Packed with Omega-3 fatty acids, fish oils are abundantly present in nature. Whether you are getting them naturally through fresh fish and seafoods such as salmon and mackeral or through a capsule form (usually supplied by anchovies and sardines), fish oils bring many benefits to every individual.
These fatty acids can possibly lower your bad cholesterol, raise your good cholesterol, help lubricate your joints, give shine to your hair, and also help with dry skin. An added benefit is knowing that they are real, and not a man made supplement that is chemically altered.
As always, when it comes to diet, check with your physician first!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
Juicing
The best diet comes from the things that are most commonly passed by: fruits and vegetables.
Fruits and vegetables contain all of the calories, vitamins, and nutrients that the body needs to survive. The key is how you take them in. When cooking or steaming vegetables, most, if not all, of the nutrients are lost in the process. Fruit and vegetable juices available at the store contain added sugars, flavoring, and refined ingredients to cause more harm than benefit.
The answer is juicing. Why juice and not just eat them? Chances are, you WON'T eat them! And if you do, you will probably get real full real fast or real tired of it immediately. Juicing adds convenience and variety to your day, not to mention color. The nutrients will detoxify your body, the calories will create energy, and the cost will make you smile. There are no set recipes, you add what you see fit, mix and match, and expose yourself to things you haven't before. Example, add chia seeds, they will liquify and cleanse your GI tract during digestion.
Check out some documentaries I recently watched that detail the benefits:
Hungry for Change
Food Matters
Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead
Fruits and vegetables contain all of the calories, vitamins, and nutrients that the body needs to survive. The key is how you take them in. When cooking or steaming vegetables, most, if not all, of the nutrients are lost in the process. Fruit and vegetable juices available at the store contain added sugars, flavoring, and refined ingredients to cause more harm than benefit.
The answer is juicing. Why juice and not just eat them? Chances are, you WON'T eat them! And if you do, you will probably get real full real fast or real tired of it immediately. Juicing adds convenience and variety to your day, not to mention color. The nutrients will detoxify your body, the calories will create energy, and the cost will make you smile. There are no set recipes, you add what you see fit, mix and match, and expose yourself to things you haven't before. Example, add chia seeds, they will liquify and cleanse your GI tract during digestion.
Check out some documentaries I recently watched that detail the benefits:
Hungry for Change
Food Matters
Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Proprioception: The importance of balance
It is important to incorporate balance into your general workout routine. If you are like most people, you sit on machines or on weight benches to accomplish most moves. This does not really apply in real life where you will more than likely be standing up, kneeling down, or even standing on one leg to reach for or lift something.
When doing something as simple as dumbbell arm curls, try standing on one foot, on a BOSU ball, or some other type of surface that you are not used to. This will generate the proprioceptors in your legs to communicate your brain. The point of proprioception is to clue your head in with where the rest of your body is and what it is doing. Better proprioceptive communication creates greater and quicker neuromuscular response to moving conditions. Your reflexes will be better, your balance will improve, and so will your general awareness.
This can apply to all exercises so check out some quick examples:
-Dumbbell chest press on stability/swiss ball
-Squats on one leg
-Reverse lunges off of BOSU ball
-Squat jumps from floor to BOSU ball
-Crunches on stability/swiss ball with feet elevated on wall rather than floor
-Dumbbell overhead press while kneeling on bench
The key is; you have to remove yourself a little from your comfort zone while doing movement exercises. Try to incorporate strategies into your workout that include challenges or obstacles that you may face in everyday life.
When doing something as simple as dumbbell arm curls, try standing on one foot, on a BOSU ball, or some other type of surface that you are not used to. This will generate the proprioceptors in your legs to communicate your brain. The point of proprioception is to clue your head in with where the rest of your body is and what it is doing. Better proprioceptive communication creates greater and quicker neuromuscular response to moving conditions. Your reflexes will be better, your balance will improve, and so will your general awareness.
