This program we will be designed to create a higher level of muscular efficiency to help reduce the stress into your lower back. I will put up a few posts about this as we finish it so you can see how we might be able to help you reduce your lower back tightness and pain. We will also be including this in the next edition of the newsletter.

The next newsletter will be coming out later this month and if you have not signed up I would again like to encourage you to do so. Each newsletter will include some form of a free exercise routine for you to try out. Last month was the first routine of the  3 step abdominal program. This month we will give away the first phase of the 30 days to a new back program.

The next poll is up and I am curious to see what of the listed addictions would be the hardest for you to give up. We were talking about this the other day in the office and I was curious to get the voice of some others.

We will update you on the back program soon, now its off to build it for you!

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Like I said in the last post, look for what the potential negative side effects of any exercise is going to be. To do this means you have to first understand the body you are working with. I am not talking about good and bad form in the sense of how you would perform the move, I am talking about is the body you are using or training even capable of accomplishing the stimulus you are about to give it?

Here is the simplistic way I tend to look at the human body. Keep in mind I am going to give you the abbreviated version of most of this but I hope it is enough that you understand where I am coming from.

Lets just focus initially on the 4 major structural joints, hips, shoulders, knees, and ankles. If you studied you anatomy at some point you have seen the picture of the person standing in the anatomically correct position. Here is a picture from an anatomy book I have. The main thing I want you to pay attention to is the fact that all 4 of the structural joints and notice how they are completely horizontal from one another. Also notice in the lower body that the hips, knees and ankles are aligned vertically and the knees and feet are pointing straight ahead. This is the position our muscular system is designed to hold the skeletal system in. I realize this is not earth shattering news for most of you but keep reading.

Also remember that the same vertical loading is true from a side view. The shoulders, hips,knees and ankles should all fall directly on the same midline through the body. Look at the picture to the right and you will see what I am referring to.

So if we know that this is the way that our body is designed to be have you done anything to check to see if your client or you personally are in the anatomically correct position? This will start to determine what your list of negative side effects for a move is going to be. If the client you are working with or if you are lacking in your muscular efficiency than odds are that you do not have a body that is in the anatomically correct position. Try taking some postural photographs and see what your body looks like. I am unable to show you any of my clients but here are a few examples of some people who have signed image releases with me. I will get some better ones for you when I get back to the office but these are of 2 collegiate athletes, both of who participated in track, both of who have back issues every time they squat. You can obviously say they are doing them wrong but at a major university do you think they are going to let their athletes get away with terrible form? Maybe I suppose but lets give the strength and conditioning coaches a little more credit than that.

Notice that in both pictures the knees are no longer aligned. Both of these athletes have externally rotated femurs as a byproduct of their training. Keep in mind these guys are scholarship level athletes at major universities that did a year round training program as part of their sport. I wish I still had the full shot so you could see more of the horizontal hip imbalances and how that impacts an elevation issue in their backs but like I said I will get better ones tomorrow. Notice the feet on the picture on the right are also pointing out? Compare that to the anatomically correct position. This is the issue with squats and I will explain that in great detail.

Last picture for today is from a side view. Same athlete as the one on the right above. As you can see he is your typical strong athlete. Notice how far his body is off that straight line that should berunning through his 4 structural joints. Also notice the extreme anterior tilt in his pelvis (the pelvis rotating forward) and the exaggerated curve it puts his lumbar spine into causing what would be an otherwise flat set of abs to protrude out. Next post I will go over what all this means in regards to squats.

Ill break here and continue on the next post with more of how your clients current state of muscular efficiency can greatly change your list of negative side effects of an exercise. Also what these anatomical issues people have can determine what style of training you should use with them. In the meantime look back through the philosophy stuff we have posted on Strength training.

