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PERSONAL TRAINING
Endurance Junkies (and other extremists)—Take Note!
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By: Jackie Wright
The core of this column is to speak to those of you “endurance junkies—and other extremists” who are performing any singular activity (i.e. running/cycling, etc.) five/six days/week or perhaps performing only high intensity interval training (i.e. HIIT). And, those of you that are preparing for marathons/triathlons, that train for endurance only excluding HIIT, muscular strength/core and flexibility training and wonder why you are not fitter, faster, and stronger than you were this time last year. There is a reason why your extreme approach may not be working—keep reading. *Prior to beginning any exercise program, please consult your physician.
Getting fitter, faster and stronger
To get fitter, faster and stronger you must train across the fitness spectrum - cardiovascular endurance (setting the foundation), high intensity interval training (i.e. HIIT), muscular strength/endurance/core and flexibility training. If you omit any one of these components, your performance may be negatively impacted. Training is a complex matter, particularly when training athletes, both professional and recreational. However, the fundamentals apply across the board.
The fact of the matter is that your body is a machine that has an incredible ability to adapt to physical stress. Once the body adapts, you may either plateau, begin to actually lose fitness and may begin suffering from overuse injuries—injuries you often ignore until you cannot any longer. Consulting clients from elite athletes to novices, often identifies a common thread as to why these individuals are plateauing and injured—they are performing the same activity/component/program weekly, spend huge amounts of time in their comfort zones or are working too intensely too frequently.
One of my new clients, a self-professed endurance junkie, admitted she was running five-six miles, six days/week with a little muscular strength training performed, no specific flexibility training adhered to and had been suffering from plantar fasciitis as well as patellar pain in her knees.
Following a thorough fitness assessment, we began therapy on the plantar fasciitis, decreased the number of days she was running to two, shorter duration runs (pain free), added two indoor cycling sessions with different cycling formats including HIIT, one swimming workout, and beefed up her muscular strength/core training sessions to include two solid, sometimes three days per week on non-consecutive days.
We also concentrated on strengthening her lower body, specifically the quadriceps, to hopefully address the patellar discomfort. Additionally, daily myofascial release on the foam roller, and stretching/flexibility training were included. (I also referred her to one of the physical therapists that we work with for further evaluation and to a sport’s nutritionist to clean up her eating regimen). Most importantly, we added a specified rest/recovery day to permit her mind and body to rest and repair.
Within 12 weeks, her plantar fasciitis was manageable, her knees were healthier and she felt fitter, was running faster, and stronger than when performing the five-six day a week running grind. Plus, she was excited to train again, fully engaged and ready to continue moving forward, making further training progressions as time and her body allowed. These results converted her to a believer in balanced, safe and effective exercise programs and, if you are an exercise extremist, hopefully this will convince you to do the same! Where there is growth—there is inevitably change!
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FEATURED EXERCISE
Supine Hip Extensions from the TRX Suspension System
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By: Jackie Wright
Nate Mentzer – demonstrating
The supine hip extension exercise featured this week is performed from the TRX Suspension System. It is an excellent exercise which targets the gluteus maximus, hamstrings and entire nose to toes core. Perform 1-3 sets of 8-12 repetitions of this exercise on two-three non-consecutive days/week and begin to notice the muscular strengthening of the lower body posterior chain and the core stability progression.
Supine Hip Extensions – TRX - adjust the straps to approximately 12 inches from the floor, lying supine under the TRX anchor point, slip the heels into the straps (do not place the entire foot into the straps, just the heels with toes facing upward). Knees flexed 90 degrees, palms by your sides and holding the edges of the mat, engaging the gluteus maximus (buttocks), lift the hips off of the mat and then lower back toward the mat without touching. To increase intensity, create the glute bridge, hold that position, and press the legs out and in from the knee joint. Avoid putting too much pressure into the heels as this will engage the calf muscles and may create cramping in the calves. *Trains the gluteus maximum/hamstrings and nose to toes core.
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Supine Hip Extensions from the TRX Suspension System
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PERSONAL TRAINING
Dispelling Common Fitness Myths
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By: Jackie Wright
There is a great deal of mythology out there when it comes to fitness. And, while there are dozens of myths and misconceptions, there are five that we will target to help keep you on the path to a healthy and fit body. The number one best method of avoiding the pitfalls and myths is to apply that good old common sense. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is, so don’t spend your hard earned income on that service, product or piece of fitness equipment, or waste your invaluable time chasing the improbable outcomes. Fitness takes time, and often some financial investment, to achieve. So, be patient with yourself, follow the sound and proven principles highlighted below consistently, and before you know it, you may wake up feeling healthier, fit and hopefully, happier. As always, prior to beginning any exercise program, please consult your physician.
