Progressive Overload Theory and the Plateau Effect

This theory states that if you do not keep challenging your muscles you will not see any gains or changes.

This has to do with something called the "plateau effect". The plateau effect kicks in when your body has become accustomed with the exercises that you have been doing. During this effect you will see little to no gains either in mass, or strength and you just feel like you are going nowhere in your training.

The solution to this? Confuse them. Making changes to your routine every 4-6 weeks will help you start seeing gains again.

Ways to do this:

• Progressively add more weight - no more than 5-10% every 1-2 weeks depending on how often you are lifting.
• Change the muscle group you start with (ie) Start with your legs one day, than chest or back the next. Again depends on what you are doing.
• Switch up your routine, add new moves or do new things. Such as classes, crossfit and etc.

There is nothing wrong with trying something new with your training if it is under the supervision of a qualified individual who can give you pointers on form and technique so you are getting the most out of everything you do. Hell, you might even find something you didn't know you liked or were even good at. Never be afraid of not doing something because you think you cannot do it, give a shot you'll either like it and do it more often. Or not like and never do it again. But the difference is, you would be one of the few people out there who got out of their comfort zone for the sake of trying something new. And that, in my opinion, is worthy of bragging rights.

One of my students asked me tonight during my kickboxing class "When does this training start to feel good?"

I thought for a moment and replied with, "When you are on the beach and you take your shirt off and you look better than every other guy out there. That's when."

Keep that in mind.

Going Through Phases

Sorry about the delay in posting. I recently landed a new job and I have been very tied up with it.

There are four main phases in the exercise world. And they are:

Foundation:
Nothing can be built if it doesn't have a solid foundation. During this phase which can last anywhere 2 to 10 weeks depending on the person. My personal recommendation, is 4 weeks in the foundation phase to weed out any muscle imbalances or instability. The exercises used during this phase go hand in hand with the 6 primal movements of a human being: Push, Pull, Twist, Lunge, Squat and Bend.

Build:
In this phase you start using weights in order to build muscle. Typically lasts about 6-8 weeks, again that depends on each person. If you are just going for general fitness stick with the 6 primal movements in weighted variations. This is also the time to start introducing isolation exercises such as bicep curls, shoulder press, leg curls, rows and etc. Weights used are typically 60-80% of your one rep max (orm), try to max out the reps at 10. If you can do more than ten, add more weight. The tempo of your lifts are 2 seconds up (explode) and 4 seconds to start position (control going down).

Neat, but how do I know what my one rep max is? Good question, you basically guess.

Burn:
In this phase, which should never last longer than 4 weeks. Because during this phase you lift faster and longer sets and you are burning off more fat reserves in order to uncover all that muscle you built in the build phase. Typical the weights used in this phase is no more than 50% of your ORM. Sets of 15-20 reps and a tempo of 2 seconds up, and 2 seconds down.

Strength:
In this phase you are building your strength through lifting your ORM. Sets are only 1 rep, and the rest is usually 4-5 minutes. Very intense phase, lasts between 4-6 weeks. Movements are typically Olympic style lifts (Clean and Jerk etc) and should be done under the supervision of a qualified trainer.

To Dana White, RE Womens MMA - An Open Letter

So as some Mixed Martial Arts fighters may know, UFC/Zuffa has bought out strikeforce back on MArch 12 2011. You can read about it here.

A couple of years ago I was watching a video interview of UFC President Dana White. The interviewer asked Mr White what he thought about a womens division in the UFC someday. White replied that he did not have any interest in Womens MMA or a Womens Division in the UFC. He has repeated this feeling in a couple of other interviews.

Now I have a question, since Strikeforce had a very active womens division and that White has no interest in Womens MMA. What is going to happen to the Women Fighters? White has said that Strikeforce will operate "as usual" which is all well and good for now. But what will happen when Strikeforce ultimately gets folded into the UFC like other Organizations before it?

Or what will happen when the Womens contracts come up for renegotations? How will the Women end up getting paid if their Boss doesn't support womens MMA? How will the division get valued? These are the questions that need to be answered.

I personally love watching womens MMA. Not just because I'm a woman. From a purely technical standpoint, the women tend to have more technique and it's more of a thinking game than alot of their male counterparts. However, you do still see a fair number of knock outs or very slick submissions.

Female fighters train and fight just as hard as their male counterparts, yet they get paid and respected far less. A comment on an article on mmafighting.com spelled out the lack of respect pretty well:

"If they were fighting in jello and wearing wet tshirts, then they'd get my $39.99."

