by Laura

Get Apple Jacked

Move over colossal mega protein super builder bar there is a new snack in town…apples just might be the food of choice for those looking to prevent atrophy and promote hypertrophy.

A substance called ursolic acid that is found in apple peels was recently tested on mice and the results were promising.  Healthy mice actually experienced muscle growth when given the substance.  A reduction in muscle weakening was found when the acid was given to fasting mice.  You can read more about the study here.   Though I am a personal trainer and have tried more than a few shakes, powders, and pills I always end up going back to basics: whole foods.  Though proper nutrition is important there is no need to nix the farmers market and obtain all your meals in bar form.  Instead of trying to remember which amino acids to take with which fat-burning pill remember this simple equation: good energy in = good energy out.  If you fuel your body with good nutritious food you will feel better and increase your energy.  Increased energy leads to more activity which in turn leads to more productive workouts.  Whether you want to get leaner or add mass, nutrition is an important part of the equation.  When  it comes to muscle building,  the orchard might just be the new GNC.

by Laura

Physical Strain Improves Your Brain

“Jock” and “meat-head” aren’t necessarily synonyms for “rocket scientist” or “Mensa member” , but new research shows that being an intelligent individual and pumping iron might not be mutually exclusive.   In fact, recent studies have shown that regular exercise (in particular strength training) improves brain function.  It is believed that improved overall blood flow due to exercise does not stop at the neck.  Better blood flow in the brain leads to better cognitive function.  So let’s think about this in a more holistic manner: in my previous post I pointed to research attributing yoga to pain relief and healing due to increased blood flow.  In this post, I am pointing to research that shows exercise as a means to improve the mind through increased blood flow.  We already know that exercise helps your heart by (wait for it….) increasing blood flow.  Still unconvinced?  When health fails to motivate you can always count on vanity: exercise improves skin tone by flushing out cellular debris by (drum roll please) increasing blood flow!  So all those ladies who don’t like to sweat because it’s unattractive keep the larger picture of eternal youth and a glowing complexion in mind.  I could go on and on but I hope by now you are having trouble seeing the downside of physical activity.  Who among you would not want be a smarter, healthier, happier, and more attractive individual?

Next time you are at the gym and are having a hard time remembering the square root of pi go ask the musclebound man on the squat rack.  The answer might be closer than you think.

by Laura

The Power of Om

Got pain?  Skip the pills, try some yoga.  An article posted on CNN.com this morning by senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen relayed the power of some classic yoga poses on common medical conditions.  She quotes well known doctor Dean Ornish who tributes its benefits to lowered stress levels and whole body relaxation.  “Your arteries begin to relax so there’s more blood flow everywhere, so everything is better.”  Studies show that yoga can help everything from headaches to depression.  So just how do you start a yoga practice?  Like anything else in the fitness world, baby steps.  Yoga can be an acquired taste for some.  As a personal trainer whose favorite pastime is jumping up and down, I had a hard time initially realizing the positive in yoga.  I spent my entire first class frustrated and wondering when we were actually going to do something.  Instead of relaxing into the final meditation I rued my decision to take yoga instead of the make-you-vomit boot camp that was held at the same time.  I was convinced that yoga was a crock (it had only been around for 1000’s of years, what did they know?).  I went back to my apartment, poured myself a big glass of wine, and vowed never to take yoga again.

Flash forward a few years to an older, wiser (though some might debate that) woman.  No longer searching for the miracle workout, I went back to yoga to supplement my current routine.  Instead of focusing on attaining the famed “yoga butt” I released any and all expectations and took the class for what it was.  I played the role of student instead of skeptic and was better off for it.  It took a few classes, but now I am able to use yoga as a great tool to enhance my training routine as well as the routines of my clients.  The breathing focus helps with cardio, the bodily awareness helps with strength training, the balance helps with neuromuscular control, and the focus and relaxation help with life in general.  Never having been one to partake in massage frequently, I find that yoga relieves the muscular tension I so frequently build up.  Performing yoga just 2x a week has been shown to produce the positive benefits mentioned above.

