workout911.com

Wanted to let everyone know that I will be conducting two advanced training seminars in NYC. The lectures are geared towards fitness professionals (CECs are accredited for NASM and should translate for other organizations), but anyone with a good knowledge of exercise science can benefit. The courses are as follows:

Sunday, August 2, 2009
Program Design for Hypertrophy: Muscle development is of primary interest to those who lift weights. This workshop will elucidate the science behind optimizing muscular hypertrophy. It will detail the effects of manipulating intensity, sets, repetitions, and rest intervals on growth, as well as exploring the roles of factors such as exercise modality, training to failure, speed of movement, and recovery. The significance of acute hormonal fluctuations and lactate production as to their effects on increasing protein synthesis will be addressed. Sample routines are offered in the context of a periodized approach to help the practitioner with perfecting program design.

Sunday, August 9, 2009
Maternal Fitness: Safe and Effective Strategies for Training the Pregnant and Postpartum Client: Exercise is one of the most beneficial things a pregnant woman can do for her body – provided proper guidelines are followed. This workshop teaches you how to address the biomechanical and physiological changes that occur in the pre and postnatal period, and develop sound training programs tailored to the unique needs of the maternal client. Programming for strength training, cardiovascular exercise and flexibility training is covered in detail, with insight provided on how to modify exercise based on the individual needs of the client. Contraindications to exercise are addressed with respect to each trimester.

The courses are being offered through Innovative Wellness and Education. To register or learn more about the courses, click on the following link: Innovative Wellness and Education. These are researched-based workshops that really get into the science of exercise. I guarantee you’ll learn a lot. Hope to see you there!

Stay Fit!

Brad

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The hot summer months are here and many of you are enjoying the ability to exercise out. But with the heat and humidity comes an increased risk for dehydration, which can potentially lead to serious side effects. Here are a few tips to ensure you stay hydrated:

Before Exercise: Consume generous amounts of fluid in the 24 hour pre-exercise period. Approximately 2 to 3 hours before training, drink about 2 to 3 cups of additional fluid.

During Exercise: Drink about 8 ounces of fluids every fifteen minutes regardless of thirst as the throat sensors are inhibited during exercise. Cool beverages are preferable as they help to increase absorption rate. For exercise lasting longer than one hour, sodium should be included in the drink to replace that which is lost through sweating. A small percentage of glucose (about 4 to 8%, as found in many sports drinks) can also be beneficial to maintain energy and increase the palatability of the fluid. Attempts should be made to conduct training when it is cooler (i.e. early in the morning, later in the evening) so that ambient temperature does not exceed body temperature.

After Exercise: Consume up to 150% of the weight lost during training. Fluids should contain some sodium to reduce dieresis and maintaining plasma osmolality, with the amount of sodium included dependent on sweat rate (i.e. higher sweat rates require greater sodium content of fluid).

Stay Fit!

Brad

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It’s pretty much common knowledge that exercising is a great way to boost your metabolism. But while virtually any type of physical activity will provide a metabolic lift, some routines are better than others in terms of ratcheting up your body’s ability to burn fat.

If you’re interested in reducing body fat (and really, who isn’t?), I’m going to make things easy for you. Okay, well maybe the actual workouts won’t be easy, but the template for success certainly is. So without further ado, here are three high-energy fitness routines guaranteed to stoke your fat-burning furnace—all you need to do is put in the necessary sweat and effort to achieve terrific results.

1) HIIT: HIIT is an acronym for high-intensity interval training. The premise is simple: intersperse bouts of high-intensity aerobic with lower intensity bouts. Studies have consistently shown that this style of training helps to stimulate the sympathetic nervous system to burn more fat as compared to steady-state exercise. Better yet, you achieve these superior results in less time! How cool is that?

But wait, it gets even better from a fat-burning standpoint. Not only does HIIT optimize fat burning during the exercise session, it actually keeps your metabolism elevated long after you’ve stopped working out. This is due to a phenomenon called EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption)—sometimes called the afterburn. A high EPOC level is associated with elevated metabolism and increased secretion of growth hormone and noradrenaline. These hormones help break down stores of fat and increase their use as a fuel source. In a nutshell, there is a significant caloric cost for the body to return the body to its resting state. This includes replenishing depleted energy reserves, repairing cellular damage, clearing metabolic byproducts and facilitating tissue growth. The net effect lasts as long as 36 hours after exercise, burning as many as 150 calories a day beyond resting levels. The catch: you need to work out intensely to maximize EPOC. That makes HIIT a homerun when it comes to slimming down and shaping up.

2) Circuit Weight Training: The usual way that most people lift weights is to perform a set, rest for a minute or two, perform another set of the same exercise, rest another couple of minutes, and continue along in this fashion until the desired number of sets of a particular exercise is completed. Then it’s time to move on to the next exercise for a given number of sets. Certainly there’s nothing wrong with training in this manner. In fact, it’s an excellent way to build strength and develop muscle. But if you want to rev up your fat burning potential, circuit training can provide a better bang for your workout buck.

Circuit training is carried out by performing a set of an exercise then moving directly to a different exercise and then another and then another…all with little or no rest between sets. The idea is to keep your heart rate elevated so that you continue burning a maximal number of calories as you lift. It’s a good way to tone your muscles as you strip away fat: a win/win proposition.

The best way to approach circuit training is by structuring the workout so you work an agonist muscle and then its antagonist. Thus, you could set up the routine like so: perform a chest exercise, follow it with a back exercise, then a shoulder exercise, then a bicep exercise, then a triceps exercise, then a quadriceps exercise, then a hamstring exercise, then a calf exercise, then an abdominal exercise. After going through the circuit, you can perform the entire sequence again another time or two for a terrific metabolic kickstart.

