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March 15, 2010
Is your workout (and your body) stuck in a rut?
When life gets busy and we over-schedule ourselves, we’re happy to find just a few minutes for exercise. Walk around the block, lift a few weights, pop in an old aerobics tape standby… enough to make us feel like we aren’t completely neglecting our bodies and our health amidst the chaos of our lives. And as time goes on, we fall comfortably into a familiar pattern of exercise that works within our schedules.
Who has time to add more or learn something new?
We figure that as long as we’re doing something, it counts. Exercise can get crossed off the list for today and we can move on towards the twenty other tasks we expect of ourselves.
Today I want you to stop and think about this all-too-familiar pattern of short-changing your health and putting your goals for a stronger, leaner body on the back shelf. By simply taking a few minutes to run through the motions of exercise without any preparation or planning (or enjoyment!), you are doing your body and your goals a disservice.
Take a minute to remember (or re-formulate) what your goals are for your health and your body. How long have those goals been the same? Are you any closer to achieving those goals than you were 6 months ago? A year ago? Five years ago? Often we find that our personal goals get pushed aside by routine tasks.
 Now take a look at your to-do list… how many of those chores would be easier to accomplish if you were stronger and had more energy? You’d likely accomplish them quicker and still have more energy by the end of day. This is attainable – you just need to make your health a priority.
To start, take a look at your current exercise routine. How long have you been doing the same thing? When was the last time you felt like you really got something out of your workout?
The surprising fact is that our bodies get used to movements extremely quickly. Exercise routines must be constantly changed in order to challenge our muscles and see continuous results. The same old routine and the same exercises just won’t cut it if you’re looking for results. And let’s face it, if you’re taking the time to exercise, then you want to make it count, right?!?
Exercise possibilities are truly endless, so you should never feel limited by your workout routine or your schedule. You can ensure great results and prevent boredom simply by manipulating different exercise variables and combinations, many of which take no time at all to learn!
Listed below are just a few of these variables to get you started. Because this website is structured around working out at home, I focused the list on alterations requiring minimal equipment. Mix & match to refresh and revitalize your workouts, start seeing results, and finally reach your goals for a strong, healthy body!
What will your next workout look like?
Surface & Stability
1. Kneeling
2. Sitting
- Floor
- Chair
- Stability ball
3. Standing
- Feet together
- Feet wide but parallel to each other
- Staggered stance (one foot in front of the other, like a lunge)
- 1-leg Balance
Body Parts
1. Isolated (one muscle group)
2. Integrated (more than one muscle group)
- Example: Bicep Curl to Press
3. Total Body Combination Move
Movement Direction
1. Forward/Reverse
2. Side-to-Side
3. Rotation
- Example: Transverse Lunge
Resistance Type
1. Bodyweight/Gravity
2. Free Weights
3. Tubing
4. Medicine Ball
5. Bodybar
6. Kettlebell
Exercise Combinations
1. Superset (two exercises for the same muscle group, performed back-to-back)
- Example: Bicep Curl & Hammer Curl
2. Opposition Supersets (two exercises for opposite muscle groups, performed back-to-back)
- Example: Bicep Curl & Triceps Dips
3. Total Body Strength (each strength training workout includes all muscle groups)
4. Split Strength (Muscle groups are split between 2 or 3 weekly workouts)
5. Strength/Cardio Intervals (Strength training interspersed by short bursts of cardio)
Movement Speed
1. Slow (half-time)
2. Tempo
3. Fast
4. Explosive
Any one of these variables can be added to your current routine to encourage results. For example, instead of a regular squat, try a one-legged squat. Or instead of a regular biceps curl, play with the count of your repetitions – lift the weight up on one count and then take three counts to lower the weight. When you challenge your muscles to work beyond the particular motions they’ve adapted to, you’ll see (and feel!) the difference immediately. And who doesn’t have time for that?
September 2, 2009
It’s the morning after you started your new workout program and you wake up feeling fantastic. Until you move. All of a sudden you’re aware of EVERY muscle in your body, plus a few you didn’t know you had.
 I know we’re all familiar with that seemingly inevitable muscle soreness that comes with changing your workout routine. It usually presents itself 24 to 48 hours after you exercise, deviously drawing out the suspense of what you know lies ahead. This delayed onset is typical of this type of soreness, and the pain dissipates rather quickly after another one or two days.
The worst part about delayed-onset muscle soreness (often called “DOMS”) is that you never know how much pain you’ll be in, so it is difficult to gauge how much to push yourself in your first workout. Push too hard and you’re certain to regret it that next morning, especially if you’re new to exercise. Yet muscle soreness isn’t just for new exercisers. Experienced athletes fall victim to it every time they increase the frequency or intensity of their strength training, or when they add new exercises.
Treatment
Although prevention is really the best treatment (continue reading below), there are a few things you can do at home that will help alleviate muscle soreness. I would start with the RICE principle (rest, ice, compression, and elevation). Ice, in particular, has proven to be useful for some in dulling the pain. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (Ibuprofen and Aleve are good examples) can also help with pain and inflammation within the muscle fibers.
