Weekly Non-sense

So I was reading around the net the other day when I came across an article that made me mad and happy at the same time. If you have followed my blog you would have read about the "trainer" known as Tracy Anderson. For those of you unsure of her, she is a celebrity trainer who is most known for Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna. She is what some would call THE DEVIL. For some reason people, especially women, listen to her and take her advice of starving yourself and doing mind-numbing amounts of reps with little to no weight. As the woman once quoted saying a woman should never lift more than 3 pounds to avoid "bulking", she has released many products that have somehow sold well. Anyway, the article can be read here.

It makes me happy to see that people are finally realizing her diet "advice" is actually very dangerous and will only make your body go crazy and put you at numerous health risks. Hopefully more people will start to understand how problematic this method can be and will start to make smarter choices with nutrition and training. It angers me however, that women out there are buying her products, believing in her systems, and still avoiding lifting heavy things.

Listen ladies, lift heavy weights and push yourselves in the gym. Eat good meals and stick to natural, fresh foods. stay consistent with your eating and your training and look like a sexy woman, not an emaciated one such as Gwyneth Paltrow (who was recently diagnosed with osteopenia...weird).

Developing Power Through Lifting

This past weekend I went up to Jefforsonville, IN with a couple of the guys from the gym to get certified through USAW to teach Olympic lifts. These lifts include the Clean and Jerk and the Snatch. I have messed around with these lifts in the past and had help learning them during my internship at U of L but this was the first true, intensive coaching I have had with them.



Before I get into the weekend, for those of you who are unsure about these lifts, let me explain. The Olympic lifts are the ones seen in the Olympic games but are also used in athletics for power development. They have been adopted for this purpose because they are very explosive in nature and require triple extension (ankle, knee, and hip) which is exactly what happens in sprinting and jumping. By loading these movements, the athlete is requires to produce more force into the ground causing a reaction upward through the body. This is what happens to cause the bar to move upward, or in a sporting event, the body to propel.

My personal reasoning for getting this certification was to use these lifts for athletic development purposes. Not only do they allow for great development of power but they are also very time efficient lifts and create a huge stimulus to the body. Each lift requires the body to work in unison as a whole instead of something like a bench press they may only involve a small amount of musculature. When time is a factor, these lifts can be used to get more of a workout in and affect a larger portion of the body.

As for the weekend and my experience. I thought the program was great and I was able to walk away with a greater understanding of what each lift requires as well as a better ability to complete and feel the lifts for myself. I am, however, amazingly sore considering that we completed about 500+ reps over 2 days. The seminar itself was about 35% lecture and 65% hands on so most of the time we were in the weight room completing and coaching the lifts. I had a lot of fun and got to meet some cool people as well as learn a ton of new stuff, even beyond the Olympic lifts. If you are ever interested in trying out some of these lifts feel free to shoot me an email and I will try to help you out.

Non-Boring Cardio....I Promise!

Imagine yourself walking into the gym after a long day of work. The last thing you want to do is move mindlessly on a treadmill or elliptical for an hour or so to burn off those unwanted calories from the cookies you ate last night. But you have to get that weight off for the big cruise you have set in two months so off to the treadmill it is. However, what if there was another way you could burn those calories and maybe even more and do it in half the time? Not possible right? Wrong. Over the past 5-10 years there has been a lot of research and application with another type of workout known as interval training. With intervals, an individual is working at a very high intensity for short periods of time and allowing the body to recover in between, causing the heart rate to increase to near maximal levels and then relax back to a near resting base. Still unsure about it? Well, research from East Tennessee State in 2001 did a study where two groups of overweight women were put through 8 weeks of either long, steady-state cardio, or high intensity intervals. Each group exercised until they burned the same amount of calories and after 8-weeks the Interval Group was the only group to see improvements in body composition. That same group was also able to increase resting metabolic rate for more than 24 hours post-workout. Looking at a different aspect than weight loss, Martin Gabala, PhD, of McMaster University composed a study looking at time and performance. One group completed four to six 30 second sprint intervals with four minutes recovery in between while a second group spent 90-120 minutes of steady-state cardio. He concluded that there was no difference in exercise performance between the two groups. So, one group spent 2.5 hours per week while the other group spent 10.5 hours per week with no differences. So not only do intervals result in better body composition but also in a shorter period of time.

One form of interval training is the use of circuits. Circuit training is a method used where a group of exercises are completed back to back before rest is taken. Circuits can range from strength exercises to body weight movements. Many times a circuit will be a much better option of an interval workout than something like running because a larger area of muscle will be worked and with many individuals, movement imbalances can be improved.

When creating a circuit workout there are a few things to take into consideration. First, each movement pattern should be involved. This includes both upper and lower body, pushing movements and pulling movements, rotational movements, and possibly a full body movement. An example of pushing would be a push-up or a squat, pulling would be a row or deadlift, rotational could be a cable twist, and full body would be a mountain climber. Along with the movements used, time and rest also need to be considered. At a beginner’s level, the intervals should be longer and intensity should be lower. As an individual improves strength and stamina then intervals can be altered to be more intense. This could include more demanding movements or even increased resistance used for each exercise. 

When to incorporate these workouts can be the most confusing part of it all. There are a few different ways they can be used, it all depends on what one’s main goals are in the gym as well as available time. If one is already doing strength training 3-5 days a week these workouts are going to be used more for a fat-burn/cardio workout. In this case completing a small circuit following a strength training routine or even on non-training days will help burn a few extra calories, burn some fat, and increase the strength of the cardiovascular system. If someone is only able to attend the gym a few times a week and is really focused more on weight loss than strength gain, circuits would be used as the workout. These circuits would want to be more designed to increase strength as well as heart rate. Using more weight bearing exercises and a higher intensity would be ideal.

Circuit training is a great way to take care of a lot of different goals within the gym. Cutting down time, increasing strength, and burning fat can all be accomplished with a properly designed circuit. Start out slow and work your way up the intensity ladder but increasing weight and decreasing rest intervals. Try to start with basic movements and as strength is gained, incorporate more advanced moves to make time at the gym even more effective. Check out a couple example circuits below.

Beginner

3-6 sets of 15 with 1:00 rest

Bodywieght Squats

Pushups

Cable Row

Lunges

Plank

Cable Twist

Advanced

10 sets of :30 work with :20 rest

Squat to Shoulder Press

Single Leg Pushups

Pull-ups

Reverse Lunge

Woodchops

Mountain Climbers