It seems as though the longer time goes on and more research is done on fitness and exercise, we are trending toward reverting back to some very basic human movements.  One perfect example is the Farmer’s Walk.  This very functional exercise is done holding heavy dumbbells in each hand, standing with good posture, and walking around 20 yards or so.  As with every exercise, make sure that you are able to master your posture before adding more weight.

This exercise works the musculature of your entire back, improves grip strength, exhausts your entire lower body, and focuses on lateral torso and hip strength.  It is an excellent choice to add into almost anyone’s program to add a bit of “real life” benefit.  Personal trainers should be aware of incorporating such exercises into their clients programs to aid in the function of their clients daily activities.

Although many of us drink soda regularly and know that it is unhealthy, most probably don’t know the extent of it.  Soft drinks contain little or no vitamins or essential nutrients.  Instead, they contain items that we should avoid or limit such as caffeine, carbonation, simple sugars, and food additives.  Consumption of soft drinks can lead to tooth decay, obesity, nutrition depletion, and heart disease.

The normal daily USDA recommendation of sugar in a 2,000 calorie diet is 10 teaspoons.  Most soft drinks fill this quota with one serving!  Overconsumption leads to raised insulin levels, leading to depression of the immune system and decrease ability to fight disease.  Besides this, excess consumption also leads to increased body fat stores which, in turn, leads to a whole host of health problems.

Many people have determined that by drinking sugar free or diet soda they are making a better choice.  One study shows that regardless of diet, sugar free, or regular consumption, individuals displayed a 30% incrase in belly fat.  In a recent blog post, I discussed the unknowns about artificial sweeteners.  Some of these could possibly pose a risk to your health.  

In addition to helping my personal training clients in St. Louis, I want to share this information to everyone and also give some tips to ingest more adequate fluids.

- Drink fresh water.  Water is vital and contains vitamins and nutrients essential to life.  Try enhancing your water with honey or mint leaves

- Drink Fruit Juice.  Although sometimes loaded with sugar, you can water down.

- Drink Tea.  Has numerous benefits including antioxidant properties and calming effects

Throughout the year there are various barriers that we must overcome to keep a proper, balanced diet.  The current and upcoming season prove to be especially challenging with the cold, cozy temperatures and the several holidays/events.  Here are some tips that you can implement to ensure that you limit your caloric intake and keep active.

1. Football games- serve veggies and low fat dip as part of your spread, do push-ups, sit-ups, or jumping jacks during every commercial or half time

2. Seasonal Beverages- highly caloric drinks such as eggnog, lattes, apple cider, and hot toddies.  Try hot green tea or light beer and limit yourself to one or two

3. Halloween Candy- Satisfy sweet tooth with gum or fruit.  Limit candy, but put away in cabinet when not eating

4. Stuffing- contains fat , sausage, and butter and is especially bad with gravy.  Try a low fat recipe with fruits, vegetables and stock and keep portions small

5. Pies- It’s the buttery crusts, sweet fillings, and whipped toppings that get you.  Try skipping the crust, limiting the topping and limiting the quantity.

6. Exercise- as always, it becomes even more important to stay on top of your fitness plan.  It may even be the right time to enlist the assistance of a qualified personal trainer!

In the personal training industry, many facilities and fitness trainers rely on the quantity and quality of the equipment that is available to them.  Hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent by some gyms to ensure that they have the coolest, top of the line, ground-breaking line of exercise machines.  I must admit that I fell into this trap as well.  

It takes awhile to realize that a certain amount of equipment is nice to have.  Some might argue that some sort of baseline is necessary in any fitness facility.  When it comes down to it, many exercises can be performed with little or no equipment at all.  Several studies show some of these more functional, body weight type exercises can no only lead to more muscle coordination, but to increased strength as well.  Recently it was determined that the strength gains can be more prevalent than traditional weight selected machines.

I always use body weight exercises as a benchmark for most of my clientele.  In some way or form I would like to see my training clients lift and support their bodies in various dimensions.  The TRX bodyweight strap system is a great tool to assist in accomplishing body weight lifting at various angles.  Check out pictures on our website for pictures on the TRX System.  http://www.studio-element.net

We all know that exercise is so important for so many reasons.  Increased evidence indicates how important it is for the recovery of a stroke victim.  Studies show that a regular combination of repetition therapy, cardiovascular exercise, flexibility training, and strength training can lead to years of recovery.  

Not only does an exercise program focusing on improving cardiovascular health improve their health, it also decreases their chances of having another stroke or heart disease.  Exercise can also help stroke survivors manage their weight, improve cholesterol levels, and increase strength, flexibility, and endurance.  It is also a vital component in aiding the fight against the common depression after a stroke.

