Health Habits

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Archive for the ‘Re-hab / Pre-hab’ category

Post Workout Recovery Techniques

January 5th, 2010

You’ve just finished another gruelling workout.

Now what?

If you’re like Tiger, you’re going to stagger into the change-room, grab a quick shower and head off to the nearest Hooters.

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And like Tiger, you would be WRONG

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When it comes to getting fit/healthy/buff/ripped/sexy/etc, your workouts are only half the equation.

The other half of the equation is Workout Recovery.

And because I love you guys so darn much, here are my top Post-Workout Recovery Techniques.

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Post-Workout Carb/Protein Shake
Hot/Cold Contrast Showers
Fish Oils
Meditation / Sleep
Epsom Salt Baths
Ice
Massage
TENS
Chiropractic / Acupuncture
Traumeel

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Post-Workout Carb/Protein Shake

I have talked about this technique before. Simply put, it’s a no-brainer.

Post workout and your muscles are screaming for nutrients.

Ignore that message and your workout recovery goes into slo-mo.

Heed the message and the repair goes into overdrive.

More info here.

Hot/Cold Contrast Showers

Alternate between 30 seconds of cold water and two minutes of hot water. Perform this shrinkage inducing protocol three or four times.

While most of the claims about this recovery technique are anecdotal, there is some research showing that alternating hot/cold showers post-exercise is effective in lowering both heart rate and the levels of lactate in your blood.

Anecdotally, contrast showers have been said to improve athletic recovery via increased blood flow and possible nutrient and waste product elimination (lactate). There may also be a psychological benefit and an increased feeling of alertness and fatigue reduction.

In my personal experience, contrast showers help reduce my post-workout DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) as well as perk me up for the rest of my day.

Fish Oils

Your workouts cause inflammation.

Localized inflammation in joints and muscles. Systemic inflammation throughout your body.

Fish oils are a great, natural, anti-inflammatory.

Add some to your post-workout shake. If you already have issues with chronic inflammation, you may want to consider adding some Turmeric/Curcumin or Zyflamend into the mix.

Meditation / Sleep

High intensity workouts can be tough on the CNS (central nervous system)

And while there are lots of supplements (natural adaptogens & pharmaceutical agents) out there that claim to help repair & restore the CNS, I don’t feel comfortable recommending any of them.

However, I am willing to push meditation & sleep as the two best CNS treatments ever invented.

Sleep – You probably don’t sleep enough already. Add in a tough workout routine and you’re looking for trouble. Get your 7-8 hrs.

Meditation – There are lots of ways to meditate. There are crunchy-granola yoga meditative techniques. There are medical based mindfulness meditation programs. Praying is a form of meditation. There are even mp3s you can buy that claim to help sync your brainwaves into the pattern best suited for meditation. But the simplest method may be to just sit or lie down, put your hands on your belly and focus as your breath flows in and out.

Epsom Salt Baths

Epsom Salts (magnesium sulfate) are another anti-inflammatory agent.

When added to a nice hot bath, they are absorbed through the skin and helps reduce muscular pain and general “achiness”. It also helps increase your levels of magnesium and may help reduce water retention.

Ice Massage

The benefits of ice massage are questionable at best. But, I know a lot of athletes who swear by it, so I figured it best to include it in this review.

Most of the pro-Ice Massage evidence is anecdotal. The main claim is that ice massage is an effective method for reducing localized inflammation and reducing the symptoms of DOMS.

However, the clinical research doesn’t agree. In fact, some researchers feel that ice massage should be contraindicated when it comes to preventing post-exercise DOMS.

So, I leave the decision up to you.

Personally, I will skip the post-workout ice massage. If you need more info, click here.

Therapeutic Massage

There are many different types of massage.

Medical research has shown that the benefits of massage include pain relief, reduced levels of anxiety and depression, and temporarily reduced blood pressure, heart rate, and state anxiety.

Plus, it just feels gooooood.

Get a massage every month or so. Your body will thank you.

TENS

TENS is a non-invasive, medically tested, safe nerve stimulation intended to reduce pain, both acute and chronic.

It’s also the subject of cheesy late night infomercials.

And that’s too bad. Because, in my experience, TENS is a great little tool for reducing muscular pain.

