In Gray Cook's book Movement, he illustrates a great example about movement quality and movement quantity. This simple analogy is something we should all think about when we exercise and teach. Quality is not just practiced, it must be learned and then earned. Here it is:
"People often consider high-intensity exercise the most extreme or radical form of self-imposed physical punishment for performance gains. To illustrate the error in the point, consider an example of the test drive and the tune up."
"A test drive is the equivalent of pushing to the extreme and noting the limits of physical capacity. It is a necessary step to mark times and set goals as one strives for improved performance. In contrast, a tune-up is the exercise equivalent of deliberate attention to any part of the physical system not functioning optimally or normally. Movement screening and assessment offer an additional piece of information to the tune-up. We optimize and normalize movement patterns in this tune-up process. In most cases, the application of the fresh, frequent, and flawless mentality is the recipe of choice as we tune movement performance"
We have focused too much on our quantity already. Let us start focusing on quality and mastering the prerequisite skills before we start to worry about times, reps, and weight.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Reduction is dangerous
Reduction of anything can come in many forms. Some religions in the world have sects that reduce that religion's views even farther. It is an attempt to get back to the fundamentals of something. Some believe that the more we think and reduce, the better. 99.9% of the general public will look at a cult and think that they are insane. Cults have widdled down the normal thought process of religion and faith and tried to make it into a more tangible practice. People have a basic hunger for understanding. When a cult might set a date for the Messiah to come, they are setting a tangible and numerical date because it cancels out uncertainty about things. We want to know and we want to know now. Doing that also rationalizes even further their beliefs and reduces their "religion" even further down to dates and times.As we have seen time and time again, this can be a dangerous practice.
How does this relate to fitness?
Too many people today use reduction as a basis of working out. For example, most guys in the gym practice a certain degree of bodybuilder volume training. They believe that if you want a certain muscle to grow, we must hit that individual muscle with every ounce of strength in the hope that it might grow 1/2 inch in 2 months. We have reduced the body down into certain body parts hoping that we will look lean and cut. There is no thought given to how it actually moves. Guys that practice workouts that are in magazines or that their friends gave them feed into an OCD complex. If I don't finish that last set, my arms won't fill out that graphic tee when I go out tonight! We keep seeing pictures of guys on steroids on the cover of magazines that say "six pack workout" next to them. Subconsciously we have equated a flat muscular stomach with the workout in the magazine even though that fitness model probably has great eating habits and is on steroids. We have simply reduced strength training to have a flat stomach and big arms.
Another example is people who practice long distance cardio. They believe that running is the bestest and most greatest thing to ever hit the planet! I am going to run 12 miles today and burn a million calories and then fall over because my knee is so sore from running but that is good because being sore means I worked hard and accomplished something! Was that a run on sentence? People that run that much honestly believe that they are doing their body good. They have reduced their physical activity to running and think that running a lot of miles is the pinnacle of a "fit" person. They give no thought as to how the body moves and a how a good strength and conditioning program can decrease injury and make them look and feel more "fit". They come at it from one angle.
Workout equipment is another example. The Swiss (or stability or exercise) Ball is a great example of using equipment to dictate a whole workout program. It can be a great tool for some exercises, but it should not dictate the program. People latch onto certain machines, workouts, and exercises thinking that they are the next best thing. They have reduced human movement to equipment. If we take a step back and stop reducing, do you really think that one piece of equipment is going to be the savior or your workout program? Does that sound logical at all?
The most widely reduced concept in fitness is nutrition. We are constantly bombarded with new diets, meal plans, and supplements. Is one product or diet really going to change our body composition? A great example is the Atkins diet. While we are currently shifting our dietary recommendations to a lower carb and more natural way of eating through the new food pyramid, the Atkins diet was marketed as a cure all weight loss program. You will lose weight if you follow the recommendations for the first month. It will be a miserable first month as your blood sugar will be at a constant low. Since the brain relies on blood sugar to function, we will be sent warning messages from our brain in the form of "where is my damn bread, soda, and chips that I love". The body has a wonderful way of adapting back to homeostasis (in this case normal blood sugar) and we will soon give in to our carb cravings and look for the next great diet plan. The word diet has a bad connotation with Jenny Craig commercials and stupid books like the South Beach diet. Some components of well thought out nutritional programs are excellent habits to form. Following a blanket recommendation that includes their own products and cult like following is plain stupid. Again, take a step back and look at what these people are trying to do. It is more about a lifestyle change rather than going on and off diets for that quick weight loss goal. When we get too specific and reduce a science down to gimmicks, we are set up to fail.
