Client Spotlight: Nathan

Nathan is probably one of the funniest clients that I’ve had the pleasure of training. He came to the Training Room with a specific goal in mind: lose 24 pounds in three months to reach a body weight of 196 pounds for his wedding in November. That was his main goal; his side goal (although he may contest that his side goal was actually his main goal) was to look like this guy from the movie Fight Club:

Fight Club

No; not Brad Pitt, but the extremely intense guy to the right of him.

THAT Guy

During his initial session, I took Nathan through a series of assessments. Being a computer engineer, his job required him to sit at a desk for the majority of the day. Not surprisingly, his flexibility was that of a 2×4. Before every single workout, I had him foam roll and perform various mobility and flexibility drills for at least fifteen minutes to help combat his sedentary lifestyle. Not only would this help him move better during the session, but also reduce the likelihood of developing  lower back pain, neck pain, or other ailments down the road.

Before starting at the Training Room, Nathan went from a peak weight of about 232lbs down to about 220 simply by eating better. Check out this scale that recorded and graphed his body weight  measurements online since December of ’09:

Note the sharp decline from August to November

After hitting a plateau, he enlisted our help and began to lose weight again. The very first thing I had him do was set up a food log and track everything he ate. This not only helps me to get a clearer picture of his diet, but it also serves as an eye-opener to him. All too often, I train clients who say they eat “pretty well” and can’t figure out why they’re not losing weight. Once we start recording their food intake, they realize that their eating habits could be a lot better.

Instead of going all Jillian Michaels on him after reviewing his food log, I had Nathan change just three things:

1) Drink a protein shake for breakfast instead of his usual sugary breakfast smoothie

2) Eat fewer carbohydrates in his meals and more veggies

3) Eat more fish and lean protein sources

After a couple of weeks of implementing these changes into his diet, Nathan noticed that controlling his portions became a lot easier because of the increased protein intake, which led to increased satiety. We then started to incorporate nutrient-dense foods like Greek yogurt along with various fruits and his diet gradually became very well-rounded. Salmon and roasted vegetables became a staple in his diet; I actually think there was a point in time where he ate salmon for dinner five nights in a row (note: I didn’t recommend this but, hey, the result was a four pound weight loss that week). By not completely overhauling his diet right from the get-go, I think the gradual changes really helped Nathan to stick to the game plan and not go crazy.

Salmon - delicious and nutritious

Nathan trained with me three times a week in the weeks leading up to the wedding. Contrary to popular belief, I did not have him perform steady, long distance cardio. We focused solely on strength training and followed a simple system that I use with all of my beginners called progressive overload. All it means is that with each workout you need to strive to become stronger at your main lifts (squat, deadlift, lunge, chin-up, chest press, etc.). Now, “stronger” could mean more weight or it could mean more repetitions with the same weight. Either way, if you don’t improve in either category you’re just maintaining your results from the previous workout.

Once or twice a week, I’d have Nathan go through some rigorous metabolic work for about 10 minutes at the end of his session. This was generally in the form of bike intervals with various work to rest ratios, and it’s main purpose was to burn as many calories as possible.  I prefer the bike to most cardio apparati, because you can work at a high intensity with a low risk of injury. Sure, I could’ve had him lose weight with just cardio and high intensity circuits alone like in the Biggest Loser (kill me now):

But I have no doubt in my mind he would’ve been completely burnt out and would have hit a plateau before he got to his target weight. Purely cardio/metabolic-based workouts do very little in terms of building lean muscle mass, which is crucial in terms of elevating your resting metabolic rate (the amount of calories you burn doing absolutely nothing).  They are; however, an extremely effective supplement to your fitness regimen if your goal happens to be fat loss.