To get started, check out this article from Oprah’s favorite doctor Mehmet Oz about starting a  yoga practice  (I thought I might give them some much needed notoriety by putting this article on such a famous blog)

Seriously though, it’s a great little start up program.  Give it some time, it will grow on you, and if that doesn’t work there is always that glass of wine….

by Laura

Survival of the Fittest

As a species we are hard-wired to adapt.  Those who can quickly adjust to a given situation or environment are most likely to survive.  This seems to be especially true when the situation is a group exercise class and the environment is the local gym.  Step into the studio, shut the door behind you, and watch as evolutionary biology kicks in.  Suddenly you are performing exercises you would never think of performing on the gym floor due to the simple fact that everyone else is too.  That burpee or box jump looks much more appealing when instead of sticking out like a sore thumb for doing it you would look out of place by refusing .  Fear of hyperventilating lessens when you glance across the room and see a sweet elderly man happily completing his second round of mountain climbers.  Exercising becomes fun when you have someone to commiserate with, make faces at the teacher with, and go out for a non fat soy latte with afterwards.  Nothing builds friendship faster than tandem hardship, even if that hardship is a heavily loaded squat.  Going through the trenches together helps people bond like nothing else.  Before you know it 45 minutes have gone by, you’re sweating more than you ever would be if you worked out alone, and you’ve made a few new friends.  Maybe there is something to this group exercise thing.

by Laura

What are You Weighting For?

You’re no stranger to Zumba.  Watching episodes of The View on the elliptical has become second nature.  You have an occasional rendezvous with the treadmill and an on and off relationship with the recumbent bike.  Getting moving is great, but if you want to get all the benefits of an active lifestyle you have to hit the weights.  I know the weight room is scary.  All that grunting and gratuitous flexing is enough to make even the strongest of stomachs a bit queasy.  However, next time you think about forgoing that strength training workout to walk with 5 lbs weights on the treadmill (lame) I want you to remember the following things:

  • Bone up– Strength training improves bone density and decreases the risk of osteoporosis
  • Slim down– The more lean muscle mass you have, the easier it is to control your weight
  • Stay safe– Building muscle protects your joints from injury and improves balance, two key factors for injury prevention
  • Boost your endurance– The stronger you are, the longer it takes you to fatigue
  • Feel better– Strength training can keep chronic conditions like back pain, obesity, diabetes, and depression at bay
I could go on and on with benefits (being able to kick more ass on a daily basis, challenging people to arm wrestling competitions with confidence, amusing your friends at parties by making your pecs dance) but the bottom line is strength training is vital to an all around healthy lifestyle.  No need to become a gym rat either: 20-30 minutes a day at least twice a week will help you reap the benefits.  So what are you waiting for?  Give yourself the gift of some guns!
by Laura

Exercise Hard, Eat Right, Die Anyway

A few years ago my mother gave me a magnet that said “Exercise hard, eat right, die anyway”.  On the magnet was a picture of a mad little bunny rabbit, sweat band around his head, beads of perspiration running down his little face, decked out in gym clothes with his hands in tight fists.  In my years of being a personal trainer I have seen many clients resemble this woodland creature (not that they looked like rabbits, but the body language was identical, sometimes followed by a medicine ball tossed in the general direction of my head).  Hell, I have resembled him a few times myself.  You are on a nice, balanced exercise routine and then decide to turn it up a notch.  Maybe you have a reunion looming in your future or bathing suit season suddenly sneaks up on you in a fashion eerily similar to last year.  It starts innocently enough, maybe an extra cardio session in the evenings or an extra plate or two on the bar.  You were never a runner but suddenly decide to throw yourself into a marathon training routine.  Who needs carbs, and while you’re at it, protein for that matter?  Just another workout, another dinner of baby spinach,and you might reach your goal weight when hold on a sec….did that pop you just heard come from your knee?  Are those bags under your eyes or did you get hit with a two by four and have no recollection of it?  Isn’t exercise and eating right supposed to make you feel great?  What gives?