Many physicians recommend not trying a program on your own as a stroke survivor.  Enlist the assistance of a qualified health professional.  Someone who is knowledgeable about stroke risk and rehabilitation.

There is somewhat of a cult following of the concept of barefoot running.  Many of these followers believe that we were meant to run this way, convinced that it’s a more “natural” way to run, will reduce the chances of injury, and may make you faster.  

It turns out that much of the barefoot theory and the proposed science behind it is lacking some research.  There are biased studies that show less injury with this type of running versus with shoes.  Injuries from those who wear shoes are also hard to study since so many more people run now with leg length discrepancies, muscle weaknesses, being overweight, etc.

From reading an article in the New York Times and putting my fitness training background, I have concluded that everyone’s body is different and therefore responds differently to certain exercise stimuli.  If barefoot running works for you, then incorporate it into your program.  If shoe running works, then focus on that.  As a personal trainer, I would recommend easing into the barefoot style of running.  Not only does your foot strike the ground differently, demand is being placed on different muscle groups including smaller foot muscles that are hardly used when wearing shoes.

One of the most successful tools that a personal trainer can use to enhance the results for their clients is the fitness assessment. In conjunction with the clients input regarding personal goals, abilities, and limitations, a detailed assessment gives a personal trainer a more in depth look at exactly where the client currently stands. It often reveals strengths and/or weaknesses that the client was unaware of leading to an adjustment on their goals.
Any good personal training facility should have an evaluation process that is detailed and cover all aspects of ones fitness. Tests performed should include body fat analysis, BMI measurement, Waist to Hip ratio, strength tests, endurance tests, flexibility tests, height, weight, resting blood pressure, resting heart rate, and any other more specific goal testing. A follow up should occur on all of the tests every three or four months to track progress and make any necessary program adjustments.

Many of you have probably heard the word before, but are probably uncertain as to what exactly Plyometric Training is.  Plyometrics are a type of exercise designed to produce fast, powerful movements, and improve the function of the nervous system, generally for the purpose of improving performance in sports.  According to the NSCA’s Strength and Conditioning Essentials, plyometric exercises should be incorporated into an overall strength and conditioning program along with both resistance training and aerobic activity.

Plyometrics are not inherently dangerous, but there is a level of risk involved when performing.  Things to consider when implementing plyometrics into a workout.

- Age- low-intensity and low-volume only for athletes under the age of 13 or who squat less than 1.5 times their bodyweight

- Surface- some degree of softness is needed. Gymnastics mats are ideal, while grass is suitable.  Hard surfaces such as concrete should be avoided.

- Bodyweight- athletes over 240 pounds should be cautious and use low level plyos

- Technique- as with any fitness program, a participant must be instructed on proper technique by a qualified strength and conditioning professional or personal trainer

So many of us use artificial sweeteners such as Splenda, Equal, Stevia, or Nutrasweet on a daily basis based on beliefs that it is “better” for us.  Although Americans in particular tend to go overboard with sweet sugary treats, it may be the better choice overall.  Our bodies can’t handle the amounts of sugar that many put into their bodies, but we have developed such that we can handle moderate amounts and our bodies know how to process it.  On the other side, sugar is an empty calorie and a good majority of us tend to overconsume.

An obvious advantage of artificial sweeteners is that they have zero calories.  It only makes sense that if you are attempting to restrict calories in your diet, switching from Coke to Coke Zero or Diet Coke is obvious.  On the flip side, these products are made in labs and are not natural.  We know very little about what these chemicals will do to our bodies long term.  There seems to be some “hybrid” products new to the market that may be worth researching, but for now my personal opinion is this:

- Limit the sugar and sugary products in your diet

- Stick with the real deal (sugar) as often as possible (at least until more research becomes available)

These are all guidelines that we, at Studio Element, discuss with our personal training clients and attempt to integrate into their overall plan.

High Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T.) is a form of intense short exercise bouts followed by shorter rests.  They are designed to reduce training time and increase your VO2 max, which is the amount of oxygen you can uptake during exercise.  It is also proposed that you are able to maintain more muscle mass as opposed to more steady-state, cardiovascular exercise.  The reason is that slow twitch fibers are more compatible with endurance training, whereas fast twitch fibers are more compatible with short, intense bouts of exercise (weightlifting or sprinting).  

The specifics of H.I.I.T. Training are as follows:

- Warm up for 5 minutes

- Give maximum effort for 15 to 30 seconds, followed by a 2 minute recovery

- Perform 6 to 10 of these intervals 

- Cooldown

This is a great way to mix things up as a personal trainer or in one of our bootcamps.  Keep the body guessing and results will come!