Not only do I want my clients to lose weight, I also want them to gain lean muscle mass in order to improve their overall body composition. In just three months, Nathan got pretty strong. He went from not being able to do any pushups to doing 15 of them at the end of a workout with a 45 lb. plate on his back:

He also went from not having a prayer to pull himself up to performing 5 neutral grip pull-ups:

The key to Nathan’s success was his dedication and determination. He never missed a workout. He slammed down “not so delicious” protein shakes in the mornings and after his training sessions. He sacrificed some foods he really enjoyed for healthier options. Even if he had some slip-ups at social events, he got right back on track the next day instead of losing control. He went out of his way to make sure he cooked his meals, even though takeout or a Lean Cuisine would have been more convenient. There is very little room for error if you want to knock out 24lbs. in three months. Nathan took off 26.

 

Before dieting at around 23olbs and ??% body fat:

Nathan Being Extremely Happy

 

Before the Training Room at 220lbs and ~26% body fat:

Nathan and Liz in their engagement photo, along with their dog, O'Malley.

 

After at 194lbs and 18.9% body fat:

Nathan after his final workout before the wedding - note how much happier he is with his Christmas tree than with me.

Nathan and Liz's Wedding Photo

Train hard!

Jason

Extreme Makeover: Kitchen Edition

Looking to makeover your diet?  Start by making over your kitchen!

It is a well known feature of human nature that if you have food in your possession, you will eventually eat it.  So why keep food items that are not conducive to your healthy eating habits in your house?  Some may say the junk food is only for special occasions, some may say the items were on sale and they couldn’t pass them up, but whatever the reason, keeping these items in the house is dietary sabotage!

Sabotage!

The first step to an extreme kitchen makeover is to simply get rid of all the unhealthy foods in your house.  This is no easy task and may leave you staring into your pantry wondering what the heck to throw away.  Here’s a little checklist to get you started:

• Potato or corn chips
• Chocolates or candy
• Granola or fruit bars
• Breakfast cereals
• Soft drinks or fruit juices
• Regular or low-fat cookies
• Instant foods (cake mixes, mashed potatoes, etc.)
• Regular peanut butter
• Bread crumbs, croutons, other dried bread products
• Frozen Dinners
• Breads and Bagels that are not whole wheat
• Pasta
• Margarine
• Baked goods

Now, although this is certainly not an extensive list, it should at least get you started on throwing away the items that are most detrimental to your healthy eating habits.  Try not to make excuses for these foods.  If they are non-perishable items, donate them to a homeless shelter.  If they are pure junk, just throw them away!  They are only keeping you from your goals and making it harder for you to stick to a healthy diet.

Once you’ve parted ways with your junk foods, the fun begins!  Now it’s time to go shopping for the foods that are going to keep you healthy, energized, and on track toward a better you.  It’s time to replace the cookies and crackers with fruits and vegetables, the frozen dinners with lean meats and proteins, and the breakfast cereals with eggs and rolled oats.  Here’s a quick list of healthy items that you will want to purchase when restocking your kitchen:

• Vegetables (spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, peppers, etc.)
• Fruits (oranges, apples, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc.)
• Lean Proteins (93% or higher lean beef, turkey, chicken, fish, eggs and egg whites, low-fat dairy items (cottage cheese, yogurt, milk), tofu, soy burgers, whey protein supplements)
• Unsalted/Unflavored nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews; almond butters, natural peanut butters)
• Whole Grains (quinoa, brown rice, sprouted grain breads, oats)

YUM!

Once again, this is not an extensive list, but it should provide you with enough ideas to re-fill your kitchen with healthy foods that will keep you on the right track.  Now you don’t have to worry about the fact that if there are foods in your possession you will eventually eat them, because you only have foods that you should be eating!

Making over your kitchen is a foolproof way to maintain your healthy eating habits and reach your goals.  Stay tuned for some great food preparation and recipe ideas in future posts.  In the meantime, enjoy your new kitchen!

Eat well,

Lauren P.

Client Spotlight: Leah L.

