An Effective Approach to Training: Specificity

     Before one begins a training program, a good question to ask your self is “ why do I want to get fit and live a healthier life style”. Give yourself as many reasons as you can think of. This will give you and the trainer ( if you have one) a good idea of how to design a workout routine for you. Not everyone has the same needs when it comes to fitness. So may just want to optimize their cardiovascular endurance while getting the most benefits out of it.Others may rather focus on developing strength and muscle power for a very specific purpose ( ex: sport's related). Whatever, your need is, it is very important to train according to your defined goals. Once the needs and goals have been established, the following areas should also be carefully considered so that the resistance training program can address questions that will come up when designing the specific workouts Some questions you make ask yourself and your trainer when designing a program are the following:

1. Why and what am I training for?
2. What muscle groups need to be trained based on my activites?
3. What are the basic energy sources, am I training for short time activities or long duration ones?
4. What type of muscle action ( e.g isometric, eccentric actions) should be used?
5. What are the primary sites of injury for the particular sport, activity or simply prior injury history of the individual?
6. Do I have any current physical limitations that may stop me from making progress? What can I do to overcome those limitations?

For any activity , including a sport, this involves a basic analysis of the movements performed and the most common sites of injury. A coach or specialist may be best able to help you by watching a video tape of the performance if you are an active athlete seeking to improve performance. However, often times, just a description of the activities may be enough for a trainer to help you decide the choice of exercise that best benefit you.

Training specificity is a major tenet of resistence training and is based in the concept that the exercises and resistances used result in training adaptations that will transfer to better performance in sport or daily activities. Resistance training is considered the best way to achieve this purpose. Specificity assumes that muscles must be trained in terms of:

1. The joint around which movements occur
2. The joint range of motion
3. The pattern of resistance throughout the range of motion
4. The pattern of limb velocity throughout the range of motion
5. Types of limb movement ( ex. Concentric, eccentric, isometric)

Resistance training for any sport or activity should include full range of motion exercises around all the major body joints. Each exercise and resistance used in a program will have various amounts of transfer to another activity or sport. “ When training for improved health and well being, such a concept of transfer is more related to its effects on medical variables ( e.g bone mineral density), rather than too physical performance” according to the American college of sports medicine.

This is a concept that is very foreign to many personal trainers and yet it is so important!!!! It is important to know that every training activity has a percentage of carryover to other activities. The better you design a workout, the more carryover you will have. A good personal trainer will be able to assess you in this area. Some additional considerations that will help you be more successful in this area include: 1. determining the energy source used in the activity. 2. selecting a Resistance Modality, 3. Injury prevention exercises.

Please feel free to message me if you have any questions on how you can better design your workouts to help you achieve your goals.

Inspire, motivate, get fit

6 Common Reasons Why Many People Are Not Exercising.

Everyone has an excuse to avoid exercising. Why? Because exercising is work. It takes substantial amounts of both time and effort to produce any visible results. Don't be fooled by the infomercials that promise you magical results in short times. It takes motivation, focus and hard work if you really want to see a major difference in your health and fitness level. It's no wonder people would rather not exercise if given a choice. The problem with this though is that exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. The purpose of this list is to show that the most common excuses for avoiding exercising don't hold very much water.

1. I Don't Have Enough Time
This is the most common excuse people use to avoid doing exercise. The reason why this excuse is used so often is because everyone else uses it. If everyone is too busy to exercise, why can't I be too busy too? The problem with this attitude is that most people have horrible diet and exercise habits, so following the majority is not such a great idea. If this is your excuse, please seek help, contact a personal trainer who can help you and guide you in the right direction. Seriously,If you feel like you don't have enough time in your day to exercise, consider how much time you spend watching television and surfing the internet. If you devoted just a half hour each day to exercise, you'd be in much better health and shape. 

2. Exercising Is Too Expensive
Another common excuse people use to avoid exercising is that it's too expensive. Gym memberships aren't free and buying equipment for a home gym is costly and requires a lot of space. These two excuses are legitimate to a certain point. If you want to get a full body workout, it does help to have access to a full gym, but doing basic cardio vascular activities hardly takes anything more than a little willpower and a pair of running shoes. If the weather outside isn't agreeable, you can always spend a few dollars on a jump rope which is both cheap and hardly takes any space to store.