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I did about what I expected. Here is a tally on how I tested at the beginning and then again Yesterday:

Body Weight Start 191      Now 174      Goal 170

Waist Line Start 38.25       Now 34.50    Goal N/A

Chest Line Start 41.0         Now 42.50    Goal N/A

Pushups Start 17              Now 39        Goal 50 

Chin-ups Start 8               Now 13        Goal 16

5k Start 29:12                   Now 22:18   Goal Under 22:00

Despite the fact I did not make it to a single one of my goals I ended up in much better shape so I have no complaints. Well I have one, that stupid Spinal meningitis at the start is the reason that I did not make it. Not that I am making excuses, just the fact that lying in the fetal position in agonizing pain for a week tends to slow down the ol’ training progression just a tad.

Let me know if you set any resolutions and if so how you did. I am brainstorming my next goal. If you have any ideas I would love to hear those as well.

Oh and based on the fact I did not make a single goal I felt I only deserved the second place ribbon this year. 

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For the pushup test, it is important to try and have someone watch you. Remember back to the original goal, I said perfect pushups. Well what does this mean? It means pushups done with excellent form. 

Look at the pictures. I included both a full pushup and a kneeling pushup.

The form is the key. If you are unable to do more than 2 or 3 full pushups, start with kneeling for the first phase of your Resolution goals. This has always bothered me when people refer to kneeling pushups as girl pushups. Honestly there is just good pushups and bad pushups. If you are a guy who can only go about half way down in a full pushup, drop to your knees, its not an ego thing its like everything else I talk about, an efficiency thing. If you only are able to go half way down you are limiting the amount of muscle fibers you are using and also creating tightness in your shoulders.

The key to your pushups is going all the way down. Your chest must touch the ground for it to count. No Excuses. If you are unable to get to the ground doing a kneeling one, fine then make it even easier and put your hands on the edge of your couch and start from there but please always find a situation where you can get full range of motion in the move. 

Obviously if you have pain symptoms that are made worse by this exercise, please do not do it. I will give you an alternative instead.

Look back to the daily exercises we started a few days ago. On this routine is an exercise called clappers. Please use this as your exercise to replace pushups if you are unable to do any form of a pushup without pain. Here again is the pictures that demonstrate how to do it.

So do as many pushups as you can from whatever position works best for you. Now here is the key, you ned someone else to watch you do it and let you know when your pushups are no longer perfect. When is your back no longer straight is the main one to watch for. I will be having one of my fellow trainers count for me.

Good Luck on the test, after I get through the chin-ups and 5k, we will discuss ways to work on improving all 3 tests while losing weight! In the meantime, when you finish your daily workout routine, do a set of pushups just to practice!

Oh and I am sure you are curious about my pushup test. I made it to 17 before I lost my form and my back started to drop. Only 33 to go to get to my goal!!

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This week I am going to give you an example diet to follow. It is an eleven day diet that I have found to work extremely well. I have used this diet with many clients and they to like it quite a bit. Keep in mind you may not like the food that is listed and if that is the case, thats fine just switch it with something that is more or less the same. If you like peanuts but not almonds, fine eat the peanuts then. If you like roast beef but not turkey, again go ahead and eat the roast beef. Just make sure you stay within the same food group. There are quite a few more instructions included in the diet. It is quite long so I will include it in this post as a pdf you can print. Otherwise it is about 12 pages. 

Tomorrow will be an exercise day. I will get you started on a new one. We will revisit some of the short term goal possibilities as soon as I can get the push-ups, chin-ups, and running tests done. I came across this diet on a website I saw. It was www.dietaccess.com if you want to check it out. There is a small fee you pay and it will keep generating new menus for you. I like how easy they make it and for the price it is hard to beat.

The part I like most about this diet is there are simply trying to change the way your body burns the fuel you give it. That is truly the key to nutrition. Whatever you eat the most of, that is what your body will try to use as its primary fuel source. Thats why we eliminated the empty calories last week. Too much of those types of food and the body will feel like it needs to use that as a primary fuel source. If you are eating a lot of thsoe types of food there should be little to no surprise if you frequently complain about your energy levels.

This diet teaches your body how to utilize foods that are high in vitamins and minerals and are great fuel sources for your body. 

