Obesity Hurts Your Wallet Too!

It's obvious that obesity hurts our health, but a "quantitative wake-up call" has finally alarmed many of us. Researchers at George Washington University have recently concluded that obesity costs more for women than men. Specifically, the annual cost of being obese is $4,879 for a woman and $2,646 for a man.

For the full report, check out the following link: http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2010/09/21/obesity_hurts_wallet_as_well_as_health/

Hip Strengthening to Alleviate Hip Pain

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) researchers have shown that a general hip strengthening program can reduce/eliminate patellofemoral (knee) pain in female runners. They hypothesized that strengthening a runner's hips would "remedy the mechanical flaws" that lead to knee pain. The exercises included single-leg squats and general resistance band work. The results were presented at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) conference in June. This is GREAT news for female runners who experience knee pain.

What He Said...

I received an email last week that outlined a lot of the beliefs/viewpoints of one of my mentors, Coach Mike Boyle. Several of the bullet points mirror much of what I believe in. A lot of what I believe is what Coach Boyle said, hence the "What He Said" title of this post. They include the following:

• Right now we've got training experts who don't train anyone and
  strength coaches who've never competed in anything. Would you
  take business advice from someone who doesn't have a business
  or isn't making any money?
• I think personal training is much more difficult than working with
  athletes. We've got 2 hours per week to counteract the other 166
  hours of the week. It's not a good ratio to try and make changes.
• The trap-bar deadlift is probably the best lower-body exercise.
  I think it's clearly the best bilateral exercise, since you're engaging
  your erectors and your traps much more than in a squat.
• And another thing: stretching doesn't have to take that long. You
  don't need to go to a yoga class. Just stretch your major muscle
  groups like your hamstrings, groin, hip flexors, lasts, and pecs.
  Shouldn't take more than ten minutes. When you realize later
  on that all the injuries you're going to get are because certain
  muscles get too tight or get knocked out of alignment, you'll thank
  me.

Excellent Fat Burning Exercise

Nia Shanks recently posted the above video on her blog of an exercise I have a love/hate relationship with, Burpees w/Jump Pull-Ups. I say that because I hate doing them- as do my clients- but love the results they provide. Notice she does six and is in killer shape. Starting with a couple, resting briefly, and repeating several times is the way to go when just starting out. Remember: technique is EVERYTHING, so be careful not to hyperextend the lumber spine when driving the legs straight at the bottom of the movement. Also, keep the hips low and use power from your hips to drive yourself into the ascending jump. Good luck!

Why You're Not Losing Weight

We’re in month number nine of 2010, yet some of us have yet to lose the weight we initially set out to. Why hasn’t the scale moved the way we’d like it to? Here are some potential reasons why:

· You’re UNDER-estimating your caloric intake- I’m not saying it’s time to start calorie counting, but I do think constructing a nutrition journal should be in your future. Seeing your potential oversights in writing may open your eyes more than you think. Aim for a high intake of vegetables, lean protein, and good fats.

OVER-estimating your caloric expenditure- Once again, I don’t know that counting the exact number of calories is necessary, but I do think it’s crucial for SO many people to increase their exercise intensity. It’s admittedly disheartening to look around the gym (both in the cardio rooms and on the main weight room floor) and seeing so many people not pushing themselves. Your training sessions should contain moments of “temporary discomfort.” If they don’t, you simply aren’t working hard enough. Put down the novel and push it!

· - ENDOCRINOLOGY- If you truly are working your butt off and eating perfectly yet aren’t seeing any positive changes, it may be in your best interest to give your doctor a call. Your hormone levels may need to be examined. While this is typically the last resort, it sometimes is necessary.

Beating Negativity

I was reading some information recently from Jon Gordon and the following piece of advice suck out to me as it's something I try to do every day:

Focus on the important stuff. Tune out the negative voices and start making positive choices. What are you doing on a daily basis to grow yourself, your team, and your business? Don’t focus on the negative things other people and the media are saying. Instead, focus on marketing your business, taking care of clients, and building loyal relationships. Every morning ask yourself this question: "What are the three most important things I need to do today that will help me create the success I desire?" Then take action on those items.

Great stuff from Bill Russell and KG

Barefoot Running

The shift toward barefoot running continues with a nice article written by Kevin Paul Dupont. Check it out here:

http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/running/articles/2010/08/22/uncovering_a_trend_here/

Things That Bother Me: "Inadequate Power Output During Medicine Ball Exercises"

There are several exercises and movements I think are extremely underrated (i.e. push-ups, Hex Bar Deadlifts, and Anti-Rotational Cable Presses to name three), but if I had to pick a fourth it'd be Medicine Ball exercises. More specifically, one thing that really bothers me is watching people perform Med Ball exercises without full power output. In other words, they "half-ass" it. Med Balls are meant to be slammed, tossed, thrown, etc... AS HARD AS POSSIBLE unless otherwise indicated. Take a look below at the videos below for more information:

CORRECT:

INCORRECT (you can CLEARLY see both participants could be slamming the ball harder):

Just make sure you use an adequate (concrete/brick) wall so THIS doesn't happen:

Also, make sure you give yourself enough room so THIS doesn't happen:

Trap Bar Deadlift

The Trap/Hex Bar Deadlift continues to be my favorite lower body bi-lateral exercise. Check out the video above.