3) Compound Training: You might not have heard the term “compound training” but I’ll bet you’re at least familiar with the concept. Simply stated, compound training involves combining two different exercises into one movement. While technically any two exercises can be employed, it’s generally best to pair a lower body exercise with an upper body move. A squat into a shoulder press, a lunge into a biceps curl…get creative and you can come up with an almost endless array of moves.

Why is compound training such a good way to burn fat? Because it increases the amount of muscle mass used in the exercises. The number of calories burned is directly related to how much muscle is stimulated during training: more muscle equates to a greater caloric expenditure. Ideally you should strive to include as many multi-joint movements as possible. These are exercises that involve more than one joint, which necessarily will increase the amount of muscle stimulated. For example, a dumbbell row is a multi-joint movement since the shoulder joint and elbow joints are needed to carry out performance. Ditto for the squat, which involves the hip, knee and ankle joints. String together a few compound moves with short rest intervals and you’ll burn hundreds of extra calories while simultaneously cutting your workout time in half!

Stay Fit!

Brad

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Think squats are bad for your knees? Think again!

Fact: Studies have repeatedly shown the squat to be a safe, effective exercise; when performed properly, it poses little risk to those who have healthy patellar function. Even elite athletes who squat several times their bodyweight have few reported injuries directly attributable to the activity.

Squatting actually places less stress on the knee joint than leg extensions. This has to do with the way that force is applied during exercise performance. In the leg extension, loading is applied perpendicular to the long axis of the tibia—a fact that creates tremendous shear force in the patellar region. Alternatively, loading during the squat involves a high amount of compression (i.e. a “squeezing” force), with forces applied parallel to the long axis of the tibia. Since a joint is better able to withstand forces from compression as opposed to shear, it therefore follows that squats are more joint-friendly than leg extensions.

What’s more, leg extensions tend to overstress the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). During performance, the quadriceps reacts by pulling the tibia forward (a phenomenon called tibial translation). The ACL in turn opposes the quadriceps by trying to prevent translation of the tibia. These two antithetic actions place a considerable amount of stress on the ACL, and can potentially injure the ligament (and other soft tissue structures, as well).

Squats, on the other hand, have somewhat of a protective effect on the knee ligaments. Due to the multi-joint nature of the squatting movement (both the hip and knee are involved in performance), the hamstrings are activated as co-contractors and exert a counter-regulatory effect on the pull of the quadriceps. The co-contraction of the hamstrings and quads help to neutralize tibial translation, alleviating stress on the ACL.

All things considered, squats shouldn’t be avoided by those with healthy knees. They are a terrific exercise that works not only the lower body, but a significant portion of the torso, as well. It’s estimated that squat performance involves the recruitment of over 200 muscles in total, including the assistance of many stabilizer muscles. Without the active participation of these stabilizers, the act of squatting simply cannot take place. Hence, while the glutes and thighs are the prime muscle movers, synergistic muscle action is derived from the abdominals, spinal erectors, rhomboids, trapezius and other muscles. Squats therefore have a systemic effect on anabolism, helping to promote overall muscular development.

Further, the squat is an extremely functional exercise. It is used in many activities of daily living. Any time you lift an object from the floor (or sit in a chair, for that matter!), squatting is involved in the movement. Consequently, squats can help build the kind of practical strength and kinesthetic awareness that facilitates better performance of everyday tasks. In many cases it can even help to prevent lifting-related injuries at home and in the workplace.

Now this is not to say that squats are appropriate for everyone (in actuality, there is NO one exercise that is appropriate for everyone!). Conditions such as degenerative arthritis and various connective tissue disorders can be contraindications for squatting movements. But it’s not the squat, per se, that is harmful here: any form of loaded (or even unloaded) knee flexion and extension can exacerbate a patellar-related injury. Hence, it you have pre-existing knee pathology, caution must be utilized in both the choice and execution of thigh exercises. But provided no contraindications exist, you should have no problem squatting on a regular basis. It’s one of the best exercises you can do for both your body and your health!

Stay Fit!

Brad

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I’m often asked if there is a way to target the upper vs. lower aspects of the latissimus dorsi (lats). The answer: a qualified, “Yes.” To understand why, a little anatomy is in order.

The lats are one of the largest muscles in the body with attachments at the spine, scapula (shoulder blade), pelvis and humerus (upper arm bone). Because of these multiple attachments, the lat fibers are arranged in different directions, from almost perpendicular at the upper region to almost parallel with the body in the lower region. Since muscles are maximally stressed when an exercise moves in line with its fibers, the following protocols apply to lat training:

Close grip pulldowns (or chins) target the lower region of your lats. The lower lat fibers are basically straight up and down, running virtually parallel with the body. Thus, using a close grip keeps the line of pull in conjunction with the lower fibers. Wide grip pulldowns (or chins), on the other hand, are best for targeting the upper portion of your lats. The upper lat fibers run in an oblique fashion, fanning out at a sharp angle. Avoid using a hand spacing that’s significantly past shoulder length, though. Doing so restricts your range of motion which ultimately results in suboptimal development.

In final analysis, while both variations of the lat pulldown and chin up are effective in developing the lats and should be utilized in your routine, wide grip movements will focus a little more on the upper portion—the area most associated with back width. As far as performance, make sure to achieve a complete stretch at the start of the movement, bring the weight down in a controlled manner and forcefully squeeze your shoulder blades together at the finish. Focus on keeping continuous tension on your target muscles throughout the movement and you’ll derive maximum benefits.

Stay Fit!

Brad

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