I bought a unit two years ago after a car accident screwed up my neck, back, shoulder & knee. It wasn’t my only treatment modality, but it was convenient, effective and relatively cheap.

For post-workout pain, a TENS unit is probably overkill. But, for those older trainees who have a few chronic aches and pains, a TENS unit might be worth it’s weight in gold.

Chiropractic / Acupuncture

I group these two treatment modalities together because my chiropractor is also an acupuncturist and soft-tissue therapist. I don’t get one without the other.

I go every two months and Sheldon works out the kinks that I have managed to create.

When I over-do the chin-ups and my bad shoulder acts up a little, Sheldon breaks out the acupuncture needles, re-adjusts the bones and does a little (excruciating) muscle stripping.

45 minutes later and I am a new man.

As you can see, I can’t say enough about it.

Traumeel

Traumeel is a homeopathic anti-inflammatory.

And, according to researchers, it works better than NSAIDS at reducing chronic inflammatory conditions as well as systemic inflammation caused by exercise.

Plus, you get none of the unpleasant side-effects associated with NSAIDS.

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Well, there you go. There’s my list of Post Workout Recovery Techniques.

Feel free to comment if you think I have missed something or if you disagree with one of my choices.

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Is There A Link Between Exercise and Arthritis?

November 30th, 2009

knee pain joint According to a study being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, “Middle-aged men and women who engage in high levels of physical activity may be unknowingly causing damage to their knees and increasing their risk for osteoarthritis”.

“Our data suggest that people with higher physical activity levels may be at greater risk for developing knee abnormalities and, thus, at higher risk for developing osteoarthritis.”

And in case you didn’t know…Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that causes pain, swelling and stiffness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and affects approximately 10% of the American population.

The Study

The study involved 236 asymptomatic participants who had not reported previous knee pain – (136 women and 100 men, age 45 to 55, all within a healthy weight range.)

The participants were separated into low-, middle-, and high-activity groups based on their responses to the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) questionnaire. PASE is a standard test that scores an older individual’s physical activity level, based on the type of activity and the time spent doing it.

Then came the MRIs.

Radiologists scanned the knees of the test subjects and compared their findings to the levels of physical activity as determined by the PASE questionnaire.

Sadly, the MRI analysis indicated a relationship between physical activity levels and frequency and severity of knee damage.

The Details

Specific knee abnormalities identified included meniscal lesions, cartilage lesions, bone marrow edema and ligament lesions. Abnormalities were associated solely with activity levels and were not age or gender specific.

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The prevalence of the knee abnormalities increased with the level of physical activity.

In addition, cartilage defects diagnosed in active people were more severe.

The findings also indicated that some activities carry a greater risk of knee damage over time.

“This study and previous studies by our group suggest that high-impact, weight-bearing physical activity, such as running and jumping, may be worse for cartilage health.”

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“Conversely, low-impact activities, such as swimming and cycling, may protect diseased cartilage and prevent healthy cartilage from developing disease.”

Their Conclusion

The researchers concluded that there is a need for prospective studies to evaluate the influence of low-impact versus high-impact physical activity on disease progression.

My Conclusion(s)

Our bodies wear down with use. This should not come as a surprise to anyone 40+ years of age. Odds are there are lots of things that you can’t do that you could do in your teens or twenties. (see Viagra)
With age comes wisdom. Or at least it’s supposed to. As a kid, I never included a warm-up into my workout. Nothing hurt, so why would I warm-up? Today, if I skip the warm-up, things hurt.
Additionally, since I have become a slightly-older, slightly wiser version of myself, I have eliminated or modified the types of exercise that cause me pain – long distance running, 1 leg pistol squats, football, various weightlifting exercises, high intensity plyometric jumps, etc…

And with these modifications, I eliminated the nagging knee & shoulder pains that had begun to crop up.

My Other Conclusion(s)

No exercise is perfect for every person. Swimmers often suffer with shoulder pain. Cyclists often develop muscle imbalances due to their posture while cycling. Yoginis suffer joint injuries.
The body you have today is different from the body you had 20 years ago. Treat it as such.
Your body is different from my body. What works for me might not work as well for you.
Your body will tell you what is best for it. If your knees swell up after going for a long jog…maybe you shouldn’t go for a long jog. If your shoulders hurt after a set of overhead presses, maybe you should find a way to modify or replace that exercise.

