This is a blog where you can come to learn on how to achieve your health and fitness related goals in a safe and healthy way. My blog entries will educate, share tips and motivate you. Please feel free to contact me for 1 on 1 coaching and exercise programs that can help you reach your goals. Trainer@RSMobileFitness.Com
All to often we focus our exercises on muscles that give us that sexy factor and ignore the ones that actually provide our bodies with improved health, performance, and decrease our risk for injury. For us guys we tend to focus on chest, arms and abs, women tend to focus on abs, legs and glutes, but what are you leaving out?
1. Rotator Cuff
One of the leading causes of injury that will derail your success train would be a shoulder injury. Shoulder injuries are caused by weak muscles that make up the rotator cuff. The purpose of the rotator cuff is to provide stabilization the shoulder through it's full range of motion.
What to do:
2. Erector Spinae
Common injuries that involve the spine tend to be caused by weak core muscles, especially in the lower back. The most common spine injury involves vertebrae L-4-S-1 and is often paired with sharp shooting pain down the leg caused by nerve impingement of the Sciatic Nerve.
What to do.
3.Anterior Tibialis
Far to often the legs are ignored in the gym, ever see the guy who has a HUGE upper body and tooth picks for legs? More than likely every day is upper body for him. You want to make sure you are maintaining a good balance with your body or else you could cause muscle imbalances that could put you at risk for injury or cause postural disorders. One of the most ignored leg muscle is the Anterior Tibialis which is located in the front of the lower leg in the shin area.
What to do.
4. Lower Trapezius
IF you've ever felt like you hit a plateau with some of your upper body exercises it could be due to a muscle imbalance and having a weak lower trapezius. The body will compensate and actually prevent the other muscles in your body from growing or getting stronger. The Lower Trapezius is responsibile for creating upper rotation, adduction and depression of the scapula.
It's been awhile since I posted something. I've been really busy
with life as well as trying to further develop my skills as a Health Coach so I
can better support all of you. I've learned a lot over the last year or so and
I'm excited to share this new knowledge with you all.
There are so many amazing things that I
want to share I don't know where to begin so why not start at the beginning.
Starting with really deciding what is it that you want and why is that so important
to you? We all have goals that we want, but are they really goals or just
general statements like "I want to lose weight" or "I want to be
healthier".
When was the last time that you sat down
and reflected on what is it exactly that you want? When you picture yourself as
this healthier person what exactly do you see? How do you see yourself? How do
you feel? What are you doing as this healthier person you envision yourself
being that you can't do now?
Whew that was a lot of questions, but that
is exactly what you need to do, ask yourself questions. When I asked myself
these questions it cleared things up for me, it gave me a target to aim for. I
know exactly what I want. I see myself as someone who doesn't have any health
issues like high blood pressure (which runs in my family and I've been
borderline high until I made changes to my lifestyle), I have perfect
cholesterol, not at risk for heart disease or diabetes. I see myself not as a
body builder or some fitness model, I see myself as having good muscle tone and
strength. I have a waist circumference around 30 inches (40 inches and above
puts you at risk for heart disease etc.). Most of all I see myself as not being
plagued by the back pain that has bothered me since my car accident in 09. The
same back pain that I used as an excuse to be unhealthy. At that point in my
life I was barely able to play with my kids without being in pain. I haven't
reached the point I where I want to be, but I'm getting there.
How amazing would that feel to have
already reached your goal? I hear some of the same things from my clients that
really stand out. Things like "I would be happier, have more self-confidence,
I would actually be able to look at myself in the mirror and not feel ashamed
or embarrassed." How would you feel?
Write all of these things down and keep
them for a reference to reflect on. It's a great thing to be able to go back to
these thoughts when you're feeling maybe not as motivated as usual or maybe you
haven't seen the progress that you want and you're feeling discouraged and want
to quit and give up. DON'T! Keep fighting, keep working, and keep making small
changes and most of all keep your head up. It's all part of the process, it
happens to everyone. You know where you want to be, it's just a matter of
taking that next step that will get you there.