Balance is the key term in all of this. Running will not kill you, but you would be much better off adding some strength and conditioning to your runs. The Atkins diet will not kill you, but don't take it out of context and deprive your body of the carbs it needs. We all want to look and feel great but quick fixes and gimmicks will not get us there. You did not get fat in 4 weeks. It takes months and years to get into an obese lifestyle and bad habits. Sometimes we were simply raised that way and don't know any better. Being active is a great lifestyle change, but shortcuts are just that. Short lived.
How does this relate to fitness?
Too many people today use reduction as a basis of working out. For example, most guys in the gym practice a certain degree of bodybuilder volume training. They believe that if you want a certain muscle to grow, we must hit that individual muscle with every ounce of strength in the hope that it might grow 1/2 inch in 2 months. We have reduced the body down into certain body parts hoping that we will look lean and cut. There is no thought given to how it actually moves. Guys that practice workouts that are in magazines or that their friends gave them feed into an OCD complex. If I don't finish that last set, my arms won't fill out that graphic tee when I go out tonight! We keep seeing pictures of guys on steroids on the cover of magazines that say "six pack workout" next to them. Subconsciously we have equated a flat muscular stomach with the workout in the magazine even though that fitness model probably has great eating habits and is on steroids. We have simply reduced strength training to have a flat stomach and big arms.
Where we get too much information from
Another example is people who practice long distance cardio. They believe that running is the bestest and most greatest thing to ever hit the planet! I am going to run 12 miles today and burn a million calories and then fall over because my knee is so sore from running but that is good because being sore means I worked hard and accomplished something! Was that a run on sentence? People that run that much honestly believe that they are doing their body good. They have reduced their physical activity to running and think that running a lot of miles is the pinnacle of a "fit" person. They give no thought as to how the body moves and a how a good strength and conditioning program can decrease injury and make them look and feel more "fit". They come at it from one angle.
Workout equipment is another example. The Swiss (or stability or exercise) Ball is a great example of using equipment to dictate a whole workout program. It can be a great tool for some exercises, but it should not dictate the program. People latch onto certain machines, workouts, and exercises thinking that they are the next best thing. They have reduced human movement to equipment. If we take a step back and stop reducing, do you really think that one piece of equipment is going to be the savior or your workout program? Does that sound logical at all?
The Swiss Ball being taken horribly out of context
The most widely reduced concept in fitness is nutrition. We are constantly bombarded with new diets, meal plans, and supplements. Is one product or diet really going to change our body composition? A great example is the Atkins diet. While we are currently shifting our dietary recommendations to a lower carb and more natural way of eating through the new food pyramid, the Atkins diet was marketed as a cure all weight loss program. You will lose weight if you follow the recommendations for the first month. It will be a miserable first month as your blood sugar will be at a constant low. Since the brain relies on blood sugar to function, we will be sent warning messages from our brain in the form of "where is my damn bread, soda, and chips that I love". The body has a wonderful way of adapting back to homeostasis (in this case normal blood sugar) and we will soon give in to our carb cravings and look for the next great diet plan. The word diet has a bad connotation with Jenny Craig commercials and stupid books like the South Beach diet. Some components of well thought out nutritional programs are excellent habits to form. Following a blanket recommendation that includes their own products and cult like following is plain stupid. Again, take a step back and look at what these people are trying to do. It is more about a lifestyle change rather than going on and off diets for that quick weight loss goal. When we get too specific and reduce a science down to gimmicks, we are set up to fail.
