I just recently had an epiphany when thinking about two different topics for my blog when I realized that they were actually intertwined and should be tied together to facilitate your exercise and fitness programs!
First, people always ask me what they should be doing with their exercise programs. Almost always, I end up telling them to stop doing whatever it is they’re doing 1st, then we’ll talk about what they need to do. Remove the time and energy wasters, THEN worry about adding on. If you continue to do the things that aren’t working (and obviously, they aren’t working or you wouldn’t be asking me for my advice) you’ll still be wasting time and spinning your wheels no matter what else you start doing that’s new.
Secondly, I noticed that a) most people make resolutions that they never stick to, and b) these resolutions are all things they are going to “do”.
So I took these two observations and combined them into a list of New Year’s resolutions for you:
Here are the top 10 things you need to STOP doing in ’10 to fully achieve your exercise goals, and start to look and feel like the clients at The Training Rim! (If you already are a client – pass these along to your friend who still goes to mega box gym and doesn’t know any better!)
In 2010, you resolve to:
1. Stop doing cardio.
Seriously, enough already. It doesn’t reduce body fat and it doesn’t make you healthy. In fact, it’s going to hurt you. If that’s your thing, great, godspeed to you. But if you’re doing it because you think it’s good for you, for the love of God please stop.
2. Stop stretching your spine.
Flexing, extending and rotating the spine will injure you, period. There isn’t a respected spinal researcher in the world who will tell you differently. Your back doesn’t need to be stretched, twisted or strengthened – it needs to STOP MOVING. Go work on your hip mobility, please. Your back will thank you.
3. Stop thinking the biggest loser is real.
It’s enjoyable TV, nothing more. No, you shouldn’t be doing ANYTHING they do on the show. They do what they do to get you to watch – NOT to get people healthy.
4. Stop thinking the PX90 or any other flavor of the week is anything but a sales gimmick.
How many infomercial fads have to come and go before you realize there really isn’t some new secret gimmick or tool to buy to help you. C’mon, now…
5. Stop thinking you know what you’re doing.
I’ve been a trainer for 10 years, exercising for 20. I have a Masters Degree in Exercise Science. I learn something new every day in regards to human movement. Things I did a few years ago, I don’t do anymore because now I know better. Do you know what all this means? You will never – repeat NEVER – have it down, know what you’re doing, etc. You may know more than you used to know, but you still have a long way to go. We ALL do.
6. Stop telling yourself “carbs” are bad.
Your body needs carbohydrates. One of our trainers, Dina is a vegetarian, so by definition 100% of what she eats are “carbs”. Dina has less body fat than an aluminum pole. End of discussion.
7. Stop expecting results when you barely ever exercise.
My next blog is on this topic, so more to come. Short version: If you don’t plan on consistently exercising for a long period of time, you will NEVER get results.
8. Stop thinking you don’t need a trainer.
I need a trainer. I jump into our small group sessions all the time and I’m amazed by how better and more efficiently I perform when I’m guided by a knowledgeable professional.
9. Stop doing crunches and sit ups.
Revisit #2. Your abdominal muscles ARE NOT DESIGNED TO MOVE YOUR SPINE – they are designed to hold your spine still. Then on top of that, you’re not burning any calories and you’re more likely to add muscle, and therefore adding size to your mid section. No, crunches are not “core work” – they are stupid.
10. Sitting on machines.
My God, seriously, GET UP! Who ever came up with the idea that sitting on a machine or bench is a better choice than supporting your own body weight? I just came from a big box mega gym and I counted 77 people working out. ONE – yes, ONE - person was not on a piece of equipment, bench, cardio machine, etc. She was working out ON HER FEET with some dumbbells and body weight exercises. Guess who had the best body in the gym?
Don’t hesitate to email me if I forgot one: thetrainingrim@gmail.com
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
What Horse's Arse did that?!?
We are HUGE on always asking "why?" around here. We will NEVER perform exercises or programs simply because other people have done them forever. I.e., we haven't done crunches here for years. Why should we? Because other people say so? We haven't done crunches for years and all our clients and trainers agree we have stronger abs since eliminating crunches.
Along those lines, here's a quick story on why you should always ask "why?" It has a great lesson on choosing exercises and in life in general.
(Courtesy of Alwyn Cosgrove, one of the most respected trainers on the planet):
The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That’s an exceedingly odd number.
Why was that gauge used? Because that’s the way they built them in England and English expatriates designed the US railroads.
Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that’s the gauge they used.
Why did ‘they’ use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they had used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.
Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing?
Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagonwheels would break on some of the old long distance roads in England, because that’s the spacing of the wheel ruts.
So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (including England) for their legions. Those roads have been used ever since.
And the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing… Therefore the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot.
Bureaucracies live forever.
So the next time you are handed a specification/procedure/process and wonder ‘What horse’s ass came up with this?’, you may be exactly right.
Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses (Two horses’ asses).
When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank.
These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah.
The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site.
The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains, and the SRBs had to fit through that tunnel.
The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses’ behinds.
So, a major Space Shuttle design feature of what is arguably the world’s most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse’s ass.
Along those lines, here's a quick story on why you should always ask "why?" It has a great lesson on choosing exercises and in life in general.
(Courtesy of Alwyn Cosgrove, one of the most respected trainers on the planet):
The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That’s an exceedingly odd number.
Why was that gauge used? Because that’s the way they built them in England and English expatriates designed the US railroads.
Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that’s the gauge they used.
Why did ‘they’ use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they had used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.
Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing?
Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagonwheels would break on some of the old long distance roads in England, because that’s the spacing of the wheel ruts.
So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (including England) for their legions. Those roads have been used ever since.
And the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing… Therefore the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot.
Bureaucracies live forever.
So the next time you are handed a specification/procedure/process and wonder ‘What horse’s ass came up with this?’, you may be exactly right.
Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses (Two horses’ asses).
When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank.
These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah.
The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site.
The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains, and the SRBs had to fit through that tunnel.
The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses’ behinds.
So, a major Space Shuttle design feature of what is arguably the world’s most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse’s ass.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Stockings, Crack and The Training Rim
Every now and then that little light bulb goes on over my head and I say, “Hmmm…now THAT’S interesting.” This happens far less frequently as the aging process takes it course, but as they say, even the Mona Lisa is falling apart.
One of my clients once referred to my facility as “like crack” for her. She just loved the energy and feeling she received when she came and had to get more of it.
Then that light bulb went on…
Over the course of history, society has been altered dramatically by products simply being re-packaged. Someone took an already existing product and found a way to alter it slightly to make it even better than its original form. And when I say “better”, I mean similar quality and less cost.
I’ll give you two examples:
1. Nylon stockings:
There was a time long, long ago when silk stockings were the only type of stockings that existed. The problem was that although they looked and felt great (so I’m told), they were ridiculously fragile and expensive. Not a good combination unless you were extremely wealthy.
Then some dude invented nylon stockings. Looked good, felt good, and were durable and inexpensive. All of a sudden, a luxury item was affordable to the masses.
2. Crack Cocaine:
There was a time when cocaine was a very chic choice among those who used illegal drugs. I remember being a kid when it seemed like a day didn’t go by where there wasn’t a pro athlete, movie star, model, etc that wasn’t in the news for having a cocaine problem.
But again, as much as people liked cocaine, it was a very expensive option if recreational drugs were your thing. Hence, pro athletes and movie stars being pretty much the only users.
Then someone came along, took cocaine, mixed it with a few other things and invented crack cocaine. Crack was a much less expensive, but just as potent option.
Again, a luxury item for the masses.
Of course the impact this had on our society in terms of crime issues is the NOT point of my writing this. The point I’m making is like nylon stockings, someone figured out a way to bring what was once a luxury item and make it affordable to almost anybody.
So what does this have to do with exercise?
The fitness and exercise industry are in the EXACT SAME SITUATION as the stocking and illicit drug industries were years ago.
Gym memberships are inexpensive but they don’t work. If you think they do you’re not paying attention.
One on one personal training can be expensive. Especially if you go to the mega chain gyms of the world where $80 per hour is the norm to work with a trainer with very little education and experience.
Enter small group personal training.
Small group personal training brings the luxury of personal training at a very affordable rate.
If you haven’t experienced our small group sessions, here’s what it’s like:
At each session, you’re instructed and guided by a trainer. Every exercise, repetition, set, tempo, etc is chosen for you. And you are watched like a HAWK to be sure you’re doing the exercise correctly.
The only catch is that you’ll share the session with 2 or 3 other people on average. Which incidentally, research has shown INCREASES your chances of reaching your goals.
You get the benefits of a personal trainer – so what about the cost?
The cost is something that over 90% of us can afford. You know how I know that?
Because small group training with us costs less than what most of us pay for cable TV. And over 90% of the people reading this have cable TV.
A personal trainer starting at $129 per month.
Luxury for the masses baby, luxury for the masses.
Author's note: Some of the above information was borrowed from Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt - two brilliant guys and the authors of "Freakonomics". A great book if you haven't read it.
One of my clients once referred to my facility as “like crack” for her. She just loved the energy and feeling she received when she came and had to get more of it.
Then that light bulb went on…
Over the course of history, society has been altered dramatically by products simply being re-packaged. Someone took an already existing product and found a way to alter it slightly to make it even better than its original form. And when I say “better”, I mean similar quality and less cost.
I’ll give you two examples:
1. Nylon stockings:
There was a time long, long ago when silk stockings were the only type of stockings that existed. The problem was that although they looked and felt great (so I’m told), they were ridiculously fragile and expensive. Not a good combination unless you were extremely wealthy.
Then some dude invented nylon stockings. Looked good, felt good, and were durable and inexpensive. All of a sudden, a luxury item was affordable to the masses.
2. Crack Cocaine:
There was a time when cocaine was a very chic choice among those who used illegal drugs. I remember being a kid when it seemed like a day didn’t go by where there wasn’t a pro athlete, movie star, model, etc that wasn’t in the news for having a cocaine problem.
But again, as much as people liked cocaine, it was a very expensive option if recreational drugs were your thing. Hence, pro athletes and movie stars being pretty much the only users.
Then someone came along, took cocaine, mixed it with a few other things and invented crack cocaine. Crack was a much less expensive, but just as potent option.
Again, a luxury item for the masses.