3. I'm Going To Start Next Week/Month/Year
Because exercise requires a lot of work, it's no surprise that exercise is something that is easy to put off. Of course a person would be more inclined to exercise later rather than sooner. If you find yourself using this excuse yourself, ask yourself what is stopping you from exercising today, and even right now. If you're reading this article, you probably have some free time on your hands. Is there anything getting in the way of you exercising except procrastination?. A personal trainer can help you deal with dilemma and can you started as soon as possible.

4. I'm Scared Of Messing Up
If you don't go to the gym very often, you may feel a bit uncomfortable going there. There are several reasons for this. People who are at the gym frequently are usually in great shape. No matter which gym you go to, you'll probably encounter at least one or two muscle heads. It can be intimidating trying to work out around huge guys who can bench hundreds of pounds without even breaking a sweat. It can also be hard if you don't know how to use the workout equipment properly. If you're scared of messing up when you go the gym, it's important to educate yourself. Learn as much as you can about workouts that fit your needs and goals. Find out what equipment to use, how to use it properly, and how long you should use it for. You can also use a personal trainer to help familiarize yourself with a workout that will suit you best.

5. I'm Already Skinny
A lot of people who don't exercise do so because they believe they're already in good shape. If you're naturally lean and don't exercise because you look like you're in shape, consider this: people who don't exercise, no matter their body type, are still susceptible to certain health risks, namely heart disease, diabetes and others. A study conducted by Dr Gary O'Donovan of Brunel University involving lean exercisers, lean non-exercises, and obese non-exercisers showed that the non-exercising participants, both lean and obese, had a higher chance of developing heart disease. What this means is that to avoid certain health risks like heart disease, it's important for even skinny people to exercise.

6. You tried to exercise before, but it just wasn't for you

I've heard this argument before plenty of times. But there are many possible reasons why you quit working out. Perhaps you did too much too soon. Many people get so hyped up about going to the gym and getting in shape that they go work out 7 times a week for 2 hours each day. If you have a life( school, work, kids, family, etc) you are bound to get burnt out. Burning out symptoms are not pleasant and just makes you want to quit!. 

     Many times, you are excited about starting an exercise program but you realize that you really don't know where to start. Weights are intimidating and machines look complicated to use. This is a very valid reason and the best suggestion here is that you have to start doing your own research and hire a personal trainer who can help you. Make sure you train with someone who knows about injury prevention and that is willing to work according to your current level of fitness.

On top of this,  you hate soreness!!. If you have never exercised, you are gonna be sore after your first workout. But this is part of the process. Don't let it discourage you. 

      Lastly, perhaps you already know how to exercise but you are bored of the same old routine. Try to mix it up!!. There are so many different ways to exercise. Try using kettlebells, do cross fits, circuit training etc. Don't give up simple because you are bored!!, there is something out there that you are bound to really like. Work with someone who can challenge you and take your workout to the next level. 

Article written by Soo Lo. 

Reviewed and edited by : Andres C.

Motivate, Inspire, get fit.

Resistance Training: Simple Principles to Make the Best Out of it.

     Resistance training has become an integral part of physical activity programs designed to promote health and wellness. It has been shown to have a positive impact on many health measures, and the collective impact may significantly improve functionality, well being, and quality of life. Yet there are so many people who still back away from resistance training due to misconceptions and bad experiences. It is imperative to acknowledge that if you have no experience in the field of weight training, please hire a personal trainer ( me!!) who can guide you in the right direction and teach you the right techniques of each exercise to prevent potential injuries. With that said, let's jump right into the core of this article.

"There are three general training principles that we must follow if we want to obtain results: specificity, overload and progression."

Specificity:

     This is a simple principle that dictates the following: training in a specific way will produce a specific result and that to reach a specfic goal , the person has to follow a specific type of training program. For instance, a person who wants to strengthen the muscles of the chest must perform exercises such as the bench press or dumbell flys, to targer that are , not a dumbell row, which will work the back muscles. This term also relates to training or a specific sport or activity. In fact resistance training should be very similar to those of the activities that you carry on daily basis.

Overload:

    This principle states that each workout should place a demand on the muscle or muscles that is greater than that in the previous workout session. Even the most specifically based training programs will only produce limited results if the person training does not experience overload regularly. The degree of overload depends on the load, number of repetitions, rest between sets, and frequency ( number of training sessions per week). In order to produce strength and endurance gains, resistance training programs should progressively overload the muscular systems.

According to ACSM, this can be accomplished in the following ways:

• Increase the resistance or weights
• increase repetitions
• Increase sets
• Decreasing the periods betweeen sets of exercises.

