Monday, September 05, 2011
Evidence Based Apparel: Is the the real deal?
Foam Rollers: My Love Hate Relationship
Now when your a professional athlete you get all the perks; money, cars, fame, friends* etc...but another thing you get is the massages...Ooo the massages. Massages, Stim, Ice Baths, Vibration plates. All of these things before and after games speed up recovery so you can live to fight another day and prolong careers. Now for Average Joe weekend warrior, things like massage perks can be a tad bit expensive. So as personal trainers we find ways around that. In to play comes the FOAM ROLLER...
Stretching is one of the most overlooked components of weight training programs. Everyone wants to lift lift lift and stretching gets pushed to the back burner leading to muscle imbalances, poor form and injuries.
Foam Rollers are used for Self-Myofascial Release which may sound a little adult but pretty much just means self massage. When you workout or train your muscles get tight creating lactic acid and "knots'. The foam roller rolls out the knots until they release increasing your circulation, range of motion and promoting overall general healing. Think of it as a rubber, and then tying it into a knot. With that knot, the band cant stretch nearly as far and will break with too much force applied to it. Now by taking the knot out bingo bango, your back to full efficiency.
Now you can find foam rollers on sites like performbetter.com ranging from regular to dense. The denser the roller the deeper the massage it gives and the higher the price ($30+0. You can also save some money and just buy a 5 dollar pvc pipe at your local hardware store and it works great but only keep in mind, pvc pipe has NO give and will be pretty painful to use for someone new to foam rolling. If your really crafty or have a mom with tons of free time, you can bedazzle your own padded foam roller with pvc pipe, foam packaging wrap, and some kind of spandex or Lycra to cover it all in like those old fashion book skins you had in middle school.
Your body has tons of trigger points that you would need to focus on with a foam roller. Your Quads (Front upper area of your legs), Hamstrings (Back upper area of your legs), Calves (Lower back area of your legs), IT Bands (Outer sides of your thighs and VERY important in your known for having knee pains), Glutes and Hip Pockets (General Butt area), and Lats/Traps (Upper back and armpit areas). Theres tons of videos on how to properly work the roller on each area and I'll be posting one myself very soon but these descriptions are the general idea. Work each muscle slowly u if until you find a knot (a pins and needles kind of tingling sensation) and hold pressure on it for 5-10 seconds then roll it out some more. Find, rinse, repeat. Now if your body is built like Frankenstein as mine currently is, your going to find ALOT OF KNOTS. And these knots will be VERY painful but only at first. So suck it up and massage them out. The more often you do it, the less painful there become and the better your body feels.
For those nagging hard to reach places such as shoulder blades and hips, things like tennis balls, softballs, medicine balls work wonders but again, they are very dense and will hurt at first. But for the 20 minutes you fight through all this will pay off in the long run when your days are alot pain free later on during everyday activities.
Stretching is one of the most overlooked components of weight training programs. Everyone wants to lift lift lift and stretching gets pushed to the back burner leading to muscle imbalances, poor form and injuries.
Foam Rollers are used for Self-Myofascial Release which may sound a little adult but pretty much just means self massage. When you workout or train your muscles get tight creating lactic acid and "knots'. The foam roller rolls out the knots until they release increasing your circulation, range of motion and promoting overall general healing. Think of it as a rubber, and then tying it into a knot. With that knot, the band cant stretch nearly as far and will break with too much force applied to it. Now by taking the knot out bingo bango, your back to full efficiency.
Now you can find foam rollers on sites like performbetter.com ranging from regular to dense. The denser the roller the deeper the massage it gives and the higher the price ($30+0. You can also save some money and just buy a 5 dollar pvc pipe at your local hardware store and it works great but only keep in mind, pvc pipe has NO give and will be pretty painful to use for someone new to foam rolling. If your really crafty or have a mom with tons of free time, you can bedazzle your own padded foam roller with pvc pipe, foam packaging wrap, and some kind of spandex or Lycra to cover it all in like those old fashion book skins you had in middle school.
Your body has tons of trigger points that you would need to focus on with a foam roller. Your Quads (Front upper area of your legs), Hamstrings (Back upper area of your legs), Calves (Lower back area of your legs), IT Bands (Outer sides of your thighs and VERY important in your known for having knee pains), Glutes and Hip Pockets (General Butt area), and Lats/Traps (Upper back and armpit areas). Theres tons of videos on how to properly work the roller on each area and I'll be posting one myself very soon but these descriptions are the general idea. Work each muscle slowly u if until you find a knot (a pins and needles kind of tingling sensation) and hold pressure on it for 5-10 seconds then roll it out some more. Find, rinse, repeat. Now if your body is built like Frankenstein as mine currently is, your going to find ALOT OF KNOTS. And these knots will be VERY painful but only at first. So suck it up and massage them out. The more often you do it, the less painful there become and the better your body feels.
