Your Best Body Ever

1 Oct 2009
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Gym Equipment Roundup…The Stairclimber/ Stair Master/Step Machine

Ah, the stairclimber. Chances are you have at least one at your gym, most do. There’s an even greater chance that you’ve passed it by on your way to something a little less stressful looking, like the elliptical machine or the recumbent bike. I know my clients at any of the Diversifed Health and Fitness gyms I train at look at me in complete horror when I drag them over to this torturous looking device. Some would probably have wild pigs chasing them than climb on it for 15 minutes.

I know, I get it. Climbing stairs is not that much fun, especially when they’re not “real” stairs and you’re not going…anywhere. But the benefits of this machine should not be overlooked – and if you’re looking to step up your fitness level (sorry, no pun intended!) and are getting bored with your other typical gym machines, it’s worth a try.

Most stairclimbers are the stepper variety, where there are two plates that you stand on and alternate your legs, pressing down on one plate while being lifted up on the other. The other variety is the rolling staircase kind, which definitely takes a little bit of practice on a slow speed when you first get on it.

Stairclimbers are great because they can really burn some serious calories! An average 150 pound woman can burn 408 calories an hour. It’s also a great way to get low impact exercise, which can be great if your having some knee problems or other injuries.

It’s important to maintain proper form on this machine, to prevent back injuries. First of all, choose a comfortable stepping pace. Also, don’t lean on the machine for support, which can throw your body out of alignment. You should have your hands rested gently on the handrails and use them to provide balance, nothing else. If you find yourself draped on the handrails, slow down or take a break from the machine for a bit. It’s better to do this exercise right than wrong.

Correct body positioning for this machine is standing tall, with your feet around hip distance apart. After a short warm up, you should start your workout at a lower speed and gradually build up to a quicker one once your body adjusts. You can also change the settings on the machine to different types of workouts.

In addition to getting a great cardio workout, the machine can really tone up your buttocks, legs, and calves. Your abs and lower back can also get a good workout, if you’re standing up straight as you’re supposed to.

As I reminded some clients at Butterfly Life this morning, ALWAYS drink some water before your workouts, and bring a water bottle with you to put in the machine’s cup holder. You’re going to get thirsty, climbing up flight after flight of stairs!

15 Sep 2009
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A Few of My Favorite Ab Blasting Moves.

Yesterday I wrote about the abdominals, how they function, what it’s important to remember when training them. I think it’s also important to remember that while you can have very strong abs, they may not achieve that “6 pack” look. Most people have a difficult time getting this way, and a large part of it is really due to genetics. I’ve trained a lot of people at the Diversified Health and Fitness gyms whose bodies just like to store fat in that area.

So while I know that you’d like to have a great 6 pack, in reality, let’s look at just making the abs stronger and more firm. These support your everyday movements, along with your core muscles, and over time and as you age, they’re vitally important for preventing back pain and other body structure issues.

After the “Captain’s Chair” exercise (see yesterday’s post), my next favorite move for your abs would be with the exercise ball. Here’s a rundown of the fun things you can do with this handy piece of equipment:

1. The Basic Ball Crunch: Start by sitting on top of the ball, and then roll your body down until your thighs are perpendicular to the floor. Your knees should be at a 90 degree angle. If you’re already got strong abs, you can roll your body back a little more so more of your back is extended off the ball. If you’re just starting out, almost your whole back should be lying on top of the ball. Place your hands gently behind the neck, in a traditional crunch way, but lightly. Look straight up to the ceiling, don’t bring your chin into your chest. (This is the number one thing I see people doing wrong in every crunch move.) Imagine that there’s an orange between your chin and your chest, and you’re trying to keep it balance there. Then, slowly, sit up slightly, and you’ll feel the abs working. This should be a small, controlled movement. Lower back down, and repeat at least 20 times.
2. The Lying Ball Lift: Lie down on the floor, with the ball between your lower legs and knees. Then lift the ball up, squeezing as you go. Lift your legs up perpendicular to the ground, then lower them slowly back down. This is great for your lower rectus abdominals, and it’s a toughie! Keep repeating until you get to 20 or need to stop.

Ok, now let’s hit those obliques and rectus abdominis muscles again. The “Bicycle” is just the move to do this. So lie down on you back, place your fingers behind your head. Bring the knees into the chest and lift the shoulder blades off the ground at the same time. Straighten the left leg out while simultaneously twisting the right side of the body, bringing the right elbow to the left knee. Switch sides, bringing the left elbow to the right knee. Continue alternating sides in a “pedaling motion” for 12 -16 reps. The American College of Sports Medicine counts this as its number one move in your quest for a 6 pack, and it really does work.