Here is the diet, let me know how you are doing with it or if you have questions. Obviously make sure you are not allergic to any of these foods and I recommend that you alert your physician before starting any exercise or diet regimen. 

Click on this:11-day-menu

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      HOW ABOUT THIS FOR A STATEMENT!    If you don’t  take in an adequate amount of water, you will likely find impossible to achieve control over your weight!  What this means is 10-12 eight-ounce glasses of WATER per day, plus eight more ounces for every 25 pounds you are overweight. This is the basic requirement for healthy living.  Unfortunately, not many people drink as much waster as they need. Many problems of weight control can be cured by increasing your amount of water  intake.  Constipation,  nausea,  and  headaches can all   me helped with this, the greatest nutritional supplement in the world.  WATER.

First, by not drinking enough water, you can actually cause your body to retain fluid. Four or five cups of coffee in the morning, a glass of wine at lunch, another cup of coffee or a soft drink in the afternoon, a cocktail before dinner and a couple of cups of coffee after dinner isn’t what I’m talking about.

People who drink like this say they are always thirsty.  Their body is being deprived of the water needed to keep itself healthy and it reacts by retaining almost every drop of the tiny bit it is allowed by your stopping at the water cooler once or twice each day. The body often gets puffy and swollen as a result.  The extra weight you think of as fat may not be fat at all.

Wine, gin, coffee, tea, fruit juices, and soft drinks are all fluids, but they don’t have the same chemical properties as ordinary water.  Alcohol and soda pop contain too much sugar, so to a lesser extent do fruit juices. The caffeine in coffee and tea is bad for your heart and blood pressure. Even diet soda contains sodium which contributes to water retention. Cut down on coffee, drink sugarless drinks if you like them, but most importantly, drinks if you retention. Cut most importantly, drink 10-12 eight-ounce glasses of water daily.

Restricting your water can promote fat deposits.  Your body uses water as the major component of blood to transport nutrients and water. A lack of water in the system can cause fats and other toxins that are normally disposed of, to remain in your body – including that dimpled fat commonly referred to as cellulite.

Your kidneys have a difficult time processing contaminated water so your liver has to detoxify it. This means   your liver can’t do it’s main tasks, which is to process you blood and help it break down fat.  This, as you store water, the fat you eat can be stored in fat cells instead of being broken down in the liver.  You become bloated, waterlogged and obese.

The good news is that it is easy to solve this problem.

An 8 oz. Glass of water isn’t very large.  Keep in on your desk and keep refilling it.  Don’t go by the water cooler without taking a sip, thirsty or not.  Keep a glass on your nightstand and drink when you first get up.

Dieters and non-dieters alike must establish a “fluid balance” where going into the body approximately equals the amount being excreted.  When you reach this balance point, you’ll see the incredible difference water can make in your weight control program.  Pounds and inches begin to disappear.

Trying to solve the problem of fluid retention by drinking less water only aggravates matters because it (retention) occurs even when you drink no water.  If you don’t drink more water after salty food, your body pulls water from your intestines and bowel to dilute the extra sodium.  If you drink more water, you force stored water out of your body through your kidneys.

You don’t have to worry about drinking too much water-it’s impossible!  Any excess will be urinated and/or sweated out. 

What about diuretics?  Diuretics force stored water out of your body.  The problem is that your body perceives this as a lack of necessary water and it stores whatever is available.  So unless you are drinking enough water, diuretics won’t usually solve the problem of retention.  Diuretics can also cause constipation by draining water from the colon in order to distribute it around your body because not enough water is available. Thus, without enough water in the colon, your stools can become dry and hard.

I suggest you give water a chance.  Only with an adequate supply of clean, fresh, life-giving water can your body’s systems function in a way that keeps you healthy.

If you are unaccustomed to drinking water, this chart will help you comfortably increase your water consumption.