There is a difference between high intensity exercises performed properly & high intensity exercises performed improperly.
Before giving up on “high intensity” exercises that require running & jumping, see if you can find a better way to do them. Try to modify before you eliminate.
Look at correcting postural imbalances that may lead to injuries
Consider purchasing rehabilitation equipment designed to prevent injuries

and most importantly, remember this…

You would rather visit an orthopedist than a cardiologist……so get off your butt and get some exercise.

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Fitness Equipment Deathmatch #1

November 13th, 2009

In the tradition of my Nutrition Deathmatches #1 and #2, today’s post compares and contrasts two different pieces of fitness equipment.

First up, the Wellness Belt

To be completely honest, I had never heard of the Wellness Belt until this morning when I heard a commercial for this product while listening to a radio station marketed towards Zoomers.

I could not believe what I was hearing.

According to the commercial, the Wellness Belt is the health breakthrough that every soon to be senior citizen has been waiting for.

Simply by wearing the ultra-fashionable Wellness Belt throughout your day to day activities, you will experience:

Effortless Weight Loss
The Elimination of Back Pain
A Reversal of Osteoporosis
Improved cardio-vascular fitness, a reduction in cholesterol, high blood pressure and a lowered risk of heart attack
Improved posture, reduced back pain, less intense headaches and migraines, increased neck range of motion and elimination of menstrual cramping. People with scoliosis have reported reduced tightness in the spine.
Increased free time as you never have to exercise ever again

Sounds great!!!

How do I get one?

Well, I’ll tell you.

For a limited time, you can save $30 off the regular price!!!

That’s right. For just $167.97 +s/h & applicable taxes, you too can own your very own Wellness Belt.

OR for less money, I can buy a set of 6 indestructible exercise bands and a single kettlebell.

With this equipment, I can expect to experience:

Actual Fat Loss
Increased Muscle Mass
Increased Strength
Increased Anaerobic Endurance
Improved Body Image
Improved Sex Appeal
An Improvement in many types of Pain (back, head, neck) caused by Muscular Imbalances
A Potential Improvement in Osteoporosis due to increased Osteoblast production caused by longitudinal loading of the long bones of the body.
Improved Cardio-Vascular Fitness
Increased pride as I know that I earned my new and improved body.

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What to do, what to do?

On one hand, I have a product that requires no effort, is unlikely to do anything useful and is only being purchased by the self-deluded and extremely dim-witted.

On the other hand, I have a set of products that are going to require time, effort and buckets of sweat. But in return, I am pretty sure to transform my body into something I can be proud of.

Darn it, I cant decide.

What do you think?

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Resistance Stretching

October 28th, 2009

In yesterday’s post, I introduced you to microStretching.

Today, it’s Resistance Stretching….made famous by 40-something Olympic and World champion Dara Torres.

In 2008, Resistance Stretching was Dara’s secret weapon at the Olympic Games in Beijing where she won three silver medals, broke her own personal best time in the 50m freestyle (trailing the gold medalist by 1/100th of a second) and became the oldest Olympic swimming medalist in history.

Dara’s success as an older athlete is what got me interested in Resistance Stretching (RS).

So, I contacted Dara’s RS gurus Steve Sierra and Anne Tierney and grilled them with questions.

Here is some of what they had to say…

What is Resistance Stretching?

Resistance Stretching is based on the theories that:

The stretching effect occurs during the entire movement of the muscle while it is being contracted, not just at the end point of the stretch…unlike traditional static stretching.
A muscle must contract while elongating for a true stretch. Stretching a muscle without contracting produces a false range of motion known as substitution, and ultimately results in over-stretching and injury.
Repetitions are necessary for gains in flexibility, just as repetitions are necessary for gains in strength during strength training.

How do I do it?

Resistance Stretching can be performed alone using self-stretches or with other person(s) using assisted stretching techniques.

Dara relied on assisted stretching to prepare her body for the Olympics.

Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Unfortunately, you and I will most likely not have access to a team of trained Resistance Stretchers.

But don’t fret, my clients and I have had great success using the standard self-stretches as well as the variations that I MacGyvered on my own.

This video outlines some of the basic self-stretches.

Where you go from here is up to you.

Once you understand the basic concept of Resistance Stretching, you are only limited by your imagination. I am constantly coming up with new stretching variations.