Asides from the poster being an immature chauvanistic moron, he does hit very close to a very real issue plaguing society today. There are some younger guys that are jerks and just see women as sex objects or something for them to conquer. And perhaps the idea of women being able to fight and take back control kind of freaks them out a little bit.

-Amanda

Diet Supplments, my rant about "fat burners"

One time in 2008, I bought a bottle of fat burners to attempt to make an ungodly low weight for a fight. I read the directions on the bottle, which was to take 2 twice a day for the first 7 days, and then 1 twice a day afterwards. It also said that it worked better if taken within 1 hour of working out.

So I did as the bottle directed. Then I was up for 4 days. My heart was beating so hard my chest was pulsing. Everything and everyone seemed to be going really slowly, except me. I managed to write a 15 page Canadian politics paper in 2 hours. I was incredibly jittery and easy to startle.

I immedietly stopped taking them. I also did a little research into this item, I was shocked to see the chemical equivilent of an illegal drug in it. Along with copious ammounts of caffiene and ephedra.

Ladies and Gentlemen, if you are going to take supplements please consult someone who knows about them. Try to avoid the fat burners, they put an unneeded stress on your system and sometimes they are not approved by your country's health board. These can be really dangerous products if not used correctly, or if they interact with another prescription you could be taking the effects could be diasterous.

My personal oppinion would be to avoid almost everything except a really great protein powder.

My issue with "Cardio" Boxing/Kickboxing

This is my issue with "Cardio" Boxing/Kickboxing/Thai Boxing. Like that Tae Boe crap that was all the rage a few years ago. I have two big issues with this sort of stuff.

They claim to be usefull in self-defense situations.
Guess what? When you have an attacker who outweighs you by a substantial ammount and smacks you around when you aren't trained in how to react to that. You won't be able to do anything to protect yourself. Self defense training should be carried out in a full contact setting, so you know what it's like to be hit.

Punching/kicking at the air will not lead to injuries.
No, it will if you are not properly shown the techniques. Hyperextension is a very real injury and it is not fun thing to have happen. If you are punching at full power into the air, you will end up over extending your elbow.

I have another issue but this isn't as big as the other two.

They claim to be an amazing workout.
This is true but when you are just puching the air your muscles are not having to react to making contact with a real target. That impact makes the muscles of your arms/legs/butt/core contract to absorb the impact. And thusly giving you that toned look you are going for.

My honest suggestion is that if you are looking for a really great workout to investigate your local boxing/kickboxing scene and go and try a class. If it is a credible club, they will never try to force you to spar another student if you really do not want to. However, I do suggest that everyone that tries atleast one round of sparring in their life time. It is a killer workout, and provided your opponent is not uncontrolable jerk that doesn't try to take your head off with each technique, it is really really fun to get hit and to be able to hit back. It's the ultimate stress release.

SMART Goal Setting

I think it's time I updated with how one on a fitness journey should set goals. And the method commonly used by trainers is:

SMART.

S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Action Oriented
R - Realistic
T - Timed

Specific:
Goals should be as specific as possible so that you can picture exactly where you need to be heading. Skills in questioning are really needed to set specific goals. If your current goal is to "Get in shape" or "feel better:, ask yourself how you want to feel or what you want to change. Once you ask questions like this you'll have a better idea of what you want.

Measurable:
This is a great way to get feedback on your goals. Say you want to lose weight and have more energy, well once you decide how much weight you want to lose that is a specific goal. However increasing your energy is a little tougher goal to set, but not impossible. For example, ask yourself where your energy is now on a scale of 1 to 10. With 1 being a slug and 10 being Superman or Superwoman.

Action Oriented:
When you are setting a goal, you should associate a specific action with it. If you want to lose 10 lbs then you should set a plan to meet with a trainer or your workout buddy 3 times a week and atleast once by yourself to workout for 30 minutes to an hour.

Realistic:
In my opinion this is the most important part of the goal setting process. It has to be realistic for you and you alone. If it is not realistic you will not be able to accomplish it and thusly become very uninterested in your fitness journey. And please don't do any of these "I want to lose 30 lbs in 30 days and I'm 160 lbs now". That is just far to much body mass for you to lose in that short ammount of time.

Timed:
This part is easy, this is how much time you will dedicate to this goal.
You can also use this entire SMART method to set a short term and a long term goal.