This can apply to all exercises so check out some quick examples:
-Dumbbell chest press on stability/swiss ball
-Squats on one leg
-Reverse lunges off of BOSU ball
-Squat jumps from floor to BOSU ball
-Crunches on stability/swiss ball with feet elevated on wall rather than floor
-Dumbbell overhead press while kneeling on bench
The key is; you have to remove yourself a little from your comfort zone while doing movement exercises. Try to incorporate strategies into your workout that include challenges or obstacles that you may face in everyday life.
Monday, March 18, 2013
The posterior chain
People often poke fun at my broad shouldered "tough man" walk. The fact is, that walk is the example of a good posterior chain.
The posterior chain encompasses the entire back of your body; from where your trapezius attaches to the base of your school, down through your lats and rhomboids, your erector spinae, glutes, hamstrings and to the calves.
The body's natural tendency is to get stronger and tighter on the front but weak in the back. Most of this can be attributed to the anatomical fact that the hips hinge more this way, we tend to reach forward more, we sit more, and gravity is more influential this way.
It is important to create symmetry of the body, meaning equal strength and flexibility on the front as well as the back. This needs to be addressed with proper resistance training (lower back extensions, planks, reverse flys, lat pull downs), proper stretching of tight opposing muscles (hip flexors and chest), and also walking with correct posture (broad shouldered).
Look in the mirror, check your posture!
The posterior chain encompasses the entire back of your body; from where your trapezius attaches to the base of your school, down through your lats and rhomboids, your erector spinae, glutes, hamstrings and to the calves.
The body's natural tendency is to get stronger and tighter on the front but weak in the back. Most of this can be attributed to the anatomical fact that the hips hinge more this way, we tend to reach forward more, we sit more, and gravity is more influential this way.
It is important to create symmetry of the body, meaning equal strength and flexibility on the front as well as the back. This needs to be addressed with proper resistance training (lower back extensions, planks, reverse flys, lat pull downs), proper stretching of tight opposing muscles (hip flexors and chest), and also walking with correct posture (broad shouldered).
Look in the mirror, check your posture!
Sunday, March 17, 2013
A client's response to my workout...
Often people are a little shocked about how they feel after I introduce them to a functional workout, especially if they are used to walking around machines aimlessly or "picking things up and putting them down." Some won't admit the difference they feel but I received an e-mail from a new client this morning stating his feelings about a workout I introduced him to yesterday and I had to share:
Subject: and i thought you were my friend
all you trainers are masochists. did your daddy yell at you when you were young? what triggered this? hahahahahahahaha
Subject: and i thought you were my friend
all you trainers are masochists. did your daddy yell at you when you were young? what triggered this? hahahahahahahaha
i hurt ALL over. one place i have never hurt before, directly under my armpits, upper rib cage. WTF?
your science was spot on. i hurt in my weak spots. inner thighs and lower abs.
i think you underestimated my lack of physical fitness mike. im a mess. but i will do your routine at a snails pace until my body tells me to step it up.
i think this will be the first step of a love affair with functional movement. cant wait to see all the other fun things once i master (i hope) the movements you gave me.
i cant say i wont miss the feeling up pumping out 80 lbs dumbbells on a bench and the pump you get from that BUT no one will ever ask me how much i lift while on the golf course or while mountain biking or playing tennis ..... so.
thanks mike!!!
Sounds like another believer in functional workouts!
Friday, March 15, 2013
2nd Annual Walk for TM
If you know me well, then you know my advocacy for personal health and well being. I owe a lot of this to a rare neurological disorder that blindsided my mother in 2004. She was left paralyzed from waist down on her left side that day; bedridden at first, reliant on a wheelchair for quite some time, and now more mobile with assistive devices. She has come a long way from that day but the phenomenon known as Transverse Myelitis still lingers.
TM is described as a a neurological disorder caused by an inflammatory process of the spinal cord. It comes on suddenly, affecting people of all ages and walks of life. While many are able to walk after being affected by this disorder, there are many who cannot. My mother became involved with a small group of people in New Jersey last year that all share the same questions and concerns surrounding this mystery. On April 13th, 2013, there will be a walk at Cooper River to promote fundraising for more research and hopefully a cure for TM. Please join us and support a great cause for those that are near and dear to our hearts.