Just follow these ffive steps

Identify the muscle or muscle group that you want to stretch
Start by flexing or shortening that muscle
Tense the muscle
Start stretching the muscle while simultaneously resisting the stretch
Repeat

In a future post, I will provide videos of some of my favorite stretches. I just need to bribe one of my clients to let me record them and put it on the blog.

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13 Training Mistakes You Need to Avoid

August 4th, 2009

Fitness training isn’t rocket science.

Good training & nutrition decisions produce good results.

Poor training & nutrition decisions produce poor results.

So, how come when I go to the gym this afternoon, I can pretty much guarantee that I am going to see a lot of intelligent, well-educated, gainfully employed people making some pretty stupid training decisions?

Maybe fitness training is rocket science?

Maybe I am some sort of fitness training genius.

So, as a public service to all of the non-fitness-training genii out there, here is a list of some of the training mistakes I will probably see at the gym today.

Try and avoid them.

Doing Cardio Training before Resistance Training
Doing Static Stretching before Resistance Training
Training Core before Legs
Chugging a Gatorade while reading a book on the Exercise Bike
Thinking that the Inner Thigh (Adductor) Machine is going to work some sort of magic.
Ignoring your Weaknesses and over-training your Strengths
Believing that Core Training is all about Crunches & Planks
Training Body Parts instead of Body Movements
Believing that you can Out-Train a Bad Diet
Making chronic neck & shoulder pain worse by ignoring your postural muscles
Thinking that Resistance Training will make you too big
Thinking that Cardio training will make you too small
Performing a one size fits all type of fitness program

And if you see yourself on the list and want to change your evil ways, feel free to comment.

I or one of your fellow readers would be glad to lend a hand.

Addendum

I just received an email from a quasi-famous strength coach/trainer to the stars telling me that I was an idiot for believing that cardio prior to resistance training is a bad idea.

Personally, I can’t believe that he took the time out of his day to tell me off via email (wouldn’t a comment have been quicker?) but I would like to thank him because it helped me come up with another fitness training mistake:

Dogma

Believing that one way of training is the 100% right and that all other methods are 100% wrong.

Whether it’s hardcore cardio junkies or Crosfitters or bodybuilders of Yoginis, being close minded to different training methods seems prety stupid to me.

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Swine Flu, Factory Farms and your Immune System

April 27th, 2009

As I write this article,

the EU is telling all Europeans to avoid travelling to Mexico and the U.S.
the U.S. thinks that the EU is overreacting, but is getting ready to issue their own travel warning for Mexico
stock markets around the world have caught an economic form of swine flu
and in my hometown of Toronto, people are remembering the SARS outbreak of 2003

Obviously, we are all a little concerned by this potential swine flu pandemic – some more than others.

But, before you head out to buy your own Hazmat suit, let’s take a look at what swine flu is, how the outbreak happened, how you catch it, what happens if you catch and how you can avoid getting sick.

What is Swine Flu?

Dr. Joe Bresee with the CDC Influenza Division describes swine flu

How did the Mexican Swine Flu outbreak happen

According to Mexico’s Health Minister, Jose Angel Cordova, the virus “mutated from pigs, and then at some point was transmitted to humans.

Pigs are nature’s notorious “mixing bowls” for inter-species infections, and many swine flu viruses have long contained human influenza genetic components.

This situation may have been made worse by Mexico’s shift from small, local pig farms to gigantic factory style pig farms. Most of those farms are owned by U.S. hog conglomerates who have moved to Mexico in order to take advantage of the lower labor costs.

For years, leading scientists around the world have worried that large-scale, indoor swine “factories” would become breeding grounds for new pathogens that could more easily infect humans and then spread out rapidly in the general population – threatening to become a global pandemic.

How do we avoid catching Swine Flu?

According to the CDC, spread of this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is thought to be happening in the same way that seasonal flu spreads.

Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

So, if you don’t want to get sick:

Wash your hands.

Try to stay in good general health.

Get plenty of sleep

Be physically active

Manage your stress

Drink plenty of fluids

Eat nutritious food.

Try not touch surfaces that may be contaminated with the flu virus.

Avoid close contact with people who are sick

Sounds like common sense to me.

