We've Come So Far (Sort of...)

I had the pleasure of helping out with the strength and agility program for a girls’ softball team recently, and one of the conversations that came up applies to all of us interested in health and fitness.

But it occurred to me that we’ve come so far in the areas of fitness and exercise in my time in the business.  Since the turn of the century, more or less, we now know:

Statistically speaking…

• A commercial gym is probably the last place to go if you want to get in shape.
•  Low intensity exercise has very little benefit.
• If you don’t move in the manner your body is designed to, you will be injured and have to stop exercising.
• Eating fat does not make you fat or unhealthy.  Grains and sugars do.

These are all HUGE steps in the right direction.  They’re the reason so many of us are maintaining our health and fitness levels as we age – if not getting more fit and healthy.

But the one area in which we are lagging severely – and this was the topic with the softball players - is in the area of flexibility.  We are still woefully behind the curve on this one.

It’s an area of particular interest for me – “The Correlation Between Static Stretching and Injury Prevention” was the topic of my graduate thesis.  (Here’s a teaser: There is none.)

As usual, I don’t say this to impress, I say it to impress upon you that functional flexibility is WAY more complex than most people realize.  Far too complex to get into in a newsletter, for sure.

That being said, here’s a quick primer that may really simplify – and hopefully help your understanding of stretching and flexibility.

There are areas of your body that are not supposed to be flexible.  I choose to mention this because this comes up ALL THE TIME.  It’s why we have a poster at the Training Rim that says “No unauthorized stretching.”

Your knee is NOT SUPPOSED TO BE FLEXIBLE.  Your knee is a hinge.  If it either rotates or hinges too far, like the hinge on a door, the hinge will come off as it would on a door.  A flexible knee is a torn ACL.

Your lower back is NOT SUPPOSED TO BE FLEXIBLE.  Unlike your mid and upper back, your lower back needs to be strong and stiff.  It’s designed this way because it’s what holds us upright.  When it loosens or moves excessively is when we have low back problems.  A flexible lower back is a herniated disc.

As I said, there’s way more to it than that and way more to think about – another reason hiring a good training staff is key.  But if you keep these things in mind, you’ll be ahead of the curve in the fitness realm (as you already should be on the bullet points above).

Two GREAT Butt Exercises:

I recently had a conversation that went almost exactly the way a conversation I had about 10 years ago went.  It got me wondering where the people I had the conversation with a decade ago are now and where they are with their fitness goals.

But first, two GREAT butt exercises are single leg squats, and single leg stiff leg dead lifts, i.e. “storks”.  

I’d have trouble thinking of two exercises that give you more bang for the buck.  If you want rock hard glutes, these need to be a staple of your program.  Balance and coordination are improved, as is your conditioning if used in a circuit manner.  Every muscle in your lower body and core is engaged and will get noticeably stronger.  Because of the realistic nature of single leg training (have you ever moved in a parallel stance?  Didn’t think so…) the effects carry over to other aspects of your training program as well.

And did I mention ROCK. HARD. GLUTES…?

Here’s the problem (And this is the conversation I had recently that was the same as one a decade ago with different people):

Single leg squats and storks are challenging,  so people don’t do them.

They require motor control, proper reaction from the proprioceptive nature of the ground reaction forces, multi-planar stabilization, multi-level strength, and good control of length-tension relationships, among other things.*

So a beginning exerciser’s appropriate response should be:  “Wow – I should work on improving those things so I can do single leg squats and storks.  Then I can do workouts that make me strong, lean and fit.”

But unfortunately, that’s not the typical reaction.

The typical reaction goes something like this:

“Improving those things is challenging, and may require some diligence, persistence, patience, and hard work – plus Tony Horton says I don’t need that stuff.  So I’m going to continue to do the things I’ve been doing because they’re easy.  This will ensure I’ll never improve and my ass will continue to get softer, flatter and lower on my body.  Then years from now, I’ll ask Jon (again) what do I have to do to get in shape.”

Of course, those words aren’t used, but that’s really what people are saying when they say I can’t single leg train, so I’ll just keep doing _____ .

Yes, many things in exercise and fitness require a change of direction and some challenges.  But you can make this changes now and your future you will be reaping the benefits and rocking those jeans, or…

…you can continue to avoid changing and continue doing it the easy, safe way.  And to paraphrase Trinity in the Matrix – You already know where that road leads.

