Recovery after Sport or a Gym Session

Posted on August 1, 2011 by dzolin

Recovery after a great game of your chosen sport or a gym session is as important as the activity.  Today I’m going to outline some common recovery methods and the rationale for using them.

Rehydrate & Refuel

After a game or workout eat and drink carbohydrates and protein, particularly high glycemic index carbs and recovery sports drinks (not for those who are on a weight loss mission). The first hour after exercise is the best time to provide the body immediately with nutrients it requires to recover and replenish the glycogen stores consumed during the match or activity.

The rule of thumb for water is to drink I litre of water for every 25 kg of bodyweight plus 1 litre for every hour of exercise. You should also cool down with activities including walking, cycling, and stretching as this aids the recovery process by moving the waste products such as lactic acid out of your muscles.

Hydrotherapy

This can be done either by contrast shower of hot and cold or cold bath with hot shower, alternate for 1 minute of hot with 30 seconds of cold and repeat 2-3 times, this promotes neural recovery.

Self Massage

Move your body utilising all the muscles starting with either lower or upper body movements. Self massage is simple to do for example using shaking movements for all parts of your body will enhance neuromuscular recovery.  Specifically some of the benefits include:

  • Calms and or stimulates the nervous system
  • Improves delivery of oxygen and nutrients to cells
  • As mentioned above speeds up the removal of metabolic waste
  • Prevents and relieves stiff and aching muscles

Cryotherapy

Icing and the use of cold baths can assist in the treatment of injuries, knocks received during a game or exercise.  Cold bath temperatures are between 5-15 celsius and the trick is to completely immerse your moving body for 5-7 minutes in duration.  It’s important that you move to allow the removal of blood from constricted blood vessels which in turn allows fresh blood to return to the muscles assisting recovery.

Relaxation

This will vary between individuals but includes reading, listening to music, watching a movie, engaging in hobbies and so forth.  Relaxation will facilitate physiological recovery and will also help the athlete or gym goer with sleep- which is another vital ingredient for recovery both physical and psychologically, something that warrants further clarification in a future blog.

As always please make sure that you exercise caution when trying any of the above recovery techniques with exception of relaxation as this can never be overdone, if unsure please consult your health and fitness professional.

Zol

Fitness Moves

 

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Resistance Training Variables and Guidelines

Posted on July 26, 2011 by dzolin

Have you ever wandered about the science behind why we do a certain number of sets and repetitions of an exercise? Well today I’m going to explain it in the simplest terms so that you can review your own training and adjust the relevant variables according to your goal.  Last week I talked about your exercise routine and progressive overload, this post provides you with the information you require to use the training variables to achieve progressive overload giving yourself a higher probability of achieving the results you are after.

The resistance training variables are as follows:

  • The Exercise
  • The Sets
  • The Repetitions
  • The Load
  • The Speed of Lifting
  • The Rest

Whilst we won’t look at them in as much depth as the above the order of the exercises, and a periodisation strategy are further variables that need to be taken into account, the latter in particular for sports specific goals.

The three major goals that we will look at today are Muscle Endurance, Muscle Strength and Muscle Hypertrophy.

Muscle Endurance, is the ability to continue lifting a weight over a long period of time.

Muscle Strength, is the ability to exert or withstand great force using the muscles in the body.

Muscle Hypertrophy, is to grow the muscles of the body by lifting weights, making the muscles physically bigger in size.

You will also notice in the table that follows that the weight is expressed in a percentage of 1RM, What does this mean?  This means your 1 rep maximum, that is the maximum weight or load you can lift for one repetition. This is an important figure as it determines the loads for each respective goal, for example if your 1RM for the bench press is 30 kgs then the load for endurance would be between 15 and 22.5 kgs and so forth.  There is a method for determining your 1RM, if you don’t know it for a number of exercises then I recommend that you seek out a personal trainer or sports coach to take you through it.

The number of reps and sets are fairly self explanatory across each of the goals, so are the recommended rest guidelines, the speed however may need a little further explanation.  Let’s take for example if you are a beginner and you are performing a chest press on a machine using a 2:2 tempo, this means that you push away from your chest in 2 seconds and without pausing let the weight come back to your chest in 2 seconds.  Alternatively if you are at an advanced level using a 4:4 tempo on a bench press for example you would lower the bar/load in 4 seconds then push it back up in 4 seconds.  Whilst I haven’t included this in the table you can also pause at the bottom of the movement for 1 second before pushing back up this would be expressed as a 4:1:4 tempo, this is more difficult and challenging as it places your muscle under tension for a longer period of time.