Avoid people or places where the virus is rampant – i.e cancel that trip to Cancun
Assume that you will probably run into the virus at some point. Because of that, you need to wash your hands and avoid picking your nose.
And even if you do all of that hand washing, you have to figure that some jerk on the bus is going to sneeze swine flu all over everybody else in the coming days. because of that, you want to keep your immune system as strong as possible.

And while I can’t help you with the hand washing, all it takes is a trip through my archives to find lots of ways to strengthen your immune system.But for those of you short on time, here is an introduction to immune strengthening:

Exercise every day – cardio, resistance training, yoga, walking, dancing, etc…
Eat real food
Drink water
Unplug from the world for at least 15 minutes each day – meditate, pray, watch a sunset…
Stop watching Letterman and go to sleep at a decent hour

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way too scared about Swine Flu

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References

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Posted in Diet/Nutrition, Exercise, fat loss, fitness - posture, health, nutrition

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A Better "Best Life" Weight Loss Plan

January 8th, 2009

In yesterday’s post, I rambled on and on about Oprah’s “Best Life” weight loss plan.

And what I found most unique about her new weight loss plan was her focus on how our emotions and thoughts impact our relationship with food.

While I and others have written about this before, somehow I think that Oprah’s opinion carries just a little bit more weight with America’s obese.

In fact, because of Oprah’s influence, I predict that the next big wave of popular diet books/programs will all include some form of psychological/emotional/spiritual philosophy.

And this could be a good thing…or it could be just another gimmick to sell books and supplements and pills and gym memberships and…..well, you get my point.

We all know, that for most of us, losing weight is not as simple as reducing our intake by 500 calories and increasing our output by 500 calories. If it was, all of us would be lean and fit and earning extra money posing as swimsuit models.

While weight loss is easier for some of us and incredibly hard for others, we all know that it isn’t simple. There are many factors at play.

And, as a personal trainer who relies on word of mouth to earn an income, I need to figure out which of those factors are keeping my new clients from being as fit and healthy as they want to be.

If they don’t see results, my bills don’t get paid.

But, seeing as none of you are my clients and, in the spirit of everything being free on the internet, I hereby present to you, my multi-faceted, mind, body and spirit, guaranteed to work, new and improved for 2009 Health Habits Weight Loss Plan.

Enjoy.

And if you are reading this prior to January 16, could you please click here and throw me a vote for Wellsphere’s Health Blogger Award. As of today, I am sitting at #16 and I could use a little charity.

The Plan

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When it comes to losing weight, it always comes down to lifestyle.

I can give you the most effective diet and exercise plan known to man (just send $19.99 to…), but unless you are willing to address your negative lifestyle influences, you and I are wasting our time.

You might as well join a fat acceptance group and learn to embrace your inner fatty.

Your Formerly Fat Lifestyle

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To begin, I am going to break your Formerly Fat Lifestyle into 3 parts:

Physical
Mental / Emotional / Spiritual
External

Let’s start with the physical:

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Nutrition

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This may sound strange, but thanks to our Western Diet, most overweight people are actually undernourished. Overfed, but undernourished.

What do I mean by this?

I mean that the food that most of us eat doesn’t even deserve to be called food. Sure, it provides calories, but it doesn’t actually provide the nutrients that our bodies need to perform at their best.

As a result, even though our bellies may be full, our cells are screaming for more. And in their quest for more nutrients, they call on a whole bunch of hormones and brain chemicals and food-related memories to MAKE YOU EAT MORE AND MORE AND MORE.

So, one of the first things I do is to change the types of food my clients are eating. We don’t even discuss calories. For most people, improving the quality of their diet drastically reduces appetite.

Note – I will go into much more detail in future posts, but if you can’t wait, check out these archives:

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Exercise

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This may sound strange coming from a personal trainer, but up until fairly recently, human beings had no need for “exercise”. Our ancestors stayed fit through their daily activities.

But, unless you are planning to quit your desk job and take up a life of hunting and gathering, you NEED to exercise. You will never get enough exercise in your day to day life.

NEVER.

And when it comes to weight loss, not all exercise is created equal. Oprah was on the right track when she decided to cut back a little on the cardio training and replacing it with more resistance training. While cardio is vital for the health of your heart and lungs, it is a poor choice for weight loss.

