Deep CORE Exercise Progression

Here is a list of sample core strengthening exercises at each step. I'll be demonstrating them on the gym floor during Cary's Core Clinic and can help find the right level for you, and I incorporate many of them into the workouts at my Total Body Conditioning Class at NYSC Cobble Hill, Thursdays at 630AM

Static Core Activation & Strengthening	Integrated Core Training	Dynamic Core Training
Standing on 1 leg Stand/Balance on Wobble Board Drawing in Maneuver Plank Quadruped with arm and leg raise Side Lying Leg Lift Stability Ball Squat	Stand on 1 leg and bicep curl, shouder press/raise, tricep pressdown, row, chest press Balance on Board or Stability Ball and Curl, Skull Crusher, shoulder press/raise, row, check press Quadruped with row or triceps kickback Stability Ball Squat with biceps curls, shoulder press/raise Single Leg bent over row or triceps kickback	Step up onto bench, balance and curl or shoulder press/raise Walking lunge with rotation and step to balance on 1 leg Row or chest press with lunges and a step to balance on 1 leg Lunge, step to balance and curl or shoulder press; lateral lunge step to balance and curl or shoulder press

UltimateFlexibility(almost/so far)

I have two questions for you

• Are you happy with your current level of flexibility?
• What are you doing about it?

Most people I meet are not happy with their flexibility. Even people who are really flexible seem to want more. Yet, its the last thing most people spend time on. I have even been guilty of this myself. This issue is meant to slightly change the way that you think about flexibility, and give you a step by step approach and some specific tools that can lead you to results - if you take the time and do the work that is needed. You'll probably have questions so feel free to ask.

THE PROBLEM WITH MOST PEOPLE'S FLEXIBILITY PROGRAMS The top 5: not doing the stretches that are right for YOU; doing the same few stretches over and over again; not stretching for long enough; using brute force instead of your brain to stretch the muscles; and, neglecting the strengthening component of a flexibility program. So many people try to improve, don't see much progress and every day, leave the gym and go back to the same desk or lifestyle and the problems start over.

ARE YOUR MUSCLES TIGHT? OR IMBALANCED?
Probably both. If a muscle is tight, think of it as being short --- therefore, the opposite muscle compensates by being long. Or does one muscle get too long, and the opposite compensate by shortening? Maybe both at the same time. Some of us are born this way, but often our lifestyles are important factors. If you sit all day, the muscles that you sit on (glutes and hamstrings) tend to get all stretched out and the hip flexors and quadriceps get all tight. If you work on a computer all day, the muscles in front of your chest and shoulders get tight as the muscles behind get stretched out. The same think can happen from driving and biking. I've written about this before...we call these opposing muscle agonists and antagonists. You'll improve your flexibility if you can identify the tight muscles and stretch them, and identify the weak muscles and strengthen them.

STRETCHING IS IN YOUR HEAD You know that stretching is done to make a muscle longer.. but exactly how do you do that? By pulling it to the maximum possible length? Or by getting your brain to do the work? Actually, its the brain and nervous system that controls the length of your muscles, you can do some damage by pulling to much or in the wrong way. There are numerous effective stretching techniques, all of them rely on stimulate sensors in the muscles to send a signal to the brain, and electrical impulse that says "relax me." Those impulses travel through the nerves and spinal cord, then the brain sends messages back to the muscle fibers telling them to relax. It takes at least 7-10 seconds for this process to initiate, so that guy who you see grabbing the front of his shoe and pulling his knee back for 3 seconds and then running off...he's not stretching. Nor is that person who pulls so hard that they overstretch the ligaments while the muscle doesn't increase in length.




STRENGTH TRAINING CAN IMPROVE FLEXIBILITY Sometimes a movement is difficult because a muscle is tight, but often it is because the opposing muscle is actually too weak and extended. I see this a lot with the inner thigh, biceps, and hips/glutes. In some cases, the opposing muscle is literally asleep, and when you try to perform a movement it barely wakes up and you get that stiff feeling like rigor mortis setting in. You can stretch the tight muscles as much as you want but only see limited improvement, so fight back by strengthening the muscle opposite the one that is tight. Which brings us to another issue...

YOU REALLY DON'T NEED TO STRETCH EVERY MUSCLE The are all kinds of group stretching classes, yoga, etc, which are really nice and have helped many people improve their flexibility. Keep in mind that these classes offer a generic one size fits all set of stretches which may not be ideal for your specific needs. You may actually be stretching muscles that are already all stretched out. This goes for the programs that I've included in the sidebar on the left, they're good programs but generic because I haven't assessed you yet. A physical therapist, massage therapist and some personal trainers can assess you and identify which muscles need stretching and which need strengthening. This is an ongoing process: I often do on the fly stretches during a training session when a client has difficulty performing certain movements.

HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF A FLEXIBILITY PROGRAM THAT IS WELL TARGETED TO PEOPLE WHO SIT A LOT AND MAY EXPERIENCE FOOT PAIN (PLANTAR FASCITIS) OR KNEE PAIN, POSSIBLY ACL INJURY. It aims to correct postural disortions such as feet that turn out, knock knees, tight hips.

STRETCHING BEFORE EXERCISING...AND AFTER TOO
Depending on your posture, fitness level and goals, some stretching before working out can be beneficial. The goal of this stretching is to relax those tight muscles so that the joints are in proper alignment before working out...because if the joints are in proper alignment you can work the muscles better and reduce risk of injury. Some forms of stretching may cause a short term reduction in the amount of force a muscle can generate, so you should avoid them before your powerlifting competitions or choose other forms of stretching. Other forms of stretching?

THERE'S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO LENGTHEN A MUSCLE Most people are familiar with two types of stretching: static stretching, which involves stretching in a stationery position and holding the stretch for about 30 seconds; and, assisted stretching, which is basically the same except your trainer or someone else helps you do it. There are many other techniques that may work for you, depending on your fitness level, exercise program and goals. I've summarized a few in the sidebar. Periodization, changing your stretch routine at regular intervals, can also be helpful in many cases.

LIKE GIVING YOURSELF A DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE
Myofascial release is a technique for working out knots and adhesions that limit the extensibility of your muscle tissue. Pressure is applied to the knotted area, and after about 30 seconds, the brain sends a signal to the muscle to relax. If you have some persistent tight spots, you can do this yourself using a foam roller. They're available in the gyms, and if you'd like one for home you can order one online for about 20 bucks. The most common areas that benefit from the attention with the foam roller are the calves, IT Band and quads, but you can actually use them in almost any part of your body. I've got a program that illustrates how to use the foam roller for many different body parts. Click here to view/download the program and choose those stretches that target your own personal tight areas. Do the foam rolling before your regular stretching routine for maximum benefit. Feel free to let me know if you need some help in learning this technique.

STRETCHING TECHNIQUES AND PROGRAMS

STATIC STRETCHING The most popular form of stretching, where you hold a muscle in a stretched position and gradually allow time for it to extend. Hold for 20-30 seconds, shorter is not effective, longer is not much more effective. ACTIVE ISOLATED STRETCHING is a progression from static stretching, appropriate if you have no postural distortions. These stretches typically are performed in 1-2 sets of 5-10 repetitions, each repetition is held for 2-4 seconds. Some require assistance, be very careful with these, I dont recommend having someone who is not trained assist you with them. SAMPLE AI STRETCHES

DYNAMIC STRETCHING is for the fit, and is actually more like exercise than a stretch, and includes lunges, pushups with rotation, walking sideways with a resistance band. PNF (AKA Neuromuscular or Contract Relax) STRETCHING PNF means Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation, and it basically tricks the brain into lengthening a muscle. A trained professional will alternate between stretching your muscle and having you resist against the stretch. Again, many require assistance and I do not recommend having someone who is not trained assist you. SAMPLE PNF STRETCHES

MYOFASCIAL RELEASE is a technique for working out knots and adhesions that limit ability of your muscles to fully extend. Pressure is applied to the knotted area, and after about 30 seconds, the brain sends a signal to the muscle to relax. SAMPLE SMR STRETCHES

Posture and Movement Assessments

I have a confession to make. From the minute I first see you, I am watching your posture and the way that you move and looking for way to improve you. Are your feet turned out? Do your shoulders round? Or are they elevated? Is your head forward? Does your back arch? Do your knees move in our out? If you answer yes to one or more of these questions, you have muscular or structural imbalances that need to be addressed in your exercise program. In many cases, certain exercises should be avoided to minimize risk of injury, and other exercises should be included to help correct the imbalance. For example, someone with rounded shoulders should avoid overhead shoulder exercises and strengthen the muscles that pull the shoulders back.