Eating a block of cheese with a Porterhouse will not get you skinny either
Balance is the key term in all of this. Running will not kill you, but you would be much better off adding some strength and conditioning to your runs. The Atkins diet will not kill you, but don't take it out of context and deprive your body of the carbs it needs. We all want to look and feel great but quick fixes and gimmicks will not get us there. You did not get fat in 4 weeks. It takes months and years to get into an obese lifestyle and bad habits. Sometimes we were simply raised that way and don't know any better. Being active is a great lifestyle change, but shortcuts are just that. Short lived.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Quality over quantity
Let me preface all of this and say I used to do all of these things. I then started to learn and I will never go back.
First move well, then move often. - Gray Cook
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you read the phrase "workout routine"? Do you think of going on the treadmill for 50 minutes and putting a towel over the digital display of calories burned and hoping that number reaches 400-600? Do you go to the bench press (on Mondays of course) and do 5 sets in a fancy pyramid routine and then do another 4 sets of flys, dumbbell bench press, push up, dips,
and of course thrown in some neck flexors... errrr crunches? Do you then proceed to do every crunch variation known to man for 20 minutes and wonder why your back and neck hurt? But at least you hit your "core".
In our culture we always want the quick fix. It might be disguised as something else but everything today is instant gratification. Look at all of the fitness magazine covers lined up at the shelf:
Six minutes abs!
Get sexy for the holidays! (which could be a week out)
Bigger arms in 30 minutes a week!
The ultimate chest routine ! (I guess the last 327 routines were just warm ups)
Everything has to do with volume. It is much easier for us to count like that. We usually tend to believe more is better. We give no respect for the quality of anything. I recently attended a Functional Movement Screen seminar hosted by Lee Burton and Gray Cook. The FMS is all about movement quality. If you have dysfunctional movement patterns, then why would you keep doing more reps and weight? In his book "Movement", Cook states that there is no standard operating procedure to movement. We attempt to add exercise to dysfunction. Moving well is WIDELY overlooked in the fitness industry. You never see a group of guys in the gym saying, "man that is a great lookin squat, he even externally rotated his shoulders!" What you will see is a lot of this:
Good movement is not achieved and kept. It must be maintained through a balanced program. The programs that we attempt today have nothing to do with quality and everything to do with quantity. This is a serious mistake.
In this study, CAN SERIOUS INJURY IN PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL BE PREDICTED BY A PRESEASON FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT screen?, the FMS shows that those players who perform poorly on a movement screen are more likely to get injured. This has nothing to do with how much they bench or how fast they can laterally move. Moving well is the baseline for everything else. Before we can start adding weight to your squat, you must be able to perform a correct squat with body weight. This seems logical but is never practiced in your average gym goer. I am using a squat as an example because it is the most butchered exercise on the planet.
Do you put A1 steak sauce on a USDA dry aged prime beef bone-in ribeye? I hope not. What the FMS has set up is a screen to catch dysfunctional movement patterns. If you don't think that moving well pertains to you then try this:
My guess is that your arms and/or back pitched forward, your back rounded and/or arched, you didn't have your thigh parallel to the ground, knees caved in or bowed out, and your feet turned out. If you did not represent the picture, then you have a dysfunction somewhere. This squat is supposed to exaggerate basic movements. For a more specific example; if can't keep your arms up, you are wound up in either the neck, shoulder or thoracic region. I chose this particular movement because it is the most well known. This is only 1 out of 7 screens I perform the first time I meet with a client. If they perform poorly (most people do), then first order of business is to correct your dysfunction.
Note: Body weight overhead squatting is mean to bring out dysfunction, and not to prescribe an a corrective exercise. If you can represent the picture, then by all mean add some weight.
Some people have pain even doing this and I cannot address that and you should see a recommended Physical Therapist. I am not 40 years old yet, but I can guarantee that if you move poorly at 25, you will gradually get much worse by 40, and 50, and 60. This generation relies too much on western drugs (NSAIDS, acetaminophen, pain killers, lipitor) to relieve our pain. The key word is RELIEVE. We should SOLVE the root of the problem which is in your tissues and joints. Even if we do take care of our tissues and nothing else (getting a massage once a week), we are still not changing our patterns. Sitting hunched over at a desk and then pushing weight forward on a machine will only make things worse. We must learn to find the movement we had as a child. We learned to walk through a certain progression of movements. As children, if we performed something wrong, we fell down and it caused pain or discomfort. We then automatically listened to our body and tried something else until it felt right. We don't do that anymore. We hit up the gym and ignore that nagging shoulder or knee and think that it will heal itself. We focus more or losing weight and forget that are only making our dysfunctions worse.