This type of training pushes the body to meet and adapt to greater than normal physiological stress. The amount of overload clients need to attain their goal is based on their current level of muscular fitness.

Progression

     Defined as an increase in workload to maintain overload. The concept of progression may also include the practice of using modest weights during the initial sessions of an exercise program ( ACSM). Guidelines for progression of exercise become a factor in the success of individuals who are beginning exercise programs or who are engaging in specific types of exercise programs.

     Well, there you have. Those are the three principles of weight training. Before you decide to start your training, speak to a personal trainer to determine how to train in order to reach your goal. Not all resistance weight training programs are created equal. Some may be designed to reach hypertrophy ( muscle growth), others may be designed for development of muscular endurance and other for muscular strength.

Follow the guidelines mentioned above, and I guarantee you will get results.

Inspire,motivate,get fit.

Why should I work on my flexibility?

Flexibility is usually the one fitness aspect that people tend to neglect the most. You go to the gym, have a killer workout, you did your running and at the end of everything, you choose to stretch for only 2- 3 minutes. While this is better than nothing, stretching for only a few minutes  will not give you all the benefits associated with stretching. If you have never stretched in your life ( or haven't done so for a few years) then you definitely have to read this article!!.

Let me start of by saying that the older you get , the less flexible and more stiff you will be (that is if you don't stretch regularly). Lower back problems have been associated with poor flexibility of the lower back and hamstring muscles and weak abdominal muscles. Implementing a flexiblity enhancement program results in both long term and short term adaptations.


Immediate results of a stretching program relate to:

• increase in muscle's core temperature due to the increase in blood flow to the working muscles. This positively alters the body's blood distribution to cope with the increasing demands placed on the musculature.
  
• Increase in the body's ability to deliver hemoglobin ( hence oxygen) to the working muscles.
  
• Increased interaction of muscle's actin and myosin filaments which increase the speed and force of each muscular contraction. Aka: improved performance!!
  
• Relaxation of the antagonist muscles is promoted. This results in reduced resistance to movement and a decreased risk of muscle and tendon injuries such as strains and sprains.
  
• Flexibility reduces muscle tension, which leads the body to become more relaxed and coordinated. This also results in increased joint movement and enhanced range of motion.

Now let's take a look at some long term adaptations:

• increased range of motion of the joint , resulting in a decrease in muscle soreness.
  
• Improving flexiblity reduces the likelihood of strains, tears, and tightness that may result in muscular pain, spasm, and cramping.
  
• Flexibility training also lengthens the fascia, which supports and stablizes the muscles, organs and most body tissues.
  
• Reduced muscle tension and increased relaxation
  
• Improvement and development of body awareness
  
• Improved circulation and air exchange

There are certain recommendations made by the ACSM ( America college of Sports Medicine) In order to improve our flexibility and thus our performance :

• Stretching should be part of both warm up and cooldown during a workout session.
  
• hold stretches in a static position for 30 seconds or more to feel the stretch from the belly of the muscle to the tendon. Progress should be made from 15 seconds at first to 30 seconds as you become more flexible.
  
• Those who are beginning at flexibility training program should do it 3-4 times a week minimum.If your goal is increase flexiblity then 5-7 times a week is recommended.
  
• Adults should stretch once daily, 3-5 times a week to maintain flexibility.
  
• Depending on your current goal, the amount of times to follow a flexibility program tends to vary. Gymnast and wrestlers tend to need more hours of stretching a day for their specific sport.
  

If you have never worked on your flexibility I suggest you contact me or another personal trainer for advice on proper breathing and stretching techniques.

Here are some precautions to follow:

• Stretch a joint through limits of normal range of motion only.
  
• If you have recent fractures, do not stretch the area where you suffered the fracture for another 8-12 weeks post fracture.
  
• If you suffer from osteoporisis, be mindful of wich stretches may be good for you.
  
• Be progressive with your stretching, if you have not stretched in a long time, take it easy!!! and go slow.
  
• Mild soreness should take no longer than 24 hours to resolve after stretching. If more recovery time is necessary, the stretching force was excessive.
  
• Be aware that physical performance may vary from day to day.
  
• Develop individual goals.
  
• Do not overstretch weak muslces.
  
• Do not overstretch weak muscles.Shortening of these muscles may contribute to joint support that muscles can no longer actively provide. A combination of strength and flexibility training will give you gains in mobility that coincide with gains in strength and stablity.