Resistance Training Guidelines

Muscle Endurance Muscle Strength Muscle Hypertrophy
Load Light to Moderate50-75% 1RM Heavy to very heavyBeginners 70-80% 1RMIntermediate/Advanced

80-95% 1RM

 Moderate to Heavy60-85% 1RM
Reps & Sets 15-30 reps1-3 sets Beginners 8-12 repsIntermediate/Advanced 2-6 reps1-5 sets 8-12 reps3-5 sets per body part.
Speed 2:2, 3:3 3:3, 4:4, 4:3 3:3, 4:4, 4:3
Rest 30-60 sec 1-3 mins heavy3-5 mins very heavy 1-2 mins
Exercise Compound Compound and Isolation Compound and Isolation

As mentioned above the other variables, the exercise order, and a periodisation strategy whilst not in the table are also important. The rule of thumb for exercise order is to start with the largest muscle/muscle group first then work your way down to the smallest.

I have included compound exercises for all three categories as this as you may remember from a previous posting is the most efficient use of time as you can train a number of muscles over multiple joints with this type of exercise.  Of coarse if your goal is to build bulk and strength in your arms for example you also need to perform isolation exercises such as bicep curls or triceps extensions. Isolation exercises such as the ones mentioned can be done at the end of your program if time permits.  Remember that in compound exercises of a pulling nature such as lat pulldowns your biceps are exercised and in a pushing compound exercise such as a bench press your triceps are getting a workout anyway.

A periodisation strategy is important particularly for those of you who participate in a specific sport. Periodisation is a whole topic on its own, suffice to say here that to keep making gains in performance it is necessary to increase the amount of work being performed, a theme that you have consistently heard throughout my posts.  This means that you design a program over a number of weeks that focuses on increasing the load to achieve a specific goal, a complete periodisation program consists of three phases preparation, competition and transition, a topic that I will address in a future post.  For those of us who are training to keep fit and healthy our periodisation strategy should be to vary our program every 6-8 weeks so that our body keeps experiencing new movements and as such will produce results and keep you from getting bored to boot.

I hope that the above helps you out with your resistance training, as always however I urge that you take care and if you are in doubt about any aspect of how the above can benefit your training please ask a fitness professional such as a personal trainer or sports coach for further clarification.  I welcome any comments on the above topic and look forward to providing you with more information in subsequent posts.

Zol

Fitness Moves

 

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Your Exercise Routine and Progressive Overload

Posted on July 16, 2011 by dzolin

In an earlier post I touched on some of the reasons why you might not be achieving the results you are after with your exercise routine.  There is no doubt that having an Exercise Routine is an essential part of making sure that your body is in optimal condition to enjoy life. Be wary however if your exercise routine, that is the moves you are actually doing are the same ones on a day in day out basis.

Having an exercise routine is good in the context that you have incorporated exercise into your lifestyle however it can frustrating if you make a habit of doing the same exercises. Our bodies adapt quickly to a constant stimulus so much so that progression will turn into regression if you leave things the same.

Don’t get me wrong moving your body is never bad however if you want results then we need to change some of the variables in your training, one of the ways is to use Progressive Overload.

Progressive Overload applied to your exercise program means constantly challenging yourself to do different moves so that your body doesn’t adapt, stimulating your muscular and cardio vascular systems to greater heights.

In your next workout try changing the variables as follows:

Resistance Training

  • If you can do your target number of reps for any exercise with ease then add to the intensity by increasing the weight to the next increment.
  • Whilst it depends on your goal you can also vary the number of reps, for example if you are training for strength then do less repetitions on a heavier weight.
  • Do more sets of an exercise incorporating the above variables.
  • Change the medium you are using, if you have been doing machine weights then target the same muscles with free weight exercises. Varying the equipment will give the targeted muscles a workout from different angles as well as use of stabilizer muscles.
  • Change the speed of performing the movement, instead of doing a squat at a 202 tempo where you descend in 2 seconds then ascend in 2 seconds try it at 311, where you descend in 3 seconds, pause at the bottom for 1 second then explode up in 1 second.
  • Split your week up into a mixture of upper/lower body and full body workouts with adequate recovery between. If for example you do predominately back exercises one day don’t expect to work your biceps effectively the next day as they have already been worked in the compound pulling exercises of your back. Same applies to pushing exercises like the chest press where you use your triceps, they wont fire up too well the next day.

