A Hard WorkoutIf you have lower back issues or had them in the past, then you must take precaution when performing your daily activities and chores. It is important to use proper lifting posture while doing simple things like lifting objects off the ground or in this instance a not so simple task as swinging an axe. Give it a try and you will find how hard it really is. I was so excited to split wood when I moved back up in the “mountains” some years ago I did it for 4 hours with only minimal breaks. My body was shaking so hard I could barely walk home and I nearly puked. Why split wood for exercise:
How to:I grew up doing this chore as we needed adequate firewood for the winter and was shown to do so by my father. With that said, I am no expert in lumberjack sports. So there might be a more powerful or faster way to split logs, but this technique is used to save your lower back and utilize your legs. Last I looked there was no log splitting event in competition. Use these sound concepts:
Set up the log on another larger piece of wood. This will make splitting much more effective and you won’t have to swing as far down reducing the strain on the lower back. Square up your stance to the log, with your feet shoulder width apart or wider. As with any overhead axe swing, begin with one hand at the end of the handle and other towards the axe head. Keep your back straight the entire time.
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Periodization in a Nutshell
Periodization is an essential part of your program design. Without it, you will quickly plateau in your ability to build muscle and strength. Periodization is a strategically designed workout plan for a number of weeks and/or months that includes specific acute variables. These variables consist of reps, sets, tempo, rest, intensity, overall training volume, and structure of your workouts. They may also include changes in exercises throughout the weeks and months. A Simple Plan to Build Muscle With undulating periodization for the purpose of hypertrophy you alternate between volume and intensity throughout a specific time frame. Here we will alternate every 2 weeks. This differs from linear periodization where volume decreases and intensity increases over time. This is not to say undulating is better than linear periodization in all instances. Fall in love with the gym or...As a trainer, my superstar clients are those that fall in love with the gym. They love the gym culture and atmosphere of people working hard to improve their physiques. They are the ones who go to the gym on the days where they don’t have an appointment with me resulting in 5-6 workouts a week. At 1-2 hours each workout, this comes out to 5-12 hrs a week of moderate- to vigorous activity. In reality, this is what is needed to get FAST results. You can get slower results by doing less, which is completely okay as well.
Ever since the “High Intensity Training” movement swept the fitness industry, low intensity or steady state cardio has been thrown out with a vengeance. I am pleased to see this “fad” came along because it brought sprinting, heavily lifting, and interval training to the forefront. These are all types of training I highly suggest for those who are able to handle it. The big question on my mind was how does low intensity cardio fit into a fat loss program? After all, bodybuilders both in the natural and open arena have been using it for decades to get down to the minimal body fat percentages of 2-4%. I strongly believe in looking at what professional athletes do to achieve their goals. For increased speed, look to sprinters, for more power on the football field, look to the NFL, and for maximal fat loss, look to bodybuilders. It is what they do for a living.
For examples of macronutrients in common diets read Part 2.1 - Macronutrients 5 Simple Steps for Basic Healthy Eating1) Start with A LOT of vegetables. Adding vegetables increases your fiber intake which always helps with fat loss. Aim for 5-10 servings of vegetables per day depending on body size.
2) Eat 1-3 fruits a day. Fruit is nutritious, but it’s still sugar and fructose at that. So eat them, but don’t overdo it. Any diet will get you to lose fat if you are strict enough. Depending your body chemistry, some diets work better than others. Some people have success with a high carb, vegetarian diet while others thrive off a low carb, high protein diet. There is an unresolved debate on which diets work better simply because the correct diet is a matter of personal preference. Macronutrients are carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The purpose of these two blogs (Part 2.1, 2.2) is to show you a handful of common diets and to take the next step beyond calories in order to find what macronutrient percentages work best for you. Calories are important, but there is more to it than JUST counting calories.There is an ongoing debate of whether running is beneficial to your health or whether it will make you injured and overtrained. Those against running are usually the people who are not good at it or those where cardiovascular endurance is of lower priority to their other athletic goals. They do however, have some good points as to the negative effects of running. Some people keep running even though they don’t like it. I’ve had many clients who hated running but still continued to do so because it helped them lose weight or just feel better afterwards. They still continue to run even though they don’t like it. Some say it is a recipe for injury and that it won’t really make you lose any fat. Others say it is an easy to do, convenient exercise that will shed the pounds faster than any other activity. So which is it?
Your weight training routine should be independent your of fat loss goals, BUT...The old rule used to be that you would lift low reps for mass and lift high reps for fat loss. The idea was that the low, heavy reps were to build “bulk” and the high reps were to increase definition as well as burn more calories. None of this is really true in regard to fat loss. I always like to make it clear to people that all we are trying to do is decrease body fat in order to see the muscles underneath. This is how you achieve more definition or “tone” as some people put it.
Ultimately the way you lift should be independent of your nutrition. For example, if your goal is maximal strength then you are going to lift in the 1-5 rep range regardless of your fat loss goal. You wouldn’t want to do a metabolic workout 3 days a week just for the sake of fat loss while your strength and possibly muscle suffers. The same goes for athletes and bodybuilders, both competitive and recreational. Now if you are looking to achieve better daily function, Example workout #2 may be a better choice. Your nutrition is the main component that causes you to lose body fat. Lifting light versus heavy is going to have a much smaller effect on fat loss. There are however, some things you can change in your weight training routine to maximize your results. You can hate the word “Diet” all you want, but that is what you are doing when losing weight. Since I can’t think of any other way to describe how fast you lose fat, I’m calling this “Dieting Intensity”. Figuring out how much of a caloric deficit to be on can be trickier than one might think. Going to low may be painful and set you up to gain the weight right back. Not going low enough may not give you fast enough results to stay motivated. Here is a guide to help you determine your average goal calories based on how strict and uncomfortable you are willing to be while eating less.
Losing body fat is a very simple concept. Eat less than what you burn on a regular basis and you will lose body fat. This is step 1. It is ultimately about calories in, calories out. I’ve seen many books and articles claim weight gain is due to some other reason. They will state it is because of toxins, carbs, processed foods, not eating to our genetics (paleo), gluten, and the list goes on. While these all do play a role in weight gain, it is not the main reason why people get fat.
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AuthorJerry Yuhara, CPT, CSCS, CMT #75123 Categories
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