Physical exercise

Heel High Sit Up

Upper Abdominal’s

1.  Lie on floor with lower legs on top of bench.

2. position body so thighs are at 45 degree angle.

3. With hands behind head, pull up as far as possible.

4. Return to starting position

5. Do not swing body up and down but concentrate on abdominal muscles.

6. Exhale up , Inhale down.

7. To make harder, hold weight on chest.

How can I learn from my kids for a better workout?

Watching my kids who are 4, 3, and 1. I’m amazed what mentally stimulates them to learn. My 4 year old can read and is always looking for a challenge. My 3 year old was tired of my oldest getting praises when going potty so she decided, “I will be potty trained too.” My one year is playing keep up with the other two. The great thing they work very well together and in some ways trying to out do each other.

Our bodies work similar as my example with my kids. Our bodies are machines and want to work the most efficient as possible. The body has to be stimulated to gain results for physical fitness. The stimulates are going to be a few different factors. I’ve already mentioned the three major principles Overload, Reversibility, and Specificity (SAID).

Now each principle will have sub groups or things to think about to go along with the overall principle. What are the subgroups to think about? Intensity Duration and Frequency are the major sub groups to think about.

Intensity: The intensity we put forth in a work out can be a few things. The volume the lifter does over the full workout. How close to your 1 rm you are lifting at and the rest between sets or tempo.

Duration : This is how long each workout is

Frequency : Frequency is how often you are doing your workout.

How can I incorporate this into my exercise program? How Important are these subgroups for my overall fitness goals? You can’t reach your overall goals without applying these principles. If you have heard to change your workouts up that will fall into this principle.

Your body will adapt to the amount of stress you place on it. When this happens you will start to hit a plateau. So when you are looking to make changes to your workouts look at how close you are to your 1 rm look at how often you are at the gym and last how often you are going to the gym.

If you do make changes for the novice lifter or regular to stay fit person. You can make changes between 6 to 4 weeks. More experience lifters 3 to 2 weeks before making a change. Make sure you are are not settling with one routine for this upcoming year.

Consitency

Consistency is the major issue when looking on staying fit. So when looking at exercises to perform look first at what you want to accomplish over a long period of time. When you have determined  here is some small steps in setting a successful fitness routine.

1. Set a goal or Goals

• Example : Have small goals like going to the gym every other day first. With major goals like feel healthier for the year

2. Be realistic with goals

•    example : lose 1 lb at a time don’t set a goal I want to lose 10 lbs by this  time.  You are helping to set yourself up for failure with that goal

3. Don’t over do it

• You will gain Lactic acid when exercising, which is where the soreness comes from.  Overdoing it is where you work too hard to quickly where you aren’t use to the soreness and muscle trauma.

The Nature of Fitness

Fitness and strength training are very simple health sciences. There are real principles, that if followed, will get you to your goals. These principles are eternal they don’t change, unless you are not human.Your body and my body are the exact same as it comes to the functioning of the body. My liver and your liver do the exact same function. The way my heart works is the same as yours. In this comparison all principles and work out routines and nutritional eating have the same principles.

Me personally, think its funny when they say “I HAVE A FORMAULA.”   The real formula is consistency and an evaluation of certain principles and how your body is feeling while exercising.

The first major principle is adaptation. It is a fact that your body will adapt to the same amount of stress within 4 to 6 week period. This means,  that we can’t just go to our work out day after day doing the same rep scheme and exercise. Me personally, I change my workout every two weeks. This does two things it makes your body always adjusting and it makes it fun and not boring doing the same thing over and over again.

The second principle is a Balance Diet. I get frustrated when people say “I’m on this diet and leaving this out of my diet.” A balance diet is just that with many benefits for each area of the Pyramid. Fats help with brain function and lubrication of joints are a few advantages of the fats.Carbohydrates are the most misunderstood area of the diet. They are so essential to a healthy body. Carbohydrates are the transportation of nutrients to the body, without carbs our body is unable to create the insulin to transport the other nutrients to the body. They also are the driving force for glycogen in the body. What is glycogen in simple terms? Energy. Protein is the building blocks of restoring the body from the daily grind of activities. So keep this in mind, a balanced diet is the best way to stay healthy, have energy, and ensure you aren’t depriving your body of essential nutrients to grow healthy. I will go more in-depth on this topic in a few days.

The third principle is Time Under Tension. All principles relate, if they didn’t there would be something wrong with that principle . This goes right along with adaptation. To gain strength and gain muscle you need to put adequate stress on the muscles and the nervous system. Yes I said the nervous system , the body has a safety mechanism called the Golgi tendon. It monitors the stress that is being put on the muscle fiber. If it feels it is being stress too much it will send a signal back to the brain saying “Hey we need to shut down.” So time under tension is the amount of total stress placed on the body during the whole workout. Here is an example if my only workout was squats and my set and rep scheme was 5×5 @ 225 lbs the total time under tension is 5,625 lbs. This is the time under tension you are placing on the body by applying this principle you will be able to get the most of each workout.

