3 Steps To Improve Your Posture And Flexibility

Flexibility is one major component of fitness that is often overlooked. It is because of this I see so many injuries. A proper flexibility program should be the foundation of an exercise program to help improve posture and reduce injuries. When you have a posture deviation there is usually tightness in one area and weakness in another. For example we often see individuals come in with rounded shoulders. This comes from certain muscle tightness and weakness. You need to address both to see maximal improvements. Here is a 3 step process to help improve posture.

1. Myofascial Release:

The Wikipedia definition of Myofascial Release is a form of soft tissue therapy used to treat somatic dysfunction and accompanying pain and restriction of motion. This is accomplished by relaxing contracted muscles, increasing circulation, increasing venous and lymphatic drainage, and stimulating the stretch reflex of muscles and overlying fascia. What this means is when we are tight it is usually caused by injury or inactivity of a muscle. This can develop into adhesions that form in the muscle, or knots, that may limit range of motion. In order to bread up these adhesions we can use myofascial release. This involves applying pressure to adhesions to relax them and break them up.

This can be done by massage or foam rolling. There are many pieces of equipment you can use to help break of these knots. Two popular methods are foam rolling and a massage stick seen below:









Using our example again with rounded shoulders, a great place to foam roll would be the lats. These muscles are often tight with this posture distortion.

2. Static Stretching:

Once you have started to workout out any scar tissue or adhesions that have built up you can begin stretching them out with static stretching. This is your typical stretching protocol. You hold a static stretch usually for around 30 seconds. You need to hold it for at least this long so that your muscle has a chance to relax and lengthen longer than normal. It should never hurt to stretch. Only take the muscle to a point of minor distortion. If you stretch too far you are likely to injure yourself.

When you see rounded shoulders a great static stretch would be the pectoral muscles. An easy way to stretch here is standing in a door way holding on to the sides with your arms and extending your chest and shoulders through.
3. Strengthening Exercises:

Finally once we have done the necessary stretching you need to incorporate a strengthen exercise. Even if you gain flexibility in tight muscles, the weak ones may not be functioning properly. When you have a tight muscle, the antagonist or opposite muscle will most likely be weak and inhibited. This muscle needs to be strengthened to see maximal benefit for range of motion.

Going back to our example of rounded shoulders we need to strengthen the rhomboids and middle/lower trapezius. These are important posture muscles that become weakened with long periods of sitting at a desk. A great exercise here is the SB Cobra seen below.



Mike
www.sandiegopremiertraining.com

Why am I always getter hurt?

I recently received an email from someone asking why they keep getting hurt in their exercise program. Injuries can occur sometimes and there is little you can do to prevent them. There are many proactive approaches you can take, however, to significantly limit injuries during a workout. The two biggest reasons I usually see for injuries either from exercise or daily activities are poor postural alignment and/or weaker stabilizer muscles.

1. Poor Postural Alignment:

Most people suffer from some postural distortion. Common distortions include rounded shoulders and an anterior pelvic tilt. Imbalances such as these can cause serious injury if they are not corrected. When you suffer from a posture issue there are two things that are occurring. First you have one muscle that is overactive, or too tight, and is pulling a joint in one direction. On top of this you also have the opposing muscle that is too inhibited or weak and it cannot support the pull of the tight muscle.

For example if you look at someone who has and anterior pelvic tilt. This means the have a forward tilt of the hips which you can see with an increased lower back curve. One common explanation is they have hip flexor muscles that are overactive and too tight, which will pull the pelvic bone down in the front. On the opposing side the will most likely have weak abdominal muscles that cannot support the extra pull and allow the hip to be pulled forward. This posture problem can result in lower back pain because of the pressure placed on the spine. This is a classic example of how the site of the pain is usually not the site of the problem. This correct this issue you would need to incorporate an intense stretching routine for the hip flexor and a strengthening routine for the abdominal muscles.