I’ve got some clients coming into 123Fit, so I need to go…give these a shot and I’ll be giving more advanced abdominal moves in the near future!

8 Sep 2009
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“Don’t “run through” pain. If you feel pain (beyond mild discomfort) when exercising, stop. People often ignore pain or delay treating it, and thus aggravate the problem - so that full recovery can take weeks or months. The surest way to avoid such trouble is to treat any recurring ache or pain right away.”

— University of California, Berkeley. 365 Tips for Better Health.

2 Sep 2009
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Your daily exercise – how much is enough, how much is too much?

I had an excellent question recently from one of my blog readers. She asked about losing weight, and if it was beneficial to do more than one cardio class a day in an effort to lose the weight more quickly. It’s a question that I get quite often from my clients at the gym, in fact, so I’d love to address this issue today.

The short answer is yes, you’ll burn more calories from doing two classes a day instead of one. That’s obvious. And the basics of losing weight are simply, expel more calories than you’re taking in, and you’ll lose weight. So doing two or more classes a day at your gym will definitely get more calories zapped.

Experts agree that everyone should be getting at least an hour’s worth of physical activity per day, especially if you want to lose weight. I know my gym offers hour long exercise classes, most do at this point. So if you plan well, it’s easy to get that hour in and have fun doing it.

It can definitely be tempting to promote even more weight loss with more workouts, absolutely. However, if you’re doing pretty high intensity exercise for one hour and watching your caloric intake, you will definitely start to see weight loss occurring. So even if you feel like you’d like to do another hour of exercise, keep these things in mind:

- You may have just worked up to one hour of exercise. Another full hour of exercise might take your body some time to adjust to. If you’re thinking about exercising longer than an hour, add the time gradually. Doing too much too soon can lead to exhaustion and injury.

- Working out for more than an hour can definitely take its toll on your body. Your risk of injury increases, and any aches and pains that you already have may become worse with overuse. You’ll also end up being more exhausted in your daily life, if you’re not used to this kind of exercise.
- There are plenty of athletes that exercise for hours at a time. But remember, they’ve worked up to this amount of exercise, they’re training their bodies for a specific reason, and they have coaches that are monitoring their rest, recovery, and techniques. You probably don’t need to be training that much every day if you’re just looking to lose weight.

- You’re more likely to get bored and burned out. It can be tedious to workout for more than an hour. Most people have short attention spans and even making it to an hour is pushing it. And when you get bored of exercise, you start doing it less and less, and you’re more likely to quit altogether.

- You may simply just not have the time. Two hours of working out every day is a lot of time, especially if you’re busy like most of us.

So my real feeling on it is this. If you’re in good shape and you feel that you want to push yourself a little more to get a bit more of that weight off, by all means, go ahead and take that extra class. But make sure that you hydrate well, recover, and don’t do it every day unless you’re really training for something big, like a marathon. And if you’re training for something like that, you should be on a specific schedule that still allows for rest and recovery to prevent injury.

Also, be careful – over exercising is an addiction like anything else, and can lead to dangerous weight loss and health problems if not kept in check. If you find that you’re compulsively exercising for hours a day and cannot stop, please get help from your doctor. It’s a serious condition. I’ve seen more than a few people at my gyms have this happen unexpectedly to them.

Thanks for the great question. Keep them coming, I love to answer them!

1 Sep 2009
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Can music affect your workout?

I had a client ask me this at Fitzone the other day. Specifically, she asked me if she should bring in her Ipod and use it during her daily routine at the gym.

My answer to her was a big “Yes!” Music has the ability, for most people anyways, of enhancing almost every event in our lives. Most people love to workout with music, and there are several that I’ve come across in my career that refuse to do any exercise without their favorite tunes.

Music has more than just the ability to let us sing along with the words, however. Several studies done in the past few years have led researchers to conclude that endurance exercise and performance are positively enhanced by music. It seems to provide the exerciser with a focus of attention that relieves boredom, and decreases the sense of effort. As our attention systems generally have a limited capacity, the music works by distracting the person from feelings of pain or fatigue. During the studies, the participants also reported a reduced sense of effort, and an altered state of consciousness that allows full immersion in the exercise and a distorted sense of time. This also leads to the perception of the workout being more favorable. A recent study in 2008 also suggests that music can increase exercise endurance by 15%.

