Had a couple of busy weeks, and my internet was out for a few days. Fortunately, that reduced my chances of distraction and allowed me to stay on track with my fitness =)
So now before I go and do my plyometrics (and possibly back and biceps later) I have a very informative article for people who want to see more information on why watching the scale to determine fat loss isn't very effective.
http://www.leighpeele.com/water-retention-and-weight-loss-2
It appears that if you're losing fat, those fat cells will empty of fat, and fill up with water because your body is still unsure of whether or not it really needs something in there. I really like and can relate to the 'whoosh' affect that they talk about in the article.
This is absolutely my last week of Phase II, otherwise I'm likely to plateau because I've spent almost 6 weeks in it. When I finish P90X I might start looking into some of the Crossfit programs.
Pushing play.
Showing posts with label Beachbody. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beachbody. Show all posts
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Core Synergistics and Abdominal Muscle Functions
Core Synergistics was my 2nd workout of the day yesterday, and I'm really sore as compared to my Core Synergistics workout earlier in the week. A person's "Core" is made up of all the muscles that support your trunk, so your whole body that isn't a limb, or as copied from wikipedia:
"The major muscles of the core reside in the area of the belly and the mid and lower back (not the shoulders), and peripherally include the hips, the shoulders and the neck."
The 1 hour Core synergistics routine focuses on having a person slightly flex all of their trunk muscles while doing movements. The plank position is used a lot (Position of being extended flat out before doing a pushup) because you tighten your glutes, lower back and abdominal muscles to hold a straight and strong position.
So what is the importance of core strength?
The importance of keeping your core muscles strong is to prevent injury. All of these muscles help support your spine, which is very delicate due to all the functions it provides. If you learn to tighten the muscles when doing simple every day lifts, you reduce the chance of back injuries because all of your muscles are supporting each other and keep the spine from hyper-extending.
Other positives for core strength:
With sports and other athletic events, your body needs to be strong to be competitive, for example a pitcher, or a batter at the plate wanting to hit the ball really hard. When you learn to swing a bat correctly, you learn to twist your body as you swing it, because it generates more force, and the same thing when throwing a baseball.
The amount of strength in the core of your body allows you to load a ton of power behind regular movements that you normally think of being simply based on limb strength.
Runners strengthen their core so that when they run, they let the torso twist in combination with their steps to generate a stronger push off with each foot, and it also helps increase their stride length. Any sport that you swing in, be it tennis, baseball, hockey, mixed martial arts, all will receive extra bonuses of strength and power because of a strong core. (MMA fighters gain power in their punches and kicks because of their core strength allowing more force through twisting their body.)
Why I felt this important to bring up:
A lot of people have no idea what the function of the abdominal muscles are for, as well as the understanding of the importance of strengthening all the muscles in your trunk.
Many people think of abdominal muscles as a cosmetic attribute, not an anatomically important function.
Last night I had to stop the core workout with about 10 minutes left because my previously injured lower-left abdominal muscle was acting up again. Fortunately I think I stopped before I re-injured it for a long period of time and I should be good to go as soon as Monday comes around.
"The major muscles of the core reside in the area of the belly and the mid and lower back (not the shoulders), and peripherally include the hips, the shoulders and the neck."
The 1 hour Core synergistics routine focuses on having a person slightly flex all of their trunk muscles while doing movements. The plank position is used a lot (Position of being extended flat out before doing a pushup) because you tighten your glutes, lower back and abdominal muscles to hold a straight and strong position.
So what is the importance of core strength?
The importance of keeping your core muscles strong is to prevent injury. All of these muscles help support your spine, which is very delicate due to all the functions it provides. If you learn to tighten the muscles when doing simple every day lifts, you reduce the chance of back injuries because all of your muscles are supporting each other and keep the spine from hyper-extending.
Other positives for core strength:
With sports and other athletic events, your body needs to be strong to be competitive, for example a pitcher, or a batter at the plate wanting to hit the ball really hard. When you learn to swing a bat correctly, you learn to twist your body as you swing it, because it generates more force, and the same thing when throwing a baseball.
The amount of strength in the core of your body allows you to load a ton of power behind regular movements that you normally think of being simply based on limb strength.
Runners strengthen their core so that when they run, they let the torso twist in combination with their steps to generate a stronger push off with each foot, and it also helps increase their stride length. Any sport that you swing in, be it tennis, baseball, hockey, mixed martial arts, all will receive extra bonuses of strength and power because of a strong core. (MMA fighters gain power in their punches and kicks because of their core strength allowing more force through twisting their body.)