So Matt, I kinda buy into what you are talking about. What do I do now? Well your best option would be to come get screened by me or an other FMS professional. Remember, everybody is different. We have been influenced by both our biology and environment. It would not be wise of me to just give you some blanket suggestions based on the general public's major dysfunctions. Just for example though, here is a general dysfunction that a lot of people have. Lower Crossed Syndrome
You would be surprised how much moving well can correct some acute pains you have. I am not diagnosing you with anything but somebody with knowledge of good movement can be the next step after manual therapy (Physical Therapy, Masseuse, Chiropractor). Let this idea settle in your mind for a couple of days and next time you go to the gym, look closer at people's movement. That person who walks around with an arched back (and butt sticking out) might suffer from or develop back or hip problems. That person with their neck protruded may suffer from headaches and back aches. If it looks wrong, it probably is.
First move well, then move often. - Gray Cook
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you read the phrase "workout routine"? Do you think of going on the treadmill for 50 minutes and putting a towel over the digital display of calories burned and hoping that number reaches 400-600? Do you go to the bench press (on Mondays of course) and do 5 sets in a fancy pyramid routine and then do another 4 sets of flys, dumbbell bench press, push up, dips,
and of course thrown in some neck flexors... errrr crunches? Do you then proceed to do every crunch variation known to man for 20 minutes and wonder why your back and neck hurt? But at least you hit your "core".
In our culture we always want the quick fix. It might be disguised as something else but everything today is instant gratification. Look at all of the fitness magazine covers lined up at the shelf:
Six minutes abs!
Get sexy for the holidays! (which could be a week out)
Bigger arms in 30 minutes a week!
The ultimate chest routine ! (I guess the last 327 routines were just warm ups)
Everything has to do with volume. It is much easier for us to count like that. We usually tend to believe more is better. We give no respect for the quality of anything. I recently attended a Functional Movement Screen seminar hosted by Lee Burton and Gray Cook. The FMS is all about movement quality. If you have dysfunctional movement patterns, then why would you keep doing more reps and weight? In his book "Movement", Cook states that there is no standard operating procedure to movement. We attempt to add exercise to dysfunction. Moving well is WIDELY overlooked in the fitness industry. You never see a group of guys in the gym saying, "man that is a great lookin squat, he even externally rotated his shoulders!" What you will see is a lot of this:
Adding tons of weight and can't even drop into a squat. It is more like a Back Compressor. The Back Compressor is a new exercise I made up and it focuses on spinal compression. There is NOTHING beneficial that will come out of this.
Good movement is not achieved and kept. It must be maintained through a balanced program. The programs that we attempt today have nothing to do with quality and everything to do with quantity. This is a serious mistake.
In this study, CAN SERIOUS INJURY IN PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL BE PREDICTED BY A PRESEASON FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT screen?, the FMS shows that those players who perform poorly on a movement screen are more likely to get injured. This has nothing to do with how much they bench or how fast they can laterally move. Moving well is the baseline for everything else. Before we can start adding weight to your squat, you must be able to perform a correct squat with body weight. This seems logical but is never practiced in your average gym goer. I am using a squat as an example because it is the most butchered exercise on the planet.
Do you put A1 steak sauce on a USDA dry aged prime beef bone-in ribeye? I hope not. What the FMS has set up is a screen to catch dysfunctional movement patterns. If you don't think that moving well pertains to you then try this:
Put your arms straight above your head, sit back on your heels, and drop down.
My guess is that your arms and/or back pitched forward, your back rounded and/or arched, you didn't have your thigh parallel to the ground, knees caved in or bowed out, and your feet turned out. If you did not represent the picture, then you have a dysfunction somewhere. This squat is supposed to exaggerate basic movements. For a more specific example; if can't keep your arms up, you are wound up in either the neck, shoulder or thoracic region. I chose this particular movement because it is the most well known. This is only 1 out of 7 screens I perform the first time I meet with a client. If they perform poorly (most people do), then first order of business is to correct your dysfunction.
