Pause Squats

If you're stuck at a plateau with your squats check out the link to my Facebook page on doing pause squats....

https://www.facebook.com/thefitcore/videos/670221769791970/

Why Do I?

I was asked this question last night...  Why do you workout and how do you stay motivated?  My quick response was because it's my job and I want to be the best I can.  It may also be a slight addiction.

Although all that is true, the reality is there's much more to it. The truth is we all want to look better and be skinnier to be our best versions.  But I have found over the years of personal training if that is the only reason, commitment sometimes doesn't last.

I started working with a client about 3 weeks ago that is in his late 60's.  He has never really cared much about health or fitness, until recently when some health issues arose.  He realized that he probably should have focused a little more on it when he was younger, but instead of getting down on himself he decided now is a good time to start.  He wants to drop a few pounds to help the pressure on his joints but he really wants to be healthier so that he can enjoy his retirement with his wife.

A friend I've starting talking with over the past month or two wants to be healthy as a role model for her daughter.  She isn't concerned with being "skinny" but rather healthy so that she can be active with her daughter.

Another close friend of mine started pushing herself with fitness initially just for her.  She wasn't happy with how she looked or how she felt.  As she progressed and her health and fitness levels improved she started to inspire her friends and family.  Her focus shifted from self to others which has kept her going.  She is now looking to become a personal trainer so that she may continue to help inspire others.

So back to the original question... Why do I?  Yes, I want to be the best version of me I can because I have such a passion for health and fitness (and yes it is a slight addiction).  But I want to inspire my children and educate them about the importance of a healthy lifestyle.  I want them to grow up looking towards me as their role model in that lifestyle.  I want to be a leader to others looking to a healthy lifestyle as their success is truly inspirational to me.  A quote that I love says: "True leaders do not create followers, they create more leaders."  I hope that those I inspire will in turn help inspire others to do the same.

So let me ask you.... Why Do You?

Plyometrics

I was talking with a friend this morning about what workout we want to do later today and she was saying how she was sore from her workout yesterday.  She and my wife did a workout which included many different plyometric exercises.  She filled me in on how much she does not like doing jumping exercises but at the same time loves them for what they do for her.  I however, love plyometrics and it is where my love for fitness started.  Being a super skinny kid and not really knowing a lot, I was intimidated to go into a weight room.   But I knew I could always jump.  The first book I ever bought for myself was a book on plyometrics.

Plyometrics are defined as jump training.  Exercises in which muscle exert maximum force in short intervals to increase muscular power. 

These types of exercises are usually linked with athletes and not usually thought about as a go to exercise for the average gym goer.  The average person probably doesn't care what their vertical jump is nor do they care to increase it.  However, I believe that they can be an effective tool to help anyone achieve their fitness goals, whatever they are.

Plyometrics require a lot of energy and muscles to perform, therefore they will burn a large number of calories during a workout.  In November 2011 an American Council of Exercise study revealed that people that participated in 43 minutes of plyometrics burned between 492-770 calories depending on their weight.  The average calories burned in one hour of weight training according to the Harvard Medical School is between 180-266 depending on the participants weight. 

Now with this type of exercise there is always a risk of injury.  Plyometrics place a great amount of stress on joints as well as the ligaments and tendons.  If you have joint issues or arthritis do not attempt plyometrics without first getting cleared by your doctor.  One major tip I would like to offer is whenever doing plyometrics make sure that you land softly.  By that I mean bend the knees upon landing and allow yourself to sink into a squatting position.  This will minimize the impact on the knee joint allowing more of the impact to be absorbed by the muscles.

If you are a beginner start with no more than 60-80 foot contacts and 1-2 workouts per week.  This will allow your muscles and joints to strengthen and minimize risk of injury.

Some good exercises include: box jumps, jump squats and depth jumps for the lower body.  Clapping push ups and medicine ball throws are good examples for the upper body.

Green Tea...Not Coffee?!?

The morning comes and the first thing I can think of is coffee.  Why? Because coffee is coffee and well how do you start your day without it? 

But since I have gone to a plant based way of eating I have noticed that my taste for coffee has diminished and I do not crave it like I once used to.  I still enjoy the smell of freshly brewed coffee but it seems to end there.  So now what?  I’ve always liked green tea and since coffee isn’t happening I find myself drinking several cups of green tea throughout the day. 

We’ve all heard green tea is good for you, but how good can it be?  First, it is really based on what type of green tea you drink.  Pre bagged green tea has a lot less health benefits than does loose leaf.  The process done to the tea leaves to break them down for the tea bags destroys some of their nutritional qualities limiting their overall benefit.  The best choice would be to drink the loose leaf.

Check out some benefits offered by green tea:

   -full of catechins, which are powerful antioxidants that help stop free radical cell damage especially

     after a workout

   -aids in digestion

   -can help improve blood flow and blood pressure

   -can help lower cholesterol

A study at the University of Basel in Switzerland revealed that those who drank green tea had a greater activity in the working memory of their brain.  The study also goes on to show that green tea can help block plaques that have been linked to Alzheimers.

Not to fret coffee lovers, there are several studies showing many health benefits to coffee as well.  But hey if you are willing give green tea a try.  

There is always time for a workout. Check out the link below for a quick 40 minute total body workout...

https://www.facebook.com/thefitcore/posts/615842128563268

6 Month Experiment     

6 months ago I decided to give a plant based lifestyle a try.  I was feeling sluggish most of the time and I had been meeting with a couple different cardiology doctors.  I had talked with Amy and we decided to give it a try as she was feeling much the same way as I was.  Having support definitely helped in the beginning.  I was just going to do the 6 months and see what happens.  I wanted to keep it very non-scientific and just base it more on how I felt, because the reality is Google will give you all the scientific data you could need.

