I’m loving it!

Enough said.

What I’m doing while I heal

So, per the advice that some of my readers (and the doctor too) have given me regarding my hamstring, I am actually taking time off from training. This is actually a first in my life. While playing competitive soccer, I think the most time I’ve taken off is about 3 weeks, and even during that time I would go for short runs. Now that I can’t do absolutely anything except walk to class and to work, I’m having a difficult time figuring out what to do with myself. I’ve actually become a bit antsy and grumpy because exercise is my stress reliever.

Well, since cardio is out for a couple weeks, I am still weight lifting, but not as heavy because I do not want to compromise my training by becoming too big. I am small, but for some reason I build muscle and strength very quickly. I guess I get that from my parents, who were both athletes in their day and still very active.

I’m still working on pull ups, especially towel pull ups. If you haven’t tried this variation of a pull up yet, I suggest you give it a shot. It is very helpful in developing not only upper body and back strength, but also forearm and grip strength. I will definitely need to begin developing grip and forearm strength as I plan to begin martial arts once I’m healed. I have also improved my 1RM max in the bench press to 105#. I am 10# away from benching my body weight, and I hope to get there in a few weeks.

I have been improving my strength in essentially every body part except for my lower body. It’s pretty upsetting for me to be losing mass in my legs and seeing my pants sag off of me; as a sprinter, most of my power came from my quads and hamstrings (which apparently weren’t strong enough, although I focused on them twice a week…probably will need to fix that once I get better). Anyway, needless to say, I’m getting BORED and it’s killing me to have this gorgeous weather and unable to even walk beyond my classes. But, then again, I am thankful that I’m alive and that it’s just a hamstring injury that will probably heal sans surgery.

I should be doing schoolwork, but we all know that procrastination is a college student’s best friend. I have been reading a good book on the history of the ideas of muscle physiology; basically what we know now and how we came to find all this stuff out beginning with the ideas of Aristotle. If you’re a nerd like me, check out Prime Mover: A Natural History of Muscle by Steven Vogel. I am looking forward to my interview to be a personal trainer tomorrow though.

Any ideas for things I can do while I recover? Blog posting ideas count too, especially since I have more time to write! Exercise for me today

How did you get those abs?

Perhaps the number one myth in the fitness world, especially those who are new to the healthy lifestyle, focuses on how to get that much coveted 6-pack abs. If you watch television or flip through non-science-based fitness magazines, you would probably assume that you can’t get nice abs without paying 3 payments of 19.99, plus shipping and handling, for some new contraption that guarantees* 6-pack abs for only 4 minutes a day. Or you might think that you have to do thousands of crunches in order to look like the models in the magazines.

You’re smart, you know that this stuff isn’t true. But it may surprise you to find out that the most important factors in getting sexy abs are actually nutrition and cardio. What? You mean to say that the crunches aren’t what gives me the 6-pack abs? Indeed.

You can do as many crunches or other ab exercises that you can squeeze into your day; your abs will indeed get stronger, but they may not pop out how you want them to. Why? Because if your abs are hidden behind a layer of fat, you’ll never see them no matter how many crunches you do!

That’s where cardio comes in. Doing intense cardio 3-4 times a week will help burn off body fat. I don’t believe in doing long, boring cardio; see my articles on interval training to learn about cardio that trains your anaerobic and aerobic energy systems and blasts away fat. Once you burn off that fat, you will start to see the definition that has been hidden there all along.

To get your abs to pop, you also have to watch what you eat. But of course you’ve already been doing that, right? Be careful of eating foods with high fat content, as well as sugars. I remember reading something about which foods are ab-friendly, but I’ll have to post that in a follow-up since I can’t remember right now. I know that fruits and leafy vegetables, as well as lean meats, are ab-friendly.

To help your ab strength, you can do ab-specific exercises. I am a fan of Russian twists, V-ups, reverse crunches, lunge and twist, and floor wipers. However, those exercises where the abs are acting as stabilizers, such as push-ups, planks, rows, and even squats, are more effective than ab-specific exercises. That is because your abs are working hard to protect your spine, engaging them in a better way than ab-specific exercises do. Personally, I do a mixture of both, and I keep my abs tight during other exercises, such as when I do bench presses, one-arm rows, and deadlifts. I would suggest doing ab work 3-4 times a week.

So cardio and good nutrition will help you get the abs that you want. Please feel free to leave your suggestions, tips, and ideas that have worked for you!

66.3

People often ask me why I decided to change my academic direction from a promising career in academia to one focused on working directly with people on health and fitness issues. The reason: 66.3.

66.3 is the percentage of Americans that are overweight or obese. That’s almost 2 out of every 3 Americans. Wow.

I don’t know about you, but this number speaks to me. I always wanted to find a way to share my passion for fitness with others, with the goal of helping people develop healthy habits and live a healthy, happy, and long life. I thought that I could help people by working in public policy, developing better policies aimed at improving people’s health. But now I feel that I can better impact people by working directly with them. Besides, nothing really beats the feeling I get when I help people achieve their goals.

But back to 66.3. This number is just unbelievable to me and I want to do my part to help that number decrease. Think about all the money that would be saved from health expenses–billions of dollars. Think about how many more Americans would have better self-confidence, self-esteem, and just would be happier. That’s what I think about when I reflect upon my career decision.

Journey towards becoming a Personal Trainer

This post is about my journey towards becoming a trainer. I figure that keeping track of my progress online will help me stay focused on my goal and on track with the studying I have to do. My goal is to become certified by August, 2008. I hope to begin training clients in the DC/MD area soon after.