Posture can be addressed statically, basically in a stationary position, and dynamically, while moving. In addition to casual observations of movement, several assessments allow us to do a more focused evaluation. Here are two of the most common:

Overhead Squat Assessment: This consists of a squat with arms held above the head. Here, I'm looking for whether the heels lift, feet turn out, knees move in/out, low back arches or rounds, or the body leans forward.

Single Leg Squat Assessment: In the single leg squat assessment, look for whether the feel flatten, knees move in or out, or the hip shifts. These observations indicate imbalances in the calves, thigh muscles, back, core and shoulders that should be addressed in training.

Core Training and Stablility

There are 29 core muscles that work together to keep the body stable as it generates force, absorbs force, changes direction and moves in multiple different planes of motion. An effective functional exercise program trains your core to do all of this. Rather than training in isolation, we integrate core training into many exercises for other body parts. Ultimately, a core that is stronger while performing movements can improve your overall performance and strength and reduce risk of injury.

If your core training program consists mainly of crunches, leg extensions and back extensions, you're working in only one plane and risk overtraining your rectus abdominus. That's the "6 pack muscle" and yes, you can overtrain it to the extent that it increases the risk of injury - and in a way that will surprise you: A tight rectus abdominus pulls the pectorals forward, tight pectorals pull on the shoulders causing them to rotate in, rotator cuff muscles cannot function effectively and are at risk of injury. Running? By pulling on the chest muscles and moving the shoulders and head forward, an overtrained rectus abdominus can reduce your oxygen intake. Exercises that strengthen the deep inner abdominals, and exercises that incorporate core stabilization with other movements, are an essential component.

Public enemy number 1 is the chair, followed closely by the bench. If you spend a large part of your day sitting, it's a good idea to not to sit or lie down through your entire workout every time you train. Chairs and benches do the work of stabilizing your core as you perform the exercises.

Flexibility

Muscles need to be in proper balance to work together optimally. Our posture and movement assessments will tell us which appear to be too active or short and which appear to be underactive or extended. We need to stretch the short muscles and strengthen or activate those that are long or extended. Stretching and strengthening go hand in hand to achieve flexibility; the genera rule is that when a muscle is tight the opposite muscle is extended.

Here's an easy way to think about this: those muscles that you sit on all day long, your glutes, are probably asleep; the opposite muscles, hip flexors, are flexed all day long and remain short. The hip flexors can get so tight that they inhibit the glute. So stretch the hip flexors, strengthen the glutes, try not to overdo it on exercises that flex your hips... and you are on your way.

Do the same type of assessment and programming for other area of your body.

Advanced Functional/Core Mini Workout

The following are some selected exercises that some of my advanced clients are doing...you might not be ready for them right now but with consistent effort can work towards them. Feel free to ask me to demonstrate them if you don't know what they are:

Tube Walking (Hip Abduction with Band)
Reverse fly with Chest on Stability Ball
Single Leg Deadlift into PNF Pattern (drawing sword)
Single Arm Cable Chest Press/Lunge/Step to balance on One Leg
Single Arm Cable Row/Reverse Lunge/Step to Balance on One Leg
Lateral Lunge/Balance on one Leg/Biceps Curl
Single Arm Cable Triceps Pushdown Kneeling on Bosu Ball
Single Leg Box Jumps (Plyometrics)

We're generally working in a range of 2 sets of 12-15 repetitions. At the beginner and intermediate level, you might start with a standing cable chest press, progress to one leg chest press, then lunging chest press and so on, until you are ready to do the more advanced version of the exercises. One of my most advanced clients had never exercised until about 2 years ago and can do all of these exercises.

BODY FAT: Define it. Measure it. Lose it.

Think of Body Fat as Your Body's Way of Storing Extra Energy (Calories) and Protecting Itself

The scientific term for fat is adipose tissue, your body stores extra energy in the form of fat cells in the adipose tissue.

MYTH: When you exercise your body turns fat into muscle, when you stop exercising, it turns back to fat.

FACT: Fat and Muscle are separate and distinct. When you exercise you may lose fat and gain muscle, and when you stop you may lose muscle and gain fat. They don't transform into eachother.

Some of your body fat is called essential fat because it provides insulation and protects vital organs. Men need at least 2-4% and women need 10-12%. The remainder is called storage fat, and that's what send many of you to the gym. Body fat tends to increase with age.

Body Fat: Let's Not Get Carried Away with the Measurements!

Body Builders and certain competitive athletes may need to obsess about their % body fat, but most of us just need a simple reliable measurement of progress. There are more than a dozen different techniques for estimating body fat, including infrared and x-ray techniques, and one that involves drinking a radioactive isotope . Keep in mind that any approach gives you an estimate based on various measurements and mathematical formulas, you can't directly measure the fat like you can with weight and height. You would have to go through the inconvenience and mess of removing all the fat from the body, weighing it and replacing it to do that. It is best to look at the body fat measurement over time to see changes, and to have it performed by the same competent person using the same equipment. All of the methods have strengths and weaknesses, and research has been conducted to validate them. Here is a recap of the measurement methods:

Hydrostatic Testing - Immersion in a tank of water and measuring displacement is accurate within about 2% for most people. Adjustments by race are made, since African Americans tend to have denser bones while Asians have lighter bones. Air Displacement Plethysmography (The Bod Pod) is a similar but uses air displacement instead of water.
Skin Fold/Caliper Testing - Results are accurate within +/-3.5% for 90% of the population. Results for the other 10% can be off by much more. Variation by tester can be a big factor, so have the same person take the measurements and look for a trend in the results. This technique tends to overestimate body fat for lean individuals and underestimate for obese. Caliper testing needs to be done slowly, carefully and precisely, usually measurements are taken at least three times and averaged for a result.
Bioelectric Impedance - Results are accurate within +/-3% for 82% of the population, and can be off by up to 20% or more for the remaining 18%. Results are inaccurate for small changes and can be affected by hydration, skin temperature, exercise within 12 hours prior, alcohol within 48 hours, food within 4 hours, bladder and bowel content. A body scale once estimated me at 38%, almost 3x the measurement obtained from calipers around the same time.
Circumference Testing - using a few simple measurements, results are accurate within +/-5% for 86% of the population. (There is an online tester available at bodyfat.caryraffle.com, it measured me at almost the same as the calipers and is very easy to use so that you can track your results.)
Ask me - I can usually estimate someone's body fat within a couple of percent, not much less accurate than some of these techniques and a whole lot easier. (Be forewarned, you may have to show me your bare midriff!). If you get a body fat estimate that doesn't make sense - maybe from one of those diet supplement people who set up tables on the streets or at the mall - feel free to contact me for a second opinion.