Of course the impact this had on our society in terms of crime issues is the NOT point of my writing this. The point I’m making is like nylon stockings, someone figured out a way to bring what was once a luxury item and make it affordable to almost anybody.
So what does this have to do with exercise?
The fitness and exercise industry are in the EXACT SAME SITUATION as the stocking and illicit drug industries were years ago.
Gym memberships are inexpensive but they don’t work. If you think they do you’re not paying attention.
One on one personal training can be expensive. Especially if you go to the mega chain gyms of the world where $80 per hour is the norm to work with a trainer with very little education and experience.
Enter small group personal training.
Small group personal training brings the luxury of personal training at a very affordable rate.
If you haven’t experienced our small group sessions, here’s what it’s like:
At each session, you’re instructed and guided by a trainer. Every exercise, repetition, set, tempo, etc is chosen for you. And you are watched like a HAWK to be sure you’re doing the exercise correctly.
The only catch is that you’ll share the session with 2 or 3 other people on average. Which incidentally, research has shown INCREASES your chances of reaching your goals.
You get the benefits of a personal trainer – so what about the cost?
The cost is something that over 90% of us can afford. You know how I know that?
Because small group training with us costs less than what most of us pay for cable TV. And over 90% of the people reading this have cable TV.
A personal trainer starting at $129 per month.
Luxury for the masses baby, luxury for the masses.
Author's note: Some of the above information was borrowed from Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt - two brilliant guys and the authors of "Freakonomics". A great book if you haven't read it.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Race Horse vs. The Bear
I was recently the guest speaker at a business networking luncheon. I chose and spoke of the topic “Fat Loss Secrets” because typically losing body fat is the only universal topic among all people who exercise. (I’ve yet to have anyone approach me on how to ADD body fat…) And given the status of our society, apparently there are secrets.
As is my habit, I ventured off into the bio-mechanics and physiological mumbo-jumbo jargon of which most people could not care less. As a result, I told my audience to simply always remember the analogy of the race horse and the bear.
It must have worked because I received a ton of compliments after the speech and a flood of emails later on telling me what a great analogy it was and how it was going to help people stay on track with their training.
Additionally, because it seems I’ve received so many questions regarding cardio training and eating questions lately I decided to post this, knowing it will help on both counts. So with advanced apologies to those who may have heard it before…
Think about how race horses exercise. They sprint as hard as they can for as long as they can, which typically is only for a minute or two. Then they rest. Then they repeat that process again and again. As they become better conditioned, they either run faster, or shorten the rest periods. They don’t increase the duration of their running sessions.
Now think about how a race horse eats. It nibbles on grain, oats, etc ALL DAY LONG. Given the physical size of race horses, oats and grain don’t seem like very much. But they’ll ingest their food in very small portions spread out throughout the day.
Now let’s turn to the bear. They lay around for months at a time. Then they meander around a country side for long periods until they find a stream. When they find one, they park themselves in it.
Then the bear will stand in the stream and swat and eat every fish that comes by until the bear can barely stand anymore from being so full. Then he’ll wander back and lie down and repeat the process over and over.
Have you ever seen a race horse up close? If you haven’t, it’s alarming how strong, and muscular they are with absolutely ZERO body fat. I’ve never tried to pinch one, nor do I recommend it, but I doubt you’d be able to.
Remember what a bear looks like? If anyone tells you that you look like a bear, trust me, it’s not a compliment.
And I’m not even going to get into the discussion of WHAT they’re eating: grains, oats (OH MY GOD! NOT CARBS!!!) for the race horse and fish (pure, lean protein) for the bear. Reason #563 my head explodes when people tell me they need to “watch their carbs”…uuggghhh…
Again:
Short intense training + portion control = ripped.
Long slow training + gorging = fat.
Here endeth the lesson:
As is my habit, I ventured off into the bio-mechanics and physiological mumbo-jumbo jargon of which most people could not care less. As a result, I told my audience to simply always remember the analogy of the race horse and the bear.
It must have worked because I received a ton of compliments after the speech and a flood of emails later on telling me what a great analogy it was and how it was going to help people stay on track with their training.
Additionally, because it seems I’ve received so many questions regarding cardio training and eating questions lately I decided to post this, knowing it will help on both counts. So with advanced apologies to those who may have heard it before…
Think about how race horses exercise. They sprint as hard as they can for as long as they can, which typically is only for a minute or two. Then they rest. Then they repeat that process again and again. As they become better conditioned, they either run faster, or shorten the rest periods. They don’t increase the duration of their running sessions.
Now think about how a race horse eats. It nibbles on grain, oats, etc ALL DAY LONG. Given the physical size of race horses, oats and grain don’t seem like very much. But they’ll ingest their food in very small portions spread out throughout the day.
Now let’s turn to the bear. They lay around for months at a time. Then they meander around a country side for long periods until they find a stream. When they find one, they park themselves in it.
Then the bear will stand in the stream and swat and eat every fish that comes by until the bear can barely stand anymore from being so full. Then he’ll wander back and lie down and repeat the process over and over.
Have you ever seen a race horse up close? If you haven’t, it’s alarming how strong, and muscular they are with absolutely ZERO body fat. I’ve never tried to pinch one, nor do I recommend it, but I doubt you’d be able to.
Remember what a bear looks like? If anyone tells you that you look like a bear, trust me, it’s not a compliment.
And I’m not even going to get into the discussion of WHAT they’re eating: grains, oats (OH MY GOD! NOT CARBS!!!) for the race horse and fish (pure, lean protein) for the bear. Reason #563 my head explodes when people tell me they need to “watch their carbs”…uuggghhh…
Again:
Short intense training + portion control = ripped.
Long slow training + gorging = fat.
Here endeth the lesson:
Monday, November 23, 2009
Stupid Strong!
The relative strength of many of the people in our studio is a common topic of discussion (relative strength is defined as strength in relation to your body weight). For example, "Joann and Tania are so strong for their size, it's STUPID!" is an overheard direct quote. Seeing relatively thin people moving obviously large and heavy kettle bells, cable stacks, etc. can be entertaining or alarming depending on your perspective. People new to the studio especially take note of how some can be so strong without having “big, giant muscles”.
As with most things, the reason for their strength is multi-factorial, but as the trainer and as the bio-mechanics Pit Bull, I’ve boiled it down to one thing:
Their strength is due to their bio-mechanical technical proficiency.
Sound complicated? Broken down more specifically, here’s what they can do:
They can coordinate every muscle and joint in their body efficiently and simultaneously to produce force, stabilize force and reduce force.
From an athletic standpoint it means they can train faster and harder both in and out of the studio.
From a health stand point, it means their knees, backs and shoulders won’t hurt because they are functioning correctly.
And from an aesthetics stand point, they will look FANTASTIC. If every muscle works the way it supposed to, then every muscle will LOOK the way it’s supposed to. (Duh…)
Obviously, hard work, consistency and dedication to the training are mandatory. But when the aforementioned Joann and Tania for example, do train, they make sure they do it correctly. They follow instructions. They pay attention to what they are doing. They don’t just stand up and down when they squat, nor do they simply flop down then grunt their way back up on pushups.
When they squat, they make sure they flex and extend the hips. When they do pushups they make sure they stabilize the mid-section as they move their upper body.
When the human body, through consistent practice, can generate coordinated effort and power (as opposed to the nonsensical bodybuilding practice of training one muscle at a time) amazing results can and will occur.
And what are these results?
No joint pain, reduced body fat, and hard abs and glutes.
Not bad for littluns’ huh?
Here's Tania performing kettlebell bear crawls with two 25lb kettlebells with PERFECT form:
As with most things, the reason for their strength is multi-factorial, but as the trainer and as the bio-mechanics Pit Bull, I’ve boiled it down to one thing:
Their strength is due to their bio-mechanical technical proficiency.
Sound complicated? Broken down more specifically, here’s what they can do:
They can coordinate every muscle and joint in their body efficiently and simultaneously to produce force, stabilize force and reduce force.
From an athletic standpoint it means they can train faster and harder both in and out of the studio.
From a health stand point, it means their knees, backs and shoulders won’t hurt because they are functioning correctly.
And from an aesthetics stand point, they will look FANTASTIC. If every muscle works the way it supposed to, then every muscle will LOOK the way it’s supposed to. (Duh…)
Obviously, hard work, consistency and dedication to the training are mandatory. But when the aforementioned Joann and Tania for example, do train, they make sure they do it correctly. They follow instructions. They pay attention to what they are doing. They don’t just stand up and down when they squat, nor do they simply flop down then grunt their way back up on pushups.
When they squat, they make sure they flex and extend the hips. When they do pushups they make sure they stabilize the mid-section as they move their upper body.
When the human body, through consistent practice, can generate coordinated effort and power (as opposed to the nonsensical bodybuilding practice of training one muscle at a time) amazing results can and will occur.
And what are these results?
No joint pain, reduced body fat, and hard abs and glutes.
Not bad for littluns’ huh?
Here's Tania performing kettlebell bear crawls with two 25lb kettlebells with PERFECT form:
Want to see Joann and Bernie do a pushup? Click below...
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
"Yogging..."
Veronica and I are trying this new fad called…uh…’jogging’, I believe it’s ‘jogging’, or ‘yogging’, it might be a soft ‘j’ – I’m not sure, but apparently you just run…for an extended period of time…”
- Ron Burgundy, Anchorman.
We have running on the brain around here lately. Three Training Rim alumni are running in the NYC marathon this Sunday November 1st (one of them is running to raise awareness for the Multiple Myeloma Foundation.) And a friend of mine just wrote a book called “Core Training for Distance Runners”, which is fantastic – more on that later.
So of course, I’ve been asked often recently to expand on my disdain for running, so I’m writing to expand and hopefully clarify a few things.
I have two problems with running:
1st, like most things I dislike, is simple personal taste, or lack thereof. To paraphrase another trainer, I can’t think of anything that could suck more than just running indefinitely for an extended period of time. It’s one of the reasons the Ron Burgundy quote above cracks me up.
Secondly, and more importantly as a fitness professional, is the misinterpretation that running is somehow healthy for you.
It’s not. If you believe it is, you’ve been misinformed.
It is not good for your heart and it will not help you lose body fat.
Now I know about half of you are about to stop reading, so I’ll cut to the chase: I’m not saying don’t run. I’m only saying that I don’t like it, and it’s not good for you – that’s all. Don’t get your New Balances and Asics all in a twist. I’m sure there are things I do that aren’t good for me that you don’t like.