“Strengthening the strongest link does not strengthen the chain.”  TR Tenet #5 painted on the wall.

*If you don’t know what these things are, that’s not a problem.  We do and we know how to insert them into your program.

Fitness Lessons, World Cup Style

Between the U.S.’s great performance in the World Cup plus some of the craziness of the games, World Cup soccer has been everywhere you turn lately.  Being the fitness vulture I am, I decided to point out a few things about the conditioning of soccer players that can help YOU get lean and strong.  Because as was pointed out on pretty much a daily basis in the Training Rim – soccer players are in really good friggin’ shape. 

Here are some take home lessons for you:

1. Soccer players do Intervals.

Watch how soccer players run:  They alternate between 100% intensity, to resting, to relatively high intensity, back to 100%, back to rest, over and over.  In other words they do intervals – periods of very intense work followed by less intense work and rest repeated.

They DO NOT pick a low intensity and do that for an extended period.

Again, soccer players have very low body fat.  I’ll try it their way.

2. Soccer players change direction constantly.

Soccer players are constantly changing direction.  Forwards, backwards, sideways, diagonally, etc.  Constant direction changes force all joints of the body to work evenly.

They DO NOT start going forward and then keep going forward…for an indefinite period…

When joints are moved in all directions, they stay balanced and healthy.  When they go in only one direction over and over for extended periods they become dysfunctional.  (One of many reasons jogging is unhealthy).

Find me a good soccer player with bad posture, which is the tell-tale sign of joint imbalance and injury. Go ahead, bet you can’t find one.

Again – I’ll do it their way.

3. Soccer players stretch – AND STILL GET HURT.

The rash of hamstring pulls in the World Cup was almost comical in its frequency.  And every one of the players stretches prior to the matches.  So how does this happen?

BECAUSE STRETCHING DOES NOT PREVENT INJURY.  PERIOD.

Let’s be clear:  I did not say “don’t stretch.”  I said it does not prevent injury.  So if part of your workout is to yank on your knee and twist your back prior to exercise because you think it’s preventing injury, you are wrong.  Save your time.

Can these points make you an elite athlete like the World Cup players?  Probably not.

But they can get you simmer, stronger, and sexier!

Secret of the Strong

Discover the Secret of the Strong:

“Struggle is not optional – it’s neurologically required: in order to get your skill to fire optimally, you must by definition, fire the circuit sub-optimally; you must make mistakes and pay attention to those mistakes; you must slowly teach your circuit. You must also keep firing that circuit – i.e., practicing – in order to keep functioning properly.” - Daniel Coyle (taken from “The Talent Code”)

I was having a conversation with another trainer the other day about cueing members during sessions, explaining to them how exercises should be done, why they need to be done in a certain manner, etc.  And it occurred to me that the point I was trying to make with him, is actually a point I’ve been trying to make with exercisers for years, because really that’s who it is aimed at.

This is something very important that all exercisers need to understand:

Strong people don’t exercise well because they are strong.  They are strong because they exercise well.

They make sure every repetition is PERFECT. Not “OK” – PERFECT. 

They make sure every squat has heel pressure.  They make sure every pushup has a stiff spine.  They make sure every kettlebell swing has extended hips.

When you exercise with this mindset every time you workout day after day, week after week, month after month, eventually you become a significantly stronger and better conditioned human.

This is why, in my facility anyway, when you see people doing impressive things you need to remember that initially they struggled, like we all do.  But after a period of very deliberate practice and always correcting mistakes, they became strong and well conditioned.  The fact that now they make very difficult moves look very easy can be deceiving.  Tons and tons of repetitive errors and corrections went into that skill.

But this doesn’t seem to be peoples’ perception more often than not.  What I hear and what I observe from others is the assumption that the person is strong – therefore they can exercise well. 

Not true.  Not in most cases anyway.  They are strong and well conditioned because they pay attention to every detail of their movement and the exercise they’re performing.

The flip side of this is the person who doesn’t obsess over every movement detail.  The person who doesn’t mind that they shoulders are rolling forward when their hips are supposed to flex.  The person that doesn’t mind that he/she squats with all knee flexion and no hip flexion.

Will this person get results?  Maybe, if they’re lucky.  But they won’t get GREAT results.

In order to achieve major gains from your strength and conditioning program, you need to pay very close attention to every move you make in the gym, and deliberately correct any imperfections.  Over time, this is how major improvements are made.