DAY WATER DAY WATER

Day#

1 4 – 8 oz. glasses            8 8 – 8 oz. glasses

2 5 – 8 oz. glasses            9 8 – 8 oz. glasses

3 5 – 8 oz. glasses           10 9 – 8 oz. glasses

4 6 – 8 oz. glasses           11 9 – 8 oz. glasses

5 6 – 8 oz. glasses           12 10-8 oz. glasses

6 7 – 8 oz. glasses           13 11-8 oz. glasses

7 7 – 8 oz. glasses           14 12-8 oz. glasses

Recommended Programs and Reading:

The Nutripoint Program for Optimal Nutrition by Dr. Roy Vartabedian (program available from Fitness By Design).

Smart Exercise: Burning Fat, Getting Fit – Covert bailey

The Complete Fit or Fat Book: The Phenomenal Program that Successfully Guides You from Fatness to Fitness – Covert Bailey

The Fit or Fat Woman – Covert Bailey

The Fit or Fat Target Diet: The Easiest Plan for Your Best Diet – Covert Bailey

Fit or Fat Target Recipes – Covert Bailey

Any of Jane Brody’s Nutrition Books

Little Girls in Pretty Boxes – Joan Ryan

You’re OKAY, It’s Just a Bruise – Rob Huizenga, M.D.

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To make the early morning Monday Weight checks accurate we need to make sure the day before stays the same. For Breakfast its Cheerios, a medium sized banana, and an 8 ounce glass of Welchs purple grape juice. Make sure to get the 100oz of water in today. For a mid morning snack it should be a yogurt. I like Lemon Burst from Yoplait but choose whatever. Lunch is going to be turkey sandwich and some carrots. Afternoon snack will be some kirkland brand trail mix from Costco. And Finally Dinner will be another sandwich. After dinner before bed I will have another glass of juice, this one will be orange.

This may seem boring but I know I can do this every Sunday. Consistently will be the key to making the weight checks accurate. Please keep up with the exercise routine. 

As we close the first week of this lets look at what we accomplished.

1. We established one of the most important habits you can have. Drinking water. I discussed with you earlier how important this really is.

2. We gave up a significant amount of empty calories. All the ffods that we are choosing to not eat will make a significant difference as we go along.

3. We started a simple yet very effective exercise routine.

Next week we will move on to the next phase of the goal.

Most importantly  in my opinion you set yourself up for success, not burnout and failure. 

Later today I will try to post again with another exercise Routine, this one a specific warm-up for running.

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As far as the Juice Plus goes it brings up the topic of supplements. I touched on this last post but I have never been much of a fan of supplements. The main reason for this is the fact that the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) does very little to regulate these products so many of them prove to be a complete waste of money. Take the basic multi vitamin for example. You can research this on Google and finds thousands of positive an negative comments on them. The same can be said for each and every other product out there.

Let me give you the criteria I use to determine the value of a supplement and feel free to laugh at me or use it to help you out.

1. How long has the product been around? If it is less than 2 years I am less likely to try it. If it has been around for ten or more than it has shown some staying power which means it has to be doing some good.

2. What does it claim to do? Does it make a totally outlandish guarantee and offer your money back if you don’t like it? This is always a red flag to me for some reason on supplements. Let me give you an example. As a trainer I have tried hundreds of products over the years so when my clients would ask, I could give them an honest answer. On Several of these “free trial” offers I ended up losing well over a hundred dollars on a bunch of random things. The issue is that they put in so much fine print and use language designed to trick you that you end p purchasing products you never even meant to because you were using the “free trial” .One of the great get rich quick schemes going are these types of products. STAY AWAY FROM INFOMERCIALS! The more marketing behind health products the less I like them.

3. Price. Now you might think the more expensive ones I am telling you to stay away from. To be honest it is just the opposite. You get what you pay for. If your miracle vitamin supplement cost $3.95 a month. Good luck. I am not saying to go spend a thousand dollars a month but just understand that to get a quality product you will need to pay a little more.

