Mixing it Up: The Reverse Lunge

Set Goals, Not Resolutions

It's that time of year again, New Year's resolution time. I can already hear them:

• "I'm not going to eat chocolate after dinner.....on the weekends".


• "My resolution is to exercise more this year....considering I hardly exercised last year".


• "I'm going to stop having my daily sundae with hot fudge...but I'll keep the sprinkles".


• "No more drinking for me...for the next two weeks".

You know what I personally think of New Year's resolutions? I hate them. I hate hearing about them. I hate hear people talking about them. I find most of them to be ridiculous. And I find them to be about as successful as a binge eater trying to eat just one slice of pizza. Resolutions just do not work a good majority of the time because they are not well thought out. They are just something to do because a new year has started or because the chain smoker who works in the cubicle next to you decided to set a resolution and you thought you would join in on the fun. It turns out to be just something to say or do. Usually no accountability. Usually no timetable. Usually vary vague.

A much better and potentially more successful way to go would be to work on setting a goal. Notice I said, "work on setting a goal". A goal is not just a vow you make five martinis deep on New Year's Eve for the upcoming year. A lot goes into setting a goal when done right and for it to be successful. If you're looking to make a change, lets take a look at what it takes to set a goal. There might be more to it than you think.

First, set one goal. No "I want to lose ten pounds and stop eating popcorn and get to three Zumba classes a week and....". Instead of asking for a wish list, ask for one thing. Setting just one goal goes along way towards determining your level of success. It's been estimated that your chances of success are around 80% if you just set one goal. Try to accomplish two goals at the same time and you're chances of success go down to 20% for each goal. That's a big difference. Set one goal. Achieve one goal. Move onto another goal.

Second, a goal has to be well defined. It shouldn't be, "I want to get in better shape" or " I want to tone up my arms". Exactly what kind of shape do you want to be in? Exactly how much weight do you want to lose? You have to be more specific and the goal has to be measurable. There should be a number attached to your goal. "Saying I want to lose 10lbs" or "I want to take an inch off my waist" are goals. It has to be able to be measured to be a goal. A goal being well defined also means setting a time line for your goal. Once you've defined a goal that can be measured, how much time should it take you to get to your goal? Have an amount of time you want to lose that weight or drop that body fat in as long as that timeline is realistic. Unless you are unlucky enough to be selected to participate on The Biggest Loser, losing an amount of weight in a short time period is not realistic without going to extremes. Instead, set a realistic time frame. Once you get to the end of that time frame and you've been successful, it's just time to set another goal with another realistic time frame.

Third, goals are put down in writing. Dr. John Berardi, who directs very successful weight loss coaching programs states, "If it's not written down, it's not a goal. It's a wish or a dream". Simply stated. Write down your goal and once you do place it somewhere so that it constantly reminds you. Everyday take a look at your goal. In addition to writing it down, tell everyone you know about your goal. Tell your best friends. Tell your worst friends. Tell your mother. Tell that that chain smoker who just set some crappy New Year's resolution. Having it written down and telling others will create some accountability.

Lastly, the goal has to have some sort of significance. This is my main objection to New Year's resolutions. There really is no significance to most New Year's resolutions. They are just done because the calendar has turned another page or because it's the thing to do. It's really just a conversation piece, one that I will quickly walk away from. To me that's not enough of a significance. There's no real inspiration there. But if you set a a well defined goal there probably is some significance to it, one that you can be emotionally attached to whether it's for personal reasons, professional reasons or health related reasons.

Goal setting is not easy. It takes time and it takes thought. But success for most has never come easy. If it did, you are either lucky, gifted or lying.

Have a happy and healthy 2011 everyone.

Exercise of the week: Prone Row w/External Rotation

This week's exercise can be used in two ways. One, as part of your upper body warm up. Two, towards the end of your workout as a shoulder pre-hab exercise. And it's not an exercise you're going to need to load up on with weight. For some using no weight is going to be hard enough.

Holiday Workouts

Staying in Shape During the Holiday Break

And wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.

More Killer Research on Omega 3's.

I've got two quick updates today that you're really going to like.

First, here's a great research based article on how Omega 3's help with lung function. Why should you care about lung function? Bottom line: The better your breathing, the better the fat burning.

Read the article here == > Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Breathing

Second, Prograde's new and improved EFA Icon is on sale at 20% off. BUT...The sale ends Thursday, December 23rd at 11:59pm EST. SO...Be sure to get your order in NOW before it's too late!

Here's how to get your 20% off discount ==> Prograde Specials

Enjoy!

Exercise of the Week: Cable Single Arm / Single Leg Squat & Row

What I Learned in 2010

One of my last posts was another "What I Learned...." and it got me thinking about what I learned in the past year. A lot happened in 2010. I opened up a business. I learned some new training methods that will hopefully help me get better results with clients. I also discarded other training methods that I had been using for years. On a personal level, I lost my grandfather and celebrated having a new niece. So let's see if I can sum up all of this and put into words what I learned in 2010.