Now if only we could get her to quit the bodybuilding-type program Bob has put her on. Considering her goals and her schedule, she needs to find a program that maximizes fat loss and strength and minimizes bulk and wasted time. And her current program…is at least 5 years out of date.

For most of my clients, we are trying to:

Build strength without bulk
Focus on functional strength that improves “real life” activities
Improve balance and coordination
Increase short term and long term metabolism
Improve joint mobility and muscular flexibility
Increase speed, quickness and agility, and oh yeah…
Burn a lot of calories

And like I said before, I will be going into more detail. Here are some links for the impatient:

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Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation

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At first, this topic may not seem to have much to do with a weight loss program.

But when your knee is killing you because a tight IT band has caused your patella to track laterally and grind away causing pain, inflammation and swelling, you may see the benefit of including some pre-hab / re-hab training in your weight loss program.

We are all getting older. As kids, we could abuse our bodies and count on them bouncing right back. As adults, we need to use some of that wisdom we are supposed to have been accumulating to avoid the problems before they happen.

More info to come. Here are your links:

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The Mental/Emotional/Spiritual aspects of weight loss:

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This is the part of Oprah’s new program that I found the most interesting.

Whether or not it proves to be effective, Oprah’s search for the mental/emotional/spiritual reasons behind her eating disorder is a big step forward.

click pic for Oprah's weight gain confession

And while the psychological community debates whether or not disordered eating patterns (like Oprah’s) constitute an actual psychological condition, it is obvious to those of us who struggle with obesity, that obesity and emotion go hand in hand.

So, as part of Oprah’s new weight loss program, she asked herself 5 not so simple questions:

Why are you overweight?
What are you really hungry for?
Why have you been unable to maintain weight loss in the past?
What in your life is not working?
Why do you want to lose weight?

And assuming, that she/you/me answer those questions on a deep & meaningful level, we may be able to understand or even release some of the emotional “stuff” that has been contributing to our weight gain.

Or maybe not.

While I think these 5 questions may be psychologically enlightening and a source of motivation at the start of your program, I question whether they will have any staying power. What happens in 3 months when the initial “aha” moment has worn off? How is knowing the “truth” about your weight gain going to keep you from falling off the wagon?

You need some tools to take you from enlightenment to realization.

And one of those tools could be the Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Weight Loss Program by Dr. Judith Beck.

In fact, it’s likely that some of you may already have seen this book. It’s been one of the big sellers at my local bookstore. And with good reason.

If people are excited about Oprah’s new psychological/emotional approach to weight loss, they should be overjoyed to find Dr. Beck’s program.

Next week, I will post a review of the book.

But for now, I will let Dr. Beck provide a brief description of her plan:

Most people struggle with losing weight and keeping it off because no one ever taught them how. It’s not just a matter of willpower and a healthy eating plan. To be successful, you have to learn a set of cognitive (thinking) and behavioral skills. Other weight-loss programs assume that dieters know how to keep themselves from cheating. Dr. Beck respects that dieters are human; she expects mistakes and her unique program teach dieters exactly what to do immediately following mistakes, and how to solve and prevent them in the future.

By following the Cognitive Therapy techniques dieters learn to:

think differently and overcome common dieting pitfalls and sabotaging thoughts

eat favorite foods while steadily losing weight

feel in control in the most challenging situations

feel confident in their ability to follow a healthy diet and exercise plan

remain motivated to maintain weight loss for life

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

But, to be fair, I am a little biased. While I don’t agree with every part of Dr. Beck’s program, I have, in the past few years, weaved aspects of Dr. Beck’s program into my own pseudo-psychological mind control program. And it has been very successful.

In fact, one of my clients is following Dr. Beck’s program. In the coming weeks and months, I will be reporting on his progress.

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The External Stuff

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Time Management

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So, you have the perfect nutrition plan and the perfect workout plan and your thoughts and emotions are all pointed in the perfect “let’s get ready to burn off some body-fat” direction, but…… you are swamped at work and the kids need to go to soccer practice and you just don’t have time to make it to the gym and you “had” to stop at the Golden Arches and pick up one of those new McCoronary meals.

And the next thing you know, you have gained another 10 pounds.

Let’s face it.

Your regular day to day schedule does not have any available space to add in daily exercise and meal prep and meditation and sports massage and all of those other things that you should be doing to get your body in tip top shape.