Note: Body weight overhead squatting is mean to bring out dysfunction, and not to prescribe an a corrective exercise. If you can represent the picture, then by all mean add some weight.
Some people have pain even doing this and I cannot address that and you should see a recommended Physical Therapist. I am not 40 years old yet, but I can guarantee that if you move poorly at 25, you will gradually get much worse by 40, and 50, and 60. This generation relies too much on western drugs (NSAIDS, acetaminophen, pain killers, lipitor) to relieve our pain. The key word is RELIEVE. We should SOLVE the root of the problem which is in your tissues and joints. Even if we do take care of our tissues and nothing else (getting a massage once a week), we are still not changing our patterns. Sitting hunched over at a desk and then pushing weight forward on a machine will only make things worse. We must learn to find the movement we had as a child. We learned to walk through a certain progression of movements. As children, if we performed something wrong, we fell down and it caused pain or discomfort. We then automatically listened to our body and tried something else until it felt right. We don't do that anymore. We hit up the gym and ignore that nagging shoulder or knee and think that it will heal itself. We focus more or losing weight and forget that are only making our dysfunctions worse.
So Matt, I kinda buy into what you are talking about. What do I do now? Well your best option would be to come get screened by me or an other FMS professional. Remember, everybody is different. We have been influenced by both our biology and environment. It would not be wise of me to just give you some blanket suggestions based on the general public's major dysfunctions. Just for example though, here is a general dysfunction that a lot of people have. Lower Crossed Syndrome
You would be surprised how much moving well can correct some acute pains you have. I am not diagnosing you with anything but somebody with knowledge of good movement can be the next step after manual therapy (Physical Therapy, Masseuse, Chiropractor). Let this idea settle in your mind for a couple of days and next time you go to the gym, look closer at people's movement. That person who walks around with an arched back (and butt sticking out) might suffer from or develop back or hip problems. That person with their neck protruded may suffer from headaches and back aches. If it looks wrong, it probably is.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Female: But I just don't want to get big!
Me: My first goal is to get you moving well so we can efficiently gain muscle. This will speed up your metabolism, increase lean muscle, and reinforce strong joints and good posture.
Female: Ok well I do want to tone up but I don't want to look like that (as she points to pictures of bodybuilders). I just want to tone!!!
Me: Do not worry, before you look like that, you have a LONG way to go to gain even half that much muscle.
Female: (walks away)
Just kidding but not really. Every time I talk to a new female client, this is the first thing that comes out of their mouth. Ladies, you will not gain as much muscle as males do. You have a higher body fat percentage for many scientific reasons. You have less muscle than males because of many scientific reasons. Strength training will not bulk you up. Conversely, spending an hour on the Stairmaster will not "tone" you up. We have already gone over slow cardio training so you should know that!
Muscle only grows if you stress it. If you overload a muscle, (more likely a group of muscles) it will have a reason to grow. It gets more complicated from there but you get the point. I see too many females doing only cardio and group classes. I also see a lot of females who think that Bodypump class is considered progressive weight training. Have you seen the weights in there? I think they got those from the toy section in Target. In the beginning of anybody getting off their ass, increased use of weight will grow a muscle. Like I said in an earlier post, the body will adapt. Once the muscle's system adapts to your Bodypump class, nothing else will happen. Your futile attempts to increase reps, time, and cardio will end in a plateau or injury. Start learning how the body works. I suggest you start with the nearest toddler who is learning to move and walk. Hit up the local daycare and watch perfect human movements (don't look creepy though). The kids will probably then look at you and exclaim, "Lady, you can't squat correctly? I learned that stuff last year!"
Next time.... Quality over Quantity.
Female: Ok well I do want to tone up but I don't want to look like that (as she points to pictures of bodybuilders). I just want to tone!!!
Me: Do not worry, before you look like that, you have a LONG way to go to gain even half that much muscle.
