Archive for exercise Q&A, fitness-related injuries, stretching
Q&A: Should I Stretch Before I Run?
If you’re concerned about your running time, there’s an abundance of literature supporting an answer of NO.
But what if you just want to prevent injury?
Q & A: Why Do My Hamstrings Cramp With Bridges?
Gotta give credit where credit is due: I got this idea from a recent episode of The FitCast. But I get asked this question pretty frequently, to no surprise.
Here’s the answer:
Because the bridge involves extension of the hips with bent knees, the hamstrings simultaneous attempt to perform two functions: Knee flexion and hip extension. Bending the knees puts the hamstrings in a shortened and disadvantaged position for hip extension, so ideally the glutes should do most of the work to extend the hips. But because most people have weak or underactive glutes relative to their hamstrings, the poor hammies try to bare too much of the load and wind up cramping.
Turning your toes up and pushing through your heels will increase the contribution of the glutes to some extent; but with most people, I’ve found what helps most is to cue and reinforce a conscious effort to lift with the glutes and not the hamstrings. As with any underrecruited muscle, learning to fire the glutes appropriately requires focused intent. Always think “glutes.” Here’s a visual to help you remember:
That’s my 4-year-old cousin Ryan and his latest masterpiece: His father’s behind. I don’t know what’s been going on in that house but he deserves the Golden Globe for Best Picture if you ask me!
Q&A: Why Is This So Much Harder With A Kettlebell?!!
Kettlebells have been popular for a while now; but for whatever reason (probably the recent release of Jillian Michaels’ Kettlebell DVD…), I got this question three times in the last couple of weeks.
In simplest terms, the answer is that the kettlebell has a lot of what’s called moment of inertia. Because most of its mass is distributed in the bell (as opposed to evenly throughout, as with a dumbbell), the kettlebell is extremely hard to control. It becomes even harder in the “bottom-up” position, as that mass is brought further away from its axis of rotation.
That’s what makes this exercise so challenging (and, as a result, so effective):
What Do Shape-Ups and Tracy Anderson Have in Common?
Last week, one of my clients did the unimaginable. In the same hour, she asked me a) What I think of Tracy Anderson’s methods; and b) Whether or not she should buy a pair of the new Skechers Shape-Ups SRT.
My first instinct was to tell her to send her questions to Tony Gentilcore because he would have a FIELD DAY writing that Q&A.
Q&A: How Strong is Strong Enough?
This question sparked some good discussion last year, and a client of mine recently asked it of me and brought the subject to the front of my mind yet again.
My answer was something along the lines of: “Strong enough to do what you want to do as best you can without getting hurt.”
Of course, being too strong can occasionally backfire…
(Sorry; had to put up Joe’s favorite video one more time because today is his birthday. Happy Birthday, Joe!)
Q&A: Are Post-Exercise Carbs Counterproductive?
For those of you in tune with the Internet trends, you may have read the recent rumors that consuming carbohydrates after exercise can actually be counterproductive if you’re trying to make long-term improvements in body composition. Despite the fact that these claims are completely unjustified, they’re spreading faster than California’s Crown Fire! I won’t mention any names (cough, Mauro Di Pasquale, cough, cough…), but a certain doctor and his followers have been promoting this type of dogma lately and it’s starting to get me a bit concerned. To quote him in this article, “Eliminating post-training carbs can have added anabolic and fat-burning effects.”
This statement is inherently contradictory (by sheer nature of definition, one cannot be both anabolic and catabolic at the same time), and the fact that people seem to buy it is almost as hard to believe as a mud plug being able to stop an oil spill…
Q&A: Why Am I Getting Bulky?!!!
Most of us working in the fitness industry have been asked this question before. Although we might know how hard it is for women to put on muscle mass (at least naturally), our female clients always seem to fear they’ll somehow wind up looking like this:
Breaking Down Metabolism
As I mentioned last week, I went back up to Massachusetts for Memorial Day Weekend. (I guess our server was down for a bit though, so you can check out that post here if you missed it.)
Round-trip bus ticket: $120
Time spent en route: 14 hours
Waking up surrounded by family and friends, 15 minutes away from this:
PRICELESS.
Mike Boyle On The Biggest Loser
Mike Boyle was on The Biggest Loser?!!
Not quite. But I did get his take on the show. Those who follow Boyle’s work know he absolutely DESPISES The Biggest Loser. Well, I put him on the spot with a little Q&A and, straight from the horse’s mouth, here’s why:
FitnessMASH: Why, specifically, don’t you agree with the training methods used on the show?
Boyle: They are totally inappropriate for overweight clients. Running, for example, produces forces around 10 times body weight. Obese individuals will break down orthopedically with this type of program.
FitnessMASH: Generally speaking, what would you consider safe and effective methods for weight loss that differ from those seen on the show?
Boyle: Obese clients should be non-weight bearing or partially weight bearing during exercise. Walking is the only fully weight bearing exercise I would have them do; I’d get the interval work done on a stationary bike, preferably an AirDyne. Strength work is fine as long it is well-designed.
Well, my DVR is programmed to tape the entire season of The Biggest Loser. Each week, my wife and I watch intently as the contestants lose an inordinate amount of weight, all the while going through TV-enhanced drama that rivals MTV’s Real World.
As a trainer, I agree with Mike. I know that the last things obese clients should be doing are jumping on a high step, doing heavy leg presses that compromise the lumbar spine or trying to run a marathon. Actually, I just found out about the show’s past marathon scam. There was also a contestant (Laura) who got a stress fracture in her hip. This season boasts the show’s heaviest-ever contestants; but check out this article discussing their hospitalizations, severe cramping and exhaustion – it’s nothing to brag about!
I’ve brought up The Biggest Loser show a few times during roundtable discussions with Focus trainers and, come to find out, there are a handful of other devout watchers in the group. We’ve even taken to texting one another late at night with comments about the results. It’s funny because, although I disagree with a lot of the training methods employed during the show, I naturally wish that some of my own clients would get the same results as the contestants!
After some careful thought, however, I always return to reality and remember a quote from an old Abs of Steel video I did religiously in the early ’90s: “The slower the weight loss, the more permanent.”
This mantra may not be as exciting as the false promises seen on the covers of muscle mags, but I believe it rings true.
Now…where’s my wife? I need to ask her when American Idol is on!
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