Tip of the Day

One of the most important things to remember when starting or changing an exercise routine is the need for progression. Too many people jump into exercise not having worked out in years, and think they can just pick up where they left off or just start where Men’s Health tells them is a good weight and rep range. The problem is that the body is designed to function based on its adaptations, and if your body has not been involved in exercises, or has never done an specific exercise before, you need to progress up to it. By starting light, but perhaps more importantly, starting with the right types of exercises, you set yourself up for success. This would include your static holds, slow reps, and adequate time spent on warming up and stretching. In doing this you will allow your body to go through the necessary adaptations to allow for safe, productive and worthwhile exercise. These changes will include: 1) Rewire your neuromuscular system, allowing the brain to effectively tell the muscle fibers that they need to contract. 2) Strengthen the tendons and ligaments, allowing them to hold strong as you perform weighted movements. 3) Wake up your stabilizing muscles, making sure that they fire, and fire at the right time. 4) Lengthen then muscles, allowing the joints to move freely in their full range of motion to perform exercises as they were intended to be performed. 5) Harden the core, giving you proper power transfer through the body, and protecting the lower back from excessive loading or movement.

Without the proper progressions, you leave your body and your hopes for fitness at risk. Think of the January 1^st syndrome; the first week everyone goes out and hits the ground running with a 5-mile run with no warm-up and no stretch after. The next week, all those people are cursing their sore muscles, tight hamstrings, and the pain in their Achilles. You cannot expect your body to perform at its highest level until you have given it time to build up and learn how to exercise. Treat it like a new skill to be learned: you have to start with baby steps, but after a while, you will look back and see just how far you’ve come. Good luck and happy training!

-Colin

Tip of the Day

Stay clear of machines! Some say that machines are good for those who are new to lifting or are too frail to manage free weights. I say, if they don't have the stability to handle free weights, then why are we just adding to the dysfunction by allowing them to build up their big muscles even more while their stabilizers stay weak?! If you can't squat because you lose your balance or you can't squat down far enough, then why are you on a leg press with twice the weight and half the range of motion? There is just no functional purpose to using a machine, and even for those whose only goal is to get bigger, the benefits of free-weight training are far greater in the end than machine training could ever be.

The only machines I do use in a gym have cables. Cables allow for natural movement, keep you on your feet (or knees), and have a number of quality exercises for which they can be used. I also will recommend negative resistant pull-ups sometimes, but even here I would rather use cables to work my vertical pulls if they are available. If you are hesitant to get off the machines, or do not know where to start with your exercises, check out my Exercise 101 series, and don’t be afraid to ask for help, either from me or one of the trainers at your gym. They should be more than happy to show you where to start, and once you’re rolling, you will see that there are more benefits to free-weight and body weight training than you could ever achieve with machines. Good luck and happy training!

-Colin

Exercise 101: Cardiovascular Training

While you do not have to do cardio on the same days you weight train, many people only have two or three days a week that they can get to the gym, so it would be important to have a well rounded exercise session if this is the case. There can be a number of reasons why people would want to introduce cardio training to their exercise routines. Many times weight loss (or rather fat loss) is a goal, though other goals may include reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes or blood pressure. Of course for athletes, the goal is usually to increase VO2Max, allowing them to consume oxygen more efficiently. Whatever the goal, there are a number of different ways to train in this medium and each has its benefits. In this blog I will briefly reflect on interval training and the variations that can be utilized, and then I will talk more about the variations of steady state training. What you will come to see is that each of these techniques can be utilized no matter your goals, and as with all exercise, the more variation you have, the better the results will be.