I used to take Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. After a typical session, every muscle in my body would be completely spent and I’d be covered in sweat. Must’ve been good for me, right?
Wrong. My body was always covered in bruises. I had cuts that seemingly bled for days. I had fingers and toes dislocated. I had my elbow hyper-extended to the point of audible snapping a least 4 times. I was choked unconscious once (that I’m able to remember…)
Only a mental patient would suggest that doing that was a good, healthy habit. I did it because I found it to be fun and rewarding. But I would never suggest to someone that it would be healthy for them.
Enter distance running: Many people run for similar reasons. They enjoy the feeling of overcoming challenges, they get a “runner’s high”, they use it as an escape from the real world, etc. There’s nothing wrong with these things. If you get these things from running, by all means, run Forrest run.
But running will greatly increase your chance of having an orthopedic health problem. It really isn’t a matter if, but when your shoulder, back, knee or foot is injured.
Without turning this into an unnecessary discussion on bio-mechanics, there’s one major problem with distance running from that stand point:
With distance running, your body gets its initial movement going, then relies on momentum to a large degree to keep moving. Unlike sprinting where your body must propel itself forward at full force continually, distance running quickly deteriorates into simply picking your feet up and putting them down – never driving forward. This greatly overuses the flexors of the body designed to pick the front leg up (hip flexors, hamstrings, anterior tibials, etc) making them hyper-active and tight, causing muscle restrictions at their associated joints (hip, knee, ankle). Because, unlike sprinting, the extenders of the body (glutes, quads, calf muscles) never have to propel you forward, this creates a joint imbalance where one side of the joint is tighter than the other at all three joints. This overuse and resultant restriction of the joints typically leads to altered joint mechanics, and eventually trauma, either acute or chronic.
Additionally, because you’re relying on momentum to a certain degree, the natural tendency is to lean forward. This invariably leads to the shoulders rolling forward, causing imbalances there as well.
And no, distance running is not a good idea if fat loss is your goal. It will not raise your resting metabolism (which is the key to a fat loss program) and it’s extremely time consuming which will cut into other aspects of exercise that are more efficient for fat loss.
Think I’m wrong? Olympic sprinters have lower body fat levels than Olympic marathon runners.
And if it does benefit your heart it’s only in a marginal sense. Again, not as much as other types of training such as interval training, that you won’t have time for because you’re running for X hours at a time. Basically your heart is designed to beat at a slow steady rate for an extended period of time – forever in fact. Training it to beat at a steady rate but only slightly higher than what’s considered normal, as in distance running will have little to no positive effect.
Again: If you are a distance runner because you enjoy it, then by golly go run your arse off! But if you’re distance running (or any other type of steady state “cardio” training) because you think it’s going to make you lean and healthy, you might want to give effective strength training and high intensity interval training a shot 1st!
I’ll be awaiting your hate mail at thetrainingrim@gmail.com
- Ron Burgundy, Anchorman.
We have running on the brain around here lately. Three Training Rim alumni are running in the NYC marathon this Sunday November 1st (one of them is running to raise awareness for the Multiple Myeloma Foundation.) And a friend of mine just wrote a book called “Core Training for Distance Runners”, which is fantastic – more on that later.
So of course, I’ve been asked often recently to expand on my disdain for running, so I’m writing to expand and hopefully clarify a few things.
I have two problems with running:
1st, like most things I dislike, is simple personal taste, or lack thereof. To paraphrase another trainer, I can’t think of anything that could suck more than just running indefinitely for an extended period of time. It’s one of the reasons the Ron Burgundy quote above cracks me up.
Secondly, and more importantly as a fitness professional, is the misinterpretation that running is somehow healthy for you.
It’s not. If you believe it is, you’ve been misinformed.
It is not good for your heart and it will not help you lose body fat.
Now I know about half of you are about to stop reading, so I’ll cut to the chase: I’m not saying don’t run. I’m only saying that I don’t like it, and it’s not good for you – that’s all. Don’t get your New Balances and Asics all in a twist. I’m sure there are things I do that aren’t good for me that you don’t like.
I used to take Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. After a typical session, every muscle in my body would be completely spent and I’d be covered in sweat. Must’ve been good for me, right?
Wrong. My body was always covered in bruises. I had cuts that seemingly bled for days. I had fingers and toes dislocated. I had my elbow hyper-extended to the point of audible snapping a least 4 times. I was choked unconscious once (that I’m able to remember…)
Only a mental patient would suggest that doing that was a good, healthy habit. I did it because I found it to be fun and rewarding. But I would never suggest to someone that it would be healthy for them.
Enter distance running: Many people run for similar reasons. They enjoy the feeling of overcoming challenges, they get a “runner’s high”, they use it as an escape from the real world, etc. There’s nothing wrong with these things. If you get these things from running, by all means, run Forrest run.
But running will greatly increase your chance of having an orthopedic health problem. It really isn’t a matter if, but when your shoulder, back, knee or foot is injured.
Without turning this into an unnecessary discussion on bio-mechanics, there’s one major problem with distance running from that stand point:
With distance running, your body gets its initial movement going, then relies on momentum to a large degree to keep moving. Unlike sprinting where your body must propel itself forward at full force continually, distance running quickly deteriorates into simply picking your feet up and putting them down – never driving forward. This greatly overuses the flexors of the body designed to pick the front leg up (hip flexors, hamstrings, anterior tibials, etc) making them hyper-active and tight, causing muscle restrictions at their associated joints (hip, knee, ankle). Because, unlike sprinting, the extenders of the body (glutes, quads, calf muscles) never have to propel you forward, this creates a joint imbalance where one side of the joint is tighter than the other at all three joints. This overuse and resultant restriction of the joints typically leads to altered joint mechanics, and eventually trauma, either acute or chronic.
Additionally, because you’re relying on momentum to a certain degree, the natural tendency is to lean forward. This invariably leads to the shoulders rolling forward, causing imbalances there as well.
And no, distance running is not a good idea if fat loss is your goal. It will not raise your resting metabolism (which is the key to a fat loss program) and it’s extremely time consuming which will cut into other aspects of exercise that are more efficient for fat loss.
Think I’m wrong? Olympic sprinters have lower body fat levels than Olympic marathon runners.
And if it does benefit your heart it’s only in a marginal sense. Again, not as much as other types of training such as interval training, that you won’t have time for because you’re running for X hours at a time. Basically your heart is designed to beat at a slow steady rate for an extended period of time – forever in fact. Training it to beat at a steady rate but only slightly higher than what’s considered normal, as in distance running will have little to no positive effect.
Again: If you are a distance runner because you enjoy it, then by golly go run your arse off! But if you’re distance running (or any other type of steady state “cardio” training) because you think it’s going to make you lean and healthy, you might want to give effective strength training and high intensity interval training a shot 1st!
I’ll be awaiting your hate mail at thetrainingrim@gmail.com
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The Hot Woman Next Door
If you’ve never read my stuff before, be warned: I have the proclivity to deliver my point in a rather circuitous manner sometimes. This is one of those times – but my point is a good one – stick with me.
And also, if you’ve never read my stuff before, be aware that I can be somewhat blunt – too much so for some. If that bothers you, now’s a good time to stop reading this and grab an issue of Shape Magazine to hear all about the inner thigh trouble spot instead.
I just recently read a great book called “The Millionaire Next Door”. It’s actually been around for awhile, apparently, – I’m behind on my reading. Long story short, is that it gets its title from the fact that most millionaires in the U.S. don’t necessarily “look” like millionaires, with lavish cars, houses, lifestyles, etc. In fact, the overwhelming majority of millionaires look just like your normal looking neighbor because they live under their means and live frugally – this is precisely how they became millionaires, and how the book got its title.
One of the points made in the book, is that these frugal millionaires are almost maniacal about budgeting, and possess an extremely high level of self discipline that keeps them within the parameters of their pre-set budgets.
The authors of the book (Thomas Stanley and William Danko) write that one of the most common questions they are asked when lecturing is “Why would a millionaire need to spend so much time budgeting?” Of course, the authors’ response is invariably, “They are millionaires BECAUSE they spend so much time budgeting and have the discipline to stick to it.”
Now to my point:
I’ve trained many people who are aesthetically pleasing to the eye. They are the millionaires of glutes and waistlines. Many muscled arms, defined legs, flat hard abdomens, very low levels of body fat – and those are just the women.
And many a time I’ve overheard a random passerby say almost condescendingly, “Why does SHE need to work out and have a trainer? She looks great…” I know they think this is a compliment, but the jealousy, condescension, and irritation levels come through clear as a bell.
And here I am to paraphrase the authors of the aforementioned tome of financial knowledge, but within the context of fitness…
My clients of whom they speak look great and have kick ass bodies BECAUSE they work with a trainer and exercise consistently.
Almost all of us have at least a minimal sense of what it takes to be healthy, lose weight, be fit, etc. – very few of us have the self discipline to follow through on it.
Just like there are a very small percentage of millionaires who were born into wealth, or won the lottery, etc., there are some very good looking people who were simply born winning the lottery of DNA and will look great no matter what.
However, just like the overwhelming majority of millionaires who busted their respective asses and sacrificed a great deal in order to be financially independent and secure, my clients who look great, busted their asses and sacrificed a great deal to do so as well. And as sure as I’m writing this, they are somewhere right now having their next workout scheduled and planned. And when it’s time, they will show up a train hard, no matter what.
Therein lies the lesson for all of us, my friends, myself included:
If you want to look great and feel great, you’re going to have to make some serious choices. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either a moron or a gym sales person – and we all know how full of shit they are. My clients know this and plan, sacrifice, and do it.
Finding a sitter for the kids is a pain in the ass – but these vixens find a way and get it done.
Working a bazillion hour work week then getting up on a Saturday morning to throw kettle bells around with me is not anyone’s idea of fun – but these spandex sisters get their hard buns out of bed and do it.
Doing laundry and other house hold chores late at night, or missing an occasional episode of your favorite show because you were at the gym at 7 or 8pm sucks – but these eye catching, medicine ball throwing hotties do it anyway.
It takes a lot of sacrifice and self discipline to look and feel great – the only person who’ll tell you differently is trying to sell you something.
So the next time you see someone working out who looks great, don’t be resentful – instead realize that in most cases, the only difference between you and them is planning and self discipline. I know that’s easier said than done, but it is that simple.