Most importantly, continue to move and exercise when you’re sore. You shouldn’t perform the same routine that caused soreness, but you should spend at least 20-30 minutes doing low-impact cardio such as walking or biking. This loosens up the muscles, gets blood and nutrients flowing more freely to the muscle fibers, and can minimize the level and/or duration of muscle soreness that you will experience. When you’re ready to try strength training again, make sure you’re thoroughly warmed-up beforehand. Try running through a couple exercises without weight before you add resistance back in.
Remember that muscle soreness is common and natural, but prolonged pain is NOT. If you continue to feel pain for more than a week, consult your physician.
Prevention
Because of the unpredictability of DOMS, it’s always a good idea to be cautious when beginning a new workout routine. Prevention is the best treatment. I recommend that my clients not complete the entire program the first day (and sometimes the whole first week or two).
Continue reading “What To Do About Sore Muscles” »
August 26, 2009
Q: I have to stand all day at work for 13 hour shifts. Are there any simple exercises or stretches I can do just to keep myself in shape? I’m so tired by the time I get home that I don’t have the energy to work out!
A: Although it  may seem effortless, standing all day requires strength and stamina – which is why leg fatigue and back aches are very common for people employed in such occupations. Retail, food service, construction, landscape, education, and medicine are just a few of the major employment sectors that involve standing for long periods of time during the workday. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to improve your strength and reduce that end-of-day fatigue.
Focus on Strengthening Your Legs First
Exercise has the wonderful ability to increase both your energy levels and the flow of oxygen and nutrients throughout your body. If you are consistently working out (at least 3 times per week), then you are already helping to strengthen and energize your body for your strenuous job. If whole exercise sessions are difficult to work into your schedule, then try to incorporate just 10-15 minutes of strengthening exercises each day. Four 15-minute segments in a week equals two half-hour sessions – which is plenty of time to achieve strength gains, especially if you’re new to exercise.
During your workouts, focus on lower body strengtheners such as lunges, squats, romanian deadlifts, leg curls, leg extensions, calf raises, wall sits, hip bridges, etc. Lunges and squats, in particular, are two of the best lower body exercises in the book. They strengthen and tone everything below the waist!
(Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of these exercises to post. Eventually I’ll be able to post examples, but until then, check out the exercise library at NASMPro for animated illustrations).
Then Strengthen Your Core
Core strength is THE most important aspect of fitness, yet it is often the weakest link in a person’s muscular structure. Most sedentary adults are chained to a desk 5 days a week, where core strength and postural awareness get overshadowed by looming deadlines and a high-stress environment. Having a strong core will not only allow you to function better (both at your desk and away from it), it will help prevent back and leg pain as you get older and less active. This is especially true if your job requires you to be on your feet all day!
The best core strength exercises to include in your routine are: Continue reading “How To Avoid Leg Fatigue From Standing” »
August 24, 2009
Q: Due to my crazy work schedule I only have time to do strength training for about one hour once a week…. is that even worth it?
A: Taking the time to do something good for your body is always worth it! Physical activity in general has enormous health benefits – everything from lowering blood pressure and cholesterol to fat loss and stress reduction. And these benefits won’t just add years to your life, they’ll increase the quality of the years you have by making daily activities easier and work less stressful. Therefore any time you can devote to exercise throughout your week will benefit you.
 Ideally your workouts should include a balance of cardiovascular exercise and strength training, but if your schedule is tight that’s not always possible. In this case I suggest incorporating strength training into your workouts first, as this is the most efficient way to burn calories AND boost your metabolism. A higher metabolism means you’ll be burning more calories every minute! If one of your goals is weight loss, then strength training is essential for seeing results.
The good news is that you only need about 30 minutes to perform a good weight training routine – you don’t need to devote an entire hour! And if it’s possible, try to split your one hour per week into two non-consecutive workouts. Significant changes can be seen in both muscle strength and endurance, as well as overall body composition, just by increasing training frequency from one day per week to two… which means you’ll be doubling or tripling your results with no added effort!
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends a strength training program of at least eight to ten exercises, hitting all of the major muscle groups: gluts, hamstrings, quadriceps, core, pectorals (chest), back, triceps, biceps, and shoulders. Each exercise should be performed for a minimum of one set of eight to twelve repetitions, bringing the muscle to fatigue (when you can’t perform the exercise any longer). Because you only need to complete one set of each exercise for strength gains, you can fit your workout pretty much anywhere in your day! And if you’re extra short on workout time, just split your strength training routine into 10 or 15 minute segments. You can space the segments throughout one day or perform one segment every day of the week, eventually totaling two sets of each exercise per week.
Although you can strength train more frequently and/or perform additional sets, these practices aren’t necessary to see results. Strength training for 30 minutes just two days per week will produce about 80% of the strength gains seen when training three days per week – not bad when you’re short on time!
Ultimately, your workout routine should be a marriage between your goals and the time you can realistically commit towards reaching those goals. If you’re able to, aim for two days per week – or split a strength training routine into small segments and fit them in throughout the week. Either way, you’ll see greater strength improvements and faster weight loss than with just one day per week. But if you only have one day, make the most of it and try to incorporate some strength training into your routine. Something is always better than nothing!