Leah and I began to work together back  in February and I could tell from day 1 she was going to be a hard worker – all she needed was a little guidance. She seemed slightly skeptical when we were going over foam rolling techniques as well as some dynamic warm-ups to help prepare her for the strength training and metabolic portion of the workout. I mean wasn’t I supposed to beat her into submission with a heavy dose of burpees, jump roping, crunches, lunges till she couldn’t see straight? All that makes for good television – not necessarily good training.

Jillian Michaels: the bane of all human existence. Just kidding - not.

Now, don’t get me wrong – Leah busted her butt during our sessions. But we also made sure she was ready for our sessions by taking the time before the work outs to take care of her body and help reduce the chance of any injuries from occurring.

First things first, we had to get her diet squared away. I hesitate to label it a “diet” because I didn’t really want her to eat less – but better instead. First thing I saw right away in her food log was that she took in a lot of carbohydrates and not nearly enough protein.  All I told her were some simple guidelines that I tell all my clients: eat more protein/fiber/good fats, and eat fewer carbs/sugar/bad fats. Every week, I looked over her log and let her know some simple tweaks she should make and any foods she should add/cut out.

All too often, I see people jump into these ridiculous diets and workout routines without ever being prepared for them and end up being completely overwhelmed. So, instead of instilling healthy habits over time and realizing that losing weight requires a lifestyle change, these people jump into an entirely unrealistic program that promises results in the short term without first changing their behaviors to set them up for success in the long term.

After setting her up with a plan for her “diet”, I then had to get rid of Leah’s notion that waving small, pink dumbbells in the air would be the key to her fitness endeavors. Somehow, women have been brainwashed to the fact that lifting up a weight more than 5lbs would suddenly make them the female equivalent of Hercules.

Pick up some real weights!

Tougher weights/exercises = More caloric burn = More Weight Loss

Here’s what I wrote in my last client spotlight with Andy concerning my thoughts on resistance training for fat loss:

“What many fail to realize is that the more lean muscle mass you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate (RMR) will be. Your RMR comprises approximately 70% of your total caloric expenditure per day (the rest is made up of physical activity and the energy it takes to break down food), which means the amount of muscle mass you have is crucial for any fat loss endeavors. Unfortunately, your body doesn’t deem it quite as necessary because it’s so metabolically “expensive”. For that reason, any time your body encounters a period of lower caloric intake (a diet), lean muscle mass is often the first thing to go. The only way to “bypass” this is to strength train with weights challenging enough to provide the proper stimulus that tells your body that it needs to hold on to the muscle mass.”

Translation #1: When you’re on a diet,  muscle is very hard to maintain because it uses up so much energy (burns calories). The body’s survival mechanisms kick on and are stubborn to release any fat stores it has in case it needs to use it in the future for energy during periods of “starvation”. You need to lift challenging weights to make your body hold on to that muscle and burn fat instead.

Translation #2: Lift.

Leah met with me once a week and generally took 1-2 classes at the Training Room per week (Circuit Training/Cross-Training). She was also very diligent with the “homework” that I gave her, which usually consisted of a circuit of four-five strength training exercises coupled with about a 15-20minute bike interval set. Being an athlete throughout her life, she loved the way the classes and training sessions pushed her to her limits and were not boring like traditional, long duration cardio sessions.  While losing more than a pound of body weight per week, Leah also got more flexible, stronger, and overall in better shape and conditioning than she has been in a long time.  Here are some clips I took of her last session:

Pushups: 10lbs

Trap Bar Deadlift: 145lbs

Ab Wheel:

Kettlebell Swings: 16kg

Leah before at 199lbs and ~37% body fat

Leah at 164.5lbs and 29.5% body fat

This is just the first part of Leah’s journey! I have no doubt I’ll be writing again soon once she hits her next goal of dropping below 25% body fat. Until then -

Train Hard!

Jason

Client Spotlight: Doug R.