But I know my clients – and I know they feel it’s 100% worth it.
And also, if you’ve never read my stuff before, be aware that I can be somewhat blunt – too much so for some. If that bothers you, now’s a good time to stop reading this and grab an issue of Shape Magazine to hear all about the inner thigh trouble spot instead.
I just recently read a great book called “The Millionaire Next Door”. It’s actually been around for awhile, apparently, – I’m behind on my reading. Long story short, is that it gets its title from the fact that most millionaires in the U.S. don’t necessarily “look” like millionaires, with lavish cars, houses, lifestyles, etc. In fact, the overwhelming majority of millionaires look just like your normal looking neighbor because they live under their means and live frugally – this is precisely how they became millionaires, and how the book got its title.
One of the points made in the book, is that these frugal millionaires are almost maniacal about budgeting, and possess an extremely high level of self discipline that keeps them within the parameters of their pre-set budgets.
The authors of the book (Thomas Stanley and William Danko) write that one of the most common questions they are asked when lecturing is “Why would a millionaire need to spend so much time budgeting?” Of course, the authors’ response is invariably, “They are millionaires BECAUSE they spend so much time budgeting and have the discipline to stick to it.”
Now to my point:
I’ve trained many people who are aesthetically pleasing to the eye. They are the millionaires of glutes and waistlines. Many muscled arms, defined legs, flat hard abdomens, very low levels of body fat – and those are just the women.
And many a time I’ve overheard a random passerby say almost condescendingly, “Why does SHE need to work out and have a trainer? She looks great…” I know they think this is a compliment, but the jealousy, condescension, and irritation levels come through clear as a bell.
And here I am to paraphrase the authors of the aforementioned tome of financial knowledge, but within the context of fitness…
My clients of whom they speak look great and have kick ass bodies BECAUSE they work with a trainer and exercise consistently.
Almost all of us have at least a minimal sense of what it takes to be healthy, lose weight, be fit, etc. – very few of us have the self discipline to follow through on it.
Just like there are a very small percentage of millionaires who were born into wealth, or won the lottery, etc., there are some very good looking people who were simply born winning the lottery of DNA and will look great no matter what.
However, just like the overwhelming majority of millionaires who busted their respective asses and sacrificed a great deal in order to be financially independent and secure, my clients who look great, busted their asses and sacrificed a great deal to do so as well. And as sure as I’m writing this, they are somewhere right now having their next workout scheduled and planned. And when it’s time, they will show up a train hard, no matter what.
Therein lies the lesson for all of us, my friends, myself included:
If you want to look great and feel great, you’re going to have to make some serious choices. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either a moron or a gym sales person – and we all know how full of shit they are. My clients know this and plan, sacrifice, and do it.
Finding a sitter for the kids is a pain in the ass – but these vixens find a way and get it done.
Working a bazillion hour work week then getting up on a Saturday morning to throw kettle bells around with me is not anyone’s idea of fun – but these spandex sisters get their hard buns out of bed and do it.
Doing laundry and other house hold chores late at night, or missing an occasional episode of your favorite show because you were at the gym at 7 or 8pm sucks – but these eye catching, medicine ball throwing hotties do it anyway.
It takes a lot of sacrifice and self discipline to look and feel great – the only person who’ll tell you differently is trying to sell you something.
So the next time you see someone working out who looks great, don’t be resentful – instead realize that in most cases, the only difference between you and them is planning and self discipline. I know that’s easier said than done, but it is that simple.
But I know my clients – and I know they feel it’s 100% worth it.
More Fitness "Synonyms"
Exercise and hard work are not synonyms.
Exercise and sweat are not synonyms.
There’s something about the fitness industry where so many terms are used interchangeably as if they were synonyms, when they truly aren’t anywhere near the same thing. For example, the words “stretching” and “flexibility” are always used interchangeably when they aren’t even close to being the same thing. “Balance” and “stability” are used interchangeably as well and they don’t mean the same thing either.
For today’s purposes, our focus is on the terms “hard work” and “exercise”. Not only are they NOT synonymous, but their interchangeable use often leads to dangerous exercise situations.
Let me be clear up front: Most of us do need to work harder in our workouts. A good deal of sweat MAY be a good thing for some of us. But often these parameters are used as measuring sticks as to the efficacy of a workout – sometimes by marginally educated trainers who have been the target of my ire recently. Hard work and sweat ARE NOT synonymous with exercise – period. Especially if it’s exercise that is supervised by a fitness professional.
If hard work and sweat are the residual side effects of good exercise, so be it. BUT IT’S NOT THE GOAL.
Exercise is movement for the purpose of eliciting improvements in health.
Hard work is a task that’s physically difficult to do.
Moving furniture is hard work. But I wouldn’t have my clients do it when I’m training them. There’s just no biomechanically safe way to move a love seat.
Flipping giant truck tires over in a parking lot is hard work. But I wouldn’t have my clients do that either. It looks cool though, so some trainers will have you try…
Donkeys work hard. I wouldn’t do what they do for a workout. There’s a reason the terms donkey, jackass and mule have a negative connotation when used to describe humans.
Ditto for sweating. Sweating means you have an elevated body temperature.
I can stand on my patio in August and sweat, but it’s not going to make me healthier.
Any jackass trainer can make you swing a 32kg kettle bell a million times and make you feel beat up and sweaty. But why you would pay him or her X dollars an hour to do it is beyond me.
It’s difficult in today’s society to get this message across because I have to compete with “The Biggest Loser” and “CrossFit” who exemplify the “let’s just beat people up and have it look cool” mentality. Exerisers who don’t know any better are lead to believe that simply getting the shit beaten out of you is somehow helpful. It’s not. (Unless you’re married to an orthopedist…)
Your workout should be eliciting improvement toward your goals, not setting you up for an injury. Make sure you use a fitness professional who knows the difference.
Exercise and sweat are not synonyms.
There’s something about the fitness industry where so many terms are used interchangeably as if they were synonyms, when they truly aren’t anywhere near the same thing. For example, the words “stretching” and “flexibility” are always used interchangeably when they aren’t even close to being the same thing. “Balance” and “stability” are used interchangeably as well and they don’t mean the same thing either.
For today’s purposes, our focus is on the terms “hard work” and “exercise”. Not only are they NOT synonymous, but their interchangeable use often leads to dangerous exercise situations.
Let me be clear up front: Most of us do need to work harder in our workouts. A good deal of sweat MAY be a good thing for some of us. But often these parameters are used as measuring sticks as to the efficacy of a workout – sometimes by marginally educated trainers who have been the target of my ire recently. Hard work and sweat ARE NOT synonymous with exercise – period. Especially if it’s exercise that is supervised by a fitness professional.
If hard work and sweat are the residual side effects of good exercise, so be it. BUT IT’S NOT THE GOAL.
Exercise is movement for the purpose of eliciting improvements in health.
Hard work is a task that’s physically difficult to do.
Moving furniture is hard work. But I wouldn’t have my clients do it when I’m training them. There’s just no biomechanically safe way to move a love seat.
Flipping giant truck tires over in a parking lot is hard work. But I wouldn’t have my clients do that either. It looks cool though, so some trainers will have you try…
Donkeys work hard. I wouldn’t do what they do for a workout. There’s a reason the terms donkey, jackass and mule have a negative connotation when used to describe humans.
Ditto for sweating. Sweating means you have an elevated body temperature.
I can stand on my patio in August and sweat, but it’s not going to make me healthier.
Any jackass trainer can make you swing a 32kg kettle bell a million times and make you feel beat up and sweaty. But why you would pay him or her X dollars an hour to do it is beyond me.
It’s difficult in today’s society to get this message across because I have to compete with “The Biggest Loser” and “CrossFit” who exemplify the “let’s just beat people up and have it look cool” mentality. Exerisers who don’t know any better are lead to believe that simply getting the shit beaten out of you is somehow helpful. It’s not. (Unless you’re married to an orthopedist…)
Your workout should be eliciting improvement toward your goals, not setting you up for an injury. Make sure you use a fitness professional who knows the difference.
Monday, September 21, 2009
True Conversation:
I was recently the guest speaker at a Chamber of Commerce event. Typically when I speak, I explain all the reasons gyms don’t get people results and my facility does. I do my best not to bash my competition, but facts are facts: 70% of gym members drop out and close to 80% are injured. So although I try to stay professional, I have to take a “don’t shoot the messenger” mentality when chain gym representatives are in attendance.
This particular day there was a gym GM in attendance who I knew, so in an effort to diffuse an uncomfortable situation, I approached him before my speech. I explained to him what I was going to say, apologized in advance, and told him not to take it personally – I had been to his facility and it actually is a very nice gym. If I were ever to join a gym, it would be his…
He said “Jon, don’t worry about it – we pay our trainers $12 per hour. How am I going to tell people our trainers are as good as you are?” I thought about it, thanked him for the compliment and went on to my speech.
His situation is why I offer satisfaction guarantees and they don’t. I KNOW that if a client makes an effort, he/she will look better and feel better after training with my staff and me. The chain gym GM knows his trainer is no good, and probably won’t even be there to finish the client's training commitment, as typically low pay equals very high employee turnover.
He can’t offer a guarantee because he knows that even if the client holds up their end of the bargain and works hard – the trainer probably won’t come through for the client or the gym.
Why is The Training Rim the only facility to guarantee its services?
Even the competiton knows.
This particular day there was a gym GM in attendance who I knew, so in an effort to diffuse an uncomfortable situation, I approached him before my speech. I explained to him what I was going to say, apologized in advance, and told him not to take it personally – I had been to his facility and it actually is a very nice gym. If I were ever to join a gym, it would be his…
He said “Jon, don’t worry about it – we pay our trainers $12 per hour. How am I going to tell people our trainers are as good as you are?” I thought about it, thanked him for the compliment and went on to my speech.
His situation is why I offer satisfaction guarantees and they don’t. I KNOW that if a client makes an effort, he/she will look better and feel better after training with my staff and me. The chain gym GM knows his trainer is no good, and probably won’t even be there to finish the client's training commitment, as typically low pay equals very high employee turnover.
He can’t offer a guarantee because he knows that even if the client holds up their end of the bargain and works hard – the trainer probably won’t come through for the client or the gym.
Why is The Training Rim the only facility to guarantee its services?
Even the competiton knows.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Core Training Mistake #2:
Moving the lumbar spine when training the core.