I will keep you updated by sharing what I have learned from studying. Perhaps the most interesting thing that I have learned so far is that muscles only have the capability of eccentric (elongating) motion because muscles cannot push against the bones to which they are attached. So what enables you to return to the starting position? In most exercises, gravity will pull the muscle back to the starting position. I don’t know why I found this so fascinating, but I did.

Next I will be learning about how a muscle grows, and posting about having fun with medicine balls.

Work that core Pt. 3

I haven’t written in a while due to school, but the good news is that I am going to grad school at American University on a full scholarship, so I guess the hard work paid off.

Hard work in the gym also pays off, giving you not only a healthier, but also a very aesthetically pleasing body. One of my other favorite exercises for the core is the plank. This exercise works the back and your abs in a very challenging way, and you all know how much I love multifunctional exercises (as opposed to working only one muscle at a time). I sometimes even feel my shoulders working when I do this exercise.

What do you do?

For a regular plank, get into a pushup position and rest your body on your elbows. Hold that position for as long as you can. Try to work up to holding for 30 seconds, then 45, then 60. You can increase the time for as long as you want once you get the form and the exercise down.

There are also several variations of the plank, including the side plank to work your obliques. You can hold the position as shown in the video, and you can also challenge yourself by dipping your hips down to the ground and bringing them back up to the starting position.

Work that Core, Pt. 2

Whew! It’s been a while since I’ve last written, but that’s what happens during midterms time and the pre-spring break week. On another note, I was able to create a few designs and launch a store on CafePress (http://www.cafepress.com/bewhatyouwant), but I’m here to talk about another move for your core.

One of the most effective, and yet simple exercises for your core is the bicycle, when done correctly. When done correctly, this exercise creates a total core workout, targeting the lower back, obliques, and upper/lower abs. So what’s the right way to do this?

Lie down on your back and bring your knees up as if you are going to do a regular crunch. Put your hands behind your ears or on your neck (but do not pull on your neck when executing the exercise) with your elbows sticking out to the sides.

Move as if you are doing a crunch while bringing your left leg knee to your chest, straightening out the right leg, and bringing the right elbow to the left knee that is close to your chest. Then move your legs as if riding a bicycle and do the same thing with the other leg. The key to getting this right is to completely straighten the one leg and not just flop your legs around when doing the “cycling” part of the exercise. Straightening the legs challenges the core more, and there is constant tension in the core, making this a great exercise.

When you get the movement down you can create a variation of this exercise by adding weight.

Enjoy! More posts coming soon…spring break is next week

Leave comments!

Work that Core, Pt. 1

I get a lot of questions regarding getting 6-pack abs or how to strengthen the core. Many people think that spending 20-30 minutes on the mat doing ab exercises on the ground is the best and even only way to hope to achieve a stronger core.

First of all, doing exercises that isolate the abs will not get you a 6-pack; you need an intensive cardio routine to burn the fat from around the abs, enabling them to pop out. You will never see your core if you don’t do the work necessary to remove the fat from around them.

Secondly, if you maintain proper form and keep your abs tight while doing your strength training routine with free weights, your abs will be able to get a workout as well.

So what exercises are good for the core besides the standard crunches?

I am a huge fan of using medicine balls to work the core. Medicine balls are very versatile and range in weight. One of my favorite exercises for the core using the medicine ball is the Roman Twist (some people call it the Russian twist as well…I have heard both variations to describe the same exercise).

So what do you do? Grab a medicine ball (I use a 10 pound one). Sit down on the ground and try to balance yourself on your butt bone by slightly leaning back and bringing your feet a little bit off the ground. Using your core to maintain your balance, hold your medicine ball in your hands and twist to one side. Try to touch the ball to the ground. Then twist to the other side and touch the ball to the ground. That’s one rep.

Remember to generate the force necessary for the movement from your hips, not your shoulders. Your legs should move a little bit as a result, and your shoulders should stay still.

This is a challenging exercise for even the most seasoned athlete because once the exercise becomes easy, you can make it harder by adding weight and changing how far you lean back. If you are having problems balancing on your butt bone, you can also do this exercise on a decline bench until you get better at balancing. All it takes is a little bit of dedicated practice.

I just got inspired

If you know me, you know that I am a huge fan of doing bodyweight exercises in addition to my regular weightlifting program. I watched a video on YouTube a few minutes ago and watched this man complete a series of bodyweight workouts using a TRX Suspension system that was designed for US Navy SEALS. I’ve used a suspension system before, but not that often. It’s hard. Really hard. But it’s effective. I just thought I would share this video with you. I may even dig up the $150 it takes to get one of these for myself. It will go nicely in the basement room that I envision.

Check one out here: http://www.performbetter.com/detail.aspx_Q_ID_E_4917_A_CategoryID_E_231 .

Why I like Pushups

So I felt like writing about pushups today. I don’t know why, but I had the urge. Many people think that pushups aren’t worth putting into their workouts, but for me, pushups, just like pullups, are a staple of my workouts. Why? Because they work more than just the chest. Pushups target the triceps, biceps, and lats too. Additionally, when done correctly, pushups also challenge your abs, because your core is acting as a stabilizer to keep your body in the correct position. Also, there are several variations of the pushup that you can do to specifically target certain muscles, such as the diamond pushup to target your triceps or the wide pushups for your back.

And let’s not forget that pushups are hard, and effective. Period.