5 More Reasons to Add Exercise to Your Daily Routine

1. Increased energy
2. Improved sleep
3. Improved balance
4. Improved self-esteem
5. Improved strength

Why You're Not Losing Weight

We’re in month number eight of 2010, yet some of us have yet to lose the weight we initially set out to. Why hasn’t the scale moved the way we’d like it to? Here are some of my potential presumptions:

• · You’re UNDER-estimating your caloric intake- I’m not saying it’s time to start calorie counting, but I do think constructing a nutrition journal should be in your future. Seeing your potential oversights in writing may open your eyes more than you think. Aim for a high intake of vegetables, lean protein, and good fats.
• · You’re OVER-estimating your caloric expenditure- Once again, I don’t know that counting the exact number of calories is necessary, but I do think it’s crucial for SO many people to increase their exercise intensity. It’s admittedly disheartening to look around the gym (both in the cardio rooms and on the main weight room floor) and seeing so many people not pushing themselves. Your training sessions should contain moments of “temporary discomfort.” If they don’t, you simply aren’t working hard enough. Put down the novel and push it!
• · Endocrinology- If you truly are working your butt off and eating perfectly yet aren’t seeing any positive changes, it may be in your best interest to give your doctor a call. Your hormone levels may need to be examined. While this is typically the last resort, it sometimes is necessary.

Nike's New Marketing Campaign

With Kim Kardashian, Beyonce, Serena Williams, etc... receiving so much media attention over their "assets" in the last few years, Nike is attempting to cash in with their latest marketing advertisements. While I am not crazy about some of the "toning shoes" put out my some of these big companies (i.e. New Balance, Sketchers, etc...), I do appreciate Nike's stance as far as getting people to understand we should possess developed glutes. Keep up the deadlifts, lunges, and squats ladies!

Vitamin D remains the most-talked about supplement lately. The New York Times recently ran a piece on this increasingly fascinating vitamin. My favorite line from the article is the following:

"Every tissue in the body, including the brain, heart, muscles and immune system, has receptors for vitamin D, meaning that this nutrient is needed at proper levels for these tissues to function well."

Check out the complete article by clicking the following link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/health/27brod.html?_r=1&ref=nutrition

Female Strength Training for a Sharper Mind

It's one thing to improve bone mineral density and strength from weight training, but how about improving cognitive function? Older women who did an hour or two of strength training exercises each week had improved cognitive function a year later, scoring higher on tests of the brain processes responsible for planning and executing tasks, a new study has found.

Researchers in British Columbia randomly assigned 155 women ages 65 to 75 either to strength training with dumbbells and weight machines once or twice a week, or to a comparison group doing balance and toning exercises.

A year later, the women who did strength training had improved their performance on tests of so-called executive function by 10.9 percent to 12.6 percent, while those assigned to balance and toning exercises experienced a slight deterioration — 0.5 percent. The improvements in the strength training group included an enhanced ability to make decisions, resolve conflicts and focus on subjects without being distracted by competing stimuli.

-NY Times: Feb. 17, 2010

Strength Training Principle

I received a good email from one of my mentors, Coach Mike Boyle, this morning. It was sent to all of the personal trainers and strength coaches who follow his body of work. The message focused around a major tenet of strength training: implementing progressive resistance. If it's one thing I've learned from Coach Boyle, it's that keeping it simple will ALWAYS be the best approach when it comes to improving fitness levels- in this case strength. My favorite portion of the email read as follows:

No one ever got better lifting light weights. Light weight is an oxymoron. A weight should be appropriate to the goal but, rarely, if ever, intentionally light. The load should be based on the strength level of the person. The reality is if you are lifting a weight ten times, numbers nine and ten should be difficult. If you can lift a weight 20 times but choose to do only ten, you are wasting your time. Period. The essence of effective strength training is a concept called progressive resistance exercise. This means that that even if the resistance may be light to begin with, it should not stay that way.

NBA Fit with Jerome Williams

It's nice to see past and present NBA players conducting fitness clinics for kids across the country. One of my all-time favorite players was Jerome "The Junkyard Dog" Williams. Jerome would never be out-hustled and worked his butt off every minute he played. He was not as talented as many of his teammates and opponents, but he outworked all of them. You can tell from the recent clinic he did how happy he is helping all these kids. Check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVGQ35v__3k&playnext_from=TL&videos=tQ_TMLBldPU

Hip Stretching

So many of us sit in a fixed position for extended periods of time. Whether it be commuting to work or sitting at a desk longer than we should, it's vital we engage in multi-planar hip stretches to prevent back pain and optimize hip motion. That being said, here is a great video of my colleague Anthony Renna.

Improving Vertical Jump

A major goal of basketball players is typically improving their vertical jump. While plyometrics (box jumps, tuck jumps, hurdle hops, etc...) are all valuable movements to practice, unilateral knee and hip-dominant exercises such as 1-leg squats should be practiced. Check out the following article, courtesy of Core Performance:

http://www.coreperformance.com/daily/play-better/jump-out-of-the-gym.html

Funny Stand-up by Ted Alexandro

You'll like the fitness comments a little ways into it. Enjoy everyone!