Something is going to have to go.

You need to prioritize.

You need to exercise. Cancel something else.

You need to eat real food, not grab take-out on the way home from work. Cancel something else.

You need to calm your mind…be it meditation, prayer or even a good foot massage. Cancel something else.

If Oprah can do it, so can you.

It won’t be easy.

But you need to make this commitment to your health.

And it doesn’t stop there.

There will be other roadblocks in your road to physical fitness.

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The Cost

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Each January, like lemmings, hordes of people trudge down to their neighborhood health club and fulfill their new Year’s Resolution by purchasing a brand new 1 year membership.

And 60 days later, 80% of those people are never heard from again.

Weird, huh?

But wait, it gets weirder.

We may be the worst trainers in the world, but damn, aren't we sexy?

In the past 10-15 years, the biggest money maker in the fitness industry hasn’t been those wonderful people who overestimate their desire for fitness.

It has been the personal trainer.

And boy, have they made a lot of money for the health clubs.

And boy, can they cost you a lot of money.

But, if you find a good trainer, who has a good reputation and is willing to stand behind his work, the benefit can outweigh the cost hundreds of times over.

Remember, if you are going to pay for fitness, make sure that you are paying for results…not promises.

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Social Support

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Will you be able to stick to your diet as your husband shovels another slice of greasy pizza into his pie-hole?
Will you stick to your workout schedule when your kids demand a ride over to their friends’ house?
Will you go to bed at a decent hour when your posse has just fired up the dvd player for a Quentin Tarantino movie marathon?
Or will your family support your decisions to re-gain your health?, and
Will your friends join you at the gym in a show of support?

Unless you have some sort of unshakable iron will, your friends and family will impact your weight loss success or failure.

So, you need to sit down and discuss your plans with those people in your life who might just throw a monkey wrench into your weight loss plans. Let them know that you need their help. Let them know that your health is at stake. Let them know that you love them and appreciate them and…..

Get them on board. You know them better than I do. Figure out what buttons need to be pushed and get pushing.

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Okay, that’s all for now.

In the next few weeks, I will be fleshing out the bones of this “better than Oprah’s” Your Best Life weight loss plan.

In the mean time, if you have any questions, please comment at the end of this post

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STAND UP STRAIGHT, your posture is making you look short and fat

May 28th, 2008

Ladies and gentlemen,

As this wonderful politically correct illustration demonstrates, poor posture makes women (and men…shudder) look short and fat in their leotards.

And who wants that.

Not me.

before

after

Okay, I still look like Shrek, but did you see those buns O’ steel.

Why does Poor Posture make You look Fat?

Two of the most common postural flaws are:

Anterior Pelvic Tilt

Which leads to Lordosis

Anterior Pelvic tilt & Lordosis manifests themselves as a protruding Gut and Butt.

Kyphosis

Kyphosis and a ‘forward head’ position makes you look hunched over and appear shorter.

When you put the two together, you end up with the typical North American slouched posture.

Along with the whole looking fat and short thing, you are likely to suffer from headaches, neck pain, bicep tendinitis, dry mouth, pain under the shoulder blades, mid back pain, lower back pain, lateral knee pain, torn knee ligaments, hamstring tears, plantar fasciitis and sciatica.

Yay!

This is what you should look like.

Here is a postural analysis video that should provide additional detail.

So What Do I Do About It?

The short answer is that you need to stretch some muscles:

Psoas
Iliacus
Rectus Femoris
Tensor Fascia Latae
Spinal Erectors (special care here)
Pectoralis Major
Latissimus Dorsi
Teres Major
Anterior Deltoid
Subscapularis
Upper Trapezius
Levator Scapulae
Suboccipitals
Sternocleidomastoid

and strengthen other muscles:

Rectus Abdominis
External Obliques
Glutes
Hamstrings
Mid/Lower Trapezius
Rhomboids
Pectoralis Minor

The long answer I will provide in a future post.

My Upper Trapezius and Levator Scapulae are getting tight sitting here at my desk hunting and pecking out this post.

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If you are interested in a better way to eat, click here or here or here.

Thanks.

Popularity: 5% [?]