Any respected fitness professional will tell you that movement in the lumbar spine is generally a
bad idea, for a few reasons.
The lumbar spine is designed to PREVENT motion of the body, not GENERATE motion. If it were not stiff and solid (similar to a supporting beam on your house) you would be constantly falling over all day, because you would have nothing to support the structure of your body to hold it upright.
Therefore, the very common, yet misguided practice of training the core to move is simply a waste of time. Nowhere in life do you crunch from the waist, sit up from the waist, or lean to the side from the waist. Training in that manner is ineffectual at best. It’s why we don’t perform crunches or sit ups at The Training Rim and it’s why this -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTaEhui8r2s
- is a stupid friggin’ exercise:
Secondly, and more importantly perhaps, is movement in the spine significantly increases the chance of injury to the low back. Because the abdomen is not designed to generate movement, the vertebrae of the lower back are specifically built to stop motion in the lower torso. Imposing movement there through inappropriate exercise choices increases the chance of vertebral movement and with it, the chances of slipped discs and compressed vertebrae and discs.
Bottom line: Stop with the crunches, sit ups, torso twists and side bends!
Any respected fitness professional will tell you that movement in the lumbar spine is generally a
bad idea, for a few reasons.
The lumbar spine is designed to PREVENT motion of the body, not GENERATE motion. If it were not stiff and solid (similar to a supporting beam on your house) you would be constantly falling over all day, because you would have nothing to support the structure of your body to hold it upright.
Therefore, the very common, yet misguided practice of training the core to move is simply a waste of time. Nowhere in life do you crunch from the waist, sit up from the waist, or lean to the side from the waist. Training in that manner is ineffectual at best. It’s why we don’t perform crunches or sit ups at The Training Rim and it’s why this -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTaEhui8r2s
- is a stupid friggin’ exercise:
Secondly, and more importantly perhaps, is movement in the spine significantly increases the chance of injury to the low back. Because the abdomen is not designed to generate movement, the vertebrae of the lower back are specifically built to stop motion in the lower torso. Imposing movement there through inappropriate exercise choices increases the chance of vertebral movement and with it, the chances of slipped discs and compressed vertebrae and discs.
Bottom line: Stop with the crunches, sit ups, torso twists and side bends!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Wall Touch Video
As promised, the video of the "wall touch" drill. Tania shows us how it's done - I talk...
Review the last blog for specifics on implemetation...
Review the last blog for specifics on implemetation...
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Running Program?!? Jon?!?
Started my new running program today.
No, pigs are not flying and I haven’t completely lost my mind.
I still firmly believe that long, slow, steady state cardio training is a colossal waste of time. I will never try the fad called “jogging”. I believe it’s “jogging” or “yogging” it might be a soft “J” – apparently you just run…for an extended period of time…
OK, sorry – I’m done quoting movies for now but I’ve made my point: Even Ron Burgundy can see it’s stupid and is only doing it because he’s trying to impress a good looking woman.
But, as I’ve said before, I do believe firmly in sprinting as a tool for conditioning and fat loss, as I believe in interval training as a tool for conditioning and fat loss as well.
But why start today?
Because, as I’ve said before, when you live in NJ, there’s only about an 8 week stretch where it’s feasible to exercise outside. It’s too cold November through February, too wet March through June, too hot June through September. But the stretch of early September through October is coming up where it’s usually beautiful around here. Warm during the day, cool at night with less than average precipitation.
And even though the weather today is disgustingly humid, I decided to hit the ground running…literally.
So here’s what I did to incorporate my positive feelings on sprinting and interval training into a quick and effective workout for me and for anyone who’s left reading this post at this point:
A quick (approximately 15 minutes), heart pounding interval timed running workout. Bold face, italicized, underlined RUNNING – NOT “yogging” – big difference. All you need is a timer, IPOD, and running sneakers. My recommendations and free plugs: the Gymboss timer, Shinedown on the IPOD and Adidas.
After a light warmup consisting of some body weight movements, the workout is in two parts as follows:
Sprint portion: 10 seconds of sprinting, 60 seconds of rest. Repeat this 10 times.
After this, rest just long enough to reset your timer to the new intervals. Then move on to the interval portion. The interval portion is done in “Tabata” style: 20 seconds of running followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated 8 times.
Interval portion: Run hard for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds. Repeat this sequence 8 times.
Notes:
· During the sprint portion, you’ll feel the 1st few rounds are easy. I actually started thinking maybe it was too easy. By rounds 5, 6, and 7 that changes drastically – those 60 second rest periods go by very quickly.
· Remember sprinting is a relative term. What’s a sprint for you, me, Usain Bolt and an old lady are all different things. For the sake of this workout, sprinting is defined as simply running fast.
· During the “Tabata” portion of the workout, you’re going to need to push yourself. That 20 seconds of hard running at this point is not pleasant, but it’s only 20 seconds – you can make it. And don’t take advantage of the rest period by extending the 10 seconds. 10 seconds is 10 seconds – don’t stretch it to 11, 12, etc.
On a personal note, it wasn’t pleasant when I was doing it, but it only took about 15 minutes and I seriously jacked up my metabolism in a brief period of time. All smart ass jokes aside, I’m probably burning more calories right now typing this a half an hour later than if I were to simply jog for 45 minutes. And even though the weather was sh!tty today, over the next 8 weeks or so, more likely than not, the weather is going to be great, providing a great excuse to get out, do something healthy and do something different.
Give it a try and tell me how you made out!
No, pigs are not flying and I haven’t completely lost my mind.
I still firmly believe that long, slow, steady state cardio training is a colossal waste of time. I will never try the fad called “jogging”. I believe it’s “jogging” or “yogging” it might be a soft “J” – apparently you just run…for an extended period of time…
OK, sorry – I’m done quoting movies for now but I’ve made my point: Even Ron Burgundy can see it’s stupid and is only doing it because he’s trying to impress a good looking woman.
But, as I’ve said before, I do believe firmly in sprinting as a tool for conditioning and fat loss, as I believe in interval training as a tool for conditioning and fat loss as well.
But why start today?
Because, as I’ve said before, when you live in NJ, there’s only about an 8 week stretch where it’s feasible to exercise outside. It’s too cold November through February, too wet March through June, too hot June through September. But the stretch of early September through October is coming up where it’s usually beautiful around here. Warm during the day, cool at night with less than average precipitation.
And even though the weather today is disgustingly humid, I decided to hit the ground running…literally.
So here’s what I did to incorporate my positive feelings on sprinting and interval training into a quick and effective workout for me and for anyone who’s left reading this post at this point:
A quick (approximately 15 minutes), heart pounding interval timed running workout. Bold face, italicized, underlined RUNNING – NOT “yogging” – big difference. All you need is a timer, IPOD, and running sneakers. My recommendations and free plugs: the Gymboss timer, Shinedown on the IPOD and Adidas.
After a light warmup consisting of some body weight movements, the workout is in two parts as follows:
Sprint portion: 10 seconds of sprinting, 60 seconds of rest. Repeat this 10 times.
After this, rest just long enough to reset your timer to the new intervals. Then move on to the interval portion. The interval portion is done in “Tabata” style: 20 seconds of running followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated 8 times.
Interval portion: Run hard for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds. Repeat this sequence 8 times.
Notes:
· During the sprint portion, you’ll feel the 1st few rounds are easy. I actually started thinking maybe it was too easy. By rounds 5, 6, and 7 that changes drastically – those 60 second rest periods go by very quickly.
· Remember sprinting is a relative term. What’s a sprint for you, me, Usain Bolt and an old lady are all different things. For the sake of this workout, sprinting is defined as simply running fast.
· During the “Tabata” portion of the workout, you’re going to need to push yourself. That 20 seconds of hard running at this point is not pleasant, but it’s only 20 seconds – you can make it. And don’t take advantage of the rest period by extending the 10 seconds. 10 seconds is 10 seconds – don’t stretch it to 11, 12, etc.
On a personal note, it wasn’t pleasant when I was doing it, but it only took about 15 minutes and I seriously jacked up my metabolism in a brief period of time. All smart ass jokes aside, I’m probably burning more calories right now typing this a half an hour later than if I were to simply jog for 45 minutes. And even though the weather was sh!tty today, over the next 8 weeks or so, more likely than not, the weather is going to be great, providing a great excuse to get out, do something healthy and do something different.
Give it a try and tell me how you made out!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The "wall touch" drill
A very common mistake exercisers make when performing a kettle bell swing is to move too much from the knees and not enough from the hips (too much knee flexion, not enough hip flexion). This reduces the amount of involvement of the hips, glutes, shoulders and abdomen, which severely limits power production and therefore reduces the efficiency of your swing.
What we use as a cue at The Training Rim is to tell the “swinger” to reach as far back as they can with their arm between their legs. The swinger should end up with their forearm between their thighs, not with their hand toward the ground. This forces the hips to flex more and the knees less. However, it’s imperative to reach back as far as you can between your legs without your shoulders and head dropping forward, so it’s best to practice in front of a mirror. If you can’t see your face and front of your shoulders in your reflection, it probably means you’re dropping your head – be sure to keep the head up and shoulders back.
Like many things that are worth practicing, this may feel awkward and restrictive at first, but it’s worth the practice.
The improvement that follows will allow you to improve your swing which will immeasurably improve:
· your total body strength
· cardio endurance
· shoulder health
· back health
· Appearance of your abdomen and butt.
Think it’s worth the practice now? Thought so…
So we’ve developed what we call the “wall touch”:
This is a great drill that we’ve been using as a general warm up in our workouts and as a pre-cursor to a kettle bell workout. We’ve found it forms good habits, gets the heart rate up, and is a great dynamic stretch all in one.
Stand with your back to a wall with your heels about 6 inches away from the wall. (It’s not necessary to have a mirror in front of you but it may help).
Reach between your legs with your arm and try to touch the wall behind you with your hand. Make sure to keep your head up and shoulders back as you do so. Repeat with the other arm – when you can do 3 or 4 with each arm, and still keep your head up and shoulders back, step slightly further away from the wall and try again.
Use this as a warm up before performing some swings. Then start swinging with a kettle bell that’s slightly lighter than you would normally use. Do a handful of swings on each side, emphasizing the movement you just practiced – be sure your arm and the kettle bell are between and/or behind your legs, not going straight to the floor.
