Tips From The Trainer /Cardio breaks
Ken Baker, head trainer at Tim Gardner's Body-Tech Fitness Emporium, says most of his clients want to squeeze every moment of exercise into their sessions. That's why Baker, 31, introduced "active rest" small cardio workouts to his traditional weight-lifting sets.
The exercise takes place as a person in a gym transitions from one machine to another. But it can be used easily at home, for those wanting to burn extra calories as they tone, says Baker, a National Academy of Sports Medicine-certified trainer and competitive body builder.
"It breaks up the monotony of resting in between sets," he says. "And it fits the goals of a majority of Americans."
This move works on quads and glut muscles.
Stand in front of a step or riser, legs shoulder-width apart.
Shift to a squatting position, as if you're about to lunge forward.
Hop onto step. Hop down.
Baker recommends repeating the motion for 20 seconds, resting for 20 to 30 seconds, and repeating the exercise. You can increase the duration as endurance increases.
To increase difficulty, use a higher step or riser.
Given the stressful lifestyles most people lead nowadays, it is no wonder that many individuals want to have a healthy body that can withstand all the pressures and tensions that come their way. This is the reason why memberships in gyms or fitness centers remain on the rise and the demand for exercise videos continues to grow. Although following a healthy diet is commendable, this is not enough. Your diet must be combined with the appropriate exercise routines in order to have your desired optimum body.
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Strength training is very important in order to achieve a healthy body. There are many benefits of this type of training; for starters it can boost your self-confidence. Knowing that you have a strong body makes you feel good about yourself. This feeling is likely to be reflected in your mood and confidence while going about your daily routine. This new-found confidence will be noticed by the people around you. Aside from developing stronger bones and enhancing your stamina, proper strength training will also ensure that you will get a good night's sleep every night. It likewise will minimize the possibility of getting injured or hurt since your body becomes more flexible.
When people decide to lose weight or get into shape, strength training is often overlooked. Most people will combine healthy eating with some cardiovascular training but leave out weight training. If you combine all three elements, weight training, healthy eating, and cardiovascular training, you will have a well-balanced exercise program that is guaranteed to bring you results.
Lifting weights can be intimidating for some people. It is easy to not know where to begin, or to be afraid of getting injured. Before proceeding, seek clearance from your doctor or a health professional. If you are ready to proceed, you have a choice between enrolling in a fitness center or hiring a personal trainer. Do not be afraid to ask for assistance; there are many fitness professionals who are eager to assist and teach you how to properly implement weight training into your fitness routine.
The hardest part of putting together a resistance program is knowing where to start. Cardiovascular training is pretty simple, you hop on a machine, push some buttons and you're off. You can also take a long walk, jog or hike; the point is, it doesn't require a lot of thought.
Weight training is a little different, you actually have to think about and design a workout program that fits you and your goals. There are a ton of workouts out there, but which one is going to be right for you? You may have questions about what exercises to do for which body parts. In the end, though, resistance training does not have to be complex, it can be as simple as relying on your own body weight for strength training by doing push-ups, leg squats, abdominal crunches and pull-ups. Remember, the most important step is to be committed to your routine and continue learning and challenging yourself.
# Andy Salazar is the owner of Empower Fitness in Visalia and a fitness consultant to the Getting Fit team at the Visalia Times-Delta.
At first she thought she was feeling routine soreness, something that Donna Grubb-Hewlett was pretty sure she could muscle through. But when she heard a pop in the back of her leg during a February morning warm-up, she knew she had a more serious problem.
"[The soreness] was something I thought I should expect," said Grubb-Hewlett, who is training for her first marathon this summer in San Diego. "But this didn't go away."
Hamstring injuries are among the most common to strike casual athletes and gym regulars — whether it's the sudden tweak that pulls you up short in a softball game or a more profound "Level 3" tear that shreds fiber deep within the muscle and requires months of rehabilitation. In the most serious cases, the muscle and tendon can snap away from the bone and must be surgically reattached.
Hamstrings are complicated muscles — they're sets of three that begin at the hip and extend down the back of the leg to just below the knee — responsible for a lot of the body's motion. They flex the knees and pull the hips forward when you are walking and jogging.
Sprints seem to factor in some hamstring injuries, said John McCarthy, an assistant professor with the University of Alabama-Birmingham's Department of Physical Therapy. Such motions force the hamstrings to contract even as they lengthen with forward momentum, establishing an internal tug of war.
"That is where you get the peak stretch," McCarthy said.
Weakness of the muscle almost certainly is a cause of injury, and some doctors and researchers feel that strength imbalances may also be to blame. In many people, the quadriceps, at the front of the leg, are substantially stronger than the hamstrings, perhaps setting up the back of the leg for injury. Postural problems can also add strain.
Fortunately, a pulled hamstring is not likely to be a career-ender. Many Level 1 tears can be treated at home with ice, a compression bandage, elevation (to keep the swelling down after the injury) and a few days of rest until the pain subsides. After that, a gradual return to stretching and exercise will ensure that the muscle heals properly.
Though Grubb-Hewlett's was considered a Level 1 tear, she is working with a local chiropractor in hopes of recovering more quickly and completing her marathon program with the Washington, D.C., area Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training group.
Her chief recommendation: Swallow your pride and get help early. Though pain will limit what can be done at first, McCarthy said side-to-side exercises such as the "grapevine" — a series of crossover steps popular in aerobics classes — can be done slowly to start the recovery.