• When it comes to be being successful with whatever business you are in, you still have to be good at what you do. You can learn all the sales and marketing techniques you want, but if your product or service is not any good, no one's going to buy it.
• What's holding people back from getting down to their desired body fat percentage or weight is their lifestyle. It's not the training programs. It's not the nutritional programs. It's their lifestyles. They don't want to make the changes that are going to allow them to get a solid workout in 3-4 times a week, have their meals planned out for the following day or get a good amount of sleep each night. The lifestyle you lead will determine the results you get.
• I would much rather deadlift than squat. It used to be the other way around. But now I feel much greater satisfaction pulling something from the floor than having something rest on my shoulders.
• Vegas is the greatest city in the world, especially when it comes to a bachelor party. How come it took about 10 of my friends getting married for someone to finally say, "Hey, let's go to Vegas for the bachelor party". Yeah, I guess it can get a bit ludicrous and expensive, but I would say the experience and fun was well worth it. Or am I just trying to convince myself it was?
• People still are not doing the simple stuff stuff that is going to get them leaner, stronger or help them to avoid injury: taking a 2-3 grams of fish oil a day, foam rolling and stretching on a regular basis, replacing their "cardio" work with interval work, doing chin ups, push ups or single leg work, eating breakfast and consuming more protein. It doesn't get much simpler than that. Simple works especially when you most of us really are "beginners".
• When it comes to a service business such as personal training, a good portion of your new and future clients are going to come referrals. You can spend a good chunk of change on print advertising with a very small or even no return. Or you can work on getting results with your clients with the only amount being spent is your time. Your clients are basically walking billboards. A client gets results with you and people are going to ask them where they're training. Or if you just are going to beat up your clients without getting any results people are going to know where not to train. The same goes with any other business. Deliver a good service and people will spread the word. Deliver a poor service and the only word that is going to spread is the bad word.
• To understand the role of your core just take a look at the way the muscles of your core attach. Your rectus abdominus runs one way. Your obliques run another way. They attach the way they do for one main reason: stability. Here's another way to think about it. Your rectus abdominus is the only muscle in the body that has that "six pack" type of configuration. It's divided that way just like the columns or supports on a bridge. To give it stability. If it was really designed for flexion it would look like your hamstring, one long muscle.
• The Patriots are always to have a chance to win the Super Bowl as long as Tom Brady is their quarterback and Bill Belichek is their head coach. And when the day comes when one of those two is no longer with the Patriots it could be quite a long time between championships. We are seeing something special here, fellow New Englanders.
• We take too much for granted. We just assume that we are going to be healthy, have a job and have our family around forever. Then something happens to you or someone you know and it kind of wakes you up. Start to appreciate what you have and stop worrying about what you don't have.
• Even though I'm still not a huge fan of it, there is a place for yoga. A lot of the mobility stuff that I've used over the last year or so has actually come from different yoga moves or postures. And just from a mental perspective it might be good to enroll in a yoga class one time a week or so to clear your head from this stressed out world we live in. And guys, there might be some cute girls in there to.
• We really underestimate the importance of the foot and ankle when it comes to lower body, low back or shoulder health. Your foot is the beginning of your kinetic chain. If you have some dysfunction at your foot, it could lead to dysfunction at your shoulder. Or if you do not have appropriate ankle mobility you'll probably going to have some knee issues. If you have some knee issue you might have some hip issue. You see where I'm going here. But I see very few people addressing their foot or ankle when it comes to their training or warm up. I know they may look like they don't do a whole lot but just doing some ankle rocks or rolling out your foot with a tennis ball prior to a workout session can fix a lot of problems.
• People still count calories and people still eat low fat foods which makes me believe that people still do not understood what good nutrition is all about. Good nutrition is eating good foods more often. That's it.
• Hopefully in 2011, I will not have to explain why doing anything standing on a BOSU ball is a complete waste of your time...unless you're trying to get better at standing on a BOSU ball. That trend can not end soon enough.

Dude, what are you doing?

I'm looking forward to what 2011 will bring. I hope you are to. Happy Holidays.

Exercise of the week: TRX Overhead Squat

Going into yesterday's TRX workshop I thought I understood the concept of the TRX and pretty much knew everything you could do with it. But after spending eight hours in a poorly ventilated, 8ft x 8ft YMCA aerobics studio with about 20 other people, I came away with some new exercises and new ways to use the TRX as part of my programming. Besides enabling you to do a ton of exercises, it's a piece of equipment that can be used to teach progressions, can be used to deload particular exercises and can help with mobility issues.

One exercise I came away with is the TRX Overhead Squat. I would use the TRX Overhead Squat as part of a squat progression or as part of a mobility warm up. Using the TRX with this exercise is going to do a few things. It's going to allow you to get to appropriate depth without fear of falling over. And it's going to turn on your core and scapular stabilizers as long you keep tension on the TRX while lowering into your squat.




It's important to keep tension on the TRX the entire time or there's no reason for using it. No slack at the bottom, no slack at the top.

Purchase a TRX by December 16 and get %15off and get free shipping. A great value...for your body and your wallet.

What I've Learned So far

Finished with you the first part of the Precision Nutrition coaching program, here are some of the major points I've picked up so far. I will not bore you with cell structure, energy pathways and the roles of each vitamin and mineral. Like I said, just some of the major points:

• A good nutrition plan meets four criteria: 1) it controls energy balance 2) it provides nutrient density 3) it achieves health, body composition and performance goals 4) it is honest and outcome based.
• About 60-75% of the calories you burn over the course of a day are going to come from your resting metabolic rate, 15-30% will come from physical activity and 10% will come from the thermic effect of feeding. In regards to the thermic effect of feeding, protein will have a higher thermic response than fats or carbs, another reason for increasing protein intake when it comes to fat loss. Or another reason to drop your carbs.
• After the age of 25, people will lose an average of five pounds of lean muscle mass with each decade. With a loss in muscle mass, comes a drop in metabolism, both of which can be prevented through appropriate exercise and nutritional selections.
• Fat in your diet is not as evil as you think it is. Fat provides energy, it helps with hormone production, it forms cell membranes and provides essential fatty acids that the body can not make. Do not fear fat...unless it's trans fat that is found in all your processed garbage foods.
• During periods of injury or sickness protein intake should be bumped up. At a minimum you should be striving to get in one gram of protein per pound of body weight. While at the same time a diet high in trans-fats, omega-6 vegetable oils and saturated fat will have inflammatory effects and slow down the healing process.
• If you're following some type of plant based diet you have to be careful of deficiencies, particularly: vitamin B12, calcium, omega-3 fats and vitamin D.
• Type II Diabetes is what John Berardi refers to as a lifestyle related disease. It usually comes from being obese, having a sendenetary lifestyle and consuming a diet high in carbs. The use of prescription medication could be diminished, even eliminated through regular exercise, good nutrition and weight loss. Another thing in regard to diabetes, it goes hand in hand with cardiovascular disease.

Gift Ideas for the Fitness Nut

Still have no idea what to get for that certain someone? If you're like me, don't worry about. You have 17 days left to get your shopping in. Also, like me, you may want to think along the lines of some new workout gear or maybe a new piece of training equipment. No, I'm not talking about going out and getting a $3,000 elliptical that serves as a coat rack four months later. I'm talking about gyms toy that are not going to break your Christmas budget. Or there are some great books or training programs that have been released over the last couple months that would serve as good gifts. So if you're thinking along those lines, here's some ideas for you:

• Gym Boss Interval Timer. Use the gym boss to time up your rest periods between sets of strength exercises. Or use the Gym Boss for your interval training or timed circuit circuit training. When it comes to your intervals you set up the length of your work period, your rest period and the number of intervals you plan on doing.
  
  
  


• TRX Suspension Trainer. If there was one piece of home training equipment I would suggest, it would be the TRX. Having a TRX around will give you over 70 different exercises to do. It is also portable so you can take it to the gym, take it on the road if you're traveling or take it down to the park if you're looking to do some training outside of the house. Yes, there are other suspension trainers on the market and I've used a few of them. I belive the TRX is the best one out there.