More information on the walk and donations can be found at:
www.sjtmwalk.com
Information on Transverse Myelitis:
www.myelitis.org
TM is described as a a neurological disorder caused by an inflammatory process of the spinal cord. It comes on suddenly, affecting people of all ages and walks of life. While many are able to walk after being affected by this disorder, there are many who cannot. My mother became involved with a small group of people in New Jersey last year that all share the same questions and concerns surrounding this mystery. On April 13th, 2013, there will be a walk at Cooper River to promote fundraising for more research and hopefully a cure for TM. Please join us and support a great cause for those that are near and dear to our hearts.
More information on the walk and donations can be found at:
www.sjtmwalk.com
Information on Transverse Myelitis:
www.myelitis.org
Monday, March 11, 2013
Range of motion: Don't cheat your muscles!
When performing exercises, make sure you are getting the best bang for your buck and not cheating yourself out of the benefits that the exercises offer.
This often happens when people sacrifice range of motion to complete the exercises. Either the person simply does not have the strength or endurance to complete full movement, or they do not realize. Remember one thing, the body WILL cheat. It will do it's best to accomplish a task with the least work in an effort to work efficiently. In the fitness field, we must be consciously aware that this can always happen and do our best to focus on all exercises and complete them properly to gain benefits and minimize risks.
Keep yourself local to a mirror for exercises you suspect incorrect form. For bicep curls, make sure you get a full extension of the elbow joint, no half reps. For squats, get those thighs parallel with the ground at the bottom of the movement. For pushups, get that chest 3-4 inches from the ground.
The list goes on, be more aware when you workout, chances are you will correct quite a few things and benefit from it. Don't cheat your muscles!
This often happens when people sacrifice range of motion to complete the exercises. Either the person simply does not have the strength or endurance to complete full movement, or they do not realize. Remember one thing, the body WILL cheat. It will do it's best to accomplish a task with the least work in an effort to work efficiently. In the fitness field, we must be consciously aware that this can always happen and do our best to focus on all exercises and complete them properly to gain benefits and minimize risks.
Keep yourself local to a mirror for exercises you suspect incorrect form. For bicep curls, make sure you get a full extension of the elbow joint, no half reps. For squats, get those thighs parallel with the ground at the bottom of the movement. For pushups, get that chest 3-4 inches from the ground.
The list goes on, be more aware when you workout, chances are you will correct quite a few things and benefit from it. Don't cheat your muscles!
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Elasticity
If your gym has theratubes or you can pick one up at the store, do so for a drastic difference in your workout routine.
Theratubes derive from their use in rehabilitation. Therapy was performed with elastic tubing to create a closed chain effect on the exercises that used them. They have since hit the gym scene, first in group exercise settings and now in group coaching.
Performing exercises like bicep curls, upright rows, and tricep extensions now have two main factors: gravity and elasticity. The elasticity enhances the eccentric aspect of the exercise. This eccentric stress or "forcing the negative" is what needs to be done to muscles in order to make them stronger. Theratubes are excellent for helping you break through a plateau, challenging your workout, and without the weight of a dumbbell, they are portable.
Get creative with use: use them to make your squats and pushups harder by keeping them tight around your upper back, use them to assist you when you do pullups, anchor one end and utilize the other to do rotary twists, resisted punches, etc, the list goes on....
Theratubes derive from their use in rehabilitation. Therapy was performed with elastic tubing to create a closed chain effect on the exercises that used them. They have since hit the gym scene, first in group exercise settings and now in group coaching.
Performing exercises like bicep curls, upright rows, and tricep extensions now have two main factors: gravity and elasticity. The elasticity enhances the eccentric aspect of the exercise. This eccentric stress or "forcing the negative" is what needs to be done to muscles in order to make them stronger. Theratubes are excellent for helping you break through a plateau, challenging your workout, and without the weight of a dumbbell, they are portable.