Cardio Training

  • Progress the intensity of you cardio sessions by varying the speed, distance, level, incline, and time of your workouts whether in the gym or outdoors.
  • Change the type of cardio training to include walking, jogging, running, bike, swimming, and rowing.

The above information is only to be applied to your current exercise routine if you are confident on how to use it safely and effectively.  In my next post I will be writing on the training variables and how they can be applied to different fitness goals.

To summarise, my main message today is to make sure that you vary your program to get the results you are after.

 

Zol

Fitness Moves

 

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The Body’s Energy Systems

Posted on July 10, 2011 by dzolin

When you are just about to start your workout and you think I don’t feel very energetic today this could have implications on how you are going to perform, or is it just a figure of speech that we tend to use after a hard day at the office or a late night?  To find out the answer to this question today we are going to have a look at the body’s energy systems, which put simply is divided into aerobic and anaerobic, aerobic being when oxygen is used and anaerobic being without oxygen.

The reason why we should all have some knowledge of this is because different exercises require you to use certain energy systems and depending on your goal this will vary the intensity and duration of your workout.  We need to train both systems so that we make the most efficient use we possibly can of the appropriate system that is being used at any given time during our workout program or in the performance of our chosen sport.

Whilst the two main energy systems turn on at the same time, one’s prominence over the other depends on the activity being performed.

Aerobic System

As mentioned above this systems requires oxygen, it is a lower intensity type of exercise excellent for improving cardiovascular fitness which in turn is important in the recovery process for exercises of all intensities, another words the more you train this system the quicker your recovery becomes when doing activities that use the other energy systems which we will look at shortly.  The aerobic energy system kicks in at 1 min and is still being utilised at 60 minutes plus, those of you who participate in fun runs, half marathons and so on need to train this system.

Other characteristics include the following:

  • Does not result in fatigue producing waste products such as lactic acid
  • Heart and lungs are critical in this system
  • Takes longer to overload than the anaerobic system
  • Can be continuous or interval training

Some examples of aerobic activities include walking, jogging, running, rowing, biking, and swimming. Note that high repetition low weight with minimal rest training will also work this system

Anaerobic System

The anaerobic system, is defined as the muscle’s ability to generate energy without the immediate use of oxygen. The anaerobic system comes into play when the energy demand is greater than can be supplied by using the aerobic system. The two main components or pathways of the anaerobic system are the phosphagen system which we will call anaerobic alactic, and the glycolysis system the anaerobic lactic.

The anaerobic alactic provides the majority of energy when you do bursts of high speed or resistance movements lasting 10 seconds and as such is used during short bursts of intense exercise such as sprinting or lifting a heavy weight for 3-4 repetitions.  The first 2-3 seconds are supplied by stored energy within the muscle called Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), the remaining 6-8 seconds are fueled by the breakdown of creatine phosphate, a molecule found in skeletal muscle and also found in the brain providing energy for neurons.

The anaerobic lactic system provides energy when exercise is maintained beyond 10 seconds and up to 60 seconds. The difference in this system is that it produces a by product lactic acid hence the name, the biggest drawback here being that this causes fatigue and the lactic acid needs to be removed which can take some time. You can aid the removal by stretching after the work out and also by drinking lots of water. Rule of thumb for water is 1 litre per 25kg of body weight per day plus 1litre for every hour of exercise.

Another limiting factor of this system is the time it takes for our body to replenish its energy stores.  Bringing us to one of the often neglected areas, the recovery period between sets, this is essential particularly when training the phosphate system. Research shows that it can take up to 180 seconds to fully replenish the muscles ATP stores, my experience shows that this can be halved the more training you do in this systems.  As I have said in past blogs the body is an amazing system that with use adapts and improves, on the other hand it will quickly do away with areas that are not needed so don’t relent on your training folks.

Some examples of anaerobic activities include sprints, resistance training, power lifting, jumping and high intensity interval training.

Let’s summarise some of the main points in the table below:

System Power Capacity Fuel used
Anaerobic alactic(no oxygen)  Very high Very low1~10 seconds Creatine PhosphateStored ATP
Anaerobic lactic(no oxygen)  High Low10~60 seconds Blood GlucoseMuscle and Liver Glycogen
Aerobic(with oxygen) Low Very highI min.~60 min plus Blood GlucoseMuscle and Liver GlycogenFat (Body’s largest energy store)

The other training variables that need to be taken into consideration here are sets, repetitions, weight/distance and the work/recovery ratio to be used to give you time to recover sufficiently to have the energy for the next set, something that I will cover the next time we talk about this topic.