There are many more guidelines for proper stretching. Likewise, there are other forms of stretching ( passive stretching, active stretching, dynamic , phasic or ballistic stretching) that require training and supervision. It is always best to contact a personal trainer or a specialist in this field. Please feel free to write me a message.


Motivate, inspire, get fit.

suffering lack of energy? , keep cutting down calories and you are still gaining weight? this article is for you

Here is a question I get a lot of times from my clients:

     How can I maintain my energy level while at the same time reduce body percentage??. Have you ever tried dieting and you found out that you did not have the same amount of energy and felt weak and sluggish throughout the day??. Keep reading this article is for you.

     A number of studies suggest that the asnwer may lie in consuming small but frequent meals to stay in better energy balance throughout the day, Energy balance has typically been assessed in a 24 hour unit. That is, if you consume a 3000 calories diet during the day and you burn 30000 calories during the day, you are in “ energy balance”. However , what happens during the day to achieve a state of energy balance makes a difference. If you spend most of the day in an energy decifict state ( you burn more than you consume) but then eat a huge a meal at the end of the day to satisfy your energy needs, you might still be in energy balance. However, it appears that people who do this have different outcomes than those who stay close to an energy balanced state throught the day. Eating small but frequent meals has the followeing benefits :

• Matain of metabolic rate
• lower body fat and lower weight on higher caloric intakes
• better glucose tolerance and lower insulin response ( making it more difficult to manufacture fats from the foods you eat)
• lower stress hormone production
• Better maintenance of muscle mass
• Improved physical performance

Surveys have suggested that people tend to delay eating until the end of the day, and many experience severe energy deficits earlier in the day ( perticularly on days when they train hard and need the energy the most!). Problems with energy deficits include:

• Difficulty maintaning carbohydrate stores ( this impedes endurance in high intensity activities)
• problems maintaining lean ( muscle) mass
• Lower metabolic rate
• Difficulty meeting nutrients needs ( food carry both energy and other nutrients)
• Increased risk of injury ( undernoursihed athletes may develop mental and muscular fatigue that, in some sports, would predispose them to injury)
• Missed opportunities to aid muscle recovery.

      Maintaining energy balance throughout the day by consuming small but frequent meals during the day is an excellent strategy for reducing these problems. Many experts suggest 4-5 meals a day spaced every 3 hours is the best way to achieve consistent energy levels throughout the day. There you guys have it!!!. Next nutrition article I will write will be on how much to “ exactly” eat.

Stay healthy!!!

Qualities of a Winning Athlete ( for those who want to take things to the next level)

Even though I did not write this article. I consider it worth reading for anyone who is determined in making a lifestyle change by incorporating exercise into their life. Let's not forget that the journey is not an easy one but the results are so worth it!!

Here is the article :

With all things being equal, what is different about winning athletes? When elite athletes are competing, the gap in abilities between the first and last place athlete is relatively small. You’ll need to dig a little deeper to understand what separates the top 1% of elite athletes from all the rest
Proper training builds strength and endurance. Mindset strategies improve focus and build confidence. Both components, physical training combined with mental game strategies, are necessary for high performance.
Elite athletes view performance, and winning, from a different set of lenses. Where elite athletes place their focus and attention is different from average athletes.

1. Motivation – There is a burning desire to be the best you can be. Being good enough is not enough. Elite athletes possess a deep need to always improve, taking their performance to the next level.
2. Initiative – Driven athletes don’t wait to be given permission to do something. They are the leaders in all they do, setting the standard for excellence.
3. No Excuses – Full commitment is necessary to be the best. Instead of viewing obstacles as problems, elite athletes approach them as challenges to overcome. The goal is the primary focus.
4. Determination – All challenges have solutions. Elite athletes are actively looking for the opportunities to help them reach their goal. Failure is not an option.
5. Strengths Based Approach – Focus on strengths. Elite athletes know where they excel and use that to their advantage. Find the best approach based upon your strengths. Also develop the skills necessary to minimize weaknesses.
6. Extra mile – A strong commitment sets up elite athletes to go the extra mile. Even when no one is looking, they continue to push themselves to be the best they can.
7. Tough Minded – Athletes are expected to do things which stretch them all the time. Tough minded athletes acknowledge the discomfort, but don’t let it stop them. Taking risks, and pushing through their comfort zone, is part of the champion mindset.