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Posted in Exercise, Re-hab / Pre-hab, health

Tags: diet Exercise fitness health kyphosis lordosis obesity posture soft tissue strength stretch therapy weight loss

The BEST Core Exercise

May 23rd, 2008

Okay, technically they are the two best core exercises, but the Roll-out

and the Stability Ball Pike/Knee-In

are, in my opinion, the most complete core exercise combination. Period.

Here’s why

They address the two primary functions of the core musculature unlike any other movement.
They are infinitely scalable. Beginners can modify the movements to protect their lower backs while advanced athletes can perform variations that completely tax their strength, balance and co-ordination.

This is the part of the post where I discuss the science behind the exercise, so if that is not your thing, please skip ahead to the videos.

Core Function and the Roll-Out

The two main functions of the core are:

The stabilization of the spine via abdominal compression
Movement – spinal flexion, extension, rotation, tilting the pelvis

Spinal Stabilization

Physiologists often use the analogy of the human spine being like the mast of a sailing ship.

The core muscles – Transverse abdominus, Rectus abdominus, External and Internal obliques, Multifidus, Quadratus lumborum, Iliopsoas, and the Erector spinae all work together as a group to support your spine from your pelvis to your rib cage. While they all work as a team, the Transverse abdominus is the key player.

While there is great debate about the best way to train the Transverse Abdominis (T.A.), there is a general consensus that any movement where you are forced to tighten you core against the demands of gravity or an outside source WILL be effective to develop the T.A.

One of the most popular T.A. dominant exercises is the bridge or plank.

The Roll-out and the Stability Ball Pike/Knee-In provide the same benefit as the bridge, but with the added benefit of being a dynamic, rather than static movement.

Core/Spinal Movement

Spinal Flexion is controlled mainly by the Rectus abdominus and the Iliopsoas. The most popular Spinal Flexion exercises are the crunch and reverse crunch.

The Roll-out produces the same movement as the crunch with the added benefit of spinal stabilization.

The Stability Ball Pike/Knee-In gives you the same benefits as the reverse crunch with the added stabilization.

Spinal Extension is controlled mainly by the Erector spinae and the Multifidus muscles. Spinal extension training is generally addressed by posterior chain movements like deadlifts, good mornings and bodyweight hip extension movements. As such, this section of the “core” will be omitted from this post.

Lateral Flexion is controlled mainly by the External and Internal obliques. Lateral flexion is usually trained by some form of side bends.

Rotation is controlled mainly by the Obliques, Multifidus and the Erector spinae. Spinal rotation exercises have been the flavor of the month for a little while now. One of the most popular is the wood chop.

You will have to forgive my lack of video (my digital recorder was stolen, hence the youtube videos), but if you can imagine, performing the Roll-out moving at various angles will give you an intense lateral flexion movement combined with forward flexion and stabilization.

With the Stability Ball Pike/Knee-In, you can combine spinal flexion and stabilization with lateral flexion and rotation by rotating and twisting the hips as you move the stability ball back and forth.

Scaleability

As you have seen in the accompanying videos, there are various ways to perform the Roll-out and the Stability Ball Pike/Knee-In.

With the Roll-outs, beginners could start on their knees with a stability balls. Increase the difficulty by moving their arms further away from their body. Graduate to the ab wheel, then a loaded barbell. Stretch tubing can be attached to the ab wheel in order to help you back to the starting position.

The variations are as endless as your imagination.

In a future post, I will v-blog a variety of different variations.

Conclusion

As I said at the outset, the Roll-out and the Stability Ball Pike/Knee-In are the best core exercises. I hope that I may have converted a few of the ab crunchers out there.

Give them a try.

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates or Share this Post with the rest of the world.

If you are interested in a better way to eat, click here or here or here.

Thanks.

Popularity: 5% [?]

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Posted in Exercise, Re-hab / Pre-hab, fitness - posture, health, working out

Tags: abs core Exercise fitness health strength working out

Welcome to Health Habits

May 21st, 2008

Drawn by Leonardo da Vinci in 1487, the Vitruvian Man was intended to represent the ideal human proportions.

In modern times, he has come to represent the overall embodiment of health. Additionally, the image has become part of pop culture and is also used by medical corporations and associations worldwide as a symbol of medical professionalism.

At Health habits, the Vitruvian Man serves as a physical embodiment of health and vitality. An image that modern man has forfeited at the alter of fast food and convienience.