It’s a difficult topic which I have tried to explain so that you can gain knowledge that will help you achieve your fitness goal, please also consult your sports coach or personal trainer for further clarification, questions and comments are also welcome.

Zol

Fitness Moves

 

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The Planes of Movement

Posted on July 4, 2011 by dzolin

Understanding the planes of movement of the human body is beneficial as it allows us to choose exercises that will help us with functional movements both for everyday life and in our chosen sport.  Some critics say that with our exercise programs we tend to be more in the sagittal and frontal planes, neglecting the transverse.

Let’s take a look at these three planes of movement, what they are, and some exercises that you can do to cover them all.

The Sagittal Plane: This is a vertical plane which divides the body into left and right sides as you can see in the diagram below. The two basic movements in this plane are flexion and extension.

Some exercise examples that work in this plane are:

 

Squats: which can be performed either as bodyweight, barbell both front and back, dumbbells by sides or held in the front position

 

Chin-ups: which can be performed on an assisted chin-up machine or bodyweight and weighted without assistance

Bench Press:  (Close grip) performed the same as a normal bench press but with a close grip which means that your elbows are bent and the movement is vertical rather than horizontal.

The Frontal Plane: This is also a vertical plane, however it goes from side to side that divides the body into anterior and posterior parts, again refer to the diagram.  The primary movements in the frontal plane are abduction (movement away from the body midline) and adduction (movement toward body midline)

Some  exercise examples that work in this plane are:

Shoulder Press: which can be performed with a machine, barbell and dumbbells, although with dumbbells held palms facing each other and elbows pointing to the front it becomes a sagittal plane movement.

Wide Lateral Pulldown: performed on a machine either cable or resistance

Lateral Raises: performed either bodyweight or with dumbbells, kettle bells or any weighted objects

Pull Ups: wide grip performed on assisted pull-up machine or bodyweight and weighted on pull-up frame.

The Transverse Plane: This is a horizontal plane that divides the body into upper and lower parts, or superior and inferior in anatomical terminology. Most movement that occurs in this plane involves rotation. Movement that takes part of the body outward is called lateral or external rotation, and movement that takes part of the body inward is called medial or internal rotation.

Some exercise examples that work in this plane are:

Russian Twist: Sit down on the floor with your feet flat knees bent holding a medicine ball in both hands at chest level.  Twist (rotate) your torso to one side lowering the ball toward the ground near your hip joint then twist your torso back to the other side. Keep your feet flat on the ground throughout the movement. You can progress by lifting you feet of the ground and keeping them still while executing the movement.

Wood Chop: Set a cable machine handle at about head height. Hold the handle with both hands and keeping your feet planted, hips pointed forward and your arms straight, rotate your upper body from above your right shoulder to below your right hip. Repeat on each side of your body.

Medicine Ball Side Wall Throws: Hold a medicine ball in your hands and stand side on to a solid wall. Keep your feet planted parallel with the wall and your arms between shoulders and mid torso height, rotate and throw the ball against the wall.

Single Arm Dumbbell Bench Press: Like a normal dumbbell bench press except using only one hand at the time, this movement really hits your core which is trying to stabilize in the transverse plain. The wide grip Bench Press is also in the transverse plane.

So there you have it some example exercises in all of the planes, there are a few other points that you need to grasp as follows:

  • When we talk of movement in the vertical plane it refers to exercises that move up and down whilst you are standing.
  • Horizontal plane exercises are those that move horizontally when you are standing. Whilst for example the wide grip bench press lying down on a bench looks like it is a vertical plane movement, if you stand up and perform the same movement the bar travels horizontally.
  • Some exercises move in all planes such as the lateral (drop) lunge as it has rotation, vertical, and horizontal movement.

Summary

To get the most out of your exercise program make sure that you are choosing movements that cover the three planes, sagittal, frontal, and transverse.

Functional activities such as walking, running, skipping, jumping, hopping, throwing, catching, kicking, climbing, pulling, twisting and so forth are necessities for life and sport and as such need to be trained with multi-plane movements.

 

 

Choose exercises from each plane as in the examples outlined above or others that cover the three planes such lateral lunges and you will be moving your muscles to their optimal level.  Enjoy, if you are still not sure or are just about to start an exercise program and need more help consult with a Personal Trainer, and as always comments are welcome.