Doug was one of my first clients at the Training Room.  He started taking classes in August, 2009 and after a round of classes he decided to try personal training as well.  When I first met with Doug one on one my impression was that he was a skinny, shy guy who just wanted to gain some strength and put on a little muscle.  Little did I know, Doug really wanted to conquer the whole world of fitness, and somewhere under that quiet exterior he had the drive and determination that could actually get him there.  Now, almost a year later, when Doug walks into the doors of the Training Room it is like seeing a new person, both in physical stature and emotional confidence.

When I first put Doug through a fitness assessment, he was 6’3 1/2, weighed in at 170lb and was around 10% body fat.  He was fairly inflexible especially through the hip flexors and hamstrings.  His upper and lower body mobility was also limited.  He could perform only a couple body weight pushups before his form began to suffer and his core strength was almost non-existent.  He also had very little body awareness and had a difficult time getting his body into proper positioning for a lift and activating the correct muscles during a lift.

Doug "Before"

If you met Doug now, you would be shocked by these figures.  Today, Doug still stands at 6’3 1/2, but he weighs in at just under 200lb and about 12% body fat.  This means that Doug has put on about 30lb of pure muscle.  He has also made incredible improvements in his upper and lower body mobility and flexibility.  His strength has sky rocketed to heights I didn’t even expect when we first began to train.  To gain that amount of weight, hardly add on any body fat, and improve mobility, flexibility and strength takes incredible dedication in both training and diet.

Doug "After"

Since Doug wanted to gain muscle while keeping his body fat percentage low, he had to eat a high calorie, nutrient dense diet.  This means the foods he ate had to be high in healthy nutrients and high in calories per gram of food so that he could eat more without feeling completely stuffed all the time.  Here is a sample entry from Doug’s daily food log:

Breakfast:
2-3 cups of Kashi Go Lean Crunch
1-2 pieces of whole wheat toast or 1 cup of whole wheat oatmeal
(optional, usually depends on time)
Water

Post-morning workout:
Protein shake
Gatorade

Throughout the day:
Water
5-7 pieces of fruit (usually bananas or apples)
Water, Water, Water, Water, More water (I usually drink over a gallon a day)

Lunch:
Cold cut whole wheat sandwich (usually ham) w/ a little mustard or
whole wheat pasta w/ tomato sauce
Protein bar (optional, depends on daily routine)

Dinner:
Whole wheat pasta w/ tomato sauce or rice w/ salmon & broccoli or
chicken burrito bowl (depends on amount of time I have, if any, to
prepare a meal)

Post-evening workout:
Protein shake or Gatorade (depends on nature of the workout)
1-2 cups of whole wheat oatmeal

Now, with this type of high calorie diet, Doug really had to hit the weights hard in order to keep the body fat off and the muscles growing.  Here are a few videos of Doug during one of his recent training sessions.  Keep in mind that less than a year ago, Doug could do 2 body weight pushups, no chin ups, about a 20 second plank with good form, and only unloaded, body weight squats.

Decline Bosu Ball Pushups with a 10lb plate on his back.

Chin ups with a 15lb dumbbell between his legs

Weighted bar ab roll-outs

TRX Inverted Rows with 10lb plate

230lb Front Squat

Doug is a serious example of someone who wants to do it all.  When he first showed up at the training room he had a hard time expressing  exactly how he wanted to do it all, and so his three primary goals were pretty broad and overarching.  They were:

1. To get back in the saddle of leading a healthy lifestyle
2. To feel more comfortable and less intimidated by exercise
3. To push himself

Over the course of his first year at the Training Room, Doug has accomplished these broad goals is some very specific and awe-inspiring ways.  In October while on a trip to Thailand, he went on an impromptu 90km (about 57 mile) bike ride up a mountain outside Chiang Mai.  In February he completed his first half-marathon.  Currently he is within striking distance of running a 6 minute mile.  He understands how to engage specific muscles while strength training which has led to incredible gains in the amount of weight he can lift (as seen in the videos above!)  His diligence in his warm-up routine has led to increased mobility and flexibility which have in turn led to more gains in the amount of weight he can lift with perfect form.  And these are just his physical accomplishments so far!  Mentally, Doug has come a long way and only he can really explain the changes that he has experienced.  In Doug’s own words:

“I’ve reached a point where my confidence is through the roof.  To be perfectly frank, I’ve wrestled with nervousness and depression throughout my life.  Fear of failure kept me going in school but it also made me afraid to deal with other people, to make claims where I had even the slightest doubt I could fulfill them, or to take chances.  Combined with some other changes in my personal life, I feel the best that I may have ever felt in my life and hopefully it shines through when I interact with others!”