In fact, a good rule of thumb is that if the kettle bell gets anywhere near the floor, you’re doing something wrong. Make sure the KB is going back – not down.
The drill:
Start: Assume the position as if you were about to swing…
Finish: Reach back, touch the wall with your hand, but keep your head up and shoulders back!
Repeat, alternating right and left arms.
Next time you swing remember this drill – be sure your swinging arm is staying away from the floor and instead is traveling through your legs.
Try it out and let me know how it went!
What we use as a cue at The Training Rim is to tell the “swinger” to reach as far back as they can with their arm between their legs. The swinger should end up with their forearm between their thighs, not with their hand toward the ground. This forces the hips to flex more and the knees less. However, it’s imperative to reach back as far as you can between your legs without your shoulders and head dropping forward, so it’s best to practice in front of a mirror. If you can’t see your face and front of your shoulders in your reflection, it probably means you’re dropping your head – be sure to keep the head up and shoulders back.
Like many things that are worth practicing, this may feel awkward and restrictive at first, but it’s worth the practice.
The improvement that follows will allow you to improve your swing which will immeasurably improve:
· your total body strength
· cardio endurance
· shoulder health
· back health
· Appearance of your abdomen and butt.
Think it’s worth the practice now? Thought so…
So we’ve developed what we call the “wall touch”:
This is a great drill that we’ve been using as a general warm up in our workouts and as a pre-cursor to a kettle bell workout. We’ve found it forms good habits, gets the heart rate up, and is a great dynamic stretch all in one.
Stand with your back to a wall with your heels about 6 inches away from the wall. (It’s not necessary to have a mirror in front of you but it may help).
Reach between your legs with your arm and try to touch the wall behind you with your hand. Make sure to keep your head up and shoulders back as you do so. Repeat with the other arm – when you can do 3 or 4 with each arm, and still keep your head up and shoulders back, step slightly further away from the wall and try again.
Use this as a warm up before performing some swings. Then start swinging with a kettle bell that’s slightly lighter than you would normally use. Do a handful of swings on each side, emphasizing the movement you just practiced – be sure your arm and the kettle bell are between and/or behind your legs, not going straight to the floor.
In fact, a good rule of thumb is that if the kettle bell gets anywhere near the floor, you’re doing something wrong. Make sure the KB is going back – not down.
The drill:
Start: Assume the position as if you were about to swing…
Finish: Reach back, touch the wall with your hand, but keep your head up and shoulders back!
Repeat, alternating right and left arms.
Next time you swing remember this drill – be sure your swinging arm is staying away from the floor and instead is traveling through your legs.
Try it out and let me know how it went!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
"Womans' Push Ups" - Uuugghh...
You know one of my pet peeves are exercises that are either too difficult or too easy for the task at hand. This leads to the exerciser either performing the movement incorrectly because it’s too difficult, or not getting anything out of it because it’s too easy to force a positive adaptation. Exercises always need to have the level of difficulty adjusted to get the appropriate result from the exercise.
One of the most common misapplications of regressing an exercise is the “converted” or “assisted” or “woman’s” push up (the names vary – the misapplications remain the same – see figure 1). The idea, or so the theory goes, is that by placing the knees on the ground, this takes much of the body weight out of the movement allowing a push up to be completed by someone who ordinarily would be unable to perform one.
The problem with this logic is a common one in the fitness industry – it’s based on an overly simplified partial truth and a misconception, not the whole truth.
The misconception in this case is the belief that a push up is an exercise for the chest and arms.
In actuality, a push up, if done correctly, is an exercise for the core much more than your chest or arms. A lack of core strength is the real reason most people can’t do push- ups correctly, if at all.
The most difficult part of the push up is holding and maintaining the correct position. Keeping everything from the knees to the neck more or less in a straight line while on your hands is a far more difficult and complex process than people realize. This requires a lot of isometric strength, particularly from the hips and abdomen.
A lack of strength here typically manifests itself in one of two ways – the exerciser either looks like they are in a real bad yoga class (see figure 2) or they look like they’re doing their impression of a seal (see figure 3). The best examples of this are the guys that can bench press 400 pounds, but have no core strength whatsoever as a result of spending their exercise lives on benches. They then put themselves in a position where they need to support their own body weight and they look like figure 3. It looks like they’re waiting to bark and then have a herring thrown at them.
Generally speaking, neither of these scenarios is safe and/or helpful.
By placing the knees on the ground and eliminating the core from the movement you’ve succeeded in making the exercise performable, but ultimately, ineffectual. You’re disregarding the weak link that needs to be addressed to address an area that may or may not be a problem.
Either way, you’re not doing yourself any favors. Because you’re not training the core to stabilize your body weight (or anything else for that matter) you are progressively making yourself weaker and completely eliminating any chance you ever had of doing a real push up.
There are countless ways in which to regress the push up to make it useful for everyone. Simply holding the position for a short period of time will make you stronger. Elevating your body weight by placing your hands on a bench or some other apparatus will make you lighter but still involve the core. The most obvious alteration you can make is to simply limit the range of motion – only lower yourself and inch or two initially. Eventually you’ll get further down and gradually build your core strength to the point where you can get to the floor.
More importantly, is what NOT to do – don’t drop to your knees under the assumption you can now do a push up. You’re actually weakening part of your body that needs to be strengthened and decreasing the likelihood of you performing push-ups and many other exercises for that matter.
Figure 1: Ree-damn-diculous...
*As usual, contact me with any questions and/or comments.
**Also as usual, this article is for informational purposes only. Application thereof comes at the sole risk of the reader.
***This article and photos are the sole property of The Training Rim, LLC. Reproduction and/or dissemination without permission is prohibited.
One of the most common misapplications of regressing an exercise is the “converted” or “assisted” or “woman’s” push up (the names vary – the misapplications remain the same – see figure 1). The idea, or so the theory goes, is that by placing the knees on the ground, this takes much of the body weight out of the movement allowing a push up to be completed by someone who ordinarily would be unable to perform one.
The problem with this logic is a common one in the fitness industry – it’s based on an overly simplified partial truth and a misconception, not the whole truth.
The misconception in this case is the belief that a push up is an exercise for the chest and arms.
In actuality, a push up, if done correctly, is an exercise for the core much more than your chest or arms. A lack of core strength is the real reason most people can’t do push- ups correctly, if at all.
The most difficult part of the push up is holding and maintaining the correct position. Keeping everything from the knees to the neck more or less in a straight line while on your hands is a far more difficult and complex process than people realize. This requires a lot of isometric strength, particularly from the hips and abdomen.
A lack of strength here typically manifests itself in one of two ways – the exerciser either looks like they are in a real bad yoga class (see figure 2) or they look like they’re doing their impression of a seal (see figure 3). The best examples of this are the guys that can bench press 400 pounds, but have no core strength whatsoever as a result of spending their exercise lives on benches. They then put themselves in a position where they need to support their own body weight and they look like figure 3. It looks like they’re waiting to bark and then have a herring thrown at them.
Generally speaking, neither of these scenarios is safe and/or helpful.
By placing the knees on the ground and eliminating the core from the movement you’ve succeeded in making the exercise performable, but ultimately, ineffectual. You’re disregarding the weak link that needs to be addressed to address an area that may or may not be a problem.
Either way, you’re not doing yourself any favors. Because you’re not training the core to stabilize your body weight (or anything else for that matter) you are progressively making yourself weaker and completely eliminating any chance you ever had of doing a real push up.
There are countless ways in which to regress the push up to make it useful for everyone. Simply holding the position for a short period of time will make you stronger. Elevating your body weight by placing your hands on a bench or some other apparatus will make you lighter but still involve the core. The most obvious alteration you can make is to simply limit the range of motion – only lower yourself and inch or two initially. Eventually you’ll get further down and gradually build your core strength to the point where you can get to the floor.
More importantly, is what NOT to do – don’t drop to your knees under the assumption you can now do a push up. You’re actually weakening part of your body that needs to be strengthened and decreasing the likelihood of you performing push-ups and many other exercises for that matter.
Figure 1: Ree-damn-diculous...
Figure 2: What's That?!? Yoga?
Figure 3: If she barks, throw her a herring!
Figure 4: Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!
*As usual, contact me with any questions and/or comments.
**Also as usual, this article is for informational purposes only. Application thereof comes at the sole risk of the reader.
***This article and photos are the sole property of The Training Rim, LLC. Reproduction and/or dissemination without permission is prohibited.
The Biggest Dipshits...
I originally started to write an article titled “Consider the Source”. I was going to explain that in many cases, fitness experts aren’t really experts at all in terms of fitness. They are experts at selling magazines or creating entertaining television.
But after my last article about the differences between balance and stability and how it should relate to your training, I received a flood of calls and emails. Apparently, the stars of good timing aligned in my favor once again. Because, as if on cue, the “experts” on the TV show “The Biggest Loser” showed themselves to be the mental midgets they truly are, and that their “expert” status is not one of exercise science, but one of exploitation of those more vulnerable than they.
According to several sources, all of whom I trust, the trainers had a client who weighed in the neighborhood of 400 pounds, performing lunges while holding dumb bells, and with EACH FOOT ON A BOSU BALL.
Now let’s examine this logic: You have someone who with every step they take in life, are performing a lunge with 400 lbs. This person is also not acclimated to exercise. (You know those guys in the gym you’ve seen squatting with 400lbs on their back – well generally, those guys are strong. Imagine if they hadn’t worked out in years and were completely new to exercise – now put 400lbs on their back. It’s going to end badly, right? Not according to the biggest loser experts, because THAT’S what they were having their clients do, essentially.)
Now if that isn’t bad enough, these geniuses put weights in their clients’ hands to make them heavier.
Insert picture of me shaking my head.
And for the coup de gratis, now they place their clients on round, unstable surfaces. Not one, but TWO unstable surfaces.
This, my friends is what we call a case of negligence, and it’s a matter of when they will be sued, not if they will be sued. I predicted it with the “CrossFit” crowd, and mark my words on this one – “The Biggest Loser” will be on the business end of a negligence lawsuit eventually.
This type of training is not beneficial, it’s not functional, and it’s not calorie burning – it’s dangerous and is solely used for the purpose to create good TV. (Hence my idea about considering the source…)
Now, if that scenario isn’t crazy enough, I received plenty of emails about the next gem the “expert” on the show graced our good senses with:
According to the bimbette trainer, (I’m going to paraphrase, here:) muscle doesn’t weigh more than fat. That is a myth created by trainers who can’t get their clients to lose weight, and if your trainer tells you that, they are just trying to get your money.