Female: (walks away)
Just kidding but not really. Every time I talk to a new female client, this is the first thing that comes out of their mouth. Ladies, you will not gain as much muscle as males do. You have a higher body fat percentage for many scientific reasons. You have less muscle than males because of many scientific reasons. Strength training will not bulk you up. Conversely, spending an hour on the Stairmaster will not "tone" you up. We have already gone over slow cardio training so you should know that!
Muscle only grows if you stress it. If you overload a muscle, (more likely a group of muscles) it will have a reason to grow. It gets more complicated from there but you get the point. I see too many females doing only cardio and group classes. I also see a lot of females who think that Bodypump class is considered progressive weight training. Have you seen the weights in there? I think they got those from the toy section in Target. In the beginning of anybody getting off their ass, increased use of weight will grow a muscle. Like I said in an earlier post, the body will adapt. Once the muscle's system adapts to your Bodypump class, nothing else will happen. Your futile attempts to increase reps, time, and cardio will end in a plateau or injury. Start learning how the body works. I suggest you start with the nearest toddler who is learning to move and walk. Hit up the local daycare and watch perfect human movements (don't look creepy though). The kids will probably then look at you and exclaim, "Lady, you can't squat correctly? I learned that stuff last year!"
How much you squat baby?
Next time.... Quality over Quantity.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Conditioning... not cardio
In my short time within the fitness field, the most important thing I have learned is perspective. People should rethink their goals and outlook on the couple hours every week they spend on their workouts. I am still trying to figure out what the true motive is for people that walk into a gym sign up. I always try and give the big picture perspective to my clients. One workout will not make you look different. It is the program that we make that will make the long term difference. If you train one day at a time, you will not see any results. You must train with a specific goal to achieve. Most of the topics I touch on in fitness can also relate to life. For example moving to a new city without goal or plan to adapt to this huge change in your life, and you will not get very far. You need a plan of action considering the many tasks you must complete to have a smooth and meaningful change. Start thinking of the big picture. If quantity had everything to do with outcome, the person who simply did the most without discretion to quality, would be the best. For example, Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in the NFL. He does not spend all do throwing through a 1 foot diameter circle 60 yards away. He physically and mentally prepares for every aspect of the game. Nothing surprises him except a loss.
Back to the cardio sucks stuff. Most athletes train by using some form of intervals. If you watch almost any sport (not cross country; and why the hell would you ever watch cross country?) they engage in intervals. Next basketball game you watch, notice rest to work ratio. Depending on team's strategy, they will be sprinting down the court, stopping and setting up a play, pass, pass again, post up to Tim Duncan and he will drain a shot. It was stop, go, stop, kinda stop, go. Specificity is the training principle that states that one must train at a certain energy level and skill to achieve a desired outcome in that skill. For example, Lance Armstrong's Tour de France vs. New york city marathon results. He has one of the highest maximal oxygen uptakes per minute ever. He uses 6 L of oxygen every minute. You probably use 2 L and then you fall to the ground and start to heave. His heart is so strong that it only has to beat 35 times a minute. As soon as he took a step on the ground, his body reacted. Every stride multiplied by a couple thousand had energy leaks. His body is not primed for the specific motor skill of running. Train for what your specific goal is. I don't think you want a runners body (think flat butt and bad back with bird legs). I will not go through the physiological adaptation of growing muscle but long slow running sure doe snot give any definition. That slow cardio that you have been doing was OK for a couple of weeks (increased activity versus sitting on your ass), but the body will adapt. I would hate to reference something if I don't have to but I should get used to it :Short-term sprint interval versus traditional endurance training: similar initial adaptations in human skeletal muscle and exercise performance.
Also, you are not an elite marathoner or triathlete. If you try and train like one with a cookie cutter running routine, you will get injured. Yes, that nagging pain on the outside of your knee is an injury. It will probably decrease when you stop running. Cannot make it any more simple for ya!
More and more studies have come out showing that short interval training, is safer, less time consuming (unless you like to consume time increasing your joint problems and watching Oprah while listening to Hanson), and will give you the same if not better results. I am borrowing this idea from Gray Cook:
The days of coming to the gym and zoning out your surroundings and shutting off your central nervous system are over. Your body gives you feedback 24/7. Start tuning in. It will enrich your workouts and not further the disconnection between your body and mind. Interval training is more mentally engaging and more difficult. Yes I said difficult. Most things in life worth doing are difficult and you must make an effort both physically and mentally to get through it. These are the things that build your character. I think I just stated that interval training will build your character. Maybe....
