that 20 minute interval training session as an example. If you wanted to maximise fatloss your higher intensity running, rowing or cross training speed wants to be as high as possible.
So what affects this speed and ability to maintain this speed?
Efficiency!
The more efficient your movement, the faster you will be able to perform, the longer you will be able to perform and therefore the more calories you will burn within any given session.
So how can you improve efficiency?
Through posture!
Posture doesn't just refer to whether we sit tall or slouch, there's far more to it. It refers to the balance between our joints and muscles within the musculoskeletal system.
The balance of these muscles and joints are refered to as the kinetic chain. If any part of the chain is unbalanced it has a knock on effect throughout the rest of the body leading to reduced mechanical efficiency...or put simply you just dont move as well as you should.
Ok, so we know that posture is important but what affects posture and how do we know if ours isn't as good as it should be?
The biggest affect on posture is your daily routine. The way you get in and out of the car, the way you sit at your desk, even the way you sleep. All of these things will affect the balance of your muscles and the stability/mobility of your joints.
For example, compared to even 10-15 years ago we are spending more time in a seated position. In a seated position the muscles across the the front of the hips, the hip flexors, are in a shortened position. Over time this adaptive shortening becomes permanent. Now when we are in a standing position our pelvis tilts forward causing instabilty and inefficiency of movement.
To see if this may be the case for you, look at how your belt sits. If the front of your beltline sits lower than the back there is a good chance that your pelvis is unecessarily tilted forward.
This is going to hinder movement and thus reduce our ability to burn fat through exercise, but in the grander scheme of things this is one contributing factor to low back pain...which IS guaranteed to put a halt in your exercise based fat burning.
So what can you do?
Without being able to assess your posture like I can with my personal training clients I can't give you individual guidance, however the following should help :)
- take a break: if you are in the same seated position every day at work, home or in the car, get up and move. Moving once an hour even to walk around the office will relax the muscles around the pelvis reducing the likelyhood of inbalances developing.
- stretch: often people will stretch after workouts as they have read that it's good for you. It is, but you should only be stretching muscles that are tight (see a good trainer to find out)! Again with much of our daily work in front of us, typing for example, our shoulders fall forward creating tightness in the pectoral (chest) muscles. So when you get up from that chair make sure to open out the arms, draw the shoulders back and relax the chest.
- set a reminder: it could be an alarm on your phone or a visual cue on your computer screen that reminds you to sit with good posture but whatever it takes make sure you have something that reminds you to sit naturally tall.
Ok guys it's over to you now, make the most of your posture and you will make the most of your exercise for fat burning whatever form it takes whilst also reducing your chances of musculoskeletal injuries.
to your health and happiness,
Nathan
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