2. Weak Stabilizers:

When most people start an exercise program they are very motivated and want to get the most out of their workouts. This means they will lift very heavy weight and push themselves as hard as they can. While it is great they are motivated this again can lead to serious injury. Most people only want to work the muscle that they can see. These are the bigger, "sexier" muscles like your pectorals, latissimus dorsi, biceps, triceps.... When you only focus on these muscles you probably will not strength the smaller muscle that support the joint.

For example if you want to get a bigger/more defined chest you will probably start performing the bench press exercise. This is a great exercise to work the pectoral muscles but this is not a great place to start. If you only train these larger muscles they will get stronger and you will need to increase weight to continue to improve strength. This type of exercise will not work your rotator cuff muscle very effectively however and these muscles help support shoulder stability. If you keep increasing weight without training these stabilizer muscles it is a matter of time before you will put too much strain on the shoulder and have an injury.

You need to start an exercise program with exercises that improve joint stability so you can eventually improve overall strength.
Here is a great exercise that will help improve shoulder stability.



Mike
San Diego Boot Camp

Technology is Amazing

Technology may be responsible for much of the obesity problems in America but it is also helping us change this. Food logs are a great and effective tool for weight loss. The problem is we are too lazy to keep them. It takes time to find out how much you ate, how many calories it was, then write it down and add it up. There is a new iPhone App that is changing this. Check out this video:

FoodScanner Demo from Andy Smith on Vimeo.

The Fastest Way To Lose Weight:

As a society we are getting lazier and lazier and fatter and fatter. With the amazing technological advances we are finding ways to get more done with less effort. It is no surprise then that everyone wants to find that magic pill for weight loss. You see claims everywhere no a days. Drink this juice that comes from berries in the jungle and you will lose weight or take these pills and you will drop pounds instantly.

Bottom line is all of these claims cannot be backed up. They are all marketing techniques to get you to buy there product. With all the new food products and exercise equipment you would like that we have made amazing discoveries to help with weight loss. Sorry to say but it is not true. We have figured out more efficient ways to lose weight and build muscle but the foundation has always been the same. If you seriously want to lose weight here are some crucial things you need to start doing to lose the weight fast:

1. Keep a food log
The number of calories will vary from person to person but keeping track of everything you eat will give you an understanding of what you are putting in your body. The majority of the food you write down should be nutrient dense foods. Prepare meals yourself that way you know exactly what you are eating. It is very difficult to overeat when you consistently eat nutritious foods.

2. Strength Train at least 2 days per week
Many feel that cardio is more important if you are trying to lose weight but strength training is the only exercise that will promote muscle gain or limit muscle loss. Forget about lifting light weight for more reps. The best rep range for fat loss will be from 8-12 reps with moderate to heavy loads. You should be stressing your muscles each set of every workout.

3. Cardio exercise at least 2 days per week
This is usually the part of the program everyone will remember to do. To increase fat metabolism you need to increase your intensity. You will burn more fat in less time. Interval workouts are a great way to increase your intensity for cardio workouts.

Mike
San Diego Boot Camp

Recent Article in Time Magazine

Many of you have probably read the article in Time Magazine, "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin." It was tough to read this article without getting a little upset being a fitness professional. I take my job extremely seriously and pride myself in keeping up with research so that I can create a program that is going to get the best results. The author does mention many of the benefits of exercise such as reducing disease, improving mental health, and others. He claims that if you exercise you might actually gain weight because you are going to eat more calories than you burned.

First off, yes if you eat more calories than you burn than you will obviously gain weight. The fact that he says intense exercise will increase your appetite for sugary food is false. It is important to look at all the research when making claims not just one or two. Many studies have shown that high intensity training will lead to a decrease in appetite according to Neil King, and exercise scientist at the University of Leeds in England. If you don't believe me try a sprint workout and see how much you will be able to eat after that if you can even eat anything.

The author of this article does not mention what kinds of food he is eating as well. There are certain healthy foods that will be more filling than simple sugar type foods like donuts. The main problem is people sometimes don't realize how many calories exercise burns. It is usually a lot less than than you expect. This does not mean it is not necessary. Yes it is possible to lose weight without exercising. Look at people from Third World countries. If you don't eat much you cannot gain weight. Problem is that only exercise will increase muscle mass and bone mass. This means that if you try and lose weight without exercise you will lose muscle mass and bone density, both of which can lead to serious health issues.