Why I felt this important to bring up:
A lot of people have no idea what the function of the abdominal muscles are for, as well as the understanding of the importance of strengthening all the muscles in your trunk.
Many people think of abdominal muscles as a cosmetic attribute, not an anatomically important function.
Last night I had to stop the core workout with about 10 minutes left because my previously injured lower-left abdominal muscle was acting up again. Fortunately I think I stopped before I re-injured it for a long period of time and I should be good to go as soon as Monday comes around.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Stress and Exercise
Before I get deep into my thoughts and understandings over the subject of stress and exercise, I'd like to announce that I picked up my first set of adjustable dumbbells today.
I picked up a set of Powerblocks (http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3903097&cid=CSE:GoogleProductSearch), the 5lbs-50lbs classic set. These things are super convenient for $299 and I also bought the stand (~$67) for easier quick-weight selection, as well as a bit of relief on my back from lowering to the floor to pick them up. I simply slide a bar into the weight selection I want on each dumbbell, and lift the weight off the stand/ground.
They aren't as pretty as the Bowflex SelectTechs, but the ones (SelectTechs) in the store were broken, unlike the Powerblocks. I'm pretty excited for next week to start up so I can get back to some heavy resistance and test these out, I especially am excited to be able to do strip-sets without having to pause my DVD while I fumble around with the weights.
Now currently the weight only goes to 50lbs (Increments of 5lbs) per dumbbell, but there are a couple of upgrade kits I can buy when I am ready that will increase the weight up to 100, and I think 130 or 120 was the final upgrade kit for them. They also have a 10 year warranty that I don't feel I'll need to use with them.
Now on to the topic of stress, how you feel, and how to feel better...
Most people tend to tense up muscles in their body when they are stressed out, particularly around their shoulders and back. You never really notice that you do it, it's similar to when you are in pain you might tighten your fists, or grind your teeth, or tighten up your shoulders, your body does this reactively.
Its not healthy when your muscles do not get a chance to loosen up and relax, it causes pain and in general is just not good for your muscles to be so tight.
The easiest way to alleviate this pain is to get your blood pumping and move your body. Do some light cardio on a treadmill or go for a jog, or just do some jumping jacks. When you exercise and your heart starts to move that blood faster, endorphin chemicals (Happy chemicals!) are released and they bring up your mood and help your muscles relax.
For a lot of people it sounds silly, because they might tend to be the people who are often stressed and don't get much exercise in their weekly agenda. If you 4-6 days of just cardio a week, you'll find that your mood will become more positive on a regular basis, and probably will feel much less tense around the shoulders and back. This might be a good time to build a new habit and make 45 minutes of time for exercise into your regular daily routine.
The other people, the ones who do have a regular fitness schedule tied in with their daily lives, sometimes you just cant stay motivated. Stress is like a blanket of suffocation sometimes, you don't feel like doing anything, you don't want to workout you just want to sit and relax (honestly, how often does that sitting and relaxing NOT turn into a pool of stressful thoughts and worry?).
My first suggestion to overcome this is just try to find some kind of motivation to ATTEMPT to start a workout. Often times once you start it, you feel like you might as well keep going and eventually your finished and feeling better.
My second suggestion, find a friend. Get a workout buddy, give them a call and let them know you just cant get the motivation to move. Having a workout partner makes it harder to fall off track, because you share the same accountability and they see you 'giving up' and want you to keep trying.
Basically, feeling stressed breaks your motivation to get moving, but getting some exercise will break down that stress. Think of it like a headache and Tylenol - You know that if you take it, you still need a good 30 minutes of suffering before it kicks in, but eventually it'll relieve that headache from you - same thing with exercise, you gotta suffer for a few minutes until your body gets into it, and you'll feel good by the end.
I picked up a set of Powerblocks (http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3903097&cid=CSE:GoogleProductSearch), the 5lbs-50lbs classic set. These things are super convenient for $299 and I also bought the stand (~$67) for easier quick-weight selection, as well as a bit of relief on my back from lowering to the floor to pick them up. I simply slide a bar into the weight selection I want on each dumbbell, and lift the weight off the stand/ground.