Losing Body Fat

There are only 2 proven ways to lose body fat: Burn more calories than you consume or consume fewer calories than you burn. Most of use a combination of both - exercise and watching our diets. What about watching carbs? Sure, if you load up on empty calories your body may crave more nutrition and you'll end up eating more, but protein shakes are also loaded with calories that you may not need. I've got some tips, by no means a complete list but just my personal top 10:

Cary's Top 10 Fat Burning Tips
1. Eat a good breakfast. Numerous studies have shown that people who eat breakfast do a better job losing weight and keeping it off. Breakfast skippers tend to make up lost calories later in the day. They don't have the energy to work out as hard, and the body doesn't produce the enzymes need to burn fat during their workout. One theory is that if you workout hard on an empty stomach, the body goes into "survival mode" - sparing fat and burning muscle protein for energy.
2. Use a combination of cardiovascular and strength training activities. Both burn calories while you are working out. Strength training has the added advantage of building muscle mass so that your metabolism increases - so you burn more calories at rest. Start with a cardio warm up, but avoid long cardio sessions before your strength training if you want to burn fat. You want as much energy as possible available for the strength training session. (If you're already lean and training for a marathon, you can skip this advice). Exercise at least 150 minutes er week, more to make real changes in body composition.
3. Work in the "cardio training zone" and you'll burn more fat than in the "fat burning zone." The fat burning zone is a myth: you may get a higher percentage of calories but the total calories burned is lower. You actually burn the highest percentage of calories while sleeping, not exactly a fat burning activity. The cardio zone begins at about 70% of your maximum heart rate. People who aren't on medication can use 220-age to get their maximum hear rate. (In my fitness orientations, we use a different formula that is more personalized.)
4. Interval training for your cardio activities can increase your calorie burn for several hours after you are done exercising. This is recommended for those of you who have already established an aerobic base. Try alternating between 65%-75% of your maximum heart rate for 2 minute intervals.
5. Circuit Training for your strength activities keeps the calories burning - The idea is to keep your heart rate up by eliminating the rest in between sets. Most of my workouts are organized in compound sets, working opposite body parts so that while one side works the other side rests. You may need to rethink or reorganize your traditional split routines. Just be sure to rest each muscle group for 48 hours in between workouts.
6. Gear your strength training to building lean muscle and burning fat. Target the large muscle groups, your legs, back and chest muscles burn more calories than arms and shoulders, and the latter get worked along with the big muscles. You should generally be working in the endurance strength training zone, so do 2-3 sets of 12-20 repetitions of the exercises at moderate weight. Exercises that require you to stand and/or stabilize generally burn more calories than seated or lying exercises. Total body exercises (i.e. lunges with chest press/lat pull down/biceps curls) really turn up the heat.


7. Don't rely on fad diets and supplements. Try to make lasting changes in your diet and lifestyle. Be careful of supplements containing large amounts of stimulants like caffeine and guarana, these can increase your heart rate and you may already be consuming caffeine in your coffee or tea. Caffeine in moderation does help burn fat. If you're already getting enough protein in your diet, ship the protein supplement you don't need the extra calories! The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that endurance trained athletes consume 1.2-1.4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily.
8. Periodize, or change your exercise routine, at least every 4-6 weeks. Your body adapts during this period and you will see diminishing returns on the time you invest. You can change the pace and duration of your cardio routine. For strength training, change the sets, repetitions, tempo, try less stable exercises and total body exercises.
9. Avoid Overtraining - Muscles grow while you rest. If you are spending more than an hour 3-4x a week working out and not seeing results, and often feel tired and sore, you may be overtraining. Your body shuts down the muscle building process and stops burning stored fat. Work hard, but also rest.
10. Pay careful attention to posture, aches, pains and injuries. You're in this for the long haul and cannot afford to be sidelined by pain or injury that keeps you from working out. It is important to incorporate corrective exercises into your program - call it "prehab" - and avoid exercises that can exacerbate your problem areas. The most common problems that I see include: a. Feet Turn Out /Knees Turn in - sets you up for foot pain (plantar fascitis), knee or hip pain or injury, back pain; b. Shoulders Roll Inward - sets you up for rotator cuff injury, possible upper spinal injury; c. Arched Back - Sets up disk injury may also indicate predisposition to abdominal herniation. I am happy to meet with you, assess you for these potential issues and discuss appropriate corrective exercises and program modifications.

Free On-Line BODY FAT CALCULATOR

Click here for a quick and easy test that you can do in your home, and track results over time. All you need is a computer that is connected to the internet and a tape measure. For more accuate results, schedule a reading with me using body calipers.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: Setting Goals that Get Results

by Cary Raffle

We start the New Year with resolutions, plans and great expectations. How many of us will stick to our plans and succeed? Research has shown that we are most effective in achieving our goals when they are clearly defined, measurable, achievable, and are realistic but at the same time represent a little bit of a challenge. It also helps to break your goals up into smaller goals so that can have little successes along the way. How do you know what is realistic and achievable? Read on....

Exercise to Maintain Body Composition and Health - the minimum amount of exercise required to maintain your body composition and health is 150 minutes per week, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. This is usually expressed as 20-30 minutes of exercise at least 5 days per week and preferably every day. To avoid risk of injury, ACSM recommends moderate intensity exercise for those not training for athletic competition.

Be careful not to overdo it. Working the same muscles day after day is counterproductive, especially in strength training. You actually damage muscle fibers when you exercise, and they need at least 48 hours to repair and recover. Muscles grow during this rest period, not when you are working them. So give each muscle group time to recover in between workouts.

Losing Weight - For safe and lasting weight loss, plan on losing between 1-2 pounds per week, according to ACSM and the American Dietary Association. Faster weight loss may be unhealthy and you run the risk of yo-yoing, experiencing rapid drops and quickly gaining. Instead of fad diets, focus on making long-term lifestyle changes.

Maintain a calorie deficit - calories taken in minus calories burned - of about 500 - 1000 per day, you can eat less or workout more or do both. Remember that as you lose weight, your calorie needs also drops. See me to estimate your calorie needs, or visit www.mypyramid.gov for more comprehensive tools. However, if you are beginning an exercise program, make sure that you don't reduce the calorie intake so much that you don't have energy to work out.

Goal Setting - Weight loss is probably the most frequent goal, but it isn't necessarily the most effective measure of results or the one that is right for you. Body measurements, clothes size and subjective assessments of how you look and feel and move are often a better indication. Many people who begin a new fitness program will see the shape of their body change and their clothes size decrease without a corresponding weight loss. This can happen because muscle weighs more than fat. So when you increase your lean body mass (muscle) and decrease your fat, you weight may not go down as much as you expect. Over a longer period of time, you should see the weight loss results. One of my clients was highly deconditioned and cited his greatest accomplishment as being able to reach down and tie his shoes without having to sit down and rest.

Getting Your Workout In - Whether you're joining a gym, running in the park, or walking at the mall, nothing is going to happen if you don't actually get your workouts in. Most successful people start by scheduling their workout appointments, just like any other important meeting. Put it right into your calendar! It may help to attend regularly scheduled classes, meet a reliable friend, or have an appointment with a trainer. I've had many clients who wouldn't make it at all without their training appointment, or who would cancel because they weren't in the mood if not for the 24-hour cancellation fee.

Muscle Growth (Hypertrophy or 'Getting Big") - It takes more than 16 exercise sessions over the course of several weeks to see an increase in muscle size, according to the National Strength and Conditioning Association. However, increasing the size of the muscle does not necessarily increase the strength or lifting capacity of the muscle. Increased strength and increased size are two distinct and different muscle adaptations, and you need to train differently for each.

Plateauing - Expect your strength training to plateau after about 4-6 weeks. At this point, you experience diminished return from your program as you continue doing similar exercises and a similar range of sets, repetitions, time under tension and stability. We call this the SAID principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand). Progression requires changing one of more of the variables in your program on a regular, pre-planned basis. It is not only about increasing the weight. Progression can also apply to your cardio training and diet, in some circumstances. I wrote about progression last year. You can sample a few general programs from past newsletters by clicking the links below, or meet with me to develop a program specific to your current fitness level and goals.

Program 1 - XpressLine
Program 2 - Introductory Strength Training
Program 3 - Unstable Exercises (incorporates Core Training)
Program 4 - Advanced Unstable Exercises (unilateral workout) Running the Marathon in 2009 - Start now and many of you can do it! If you've been running at least 2-3 hours a week for more than a year, you've got a pretty good base to start from. Let's set a realistic goal first - for most of you, that would be completing the training and the first marathon without an injury. You can find several alternate programs for marathon training at the ING NYC Marathon website (click here). You'll be increasing to about 50 miles of running a week at the peak of your training. It is a good idea to get assessed for any muscle imbalances and postural distortions, so that you can incorporate corrective exercises and stretching into your program. Exercises to strengthen your core and complement the running program will also help. Risk Factors - According to the International Health and Racquet Sports Association, about half of all new gym members experience an injury during their first 6 months of membership. This often leads them to abandon their memberships, fitness programs and goals. The National Academy of Sports Medicine recommends that all fitness programs begin with an assessment, identification of risk factors, and a corrective phase of training to reduce the chance of injury. Post Rehabilitation - If you've had an injury that required physical therapy, you may have some additional risk factors. The National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends that you continue to incorporate the rehab exercises into your training program.