If you have been gaining weight consistently it means you are consistently eating too much. If you start and exercise program you may just stop gaining weight and not lose weight. You need the combination of a healthy diet along with exercise for a weight loss program.

I could go on and on with problems that are stated in this article but I think you get the point. Exercise needs to be a huge component of a weight loss program. This doesn't mean you can't lose weight without exercising but it is the healthiest way to do so. That article ends with the author saying he might skip his part of his workout the next day, because for some reason he thinks that is the reason he cannot lose weight. I would love to see him complete get off is exercise program and see if he starts to lose weight. And if he does I guarantee he will not be happy with the weight loss and will feel much worse than he was while exercising.

Mike
San Diego Boot Camp

For an amazing program that will show you exactly how you need to train and lose weight Click Here! This program is exactly what I am talking about with how to exercise and eat right to lose weight.

My Knees Hurt

Unfortunately most people that start an exercise program suffer an injury at some point. Sometimes we get certain aches and pains that are pretty hard to avoid. Most injuries, however, can be avoided with a well structured program.

One of the first mistakes people make when trying to lose weight is skip strength training and start with cardio. I have seen many runners complain of knee issues. When I ask what type of conditioning program they are on the two things they usually do not mention is stretching and strength training. Some people think there is a need to "get into shape" before hitting the gym. They want to get in better condition so when they workout with weights they will be stronger. Running will not get your muscle stronger. You will improve your endurance running. Strength training will get you stronger. You want to make sure your muscles, joints, and connective tissue are ready for the impact of running. If anything you want to strength train to get in shape for running.

Stretching is another huge component that is often left out. We get the urge to jump right into a program and kill ourselves to get weight off. If you can be patient and start with a basic strength training and flexibility program you will dramatically decrease your chance of injury. It is ok to walk away from a work with energy. You should not be completely wiped out every time you workout. Especially if you are just getting started. Build up a strong base and then you can get out running 5 miles a day.

If you often have pain from running you need to re-evaluate your program. It is ok to take a step back so we can take a bigger step forward.

Q & A from fatblastzone.com

Why do some people say it’s better to exercise in the morning versus the evening?

There are a number of reasons why an individual would consider the time of day to perform exercise. Many of these reasons that people perform workouts in the morning or in the evening, however, are not always necessary. Research has shown that there is a difference in hormone levels, mood, ability, and other traits depending on the time of day. These variations are based off of the circadian rhythms that we follow. Our bodies regulate things such as blood pressure, core temperature, and metabolism depending on the time of day.

This pattern would make it seem as if there are preferred times to workout during the day. Many people believe that morning is the best time to workout because testosterone levels are at their highest point in the morning. While this is generally true, cortisol, which is a catabolic hormone, is also at its highest in the morning, . Studies have also shown that there is a greater rise in testosterone levels after evening workouts when compared to morning workouts. The truth is that neither of these differences in hormonal levels are significant enough to really make a noticeable difference in your results. One fact that has been proven is that the body’s core temperature rises throughout the day. Studies have shown an increase in performance levels with athletes in the afternoon/evening workouts when compared to the morning. Because of the increase in temperature, muscles are stronger, more flexible, perceived exertion is less, and reaction time will increase.

The problem answering this, however, is everyone is different. We all have different circadian rhythms and our bodies will react to exercise differently throughout the day. You need to determine the best time for you to workout. This will be through trial and error. Try a few morning workouts and a few evening workouts and see which ones produce better workouts. The bottom line is to make sure you are taking the time to exercise regardless of the time of day. If you have time in the morning, then workout then. If you have time later in the day, then do it at night. Anytime you workout will produce significant results as long as you are performing a safe and effective program and eating a healthy diet.

Mike
www.sandiegopremiertraining.com