• A membership to Strengthcoach.com. For $9.95/month you get access to one of the best training resources on the Internet. You will have access to podcasts, videos, articles by some of the brightest minds in the strength and conditioning field and different forums to ask questions or take part in. The content applies to all individuals whether you're new to this whole fitness thing or maybe you already know a thing or two and want to have more knowledge than those knuckleheads relying on Muscle & Fitness for their latest training information.
• Valslides. Along the same lines as the TRX, having a pair of Valslides around will enable you to do more exercises than you thought were imaginable. And the portability is nice also.
• Never Let Go. A no nonsense training book by Dan John. Dan John breaks it down for you pretty simple, but simple in ways you may have never thought of. It's not only his training ideas though that make this book a good read. It's really about the lessons about life that come from his training that will make you a fan of his work and his teachings.
• Food Rules. Another book, one that might make a good stocking stuffer. This one is written by Michael Pollan the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma. Pollan breaks down nutritional strategies pretty simply. No micronutrient ratios or calorie counting. Just ways to look at what's on your plate or what you're about to scarf down. It doesn't get any simpler than "Eat foood. Mostly plants. Not too much."
• The Precision Nutrition System. I will not go as far as saying that you can not out train a bad diet, but I will say it's very difficult. So if you or someone you know is looking to lean out after an over consumption of eggnog, you have to get your nutrition in check. In my opinion, the best nutrition product out on the market for any individual is the Precision Nutrition System. The Precision Nutrition System provides you with 10 guidebooks, the Gourmet Nutrition volume 1 cookbook, and a full membership to the PN Member Zone, where you’ll find and online library and the 24/7 private support forums. Not a bad deal, for a not so bad price.
• A Gift Certificate to Accelerated Fitness. Yes, this is a bit of self promotion. And you know what? I don't care, because I know whoever you give that gift certificate to is really going to appreciate it. During the month of December, purchase a gift certificate for any amount for any service at Accelerated Fitness for 25% off. These type of deals not come around often.... actually never.

Happy holidays and happy shopping.

Exercise of the Week: Countdowns

Try not be to envious of that vertical jump.

Mixing It Up: The Inverted Row

Exercise of the Week: Spiderman Lunge

The Spiderman Lunge is one of my favorite dynamic flexibility/joint mobility exercises for a few reasons. One, it promotes hip flexibility and mobility with emphasis on lengthening the hip flexors. Two, it promotes thoracic mobility as the emphasis is on forcing the chest up in the bottom position of the lunge. Three, it promotes ankle mobility.

In the following video I give you three different versions: the basic Spiderman Lunge, the Spiderman Lunge w/Hip Extension and the Spiderman Lunge w/Thoracic Extension. Try a set of 5-6 reps on each leg on each as part of your next lower body warm up.

Exercise of the Week: Slideboard Body Curl

I saw this exercise done by strength coach Mike Boyle, decided to give it a shot, liked it and will now it include as another option for a posterior chain strength exercise.

Random Thoughts...

.....as I sit here downing some turkey meatballs.

• I had two parents in the last week ask me to write up a training program to get their 11 year old's ready for a 5k. Sorry, not going to happen. If an 11 year old wants to go and run 5k fine. Let them run where ever whenever. But in my mind to put them on a distance training program is a recipe for disaster. At that age, these kids are right in the middle of their athletic development. At this time they should be sprinting, moving in different directions, jumping, etc. unless I wanted to turn them into a crappy athlete. Then I would suggest they do some distance training
• It's funny to hear what people think their actual "core" is. Some will point to their abdominal area. Some will point to their abdominal and low back area. In actuality your core is really more than that. I heard strength coach Nick Tuminello give a good definition of what your core really is. Take away your limbs. What's left is your core.
• Now that you know what your core really is, do you know what the function of your core is? If you're the Situation, I guess it's function is to pick up chicks.

But if you're anyone besides The Situation or anyone who roams the Jersey Shore, the actual role of your core is stabilization. It's real functions are: anti-rotation, anti-flexion, and anti-extension. Is your core training program factoring in these functions?

• By the way, next time you tell me you want to work your core, we're not going to do it until you can tell me what the core's role really is.
• It's pumpkin season, so I thought I'd try some canned pumpkin in my yogurts, shakes, and cottage cheese blends. I read about how it was high in carotenoids, didn't have too high of a glycemic load and contained a good amount of fiber. I tried it for a week, that was it. I do not know if I'm going back. I know some tastes have to be acquired, but I do not think that is a taste I will ever acquire. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin beer, pumpkin coffee...different stories.
• Are your actions matching up with your goals? If your goal is to lose 5-10lbs and cutting calories and doing low intensity aerobic training is not getting it done, why are you continuing to do it? From Albert Einstein, who i think was a pretty bright guy, comes the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
• Two buzz words that drive me crazy: "cardio" and "functional". Thrown around loosely with having any thought of what they actually are.
• One final thought. It has to do with that Thanksgiving dinner you're about to woof down. Sitting around the dinner table I'm sure you're going to hear someone mention how tryptophan from the turkey makes people drowsy. Turns out the tryptophan might not be the real culprit. The real culprit might be all those other blood sugar surging, insulin jacking foods. The mashed potatoes, the rolls, more potatoes, the corn, and so on. Combine those with your three plates of turkey and a slice of every pie on the table and of course there is no way you're going to make it through the Patriots game with your eyes open. But, if you back off on those foods, load up on some greens and eat a modest amount of turkey you might have a better chance.

Now Offering Online Training

I know what happens. You have a trainer write up a training program for you. You take it home or get an email with a nice looking Excel spreadsheet with a list of all your exercises, sets, reps and rest periods. You look at the first exercise and ask yourself, "What the hell is a rear root elevated split squat?". You pass on that one and go to the next exercise, "Alternating dumbbell bench press? How am I supposed to do that?". I know this happens. I know this happens with my own clients no matter how many times I repeat the name of an exercise or describe the movement pattern.

Problem solved. At Accelerated Fitness we are now offering online training where there is no more guess work about what you're supposed to be doing. With your online training program you will get a detailed workout program complete with the exercises, the order they're supposed to be done in, the number of sets and reps that should be completed AND a video of each exercise so there is no more guess work involved. All the confusion is removed. It's the next closest thing to having a trainer at home or at the gym with you.

By signing up for our online training program you will get:

• A month of workouts laid out for you with progressions from one workout to the next.
• Variability between workouts so that you're not repeating the same workout over and over again.
• The ability to track your workout so that we can check in and see the progress being made
• A detailed plan of exercises, sets, reps, suggested stretches, etc. all geared to each individual. No cookie cutter workouts.
• Access to a nutrition tracker so that you and we can see if your nutrition is supporting your exercise program.

Basically it's all laid out for you and at your fingertips in a few clicks of the mouse. For more information or for pricing please email rich@acceleratedfts.com or call 781-538-6664.

Exercise of the Week: Bent Over DB Row

Watch most people do a bent over row, whether it's a dumbbell or barbell version, and what you'll usually see as the set goes on is that it turns into less and less of a bent over row. By the end of the set you'll see some people in an almost upright position. The last rep hardly looks like the first rep.