URBAN LEGENDS: Two of the Great Myths of Fitness

"No Pain, No Gain" - Pain, especially that lingering sensation that you feel for days, is not necessarily the sign of a great workout. It is actually a sign that your body is adapting to new stimulus. If you continue with a similar exercise program at similar intensity, the soreness shouldn't return. You can minimize the soreness by starting light and gradually working into new routines. To read more about this subject, click here for an article from the American Council on Exercise.

"The Fat Burning Zone" - The idea here is that you burn a higher percentage of calories from stored fat in the fat burning zone compared to the cardio zone. True, but you burn more total calories in the cardio zone - think of it as getting a smaller piece of a much bigger pie. You actually get about 100% of your calories from stored fat when you are sleeping, but the total calories burned is very low. Focus on total calories, once you've established an aerobic base, and train in the cardio zone for best results reducing weight and burning fat. To read more about this subject, click here for an article from the American Council on Exercise.

The BRAIN TRAIN: Unilateral Workout

There are several good reasons to work one side of your body at a time, this month the focus in on training your brain - actually your neuromuscular system - through unilateral exercises.

Here's an interesting fact: numerous scientific studies have shown that working one side of the body can actually improve your strength on the opposite side. How is this possible? Because the major component of what we call "strength" doesn't happen in the muscles, it happens in the brain and nerve pathways and receptors that connect your brain to your muscles. We actually become stronger by improving the way that the brain "recruits" muscle fibers to do work such as lifting weights and the way the muscles respond to the call. Think of your body as a symphony. The brain is the conductor, the nerve pathways are his hands and batons, the musicians are the receptors in the muscles, and their instruments are the individual muscle fibers. Train them to work together and you'll make beautiful music.

What are some of the benefits of unilateral exercises? Most of you probably use them to balance your muscles. You feel you've got a weaker side, or maybe one side is slightly smaller than the other. That's only the beginning. Unilateral exercises can help improve core strength, and improve your overall strength by improving "neuromuscular efficiency." It's all in the way that you approach it.

Let's take a simple exercise like a single arm triceps push down with the cables. You'll often see someone doing this exercise leaning into the machine and putting their whole body into moving the handle from point a to point b. Instead, stand back, draw your abdominals and glutes in, bend the knees slightly, and maintain perfect posture throughout the movement. (Remember, glutes are core muscles). Now you've got those core muscles working to stabilize you - and not just in one direction. You'll feel the sideways pull as your obliques resist the weight imbalance. When doing single side exercises, lower the weight so that you can maintain perfect form and posture.

It is easy to start a unilateral program, you can even do it on ExpressLine. For added challenge, you can decrease the stability of unilateral exercises by standing on one leg, or use balls or balance boards. As you do these, you'll begin to understand how this is a learning process for your body, like loading a computer program into memory. Some of my clients and I began playing with unilateral exercises standing on one leg on a bosu ball - you may not want to think about that. They were incredibly hard at first, yet within a week or two, our brains had adjusted and they were surprisingly easy.

Will unilateral exercises make you smarter? Maybe not, but they're a smart addition to your program. Try the unilateral exercise program and 14 others at trainercary.com.

Advil Before Workout?

One of my clients, a hard training triathlete, recently asked me for my thoughts on using Advil before strength and cardio training. Advil, or ibuprofen, is part of a class of medicines call NSAIDS (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatories). They act on the pain center of the brain and also act to reduce inflammation in the muscle tissue.

To begin answering this question, one has to understand what inflammation actually is: a protective response by the body. Swelling occurs as your body's own way of immobilized damaged areas. NSAIDS can help reduce the pain and swelling but as they do this, they are also reducing the body's natural ability to protect and heal itself. Repeatedly dosing on pain relievers and anti-inflammatories before training can casue stomach upset, interfere with the healing process, and make you susceptible to further injuries.

Be very careful. Listen to your body. If you have a constant nagging injury, see an orthopedist or physical therapist and learn how you can address the underlying causes rather than mask the problem with medication. In the extreme, there are some studies that suggest that use of ibuprofen during prolonged endurance exercises such as an Ironman can lead to dehydration, hyponatremia and kidney failure, because it alters kidney function (however, I haven't found any documented cases of this happening).

Bottom line: Advil is medicine. Avoid prolonged and chronic use of any medicine that your doctor has not approved, before OR after exercise.

Pre and Post Exercise Nutrition

Proper nutrition before and after competition or workouts can improve performance and results and in recovery. Many people today are putting too much emphasis on protein. Your muscles need carbohydrates for fuel and after a hard workout, they need to replace depleted glycogen - glycogen is the energy source that your muscles use and it most readily comes from carbohydrates.

PRE EXERCISE Eating before exercise can be tricky and very individual, you want to make sure that you can tolerate different foods at different times. Don't try new things the day of a big race or competition, and be aware of your body's signs. In general, you want to start with an empty stomach but plenty of energy flowing in your blood and stored in your muscles. Some people prefer a light snack within the hour before exercise, some prefer a larger snack about 2-3 hours before, others perform better with a large meal. It is also important to have enough fluids, and avoid greasy foods that can upset the stomach. Here are some guidelines:
1 hour before: fruits, fruit/vegetable juices, energy gels
2-3 hours before: fruits, fruit/vegetable juices PLUS low-fat yogurt and/or bread or bagel
3-4 hours before: fruits, fruit/vegetable juices plus low-fat yogurt, bread or bagel, PLUS a meal that is high in carbs, moderate in protein and low in fat (ie, pasta w/sauce, whole wheat bread w/chees/peanut butter/lean meat, cereal, baked potato), energy bar

POST EXERCISE Most important, replace lost fluids, about 20 oz per pound of weight lost during the exercise session.

Within 15-30 minutes, replace carbohydrates with a drink or light snack.
Within about 2 hours, have a meal that is high in carbohydrates, about 100-200 grams, together with some lean protein. That's about 3 cups of pasta or mashed potatoes.
For an excellent article called "Training Diet" from the Iowa State University, click here.

HURRY UP!!! Mini Work Out Program

Maybe you've been stuck on XpressLine for a while and aren't getting the results you want, or you've advanced your program but need a few new moves to kick it up a notch. I've got 4 words for you: TOTAL BODY EXERCISE CIRCUIT!

This mini program empasizes two factors that will maximize your calorie burn:
Exercises that use multiple joints and muscles groups simultaneously. The more muslces you use, the more claories you burn, especially when we incorporate the larger muscle groups (legs, back, chest - especially legs). You'll want to be as flexible as possible to begin, so try the program above as a warmup, and make sure to keep your abdominal core engaged throughout.

Circuit Training to keep the heart rate up. Bring your water bottle along, this program is designed to minimize the rest period between exercises to keep your heart pumping. The faster yoru heart beats, the more calories you burn. Be careful to stay in your comfort zone here, if you don't have a heart rate monitor and target zone, keep the exertion level at about 7 or 8 on a scale of 1-10 depending on your fitness level.

Click here for your program: HURRY UP! Mini Program

FLEXIBILITY: From Desk to Gym or Road

We've talked about it before in this space. Most of the clients and gym members I meet work at a desk all day long, seated and leaning over to reach their keyboards and computer monitors. Many also spend long hours on cars, trains, buses and planes. Their bodies become tight in front and some are virtually locked in that seated position head and shoulders forward position. For all of you, this is a fairly simple mini program to address the most typical issues as summarized below: TIGHT/SHORT MUSCLES: Calves, Iliotibial Band (side of leg), Adductors (Inner thigh), Hip Flexors/Quads, Piriformis, Chest, Anterior Deltoids and Internal Rotators (Front of Shoulder), Upper Traps, Lats WEAK/EXTENDED MUSCLES: Glutes Medius and Maximus, Deep Abdominal Core (mainly Transversus Abdominus) , Lower Traps and Rhomboids, Shoulder External Rotator Follow the link below to a flexibility program designed to stretch/lengthen the tight muscles and strengthen the weak/extended muscles. This program is not meant as a complete program or a substitute for a personalized fitness assessment, but is a effective way of getting most of you started towards addressing some of the most common flexibility issues.