None of these changes happened over night.  If there’s ever a complaint I have about Doug, it’s that he refuses to REST!  Doug’s current workout regimen goes a little bit like this:

• Monday – 6am bootcamp
• Tuesday – 7am personal training session; 6:30pm kettlebell class
• Wednesday – 6am bootcamp
• Thursday – 6:15am cycling class; 7pm personal training session
• Friday – 6am bootcamp
• Saturday – day off (only because I make him!)
• Sunday – strength training workout on his own at the local Boston Sports Club

On top of all of this, he also goes on bike rides and runs in his spare time.

Today Doug’s goals have become much more concrete.  I think this is a great testament to the confidence he has gained through this journey.  His ability to set very specific goals now displays his new found belief in himself and in his ability to accomplish anything he puts his mind to.  Doug’s current goals are:

1. To complete a solo bike ride from Boston to Provincetown in June of this year. (completed: June 18)
2. To run his first full marathon in October of this year.
3. To improve his swimming abilities and complete an Olympic distance triathlon.
4. To get involved in the local randonneuring (time-limited long distance bike rides) community.
5. To continue weightlifting gains.
6. World domination by Thursday.

Okay, so #6 might not be attainable, but all the others are goals that I have full confidence he will accomplish.  Doug has worked so hard and his efforts have really shined through.  He has grown into himself physically and emotionally and I really look forward to continuing his journey toward world (of fitness) domination!

Doug and Me!

Client Spotlight: Andy J.

[Andy wanted to collaborate on this post. His comments are in Bold]

Andy trained with me somewhat infrequently for a couple of months until he proposed to his now fiancee and decided to really buckle down and get aggressive with his training. Putting his trust in me, he made some major changes and sacrifices to both his diet and physical activity levels in order to not only improve his general health but also to ensure his wedding pictures didn’t portray him as he put it: “a tub of lard”.

The very first thing I needed Andy to do was to keep a detailed food log to see what kind of improvements we needed to make with his eating habits. I can’t stress enough that it is impossible to out-train a bad diet. Using a free iPhone app called “Lose It” he was able to get a pretty accurate representation of the amount of calories he was taking in as well as the protein/carbohydrate/fat macro-nutrient breakdown of each meal. Rather than nitpick and poke holes at every little “mistake”, I chose a couple of guidelines to correct some of the major flaws in his diet – mainly, eating a higher quality breakfast and cutting down on the amount of alcohol. What many don’t realize is that “a drink or two every night” adds up and can sabotage the efforts of an otherwise sound diet.

Drinks Add Up!

Most people on New Year’s resolutions or just general fat loss kicks try to do too many things at once and end up getting overwhelmed and are doomed right from the start. Real, long-lasting results will occur through lifestyle changes and that doesn’t happen overnight. Andy also began eating smaller amounts & eating more frequently, upping the fruit & vegetable intake and cutting back on sugar, particularly added sugar (“sugar is the devil”).

Step two was to figure out his training schedule. Realistically, Andy had about 3 days to work out during the week. He supplemented training with me once a week with a 50/50 class at the Training Room as well as a regular gym session on his own, which included a weight lifting and high intensity cardio interval regimen. The first half of our sessions were solely for building strength and gaining mobility while the second portion was completely metabolic and meant to burn as many calories as possible.