To combat this change in body position, I picked up this head supported version from strength coach Eric Cressey. Focusing on keeping your forehead in contact with the bench the duration of the set will keep you in check and keep you from rising up. Take a look.

An All Too Common Issue

Just want to relay a situation I had recently. A client of mine had her sixteen year old son taking part in this strength and conditioning program at another facility. Well, one day her son comes home from a training session all distraught. Apparently he had difficulty with barbell squatting. It wasn't that his squat technique was bad. It was just that he didn't have the shoulder mobility to get the proper placement of the bar behind his head. So what does his trainer say? "There must be something wrong with you. I think you should go see a doctor". So now this kid thinks there is something wrong with him. He feels like a mutant. And he feels a bit ashamed. My client gives me the lowdown and asks me what she should do. I suggest bringing him in to take a look at him and go from there.

So I meet with him. We'll call him Tom. When Tom walks through the door it's not surprising why he has difficulty with bar placement during the barbell squat. He's a bit timid and in turn carries a bit of a kyphotic posture. Not an all too uncommon issue with someone his age and it's somewhat of an easy fix. Get him foam rolling through the thoracic spine. Give him some static stretching for the internal rotators. Give him some corrective exercise such as scap wall slides or thoracic extensions. And get his confidence up so he carries himself a little taller. And if he keeps up with this stuff, I'm sure his shoulder mobility gets a bit better and he's able to place that bar behind his head.

The problems with Tom are not solely his fault. They're are also the fault of the nitwit trainer he's been working with. Rather than making Tom feel like the oddball of the bunch, this trainer should should have been patient with him and given him some corrective work so not only will he be able to barbell back squat but his chances of a shoulder injury down the road lessen.

The second issue I have is that there is always another exercise. Not just with Tom, but with anyone who is having difficulty with a particular exercise. Don't have the mobility to back squat? Go to the front squat. Still having trouble there? Go to a goblet squat. Yet, this other trainer pigeon holes one exercise into the workout for every individual no matter what issues these kids may be having. There is always an alternative rather making someone feel like crap, or worse putting them in at risk position.

The third issue I have has nothing to do with the physical well being of Tom. It has to do with his mental well being. Here's a kid who's bit shy and a little unsure of himself in the first place. Now you're going to tell him there is something wrong with him for an issue that is not even that big of a deal? A better approach is to have patience with the kid. Tell him you like his effort or the work he's doing, but lets work on fixing his technique a bit.

The situation I detailed above is not all that uncommon unfortunately. More kids than ever are doing some type of training. But more kids than ever are also getting beat down, mentally and physically. We don't want kids getting beat down. We wants kids getting better. Getting better takes proper coaching. Getting better takes time.

Exercise of the Week: Barbell Roll Out

Mixing It Up: The DB Bench Press

My Top Five.....

.....exercises to get your ski legs.

This post probably should have been written about four weeks ago, but with the temperature hovering around the 70's in October the idea of getting ready for the ski season never crossed my mind. All that changed this morning when I saw the early morning temp of 27 degrees. It will soon be time for some of you to be hitting the slopes which means it's time to get pre-season ski training under way.

A lot of the muscular qualities that are important for downhill skiing are also important for other sports: single leg strength, posterior chain strength, hip stabilization, core endurance and strength endurance. So if you're existing training program focuses on these qualities, great. If not, I'm going to suggest five exercises to work into your training program that stress these qualities:

1. Low Box TKE. One of my favorite exercises in regards to knee health. Not only are you strengthening the quadriceps, but working from the unsupported position brings your hip and foot stabilizers into play.
2. Trap Bar Deadlifts. Posterior chain strength is crucial when it comes to maintaining knee and low back health. Plus the positioning of the trap bar deadlift looks close to that of the tuck position during a downhill run.
3. Low Cable Split Squat. Any split squat variation is great to work out any left to right asymmetries. Left to right asymmetries are a good predictor of future injury. Using the low cable position also brings in an anti-flexion and anti-rotation core component.
4. KB Swings. Another posterior chain exercise. I'd suggest performing these in the higher rep range (20-25 reps) or for timed sets to increase the time under tension for the set and bring in more of a conditioning component.
5. Bulgarian Squat Holds. This exercise serves two purposes. One is to create that burning sensation in your legs you may get after a hard downhill run. Two, to help open your hips and increase your hip mobility. Poor hip mobility leads to knee and low back injuries. To perform, get into the bottom position of a Bulgarian Squat (some refer to it as a rear foot elevated split squat) and hold for 30-60 seconds on each leg. A great way to finish off your leg workouts.

For other ways to get those legs ski ready shoot me an email or call (781)538-6664.

Accelerated Athlete Program

On November 8 we will be starting up our newest program, the Accelerated Athlete. The Accelerated Athlete Program is an in-season and off-season training program to help high school athletes with their sport performance. Walk into any high school weight room and you're going to see a lot of bench pressing, barbell curls and whatever else Johnny can do to impress his buddies. But little does Johnny know that what he's doing is not doing much to help him on the field or court. His focus should be on: dynamic flexibility and joint mobility, core strength and endurance, lower and upper body strength training, linear and lateral movement and injury prevention. All parts of the Accelerated Athlete Program.

The Accelerated Athlete Program will run from start at 3pm on Monday-Friday with each training session lasting 75-90 minutes. All training sessions will be limited to 4-6 athletes, so to reserve a spot please call (781)538-6664 or send an email to rich@acceleratedfts.com.

Exercise of the Week: Kettlebell Squat Thrust

Fixing Your Squat

Watching the way most people squat is not a pretty thing. And it's usually not a strength issue as much it is a mobility issue. The following video gives you three pretty simple mobility exercises to incorporate into your warm up or to use before your next squat session to maybe help clear up some of those mobility issues.

Bits & Pieces....

....picked up from the Hardstyle Kettlebell Training workshop we hosted this past Saturday.