They aren't as pretty as the Bowflex SelectTechs, but the ones (SelectTechs) in the store were broken, unlike the Powerblocks. I'm pretty excited for next week to start up so I can get back to some heavy resistance and test these out, I especially am excited to be able to do strip-sets without having to pause my DVD while I fumble around with the weights.
Now currently the weight only goes to 50lbs (Increments of 5lbs) per dumbbell, but there are a couple of upgrade kits I can buy when I am ready that will increase the weight up to 100, and I think 130 or 120 was the final upgrade kit for them. They also have a 10 year warranty that I don't feel I'll need to use with them.
Now on to the topic of stress, how you feel, and how to feel better...
Most people tend to tense up muscles in their body when they are stressed out, particularly around their shoulders and back. You never really notice that you do it, it's similar to when you are in pain you might tighten your fists, or grind your teeth, or tighten up your shoulders, your body does this reactively.
Its not healthy when your muscles do not get a chance to loosen up and relax, it causes pain and in general is just not good for your muscles to be so tight.
The easiest way to alleviate this pain is to get your blood pumping and move your body. Do some light cardio on a treadmill or go for a jog, or just do some jumping jacks. When you exercise and your heart starts to move that blood faster, endorphin chemicals (Happy chemicals!) are released and they bring up your mood and help your muscles relax.
For a lot of people it sounds silly, because they might tend to be the people who are often stressed and don't get much exercise in their weekly agenda. If you 4-6 days of just cardio a week, you'll find that your mood will become more positive on a regular basis, and probably will feel much less tense around the shoulders and back. This might be a good time to build a new habit and make 45 minutes of time for exercise into your regular daily routine.
The other people, the ones who do have a regular fitness schedule tied in with their daily lives, sometimes you just cant stay motivated. Stress is like a blanket of suffocation sometimes, you don't feel like doing anything, you don't want to workout you just want to sit and relax (honestly, how often does that sitting and relaxing NOT turn into a pool of stressful thoughts and worry?).
My first suggestion to overcome this is just try to find some kind of motivation to ATTEMPT to start a workout. Often times once you start it, you feel like you might as well keep going and eventually your finished and feeling better.
My second suggestion, find a friend. Get a workout buddy, give them a call and let them know you just cant get the motivation to move. Having a workout partner makes it harder to fall off track, because you share the same accountability and they see you 'giving up' and want you to keep trying.
Basically, feeling stressed breaks your motivation to get moving, but getting some exercise will break down that stress. Think of it like a headache and Tylenol - You know that if you take it, you still need a good 30 minutes of suffering before it kicks in, but eventually it'll relieve that headache from you - same thing with exercise, you gotta suffer for a few minutes until your body gets into it, and you'll feel good by the end.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Yoga X and being a Coach
Last night I decided to make up the Yoga X I missed on Monday, and will move onto Kenpo or core tonight. I'm beginning to appreciate Yoga a little more each time I do it. I get very relaxed, even through all the pain you get with the first 50 minutes of the workout.
I'm improving a lot on flexibility, and my form in a lot of the poses is getting much better and less shaky.
I've got one more round of Yoga X for the week, and I'm actually looking forward to it now, just hoping time doesn't become an issue for the day I need to do it.
Hopefully by Monday I'll be picking up my new set of Dumbbells, which are an adjustable set of Powerblocks. I'm picking up a 5-50lb set, and eventually if I need to I will buy the upgrade pack to bring it up to 100lbs.
On another note, I've managed to get a friend to start doing P90X. If he keeps with it, which I think he will, he seems to be going pretty strong already 3 days in, he'll kind of be my poster-boy of a guy who doesn't need to lose a lot of weight, but is looking to get a healthier and toned body. Best part about it, is once his girlfriend finishes up this semester of school, she's gonna start up, though she hasn't decided if she'll do the whole thing (I think a little motivation from a few weeks of results will keep her going). She seemed pretty excited, and like him, she really is only looking to firm up and just generally have a healthier better functioning body - which exercise and proper nutrition will do for you.
I'm a coach and sell products but I'm not trying to sell a product, but first and foremost I'm trying to focus people on their health, letting them sample what the product can do for their health, then they can make a decision if they like the results.
I work in a deli which serves hot food, as well as over-processed meats, I see a ton of people daily that I would like to help, and I reach out to as many as I can, so even if my business doesn't grow overnight, maybe some day I'll get a phone call or a message from someone I reached out to, when the timing is right for them to realize it's time for them to live healthier, and or help others.