One last thing on this. When I was a Lead trainer for Gold’s Gym in the late 1990′s I had a guest speaker come in and talk to the trainers i was working with. She had a great point about vitamins. Purchase some from outside the United States. many countries, Australia for example have very stringent regulations on their vitamin markets. Places like Whole foods and Trader Joe’s typically carry vitamins from outside the United States. Do your research then make a decision based on what matters to you.

So why take a supplement in the first place? Well they are simply a back up. Unless you are able to eat a perfectly balanced diet full of fruits and vegetables and all the other food sources necessary to complete the needs of your body, a supplement might be a good choice.

I have now accomplished 3 days of the 100oz of water and thankfully my bladder is starting to adapt to the amount of water. Today I am gong to give up Item number 3 of my first 5 off my diet. Along the same lines as the first two it involves empty calories. I am going with candy. Now not all candy, I mean lets not get carried away. But all the Skittles, Starbursts, Jolly Rancher type candies. All chalked full of calories, all with no nutritional benefit at all.

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!

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Here is the silver lining. I had only made it to 80 ounces of water before I went to bed but They put me on an IV when I got to the hospital. By 7 am I had gone through 2 bags. I’m going to say those are 20 ounces each so technically I had 120 oz Yesterday. I went to the bathroom so many times I felt like I was 80 years old (no offense if your 80). 

So I will not be running the 5k and doing the pushups etc. today. I’ll Still Take some measurements of the chest and the stomach and then talk about the next short term goal I have for Today. 

For the Measurements I will use a basic cloth measuring tape. You can get them at any craft store. For the Stomach Measurement I am going to keep it simple and just measure on a horizontal plane at the navel (the belly button). For the chest I will use a horizontal plane at the nipple line.  

I will record these at the bottom of the post (maybe less people will see it there). Now for the next short term goal I will be focusing on a nutrition one again. I wanted to give you an exercise routine to use but I am unable to do it today so I will wait. The nutrition goals is simple. Over the next 5 Days I am going to give 1 thing up. First it will be potato chips. I love chips, they are a blessing in my life but they must go. So as I give up each item I am giving it up until February 28th. That means no chips and again I will get my 100oz of water. Preferably not from the ER this time. 

Ok so my Waist measured out at 38 1/4 inches and Chest Measures out at 41 inches. Attached is a pdf You can print for yourself to helpr record your goals and chart your progress.

Tomorrow I hope to be back on track and able to do a few more of the tests or at least the quick workout I have built for you to do. I will try to get that workout into a pdf by tomorrow as well so you can print it. I will also go over the next food Item I am giving up. Expect Lima beans or something nasty I would never eat anyway. I am kidding of course.

Here is the PDF to Print resoution-chart

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Incredible as it seems, water is quite possibly the single most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off. Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat. Studies have shown that a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase, while an increase in water intake can reduce fat deposits. Here’s why; the kidneys cannot function properly without enough water. When they don’t work to capacity, some of their load is dumped onto the liver. One of the liver’s primary functions is to metabolize stored fat into usable energy for the body. If the liver has to perform a portion of the Kidney’s work, it is unable to operate at the level necessary to metabolize the fat, thus preventing fat loss in the body.

 The overweight person needs more water than a thinner person. Larger People have a higher metabolic load and since water is the key to fat metabolism, it only makes since that the heavier you are the more water your body will need.

Water also help to maintain proper muscle tone by giving muscles their natural ability to contract and by preventing dehydration. It also helps to make the muscle definition by keeping your cells buoyed by water so the skin stays tight, clear, and resilient as opposed to loose and saggy.

Water is the bodies main transport system of waste products. During vigorous exercise the body has a higher level of wastes and toxins in the body. Proper water in the body helps it to be flushed out of the system.

How much water should you drink? The easy answer is as long as your urine is clear your body is hydrated. Try to have about 3 quarts a day as an athlete. One in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. One of the quarts should be during your exercise routine. If you are not drinking enough the body will see the lack of water as a threat to its survival so it will hold on to excess water and make you feel lethargic and weak.

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