Interval Training:

If you have read my previous blogs, I’m sure you are well acquainted with interval training by now. However, there are still a few variations that I have not previously discussed that I will go over now. The main type of interval training I have talked about is high intensity interval training, also known as supramaximal interval training, where you work as hard as you can for a minute and then recover for 2 or more minutes. Here you want to work your way up to 20 all out bouts, but be sure that you’re ready because this type of training is not easy! Regular interval training, by comparison, involves bouts lasting for 3-5 minutes of high intensity work, followed by 3-5 minutes of low intensity work, alternating for 30-60 minutes. As I covered these before, I will just finish off with a few comments about intervals in general. First, while this type of training is very effective, you need to make sure that your body is properly prepared for the level of work that you will be performing. If you are just starting out, or have not had much time with cardiovascular training, start with lower intensity, longer duration work first, then try out the intervals. Second, the group that will most want to incorporate interval training is athletes. For individuals involved in sports that require powerful bursts of energy (such as football, basketball, tennis, hockey, golf, or baseball) interval training should be a staple in your weekly routine. In these types of sports, there is not really a need for oxidative endurance, such as would be required for a cross-country skier or marathon runner, and it is best to train your body not only for the type of energy systems that will be at work (these sports require quick bursts, then recovery) but also for the type of muscle fibers at work (type 2 b/x fibers, also known as fast twitch fibers, are important in these types of sports.) By focusing your training to maximize this type of muscle fiber, you are not only building up the strength and number of these fibers, but you are also increasing the percentage of these fibers. There are muscle fibers that can act as either fast or slow twitch, and by training more for fast twitch activities, these act more in that role. So in the end, interval training can be beneficial for everyone, but some people need it more than others. When you’re ready, give it a try and see what you think!

Pace Training:

On the other end of the spectrum lies what I like to call pace training. It is based around keeping a steady pace at a given intensity level for a longer period of time. The first of these methods is known as split training and it is the shortest of the modes. Split training can be fun because it encourages variety. Here your goal is to work for 15 minutes at the highest intensity you can (you will have to determine what pace you can maintain that will be challenging but will not result in needing to slow down before the 15 minutes is up), then recovering with 5 minutes of active rest (keep moving but at a low to moderate intensity), then moving to a different training mode (start on treadmill, then go to bike) and go again for 15 minutes. You can do this 2-4 times, which can help to make 60+ minutes of cardio training much more enjoyable! Another type of training, known as tempo training, is similar to split training in that you are working at the highest intensity you can for a given duration, but this time, there is no rest. It is just one continuous run, lasting between 30 and 60 minutes, working just below your anaerobic threshold. Again, this will take time to figure out, but once you have it, it is a great workout. The last type of training is called metabolic base training. This is your long slow distance training. This is a great way to get in work without taxing the body, and a great place to start with cardio training. Here our goal is to work for about an hour to an hour and a half at a moderate pace, but if you are just starting out, go for 30-45 minutes and work your way up. This will be great for working on muscular endurance, while also preparing the lungs and heart for more intense cardiovascular training.

To me, there is no wrong way to train your heart as long as you’re doing something! Variety is always great, but don’t think you have to do all of these. Find two or three styles of training and work with them a while, then in a few months go back and see if you want to try something new. Depending on your situation you will need to find how much time you can dedicate on any given day, but your goal should be fitting in at least 20 minutes, 3-4 times per week. So see what types of training will fit into your schedule and have at it! I hope that this will be a good resource for training possibilities, and as always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Thanks for reading, and happy training!

-Colin

Exercise 101: Resistance Training

Now we come to the most recognizable part of the work-out— lifting weights. While weight training is great for achieving all types of fitness goals, it is important to understand how to structure your training sessions so that you can be most effective in reaching those goals. The first thing that I want to bring up is that technique in lifting is paramount, and without it, training is pointless and dangerous. The technique involved in any lift is going to involve controlled movements, stabilization of the weight, and concentration on using the muscle for the correct function. If form is ever broken, it is important to stop the lift, regroup and try again. If it is too much weight, recognize that you have not worked up to that level yet and take some off. There is no reason to injure yourself for the sake of a number.

With that said, we can now look at how training programs differ depending on your goals. The variables that can change the results you get from your training program include type of exercise, organization of exercises, sets, reps, tempo, and rest. Let’s start with the most basic of training goals: stability. This should be the first step for any training program you design for yourself. If you do not have the stability to control your lifts, then your results will be hindered and you will end up hurting yourself. So in training for stability, let’s look at the different variables. Here we would want to focus on exercises that were kinesthetically based, such as push-ups, air squats, pull-ups, or inverted rows. All of these are using your own body weight as resistance, and until you can do this, using weights does not make much sense. Also, when involved in these types of activities, you are forced to use the muscles that stabilize the body to the fullest extent. Take a push-up: to do a proper push-up you not only need strength in the triceps and chest, you also need the stability of the wrists, shoulders, back, abs and glutes just to hold yourself in the right position.