Now I may have heard a trainer make a statement dumber than that – but I can’t think of one right now.
If you’re one of those people who think there are very few things in the exercise world that are black and white, and therefore subject to opinion – I agree with you. I’m one of those people too.
But the issue of muscle density vs fat density is not one which is open for debate in the field of science.
It’s a fact. A pretty commonly known one.
So back to my original idea of considering the source…
Just because someone is on TV, they are not an expert. Just because they appear in a magazine, they are not an expert.
Question everything. Don’t dismiss anything – but question everything. You’ll know a lot more about fitness in the long run.
*This article and associated links are the sole property of The Training Rim, LLC. Reproduction and/or dissemination without express written consent is prohibited.
But after my last article about the differences between balance and stability and how it should relate to your training, I received a flood of calls and emails. Apparently, the stars of good timing aligned in my favor once again. Because, as if on cue, the “experts” on the TV show “The Biggest Loser” showed themselves to be the mental midgets they truly are, and that their “expert” status is not one of exercise science, but one of exploitation of those more vulnerable than they.
According to several sources, all of whom I trust, the trainers had a client who weighed in the neighborhood of 400 pounds, performing lunges while holding dumb bells, and with EACH FOOT ON A BOSU BALL.
Now let’s examine this logic: You have someone who with every step they take in life, are performing a lunge with 400 lbs. This person is also not acclimated to exercise. (You know those guys in the gym you’ve seen squatting with 400lbs on their back – well generally, those guys are strong. Imagine if they hadn’t worked out in years and were completely new to exercise – now put 400lbs on their back. It’s going to end badly, right? Not according to the biggest loser experts, because THAT’S what they were having their clients do, essentially.)
Now if that isn’t bad enough, these geniuses put weights in their clients’ hands to make them heavier.
Insert picture of me shaking my head.
And for the coup de gratis, now they place their clients on round, unstable surfaces. Not one, but TWO unstable surfaces.
This, my friends is what we call a case of negligence, and it’s a matter of when they will be sued, not if they will be sued. I predicted it with the “CrossFit” crowd, and mark my words on this one – “The Biggest Loser” will be on the business end of a negligence lawsuit eventually.
This type of training is not beneficial, it’s not functional, and it’s not calorie burning – it’s dangerous and is solely used for the purpose to create good TV. (Hence my idea about considering the source…)
Now, if that scenario isn’t crazy enough, I received plenty of emails about the next gem the “expert” on the show graced our good senses with:
According to the bimbette trainer, (I’m going to paraphrase, here:) muscle doesn’t weigh more than fat. That is a myth created by trainers who can’t get their clients to lose weight, and if your trainer tells you that, they are just trying to get your money.
Now I may have heard a trainer make a statement dumber than that – but I can’t think of one right now.
If you’re one of those people who think there are very few things in the exercise world that are black and white, and therefore subject to opinion – I agree with you. I’m one of those people too.
But the issue of muscle density vs fat density is not one which is open for debate in the field of science.
It’s a fact. A pretty commonly known one.
So back to my original idea of considering the source…
Just because someone is on TV, they are not an expert. Just because they appear in a magazine, they are not an expert.
Question everything. Don’t dismiss anything – but question everything. You’ll know a lot more about fitness in the long run.
*This article and associated links are the sole property of The Training Rim, LLC. Reproduction and/or dissemination without express written consent is prohibited.
Balance vs. Stability
Are you familiar with the game Jenga?
It’s a game where you stack small wooden pieces on top of one another and then remove them one by one from the middle of the stack, until eventually they are all balancing very tenuously on only one or two of the pieces. In some cases, what occurs is pretty impressive from a balancing perspective.
But I ask you this: Would you put a couple of dumb bells on top of the Jenga? No, of course you wouldn’t because it would come crashing down. The Jenga isn’t supportive enough. It isn’t STABLE enough.
Yet as sure as you’re reading this, there is a trainer somewhere right now making his or her client as unstable as a Jenga by using a BOSU ball or some other piece of useless crap found in gyms in an effort to be “functional”. They are both making the very common mistake of training “balance” when they think they are training “stability”.
Let me tell you my friends – there is nothing functional nor is there anything stable (and therefore, there is nothing beneficial) to turning yourself into a wobbly stack of joints like a human Jenga. If supporting and stabilizing your own bodyweight in itself is too difficult, then you are training your balance and therefore working on a probably useless exercise.
A VERY common misuse of fitness terminology I hear and read very often is the use of the terms “balance” and “stability” interchangeably, as if they were synonyms. Balance and stability are not synonyms in the dictionary, and they are surely not synonyms with regard to exercise and training.
In terms of balance and its relation to fitness, many exercisers (and again, sadly many trainers) train balance when they think they’re training stability. Balance, from an exercise stand point, is simply the ability to stay upright and/or not to fall. Many exercisers who possess great balance, as a result, can perform some pretty impressive tasks. Many of these exercises, although impressive in their execution, are generally useless and sometimes dangerous – and they certainly aren’t “functional” at all. A good friend and fellow trainer of mine refers to them as “stupid trainer tricks”. They may look cool, but they aren’t going to get you to your goals any faster.
The picture above is a good example. The guy squatting obviously has very impressive balance. He has a skill that probably 99.99% of the population cannot do. I’ve been around gyms for a very long time, and I’ve never met anyone who could do a full squat on a stability ball with a loaded Olympic barbell.
And if I tried, I might be able to think of someone dumber – but I can’t right now.
That is a movement that is a) dangerous and b) holds zero benefit from a bio-mechanical standpoint.
Which is the issue in a nutshell when it comes to balance training: A movement like this has NO BENEFIT for the exerciser. Add in the risk factor and you have a very bad idea.
He is not stronger as a result. He is not more stable. He is not more flexible. No research has ever supported that he would be any of these things and common sense backs up that research.
The only way this would benefit him is if he went somewhere in life or competed in some sport where everting the ankles while performing on an uneven round surface were necessary.
I’ll be awaiting your emails telling me where this situation occurs.
Whoops...spoke too soon. This woman and her trainer may be bigger jackasses than that guy and his trainer:
Stability, on the other hand is CRUCIAL to train regardless of what your goals are. Improving your stability from an exercise standpoint has limitless benefits to exercisers of all levels. A body builder will be able to move heavier weight. An athlete will be faster. A senior citizen will be less likely to have knee pain.
This is simply because they can support more weight, and prevent motion where it’s supposed to be prevented, and therefore generate motion where it needs to be generated. A stable base is like the supporting columns on your house: They are as stable as can be and therefore can support the weight of your home. Can you imagine if those support beams were Jengas?!?!
Think of an Olympic power lifter: Would he be able to move more weight or less if his shoulder joint remained firmly in his shoulder socket (i.e. more stable)?
Think of an NBA player: Would he be able to jump higher if his knees didn’t crash together every time he squatted?
You can’t shoot a cannon from a canoe my friends – you need a stable supportive base to produce any force at all when exercising.
If you are more stable, you can move weight more efficiently. Whether that weight is a dumb bell or your own bodyweight is irrelevant – it will get you closer to your goals regardless of what they are.
Training stability and how to see improvements therein is a far more complex discussion whose depth and breadth far exceed the time and space that we have here. However, here are some pointers when trying to perform stability training:
1. If you can’t do it on both feet (or hands) on solid ground, doing it on a piece of balance equipment is a waste of time. Make sure you are 100% stable with good posture when you’re supported first – then look to progress.
2. Just because it looks cool or different, or it involves a new piece of equipment, doesn’t mean it’s “functional”. In fact, it’s more likely to be a stupid trainer trick.
3. Less torso movement usually means more stability, which is a good thing. Watch yourself in the mirror as you exercise – more than just a little movement throughout the mid section probably means the exercise is too hard because you can’t stabilize yourself.
As usual, send the hate mail to thetrainingrim@gmail.com.
Also as usual, this article is the property of The Training Rim, LLC. Reproduction and/or dissemination without express written consent are prohibited.
Also as usual, reader adopts sole risk and responsibility of applying information contained herein. This article is for informational purposes only.
My CrossFit Thoughts...
I can’t stand giving attention to people who are clearly only looking for attention. Nor am I in the habit of giving free publicity to a competitor. However, I’ve been asked this question so often recently, I must address it:
I’m asked quite frequently about my thoughts on “CrossFit” a very popular method of training that has many ardent followers and supporters. (For those of you not familiar with CrossFit, you can do a Google search on it and you’ll get more detailed information that I can provide here. It’s been in the news often recently for several reasons.) It’s essentially a circuit training group workout focused on body weight exercises and untraditional training equipment like truck tires and ropes. It also is known for espousing a macho attitude, not adverse to mocking participants that have injury concerns or questions.
For the record, here is my take on CrossFit:
If you’re telling me that people need to get off machines, use their own body weight and exercise in an intense manner for a short duration, you’re preaching to the converted here my friend. I’ve been saying that for years.
However, if you think flipping tires, ropes, and sand bags around a parking lot with no regard for postural considerations or correct movement mechanics is a good idea, you’re uneducated and/or misinformed at the least. Furthermore, if you mock people who do have a regard for such, or worse, if you encourage this behavior to beginners that don’t know any better because they think your workout looks cool, then you’re a negligent moron.
As an example, a few years back an article appeared in the New York Times discussing CrossFit, and one of its members who exercised so far beyond his capabilities, he began to suffer from rhabdomyolosis. Rhabdomyolosis is a condition where the muscle fiber breaks down to the extent it begins leaking into the bloodstream, causing potentially life threatening situations for the kidneys and liver.
Most of us would consider this a sign to change the manner in which we exercise. Not this guy, he was back in the gym 6 months later performing the same routine. His quote was: “I see pushing my body to the point where the muscles destroy themselves as a huge benefit of CrossFit.''
Now, just in case this isn’t dumb enough for you, many members embrace this behavior by making claims such as “I met pukey” meaning I worked out so hard I puked. There are even t-shirts with “Pukey the Clown” which some members wear. “Uncle Rhabdo”, another clown/mascot, is shown with his kidneys on the floor, presumably due to rhabdomyolosis.
Of course, you and I aren’t the only ones to find this sort of behavior nonsensical, and CrossFit’s founder, Greg Glassman has heard the criticisms before.