You have one great thing about your body that can help you lose weight and you don't even know it. Your own weight can be one of your greatest assets in your fitness goals. There are a lot of exercises that can be done that utilize your own body weight that work multiple muscle groups(burn those calories!) at one time.
The key to performing not only these exercises, but any exercise is proper form and mixing it up to work different areas. A lot of these exercises can be done at home, which means you won't need that expensive gym membership.
Chest and Triceps
Pushups work both your pectoral muscles as well as your triceps. You can target what areas you want to work by varying your hand position and the angle of your body. Adding chair dips will give you extra work for your triceps. For guys really building your triceps is what gives your arms the size that the ladies like looking at. Ladies working your triceps targets that area that you complain about, so work those dips and blast those bingo wings.
Standard pushups are performed with your hands shoulder width apart, straight back a tightened core. The key to an affective pushup is reaching a deep contraction(lowering your chest as low to the ground as you can) and a full extension by ensuring that your arms are fully extended and locked out. Remember that it's about quality not quantity. 20 pushups with proper form is better than 100 pushups with crappy form. So take it slow and control yourself on your way down and and really concentrate on squeezing your chest muscles and triceps on the extension. One area where people go wrong with pushups is they take their spine out of alignment by looking forward because they were told to keep their head up. The best way is to look straight down keeping your spine in full alignment. The saying keep your head up comes from when people tuck their chin to their chest.
To mix up what areas you work in your chest bring your hands closer together or spread them farther apart. By spreading your hands farther apart you really target your chest, by bringing your hands closer together you target more of your triceps. You Off set your hands with one set with your right hand farther forward an one with your left hand farther forward. If you want to target your upper and lower pectorals either elevate your feet for a decline pushup working the upper portion of your chest, or do an incline pushup by leaning agains a counter or table to work your lower chest.
By performing dips on a chair you can work your triceps. Simply place your hands on the front of the chair with your hands facing forward. Your lower back should be agains the front of the chair and your legs extended outward. Lower your body until your arms form a 90 degree angle and then extend your arms upward squeezing at the full extension. If you want to add some difficulty you can place your feet on another object like another chair or exercise ball.
Some simple body weight exercises with variations that target different areas and different degrees of difficulty. There isn't a need for a gym membership if you have the discipline to exercise while at home. This can be a go to routine or a back up for days you can't make it to the gym. Stick to your plan, stay motivated and reach those goals.
Stay tuned for back and bicep body weight exercises!
Walk, jog, sprint, lift...it's all exercise right? While yes it is exercise, but not all exercise activities are created equally. Some people say "if you want to lose weight then you have to run run run." ahh no way I hate running, ok then just walk. It doesn't matter, if you walk the same distance that you run you burn the same amount of calories. Running just gets you done faster. So whether you run 1 mile in 7 minutes or you walk it in 15 minutes, it doesn't matter.
The only difference is the intensity that it takes to run will create the micro tears in your muscle fibers that you need to build new muscle. This is why you are sore the day after you run. Building muscle will increase your metabolism in turn burning more calories during regular day to day activities. The downside to low intensity cardiovascular exercises is you tend to only burn calories for the duration of that activity. So your 7 minute mile only burns calories for 7 minutes. That leaves 23 hours and 53 minutes of the day that is left up to regular day to day activities to burn more than you consume.
So what do you then? Run for hours on end every day? God no, that would be torture. Add weight lifting or high intensity interval training (HIIT) to your routine. Weight lifting and HITT not only burn calories during the activity but also after. SWEET! You mean I can burn calories sitting on the couch resting after I work out? yeaaaaaa buddy! Actually for up to 36 hours after.
If you want to go the weight lifting route so you can finally have that model physique you've always wanted then start out with a routine that has you working your entire body focusing on the major muscle groups. Remember the larger the muscle is the more calories you burn during contraction and extension of that muscle. So do not ignore your legs. The muscles in your legs are the largest in your body.
