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The holidays are rapidly approaching and it soon will be gift-giving time. And really, what can be better than giving the gift of fitness? The good news is that you don’t need to spend a lot to get a lot. This is one of the primary messages in my new book, Women’s Home Workout Bible. Here are three value-priced items that are sure to help your favorite guy or gal shape up and get healthier.

Stability Ball: In case you don’t know, stability balls are nothing more than large, inflatable rubber balls that can be used to perform a wide array of seated and prone exercises. Pretty much any exercise that can be done on a chair or a bench can also be done on the ball. What makes a stability ball unique? By placing your body in an unstable environment, it forces your core to assume a stabilizing role during exercise performance. This makes the ball an excellent option for developing the abdominal and lower back muscles. It’s particularly beneficial for direct ab training, where studies show abdominal muscle activity to be significantly higher than when similar moves are performed on a stable surface. Stability balls come in varying sizes. A simple test is to determine a good size for your body is to sit on the ball. A good fitting ball will allow your thighs to remain parallel to the ground: If your thighs slope down, the ball is too big; if your thighs slope up, the ball is too small. One important training consideration to keep in mind: training large muscle groups such as the chest, upper back, and shoulders on a stability ball will significantly decrease force output, so it’s not ideal if your goal is to increase muscle development or strength in these target muscles.

Resistance Bands: Here’s one of the most useful items for any home gym. Resistance bands are light weight and versatile, and allow you to perform dozens upon dozens of exercises. Using them is a snap: Simply attach a band to a stationary object (or, alternatively, hold one end or stand on it) and you create resistance at the opposite end of the band. The less slack in the band, the greater the tension and, hence, the more challenging the exercise. Best of all, you can perform exercises in all three planes of movement, making bands a highly functional modality. As an added bonus, you can take them with you on vacations and business trips—just pack them in your luggage and you’re ready to go. A good set of bands will run you around $50. This will provide five different levels of resistance—enough for even the most hardcore exercise enthusiast. They’re a terrific bargain considering the numerous applications for use.

Selectorized Dumbbells: Never heard of selectorized dumbbells? If not, you’ve probably seen them. While the exact shape and structure can vary from one model to the next, a basic selectorized dumbbell consists of a handle attached to a series of nested weight plates. To choose a weight, simply turn a knob or insert a pin on the nested plates and – voila! – you’re ready to go. Why go with a selectorized dumbbell rather than the standard “fixed” type of dumbbell? The biggest reason is space efficiency. A pair of selectorized dumbbells can take the place of a dozen or more pairs of the fixed variety. Storage is a cinch – just stick them in a closet or tuck them away in a corner and they’re out of sight. This is especially beneficial if you have a small workout area in your home. Prices vary depending on make and how much poundage you need. A pair of 12-pounders go for around $70 while a set of 50-pounders will run a couple of hundred bucks.

Stay Fit!

Brad

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I’m often asked about whether the workouts at chain gyms such as Curves and Shapes for Women are comparable to traditional exercise regimens. The answer in a word: no. Here’s the scoop…

The Curves and Shapes for Women programs use something called hydraulic machines as the primary training modality. The biggest problem with these types of machines is that they don’t have an ‘eccentric’ component. This means on the ‘lowering phase’, there is no muscular resistance of the agonist muscle. Why is this an issue? Well, the eccentric component has been shown to be vitally important to muscle development. During eccentric activities, there is greater force applied to the muscles and a heightened stimulus to fast twitch fibers—those most conducive towards development. Translation: By eliminating the eccentric component, you end up missing out on more than half the benefit of the exercise and results suffer accordingly.

Moreover, there is no variety in this type of a program. Understand that your muscles are comprised of many thousands of threadlike fibers. When you perform, say, a flat chest press, you will work a large number of the fibers in your pectoral muscles, but not all of them. Only by adding in moves like incline presses, flyes, cable crossovers, etc., will you tap into every fiber of the muscle, thereby promoting complete muscular development. Remember, variety is the spice of exercise; the more you switch around your workout and incorporate different movements into your regimen, the better your results.

Finally, although machines certainly can have a place in a training regimen, they don’t compare to free weights and cables as far as transfer of skills to everyday tasks. With machines, you can only move the stack in one direction. Thus, there is little need to stabilize the movement. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case if you go to pick up a package or move a piece of furniture. Free weights and cables, on the other hand, require that you maintain balance in all planes of movements, allowing for greater functional transfer.

In a nutshell, I’m a proponent of anything that gets people off the couch and into the gym and that includes gyms such as Curves and Shapes for Women. But it’s important to understand that this type of workout won’t be as productive as if you’d used a traditional weight training protocol. A combination of free weights, machines and cables will always be your best bet if your goal is to get into shape.

Stay Fit!

Brad

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Wanted to let everyone know that I’ll be lecturing in Ontario, Canada this weekend. For those interested in attending, you can read about it at the link below:

Bestselling Fitness Trainer Coming to Windsor

Hope to see you there.

Stay Fit!

Brad

Whey vs. casein. Which one is best? I get asked this question on a daily basis. Here’s the scoop…

Both whey and casein are complete protein sources, containing all the essential amino acids. Either one can be used to satisfy your daily protein requirements. And although they are milk-based proteins, most of the lactose is removed during extraction so they shouldn’t pose much of a problem for the lactose intolerant. Just add them to water, juice or whole foods for a power-packed meal.

Although whey and casein have similar amino acid profiles, however, there are inherent differences between the two. Perhaps the most relevant difference is that they digest at different speeds. You see, whey is a “fast acting” protein, meaning it’s rapidly absorbed into circulation, generally within about an hour’s time. Casein, on the other hand, is a slow acting protein. It ‘clumps up’ when subjected to stomach acids, dramatically slowing down absorption. So how can you use this information…?

Because it is rapidly assimilated, whey is perfect as a pre and/or post-workout protein source. It reaches your muscles quickly, thereby expediting repair. And since your muscles are primed for anabolism during and after a training session, virtually all of the protein will be utilized for rebuilding with little wastage. In the pre-workout period, aim for about one-tenth of a gram of whey per pound of bodyweight (i.e. a woman weighing 120 pounds would need about 12 grams of whey) while post-workout the amount should be about ¼ gram of protein per pound of bodyweight (the same 120 pound woman would need about 30 grams of whey). Interestingly, some studies indicate that mixing in casein can provide an additive effect on protein synthesis in the post-workout period. This needs further study before conclusions can be drawn.

Conversely, casein is better as a general protein source during ‘non-workout’ periods, either as a meal replacement or simply to meet daily protein requirements. It is particularly good to take before bedtime. During sleep, your body becomes catabolic, breaking down muscle tissue for their amino acids. Since casein takes roughly three to four hours to be fully assimilated, it provides the body with a steady supply of aminos throughout much of the night, significantly limiting protein breakdown. This results in a higher net daily nitrogen balance, leading to better muscle retention.

Remember, though, that taking whey and casein over and above your normal protein requirements won’t do any good from a muscle building standpoint. Unfortunately, protein cannot be stored in your body for future use. When you consume more than what your body can handle (generally about one gram per pound of bodyweight a day), the rest will simply be excreted (or stored as fat, if your calories are in excess of what you expend).

Stay Fit!

Brad

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