For those nagging hard to reach places such as shoulder blades and hips, things like tennis balls, softballs, medicine balls work wonders but again, they are very dense and will hurt at first. But for the 20 minutes you fight through all this will pay off in the long run when your days are alot pain free later on during everyday activities.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Building A Foundation: Properly Progressing
Lets say you have a brand new car, new tires, new interior. Everything is perfect except...theres no spark plugs. Does that shiney new car serve its purpose? No, you pretty much have a giant paperweight. The same thing goes for your body. What do i mean you ask? Simple, working out your big show/mirror muscles is great but not at the expense of the smaller "spark plug" motor muscles. This is where knowning how to properly progress from exercise A to exercise B and eventually C comes in handy.
For example, I train a big 300+ linemen right now. In order to get his strength on part with his size, his former trainer just jumped straight to heavy lifting with the goal of him benching 225 easy and maxing at like 315.
Sleep Your Way To Muscles
Now I know a lot of people got excited reading this title thinking it will be a excuse for their Garfield the Cat type habits (eat, sleep, repeat) but sorry, not the case. Unless your like my gorgeous friend Jessica Gott whose voice completely changes to a hot Disney character when shes tired, some people don't realize their body telling them when its time to shut it down for the night.
One of the main overlooked aspects of training, other than diet is your sleep habits. Everyone wants to workout for 4 hours a day, but completely ignores the rest habits to go hang out or party in a tight affliction shirt. Biigggg mistake.
Ouch, my kneeee!!! Avoiding Injuries and Playin Strong
This summer I had the joy of training my teammate Ray Stever back from his knee injury that cost him a season. Since some people would like to complain like they have the most original revolutionary ideas for how to avoid knee problems and then just mention squats but don't correct form or things like that, I'm going to take it to a whole different level. Keep reading to learn how to stay stronger longer.
What is a Torn ACL?
An ACL tear most often occurs during sporting activities when an athlete suddenly pivots causing excessive rotational forces on the ligament. Other mechanisms that can cause an ACL tear include severe trauma and work injuries. Individuals who experience ACL tears usually describe a feeling of the joint giving out, or buckling--patients also often say they hear a "pop."
Most Common Signs of a torn ACL:
Sudden giving way of the knee
Hearing a 'pop' at the time of injury
Sudden swelling of the knee joint
Pain in the knee when walking
Ready to erase your pain and raise every area of your fitness?
What is a Torn ACL?
An ACL tear most often occurs during sporting activities when an athlete suddenly pivots causing excessive rotational forces on the ligament. Other mechanisms that can cause an ACL tear include severe trauma and work injuries. Individuals who experience ACL tears usually describe a feeling of the joint giving out, or buckling--patients also often say they hear a "pop."
Most Common Signs of a torn ACL:
Sudden giving way of the knee
Hearing a 'pop' at the time of injury
Sudden swelling of the knee joint
Pain in the knee when walking
Ready to erase your pain and raise every area of your fitness?
Monday, August 08, 2011
More Diets YAYY Part 2
I posted week one a few days ago and hopefully your moving along well with it. Below is part two which is actually HARDER. You'll see your gains at this point so it will be worth it but chances are your going to want to eat. Bare with me and if you get too hungry healthy snacks are allow. Avoid snacks loaded with sugar and excess calories. And on to Week 2...
Saturday, August 06, 2011
Perception or Reality: Fat or Body Fat
Many people perceive overall weight as a general determining factor of just how “in shape” you are. Even things like BMI “body mass index” going off height and weight can really kill a person’s motivation (trust me, my WII fit character looks like a square with a head because of that). Sure being scale heavy sucks but more importantly, a high body fat REALLY SUCKS.
Friday, August 05, 2011
More Diets YAYY
In all my years of training (8 to be exact) it never ceases to amaze me just how many people don't understand the effect of diet while exercising. So many people give the "I don't get it, i work out 24/7 but the scale isn't showing it" response and usually all you have to ask is....how are your eatting habits..
So in order to one again do my job and make it easier for all of you reach your goals in a healthy and safe way, hears another diet to compliment your workout routines. Now before we get started, reminder, most diets are not to be done full time. Unless your turning vegan or something do it for a week or 2, see how your body handles it and guage from there. This one is to be done for 2 weeks..yes 14 days straight folks, no cheating, and see your results and let me know.
WEEK 1:
For breakfast each day: 1 grapefuit, 4oz low fat yogurt and 1 slice of ham.
For mixed greens you may use salt, pepper, oil and lemon juice, but NO dressings.
Day 1:
Lunch: 1 steak, tomatoes, coffee or tea
Dinner: Turkey or chicken cultet, mixed greens, 1 toast, grapefruit, tea.
Day 2:
Lunch: 1 beef patty, 1 grapefruit
Dinner: 1 steak, tomatoes, mixed greens, celery, olives, cucumbers, tea
Day 3:
Lunch: 2 eggs, spinach, tomatoes, tea
Dinner: 1 cutlet (pork), cottage cheese or yogurt (fat free), cabbage, 1 toast, tea
Day 4:
Lunch: 1 turkey, chicken or veal cutlet, spinach, tomatoes, tea
Dinner: 2 lamb cutlets, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, tea
Day 5:
Lunch: 1 filet mignon, spinach, tea
Dinner: fish, salad, 1 toast, tea
Day 6:
Lunch: fruit salad - as much as you want
Dinner: 1 steak, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, tea
Day 7:
Lunch: grilled or roasted chicken, tomatoes, grapefruit
Dinner: 1 steak, tomatoes, cucumbers, tea
I will post week 2 in a few days. Now big KEY FACT, just like with workouts, I can give you the best diet but its up to you to use it properly. Follow it best as possible. Sure you can modify it alittle here and there but the general diet idea needs to stay that same. Also, eat in moderation, even a healthy food can make you put on weight if you eat 50 pounds of it in one sitting. Take your time, enjoy the meal and be health.