Unbearable Lightness a Review

I recently read an incredibly well written and at times painful memoir entitled "Unbearable Lightness" which is authored by Portia de Rossi. An Australian actress and model who was on Ally Mcbeal she is also married to Ellen DeGeneres.

In her memoir de Rossi chronicles her entire battle with Anorexia and Bulimia. At times the book is incredibly painful to read because as the reader you know that she is not healthy but in her mind (at the time) she thought she was completely healthy and that it was a professional and healthy thing to restrict her daily calorie intake to just 300 kcal.

She also talks about her struggle with her sexuality and how she was completely terrified that if she admitted that she was gay publicly that she would lose her entire career just like DeGeneres did. In the end she goes on to say that when she met Ellen was when she learned how to really love herself and how to enjoy her life.

It's a wonderful book de Rossi is an exceptional author and I highly suggest this book to anyone.

My reasoning for doing this review on a Health and Fitness blog goes with the idea that due to society and it's weird need to idealize the "perfect" female body type that the drive for perfection will more often than not get out of hand and has lend far to many people down the road of eating disorders, and even worse still that road has lead to many people dying from those disorders.

Will be updating soon.

Big changing are happening in my life that take up most of my attention right now.

I will be buying the URL for this blog soon also.

There will be an update coming. I promise, I just happen to be a little sick right and lacking the energy to research and write a new post.

Paying Attention

This is a rather important concept which I oddly seem to ignore fairly often.

YOu always have to pay attention to what you are doing at all times.

Ever since I started working out at an actual gym (not a kickboxing gym) I have been misusing the Chest Press machine. This particular one requires you to push a bar with your feet when you are done your reps. I did not know this.

I'm now needing to see a doctor because I believe I have torn my rotator cuff.

So it is important to read the machines carefully and follow all directions to the letter.

SK Fitness Store NOW OPEN

We now have a amazon.ca store for everything fitness related.

have a look!

Minimalist Training

Don't have expensive equipment or a gym membership? Living in a small town or a rural area with very limited fitness options?

This is not a problem at all.

The best tool if you are starting out on your fitness journey is actually your own bodyweight.

To understand this you have to know that there are 6 primal movements. And they are:
Twist
Bend
Pull
Push
Squat
Lunge

Bodyweight is perfect for all of these starting out.

Squat and Lunge are pretty straight forward, I don't think I really need to explain it. And great exercises for your legs. Infact the squat is an exercise that causes your quads to still be burning an increase calories for up 24 hours after you have finished. Neat eh?

Pull and Push are again pretty easy exercises. Push ups are the perfect push exercise and they work almost every single muscle in your body in some way including the stabilizing muscles. If you cannot do regular full push ups, try doing them from your knees or if you can't do that, do them against the wall and gradually build up your ability.

Pull/Chin Ups or body rows, if you happen to have a chin up bar or even monkey bars from a playground handy these are the best pull activites that work your back muscles wonderfully. If you are unable to do pull/chin ups regularly, try having one foot on a chair to assit you, or even a workout buddy. Body rows you have the bar lower to the ground and hang off it with your knees bent to lighten the resistance (depending on your skill level) and you pull.

Twist, a great one for those pesky abs. The Russian Twist works this action just fine. You can do this with or without a weight.

Bend, the best beginner exercise for bend is: stand on one foot and bend forward keeping your spine in a neutral flat position and reach with the same side as the foot you are standing on, and then return to standing. It's ok to balance yourself with your other hand on a chair or table.

Another great bend exercise is: The deadlift! It's a great lower back and hamstring exercise, however technique is to be almost perfect otherwise you do risk injury to your lower back. I strongly suggest consulting with a credible personal trainer to get the technique down right before attempting this solo.

Cardio Training

Since it is the typical New Years Resolution time I thought I should discuss how to properly do the cardio aspect of your routine. And since I saw many people are the gym yesterday only doing long drawn out sessions of cardio I think this is needed.

So which is better? Shorter intense cardio or long drawn out at a moderate pace?
They both have their advantages, however if you are trying to lose weight your best bet would be to do shorter more intense cardio training (interval training) after you have built up a base cardio ability by doing drawn out moderate paced training.

For example, the easiest way I can describe interval training to you via this blog is:
Go to a street that has telephone poles along it, and after a proper warm up, run as hard as you can between two poles and then do an "active recovery" jog between 2-3 and then repeat for 10-20 minutes.