Looking for some exercise ideas? The three workouts below contain a progressive selection of movements, complete with pictures and how-to instructions. They are grouped into beginner (Fitness Freshman), intermediate (Avid Exerciser) and advanced (Training Pro), so you can progress at your own pace. And of course, every exercise can be performed at home with no equipment. Good luck!
Fitness Freshman Workout
Avid Exerciser Workout
Training Pro Workout
April 29, 2009
 In “The Only Math You Need to Know,” I talked about creating a daily calorie deficit. Specifically, in order to lose 1 pound per week you need to create a deficit of 500 calories each day. Exercise is really the most powerful tool to do this. Working out expends energy and, in order to expend that energy, your body needs to burn calories (usually sugar and fat). Could you lose weight simply by cutting 500 calories from your diet without working out? Sure. If you’re creating a deficit, you’ll lose weight – no matter how it’s done.
Changing Your Body
But weight loss is not about getting down to a certain clothing size or a number on the scale (although that’s often what goals are structured around unfortunately). It’s really about restructuring your body – about building a system that not only works more efficiently, but processes food and burns calories in a way that keeps you from gaining the weight back. Sure, you can lose weight through diet alone, but I guarantee you that weight will come back just as quickly as you lost it. And often you end up worse off than you were before you started losing weight. This is a vicious cycle that many people get caught up in – often termed “yo-yo dieting”.
The addition of exercise does more than increase your calorie deficit. Exercise is the mechanism by which you can change your body.
Here’s how it works: There are three main components of exercise – strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular work. Flexibility should always be a part of your exercise program, but for the purpose of this discussion I’m going to assume you include some stretching after your workouts and leave it at that. Strength training and cardiovascular exercise are the two components I’ll focus on for weight loss.
The Cardio Component
Cardiovascular exercise is aerobic activity (think running, walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, skiing, hiking, etc). People usually engage in these types of activities to burn calories and because they enjoy them. But cardiovascular exercise can improve your health on so many other levels beyond weight loss.
Here are just a few of those benefits:
- Reduced blood pressure.
- Reduced total cholesterol.
- Reduced body fat.
- Reduced depression symptoms.
- Reduced resting heart rate.
- Reduced incidence of some cancers.
- Increased HDL cholesterol (the “good” kind).
- Increased heart function.
- Increased oxygen consumption & blood flow to active muscles.
- Increased utilization of fat.
- Prevention of type-II diabetes.
For weight loss, I would suggest 45-60 minutes of cardiovascular exercise 3-4 days per week. Any activity that is sustained for this period of time and keeps your heart rate up around 65-80% of your maximum heart rate will help you burn calories and reap the benefits listed above.*
The Strength Component
I’ve written before about strength training (“4 Reasons Why You Should Be Strength Training”) and its significant benefits, both for weight loss and for restructuring your body. Here’s a clip from that article:
Your muscles are what carry out many of the metabolic reactions that burn sugar and fat stores for energy. Want to lose weight? Increase the percentage of lean muscle mass you have on your body, and you’ll be burning more calories per day – even while you’re sleeping!
Increasing your muscle mass is accomplished with strength training. By adding weight training and toning exercises to your routine, you’ll be burning calories while you build muscle. And the more muscle you have, the more calories you’ll burn each day – which really means that as you lose weight and change your body, it will get progressively harder for you to gain that weight back! That is the key right there, and it’s the reason why so many people can’t successfully maintain their weight. They haven’t fundamentally changed their body.
Putting It All Together
For weight loss, I would suggest 30-60 minutes of total body strength training 2-3 non-consecutive days per week. Combined with your cardio work, your exercise schedule would look something like this:
Monday 50 minutes Cardio
Tuesday 40 minutes Strength Training
Wednesday 50 minutes Cardio
Thursday 40 minutes Strength Training
Friday 50 minutes Cardio
Saturday 60 minutes Cardio
Sunday Rest
It’s important to allow yourself at least one day off each week, to let your body recover from the stress of exercise. Strength training, especially, requires a recovery period, which is why I say schedule your weight training on non-consecutive days. After these training sessions, your muscles need time to synthesize proteins and build strength back up, which typically takes about 48 hours.
Adding exercise to your weight loss program will not only help you in reaching your calorie deficit, it will improve your ability to utilize and burn fat and reduce your risk of many diseases. You will be more successful in keeping the weight off – and let’s face it, you’re working hard to lose that weight! Don’t set yourself up to fail by neglecting the most important part of weight loss – exercise.
*If you are just beginning an exercise program, are recovering from an injury or illness or are over 65, start with 20-30 minutes of cardio activity at an intensity of 40-65% maximum heart rate and gradually build up to higher levels.
For more on weight loss strategies: “10 Ways to Make Weight Loss Work for You.”
Resources:
Bryant, Cedric X., and Daniel J. Green, eds. ACE Personal Trainer Manual, 3rd ed. San Diego: American Council on Exercise, 2003.
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