• More than goes into the swing than you think. If I was going to watch 10 people perform a swing, I'd bet eight out of them would be butchering the exercise. Watching a YouTube video or two would not be the suggested way to learn either because a lot of what you're going to find on YouTube is crap. Get with a certified instructor or trainer who has been schooled in the mechanics of the swing.
• Done right, the swing should not stress your lower back, knees, elbows or shoulders. It's not a squat. It's a front raise. And it's not a combination of those two. It's a swing generated from your hips snapping forward. "Pop the hips".
• Think of the swing just as your would think of doing a broad jump. Your hips should push back in order to explode forward.
• So my swings are pretty good. I understand the hips back, neutral spine concept. But my snatches are absolutely horrible. It's going to take some time and practice to get those down. I was basically trying to snatch the kettlebell like I was trying to snatch a dumbbell, but there's big differences between the two. The kettlebell snatch has much more of an arcing motion with just a flip of the wrist. There's not much of a catch phase as there is in a dumbbell snatch.
• If you're learning how to perform kettlebell snatches be ready to have your forearms banged up. And take off that nice watch of yours unless you're in the market for a new one.
• The first place to start squatting with load should probably be the kettlebell goblet squat. A nice progression would be a kettlebell goblet squat to a barbell front squat to a barbell back squat.
• It's nice to be able to get into a rock bottom squat. That is if you can maintain lordosis in that rock bottom position. Once your hips are about to round under you and your back is about to flatten out, that's where you're squat depth ends, especially under load. As nice as it sounds to get everyone to squat "ass to the grass", it's not so nice if you can't your ass to the grass without rounding out at the bottom. If you're having trouble getting appropriate depth before this occurs it's time to clear up some mobility issues that could be occurring at the ankles or hips.
• My squat under load is much better than without any load. Why? My core stability kicks in under this loaded environment.
• If anyone tells you they than can hold a plank for two minutes, call "bulls***".
• I thought my plank was alright, until I learned the Hardstyle version which teaches you to push the hells back. Doing so engages that entire core area a whole lot more.
• A nice teaching tool to learn the plank correctly is to lay a dowel lengthwise along the spine. The dowel should have three contact points: your head, your thoracic spine and your glutes. And the spaces that are created underneath the dowel should not change the entire duration of the plank.

A special thanks goes out to Mike Perry of Skill of Strength for showing us the finer points of some of the most basic kettlebell exercises. We look forward to having him back in the future.

Exercise of the Week: Single Arm TRX Push Up

A great core stability exercise. A great shoulder stability exercise. Another way to use the TRX. Play around with your foot position to increase or decrease the difficulty of the exercise. Feet being back and narrower will increase the difficulty. Feet being further out and wider will decrease the difficulty. In the following video, you'll see me adjusting my position to find the right level of difficulty.

Random Thoughts...

...while trying to figure out what is wrong with my fantasy football team.

• I hated biology in high school. I hated biology in college. And I still hate biology now. Why do I mention this? The initial parts of studying for my Precision Nutrition certification require some reading and knowledge about what goes on at the biological level in regards to nutrition. I just want to get to the part where I find out what materials Twinkies and Ring Dings are made of.
• The need for a training partner or great training environment is greatly underestimated. I know personally. I will never be as strong as I was when I was in college. Why? It's not because I'm not lifting heavy weights anymore. I still do singles or work up to three rep maxes. But I have no one encouraging me to do more or work harder. It's mentally tough to get through a workout on your own. As Alwyn Cosgrove states, "Psychology trumps physiology every time". Find the right training environment. Get with the right training partner. Watch your results take off.
• Yes, nutrition can be complex. But for most of us it doesn't have to be. I hear people talking about supplementation, carb cycling, nutrient ratios, etc.. Yet, these same people do not have any of the basic principles in place. Supplementation doesn't matter if the majority of your calories are coming from what could not even be considered "real food". Carb cyling doesn't work if your first meal of the day is not until that Subway sandwich run for your lunch break. A simple way to look at good nutrition comes from Michael Pollan's Food Rules, which I suggest reading, "Eat food. Mostly from plants and animals. Not too much".
  
• Speaking of good nutrition, I love hearing peoples views on good nutrition. I hear everything from, "no sweets after 7pm" to "I get my Italian subs on a wheat roll" to "I only consume about 800 calories a day". Good nutrition is more than just eating certain foods or taking in so many calories. Dr. John Berardi has four criteria that good nutrition follows: 1)It controls energy balance 2)Provides nutrient density 3)Achieves health, body composition and performance goals 4)Is honest and outcome based.
  
• What is going on with the recent increase in concussions? You hear about it a lot on the professional level, but I'm also hearing it happening on the youth and high school level. And it's not just football. It's all sports. Is what we used to term as getting our bell rung now termed a concussion? I understand the concern, but I do not know if there is a solution. Better equipment? Less equipment? Better screening and diagnosis? A lot of questions need to be looked at.
• Looking forward to the the Hardstyle Kettlebell workshop, we're hosting this weekend at Accelerated Fitness. RKC certified strength coach Mike Perry is basically going to give us an intro on the right way to use the kettlebell as a training tool. The right way to do the swing, the snatch and the goblet squat. Yeah, they sound like three pretty simple exercises, but there is more to them than you think. One person I would suggest not learning the swing from? America's most popular trainer, Jillian Michaels

That's not what a swing should look like. I don't even what should look like that.

• One last thing. If you live in the Lexington area and are looking for a quality massage therapist, I highly recommend the staff at Essential Bodywork and Massage.

Exercise of the Week: Low Cable Push Press w/Rotation

Our newest personal trainer makes sure my technique is spot on with this week's exercise.

Hardstyle Kettlebell Workshop

Skill of Strength and Accelerated Fitness have teamed up to offer Kettlebell Workshops this fall.
Mike Perry, RKC, invites you to learn Hardstyle Kettlebell training techniques. In this intro
workshop you will learn all of the basics you need to know to begin training with kettlebells.

This is a great workshop for current kettlebell users who want to refine their technique or for
beginners looking to start training with this incredible tool. What you’ll learn:
• The Swing
• The Snatch
• Goblet Squats
• RKC Hardstyle Plank

When: October 23, 2010 10:00am – 12:00pm
Where: Accelerated Fitness
153 North Street, Lexington, MA
Cost: $99
Space is limited – sign up now!

Call (781)538-6664 or send an email to rich@acceleratedfts.com for more information or to reserve your spot in the workshop.

Open House Reminder

One last reminder, Accelerated Fitness will be holding an open house this upcoming Saturday from 9am-12pm. I'll be holding a free conditioning class from 9:00am-9:45am which will be followed up by the chance to receive a chair massage from the people at Essential Bodywork and Massage or undergo a Functional Movement Screen. Sound interested? Good. Send an email to rich@acceleratedfts.com or call 781-538-6664 to reserve your spot in class or time for a massage or screen.

And we couldn't hold an open house without giving you the chance to win something. Attend and you'll have the opportunity to win one month's worth of semi-private training!

Hope to see you this weekend.

Exercise of the Week: Low Box TKE w/Cable

The Terminal Knee Extension (TKE) is one of my favorite exercises for maintaining or increasing knee health. By working in an unsupported position from the low box you're also going to get some glute medius involvement, an important hip and knee stabilizer. To kick it up a notch, I'll add some cable resistance from a low pulley positon. With the added resistance from the cable being on the opposite side of the working leg you're going to stress that glute medius a bit more.