So in order to one again do my job and make it easier for all of you reach your goals in a healthy and safe way, hears another diet to compliment your workout routines. Now before we get started, reminder, most diets are not to be done full time. Unless your turning vegan or something do it for a week or 2, see how your body handles it and guage from there. This one is to be done for 2 weeks..yes 14 days straight folks, no cheating, and see your results and let me know.
WEEK 1:
For breakfast each day: 1 grapefuit, 4oz low fat yogurt and 1 slice of ham.
For mixed greens you may use salt, pepper, oil and lemon juice, but NO dressings.
Day 1:
Lunch: 1 steak, tomatoes, coffee or tea
Dinner: Turkey or chicken cultet, mixed greens, 1 toast, grapefruit, tea.
Day 2:
Lunch: 1 beef patty, 1 grapefruit
Dinner: 1 steak, tomatoes, mixed greens, celery, olives, cucumbers, tea
Day 3:
Lunch: 2 eggs, spinach, tomatoes, tea
Dinner: 1 cutlet (pork), cottage cheese or yogurt (fat free), cabbage, 1 toast, tea
Day 4:
Lunch: 1 turkey, chicken or veal cutlet, spinach, tomatoes, tea
Dinner: 2 lamb cutlets, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, tea
Day 5:
Lunch: 1 filet mignon, spinach, tea
Dinner: fish, salad, 1 toast, tea
Day 6:
Lunch: fruit salad - as much as you want
Dinner: 1 steak, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, tea
Day 7:
Lunch: grilled or roasted chicken, tomatoes, grapefruit
Dinner: 1 steak, tomatoes, cucumbers, tea
I will post week 2 in a few days. Now big KEY FACT, just like with workouts, I can give you the best diet but its up to you to use it properly. Follow it best as possible. Sure you can modify it alittle here and there but the general diet idea needs to stay that same. Also, eat in moderation, even a healthy food can make you put on weight if you eat 50 pounds of it in one sitting. Take your time, enjoy the meal and be health.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Shake Weight: Bang for your Buck, or Invented by someone with TOO much alone time?
By now we have all seen the lovely Shake Weight Promo....if your lucky you've seen the SNL spoof of it which is what we all were thinking when we first saw it anyway...
At first I didn't think anyone would take this thing serious, but once again, fads win and people started getting it. My dad even got one for christmas, so trying to be unbias I decided to try it out. As appealing as the Shake Weight might seem when you’re watching late night TV, there’s not much muscle behind its infomercial hype.
A spring-loaded weight that moves up and down. You try to hold it steady (and try not too look too raunchy). Ads claim the weight forces up to 240 muscle contractions a minute, resulting in a complete upper-body workout in only 6 minutes. Sounds good in theory. Who doesn't want to do hours worth of work in 6 minutes? Sadly like most things that seem too good to be true, this one is. Simple logic and research says even if muscles contract, it doesn’t mean they’ll grow. You need to progressively add weight to challenge your muscles, says Mark Peterson, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist at the University of Michigan. The Shake Weight for Men weighs only 5 pounds, and hundreds of reps with minimal resistance won’t grow muscle. Sure you will feel some muscle fatigue but I could have you tap your index finger on the table for 60 seconds and eventuallyt your hand will cramp up...does that mean in 4 weeks you will have the hands of the hulk? More likely some kind of crippling finger arthritis. Save your money and your time here, just use normal weights.
At first I didn't think anyone would take this thing serious, but once again, fads win and people started getting it. My dad even got one for christmas, so trying to be unbias I decided to try it out. As appealing as the Shake Weight might seem when you’re watching late night TV, there’s not much muscle behind its infomercial hype.
A spring-loaded weight that moves up and down. You try to hold it steady (and try not too look too raunchy). Ads claim the weight forces up to 240 muscle contractions a minute, resulting in a complete upper-body workout in only 6 minutes. Sounds good in theory. Who doesn't want to do hours worth of work in 6 minutes? Sadly like most things that seem too good to be true, this one is. Simple logic and research says even if muscles contract, it doesn’t mean they’ll grow. You need to progressively add weight to challenge your muscles, says Mark Peterson, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist at the University of Michigan. The Shake Weight for Men weighs only 5 pounds, and hundreds of reps with minimal resistance won’t grow muscle. Sure you will feel some muscle fatigue but I could have you tap your index finger on the table for 60 seconds and eventuallyt your hand will cramp up...does that mean in 4 weeks you will have the hands of the hulk? More likely some kind of crippling finger arthritis. Save your money and your time here, just use normal weights.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