Be sure you still have your cardio element to your routine, but add your cardio after you have lifted. If you run on the treadmill or elliptical before then you burn the energy you need to lift properly before you ever get to the weights. Instead use your energy on lifting first then deplete your fat stores for energy during your cardio. Also your heart rate should already be elevated from lifting so all you have to do is maintain your target heart rate for 30 minutes rather than having to get your heart rate where you want it and keep it there afterwards for 30 minutes. Keep things simple and working in your favor.
Now what was this about HIITing people, ahh yes HIIT. Such a great intense workout that you feel like you are taken to the very edge of failure every single time. An example of HIIT would be sprinting for 30 seconds, jogging for 60 seconds, sprinting for 30 seconds, jogging for 60 seconds. The jogging period is your recovery time because this sprint that you're doing isn't a slight increase in pace, it's a full on sprint like you're running for your life. All high intensity intervals are done at the level where you are pushing yourself to the point you can't push any harder followed by a lower intensity to recover and prepare for the next high intensity interval.
Here is a great video with some great tips on HIIT from Jim Stoppani.
Switch up your activities, keep it interesting. If you can manage the intensity of HIIT then add it to your toolbox, if not then work hard to get yourself to where you can. Remember, as long as you're putting in the effort you will only get better, stronger, faster and leaner. Keep your goals in sight and work hard to reach those goals, because if you don't then nobody will.
Well the heat is on and bikini season is a go for all you ladies....and uh gents.
I've been really working on trying to clean up my diet so I can get those 6 pack abs that every guy wants. Most people think that if you want great abs then you have to kill your abs with sit-ups and other abdominal exercises. While yes you need to have well developed abdominal muscles for great abs, you also need to get rid of that cozy blanket of fat that is covering them. No point of having the worlds greatest abs if they're hidden under a layer of fat.
So how do we get those great abs to show? Well there is a saying that abs are made in the kitchen and not the gym, and this is 100% true. The key to exposing your abs is lowing your body fat percentage. The average male is approximately in a range of 18-25% for males and 25-31% for females. Now keep in mind the average person doesn't walk around with great abs, they tend to have a little layer of fat covering those abdominal muscles. Also remember, we don't want to be average, we want to be extraordinary. So what percentage do you need to expose your abs for all the world to see your hard work and dedication? Well for males you need to drop your body fat percentage below 10% and for women getting below 19% would be where you need to be.
There are a few methods that you can use to determine your body fat percentage but the most accurate is a Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) scan. Other methods would be water displacement, bioelectrical impedance and the skin fold test. Once you have determined your body fat percentage you can set your goals for where you want to be and a plan to get there.
So how do we get our body fat percentage down to where we can start to see some progress? Clean eating! I'm not saying wash your pizza with soap to get off any dirt, I'm saying eating lean meats, veggies and proper carbs. Some people will say stay away from carbs and bla bla bla. Uhhh hello McFly! You need carbs to provide fuel for your intense workouts. I've seen to many people pass out during a workout because they have been told to avoid carbs because carbs are bad! Those big mean nasty carbs! Eat carbs, but remember to taper your carbs throughout the day with most of your carbs for breakfast with portions getting smaller to the smallest portion at dinner. You can get a lot of carbs from veggies as well, which also provide fiber.
You can get into all the mumbo jumbo of "fat fighting foods" and "fat blasting supplements" but it all comes down to what you're eating, how much you're eating, and how much of what you're eating are you burning through exercise. Simple math, burn more than you consume= weight loss, consume more than you burn= weight gain.
A good way to keep track and keep yourself honest is to keep a food journal. Most of us have smart phones so try downloading a food journal app like MyFitnessPal or Spark People. Check them out and figure out what one is best for you and your needs. You would be surprised at how much you are either over eating or how the foods you are eating aren't providing the nutrients you need. Eat smart, live well, and stay motivated.