Train Your Ass On: Part Two

So in Part One, I discussed why glute training is a must from a performance perspective, injury prevention perspective, low back health perspective and to get that Ines Sainz look.

I swear that's my last reference reference to this accomplished television reporter. Now, let's discuss how to place emphasis on your glutes in your training program. I feel there are three ways to get after the glutes. One is during the early part of your workout during your movement prep period, if you have a movement prep period. The second way to get at the glutes is through squat and deadlift variations. And the third way is through single leg training.


Movement prep could be referred to simply as your warm up period. It could contain some foam rolling, some static stretching, move onto dynamic flexibility work and then get into some activation or what some are now referring to as awareness work. This activation or awareness work is where some of your lower level glute work can fall in. This is where you actually remember that, yes, you have glutes. Here we get the glutes to work as their specifically intended: hip extension, hip abduction, and hip external rotation. Some exercises that fall into each of these categories are:

• Hip extension: supine bridge, supine bridge w/march, supine single bridge, quadruped hip extension and bird dogs.


• Hip Abduction: side lying leg raise, lateral mini-band walks and X band walks


• Hip External Rotation: side lying clam shells, side lying clam shells with band and quadruped fire hydrants

Pick one exercise from each category and perform in a circuit fashion for 10-15 reps of each exercise. Two sets of each will do a nice job making you aware that your glutes are there.

Next we move onto the meat and potatoes, the sweet potatoes, of your workout, the strength work. First up, squats or deadlifts. Sound imposing to you? Well they shouldn't be. Squats and deadlifts are a movement pattern of every day living. Now we're just going to stress those patterns more by adding some load. But now you're going to tell me that you don't know how to squat or deadlift correctly. My response? Learn. Use progressions. Chances are if someone had no experience deadlifting or squatting or had horrendous technique, I would use progressions with them. For instance, with the squat a nice progression is a plate squat to a box then moving to a front squat to a box and then to a back squat squat with a box. For deadlifts a progression would be cable pull throughs then to Romanian deadlifts then to rack pulls and then to barbell deadlifts. These are just a couple examples. Other exercises or progressions can be used to get you the point where you're able to squat or deadlift with good technique.

Another thing with squats and deadlifts is that there are plenty of variations of each to use. When I say squat, it doesn't mean you have to just barbell squat. There's dumbbell squats, front squats, squats to a box and goblet squats as variations. The same goes for the deadlift. You have barbell deadlifts, rack pulls, trap bar deadlifts, suitcase deadlifts and deadlifts from an elevated surface as variations. Another reason why I love these two mainstays, plenty of variations.

Finishing up our glute training we move onto single leg training. The demand for stabilization is much greater when performing single leg exercises than when performing bi-lateral lower body exercises.. And what's the number one stabilizer of your lower body? Your glutes. Just about any single leg exercise, whether it's quad dominant or hip dominant is going to heavily bring the glutes into play. The list of single leg exercises is endless, but some of my favorites are: low box TKE's, high box step ups, rear foot elevated split squats, Valslide reverse lunges and single leg RDL's. No thigh master. No hip abduction or adduction machine, unless you you want to hop in the way back time machine and take a trip to a Bally's gym around the year 1988.


Hopefully, I've summed up my thoughts on glute trainnig in a pretty simple manner. It should not be imposing. It doesn't have to be complicated. It comes down to knowing why it's a must, how to get it done and putting some time and effort in. It's time to rid this country of flat butts, no butts and jiggly butts. It's time to put those glutes to work.

Train Your Ass On

You probably think I mean "Train Your Ass Off", right? I guess that would be the case if I was talking about training intensely or training with maximum effort. Instead I'm talking about training that targets the glutes and some of you have no ass to train "off". There's a lot of flat backsides patrolling the sidewalk and streets of America to the point where it's almost almost becoming an epidemic.

Now I'm half kidding when I say it is becoming an epidemic, but in terms of performance training, injury prevention and low back health having a flat backside is a big problem. Even though the glutes are one of the largest and most powerful muscles in the body, people have forgotten how to use them, afraid to use them or don't want to have them. I feel people have become subconscious about how their glutes look. In my opinion and without getting into to much discussion about how glutes should look, I think good pair of glutes looks a lot better than no pair of glutes. I'm not talking about a rump that shakes. I'm talking about a rump that is strong.

Ines Sainz knows about glute training

Forgetting about aesthetics let's look at three reasons to focus on glute training and then we'll look at three ways to involve the glutes in your training program.

1. Performance. As mentioned before the glutes are the most powerful muscles in the body. Just take a look at world class sprinters. You are not going to find a sprinter who has a a flat backside, male or female. Without a good pair of glutes you're not going to be very powerful, you're not going to be very fast and you're not going to be very strong.
2. Injury Prevention. Your glutes can handle high amounts of work stress. If your glutes are lacking that work stress is going to be transferred to other muscles or joints that are not going to be able to tolerate that stress as much. It's much easier easier to deadlift an object off the floor than it is to lift that same object by flexing the spine, correct? Deadlifting involves your glutes. Stooping over does not. Or how about the all to common hamstring pull? Some people will say it's because the hamstrings are tight, but in a good amount of cases it's because the glutes were under active. Your hamstrings and glutes are both hip extensors, with your glutes having the ability to generate much more force. If your glutes are not up to par, your hamstrings are going to have to generate forces they are not capable of and boom....the common scene of the guy grabbing the back of his leg like he just got shot by a sniper.
3. Low Back Health. The muscles of your lower back have little strength potential compared to your glutes. That seems pretty obvious just from a visual standpoint. Your lower back is also a joint that wants stability and doesn't like much movement involved. Yes, flexion and extension of the lumbar spine are not preferred movement patterns. Hip extension is a preferred movement pattern, but when the glutes aren't firing correctly or not strong enough lumbar extension will usually occur as a compensation. In simple terms, having a good set of glutes is going to take stress of your lower back.

So you know that having a strong set of glutes is a must. Know you need to know how to train them. I'll cover that in Part Two.

Exercise of the Week: Band Resisted Val Slide Leg Curl

The exercises you can do with a Superband or Valslides are limitless. Put the two together and you even get more exercises. Here a Superband is used to make the Valslide leg curl a bit harder.....actually a lot harder. Just anchor one end of the Superband around a post and place the other end behind your heels or lower leg.

Sample Workout

Here's a workout executed by one of my clients this morning. This is her Day Two workout including warm-up, strength work and conditioning work. Nothing crazy. Plugging exercises into a template and just straight forward hard work to get it done.