Myth #1 Spot Reduction – it is, in general, physiologically impossible to spot reduce. You cannot perform any one exercise, use one product or perform one program (i.e. abdominal/core work of any kind) and lose fat specifically from your abdomen or any other body part. We burn fat/calories as it is genetically predetermined. And, generally, the first place we gain weight, is the last place we will lose it. We can spot train a muscle group, strengthening it (which is great). But, until the fat lying over the muscle is diminished/eliminated through consistently performed, well-designed calorie/fat burning exercise programs, and incorporating a healthy, calorie appropriate eating regimen, you may not readily “see” the muscle definition.
Myth #2 Conversion of fat to muscle – cannot be done. Fat and muscle are completely different components; one cannot be “converted” to the other. We may certainly lose fat, as described above, and we may build muscle mass through performing effective muscular strength training. This combination may create a healthy body composition (i.e. lean to fat ratio) which is a desirable and achievable goal for most of us.
Myth #3 Performing weight training with heavier forms of resistance builds huge muscle mass in women – this is generally not true. For the most part, women do not possess enough testosterone to build “huge” muscle mass. So, do not be afraid of safely working with heavier weights/resistance levels as your strength level increases. The key is to master the form and technique of the exercise, and make certain it is safe and effective for your specific limitations.
Myth #4 Storing fitness – well, unfortunately we cannot store fitness. The old adage is true, that if you don’t use it, you will lose it. That is where consistency plays a huge role in securing long-term fitness levels, so stay consistent with your exercise program and you may consistently reap the benefits.
Myth #5 Exercising regularly keeps the body weight under control – well, it sure helps, but what and how much we eat significantly contribute to long term weight control. So, the combination of performing a consistent exercise program and consuming a healthy, portion-wise diet are the best bet for maintaining long term weight control.
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PERSONAL TRAINING
Do not Throw in the Towel!
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Life happens. And life can play havoc with our exercise adherence, creating lapses in consistent participation and may prevent us from experiencing the dozens of benefits that we receive from regular participation in an exercise program. However, when life happens, and it will you can bank on that, do not “throw in the towel” on your exercise program! Every step you take towards integrating exercise into your life is important. Therefore, before life happens, again, consider the following steps described below so that you will know how to get back on track again. As always, prior to beginning any exercise program, please consult your physician.
Step One – Have a Plan A, B, C, D and more variations if necessary, so that when you do have a crisis or simply a change in plans, you will know exactly what step to take next. For example, if you know that the week coming up is going to be really hectic, look at the plan for the week and determine when and where you need to make changes. If you regularly workout Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8:30AM and you have meetings at work at those times each day, see if you can reschedule your workouts for earlier or later on those days, or on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday instead. Additionally, when we or a loved one become ill or injured, adequate recovery is important. However, once recovery has occurred, get back on track as soon as possible.
Step Two – This is where do not “throw in the towel” comes in to play. Just because you lapse now and then, avoid giving up completely—do not beat yourself up about it because it happens to everyone sooner or later. Whatever progress you have made, is important progress. It took time to get yourself to the point of even considering integrating an exercise program into your life, so give yourself credit for each and every step that you take toward that end. Honor the work you have done thus far, and continue taking action, moving forward.
Step Three – Just because you have friends or family that seem to have their exercise program and process down to a science, do not assume that is the case. These individuals have simply devised variations of their original plan (i.e. Step One) and consistently carry out the variations. They are not that different from you, they have simply recognized the challenges that life presents, accepted those challenges, and have moved forward—you can too.
Step Four – Talk with your trainer, friends/family that exercise regularly and ask for their support and guidance to help you create improved exercise adherence. The people that genuinely care about your well being will be there for you, encourage you and will recognize the important steps that you have taken toward exercise adherence. Surround yourself with those people who care about you and who have a passion for staying fit and healthy. Their passion may eventually rub off on you and then you may be able to mentor another struggling exerciser when life throws them a curve ball!
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WELLNESS
12 tips to get more sleep!!!
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- Increase bright light exposure during the day
- Reduce blue light exposure in the evening
- Don’t consume caffeine late in the day
- Reduce irregular or long daytime naps
- Try to sleep and wake at consistent times
- Try a natural supplement such as melatonin Ginkgo biloba, GlycineValerian root, Magnesium, L-theanine or Lavender
- Don’t drink alcohol
- Make your bedroom cozy, dark, quiet and set a consistent temperature
- Eat earlier in the evening
- Relax and clear your mind in the evening
- Take a relaxing bath, shower or sit in a hot tub.
- Exercise regularly — but not before bed
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