Recovery is the next principle: Think of this: what happens when you go to the gym? Do you feel stronger? Or tired? The honest answer is tired. Why? You are depleting your body of glycogen because of the amount of exertion you are putting on the body. Rest is the necessary step increasing overall health and strength. Here is a major WARNING: If you do not allow yourself to rest you will be doing two bad things: Reversing what you are trying to do and Injury. Over-training overtime will always turn into an injury.

Last, is hard work. I have mentioned many things that have to be applied when starting or looking at any fitness routine. Nothing is ever achieved without hard work. Hard work doesn’t mean going “gung-ho” the first few weeks, which relates to all the principles mentioned. Your body isn’t used to the movements and while its transforming the ATP to ADP you are creating lactic acid which is where the soreness comes from. You are also creating micro trauma to the muscle fibers, this is also part of the soreness. Too much soreness is bad and a balanced diet is where you will be able to recover properly to keep you encouraged to do more.

 Consistency, asking questions, and self-evaluation on goals and how you are wanting to achieve them will be the recipe for success. Each principle mentioned here will be more in-depth. So train hard, train smart, and remember rest and diet is where you get strong. The gym is just a stepping stone.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

The Magic Pill? Is it true

I think it’s funny how everybody makes accusations towards people before understanding really what has happened and what will transpire. First people make accusations that this person is strong so he takes steroids  First taking anything without putting work and effort will not make you better but will make you worst. As an example steroids really is just one big cholesterol molecule which means if you aren’t training hard eating right you will become fat slow and bloated.

I’m going to talk about what I say is some what of a magic pill as long as you put forth the effort. Glutamine is an amino acid and its main property is to help rebuild muscle fibers. When we do any sort of exercise what we are doing is tearing down the muscle fibers. When we are doing this the body sends cortisone to help to get rid of it. This is where L – glutamine  comes in and helps.

The first thing that L- glutamine does for the body is block the cortisone from tearing down the fibers any further. Why is this important with out the blocking of the cortisone we can not help rebuild the fiber back up.Once this happens then it can  restore and rebuild the fiber back up. Like I said it takes work over a period of time and consistent period of taking after physical exercise and balance diet you will see  the change with in the body.

Now there are many advantages for glutamine  which is one of the main amino acids your body naturally produces. I wont go over other benefits that glutamine helps the body. Keep this in mind many supplements are aren’t worth the money they just don’t have the main benefits for the price but you pay, You  can’t go wrong with  adding glutamine to your nutritional plan.

There is no such thing as a special pill to get you to lose weight, get stronger, or look the way you want. It takes a plan from a balanced diet proper education hard work and depending on the level of intensity of exercise proper supplementation with your balanced diet. You will never lose money with glutamine the benefits out weigh the price you will pay for it.

Standing Towel Triceps Curl on Low Wall Pulley (Triceps)

1.Wrap a towel, or rope, around low pulley handle.

2.Hold ends with both hands and turn away from machine so arms can support weights through full range of motion.
3.Straighten arms overhead above shoulders.
4.Lower arms in semicircular motion behind head until forearms touch biceps.
5.Press back to starting position.
6.Upper arms must remain close to head.
7.Inhale down, exhale up.

Excuses gets me this far, how about you?

What is great about sports? Either watching or participating in them is that there some result that happens afterwards. Either you win or lose is the main result. It’s funny because we as fans or a teammate it’s always ask the question “Why?” either because of some coaching decision or players performance. I have been on both sides as a fan and as an athlete. I’ve asked “why did Jay cutler throw that interception'” and I have been asked “why did you miss the deadlift?”

Now it’s funny on all of the answers we get and it’s going to be a an honest answer or what I say an excuse. What does this mean? When I miss the deadlift I can say I hurt myself and build on that remark or be honest with everyone I wasn’t strong enough today and I will learn from it and apply it to the next meet. How easy would it be if everyone would just be honest with their assessment of the game or practice and take 100% for their responsibility.

Now how does this relate in generating a better athlete? Simple we all have to build on different avenues to be the best. When training the best ways to be explosive is to train explosive, because our bodies will learn on how to react more explosive when doing it time and time again. I mentioned in my last post about band squats. You have to do them fast in my eyes you will never do them fast enough. Here is a thought, can you do a squat that is 90% of your max as fast as a squat that is only 40% of your max. Now if you will be honest the answer will be NO I can’t. But do i get stronger at only 40% and the answer again is NO. That is where the bands come in. When placing the bands the generate a specific amount of force that is applied to the bar. The great thing is the force is always changing from one point of the movement to the next.

So when we are training before walking into the facility the best athletes are the ones we leave their egos on the door step and say how am I getting better. The athlete will have to swallow some of his pride when doing these band squats place lesser weight to achieve the goal for the exercise of gaining more explosion.