To me, this is where the real fun begins.
When asked about this type of behavior in general, and specifically performing pull ups on hanging rings so quickly that you may be endangering yourself, Mr. Glassman’s response was this:
''If you find the notion of falling off the rings and breaking your neck so foreign to you, then we don't want you in our ranks,'' he said.
Now, as you can imagine, someone has recently filed a lawsuit against a gym in Virginia that conducts CrossFit’s workouts. The exerciser and his attorney claim that he sustained injuries as a result of an overly intense routine that not only displayed little regard for safety, but whose instructor and participants encouraged the unsafe training situations.
In the process of discussing this topic, and in reading many other discussions online, a fair counterpoint is commonly made: That is, we should not throw out the baby with the bathwater – these types of workouts do have benefits and shouldn’t be cast aside because of a few morons.
So again, I’ll be clear:
Exercising using limited equipment in a quick and intense manner – good.
Putting yourself in harms’ way in the name of toughness or machismo – not good.
Encouraging a non-expert, which frankly, is the overwhelming majority of CrossFit practitioners, to do the same – stupid and negligent.
I’m asked quite frequently about my thoughts on “CrossFit” a very popular method of training that has many ardent followers and supporters. (For those of you not familiar with CrossFit, you can do a Google search on it and you’ll get more detailed information that I can provide here. It’s been in the news often recently for several reasons.) It’s essentially a circuit training group workout focused on body weight exercises and untraditional training equipment like truck tires and ropes. It also is known for espousing a macho attitude, not adverse to mocking participants that have injury concerns or questions.
For the record, here is my take on CrossFit:
If you’re telling me that people need to get off machines, use their own body weight and exercise in an intense manner for a short duration, you’re preaching to the converted here my friend. I’ve been saying that for years.
However, if you think flipping tires, ropes, and sand bags around a parking lot with no regard for postural considerations or correct movement mechanics is a good idea, you’re uneducated and/or misinformed at the least. Furthermore, if you mock people who do have a regard for such, or worse, if you encourage this behavior to beginners that don’t know any better because they think your workout looks cool, then you’re a negligent moron.
As an example, a few years back an article appeared in the New York Times discussing CrossFit, and one of its members who exercised so far beyond his capabilities, he began to suffer from rhabdomyolosis. Rhabdomyolosis is a condition where the muscle fiber breaks down to the extent it begins leaking into the bloodstream, causing potentially life threatening situations for the kidneys and liver.
Most of us would consider this a sign to change the manner in which we exercise. Not this guy, he was back in the gym 6 months later performing the same routine. His quote was: “I see pushing my body to the point where the muscles destroy themselves as a huge benefit of CrossFit.''
Now, just in case this isn’t dumb enough for you, many members embrace this behavior by making claims such as “I met pukey” meaning I worked out so hard I puked. There are even t-shirts with “Pukey the Clown” which some members wear. “Uncle Rhabdo”, another clown/mascot, is shown with his kidneys on the floor, presumably due to rhabdomyolosis.
Of course, you and I aren’t the only ones to find this sort of behavior nonsensical, and CrossFit’s founder, Greg Glassman has heard the criticisms before.
To me, this is where the real fun begins.
When asked about this type of behavior in general, and specifically performing pull ups on hanging rings so quickly that you may be endangering yourself, Mr. Glassman’s response was this:
''If you find the notion of falling off the rings and breaking your neck so foreign to you, then we don't want you in our ranks,'' he said.
Now, as you can imagine, someone has recently filed a lawsuit against a gym in Virginia that conducts CrossFit’s workouts. The exerciser and his attorney claim that he sustained injuries as a result of an overly intense routine that not only displayed little regard for safety, but whose instructor and participants encouraged the unsafe training situations.
In the process of discussing this topic, and in reading many other discussions online, a fair counterpoint is commonly made: That is, we should not throw out the baby with the bathwater – these types of workouts do have benefits and shouldn’t be cast aside because of a few morons.
So again, I’ll be clear:
Exercising using limited equipment in a quick and intense manner – good.
Putting yourself in harms’ way in the name of toughness or machismo – not good.
Encouraging a non-expert, which frankly, is the overwhelming majority of CrossFit practitioners, to do the same – stupid and negligent.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Kim Kardashian and The Training Rim!
A client of mine referred an article to me that had a picture of Kim Kardashian using “the equalizers”. She asked if they were the same things we use at The Training Rim.
Of course they are my friend…of course they are…
Of course they are my friend…of course they are…
But say it with me altogether now – we use them for real, not for the silly “spot reduction” (insert laughter) techniques Kim’s trainer has her doing.
We’re big fans of yours Kim, but come on – step up to the big leagues and visit The Training Rim!
The Equalizers that are referred to are basically steel yellow bars that look like sprinting hurdles. Unlike sprinting hurdles however, these don’t fall over and have about one million uses for personal training. At the Training Rim, we’ve used them as push up stands, pull up bars, and an obstacle to which we need to climb under and/or run around. (Along with about 5 million other uses….)
If you’ve never used them, come down and check us out putting them to use!
Here’s Kim (c’mon, Kim – seriously…)
Melissa doing a basic pull up:
Vanessa showing the major core strength and stability on the equalizers!
Here’s Jon showing off as usual:
Jon and Melissa do some team training with the equzlizers and kettle bells:
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Core Training Mistake #1
Training for Hypertrophy (“big muscles”).
Somehow we all agree that if we do tons and tons of bicep curls we’ll get bigger biceps. But for some reason, many exercisers feel that if they do tons and tons of crunches, their abdomen will get smaller.
If that isn’t classic gym logic for you, nothing is…
All 1 million crunches are going to do for you is give you a larger rectus abdominus, and a bad back. Unless you’re a professional bodybuilder, this is a bad thing.
1st thing you need to do is lose the myth of spot reduction. You can’t make one area of your body smaller by using it more often. If this were true, all gum chewers would have a skinny face. All tennis players would have a skinnier playing arm than their non playing arm (when in
reality, the reverse is true…).
Secondly, you need to understand that visible stomach musculature is the result of extremely low body fat – NOT due to big muscles. Achieving this is the result of a) genetics, b) ridiculous levels of nutritional commitment, and c) tons of calorie expenditure. In most cases, you’ll need all three of the above to get a 6 pack.
Notice that crunches, sit ups, etc. have NOTHING to do with those three causes and therefore nothing to do with getting you a 6 pack.
I’ll paraphrase another trainer with this one, but truer words were never spoken:
The best way to get a 6 pack is pass on a 6 pack.
Somehow we all agree that if we do tons and tons of bicep curls we’ll get bigger biceps. But for some reason, many exercisers feel that if they do tons and tons of crunches, their abdomen will get smaller.
If that isn’t classic gym logic for you, nothing is…
All 1 million crunches are going to do for you is give you a larger rectus abdominus, and a bad back. Unless you’re a professional bodybuilder, this is a bad thing.
1st thing you need to do is lose the myth of spot reduction. You can’t make one area of your body smaller by using it more often. If this were true, all gum chewers would have a skinny face. All tennis players would have a skinnier playing arm than their non playing arm (when in
reality, the reverse is true…).
Secondly, you need to understand that visible stomach musculature is the result of extremely low body fat – NOT due to big muscles. Achieving this is the result of a) genetics, b) ridiculous levels of nutritional commitment, and c) tons of calorie expenditure. In most cases, you’ll need all three of the above to get a 6 pack.
Notice that crunches, sit ups, etc. have NOTHING to do with those three causes and therefore nothing to do with getting you a 6 pack.
I’ll paraphrase another trainer with this one, but truer words were never spoken:
The best way to get a 6 pack is pass on a 6 pack.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
5 Mistakes in "Core Training"
To start off the new blog, I'm going with a topic that is generally of interest to everybody who's interested in exercise: the "core". My first topic of discussion will be "The 5 Most Common Mistakes In Core Training". However, it's actually 6 mistakes - the first mistake most of us make is the actual definition of the term "core", as it applies to exercise.
Problem #1 is that there is no universally agreed upon definition or parameters of what constitutes the core. If you asked 50 trainers what the core is, you'd probably get 50 different answers. For our purposes, we define core musculature as any muscles that attach to the lumbar spine, pelvis or hips.
Yes - you're right - that's about 2/3 the muscles of the body (I might be exaggerating a little bit, but not too much...) Therefore...
Lat pull downs? Core exercise.
Lunges? Core exercise.
Push Ups? Core exercise.
Have I ruined your pre-conceived notions of core training yet? I hope so - admitting you have a problem is the 1st step in fixing it!
So for future reference and when the next blogs explain the 5 most common mistakes in core training, here's my definition of a core exercise that we use at The Training Rim:
Any exercise where the primary purpose of the exercise is controlling the lumbo pelvic hip complex through lumbar stabilization and neuro-muscular control of both the hips' mobility and stabilization simultaneously.
Sound complicated? Don't worry - it really isn't as you'll see in the next blog, "Core Training Mistake #5".
See you next time - until then, stop with those silly crunches.
Problem #1 is that there is no universally agreed upon definition or parameters of what constitutes the core. If you asked 50 trainers what the core is, you'd probably get 50 different answers. For our purposes, we define core musculature as any muscles that attach to the lumbar spine, pelvis or hips.
Yes - you're right - that's about 2/3 the muscles of the body (I might be exaggerating a little bit, but not too much...) Therefore...
Lat pull downs? Core exercise.
Lunges? Core exercise.
Push Ups? Core exercise.
Have I ruined your pre-conceived notions of core training yet? I hope so - admitting you have a problem is the 1st step in fixing it!
So for future reference and when the next blogs explain the 5 most common mistakes in core training, here's my definition of a core exercise that we use at The Training Rim:
Any exercise where the primary purpose of the exercise is controlling the lumbo pelvic hip complex through lumbar stabilization and neuro-muscular control of both the hips' mobility and stabilization simultaneously.
Sound complicated? Don't worry - it really isn't as you'll see in the next blog, "Core Training Mistake #5".
See you next time - until then, stop with those silly crunches.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Up and running soon!
Hey everybody -
We've made many changes to the site and business lately, so things are still somewhat "under construction". Thanks for your patience - the best source of fitness and exercise information will be back to full speed before you know it!
We've made many changes to the site and business lately, so things are still somewhat "under construction". Thanks for your patience - the best source of fitness and exercise information will be back to full speed before you know it!
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