I'm improving a lot on flexibility, and my form in a lot of the poses is getting much better and less shaky.
I've got one more round of Yoga X for the week, and I'm actually looking forward to it now, just hoping time doesn't become an issue for the day I need to do it.
Hopefully by Monday I'll be picking up my new set of Dumbbells, which are an adjustable set of Powerblocks. I'm picking up a 5-50lb set, and eventually if I need to I will buy the upgrade pack to bring it up to 100lbs.
On another note, I've managed to get a friend to start doing P90X. If he keeps with it, which I think he will, he seems to be going pretty strong already 3 days in, he'll kind of be my poster-boy of a guy who doesn't need to lose a lot of weight, but is looking to get a healthier and toned body. Best part about it, is once his girlfriend finishes up this semester of school, she's gonna start up, though she hasn't decided if she'll do the whole thing (I think a little motivation from a few weeks of results will keep her going). She seemed pretty excited, and like him, she really is only looking to firm up and just generally have a healthier better functioning body - which exercise and proper nutrition will do for you.
I'm a coach and sell products but I'm not trying to sell a product, but first and foremost I'm trying to focus people on their health, letting them sample what the product can do for their health, then they can make a decision if they like the results.
I work in a deli which serves hot food, as well as over-processed meats, I see a ton of people daily that I would like to help, and I reach out to as many as I can, so even if my business doesn't grow overnight, maybe some day I'll get a phone call or a message from someone I reached out to, when the timing is right for them to realize it's time for them to live healthier, and or help others.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Self Improvement
I'm making this a short post, because nobody can explain how to go about improving everything in your life. Remember my last post of lists? Jack LaLanne has a nice list for you
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Recovery Week
Yesterday was the beginning of my recovery week, and my scheduled workout was to be Yoga... Didn't do it.
Today's scheduled workout was Core Synergistics, did it, and felt good about it, and because of that I'm back on the bandwagon, will likely do my best to pick up Yoga again on the day which would normally be "rest" day.
The recovery week always catches me off guard in terms of how I feel/how my body reacts. I'll do a short overview on what the recovery week is and does.
Recovery week is the 4th week of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the program. During that week the workouts are these: Yoga, Core Synergistics, Kenpo, X Stretch, Core Synergistics, Yoga, Stretch/rest. None of these workouts will make you sore the following day. Yoga is a lot of balance and stretching and cardiovascular work, Core Synergistics is cardiovascular and "core" (Muscles supporting spine) work, Kenpo is just cardio.
The idea of recovery week is to let your body completely heal, but still burn some calories and lightly work all of the muscles to help them force more repairing cells to the tissue (They get lazy when the muscle isn't used much). During my regular workout weeks, my bodyweight fluctuates almost 10lbs regularily, but when recovery week comes around, my weight flat out drops and stays there. It's weird, and amazing what the body does when it's at it's optimal rate of restoration/rest, it almost feels like the changes are happening overnight steadily throughout the whole recovery week.
A lot of people wont notice changes or have any changes after those first 3 weeks of hard dedicated workouts, be discouraged and quit before that recovery week hits, and when it does it is amazing.
For me, this recovery week has dropped me down to 185 when hydrated in the morning hours (always check myself in the morning and at night, fluctuation is usually only a couple of pounds). Even without having a goal of losing a lot of weight, I'm still dropping (and I need to, I've got this skinfat that hangs off my belly and back that needs to go away).
The TRUE double-doubles starts up on Monday, because I'll be incorporating 3 days of cardio X into the schedule, on top of my double resistance days - but i haven't decided if I should throw the cardio X day son my yoga/kenpo/plyo days or not. That'll be my next experiment.
Keep motivated everyone =)
Today's scheduled workout was Core Synergistics, did it, and felt good about it, and because of that I'm back on the bandwagon, will likely do my best to pick up Yoga again on the day which would normally be "rest" day.
The recovery week always catches me off guard in terms of how I feel/how my body reacts. I'll do a short overview on what the recovery week is and does.
Recovery week is the 4th week of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the program. During that week the workouts are these: Yoga, Core Synergistics, Kenpo, X Stretch, Core Synergistics, Yoga, Stretch/rest. None of these workouts will make you sore the following day. Yoga is a lot of balance and stretching and cardiovascular work, Core Synergistics is cardiovascular and "core" (Muscles supporting spine) work, Kenpo is just cardio.