What many fail to realize is that the more lean muscle mass you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate (RMR) will be. Your RMR comprises approximately 70% of your total caloric expenditure per day (the rest is made up of physical activity and the energy it takes to break down food), which means the amount of muscle mass you have is crucial for any fat loss endeavors. Unfortunately, your body doesn’t deem it quite as necessary because it’s so metabolically “expensive”. For that reason, any time your body encounters a period of lower caloric intake (a diet), lean muscle mass is often the first thing to go. The only way to “bypass” this is to strength train with weights challenging enough to provide the proper stimulus that tells your body that it needs to hold on to the muscle mass.

Drop the pink dumbells and challenge yourself!

With less than a year of serious weight training under his belt, Andy puts up some serious numbers. Andy’s mantra: “More weight, Jason, more weight” was interestingly inaudible throughout this entire session:

400lb Trap Bar Deadlift:

Tough, but he made it. Notice the two little 2.5 pound weights sticking out at the top because there wasn’t any space left on the bar.

300lb Squat:

Could’ve gone lower, but depth is understandable considering the max effort trap bar deadlift right before.

We decided to load his pushups with one of our trainers, Lauren:

Two (and a half) reps with about 120 pounds on his back – not too shabby for a guy who could barely do any a year ago.

An example of one of our Kettlebell “Complexes” with 2-20kg KBs:

Front Squats, Alternating Push Presses, Romanian Deadlifts, Alternating Rows, and Swings

Andy before at 272lbs and 31.1% Body Fat

Completely transforming your physique requires a tremendous amount of hard work and discipline. All too often, people create excuses for themselves. Work, life, stress, kids, etc. all “get in the way”. With his optimism and enthusiasm, Andy was able overcome these excuses and set aside the time to make healthy lifestyle choices. That’s why it’s important to set yourself up for success. Surround yourself with people that support you, keep healthy food choices at the office, and train hard at the gym so that with the right self-motivation you can achieve your goals like Andy did.

Andy at 223lbs and 21.6% Body Fat

It’s still May, so one more final push until Andy’s July 31st wedding date! Stay Tuned!

Train Hard,

Jason

Andy’s Comments:

A year ago I figured that the weight I had put on after some personal issues the last few years was there to stay with my 40^th birthday now some years behind me! Jason’s right that the galvanizing event was my upcoming wedding to Kate, and armed with that deadline I challenged Jason to help me get into shape. A year and 65 lost pounds later, I can’t say enough good things about how much Jason has helped me.

Jason gave me nutritional advice and regularly checked in via Txt to see how I was doing. As he said above it helped tremendously to just focus on a few key things. Probably “sugar is the devil” was the key learning for me, as focusing on that alone led me quickly to be in or around my daily calorie target without focusing on calorie counts, fat intake, etc. Of course, My fiancée Kate gets major credit for cooking healthy meals and giving me healthy snacks for the work day (generally, almonds and fruit). Plus, no doubt, the knowledge that Jason would be checking food logs was undoubtedly a motivating factor on those evenings when a beer would have felt good after a stressful workday!

Jason was always well-prepared for workouts with the exercise schedule written up in advance; and workouts were always varied and challenging. As someone who had never really lifted weights before I quickly found that I enjoyed that challenge and was amazed to see the weight levels being increased as the body weight came down. The daily stretching routine that Jason prepared has been helpful to me also, particularly early on as I had a long way to go flexibility-wise.

I also tremendously enjoyed the Training Room exercise classes, after the first-time nerves that perhaps I’d be out of gas after the first 15 minutes! The combination of cycling and body weight or circuit exercises keeps things interesting and for me I push myself much harder than if I was in the gym on my own with the headphones on.

To sum up, the Training Room are lucky to have Jason on the team. I couldn’t have achieved the progress I made in the last year without his counsel, guidance & support. [Jason: It was a team effort with Heidi, Maren, and Lauren - best instructors ever! And even more importantly - Andy's drive and dedication!]

More weight, Jason, more weight…….

Things I Learned In 2009 Pt. 1

New Years Resolution: Blog More!!!