 

Zol

 

Fitness Moves

 

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Exercising For Life

Posted on July 4, 2011 by dzolin

Whilst it is not my aim to review books here I was so impressed with one that I read recently because of what the author wrote about exercise that I just had to pass the message on.

The tagline for my website Exercising for Life takes on real meaning in the context of a wonderful book called “brain rules” by John Medina, I recommend that you all read it.  The author organises his views into 12 rules that are all based on known facts about the brain and then proceeds to explain how each one can help us with our home and work environments.

As an exercise professional the first rule is and I quote “Exercise boosts brain power” really had me jumping from the onset, why ? well we sort of know that exercise refreshes and helps you think better but to read about it in simple terms really gets the blood flowing.  We  know that one of the main benefits from exercise is that it improves cardiovascular fitness and as such helps us reduce the risks of diseases such as heart attacks and stroke. Furthermore it has been found through a number of experiments that exercise can also be associated with an improvement in our cognitive abilities.

Essentially exercise helps improve blood flow to all parts of the body and the brain in particular needs the nutrients and oxygen that comes with it.  Medina points out that even though the brain which generally is only about 2 percent of your body weight needs a lot of energy, it accounts for 20 percent of the body’s total energy expenditure. In fact as an example John Medina sights that when the brain is fully working it uses more energy per unit of tissue weight than do your fully exercising quadriceps (thigh muscles).  So the blood brings with it glucose and oxygen, the former used up in energy requirements and the oxygen acts as a sponge transporting away all the toxic electrons that are a by product of the  fierce activity that takes place as your cells chemicals rip apart the glucose to extract the energy.

In a nutshell the more you exercise the more of your bodies tissues you can supply with nutrients and the more toxic waste you can remove from your body.  Exercise also stimulates the protein that keeps neurons healthy as well as helps in the process of neurogenesis, which is the formation of new cells in the brain. Moreover exercise has also been shown to help reduce the risk of dementia and also cut the risk of Alzheimer’s by up to 60 percent.

In this context, particularly in light of our increasing longevity, exercising for life sounds like a great idea.  Don’t forget though if you are new to exercise don’t go rushing of into it before first consulting your health professional. By the way the rest of John Medina’s book is also rich in facts about the brain that we can apply to our daily lives so as I mentioned earlier well worth a read.

Zol

Fitness Moves

 

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Setting Your Fitness Goals and the Principles of Training

Posted on June 18, 2011 by dzolin

In May, I posted  Are You Achieving Results With Your Training, as a related topic today I’m going to talk about the importance of setting your Fitness Goals and some fundamental Principles of Training that will guide you towards achieving them.

It’s human nature perhaps that we are a little shy about articulating what our real goal is when it comes to Fitness Training, we shouldn’t be as it’s only natural that the more you focus your attention on achieving a task the greater chance you have of success.

Obviously as a Personal Trainer I ask the question of all new clients, What is your fitness goal? A majority of new clients say to attain general fitness, a great goal but not one that can be easily assessed in the short term. You need to be a little more specific for example I want to lose 3 kilograms over the next 6 weeks or I want to lose 2 centimetres off my waist or I want to be able to do dumbbell bench presses with 10 kilograms in each hand or something to that effect. For some of you this may sound trivial but believe me over the years I have met and seen an incredible number of poor souls wandering aimlessly in the gym. So do yourself a favour ask yourself what am I trying to achieve here? if you don’t know then please set yourself a short term goal and adjust your fitness program to achieve it.

The F.I.T.T. Principle is the basic philosophy underlying what is necessary to gain a positive training effect from an exercise program.  F.I.T.T. stands for Frequency, Intensity, Type, and Time, and the principles behind it can be applied to both cardio and resistance training.  F.I.T.T. is based on the “Principles of Training” namely Specificity, Overload, Recovery, Variety, Reversibility, Individualisation, and Balance. Let’s take a look at the relevance of each of these to you achieving your goals/s.

Specificity: Your individual goal which we discussed above sets the scene, specificity determines the fundamental components in the design of your fitness program as your body will change according to the type of training you do.  Another words if your goal is to lose weight while also building strength then you would design a program that elevates your heart rate for fat burning with a weight training component for strength.