Get creative with use: use them to make your squats and pushups harder by keeping them tight around your upper back, use them to assist you when you do pullups, anchor one end and utilize the other to do rotary twists, resisted punches, etc, the list goes on....
Friday, March 8, 2013
Train the weakness - not the strength!
I see it far too much, gymgoers that frequently work on the body areas that they enjoy the most, where they excel the most, and feel that they are strongest. The problem is that this enhances an assymetry of the body, creating an uneven balace between planes, and more likely contributing to injury.
The phrase I've coined is: "If you hate it, you need it." Meaning if you enjoy going on that elliptical everyday at the gym then you are probably NOT benefiting from it anymore. Try the rowing machine, I guarantee you'll hate it, in a good way. If you constantly do tricep extensions because you like how defined you look in the mirror then realize that there are other muscles in the arm that you are neglecting. Muscles that are not defined, muscles that are weak and desperately in need of training.
A workout experience should always focus on consistency and progression. See my previous post on this. If you do not progress, and only stay in a comfort zone, you are cheating the areas of your body that need attention. Train all of the planes: sagittal, frontal, transverse. A leg workout is not just squats and lunges, include hip abductions, single leg side squats , BOSU squat jumps, and hamstring curls. Same for upper body workouts. Don't just focus on the "beach muscles," work your forearms, lat pulls, closegrip chest press, reverse fly.....the list is endless.
If you conclude your workout and feel you hit the total body you definitely did not. Try suspension/TRX training, you'll feel the difference. Train the weakness - not the strength!
The phrase I've coined is: "If you hate it, you need it." Meaning if you enjoy going on that elliptical everyday at the gym then you are probably NOT benefiting from it anymore. Try the rowing machine, I guarantee you'll hate it, in a good way. If you constantly do tricep extensions because you like how defined you look in the mirror then realize that there are other muscles in the arm that you are neglecting. Muscles that are not defined, muscles that are weak and desperately in need of training.
A workout experience should always focus on consistency and progression. See my previous post on this. If you do not progress, and only stay in a comfort zone, you are cheating the areas of your body that need attention. Train all of the planes: sagittal, frontal, transverse. A leg workout is not just squats and lunges, include hip abductions, single leg side squats , BOSU squat jumps, and hamstring curls. Same for upper body workouts. Don't just focus on the "beach muscles," work your forearms, lat pulls, closegrip chest press, reverse fly.....the list is endless.
If you conclude your workout and feel you hit the total body you definitely did not. Try suspension/TRX training, you'll feel the difference. Train the weakness - not the strength!
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Gravity
When it comes to functional training and bodyweight training gravity is your friend...or foe, however you would like to look at it. Basically gravity provides real time feedback of how your body responds to exercises and movements. The faster you go, the more power you will create, the slower you go, the more gravity you will combat, creating more strength. Once you understand this concept it is pretty easy to use gravity to your (dis)advantage for a significant workout.
Do a minute of squat jumps followed immediately by one minute of holding a squat in the downward position, with your fingertips just grazing the floor between your legs. Notice how you prefatigue the quadriceps with the powerful jumps and then force your body to recruit slow twitch muscle fibers to keep you from collapsing as you hold that squat down for the second minute. You get bang for the buck here, accomplishing power, strength, and endurance in just 2 minutes.
The same can apply with pushups. Do one minute hard of explosive pushups, followed immediately by hovering above the floor in the lowest part of a pushup for another minute. Note how gravity wants to suck you to the floor and how you recruit MUCH more out of your body to just hold yourself two inches from the floor.
Gravity is such an awesome factor in a bodyweight workout, use it to help you, you will never accomplish this real time feeling utilizing just machines.
Do a minute of squat jumps followed immediately by one minute of holding a squat in the downward position, with your fingertips just grazing the floor between your legs. Notice how you prefatigue the quadriceps with the powerful jumps and then force your body to recruit slow twitch muscle fibers to keep you from collapsing as you hold that squat down for the second minute. You get bang for the buck here, accomplishing power, strength, and endurance in just 2 minutes.