Pay attention to and correct mistakes – this is how improvement occurs.  And like it says on the walls of the TR: “Always Improve”.

Traits Of The Lean and Healthy

Right to the point:

I've been watching people try to get leaner, healthier and stronger for a LONG time.  And with very few exceptions, people who get leaner, healthier and stronger all have the same behavior characteristics in common.  Conversely, people who don't get results, typically don't have these traits.

Real simple:  Use my experience to your benefit.  If you aren't getting 100% of the lean, strong and healthy look you want check out these traits.  Then be honest with yourself and make some changes where necessary.  Habits aren't like your skin color, height, or other things over which you have no control - you CAN have the same things as the lean, healthy and strong with just a few modifications...

Traits of successful people:

1. Successful People Train consistently.

Successful people make their training sessions a priority.  They put them on their schedule and get them done.  In the event something serious comes up - and ONLY something serious - that forces a change in plans, the session is rescheduled to the next available time – it’s not canceled.

2. Successful people train correctly. 

They are open minded and not afraid to change.  Successful people take what’s a very small amount of time to learn about and evaluate their training.  They continue to expand upon what’s working and eliminate what isn’t.  And they’re open minded enough to see that what may be good marketing, may not be good exercise information.

3. Successful people work at it outside the gym.

Successful people understand their workouts are only the tip of the iceberg.  They focus as much attention on recovery as they do their stints at the TR.  Remember: Exercise is the impetus for improved health – the progress actually occurs when we eat correctly and recover correctly.  Successful people have their nutrition, rest and additional training dialed in.

4. Successful people take responsibility for their own health and fitness.

(This one is actually the mother of the other three, as those habits are born from this one.)

Successful people understand that they will do it or they won’t.  If it doesn’t get done it’s on them, but instead of wallowing, they make corrections.  They understand that they are truly the only ones who can help themselves get leaner and healthier.  They understand there are obstacles, but they create strategies to overcome them.  Excuses simply do not exist in this group.

Do this: think about the people you know who really have succeeded in getting healthier, leaner and stronger.  Then think about the people you know who haven’t.

I guarantee you’ll notice a pattern of these traits among the successful group, and a different set of traits among the people in the other group.

And as always, we’re here to help –

Jon

Are You Banging Your Head Against the Wall?

Quite often, when people set the direction for their exercise program they simply don't choose the best direction.  You know the expression, "the shortest distance between two points is a straight line"?  Well, in the realm of fitness and exercise, sometimes it isn't.

Jon explains here.  If you feel your exercise program has you banging your head against the wall sometimes, check this out:

Who else wants to be shredded, drop inches and pant sizes?

This is a continuation of our last blog – if you missed it scroll below.  It’s a summary of how simply moving better can get you to look and feel your best again.

Not convinced?  Here are three TR members who in addition to consistent exercise and eating habits, tweaked their programs based on the above key.  At the TR, we use the FMS (Functional Movement Screen) to check for movement efficiencies, as well as the subjective observations of our trainers to help us develop efficient fat loss programs.

Tara started with back pain and a below average, asymmetrical score on her FMS.  With a few different corrective exercises and with some attention to detail, her score went to above average and symmetrical.  Her movement improved as did her workouts along with it.

Result?  Tara dropped a pant size.  Tara does not have back pain.  Not a coincidence.

Kerri started with shoulder pain and a below average, asymmetrical FMS score.  With some corrective exercises and more attention to movement quality, Kerri’s score went to above average and symmetrical.  Her workouts improved along with the movement.

Result? Kerri now has a 4 ½ ” smaller waist, and no shoulder pain.  Not a coincidence.

Vinny had a high, but asymmetrical FMS score (a very good indicator of future injury).  With a simple addition of some corrective exercises added to his group training schedule – yes, even our small group members get personalized programming – Vinny’s asymmetries went away.

So did all his body fat.  Seriously.

I was at a Labor Day BBQ/pool party with him.  All I heard all day was “Vinny, you look ripped”, “Vinny I can see your abs”, “Vinny, Vinny, Vinny,…blah, blah, blah”.  It was actually starting to get annoying.

But in addition to showing off the abs at barbecues, Vinny also finished two Spartan races this summer – injury free.

Movement improved, health and performance improved, abs appeared.  Not coincidences.

So if you feel like there’s a missing link in your programming, or if you feel you should be getting more out of your efforts, come down and get a screen done.  Part of what we do is simply point people in the right direction who may be looking at the wrong issues.