I am reluctant to give my 5 readers a specific interval workout but just try this. Warm up for 3 minutes on a bike and at minute 5 go into a full on sprint (think 95% of your max). Wait till your heart rate hits 160 and cruise till your heart rate goes down to 110, and then start sprinting till it hits 160. Do that for 15 then cool down for 3 minutes. That is 21 minutes. If you did your jogging routine, at 20 minutes you would be just warmed up (and listening to mmmm Bop). This workout will not cure cancer but try it and then stretch and foam roll and eat a turkey sandwich.
Do ittttttttttt
Back to the cardio sucks stuff. Most athletes train by using some form of intervals. If you watch almost any sport (not cross country; and why the hell would you ever watch cross country?) they engage in intervals. Next basketball game you watch, notice rest to work ratio. Depending on team's strategy, they will be sprinting down the court, stopping and setting up a play, pass, pass again, post up to Tim Duncan and he will drain a shot. It was stop, go, stop, kinda stop, go. Specificity is the training principle that states that one must train at a certain energy level and skill to achieve a desired outcome in that skill. For example, Lance Armstrong's Tour de France vs. New york city marathon results. He has one of the highest maximal oxygen uptakes per minute ever. He uses 6 L of oxygen every minute. You probably use 2 L and then you fall to the ground and start to heave. His heart is so strong that it only has to beat 35 times a minute. As soon as he took a step on the ground, his body reacted. Every stride multiplied by a couple thousand had energy leaks. His body is not primed for the specific motor skill of running. Train for what your specific goal is. I don't think you want a runners body (think flat butt and bad back with bird legs). I will not go through the physiological adaptation of growing muscle but long slow running sure doe snot give any definition. That slow cardio that you have been doing was OK for a couple of weeks (increased activity versus sitting on your ass), but the body will adapt. I would hate to reference something if I don't have to but I should get used to it :Short-term sprint interval versus traditional endurance training: similar initial adaptations in human skeletal muscle and exercise performance.
Also, you are not an elite marathoner or triathlete. If you try and train like one with a cookie cutter running routine, you will get injured. Yes, that nagging pain on the outside of your knee is an injury. It will probably decrease when you stop running. Cannot make it any more simple for ya!
More and more studies have come out showing that short interval training, is safer, less time consuming (unless you like to consume time increasing your joint problems and watching Oprah while listening to Hanson), and will give you the same if not better results. I am borrowing this idea from Gray Cook:
The days of coming to the gym and zoning out your surroundings and shutting off your central nervous system are over. Your body gives you feedback 24/7. Start tuning in. It will enrich your workouts and not further the disconnection between your body and mind. Interval training is more mentally engaging and more difficult. Yes I said difficult. Most things in life worth doing are difficult and you must make an effort both physically and mentally to get through it. These are the things that build your character. I think I just stated that interval training will build your character. Maybe....
I am reluctant to give my 5 readers a specific interval workout but just try this. Warm up for 3 minutes on a bike and at minute 5 go into a full on sprint (think 95% of your max). Wait till your heart rate hits 160 and cruise till your heart rate goes down to 110, and then start sprinting till it hits 160. Do that for 15 then cool down for 3 minutes. That is 21 minutes. If you did your jogging routine, at 20 minutes you would be just warmed up (and listening to mmmm Bop). This workout will not cure cancer but try it and then stretch and foam roll and eat a turkey sandwich.
Do ittttttttttt
Friday, October 15, 2010
Slow cardio sucks
I thought I would start with the biggest myth of them all. Before you bash me with your science, increasing activity will increase your metabolism, then increase your calories burned, then increase your fuel (carbs and fat) usage. Exercise Physiology 101. The only problem is that most people believe more is better. Once they achieve a decent cardiovascular level, they can run for longer and more efficiently (so they think). We do not store calories in our body. A calorie is just a measurement of heat.
