Fitness Tips

   The Top 3 Bonehead Workout Mistakes to Avoid
And The Top 3 Training Tips"Common workout mistakes" have always been a very popular topic in fitness publications. But no matter how many times this subject is re-hashed, you almost always hear about the same half a dozen or so mistakes, including poor form, overtraining, going too heavy, not stretching, not warming up, yadda, yadda yadda. Ironically, you seldom hear about the biggest mistakes of all. I call these humongous bloopers "bonehead mistakes" because once you start to analyze and think about them, it's really just common sense and it all seems so obvious... except of course to the person doing it... who is often quite oblivious until someone else points it out to them... then the light goes on and it's like... "Duh!”Bonehead workout mistake #1: "Winging it""Winging it" means having no written goals or plans, no training journal and no way of "keeping score." It's when you just show up at the gym day after day and do whatever strikes your fancy, whatever machine happens to be available, or whatever you've become habitually accustomed to doing. Winging it is when you don't know where you are, where you're going or how you're going to get there - but you start your journey anyway - no compass, no roadmap. It's been said that "Action without planning is the biggest cause of failure," and I believe that statement is 100% accurate. Workout tip#1: Develop a strategic planSuccessful people never "wing it," they always have a plan. Strategic planning is a never ending process and includes: Assessment (where am I now?), goal setting (where do I want to go?), creating a plan or strategy (How will I get where I want to go?), executing the plan (what action steps must I take daily to reach my goal?), and measuring results (how will I know if I'm moving towards my goal and how will I know when I've reached it?). Boneheads "wing it." Butt-kickers have a master plan and goals for every workout. Bonehead workout mistake #2: Repeating the same workouts... without progressive overloadIn one respect, repeating the same workouts is important - it's called "continuity." Continuity means that to experience an adaptive response (more muscle, more strength, less fat and all that other good stuff), you must a repeat a certain modality or exercise consistently over a long enough period of time to allow the adaptive response to occur and to reap the full benefits (rather than changing exercises at every workout). That type of repetition is good. The bonehead mistake is when you do the same exercises, same reps, same weight, same everything, week after week, without ever challenging yourself to do more than you've done before. If your muscles could talk they would say, "Yawn.... Did that, done that, been there... we're just going to stay exactly the way we are... no need to get bigger or stronger today."Workout tip #2: Strive to beat your previous workoutsMuscle growth and strength increases occur when you place demands on your body above and beyond what it has experienced in the past. Your body responds to this progressive overload by getting stronger in order to handle this type of demand in the future. Your objective at almost every workout is to set goals to beat what you did during the previous one. If you can't add more weight, it could be as simple as one more rep with the same weight or the same sets/reps/weight in less time. It could also mean one more minute of cardio, one level higher on a stair climber, or half a percent steeper incline on the treadmill. Continuous and never-ending improvement is the name of the game. Bonehead workout mistake #3: Starving yourselfA calorie deficit is the only way to lose body fat. However, the caloric deficit must be kept small. When calories are cut too much, or held too low for too long, your body thinks you are starving and sets into motion a series of metabolic and hormonal events, which ultimately result in muscle loss, slow metabolism and plateaus. Your body is like a power plant or furnace and when you don't feed the fire, your metabolic flame dwindles to a flicker, producing less heat and less energy. That's why not eating enough is one of the biggest mistakes of all. Charlie, "Food is not your problem, food is your solution"Workout tip #3: Eat more, burn moreDid it ever occur to you that if you exercise more you can eat more? And that this is a more effective fat loss strategy than eating less and exercising less? To lose body fat, you must create a calorie deficit. A deficit can be created by exercising more, eating less, or ideally, with a combination of both. The best combination of all is a small decrease in calories accompanied by a large increase in activity. Think about it: Decreasing calories slows your metabolism. Increasing calories increases your metabolism. Exercise increases your metabolism. Therefore, eat more, exercise more = double increase in metabolism. Eat less, don't exercise = double decrease in metabolism.

Fitness Tip

Orchestrate. Here is a shoulder strengthener you can do sitting or standing. Extend your arms straight out at shoulder-height and on the diagonal - about halfway between straight ahead and out to the side. With good posture (straight back, shoulders and shoulder blades lowered), use your entire arm to write (cursive style) the letters of the alphabet in the air. The bigger the letters the more muscles you will work. Work each arm independently to isolate each shoulder.

Health Tip

Know Your Numbers. This month reminds us to pay special attention to our cholesterol. Everyone age 20 and over should have their blood cholesterol measured at least every 5 years, more frequent if you have family history. Your LDL level is an indicator of your risk for heart disease. To keep your cholesterol low and reduce your risk for heart disease reduce your consumption of foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol, be physically active, maintain a healthy weight and do not smoke. Most importantly, know your cholesterol numbers - Total, LDL, HDL and triglycerides - talk to your doctor about getting tested.

Obesity Key Stats

1. While Americans' fat consumption has decreased over the past several decades from 37 percent to 33 percent, their rate of obesity has risen from 12 percent in 1991 to as much as 32 percent today. One reason: Americans are eating more calories than they did 30 years ago, and the rate of increase is three times greater in women than men. American women have increased the amount of calories they eat each day by more than 300.

2. Another contributing factor to obesity: less than one-third of Americans meet basic activity level recommendations and an estimated 25 percent are completely sedentary.

3. Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. and contributes to $117 billion a year in health care costs. The American Obesity Association estimates that 34 percent of American women 20 years of age and older are obese.

4. One measure of obesity is your body mass index (BMI), which can be determined by dividing your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared and then multiplying by 705. For example, a woman who is 5'6" and weighs 190 would have a BMI of 31, as follows:

• 5'6" = 66 inches
• 66 squared = 4356
• 190 divided by 4356 = 0.0436
• 0.0436 x 705 = 30.75 (rounded up to 31)

 

Pumping Iron's OK for Kids

Safe, fun, fast--strength training builds bone and calorie-burning muscle
by Paula Rasich

Strength training is gaining credibility among top sports-medicine experts as a quick, safe way for children and teens to build muscle, boost bone strength, avoid overweight, and improve self-confidence.

A recent study of 55 boys and girls in an introductory program found that 20 minutes 2 days a week results in significant gains in muscle strength (Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, Dec 2002). If your child can participate in group activities and follow instructions, then he's ready, says researcher Avery Faigenbaum, EdD, of the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Strength training can give even overweight kids a chance to shine and sparks an interest at an early age for a lifetime of physical fitness, says Dr. Faigenbaum. Anyone starting a fitness program should be supervised to develop proper form and technique. Be safe: Don't start them at home; sign up for a kids-level strength program at a gym, community center, or school.