The same can apply with pushups. Do one minute hard of explosive pushups, followed immediately by hovering above the floor in the lowest part of a pushup for another minute. Note how gravity wants to suck you to the floor and how you recruit MUCH more out of your body to just hold yourself two inches from the floor.
Gravity is such an awesome factor in a bodyweight workout, use it to help you, you will never accomplish this real time feeling utilizing just machines.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Broad Street Run 2013
If you were lucky enough to be selected in the lottery for this year's Broad Street Run, then you should have already started training by now. Be sure to progress and regress your long run to stay clear of injury. I hover around 6 miles on Sundays right now. Train your quadriceps to be able to maintain the slight 10 mile downgrade.
The race is 10 miles downhill (the first mile is actually a positive grade), with water stops and time clocks every mile. This year, participation is pushing 40,000 runners and beware - this race is very competitive with runners coming in from all parts of the world. It is not walk-friendly and do prepare to be shoved so run with wide elbows and watch your footwork as it is easy to get tangled up.
The intensity of the race is amplified by the fans that line Broad Street from start to finish. Watch for Ed Rendell around City Hall and give him a high five. While around City Hall, be careful with sharp 90 degree turns to navigate the building's large footprint and the bottleneck that it creates for the runners. Don't be fooled when you enter the Navy Yard, this is not the finish line! You will burn your legs up if you sprint to the gate, the finish line is close to a half mile after entering and you can't see it because it sits on a curve.
First time? No sweat, adrenaline alone will surely get you through this race. Most importantly, have fun, see you at Broad Street!
The race is 10 miles downhill (the first mile is actually a positive grade), with water stops and time clocks every mile. This year, participation is pushing 40,000 runners and beware - this race is very competitive with runners coming in from all parts of the world. It is not walk-friendly and do prepare to be shoved so run with wide elbows and watch your footwork as it is easy to get tangled up.
The intensity of the race is amplified by the fans that line Broad Street from start to finish. Watch for Ed Rendell around City Hall and give him a high five. While around City Hall, be careful with sharp 90 degree turns to navigate the building's large footprint and the bottleneck that it creates for the runners. Don't be fooled when you enter the Navy Yard, this is not the finish line! You will burn your legs up if you sprint to the gate, the finish line is close to a half mile after entering and you can't see it because it sits on a curve.
First time? No sweat, adrenaline alone will surely get you through this race. Most importantly, have fun, see you at Broad Street!
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Check your shoes!
Spring is coming, so is the nicer weather, so is the chance of many to start running more, or even begin running. All more reason to check your running shoes for their condition.
Look at the tread. Uneven treadwear will be the most commonly found problem. Much like car tires, excessive pronation (inward rolling of the feet caused by low arches) will wear out the inner sides of your shoes. Vice versa for supination (caused by high arches). It is extremely rare for your shoes to wear evenly so if you have suspiscions take them to the closest running store or personal trainer. I like to use the "wobble test" to check mine. Put them on a flat surface and give them a quick tap from each side. If they wobble, you have uneven wear.
Try to have at least two pairs of athletic shoes to rotate on exercise days. Remember that they need to rest too. A day off after a workout will give the rubber and foam time to decompress to offer you the same amount of support the next time you wear them.
Look at the tread. Uneven treadwear will be the most commonly found problem. Much like car tires, excessive pronation (inward rolling of the feet caused by low arches) will wear out the inner sides of your shoes. Vice versa for supination (caused by high arches). It is extremely rare for your shoes to wear evenly so if you have suspiscions take them to the closest running store or personal trainer. I like to use the "wobble test" to check mine. Put them on a flat surface and give them a quick tap from each side. If they wobble, you have uneven wear.
Try to have at least two pairs of athletic shoes to rotate on exercise days. Remember that they need to rest too. A day off after a workout will give the rubber and foam time to decompress to offer you the same amount of support the next time you wear them.
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