Overload: This principle stipulates a continual and gradual increase in training workload as your body adapts over time, another words you need to gradually and systematically (use a training log) increase the weight you are lifting for continued improvement.  Each individual will be different but a good rule of thumb is that if you can easily lift the specified number of repetitions (reps) for given set then you increase the weight by between 5-10% or so.

Recovery: You must get adequate rest between between workouts in order for the muscles and nervous system to recuperate and to reap the benefits of training. This will vary according to your fitness level , type of program, diet, sleep and other lifestyle variables. Generally speaking you need to allow at least 24 hours between workouts before working the same muscle groups again, however it could be as much as 48 hours depending on the exercise. Cardio can be performed on the days between your weight program, again this needs to be monitored.

Variety: The old cliche “Variety is the spice of life” is definitely applicable to your training program. This principle states that you should consistently change your training program. The variety might be by means of using different equipment to hit the muscle from different angles which not only promotes good overall toning/growth but also keeps the workouts interesting, averting boredom. An example, you can work the same muscle groups by using cables, dumbbells, barbells, unstable bases, or suspension straps whilst still adhering to a well phased training program. A variation of exercises, reps, sets, intensity, volume and duration will also help against boredom and promote a more consistent improvement over time.

Reversibility: This principle refers to the loss of fitness once you stop training for a period of time. After some time you will revert back to your pre-training condition, the body has an uncanny way of getting rid of things it doesn’t use best described by the cliche “If you don’t use it, you lose it”. Whilst rest as mentioned above is a positive for you to achieving your goals too much of it will have you losing your gains within a few weeks.  The good news is however that you do not lose the skill to perform the motor skill of weight training exercises as it appears that it stores in the long term motor memory and as such stays intact for years to come.  I wouldn’t take too many long breaks, of course well earned holidays are an exception.

Individualisation: This principle suggests that fitness training programs should be customised to individual differences, such as abilities, skills, gender, experience, motivation, past injuries, and physical condition. While general principles and best practices are good guides, you are different to the next person therefore this needs to be factored in when designing an exercise program that suits you.  There is no one size fits all when it comes to training programs.

Balance: This principle is about maintaining the right balance of exercise, diet, and healthy living. If you go to extremes to lose weight or build fitness too quickly, your body will react negatively. You may experience symptoms of overtraining, therefore it is important that you  seek and achieve a healthy training balance that works for you. Balance also applies to muscles, if opposing muscles are not strengthened in the correct proportions injuries and postural problems may arise.

All of the above principles are intertwined and for best results they should be used together throughout every phase of your training program.  Try incorporating them into your current program for more fun, efficiency and above all helping you achieve your fitness goals.

 

Zol

Fitness Moves

 

 

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Flexibility and Fitness

Posted on June 11, 2011 by dzolin

Flexibility is often the neglected component of fitness, as one of the four dominant types of physical preparation along with speed, endurance, and strength, it is vital part of any fitness regime. No matter what your goals, profession, experience, gender or age, flexibility should be part of your exercise program.

If for example you have poor flexibility of the lower back and hamstrings  this has been shown to contribute to lower back pain, a common ailment that you regularly hear people talking about.  For this reason alone it is important to recognize and correct flexibility problems as soon as possible.  If you are currently following an exercise regime or just about to embark on one make sure that you have your overall flexibility checked at your local gym or by a health and fitness professional.

 

Advantages

  1. Good flexibility will help relieve stiffness, prevent injuries, and maintain a good range of motion (ROM) of the joints. Gaining and maintaining flexibility will decrease the risk of injury from your chosen hobby, sport or everyday life activity like bending over to pick up a bag.
  2. If you do any strength or resistance training you are building muscle , you want the muscle to be long and lengthened not tight. If the muscle is tight this will restrict the range of motion of the joint thus hampering your efforts to increase the muscle size.
  3. Stretching keeps our tendons and ligaments elastic helping us maintain a good range of motion (ROM) of our joints, it also promotes the transport of nutrients to the joints.
  4. Stretching can improve your coordination enhancing your sporting  prowess whilst also helping with outdoor recreational activities such as bush walking, walking along a beach or hilly terrain.