We as normal people enjoy a night out on the town from time to time. Trying to live a healthy lifestyle doesn't mean that you can't enjoy yourself, it just means that you have to look a little harder for a healthier option. Take tonight for example, the wife and kids decided they wanted to go out to eat for dinner. Naturally the kids want all the greasy stuff that isn't good for you and after a fun game of "What do you want? I don't know, what do you want?" we decided on Red Robin(more like the kids decided). Now if you're not familiar with Red Robin, it is a "gourmet" burger place. During my less than healthy days I'd always go with the Burn'n Love burger. MMM so good, nice and spicy with those fried jalapenos on it.
Now just because I have decided to live a healthier life, that doesn't mean that I can't have the things I enjoy anymore. If I were to have a craving for a Burn'n Love burger I'd just eat half and save the rest for lunch for tomorrow. This is always a great way to still enjoy a great meal out without overeating and consuming almost an entire days worth of calories in one sitting. These portion sizes that these restaurants are dishing out are ridiculous. Some of these meals literally have well over 2000 calories in one dish. Holy sweet mother of Neptune! The crazy thing is that we just sit back and chow down without even thinking about it. If you have a smart phone, which I believe most people do, try looking up a meal that your considering on the restaurant website for the nutritional content. This could help you decide on either what to eat, or how much of it you're going to eat.
Another great way to treat yourself is, if you decide you want to drink a soda (or pop for you weirdos in the north), try ordering a glass of water as well. You might find yourself drinking out of both and thus drinking less of that sugar filled soda of choice. Now for you beer drinkers out there you could try the same thing, but if you're like me you would feel like you're wasting a good beer if you don't finish it. So when the waitress/waiter asks if you want the tall 22oz, politely decline and just opt for the regular 12oz. You could also use this as a great way to test your will power and quit drinking alcoholic beverages all together. I hear all of the time from people "wow I've lost 10lbs just from not drinking beer or soda." Soda and beer are empty calories that provide nothing in nutritional value, but man are they refreshing.
Some restaurants now are even jumping on the healthy lifestyle bandwagon and offering lower calorie meals or half portions. I say great! Check your menus for these options and see if any of it tickles your tongue. Just remember that you CAN still eat out and enjoy a nice healthy meal, so go out and reward yourself on a great week in the kitchen and in the gym. Just remember that reward doesn't mean binge and forget all about portion sizes. Either way, enjoy your rewards and get ready for a new week of achieving greatness.
You've taken the steps to making healthier food choices when making your meal plans and now you have that brand new shiny gym membership. You might even go out and buy some new clothes to work out in while you're there. You get through your first week, you're a little sore but you work through it. Monday comes around and you really aren't feeling like going because your cat doesn't seem to be acting normal, and you really need to make sure that he's not going to jump from your first floor apartment window in attempt to take one of his 9 lives. You skip Monday's workout and say "I'll just go tomorrow." Well tomorrow never turns into today and you just stop going. Why is this?
Well I'll tell you why, you haven't established a routine and developed a habit of going. It takes approximately 28 days to develop a habit and approximately 66 days to establish a routine. No matter how bad you might feel like skipping a workout in the very beginning you need to stick it out and go. Once you have developed that habit and established that routine you increase your chances of successfully abiding by your workout schedule.
Now with saying that, I'm not saying don't take a day off to rest. You need those scheduled rest days to allow your body to recover from those intense workouts. When developing your workout routine try and schedule 1-2 rest days. The key word here is scheduled rest days, so try and stick to your schedule the best you can.
No matter what the schedule that you come up with looks like, the key is to do your best to stick to it in the beginning so you can establish that routine and develop that habit. Set small achievable goals for yourself so that you have something to keep you motivated. For myself I used 5lbs increments of my weight loss. Remember that you didn't gain the weight overnight so don't expect it to fall off overnight.