Now there are athletes everywhere at every level and we all fall short at times. When doing self evaluations on our own physical limitations and saying I missed the tackle because I didn’t tackle  right will put every athlete just that much a head of the athlete who says I missed the tackle because dirt fell in my eyes or the sun was in my eyes.

Barbell Front Lunges (Thighs, Hamstrings, Buttocks)

1.Place barbell on upper back.
2.Use comfortable hand grip (similar to the squat)

How quick is a reality and your dream?

I have talked to a lot of people who have the same common occurrence when it comes to their child. They want them to be faster, stronger, and in my opinion they feel their kid could be the next big thing. The first thing I have noticed is how much do the kids want it compared to their parents and second the toughness of the individual.

None of us are born and run 4.1 forty we all even the gifted athletes have to fine tune there physical talents and even gain a few talents on the way. Now when putting together a training program or creating a program we need to know the needs of the athlete and the sport.

Now how does this relate in generating a better athlete? Simple we all have to build on different avenues to be the best.There are two questions to ask is it anaerobic or aerobic activity. anaerobic activity is like football baseball volleyball, to name a few sports. anaerobic activity is like cross-country long distance running in track or bike racing, to name a few sports in aerobic fields.

Just to focus on anaerobic sports which are the most common we see the first sport specific training or movement is how quickly we get from point A to point B. These need explosive training and there are many exercises to get explosive. I’m going to expand on what was spoken last with band squats in more detail. In other post I’ll build up other exercises down the road.

When training the best ways to be explosive is to train explosive, because our bodies will learn on how to react more explosive when doing it time and time again. I mentioned about band squats this an excellent way in creating a more explosive athlete.Now with band squats , You have to do them fast in my eyes you will never do them fast enough. Here is a thought, can you do a squat that is 90% of your max as fast as a squat that is only 40% of your max. Now if you will be honest the answer will be NO I can’t. But do i get stronger at only 40% and the answer again is NO. That is where the bands come in. When placing the bands on the bar with the weights, the bands will generate a specific amount of force that is applied to the bar. The great thing is the force is always changing from one point of the movement to the next.

There are several bands out in the market and I’m not endorsing any one of them. When looking at them keep in mind the amount of force they can apply, some bands can add an extra 200 lbs or so at the top of the squat while others will only apply 30 lbs. When applying the bands to the bar and knowing what the bar weight is with the addition of band tension will and should be around 70 to 75% of the athletes max.

Last thought I have is this never do the same thing over and over. Do allow your body to build up to a weight but never let your body get accustom to the same thing because that is where we start seeing plateaus.

Now there are athletes everywhere at every level and we all fall short at times. When doing self evaluations on our own physical limitations and saying I need to work on this keep in mind there is always someone faster and training harder.

Are we running in sand?

In all sports we want to be the most efficient at each movement. Efficient comes from using less energy to provide the same result or better than another. Most sports will look at how fast they run a 40 yard dash as an example. When we look at speed there is two different aspects we need to look at when breaking down getting faster. Starting strength & Explosive strength they both will enable you to get faster and quicker. To utilize both in generating a better an athlete you need to first know the difference between the two.

When looking at the body and how movement happens its simple are nervous which are controlled by the brain will activate the muscle fibers. When looking at each muscle fiber there are one neuron or nerve the controls a certain number of fibers this is called your motor units. Now starting strength is how many motor units you can get started at one time to provide a specific movement. Explosive strength is the continue process of how long you can keep the movement going.

Now there are many exercises to help generate either more starting strength or explosive strength. I’m not going to talk about all right now, but I’m going to share one of the most beneficial exercises for all athletes. Now when doing any strength lift you are only moving one set amount of weight. So if you are squatting 500 lbs through the entire lift your Muscle fibers, Nervous system,  and together Motor Units are caring the same weight. Your body is staying  accustomed to that same weight. With adding bands to the lift your body isn’t going to be lifting the same 500 lbs from the top to down in the hole and back up.

What this is doing for the body especially the nervous system is continue making adjustments during the lift. Now when applying these bands to the squat itself. You are wanting to have the weight at only between 40 to 70% of the max of the lifter. This is definitely dependent on the amount of tension the bands are placing on the bar. When the lifter is doing this they want to do it fast why? They do it fast to recruit more motor units which is why you’re doing it the first place.

Just like any lift you aren’t going to do it all the time. Keep this in mind when developing a better athlete there is a place and a time for each exercise to generate the best athlete. So when generating an athlete the first thing is a plan then  execution of the plan from hard work.

Close Grip Barbell Press (Inner Pectorals and Triceps)

1. Lie on Bench, feet flat on floor.
2. Hold barbell about 12-14″ wide.
3. Lower Bar to chest about 1″ below nipples.
4. Raise bar to arms’ length.
5. Keep elbows out, chest high.
6. Lower weight with complete control, making definite pause at chest.
7. Keep head on bench, do not arch back to sharply.
8. Do not raise hips off bench.
9. Inhale down, exhale up.