I decided I would base it on just a few criteria:  my overall energy levels, the dark circles that I had developed, my weight, body fat percentage, and my cardiology numbers.  I had gone to the doctors a month before starting and I have my next follow up coming up in a few weeks to see if there was any improvement there.

So what about my other results? 

     First let me say that I did not go 100% plant based.  I still take my whey protein and I still have cheese once in a while as well as eggs.  Though I would say that the number of eggs I ate in the past 6 months is probably less than what I would normally eat in a month. 

     Even though I still average the same amount of sleep a night, my energy levels have definitely improved.  I will not say that I jump out of bed ready to take on the day but I normally don’t feel exhausted when I wake up.  I also no longer suffer from that midafternoon slump where I looked for some type of caffeinated drink.  And speaking of caffeine, I have stopped drinking my morning and afternoon coffee about a month ago and still feel great. 

     I asked my wife about those dark circles and she doesn’t really remember me having them but said they are not noticeable now.  Score!

     My weight is about the same.  6 months ago I weighed in at 211 and currently I am 209.  My goal with this wasn’t to lose weight so I’m happy to see those numbers stay about the same.  My body fat percentage dropped a little going from around 11% down to about 9%.  My abs, which have been hidden for some time are finally making a comeback.

In order for me to maintain my lifestyle and my weight I definitely had to eat a lot more.  Plants do not contain nearly the amount of calories as animal based foods do.  Below is a breakdown of what my macros looked like during the past 6 months.

                Carbohydrates: 360g

                Protein: 185g

                Fat: 85g

                Total Daily Caloric Intake: 2945

So what’s next? 

I originally planned on doing this for just 6 months and going back to my old way of eating.  I had no intentions of making this a permanent way of life, but things change.  I have more energy, I look younger (though some of the greys may say otherwise) and I just feel better overall.  I think my 6 month experiment just turned into my lifelong lifestyle. 

Go Raw

There are certain veggies that are nutritionally better eaten raw.  Check out the link for a small list of which vegetables are best raw...
https://www.facebook.com/thefitcore/posts/587751154705699:0

Stability Training

I like different styles of training.  Thinking out of the box often leads to inspiring workouts.  Stability balls are nothing new and have been a mainstay in most gyms for the last 10 years.  But take a look around most gyms and you will find them buried in a corner or hidden in the aerobics room collecting dust.  Once in awhile you will find someone doing basic crunches on them or see someone resting on one in between their squat sets.  But stability balls offer so much more and should become a staple in your training.

There has been a lot of talk and reports indicating the importance of incorporating some type of stability training into your normal fitness routine.  Stability training has been growing in popularity with many commercial and private gyms offering some type of stability training.  There are also countless stability products on the market available for purchase.

Stability training is exactly what it sounds like: training with an element of instability.  Training on an unstable surface will have great impact on the stabilizers and neutralizers of all the joints involved.  In addition, stability training increases the strength of your postural and stabilization muscles.  The postural and stabilization muscles are the tiny little muscles located around the joints, whose purpose is to control the movement of that joint.  When performing traditional exercises, these muscles are not activated fully thereby limiting their growth potential and effectiveness. 

An unstable base could be as simple as standing on one leg while performing standing exercises.  Stability equipment comes in many shapes and sizes, but the most common forms are stability balls, foam rollers, foam pads, BOSU® balance trainer, and wobble boards.  Stability equipment has been used in the rehabilitative setting since the 1960’s.  Growing in popularity with proven results, it became a mainstay in the fitness arena around the 1990’s.

Stability training sends information to the central nervous system allowing it to record stabilization patterns within the muscular system.  These stabilization patters will eventually become reflexes which the body naturally uses to help in maintaining its postural balance.  This improvement in postural balance allows for greater functional strength and an improved transfer of energy from the lower body to the upper body.  In addition, stability training improves the body’s proprioceptive response.  Proprioception is the body’s ability to sense position, location and movement of all its’ joints.  The cooperation between the nervous and muscular systems is known as the neuromuscular relationship.  It is within this relationship that the body improves its’ proprioception.

The primer movers, the major muscle group involved in a movement, in any exercise can only provide the amount of force that the core can support.  By incorporation stability training into your program you not only improve your proprioceptive response and strength and stability of the joints, but you will increase the strength of your core as well.  The core provides your body with the necessary pressure to maintain posture and to keep the body upright.  The main role of the core muscles is to stabilize and neutralize the spine, reducing the amount of stress placed onto the vertebral column and to flex, extend and rotate the trunk.  A strong core will help transmit strength and power generated from the lower extremities to the upper extremities and vice versa.  This increased transmitting power will result in better athletic performance and will make daily activities much more efficient.  Increasing core strength will ultimately lead to an increased amount of force you can provide to the prime movers maximizing their effectiveness and increasing their overall strength.  Increasing the strength of the prime movers will result in better power and improved production from our muscular system.

When starting with a new stabilization program make sure that you start off slow and progress forward as needed.  You want to feel comfortable and balanced in the exercise or movement before you incorporate resistance.  Increasing the resistance or stabilization challenge too fast will add no benefit in your training and will most likely lead to injury.  Adding this type of training into your existing program will add an element of fun and function that may be currently missing.