Warm Up

• Foam Roller: quads, IT band, thoracic spine
• Static Stretch: warrior lunge stretch (30sec); sleeper stretch (30sec)
• Mobility: side lying thoracic rotation (x8), single leg bridge (x10), inchworm (x6), reverse lunge w/reach (x8), forearm wall slides (x10), squat to stand (x8)
• Activation: side plank (2x30sec) supersetted w/ prone incline L, Y, T, W (2x8 each)

Strength

• 1A) DB Bench Press, 3x8-10
• 1B) TRX Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat, 3x10-12
• 2A) Split Stance Single Arm Cable Row, 3x10-12
• 2B) BB Floor Press, 3x10-12
• 2C) Val Slide Body Saw, 3x8-12

Conditioning

• 20 squats
• 20 forward lunges
• 10 jump squats
• 10 squat thrusts
• No rest between exercises; rest 90sec at end; repeat 2x
  

Hardstyle Kettlebell Training Workshop

Accelerated Fitness and Skill of Strength have teamed up to offer Kettlebell Workshops this fall. Mike Perry, RKC, invites you to learn Hardstyle Kettlebell training techniques. In this intro workshop you will learn all of the basics you need to to know to begin training with kettlebells.

When: October 23, 2010 10am-12pm

Where: Accelerated Fitness, 153 North Street, Lexington, MA

Cost: $99

This is a great workshop for current kettlebell users who want to refine their technique or for beginners looking to start training with this incredible tool.

What you'll learn:

• The Swing
• The Snatch
• Goblet Squats
• RKC Hardstyle Plank

Space is limited - sign up now!!

Exercise of the Week: Kneeling Rope Battle

What's It For?

So someone asked me what the sledgehammer and tire were for? What else would they be for? To sledgehammer the tire, one of my preferred "cardio" methods.

Breaking the Bank

Some studios and gyms will try to wow you with an $8000 elliptical or perhaps an ab device that performs liposuction as you do crunches. Sorry, but we're not going to do that at Accelerated Fitness. We'll make much better investments such as our newest pieces of equipment: a tractor tire and sledgehammer. We had to do some budget analysis before making the purchase, but after getting a tire for free and a sledgehammer for $26 at Home Depot, we thought we could afford it.

Lessons Learned

It's been about three months now since the doors have opened at Accelerated Fitness. In those three months I've already learned a lot whether it comes to opening your first business, whether it's related to the business aspect or in this case the fitness aspect. No one said it would be easy and I never expected it to be. Long hours working in the business and on the business. Figuring out what type of programming or training is going to work. Turning away 95% of the door to door salesman you that has a product to sell you even though you probably have no use for it. Trying to look for good help. All of these instances has taught me a lesson along the way. If you're a trainer or aspiring trainer looking to open your own place there are a couple things you might want to think about.

One, being a good trainer does not mean you're going to have a thriving business. Don't get me wrong. First and foremost I think you should strive to be the best at what you do. Be a great technician first. But even though you may be the best trainer in town, it doesn't mean people are going to come running through your doors when they open. You have to understand the demographics. You to have understand what people want. You have convince people your services are worth it. There's always going to be another business that offers services that cost less or claim to be the best. Understand the business of fitness as much as you understand fitness.

Two, you can spend as little as you want or as much as you want on equipment. Looking through a Perform Better catalog is like looking through the Sears Christmas catalog. "I want this, this and that..". What are you trying to get done in your studio? How much functionality does each piece of equipment have? I think you need your obvious stuff: dumbbells, power rack, and adjustable benches. It's nice to have some sort of functional trainer, but may be not necessary. In our case I felt it was since we were going to be focusing on group training, which also meant we should go with the dual stack version as opposed to the single stack. Do not break the bank on cardio equipment. A new elliptical can cost upwards of $8000. But how useful is it really? Some people may be able to outfit an entire studio for that much.

Three, meet with and talk with everyone that you can. Talk with the Chamber of Commerce. Talk to the local golf pros. Talk to chiropractors. Talk to other strength coaches or trainers you may know in the area. Talk to the dog groomer. Just talk to anyone. Let people know who you are and where you are. You never know what situation is going to pop up that may benefit your business. Who knows what connections the dog groomer may have? And never think of this time as a waste of your time. A real waste of your time is sitting behind the desk hunting down ex-girlfriends on Facebook.

Last, spend your advertising dollars wisely. A small ad in the local newspaper can run you anywhere from $200-$400/week. And then everyone that publishes some sort of local magazine is hunting you down looking for you to purchase space in their "renowned" publication. Your best is to use other avenues for advertising. Create a Facebook fan page. Get a blog started. Hold free open gyms or bootcamps. Offer free trial sessions. In my opinion you have a much better chance of getting people through the doors those ways.

Exercise of the Week: Standing Cable Lift

This week's exercise is the next progression in the Cable Lift progression after working from the half kneeling position as part of your core stability training.

Random Thoughts...

• I'm having some serious writer's block right, even though I'm not a writer. So that is why you are getting a random thoughts post and why this post maybe really random.
• Nice to see the Jets fall flat on their face this past Monday night. Undisciplined football. Bad penalties. A horrific offense. Hopefully they fall even harder this upcoming Sunday against the Patriots. Then we will see how much bravado Rex Ryan has.
• If there is one area I'd like to see people put more focus on during their workouts, it's their warm up. This is assuming that people actually even have a warm up as part of their workout. 5-10 minutes on the elliptical I would not consider a warm up. A few arms swings and leg swings is probably not enough either, although you're starting to get headed in the right direction. A proper warm up should address areas where flexibility or mobility is limited, excite your central nervous system a bit, get your blood flowing and mentally tune you in to your upcoming workout. If you're having a hard time putting a warm up together, take a look at Mike Boyles Joint by Joint Warm-up and Training DVD or another excellent DVD put together by strength coaches Eric Cressey, Bill Hartman and Mike Robertson, Asses and Correct.
• Personally, I hate single leg training. It exhausts me. After a set of Bulgarian split squats or reverse lunges I can usually be found crawled up in the corner wheezing for air afraid to face another set. And I think a lot of other people feel the same way. I think it could be the most demanding part of any exercise program. And I think it's also a reason why people avoid it at all costs. If you want to get to where you want to be, you're going to have to pay the price sometimes.
• One nice spice that you can use on just about anything is cinnamon. I put it in my coffee. I mix it in with my yogurt or cottage cheese. I put it on my peanut butter sandwiches. I throw some in the blender with whatever else is in there and mix up a shake. What's the deal with cinnamon you ask? If I know that it can help reduce blood sugar levels, increase insulin sensitivity and help reduce cholesterol, I'm going to use it.
• The more variations you can do off a base exercise, the more valuable that exercise is. Think of all the variations you can do off of chin ups, push ups, squats, deadlifts and lunges, none of which require a Bosu ball. All these exercises should be staples of your training program.
• The number one factor determining whether you're going to be successful with your training or nutritional program? Compliance. Are you following the plan at least 70-80% of the time? Less than 70% and your chances of success are probably going to be negligible. Above 80% of the time and I think you're going to be pretty successful.
• Are the Red Sox still playing?
• We plan on holding an open house here at Accelerated Fitness on Oct. 16. There will be a free bootcamp class held in the morning, followed by some food and refreshments. We are also lucky enough to have one of the local massage therapist come in do some chair massage. I'll follow up in the upcoming weeks with more details.