Flexibility tips

  • Do not stretch a cold muscle make sure you have done al least 10 minutes of movement of the large muscle groups before doing so. This can be rowing, jogging, biking or some high repetition of light weights.
  • Make sure you learn the correct method for each stretch.
  • Stretch all the major muscle groups, otherwise you will create an imbalance that will affect your posture. Strive for balanced flexibility on the right and left sides of the body and in opposing muscle groups and adjacent joints.
  • Do not bounce when you stretch. Find the point at which you feel a comfortable stretch and hold it for 20-30 seconds.
  • If you are on a stretching regime for sport-specific goals or specialized rehabilitation needs make sure you also focus on the other areas as well, do not only do the special stretches as this may affect your overall flexibility.
  • Everybody is different so remember like other parts of your exercise program, flexibility is a very individual thing, one doesn’t fit all. Do not try and stretch past your stretch point as this may result in injury.
  • Your stretch point is the position where you feel the stretch working but not to the extent of feeling pain.
  • Too much ROM in a joint can be as undesirable as too little ROM because it decreases joint stability.
  • If your ROM is far from the norms, consider strengthening the loose areas and stretching the tight areas.

What is Range of Motion (ROM)?

 

Put simply it is the distance and direction a joint can move to its full potential.  Each joint has a normal range of motion and if you are keen to find out what it is it can be measured with an instrument called a goniometer, it measures angles from the axis of the joint.

Do not bounce when you stretch, Why?

Bouncing can cause micro-trauma injury to the muscle which then heals itself with scar tissue, this scar tissue tightens the muscle causing less flexibility and making you prone to pain.

After exercise do Static Stretching, where you you hold one position for a period of time as it is much gentler on your body, because you ease your muscles into it.

Remember what I said earlier though, when you stretch you want to lengthen the muscle as far as you can, feeling a stretch, but NOT as far as feeling pain. Repeating Static Stretching should always be done after exercise, Dynamic Exercise Stretching should be used prior to exercise.

If you are not sure about your flexibility have a health and fitness professional put you through a few basic tests, you will be surprised how much of a difference it can make toward achieving your fitness goal.

 

Zol

Fitness Moves

 

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Lose Weight with Strength Training

Posted on May 24, 2011 by dzolin

There has been a lot of conjecture over the years as to what is the best method to lose weight and more important keep it off.  I have read some interesting articles on this topic and I’m going to summarise the pertinent points for you here.  Moreover I’m a big fan of strength training and my personal experiences with weight training have helped me understand and postulate reasons why this type of training should play a big role in helping manage your weight.

Calories In,Versus Calories Out

Logic tells us that losing weight is all a matter of controlling calories, that is calories in, calories out, so if you consume less than you use, you will lose weight, if you consume more than you use you will gain body fat. Yes that’s true but it’s not the only consideration. Your lean body mass which is what’s underneath you body fat in the form of muscle mass is constantly burning calories around the clock even when you are sleeping.  Your metabolic rate goes up and down relative to body size, lean muscle mass, food (energy) intake and exercise. If you lose weight by dieting alone, you need to eat less to maintain the loss.  If however you do strength training it helps to maintain or increase your muscle mass, and as muscle is ‘hungrier’ than fat it consumes more metabolic energy which in turn helps you better manage keeping the weight off.

Under The Fat is a Strong Musculoskeletal System

Most overweight people have a strong musculoskeletal system supporting their high body fat percentage, they need this to be able to move themselves around.  Mike Adams the health editor of Natural News sums this up nicely and I quote him here when he says “ Underneath that body fat you actually have a very strong skeleton and strong muscles.  Your body has built up those muscles in order to carry all that extra body fat when you move your body.”  Another words he goes on to explain that the everyday acts of standing, sitting, walking, lifting the groceries and so forth requires more effort when you are overweight, so the heavier you are the stronger the muscles have to be to allow you to complete these everyday movements.

Lose Body Fat, Maintain Muscle, Elevate Metabolism

So where is all this leading to, can you guess, if you can retain this muscle (lean body mass) and therefore maintain the high metabolism that goes with it whilst losing body fat then you will be on your way to a fitter and healthier person.  This is where strength training comes in as a solution to losing body fat and retaining muscle, which will leave you looking and feeling better about yourself and more important will help you better sustain your new slimmer shape.  Repeating an earlier premise the more muscle you can maintain or increase the higher your metabolism and the easier it is to keep your body fat down as the lean body mass burns calories around the clock.

Summing up if you are overweight strength training will help you conserve the muscle mass you have which is important because as the old cliche goes “use it or lose it”, the body is very efficient at disposing of things it does not use.  It will take you longer to build up muscle again once you have shed what you had.  So let’s do strength training so we can lose body fat, retain muscle and keep our metabolism high which in turn helps us better sustain our new body shape.