This may sound funny coming from a personal trainer but yes, it is possible to have too much of a good thing.  Pushing yourself into complete overdrive will only lead to a major crash.  One of my favorite yoga teachers once said “Yoga is important, but it’s not serious”.  I like to think about exercise the same way.  Life isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon and you need to pace yourself.  Working hard is great, but you need to find some kind of balance.  In order to maintain a healthy lifestyle it has to work for the long haul.  Slow and steady wins the race, be a fitness tortoise instead of a mad little bunny rabbit.

by Laura

Under Pressure

So you are informed by your doctor that you have high blood pressure.  You groan as you think about prescription meds and reduced salt intake.  There go the carefree days of late night dancing followed by disco fries at the diner…but wait!  No need to mourn over your lost youth just yet.  Researchers at the Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan found that laughter and music were just as effective at lowering blood pressure as reducing salt intake or dropping 10 lbs.  Other measures shown effective in blood pressure reduction include cardiovascular exercise, stress reduction, getting adequate sleep, light alcohol consumption, consuming 1/2 an ounce of dark chocolate daily, and cutting down on caffeine.  So instead of thinking about what you can’t do how anymore how about thinking about what you can?  Say no to staying late at work to meet up with your funniest friend.  Sip on a caffeine free adult beverage while dancing at your favorite club.  Skip the diner (until there is a study that proclaims french fries covered in gravy and cheese as the new super food)  in favor of some high quality dark chocolate and a good night’s sleep.  Do you see a pattern here?  Being healthy does not have to come at the cost of having fun and being happy.  Having fun and being happy actually make you healthier.

So as a personal trainer I came up with a new blood pressure lowering routine:

1.) Fill your iPod with your favorite tunes or comedy mp3s, or kill two birds with one stone and download some funny music (The Lonely Island and Tenacious D are a few of my favorite recommendations)

2.) Listen to your ipod as you walk, run, dance, or perform any form of cardio you prefer

3.) Repeat daily

by Laura

Health’s a Journey, Not a Destination

“I used to be (insert weight at age 16, position on high school football team, or any unrealistic expectation of what client thinks they should be here)”.  As a trainer I hear this several times a day.  There is a name in the industry for this these clients.  They are called used-to-coulds.  They look to the past and use that version of themselves to determine their goals for the future.  It is interesting that in a world in a constant state of flux we expect our bodies to stay the same.  Realistically, we have many machines in the gym but a time machine we do not.  Would you want to go back there anyway?  Sure, you may have weighed a few pounds less but remember that awful 80’s hair?  Remember how insecure you were?  How broke?  How ignorant?  Or maybe your life really was perfect back then and the rest has been a downhill tumble.  Are you going to keep on tumbling or use those quads and hamstrings to work your way up to the next peak?  Our cells are constantly turning over, we are literally not the same person we were a decade ago.  Who are you going to be now?  Why does it have to be about getting back to where you were then?  Couldn’t it be about moving forward to something even better?  You don’t have to forget where you came from, but maybe don’t cling to it so hard either.  You have to loosen your grip on the lower ledge to pull yourself up higher.  Try it.  The next peak might be closer than you think.

by Laura

Variety is The Spice of Life

You wouldn’t watch the same movie over and over, read the same book, or go to the same restaurant.  So why have you been doing the same workout for so damn long?  Aren’t you bored yet?  The fitness industry is well known for constantly coming up with “the workout to end all workouts” every time you turn on the television.  Though innovation is a good thing, shunning everything you’ve ever done and joining a Kettlebell cult is not the way to go.  I love Kettlebells as much as the next trainer but would not put my client on a strict Kettlebell only regimen.  That goes for any piece of equipment, class, or routine.  Look at the variety of ways to move your body in this world and realize how lucky you are.  Even in small towns nowadays the options are endless (especially with the wonders of the internet!).   Find something you enjoy and do it!  Strengthening, stretching, sweating, anything goes.  When it comes to exercise, it’s hard to over do it, easy to under do it, so at the risk of plagiarizing one of the most famous outfitters of athletes and average joes alike: Just do it!

by Laura

Just Breathe

If you have ever been to Vegas you may have heard the urban legend about casinos pumping oxygen through the air conditioning system to help gamblers stay awake.  Though the fact that they do this has been proven false many times, the idea behind it stands true.  Deep breathing has been shown to increase energy levels.  Increased oxygen consumption also releases endorphins in the brain making it helpful for stress and pain management.  Simply pick a number (preferably higher than 5), breathe in for said number, hold the breath for 2 counts, breathe out for said number, hold the breath for 2 counts.  Repeat, increasing the number as you go.  Try this for a few minutes and see if it helps.  Work up to 10 minutes a day, or more if you like!