Have a great weekend everyone. Down with the Jets!!

Exercise of the Week: Dual Cable Step Up

My Top Five.....

....things under $20 you can carry in your gym bag, besides sweaty socks and weightlifting gloves.

1. The Tiger Tail. Foam rollers are great, but might not be something you want to carry around in your gym bag. The Stick can be equally as effective, if not more, when it comes to self myofacial release work, but the Stick costs $28. Another version of the Stick, but at a lower cost, is the Tiger Tail. It's particularly great for working out those nasty trigger points in your calves or peroneals that should not be overlooked.
2. Lynx Grips. I get it. If you're a chick you don't want callouses. If you're a guy, I don't get it. But rather than wearing those silly looking gloves, how about using the Lynx Grips. In addition to preventing callouses, they will provide a bit more cushion to the grip and will fatten the grip up a bit. Working with a fatter grip can lead to increased performance when it comes to exercises such as chin pull ups or deadlifts and can help protect your shoulders.
3. A Superband. Adding some band training into your training program can add some variety to your training. It can add difficulty to an exercise such as a band resisted push up. Or it can deload an exercise and make it a bit easier. One of my personal favorites in this case is band assisted chin or pull ups. Gravitron machine no more.
4. Ab Wheel. All the fancy ab training equipment in a gym that costs thousands of dollars and I've been into some that don't even have this simple piece. Is it something I would suggest throwing in everyone's gym bag? Probably not. But it's something I feel people could or should work up to. I love ab wheel roll outs as an exercise. They work the abs in the the function they're supposed to work, anti-extension and spinal stabilization.
   
5. Blender Bottle. Not a bottle to hold water in, but a bottle to mix your post-workout shake in. First thing that should be done after a workout is to down that post-workout shake, not check Facebook. The sooner post-workout the better. Protein synthesis goes up. Insulin levels go up. Cortisol levels go down. Recovery is enhanced. All good things. All good things not enough people are doing.

Exercise of the Week: Val Slide Body Saw

All core training starts with the plank and is built off the plank. As your core stability gets better and the plank becomes easier, it might be time to move onto another exercise or move to a harder version of the plank. To make the plank harder you can do a couple things. You can reduce your base of support by narrowing your feet or going to single leg or single arm versions. You can elevate your feet to make it a bit harder. Or you can do some movement or perturbations as you focus on maintaining that stable spine. That's what you'll see in this video of the Valslide Body Saw. The client in the video is performing a front to back slide with her feet resting on the Valslides. Notice the neutral spine throughout the duration of the exercise.




You can go for time or you can do a certain number of reps. Or to increase the difficulty of the this exercise you can just take it through a larger range of motion.

Get your Valslides here.

Still Behind the Times

The fields of strength and conditioning and health and fitness have come a long way in the last 10-15 years. With more research made available and more trainers and coaches bettering themselves through continuing education these fields have been as strong as they have ever been. It has been great thing. When I pick up a copy of Men's Health or Men's Fitness, they're no longer aimed at just bodybuilders or guys looking to put on freakish amounts of muscle. They're now aimed at the average guy who wants to drop a couple pounds, get stronger and be able to move around without worrying about when his back is going to blow out.

So I feel good about how far these fields have come and then I walk into a commercial gym and it feels like I've been transported by a time machine to a gym in 1980 minus the abundance of leg warmers and bad mustaches. Not as many people as I thought are taking this new information and research and actually using it. Or worse, may be they're just ignoring it.

The idea that interval training is superior to slow steady, state cardio for fat loss has been pounded into the ground for the last 5-1o years. But what's the majority of people doing? Slow steady state cardio work. So the fat loss battle continues with these people.

The biggest buzz word thrown around in the last decade or so is "core" when it comes to training. Everyone wants to do core training. Well, the role of the core is stabilization, yet how much of that do you see being done in gyms? Crunches will trash your spine and are a waste of time. So why the hell are the majority of people still doing them? Their core area still looks bad and probably functions worse.

Or even something as simple as using the foam roller. The benefits of self myofacial release have been proven and thrown at us for years also. I could count on two fingers how many people are actually using the foam roller to address trigger points or adhesions that have built up. Others are using the rollers to do some circus style training. Or worse, the gym doesn't even have one. So they're still walking around trying to figure out why they're still hurting and why their stretching program isn't working.

And let's not even discuss the thigh machines. You know the ones that belong in a gynecologist's office?

It's time to get with the times people. I'll bet you you're still not watching your 14 inch, black and white TV with rabbit years since better TVs have become available, right? Well, better training ideas and concepts have become available. Start using them.

Exercise of the Week: TRX Russian Twist

Sample Workout

The following is a workout performed by one of my clients this morning. This is a client in her 40's who plays tennis a couple of times a week. She has a history of neck pain and limited thoracic mobility. Those two pretty much go hand in hand in a lot of cases. We try to address those issues through the self myofacial work and the warm up portion early on in the session. With her power work, I "ll alternate between rotational med ball throws and overhead slam variations. Her strength work covers major movement patterns (upper body push and pull, quad dominant and hamstring dominant) early on in the strength portion then moves onto accessory movements with the focus on being on shoulder mobility, scapular stability and core stability. All in all it took about 55 minutes to get through.

Foam Roller/Tennis Ball Self Myofacial Release - thoracic spine, lats, posterior shoulder, glutes

Warm Up -

Sleeper Stretch 1x30sec

Upper Trap Stretch 1x30sec

Seated Hip External Rotator Stretch 1x30sec

Side Lying Thoracic Extension/Rotation 1x8

Cradle Walk 1x6

Walking RDL 1x6

Overhead Walking Lunge w/Rotation 1x6

Squat to Stand w/Overhead Reach 1x8

Split Stance Broomstick Pec Mobilization 1x8

Med Ball Work

Half Kneeling Med Ball Diagonal Slams 2x10

Workout

1A) Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat w/TRX, 3x10-12

2A) Push Ups w/Feet Elevated on Swiss Ball, 3x10-12

1B) Val Slide Leg Curl, 3x10-12

2B) TRX Inverted Row, 3x10-12

1A) Walking Lunge w/DB Waiter Carry, 3x10

1B) Prone Y Raise, 3x10-12

1C) Half Kneeling Cable Lift, 3x8-10