Also remember when we say losing weight we should be talking about losing body fat only, not muscle, or bone density as well which you stand a greater chance of losing if you rely solely on diet and cardiovascular exercise.

Also remember when we say losing weight we should be talking about losing body fat only, not muscle, or bone density as well which you stand a greater chance of losing if you rely solely on diet and cardiovascular exercise.

Strength Training For Women

One last point, strength training is definitely not only for the guys, a lot of women still have the fear that if they engage in it will make them bulk up in turn making them look fatter.  Ladies there’s nothing to fear, strength training 2-3 times a week will help you lose body fat including fat from hips, abdomen, arms and legs, it will tone you and if anything make you look thinner, isn’t that what you want?

Remember before engaging in any form of exercise including strength training check in with you health and fitness professional for advise on what moves will best suit your body and minds needs.  20 Keys Benefits of Lifting Weights

Zol

Fitness Moves

 

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Are You Achieving Results With Your Training

Posted on May 10, 2011 by dzolin

Perhaps you achieved satisfying results when you first started your training routine but lately you have noticed pretty much a status quo, worse still you have regressed a little. Why is this happening? Let me give you some reasons:

Adaptation

Your body has adapted to your routine it no longer is challenged by what you are doing.  We all know how amazing the human body is, it quickly adjusts itself to the various situations that confront it, the exercises you are doing need to be changed, this can be done by changing the volume and intensity.

Intensity

You need to keep your workout intense. What does this mean?, put simply you are not working hard enough, instead of doing 12 reps of a 8 kg weight for 3 sets with 2 min rest in between sets that you have been doing and no longer raise a sweat or can lift with ease, try doing 12 reps of 10 kg weight for 4 sets with I min rest between sets. If you are doing cardio, do interval training and be sure to set yourself targets to better each session. If weight loss is your goal make sure that you keep your heart rate up in the fat burning zone, in simple terms this is 220-your age x .65% and .75%, example if you are 30, that means 220-30=190x.65 and x .75 which is 124-143 bpm.

Compound Exercises

You are not making the most of your time in the gym, make sure that you are doing compound exercises, that is moves that are working more than one muscle. Great examples of this type of exercise are Squats for legs, Dead-lifts, Barbell Bent Bent Over Rows, pull-ups for back (legs), Bench press for chest, Military press, for shoulders, and Pullovers for chest, back, arms and core.

For those of you who want to get technical, the following lists the muscles involved in the movements mentioned above, you can quickly see that you only need a selection of a few of these for a full body workout.

Squats work the following muscles quadriceps, gluteals, adductors, hamstrings, erector spinae,and rectus abdominals,

Deadlifts work the erector spinae, trapezius, gluteals, quadriceps,and rectus abdominals,

Barbell bent over rows work the latissimus dorsi, teres minor, posterior deltoid, biceps brachii, brachialis, brachioradialis, trapezius, rhomboids, erector spinae, and rectus abdominals,

Pull-ups work the latissimus dorsi, teres major, rhomboids major and minor, biceps brachii, brachialis, brachioradialis,

Bench press works the pectorals major and minor, anterior deltoid, triceps brachii, Serratus Anterior,and Coracobrachialis,

Military press works the anterior deltoid, medial deltoid, trapezius, upper pectorals, triceps brachii, serratus anterior and supraspinatus, and

Pullovers work the pectorals major and minor, triceps brachii, latissimus dorsi, teres major, rhomboids and serratus anterior.

Consistency

You have not been consistent with your training that is you have not been working out a consistent number of times per week. Whilst our busy lifestyles make it hard you really need to make training part of your week, you need to be doing some sort of physical activity on a daily basis, with more intense workouts at least 3-4 times a week. It is difficult to generalize with this as it is dependent on your fitness goals whether it’s weight loss, muscle tone,or strength gain and so forth. The opposite can also be said, overtraining will make you feel lethargic and hamper your progress. Rest is an important part of the whole equation, so make sure that you schedule rest days into your week.

Variety

Closely related to the first one mentioned above, in as much as you are bored and not putting in or enjoying your training routine. You need to change the way you are doing things, take on variety and make sure that you are using the correct technique for each exercise so that you are reaping the maximum benefits.  Exercising is fun if you put your heart into it, so let’s start having fun, remember however that if you are not sure about how to go about making your workout more effective consult your fitness professional who will make sure you achieve your goals.

Zol

Fitness Moves

 

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