In organizing our exercises, we are going to follow what I feel is the best workout design for anyone outside of the bodybuilding world: alternating movement patterns. When you think about the exercises that need to be performed, don’t think about them in terms of what muscles are being worked, but rather, what movements are being performed. Take the push-up again; this would be looked at as a “horizontal pushing exercise” rather than a “chest exercise”. The next exercise you would want to do would involve horizontal pulling, such as the inverted row. By doing this, we are making sure to focus our efforts more on the reason behind the exercise instead of the arbitrary strengthening of individual muscles. Also, this gets us out of the habit of trying to fit in popular but essentially useless exercises such as wrist curls or tricep extensions. The reason we alternate them is so that as we exercise one muscle, we are stretching out the antagonist (the muscles opposing that movement). This will serve as a natural primer for the next movement.

Continuing along this thought process we would also want to get in a vertical push (shoulder press, lifts) and a vertical pull (pull-ups, chops). After this, you would work on hip extension (single leg deadlifts, bridges), and a form of hip flexion in working our abdominals (ab roller). The last piece of the puzzle would be knee flexion (squats) and knee extension (stability ball leg curls). If you incorporate all of this into your workout, you will have worked on ever major movement pattern, using only multi-joint exercises, making for the most effective and function workout possible.

Now that we have our exercises, how do we set up our routine? Well, we are still training for stability, so we will want to have a set/rep/tempo/rest combo that will facilitate the development of our stabilizers. That means that higher reps (15-20) will be needed, but only one or two sets of each exercise (start with one, work up to two). Our tempo will involve a slow and controlled eccentric movement (lowering of weight/lengthening of muscles- take about 4 seconds) and then a powerful but controlled concentric movement (lifting of weight/shortening of muscle- take about 1 second). Between sets, we will not need much rest, so try to begin the next set within 30 to 45 seconds.

So there you have it- a full workout if stability is your goal. But what about all the other goals?? Because that could take all day to explain, let’s go over some of the basics. In hypertrophy training, where the goal is to increase muscle size, you would still want a high rep but perhaps 10-15 this time, working your way up to 3 sets. As reps go down, tempo goes up, only taking 3 seconds to lower the weight, and rest gets longer—45 to 60 seconds. The exercise selection can stay the same if you like, or if body weight is now too light, you may need to start using more equipment. This could include dumbbells for bench press or overhead press, TRX for rows, weight belt for pull-ups, and single leg squats or front squats. All of these will help increase the resistance. Another type of training is maximal strength. Here the loads get even heavier, so everything changes accordingly. 3-6 reps, 4-6 sets, 1-2 seconds to lower the weight, and up to 3 minutes of recovery time between sets. You will need to be careful that you are ready for this type of lifting however, as it puts a lot of strain on the body. For the ladies out there who are most concerned about staying toned, what I would recommend is alternating between the stability and strength training programs, while also getting in some cardio work. I will talk more about cardio next time, but for now, just remember that both weight training and cardio work will be important in attaining any fitness goal.

This is just a brief overview of all that is involved in resistance training, but if you take nothing else away from this piece, remember that technique is key, stability underlies all movement, and training movement is more important than training muscles. The other thing that I would like to say is that when setting up a program, you will have to decide how many days per week you want to train. For any gains to be achieved, you really need at least two days, and I would recommend that you vary the type of training that you do each time (if you are new to training make sure to spend 4 weeks in the stability training zone before moving on). Keep the exercises the same if you like, but the most effective way to get in overall better shape is to change up the type of training you do each day. So if you’re training 3 times a week, use the 15-20 reps on one day, 10-15 the next, and 3-6 the last day. And don’t be afraid to switch around the order too. The body responds best to variety, even when the movement is that same.

I hope this is helpful and please if you have any questions feel free to ask, there is a lot of information that I could not go into in a single blog. Next time I will talk about cardiovascular training, another key element of one’s training program. Good luck and happy resistance training!