The Earrings To Avoid!

I’m not sure about the men, but we women all tend to have something in common. Bad earrings. You are having a very stressful day; crisis at work, problems with kids, crabby spouse, disagreement with a co-worker, jerk for a boss (my stress LOL), financial worries; the list can go on and on.

Have you ever noticed yourself or someone else when these things start to accumulate that we pull our shoulders up to our ears? I have also noticed this happen to clients when doing upper body exercises when they start to fatigue. At the point of fatigue they crunch their shoulders up and round forward. I catch myself doing this all the time, which can lead to neck pain, headaches, bad posture and back pain. When your mother nagged you to stand tall, she actually new what she was talking about (imagine that)!

Try to make yourself more conscious about your posture. When things start getting tough whether from a stressful day or your workout, always try to remember to concentrate on your breathing and pull your shoulder blades back and down toward your bum. The old advice of picturing a string pulling your head upward toward ceiling is good advice also! Lengthen through your neck and pull shoulders down keeping your chest out and tummy tight (think abdominal draw-ins!) Wall slides, YTWLI, and all the rowing exercises help with this also.

We sneak certain exercises into your workouts to help with mobility and stability not to make you feel ungraceful or clumsy, but to help you with postural issues we are all facing. Some day when you are 90 years of age and you trip off the curb and are able to catch yourself, you will thank us for the SL RDL’s and draw-ins. There is a reason behind every exercise that is included in the warm-up and your program. Yes, we try to sneak some good things in without you knowing it. If you are struggling with an exercise it’s a good bet that you need that exercise so don’t get frustrated, you will conquer it with some hard work and perseverance!

Tammy

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Muffin Top Meltdown - After releasing the info last Wednesday about our Muffin Top Meltdown Contest the response has been amazing. Make sure to get yourself registered by June 10th for your chance to be Defined Fitness's Most Muffinless Member!! The contest is FREE to members and only $59 for nonmembers. The contest will begin June 1st and end June 3oth. For more information or to register call 724-698-7897.

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Research Review - Whyte, L.J., et al. Effect of 2 weeks of sprint interval training on health-related outcomes in sedentary overweight/obese men. Metabolism (ahead of press). The study took a group of ten overweight and obese men and put them through a 2 week, 3 sessions per week, very high intensity interval training protocol of 30 seconds all out work, followed by 4.5 minutes of recovery time and repeated 4-6 times. After two weeks the subjects cardiovascular conditioning improved by 8.4%, significantly improved their insulin sensitivity index scores and resting fat oxidation scores (the amount of fat burned at rest - a measure of metabolism), and decreased their waist circumferences by 2.3% and hip circumference by 1.0% (the hardest areas to lose fat in). They did all this is less time than what is typically recommended for daily physical activity guidelines. Thus, just another study showing that interval training is more effective and time-efficient than traditional cardio exercise.

Effective Core Training

The “Core” has become a poplar buzzword in the fitness world. Exercisers everywhere are training it and advertisers are promoting devices that train it. But, just what is your core and how much do you really know about it?

Your core consists of all the muscles that make up your abdomen, lower & upper back, pelvic girdle, and shoulder girdle. Basically if you were to remove your arms and legs what you’d be left with is your core.

So what is your core designed to do? Well, if you look at the most popular exercises and devices used to train it you would say trunk flexion (the motion of bringing your shoulders to your hips, e.g. crunches). But, the crunching movement is just one of many movements your core is capable of doing and is actually the least performed movement in everyday life.

So if your core wasn’t designed to crunch then what was it designed to do? Well, according to research done by Escamilla et al done in 2006 and Youdas, et al in 2008 the core is designed to stabilize the spine, resist lumbar rotation, and resist hyperextension. Both of these studies looked at the muscle activation levels of common core exercises and found that exercises that promote spinal stability, whether it be resisting lumbar rotation or resisting hyperextension, elicit greater muscle activation of the core muscles than any variation of crunch or abdominal exercise device.

Also it has been found that while crunches do not elicit the highest muscle activation of the core muscles they have also been shown to damage the spine. Dr. Stuart McGill of the University of Waterloo and leading researcher of back health has found that by repeating the crunching motion over and over can potentially lead to disc herniations. According to the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health any compressive force on the spine greater that 3,300 newtons is unsafe. McGill’s research has found that each crunch creates a compressive force of 3,350 newtons, 50 newtons higher than the safe limit.

When it comes to training your core your focus should be on exercises stabilize your core and prevent hyperextension and lumbar rotation. These exercises will keep your core strong and healthy, unlike running the risk of a disc herniation from doing too many crunches.

Live Fit,

Josh

Muffin Top Meltdown - starting June 1st our Muffin Top Meltdown will begin. This program is FREE for all members to participate. Each participant will receive a workout calendar with daily goals to complete, nutrition guidelines, and will be required to get measured at the beginning and end of the month. At the end of the month we will announce who is the MOST MUFFINLESS MEMBER!! Oh and there will also be two days where only Muffin Top Meltdown participants will receive a free protein shake!

Not a member? No, problem anyone who is not a member can join for $59. This will include everything in the Muffin Top Meltdown program, plus our trial membership.

www.defined-fitness.com

Fish Oil Facts

Here are two more studies showing the benefits of fish oil.

1. Fish oil has been shown to lower levels of LDLs in the blood in a manner similar to the action of statins (e.g. Lipitor). 2005 M. Studer and colleagues found that statins decreased cardiac mortality risk 22% and overall mortality by 13%. Omega-3 Fish Oils were found to decrease cardiac mortality risk by 32% and overall mortality by 23%.

2. Studies have found 2-4 grams of daily fish oil in conjuction with dietary modification can lower triglyceride levels by 20 to 50 percent in patients with mild or persistant hypertriglyceridemia.

www.defined-fitness.com