BENEFITS OF IMPROVED FLEXIBILITY:
- Muscles work as intended, doing their proper jobs
- Helps avoid using the WRONG muscles leading to better performance, better results and reduced risk of injury.Click here for your program: FLEXIBILITY FROM DESK TO GYM OR ROAD

EXERCISE, FITNESS AND NUTRITION NOs AND DON'Ts

by Cary Raffle MS CPT Master Trainer

Hardly an hour goes by at the gym that I don't find someone doing something that is not really helping them and might eventually hurt them, including:
• Incorrect Exercise Form
• Inappropriate Exercise Selection
• Obsolete Exercises
• Ineffective Exercise Programs
• Things that Look Good but Don't Make any Sense (most of these don't really look good they just think they do)
• Poor Nutritional Habits
This is the first time I have attempted this project, I've searched the internet and the books and can't find anything else like it all in one place. I'll be working on adding to it over time, and I invite you to clip the list and email me with any suggested additions for future editions.

NO BEHIND NECK PULLDOWNS!
NO BEHIND NECK SHOULDER PRESSES!
NO UPRIGHT ROWS (FRONT ROWS)!
You may as well kiss your rotator cuff goodbye. These exercises are obsolete - they have been shown to cause injury or impingement of the rotator cuff muscles over time. In addition, they provide no meaningful advantage to other exercises.

DON'T ARCH YOUR BACK!
An arched back causes pressure on the spinal column, it can lead to damaged disks and vertebrae. Lower the weight, use a machine with back support, and strengthen your abdominal core if you find yourself arching. Be especially careful about this when doing any overhead exercises, the leverage of the weight increases the likelihood of injury.

DONT WORK THE SAME MUSCLES 2 DAYS IN A ROW!
Strength training damages your muscle fibers. Muscles recover, repair and actually grow during the 48 hours after your work them. You won't see progress and you increase the risk of injury if you don't allow the rest. This applies only to strength training, you can do cardio every day.

DON'T USE THE SAME EXERCISE PROGRAM FOR MORE THAN 6 WEEKS
Your body adapts to an exercise program within 4-6 weeks, so you won't see much progress. You also increase the risk of repetitive stress injuries by continuing to perform the same motions at the same speed and intensity. Vary the exercises, weight, and tempo in your program at regular intervals.

DON'T DO THE SAME EXERCISES AS WHEN YOU WERE ON THE FOOTBALL (OR WHATEVER) TEAM OR IN THE MARINES!
Most of you are 5-50 years away from your high school and college sports days. You spend hours at a desk and commuting, and need to select exercises that are appropriate for grown ups who live a grown up lifestyle.

NO ROCKING, SWAYING OR BOUNCING!
If you an't stand still while performing an exercise, your using too much weight or doing something wrong for you. The exception is certain exercises where rocking or bouncing may be part of the exercise - for reference, this does not include biceps curls, shoulder presses, lateral raises, and most other exercises that I see people bouncing though.

DON'T SKIP MEALS - ESPECIALLY BREAKFAST!
Breakfast kick starts your metabolism and gives you the energy you need to exercise. If you're looking to lose weight, numerous studies have proven that people who eat breakfast are more successful at long term weight loss than those who don't. You'll have more effective workouts when your body had the fuel.

DON'T RELY ON BELTS, WRAPS AND BRACES!
The old fashioned weight belt may help protect your back, but over time it weakens your abdominal core because it is doing the job that you want to train your core muscles to do. No weight belts! Unless you're in the heavy-lifting phase of a power training program. Wraps and braces are a like a Band-Aid, they don't fix an underlying problem and in some cases transfer stress and problems to other joints. Talk to a sports medicine doctor or orthopedist before bracing, or that pain in your elbow may turn into an even worse problem at your shoulder.

DON'T WORKOUT UNTIL YOU WARM UP!
Spend about 5-10 minutes warming up with some cardio. Your muscles are less likely to get injured when they aer warm, and the warmup causes enzymes to be released that help protect the muscles and make your workout more effective.

NO LONG CARDIO SESSIONS BEFORE STRENGTH TRAINING
You'll get more out of your strength training if you have the energy to dedicate to the workout, and save the cardio for later or another day. If you've just run 5 or 10 miles, you're ready to eat, not to workout! (This one is dedicated to one of my highly conditioned clients who ran a quick 8 miles before a strength training session... and took an early leave to get a yogurt).

DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH!
Proper breathing is to exhale on the concentric contraction, that is when you are actually shortening the muscle. It's the push phase on pushing exercises or the pull phase on pulling exercises.

NO UNNECESSARY SUPPLEMENTS!
Protein: According to the doctors at the American College of Sports Medicine, a 170 pound man needs about 131 grams of protein per day to increase muscle mass (1.7g/kg body weight) and about 100 grams to support endurance (1.3g/kg). If you're already getting that much in your diet, skip the supplement. More is not better!
Sports Drinks: Research shows that Gatorade-like drinks are effective when you're exercising or playing a sport for more than an hour, or if you like the taste and won't get enough fluids otherwise. Water is just as good if you're planning a 59 minute workout.
Creatine: Is one of the few supplements that has a long standing body of research, dating back almost 100 years. It shows no effect in aerobic performance, some short term gain in muscle size -believed by many to be increased water retention, and marginal improvement in strength or anaerobic performance.
Weight Loss & Energy Supplements: Most of these contain caffeine or guarana. Guarana contains about 3x the caffeine as coffee, and when it is included as an ingredient instead of caffeine, the manufacturer doesn't have to tell you how much caffeine is in the drink. Caffeine will help you lose weight, it raises your heart rate and is proven to increase fat metabolism, but would you have 3-4 cups of coffee? Taurine, also popular, has very little human research, which brings us to...
Other Supplements: Supplement makers can claim whatever they want. The government does not test nutritional supplements for effectiveness, safety, consistency, purity, or interaction with other drugs or conditions. Think about how often you hear about a drug that was FDA tested, or a supplement, that is later found to have harmed people. Do you really want to take that risk with your health?

IF YOU HAVE SHOULDER PROBLEMS, DON'T DO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING Overhead Exercises, Incline Chest Press (and possibly any chest press), Front Raises, Shrugs, Preacher Curls, Behind the Neck Triceps Extension All of these exercises put you at risk of further injury and pain. Have a detailed conversation with your doctor and/or physical therapist about contraindicated exercises, and consider consulting a personal trainer with post-rehab experience to design a safe and effective program.

DON'T DO ANYTHING THAT HURTS!
If something hurts severely, or hurts for more than a week, its time to see a doctor. Don't assume that you can lower the weight and not do any further damage, sometimes it is the movement itself that is the problem. Get a diagnosis so that you now what you are dealing with.

DONT FORGET THE WATER!
Those ACSM Doctors say bring your water bottle along and: Drink about 1-2 cups of fluid 30 minutes pre exercise, drink ½ - 1 cup of fluid for every 15 minutes of exercise, drink 2 ½ cups for every pound lost during exercise. Drink even after your thirst is quenched.

NO STRAIGHT LEG OR DECLINE SITUPS!
These cause the back to arch and risks damage to the spine. Bent leg situps are not much better. Do crunches instead.

NO LYING FULL LEG & HIP RAISES WITH A DUMBELL BETWEEN YOUR FEET!
Never hold an unsecured weight over your face.

NO LEG EXTENSION MACHINE!
Current expert opinions on this machine, for most people, range from its a waste of time to its something that could hurt you if you have any knee problems. Try some lunges instead.

IF YOUR BACK HURTS, DON'T DO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING Back Extensions, Good Mornings, External Abdominal Exercises, Unsupported Above the Head Exercises, High Impact Activities Generally avoid anything that makes your low back tighten and/or arch. Focus on strengthening your abdominal core - your deep abdominals, not the so called 6 pack muscles. In most cases, back muscles are overworking because the inner abdominal muscles are weak. Sitting at a desk all day is one thing that can make your abs weak and your back tight, so you'll want to progress to exercises that get you out of a seated position.