The idea of recovery week is to let your body completely heal, but still burn some calories and lightly work all of the muscles to help them force more repairing cells to the tissue (They get lazy when the muscle isn't used much). During my regular workout weeks, my bodyweight fluctuates almost 10lbs regularily, but when recovery week comes around, my weight flat out drops and stays there. It's weird, and amazing what the body does when it's at it's optimal rate of restoration/rest, it almost feels like the changes are happening overnight steadily throughout the whole recovery week.
A lot of people wont notice changes or have any changes after those first 3 weeks of hard dedicated workouts, be discouraged and quit before that recovery week hits, and when it does it is amazing.
For me, this recovery week has dropped me down to 185 when hydrated in the morning hours (always check myself in the morning and at night, fluctuation is usually only a couple of pounds). Even without having a goal of losing a lot of weight, I'm still dropping (and I need to, I've got this skinfat that hangs off my belly and back that needs to go away).
The TRUE double-doubles starts up on Monday, because I'll be incorporating 3 days of cardio X into the schedule, on top of my double resistance days - but i haven't decided if I should throw the cardio X day son my yoga/kenpo/plyo days or not. That'll be my next experiment.
Keep motivated everyone =)
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Experimentation Truly Begins and Accountability
Yesterday I did my Plyometrics, felt like I did fantastic. I'm now having more issues with my breathing/cardio than I am with my muscles giving out on me in the workouts (though they still end up like jello by the end, not gonna lie). It appears that Plyo will be increasing my cardio performance a lot, which is good considering I have asthma that, according doctors is "exercise induced", but I haven't used my inhaler for anything except for allergy issues closing up my throat.
Something I've learned over the course of doing Plyometrics: you feel fine after you get some food and energy in you, you feel fine when you wake up in the morning, but at about the 16 hour mark after you finished your workout your leg muscles tighten up and you whine like a baby every time you approach stairs. However, I did Ab Ripper X last night after plyo with some excellent improvements, and I don't feel sore today. This means I'll be ready to bring it come yoga day tomorrow.
Today is my first attempt at my double-resistance day, and I've already learned that there is no way in hell I can do both workouts within the same 6 hours. Therefore I'm going to be working on my time management to allow for time to do a workout in the morning, and then the other after I get out of work, or later in the evening.
Shoulders and Arms was todays first workout and it is by far my favorite, I always feel a good burn and find improvements almost every time I do it, something about curling 30lbs when you're biceps are dead from earlier just feels good. Tonight when I get out of work, I'm hoping I have the motivation and energy to do Chest and Back as well.
I'm absolutely loving the fact I can now see my arms toning up nicely, and I can feel the firmness I've attained from doing the program when running my hand across my arm.
As for food intake and my current change in workout routine, on resistance days I need a lot of carbs and a lot of protein to keep hunger at bay and energy high, so I've opted into some basic beans and hotdogs. I understand that the sodium content is very high, but water retention is temporary and will basically only be a problem for a day or so following the resistance workouts, and will be cured with plenty of hydration.
Something I've learned over the course of doing Plyometrics: you feel fine after you get some food and energy in you, you feel fine when you wake up in the morning, but at about the 16 hour mark after you finished your workout your leg muscles tighten up and you whine like a baby every time you approach stairs. However, I did Ab Ripper X last night after plyo with some excellent improvements, and I don't feel sore today. This means I'll be ready to bring it come yoga day tomorrow.
Today is my first attempt at my double-resistance day, and I've already learned that there is no way in hell I can do both workouts within the same 6 hours. Therefore I'm going to be working on my time management to allow for time to do a workout in the morning, and then the other after I get out of work, or later in the evening.
Shoulders and Arms was todays first workout and it is by far my favorite, I always feel a good burn and find improvements almost every time I do it, something about curling 30lbs when you're biceps are dead from earlier just feels good. Tonight when I get out of work, I'm hoping I have the motivation and energy to do Chest and Back as well.
I'm absolutely loving the fact I can now see my arms toning up nicely, and I can feel the firmness I've attained from doing the program when running my hand across my arm.
As for food intake and my current change in workout routine, on resistance days I need a lot of carbs and a lot of protein to keep hunger at bay and energy high, so I've opted into some basic beans and hotdogs. I understand that the sodium content is very high, but water retention is temporary and will basically only be a problem for a day or so following the resistance workouts, and will be cured with plenty of hydration.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)