Standing burns more calories than sitting. Walking burns more calories than standing. Jogging burns more calories than walking... and so on and so on. You will start to lose weight initially simply because you are not sitting on your butt anymore. In so many number of weeks (based on genetics and your initial starting level) your body will adapt. Your body will adapt anything. Ask an obese person if their body has adapted to in taking more calories. You are damn right it does. It is a vicious cycle.
After so many number of weeks comes a little bit of poundage loss. Cool. Every client that I have ever had has always wanted to "tone".
Standing burns more calories than sitting. Walking burns more calories than standing. Jogging burns more calories than walking... and so on and so on. You will start to lose weight initially simply because you are not sitting on your butt anymore. In so many number of weeks (based on genetics and your initial starting level) your body will adapt. Your body will adapt anything. Ask an obese person if their body has adapted to in taking more calories. You are damn right it does. It is a vicious cycle.
After so many number of weeks comes a little bit of poundage loss. Cool. Every client that I have ever had has always wanted to "tone".
---- tone (tōn)
v. toned , ton·ing , tones
To give tone or firmness to.
v. toned , ton·ing , tones
To give tone or firmness to.
You don't tone by doing slow paced cardiovascular work. Your heart will get stronger. You will make more blood. Your resting heart rate will decrease. Those are all positive adaptations but they have nothing to do with toning.
To summarize, a calorie is a measure of heat, not that piece of fat on your inner thigh. You will initially lose some fat but your body will adapt to the slow ways of your metabolic work. If you have poor posture and/or movement patterns, they will be reinforced by long and slow paced work. More is better right? Wrong. You will see just as many running injuries from poor posture as you will see lifting injuries from technique. There is a correct running stride but if do not move well walking, running will not help.
Part 2: Solutions... Tomorrow
Man I really need to learn how to write more succinct.
Initial thoughts
So I decided to start a a blog because I always seem to get frustrated with the whole fitness industry. A little about me.... I am 24 years old and I am a personal trainer at Golds Gym in San Antonio, TX. I have only been in the business for about 6 months but I have always been interested in fitness. I am finishing up my Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science from The University of Texas at San Antonio.
I am in no way an expert but I learn something new everyday and I have a small obsession with knowing everything about my career to be!
The general public is largely influenced by what they see on television (shake a weight) and magazines (build bigger arms and sexy abs) and other ill informed people (just go on the Atkins diet to get ready for spring break). The truth is that this whole fat loss thing is very young. At a recent seminar I went to in Houston, Gray Cook alluded to the fitness world today as the "wild west". He is 100% correct and we never take a step back and look at it that way. Fitness, working out, movement, getting skinny, running or whatever you want to call it is a pretty new concept. We were not as obese even 30 years ago. My goal is to figure out the underlying problems, teach the public about intelligent training methods, and spread the word to as many people as possible!
There are many blogs and websites about personal trainers and workouts and stuff like that. I want this to be an outlet for me and everybody else to discuss where society is going (and being led) in terms of fat loss. A major topic of my classes is childhood obesity, and it is especially prevalent here in San Antonio. It is becoming an epidemic and I feel it is our obligation as "fitness professionals" to make a dent in this epidemic!
I am in no way an expert but I learn something new everyday and I have a small obsession with knowing everything about my career to be!
The general public is largely influenced by what they see on television (shake a weight) and magazines (build bigger arms and sexy abs) and other ill informed people (just go on the Atkins diet to get ready for spring break). The truth is that this whole fat loss thing is very young. At a recent seminar I went to in Houston, Gray Cook alluded to the fitness world today as the "wild west". He is 100% correct and we never take a step back and look at it that way. Fitness, working out, movement, getting skinny, running or whatever you want to call it is a pretty new concept. We were not as obese even 30 years ago. My goal is to figure out the underlying problems, teach the public about intelligent training methods, and spread the word to as many people as possible!
There are many blogs and websites about personal trainers and workouts and stuff like that. I want this to be an outlet for me and everybody else to discuss where society is going (and being led) in terms of fat loss. A major topic of my classes is childhood obesity, and it is especially prevalent here in San Antonio. It is becoming an epidemic and I feel it is our obligation as "fitness professionals" to make a dent in this epidemic!
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