Extremes Sell

This is sadly true and it's an odd fact for the human species.

Look on the cover of almost any fitness or "health" magazine and you will see one of the three following types:

Super Tall and Super Skinny. These are usually females and they are usually way to slim to actually be healthy and happy. For example, I am talking about a woman who is say 5 foot 9 or 10 and weighs all of 102 lbs. Unless she has the genetics for it, she probably is not healthy and it probably trying to make herself look a certain way in order to make society happy.

"Muscle Monkeys" These guys, and sometimes ladies with muscles popping and bulging veins exploding from under paper thin skin. I call these Muscle Monkeys, spend 4-6 hours a day pumping iron and usually jacked off of a combination of various chemicals that I doubt a pharmacist could pronounce let alone suggest.

"The 700 lb man or woman who lost 550 lbs and you can too" I am still trying to figure out why society is in amazed with either very very very large people or very very very tiny people.

So what about those of us in the middle? My personal and professional oppinion is that we should select goals for ourselves that are a challenge but in the realm of possible. We should make healthy food choices and not eat fast food everyday or drink five galons of pop a day. Make an honest attempt at being more active and not spend 8 hours a day watching TV.

Great Fitness Book!!!!

First on the Bill is:

Anatomy of Exercise
Pat Manocchia

I love this book. If I am designing a routine and I am unable to think of anything for a particular body part I grab this book. It's awesome, if you are in the market for a exercise book and limited funds, I strongly suggest this book. It shows great warm ups, stretches and the proper technique of each exercise. It also details which muscle is being activated primarily.

Body types, an introduction

Another friend gave me a great idea to do a multi-part discussion on body types and how to train correctly for each type. So tonight I am going to start it off with an introduction.

There are 3 body types. It does not matter about gender, age, race or whatever else. If you are human you fit into 1 of the 3 or a mix of 2 of them.

Endomorph -

If we look at the above picture you can see that typical Endomorph tends to be:
Round
Easier time gaining muscle
Slightly harder time losing fat
Heavier set
Pear shaped

Mesomorph -

Muscular/Atheletic look
Easy time losing fat and gaining muscle
Considered the "ideal" body type

Ectomorph-

Slim to frail
Insanly easy time losing fat
Almost impossible to gain and maintain muscle
Very slender

Every single person on the planet will either fit into one of these three types or is a hybrid (Ecto-Meso or Endo-Meso). If anyone tells you they are a hybrid of Ecto-Endo, they likely do not know what they are saying and are probably confused with the names of the types.

Exercise FAQs

I'm going to answer some of the most common questions I have been asked. This may end up being a series.

If I lift weights, won't I end up looking like Arnold?
Unless you have the genetics for this to happen, no. I have heard this question from alot of women and a few men. Some bodybuilders resort to "alternative medicine" in order to get the look that is desirable for their sport. The credible ones who do it without those medicines usually spend hours upon hours in the gym crafting their bodies for the sport. So again, unless you have the genetics and spend hours in the gym a day. You will not end up looking like Arnold if you lift weights.

Why aren't I losing weight, the Cardio machine has said I'm in fat burning mode:
Unless you are going at your current pace for hours on the machine you are not in fat burning mode. Those machines are kind of misleading in that aspect. In order for you to lose weight doing cardio you would be better off figuring out your heart rate targets and staying within them. Or by doing interval training once you build up a base cardio ability. I will investigate this more in my next article.

Can't I just get fit by only lifting weights? I hate doing cardio.
I mainly hear this from younger guys. While you will gain a small gains in cardio ability by doing strength training you would be better off doing a regime that blends cardio and weight/strength training together in order to cover all your bases. So guys, go do some cardio it's good for your heart and will help you be able to pump that iron for longer.

My muscles hurt after working out, how can I stop this?
After your workout which should include a proper warm up, you should stretch out the muscles you worked which will limit the soreness. And after the workout eat or drink something that contains ample protein.

Do I really have to do cardio? It's so boring, I feel like a hamster on a wheel going nowhere.
Yes, you have to do cardio. If it bores you so much then do something you like to do. Other great cardio options that don't involve machines are: Running stairs, snowshoeing, swimming, rowing, soccer, basketball, jogging, skating, walking, playing with your kids, taking the stairs at work, parking further away from work/mall and more. You don't have to do your cardio on the machines at the gym but you need atleast 30 minutes a day 5 to 7 times a week to be of benefit.