What does the research suggest about what kind of music you should be grooving to? Generally speaking, it’s quite obvious that something with an upbeat, brisk beat is probably going to be a little more effective than listening to Chopin or Mozart. Studies show that you will naturally try to match or stay with a quick beat, and this can make you move even faster than you might without music.

How you listen to your music can also vary. The Butterfly Life I train at most often has as great music satellite system, with a specific station just geared towards working out. Other gyms still use their own music systems in house, with either CD’s or preprogrammed MP3 players. Most of the time, though, you’ll see people tuned into their iPods, iPhones, or MP3 players. This seems to be the most popular choice, as most people like to listen to what they like.

If you do have an MP3 player, the music world truly is your oyster if you’re looking for great workout music. You can go onto www.itunes.com , www.workoutmusic.com, www.fiql.com, and other similar music downloading websites, and choose to your heart’s content. If you’re stuck and can’t figure out a good playlist, look at the suggestions of others. I love doing this, as I’m often introduced to music I’ve never heard before.

Personally speaking, I can’t go on a run without my iPod. It’s just part of my workout, it gets me moving, and it motivates me to keep going. I will also sometimes use songs to time my intervals – I’ll pick up my pace for one tune, then slow it down for the next. I always feel invigorated when I come home.

A few reminders, however. If you’re running outside on the street, make sure the volume on your MP3 player is low enough that you’ll hear oncoming traffic or any warnings. Let’s face it, when you’re in the “zone” sometimes, you pay less attention to those things.

Also, it’s not a great idea to have the volume too high anyhow. Damage to your eardrums is more likely with headphones, unfortunately. So keep it in check.

So now it’s your turn. What kind of music do you like to listen to when you workout?

31 Aug 2009
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“Work out in the garden. Use an old-fashioned lawn mower and you’ll burn 420 to 480 calories a hour - as much as you would playing tennis. Spading, lifting, tilling, and raking can improve muscle tone and strength. Even the less strenuous forms of garden upkeep - weeding, trimming, raking - can burn about 300 calories an hour, if you work energetically at a constant pace.”

— University of California, Berkeley. 365 Tips for Better Health.

26 Aug 2009
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“Run away from diabetes. Doctors have long recommended exercise as a way to help control diabetes. And recent studies offer strong direct evidence that physical activity may actually help prevent non-insulin-dependant diabetes.”

— University of California, Berkeley. 365 Tips for Better Health.

17 Aug 2009
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“Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through these eyes alone, and if they are dim, the whole world is clouded.” - Goethe

13 Aug 2009
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How long should you exercise to lose weight?

The question of how long you should work out to lose weight comes up often in my training sessions. After all, we’re all pressed for time, and many people find long workouts tedious. It’s hard enough as it is to find the time to workout with a packed schedule, and it can be tough to get to the gym every day.

While a lot of people who have been sedentary for a long time will typically see a decrease in their weight with even some exercise and dietary changes, to keep the weight off and see even more pounds drop, a significant amount of weekly exercise is needed. Recently, the American College of Sports Medicine released the results of their latest study, which recommends that people wanting to lose weight need to be exercising at least 250 minutes a week. That breaks down to about 50 minutes of exercise, 5 days a week, which can seem daunting when you’re trying to lose weight.

“In the midst of a genuine crisis inn Americans’ health relate to what we eat and how little we move, these guidelines are meant to provide an understanding and clarification of the role of physical activity and its relationship to weight,” Joseph E. Donnelly, a chairman of the writing committee, says in a written statement. “Now that we have the latest information on how much physical activity is part of the equation, we can continue the educational process to help people who struggle with their weight.”

If you’re just trying to maintain your weight, the ACSM recommends that you exercise for at the minimum, 150 minutes per week. That works out to be a half hour a day, of moderate intensity physical activity. Obese and overweight adults, however, are more likely to reach their weight loss goals when they do reach the 250 minute goal, along with dietary changes.

Sound like a lot to you? It’s important to remember that your 50 minutes of exercise can be done in stints, so you might not be spending almost an hour of your day in the gym. For example, take a brisk 20 minute walk in the morning before you go to work, another 20 minute walk on your lunch hour, and then hit the gym for a quick workout on the way home. You might be surprised at how quickly you’ll reach your 50 minute goal, without even realizing it.

Most gyms, including the ones I work at, offer classes that are typically at least 45 minutes long. Even more top out at an hour. If working out for 50 minutes on the treadmill or other machine starts to be very boring, give a new class a try. Most classes are fun and fly by without you even noticing it!