Sorry for the lack of content on here recently – I’ll make sure to deliver some good information in the months to come. Here’s to 2010!

The fitness industry is evolving at a rapid rate and trainers that don’t keep up and invest time in continuing education become quickly outdated so I make it a point to stay up to date with all the current training techniques and methodologies. I learned a great deal this past year, and in this post I’ll outline some of the most important concepts/ideas that has shaped my training outlook.

1) Diet is everything – well, almost everything. The majority of my client’s goals deal resoundingly with fat loss. While exercise is extremely important in this regard to maintain lean muscle mass, elevate metabolism, improve general health, etc. – without a proper, clean diet the world’s best training program will be of little use. Trying to “out-train” your diet is a recipe for failure.

Cheese Fries = Bad

2) The central nervous system (CNS) is “kind of a big deal”. The only reason that our muscles function is because of the CNS. Your CNS is never “off”, but in order to optimize your performance in the gym you need to think beyond just the muscular system and think about also engaging the nervous system. Before your workout, if you’re feeling a little sluggish, try a short warm up of quick jumping jacks, speed squats and push ups, and tight rotations to really activate the CNS. It’s not meant to tire you so keep the repetitions short – it should actually “excite” you and get you fired up for the workout ahead.

Coach Nick Tumminello displaying the Tight Rotation

Also, when lifting weights – think about lifting the weight as fast as possible without sacrificing good form. However, make sure you lower the weight under control. By performing exercises explosively, you train your body to recruit more motor units. More motor units means enhanced muscular contraction, which means more efficient and more effective results.

Strength Coach Mike Robertson showing Inverted Rows – Notice the control on the way down and the acceleration on the way up.

3) Recovery is extremely important. If you train hard, you have to make sure you recover from your workouts. A lot of people take a “more is better approach” and consistently beat themselves down day in and day out. The human body can only handle that kind of stress for a limited period of time and that stress starts to accumulate.  For example, let’s say you work your lower body to absolute exhaustion on Monday, then follow that up with an intense Cycling class on Tuesday, then do a sprint workout on Wednesday, and then do a total-body workout on Thursday all while handling the stress of everyday life without a quality diet or an adequate amount of sleep.  What do you think will happen? Sure, you might be able to keep that up for a week or two, but eventually you’re workouts are going to suffer because you won’t have enough energy to get through them and your body will begin to break down from chronic fatigue.

When was the last time you got a good night's sleep?

A much smarter and more effective approach would be to work your lower body on Monday, upper body on Tuesday, Yoga on Wednesday, and a Spin Class/total body workout on Thursday. The yoga provides some excellent restorative and regeneration benefits and also there’s a reduced chance of over-training any particular muscle group when the workouts are split up in this manner. Top this off with a balanced diet and eight hours of sleep and you can guarantee you’ll feel better and receive quicker results.

Training Room Cycling

4) Irradiation is something I learned from physical therapist Gray Cook. When you’re performing an exercise like a deadlift or a bench press, think about grabbing the bar as tightly as possible and really “crush” the handle. That tightness in your grip starts to travel up the arm and through the shoulder girdle as your body gears up to lift/push  a weight perceived to be heavy. This promotes increased stability throughout the entire body.

An interesting study in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that “Among healthy 45- to 68-year-old men, hand grip strength was highly predictive of functional limitations and disability 25 years later. Good muscle strength in midlife may protect people from old age disability by providing a greater safety margin above the threshold of disability.”

Grip Strength - It Can Save Your Life!

5) As a general rule of thumb, people need to stretch more. Yes, it might not be the most exciting activity in the world – but stretching tight muscles a couple of times a day can go a long way in terms of improving your posture, reducing your chance of low back/neck pain and other injuries, increasing your performance in the weight room, etc. Below are a couple of my favorite stretches:

Chest Doorway Stretch

Hip Flexor Stretch

Quad/Hip Flexor Stretch

Downward Dog

Whose is better?

Stay tuned for Part 2!