DONT FORGET TO STRETCH!
Stretch before and after you exercise. Get your muscles into balance by stretching the tight ones before you exercise to get your joints in proper alignment and avoid injury; after exercise, stretch the muscles that became tight during exercise. You don't have to stretch EVERY muscle, just the tight ones.
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To be continued...

The Truth About Abdominals

If you want great looking abs, the first thing you need to do is reduce the layer of fat covering your abdominal muscles. The only way to burn fat is to have a calorie deficit: either burn more calories than you eat or eat less calories than you burn. You can do this through diet, exercise, or a combination of both. Resistance training of your large muscles - legs, chest and back - will maximize your calorie burn and may also help increase your resting metabolism as you gain lean muscle.

Abdominal Exercises strengthen your muscles but are not effective in reducing abdominal fat. You can have very strong abdominal muscles covered by a layer of fatty tissue. It is more efficient to spend the majority of your limited exercise time burning the fat than strengthening the abs. You cannot spot reduce - working the muscle in an area does not reduce the fat in that area, fat does not "turn into to muscle" they are two different types of tissue.
Most people will see definition in the abdominal area at around 9-12% body fat for men and 10-14% for women. This will vary from person to person, depending on where their body stores fat (sometimes called your body type). There are some theories about cortisol, a stress hormone, leading to increased storage of fat in the abdomen, but abdominal fat tends to be dictated mainly by your body type.

You don't need machines to effectively work your abs. Some of the most effective abdominal exercises don't use machines at all and some machines are actually less effective than plain old crunches. (See the next post for a report on the most and least effective ab exercises from the American Council on Exercise).

Most people focus on the rectus abdominus (6 pack muscle) and the obliques, but it is more important to work on the inner abdominal core. In fact, some people should avoid the most popular ab exercises altogether because it can exacerbate problems with posture and low back pain. Simple exercises that focus on activating the deepest abdominal muscle (the transversus abdominus) include a drawing in maneuver, balancing on one leg, planks, and quadrupeds with arm and leg raises. These core exercises can improve posture and pull the abdomen in, giving the appearance of a smaller and tighter stomach. You can also incorporate core training into your everyday exercise routine, click here for a sample program.

There is no conclusive evidence that you can work so called upper and lower abdominals separately. See ACE's study (sidebar) which showed that the abdominal muscles function as a single sheath.

Quality is more important than quantity. You don't need to do hundreds of crunches a day to have good looking abdominal muscles, and you don't need to use heavy weights. The abdominal muscles work slowly and work isometrically, they respond very well to being trained the same way. Increase the level of difficulty by varying the speed, adding isometric holds, and decreasing the stability of your abdominal exercises. You can get results by working for 15-20 minutes 3-4 times a week.

Not every abdominal exercise is right for everybody. If you're working with a personal trainer, your fitness assessment will help determine the best selection and any necessary modifications based on your own personal personal abilities, physical condition and goals. Just because you see someone else doing an exercise that looks interesting, or it is part of the routine in a group class, that doesn't necessarily make it right for you. Avoid any exercises that are painful to your lower back and exercises where you are unable to maintain proper form. In classes, if you have concerns or problems keeping up with the class, speak with the instructor or a personal trainer to determine whether you need to modify the exercise or perform an alternate instead. For example, a member recently complained to me about back pain and inability to work full range of motion while doing leg raises in abs class. Modifications could include bending knees during the exercise, placing hands beneath the tailbone or an alternate position.

The Best and Worst Abdominal Exercises

Research from the Biomechanics Lab at San Diego State University, commissioned by the American Council on Exercise.

This study measured activation of the abdominals muscles - the rectus abdominus (6-pack muscle) and obliques - for 13 different exercises.

The three most effective in terms of activating muscles are the bicycle, captains chair (leg raises) and stability ball crunches.

Some equipment, like the ab rocker, was far less effective than even traditional cruches.

The study also reported that most people are unable to separately trigger activation of the upper and lower ab muscles - suggesting that the muscles act together and not independently.

To read the full story click here.

Feel free to let me know if you have questions.

Positive Steps in Stressful Times

by Cary Raffle

With all that's going on, its no wonder that so many people are more stressed out than ever. Last month, one of my colleagues and I conducted a 'StressBusters" seminar at one of the major corporations downtown - 20 minutes of stretching and exercising to get people's minds off their troubles and get their bodies moving. According to the American Council on Exercise, stress can help you feel less anxious, relax you, make you feel better about yourself and make you eat better. They say that just 20 minutes of aerobic activity a day can significantly improver your ability to control stress. Yoga and recreational sports are also recommended. Ideally, get away from your office or even company gym to reduce work related stress ( although we've developed a 20 minute StressBusters session that works pretty well in a conference room). If you tend to work in large groups, ACE suggests avoiding crowded classes, however if you work alone the social contact in classes may help.

We're All Assembly Line Workers: Repetitive Stress Injuries

By Cary Raffle
The idea of repetitive motion injuries - more recently referred to as repetitive strain injuries - is well accepted for assembly line workers, but we aren't quite as aware of it when thinking about executives, professionals, or even our workouts at the gym.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is probably the best know among office workers. This is prevalent among people who use a mouse; the nerve in the wrist become compressed from constant pressure and can cause a shooting or radiating pain up the arm. Avoiding pressure on the wrist and using a gel pad can help prevent this problem. People sitting all day frequently develop hip pain because the muscles are flexed all day long. People rounded over the computer keyboard have shoulder pain. Sometimes it is a repetitive movement, sometimes it is from being in a fixed position or posture like when you get up from sitting on a long air plane flight. Below I will share a few stories and solutions that have helped other people with these kinds of problems.

A judge complained to me of neck pain during our training sessions. We discovered that she turned her head to the left dozens of times a day to see a computer monitor, so she began to alternate the monitor position, be mindful of straining, and incorporated chest sand neck stretches into her routine. My co-worker Alfreda complained about a pain in the neck, and she wasn't referring to her boss or an irate customer. We moved the monitor closer to her and it got better.

I overheard a member doing chest press complaining to his friend about his shoulder problems and inability do certain triceps exercises or hold his shoulders straight for overhead exercise. He described his workout program - heavy chest, lots of shoulders, almost no back. When he stood up he was exactly what I expected - a huge weight lifter of a guy with a big chest and forward rounded shoulders. His workouts had become the equivalent of an assembly line, with nothing to counter the heavy emphasis on the front of his body. He needs to stretch his chest, increase the ratio of back to chest exercises, and work on strengthening the muscles that pull the shoulder back). His program would include rear flies, rotator cuff strengthening, especially the external rotators, and abdominal core training. Crunches could exacerbate the problem he needs to get deeper into the core.

An IT worker complains of chronic back pain, and has poor posture with an arched back. He carries a heavy back with a computer and books every day and keeps his knees locked while standing and waling. He needs to lighten that backpack but until he can, it will be helpful to bend the knees to relieve the arching, stretch the back, and strengthen the core muscles - emphasizing the deep abdominals and gluteals. The program includes single leg squats, leg lifts and lots of core training.

A very fit professor has tennis elbow. (Technically, its epicondylitis and it can affect the inside in tennis elbow or the outside in golfers elbow, with pain felt in the tendons of the forearm). Is it from his workouts or is it from writing on a blackboard - or a combination of both. He uses heavy weights with exercise gloves, has been doing the same workout for about a year, and now had a forearm and elbow braces, what's next to brace? We are in the process of unwrapping this problem, including physical therapy. The general course of training for this problem involves exercises to strengthen the wrist and also some rotator cuff work, especially external rotators.

The last newsletter discussed flexibility, stretching and strengthening, and stretching before exercise. These examples show how this approach can be beneficial in your training program. It is important to vary your workouts, and avoid doing the same thing over and over again - whether its strength training or cardio. With the warm weather, its easy to mix up your cardio routine with some cross training. When it comes to strength training, focus on changing the intensity - ie, if you been working in a range of 8-10 repetitions, take it to 15 at a lower weight or do the exercises in a unstable position - and give your muscles and joints a break. Of course, if you are experiencing serious pain or pain for an extended period of time, you need to get medical attention and avoid working those muscles. Any questions, feel free to let me know.

Muscle Imbalances: Which to Stretch? Which to Strengthen?