Gradually, hamstring stretches and strengthening exercises can be reintroduced: The National Strength and Conditioning Association has prepared a guide to some of them ( www.nsca-lift.org/Perform/articles/060305.pdf).
To target the hamstrings, Frank Holmes, director of the sports medicine program and Georgetown University Hospital, recommends leg curls, which can be done at home by securing a resistance band to a door or piece of furniture, looping it around the ankle, then flexing the knee. (Use a chair or wall for balance.) If you are using a leg-curl machine, he recommends isolating one leg at a time and slowing the "eccentric" phase of the exercise — when the weight is being released — since hamstrings seem to get injured as they are being extended.
For those without access to a gym, bodyweight squats (with knees at shoulder width and weight over your heels, lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the ground, then come back up) and lunges (step out with one foot, lower the back knee close to the ground, then come up, keeping the front knee over the ankle) will also help.
For women looking to lose weight, get healthier or feel better about themselves -- both mentally and physically -- adding some weights to your workout routine may be the ticket.
Weights can be intimidating. How do we get started, and how do we avoid getting bigger instead of smaller?
First, strength training will not bulk you up.
“You would have to take testosterone or steroids to get bulky,” said Melissa Rife, a personal trainer. “Actually, the opposite occurs since the muscles get tighter and leaner.”
What weight training will do, she said, is make your body burn more calories, even at rest.
“It increases your metabolism. There’s a better carryover, which means the muscles keep burning calories after you’re done,” she said.
That’s great if you’re trying to lose weight, but there’s even more advantages to adding strength to your routine.
Strong muscles mean better posture, and weight training helps fight osteoporosis by promoting bone growth.
It’s best for beginners to start with very light weights, like one, three, or five pounds, in order to work on proper form.
“One of the biggest mistakes women make is with their form,” said Kim Wagler, who owns a fitness center with her husband, Chad. “They won’t get the benefit (of the weights) because of poor form.”
Rife recommends that beginners start with these basic exercises: Bicep curls, rows, push-ups, squats, lunges, crunches, a tricep exercise, leg raises, calf raises, and shoulder raises.
Start with one or two sets of eight to 10 repetitions, with a minute rest between each set. Work your way up to three sets. If it is too easy, add reps or weight.
“The last couple of reps should feel challenging,” Rife said. “If you’re starting out struggling at the third or fourth rep, that’s when you’ll get hurt.”
Beginners will probably notice muscle soreness the next day or two. Rife said the pain should be gone before you work those muscles again.
“When you start, three times a week is good. The other days, do cardio. Don’t overdo it or you’ll get hurt,” Rife said. “Also, ‘No pain, no gain’ is not the way to approach exercise. Pain is a flag that something is wrong and that activity should be stopped.”
One more important thing to know before you start: You can’t “spot reduce.”
That means, said Wagler, “You have to do a total workout. People think they can do 100 exercises for abs and get flat abs.”
Both recommend that beginners get professional instruction before staring a routine. If that’s not possible, several Web sites offer instruction on exercises.
“The Web site I like to use is www.about.com,” recommends Rife. “Put in strength training in the search block. It has good info and it has pictures of the various exercises. People can also use it to look up other info on various forms of exercise and health. “
Strength-training tips
- Reduce your body fat, increase your lean muscle mass and burn calories more efficiently.
- Develop strong bones. By stressing your bones, strength training increases bone density and reduces the risk of osteoporosis. If you already have osteoporosis, strength training can lessen its impact.
- Control your body fat. As you lose muscle, your body burns calories less efficiently, which can result in weight gain. The more toned your muscles, the easier it is to control your weight.
- Reduce your risk of injury. Building muscle protects your joints from injury. It also helps you maintain flexibility and balance -- and remain independent as you age.
- Boost your stamina. As you grow stronger, you won’t fatigue as easily.
- Improve your sense of well-being. Strength training can boost your self-confidence, improve your body image and reduce the risk of depression.
- Get a better night's sleep. People who strength-train regularly are less likely to struggle with insomnia.
Source: MayoClinic.com
Is it better to start your workouts with cardio or weight training?
It depends on what you're trying to achieve.
Starting with cardio first will prepare the body and warm it up for resistance-training activities. If our primary goal is to work on the cardiovascular system, we can really emphasize that if we start with cardio first.
If we start with weights first, we may have some premature fatigue.
When we start with weight training, the primary benefit is that there is usually some skill component with resistance training. We need to be sharp and ready to handle it, and we will be, if we do resistance training first.
For the average person, after they have appropriately warmed up, probably the best choice would be to do their resistance training first because it involves a skill component. Then follow with an aerobic workout.
Can they do that -- cardio and resistance training combined -- three times a week? Yes, but neither cardio nor resistance training is optimized with concurrent training. It's difficult to do two things well at the same time.
Splitting them up would be more effective. Do cardiovascular training every other day and resistance training on the days in between, if you have the time. But not everybody has five, six or seven days a week to work out.
That's why, looking at the big picture, in our time-strapped, sedentary society, it's probably best to put cardiovascular training first, because we have such a high risk for heart disease in North America.
Cardio helps with that, along with burning calories and fat reduction.
But again, depending on the person, doing cardio first may be less important. Of course, building muscle mass raises your metabolism, so you're continually burning more calories throughout the day.
© The Calgary Herald 2008