A success mindset is more natural for some than for others. Fortunately, it is not a birthright. Similar to new techniques and skill sets, a champion mindset can be learned.
Consider your level of commitment to your sport. Are you satisfied? If yes, that’s great. If not, then you can choose to change it accordingly.
The best way to begin the process of developing a champion mindset is to be coach-able. Become a student of excellence. Who can you learn from? Role models are excellent for witnessing success principles in action. Your coach and trainer want the best from you, even if they don’t always do a great job of giving you that impression. If they are approachable, find out what suggestions they have for you to improve your performance.
Be on the hunt for opportunities. They are all around you. The champion mindset focuses on the solutions, not the problems. Elite athletes are creative in their approach to challenges, willing to take a risk. They are all about results. Focused attention on solutions, while maintaining a positive mindset that reaching your goals are possible, will change your approach to challenges. Instead of excuses, you will be seeing opportunities to be the best you can. A champion mindset sets you up for success in all aspects of life.
Activity: Identify your goals. Be as specific as possible. Be willing to learn what is necessary to help you reach your goal. This means becoming a student of your sport. Winning is not just about physical abilities, it is about learning the underlying principles which make excellent athletes. Experiment. Work on one new skill at a time. You are more likely to succeed with steady effort instead of an all-out approach.

I think it is important to notice that this article applies mainly to those who are already physically active and really want to take things to the next level.  Nonetheless, I considered it  great motivational reading material.

Suffering from lower back pain. This article is for you.

       I've had a few of my friends and clients over the past few months ask me about what they should do for their lower back pain. Before I offer you some solutions I would like to give you some background of why it is estimated that more than 80% of Americans suffer from some sort of level of back pain.  I would also like to advice that if the pain is too persistent, please go and visit your physician and stop certain exercises!!!. Often times, people try to help out their backs by going to gyms and trying to do exercises that target the lower back only to discover that the pain ends up intensifying, This is a big NO NO if you don't know what you are doing.
        Research has indicated that the main reason why most people suffer from lower back pain is due to the lack of stability muscles as well as lack of  core stability endurance. It is important to understand that the core muscles are a combination of movement and stability muscles.  When these muscles are weak , guess what happens???. You have to use other muscles to compensate the weakest muscles. This leads to pressure on your spine which happens to be protected by the stabilizer. If the stabilizers are weak, this means that the spine will act as the base for support. Complications arise from this such as : strain on the muscles that support the spine as well as further compression on your discs between the vertebra.
        Hopefully those reasons just mentioned are enough to show you why it is extremely important to strengthen and stretch those core muscles!!. Without these stabilizer muscles, we would all have a terrible time  finding our balance. They work by ensuring not only balance and protection for the spine, but they also ensure proper absorption and transference of forces coming from the inside and outside the body.
   With all that said, what can we do to strengthen our lower backs and core. First thing would be " STOP doing exercises that put strain on the back. These include lunges, squats, deadlifts , sit ups etc". Wait for your back to recover and then resume these exercises.
     It all the depends on your current back pain condition. If you suffer from back pain and the pain seems only temporary such as having a minor back strain, certain stretches and exercises may be appropriate ( I will give you a list below).  By all means, please avoid extreme flexion ( rounding of back) or hyperextension of the spine muscles. This is not good in any situation for the spine.However, if the pain in your back is due to herniated or bulged discs, avoid all flex movements for this may aggravate the problem because the disc may be pushing against a nerve and therefore cause more damage and pain. If this is your case, avoid hamstring stretches and round back stretches since they require back flexion.If this is your case, my suggestion is to go see a physician and have him design a plan for you. Sometimes stretching and exercising are not the best solutions for lower back pain.
     However, if your problem is not a herniated disc, then back flexion exercises and stretch can provide some relief, increase stability of the spine and stretch and strengthen your core. These exercises include :
Back exercises stretches: Back flexion exercises under supervision of a professional can in many cases help bring back some suppleness and increase mobility, decreasing back pain and discomfort.
Back flexion exercises: while laying on your back pull both knees to the chest while simultaneously flexing the head forward until a comfortable stretch is felt in a balled up position.

Also check out of these exercises which have proven to be effective. This article is still under construction

       There is a ton of research on lower back pain, I could write 3- 4 articles on prevention and rehabilitation of it. I encourage you to also do your research. Most importantly, I encourage you to visit your physician to determine the cause of your back as it may be due to many different reasons.

dreams. They are worth chasing after

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRWxoR-FJV0&feature=share

really cool video!