By Cary Raffle

Almost everyone has muscle imbalances. A few simple observations and movement tests tell a fitness professional which muscles are tight or overactive and need stretching and which are extended or underactive and need stretching (these are included in your fitness assessment). Below are a few of the more common observations and indicated stretches and strengthening recommendations to give you an example.

Observation	Shortened Muscles to Stretch	Extended Muscles to Strengthen
Feet turn out, shin splints, pain on bottom of foot (plantar fascitis), Achilles tendonitis*	Calves, Quadriceps, IT Band/TFL	Anterior Tibialis (shin), Gluteals, Medial Hamstrings
Shoulders round, soreness in mid/upper back, forward head	Chest, front of Shoulder, Lats, Neck, Upper Traps	Middle and Lower Traps and Rhomboids
Excessive forward lean at hip	Hip flexors and Quadriceps	Gluteals, Hamstrings, Abdominal Core

*Achilles tendonitis and plantar fasicitis are medical conditions, you should consult a doctor for diagnosis and possible treatment.

Once you understand which muscles are shortened and which are extended, be sure to adapt your program accordingly. If your calves are tight, you probably don't want to work them too hard until you complete several weeks of stretching. If your hamstrings are extended, you probably do not want to keep stretching them and extend them even more. Overstretched muscles can also be uncomfortable, they tend to have a low level or soreness that some people mistakenly believe is a call for stretching.

Should You Stretch Before You Exercise?

by Cary Raffle

You may not think that office work is physically demanding, but it takes a toll on your body!

Locked in Seated Position

Have you ever gotten up from your desk or after a long trip and felt like you were locked into seated position? Most of you spend many hours sitting. At a desk or table, hunched over a keyboard, leaning forward to see a computer screen, traveling on trains, busses and airplanes. For hours at a time, your hips are flexed, your shoulder muscles are tight, your glutes and middle/lower back muscles are all stretched out. Then, you want to come into the gym and workout or run or play ball outside. It's a setup for inefficient use of your muscles and potential injury.

A Set Up for Injury

Tight muscles can have limited range of motion and reduced blood flow, which leads to decreased work capacity

Muscle imbalances result as the wrong muscles are recruited to do the work. Here is one example: hunching over a keyboard tighten the muscles in the chest and front of the shoulders, the shoulder muscles and rotator cuff become overactive and tight, they roll forward an reduce the ability of the chest, arm and back muscles to work. It's a set you up for potential injuries such as rotator cuff problems. The same thing can happen at the neck, the hip, or any other area.

As muscles tighten they can spasm, scar tissue and adhesions form. As the muscle becomes less mobile and improperly balanced, joints don't move properly and can begin to degenerate - eventually leading to arthritis. Running with feet turned out and knees knocking, bench pressing with shoulders that are rounded in are a couple of examples of muscle imbalances that can lead to reduced performance and injury.


Before and After

It is important to get your muscles into balance before exercising to avoid risk of injury. But - and this is a big but - you have to be sure to stretch the right muscles. Just as some muscles get tight from sitting, the opposing muscles will stretch out. In some cases, they stretch to the point where they are also susceptible to injury. This often happens with some of the hamstring muscles. As the quadriceps and hip flexors tighten from sitting, some of the hamstring muscles lengthen. Yet many people who don't have tight hamstrings stretch them before exercising. After exercising, stretch the muscles that became tight during your workout, and get them back in balance again.

Does Stretching Weaken the Muscle?

One of my clients asked me to comment on an article that said not to stretch before exercise because research shows that stretching "weakens the muscle." I haven't seen that research.

Stretching sends a signal to the muscle to relax, so it might not generate as much force in the more relaxed state. However that is a very narrow view of how our bodies generate force.

Optimal force is produced by muscles working together in perfect harmony. For this to happen, we need to be in correct postural alignment, and the right muscles need to do the job. Often, a tight muscle will inhibit other muscles from doing their jobs. I have very clients at every level who - at various times - can't properly do certain exercises until their tight muscles have been released.

Counting Calories. The true secret of weight loss.

by Cary Raffle

You hear about all kinds of supplements, medications and diets, but remember that the only way to lose weight is to maintain a calorie deficit. To lose weight, you have to either decrease the calories that you take in or increase the calories that you burn. Or both.

A 36 year old man who is 5 foot 9 inches, weighs 190 pounds and exercises 3-5 times a week needs about 2926 calories per day. A 36 year old woman who is 5 foot 5 inches, weighs 140 pounds and exercises 3-5 time a week needs about 2171 calories per day. (Those of you who completed a fitness assessment with me already have your own personally calculated estimate of daily calories).

If you take in more calories, you gain weight, if you take in less, you lose weight. And this is important - it doesn't matter whether the calories are from fat, protein or carbohydrates - a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. Most diets recommend a 500 calorie a day deficit which translates to a loss of about 1 pound per week. You will need to adjust this target as you continue to lose weight.

HOW DO YOU COUNT CALORIES?

One of my clients recommends The Daily Plate, click here to try it. This is an excellent free resource where you can input all of the foods that you eat and all of your activities, calculate your calorie consumption and expenditures, and maintain a dairy. The library of foods in its calorie database is amazing.

If you aren't looking to get obsessive-compulsive about it and maintain an ongoing diary, just try it for 3-7 days and identify your problem areas. In his case, we reduced red meat from two days to one day per week, eliminated a few beers, and maintained his activity level. Results: dropped 6 pounds from January 6-31.

Periodization of Strength Training: Phase 2 Unstable Exercises

by Cary Raffle

Most readers fall into one of two groups - let's say you've spent the past few weeks doing one of the following:

GROUP 1
You worked out on XpressLine or other machines- 1 or 2 sets of 12-15 repetitions. This workout familiarized your body with movement patterns, built a base of strength for muscles and connective tissue and you got into a good routine.

GROUP 2
You used free weights on bench or seated, or free weights combined with some machines - 1 to 3 sets of 8 to 15. These workouts should have improved your endurance strength and/or increased muscle mass, and improved neuromuscular control.

The Adaptation Principle
In both cases, after 4-6 weeks your body has adapted to the demands of your exercise program, and as you continue, you will experience a decreasing return on the time that you invest in exercising. You've probably increased the weights, but will still find your program plateauing.

How to beat the plateau?
There are a number of different ways to progress the program other than simply increasing the weight. This month, the recommended progression is to perform similar exercises in a less stable position. In the past, you've had a bench or chair supporting you while you worked out. Starting now, you are going to begin training your core muscles to do this work - especially your deep inner abdominal muscles and your gluteals. Yes...your glutes are very important parts of your core!

Why is this important?
Think of an overhead shoulder press and the way that you do this exercise if you use benches and chairs and machines. Think of the way that you use your strength and conditioning in every day life. You are very rarely able to stop, take a seat and then lift an item over your head, are you? By integrating some unstable or core training into your routine, you can enhance your ability to perform these movements in every day life. You'll also reduce the risk of low back pain and develop the inner stability that can take your strength beyond its current plateau.

Click here to access your unstable exercise program.

It begins with a balance and a drawing in maneuver, which trains your body to activate the deepest abdominal muscle. The program includes one representative exercise for each body part. In this phase of training, you'll generally be working with 2 or 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions. We also want to pay some attention to the 4-2-1 tempo, which will emphasize the "negative phase." Each exercise should be perromed so that the concentric phase (when you push, pull or lift) is 2 seconds, the isometric phase (fully pulled or extended) is 1 second, and the eccentric or return phase is 4 seconds.

Feel free to let me know if you have any specific questions about the exercises or program.

Thinking Ahead: Periodization

by Cary Raffle

Whether you're new to exercise or you've been hitting the gym for years, a few weeks from now you might feel that your routine is getting stale, or that you aren't seeing the results that you saw earlier in your program. Periodization, which involves changing the design of your workout at regular planned intervals, can help you stay on track and reach your goals.

Around Valentine's Day, you'll be ready for a change. That's because your body adapts to the particular type of stress (exercise) that you put on it within 4-8 weeks. When this happens, you are likely to see diminishing results over time if you stick with the same exact program. Some people also start feeling aches and pains from doing the same exact movements over and over again. Effective periodization involves more than just taking the weights up every couple of weeks or using a different brand of machine that works the same muscles in pretty much the same way.

There are any number of variables that you can change or progress:

Number of sets and repetitions

Tempo or time and type of muscle action, ie, emphasizing the isometric, eccentric (negative) or concentric phase to hit different muscle fibers

Frequency of training and organization of routines, change the exercise order and reorganize your split routinesl Even better, progress to a totally different mode of training

Unstable exercises to build core strength, if you're usually on fixed machines or benches

Plyometrics to build explosive power and deceleration

Consider a phase of muscle building, ie, heavy weights if you usually train light
Try incorporating different activities like yoga or an alternate form of cardio training. Often, these changes can reenergize your routine, keep you interested and on track, and serve as a springboard for getting to the next level with your fitness program - no matter if your goal is losing weight, gaining muscle, sports performance, or anything else for that matter.

When you think of it, Spring is just around the corner, so start thinking of Periodization now, and feel free to let me know if you need any help. I'll include some specific ideas in the next newsletter that comes out just before Valentines Day.

Is your workout wasting your time?

By Paul Scott, Best Life
According to this author, it's likely that most of what you're doing at the gym is nearly useless - and might be ruining your chances of getting fit. With all the fancy equipment and with all the desire out there to look good, why can't we keep the weight off? Why can't we stick to our gym workouts? Is it our fault? Or does the fault lie elsewhere?

"The health-club culture tries to create a dependency on machines," says Vern Gambetta, a trainer with 38 years of experience training professional and recreational athletes, and the author of Athletic Development: The Art & Science of Functional Sports Conditioning. "If you have a limited amount of time to work out, you're better off ditching the machine to do different kinds of body-weight and whole-body exercises. You'll get more caloric burn for your time spent." Critics also charge that a traditional machine-centric regimen has other downsides.

There is potential for pain in any workout. The key to preventing injury is to find your weak links and then modify your exercise to fortify your weak links, while also not putting stress on them, says Nicholas DiNubile, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine and author of FrameWork: Your 7-Step Program for Healthy Muscles, Bones, and Joints. The most common strength-training-related injuries Dr. DiNubile sees are rotator-cuff problems, knee issues, and lower-back pain. While these are not exclusive to machine-based training, the nonfunctional movements that some machines require, coupled with heavy loads and less-than-perfect form, can cause problems - especially in men over 40 whose joints are getting creaky.

Research from the University of Kentucky studied 23 patients with knee pain to see what made them stronger: a step-up test or doing leg extensions. They found that both became stronger at doing leg extensions, but only those doing the step-ups became stronger at stepping up and functional activities. Chris Powers, a biokinesiology researcher at the University of Southern California, determined that the mechanics of the leg-extension machine doesn't simulate functional activity (e.g., walking, running, or going down steps). "The leg-extension machine puts a lot of strain on the knee ligaments and the patella," says Tim Hewett, PhD, a professor in the departments of biomedical engineering and pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati. "I would never consider letting our athletes use a leg-extension machine."

Bottom Line: Machines are a great way to get your exercise routine started and can be incorporated into any routine ... but a risk in any exercise program comes from repeating the same motion over and over again. The fixed path of the machines can exacerbate the problem, and machine workouts don't burn as many calories as total body exercises.


To read the full story, click here for MSN Health and Fitness.

Get Ready to Hit the Slopes

from the American Council on Exercise

There are several ways to begin a sports-specific training program. The simplest way is to include several new exercises in your regular workout schedule.
For example, performing wall sits that require you to ''sit'' against a wall will help build up the isometric strength needed for the tuck position in skiing. Squats and lunges will build lower body strength for skiing tough terrain like moguls.

Exercises to work your abdominals are essential in creating a solid ''core'' for balance and agility.

It is important to train your body to withstand and absorb the impact associated with skiing. Plyometric movements, such as hopping from side to side, develop muscle power and strength as well as improve agility.

A great way to integrate these elements into your existing routine is to create a circuit training program, which involves rapidly moving from one exercise to the next. You can set up a circuit in any large room, or at your club's aerobic studio.

Try these stations to help you gear up for the slopes: use the slide for lateral training, perform one-legged squats to develop balance and strength, and use a step-bench platform to improve power.

To improve agility, create your own slalom by running between cones.

Click here to read and download the whole article at the American Council on Exercise.

Fit Facts are reprinted from ACE FitnessMatters magazine. Permission granted.

Stand Tall: Corrective Exercise for Your Upper Body

by Cary Raffle

One of my clients called it "The Wall Street Roll." You know the look, shoulders roll forward, they may seem shrugged, in some cases the head is forward and the back of the hands face forward instead of towards the side of the body.

Some of this may be inherited, but most of it comes from sitting hunched over a keyboard all day. Your shoulders get pulled around in front of you and they just don't go back to where they belong. Down the road, you might experience pain or injury as a result. Common problems include rotator cuff injuries, tendonitis and even headaches. At a minimum, you're not really working the right muscles when you train in poor postural alignment.

The corrective exercise strategy for this posture in pretty straightforward: stretching the muscles that pull the shoulders forward and strengthen the muscles that pull them back. Click here to link to a mini program that you can incorporate into your exercise routine. It is very important to use proper form with these exercises, so please pay careful attention to the notes in the program and let me know if you need some help with them or want a more in depth and personalized program.

Stay away from exercises that are going to make this worse. Earlier editions of this newsletter have covered the "ban" on behind the neck pulldowns, upright rows and behind the neck shoulder presses. Do these exercises over time, and you can kiss your rotator cuff goodbye. You generally also want to avoid incline chest press, front and side raises and overhead shoulder press, depending on the severity of the posture. In some cases, biceps curls - especially hammer curls - can cause pain if the biceps tendon is inflamed where it attaches to the shoulder. If you missed this report or want a refresher, scroll down.

Cary Answers 5 Nutrition Questions

Here they are, based on what I've seen and heard from clients and members over the past few weeks. Names are not named to protect the innocent.

When Should I Eat?
Always eat breakfast. Whether you're trying to lose weight or gain muscle, it is the most important meal of the day. Your body is starving and will look to your muscles and internal organs for energy, so you can't lose fat or gain muscle.
Have a big meal 3-4 hours before working out, a snack about 60-90 minutes before. You can't workout as hard or as long without nutrition.
Don't eat or drink supplements while you're working out. It takes energy away from your muscles and sends it to your stomach to digest what you're eating.
Eat a snack or light meal within about an hour after exercising to replenish the lost energy and help your muscles begin to repair and rebuild.
What about fluid intake?
Have about 2 cups of fluid in the 2 hours before exercising, about a quart during an hour of exercise, and a cup 30 minutes after.
Drink two cups of fluid for every pound of body weight lost after exercise.
Water is the beverage of choice when the exercise or athletic event lasts less than an hour; when it lasts longer, beverages with carbohydrates and electrolytes are beneficial (such as Gatorade). But make sure that you've tried these before the day of the big race or game because they don't agree with everyone.
How many calories do I need?
For men and non-pregnant women: Recreational Athletes need about 15-17 calories per pound; Endurance athletes range from 16-23+ calories per pound; Strength athletes need up to 28 calories per pound. To lose weight, reduce daily calories by about 500 and you'll drop about a pound a week.
For a calculator that lets you plug in you actual activities and food intake and create a personalized plan, visit www.mypyramid.gov.
How much protein do I need?
For endurance training, 1.2-1.4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight; for strength training, up to 1.7 grams per pound. Consuming more protein is not beneficial and may be harmful. (According to the American College of Sports Medicine, American Dietetic Association and Dieticians of Canada joint position stand).
What's the best supplement?
If you are already getting enough nutrition from your current diet, you don't need a supplement. If you are getting enough protein from real food and add a supplement, you could be adding unnecessary calories. The question should be what nutrients do I need and what is the best way of getting them. (Usually that's real food). Want a great fat burner and muscle igniter? Have a cup of coffee or green tea for the caffeine.
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, so if you had eggs for breakfast and a turkey sandwich for lunch you've already had plenty of amino acids.
Creatine has been shown to have some beneficial effects in short term strength, but the FDA recommends checking with your doctor and not exceeding recommended dosages.