Wouldn’t it be awesome to be able to say “I’m stronger now than I was 10 years ago!”? Well, that’s exactly what one of our clients told an interviewer when he asked her about what it’s like to be a lifeSport Fitness client.
I invite you to watch this 1 minute video to get an idea of how a well-constructed exercise program and nutrition coaching can add immense value to your quality of life:
Here are some thoughts to ponder today:
Can you imagine yourself 10 lbs lighter? Or feeling ten years younger?
How would it feel to drive a golf ball further than ever before?
What would it feel like to have less knee or back pain?
How would it feel to have more confidence and better posture?
Proper coaching can give you results like these!!
In Closing
Wouldn’t it be awesome to have 2022 be your STRONGEST and FITTEST year ever?
You’ve got the power to make a decision and together with lifeSport Fitness, we CAN make it happen ;-).
Happy New Year!
– Coach Becky
P.S.
Want to learn more about how we help busy Silicon Valley professionals over 40 get in shape, move better and exercise without pain? If you’re ready to turn back the clock feel younger, I invite you to fill out the form below and we’ll set up a time to chat.
Remember the old saying, “No pain, no gain?” Well, does strength training really have to hurt in order to get results?
Really, whoever came up with the saying used a poor choice of words.
First things first, we need to make a distinction between discomfort and pain.
In order to get better/stronger/leaner/faster, you DO have to get out of your comfort zone. And, yes, you should push yourself to get there.
But – exercise should never be painful.
Most educated trainers and fitness pros are now educated enough to understand that pushing through the pain only leads to more pain … and worse, injury.
HOW TO PREVENT INJURY AND STOP PAIN FROM WORKING OUT
Here are a few exercises that every one of your workouts should have, in order to keep you safe, healthy and pain-free..
1. Dynamic Warmup
We can’t stress this enough — especially for those of us over 40! This is the part of the workout that many people skip, but it’s honestly the last thing that should be neglected.
Preparing your body for movement is the most important part of the workout. An effective dynamic warmup should encompass all the foundational movement patterns, increase the heart rate and tissue temperature and prepare the central nervous system for the activities ahead. NEVER SKIP THE WARMUP!
Interested in some exercises you can do as warmups? Check out this Health.com article here.
2. Prehab
These are corrective exercises that strengthen often neglected muscle groups and promote soft tissue health in order to enhance the freedom of movement and prevent injury. Skip the prehab, and you’ll wind up in rehab instead.
At our studio, if we have a client that needs some prehab work, we build it right into their customized program right after their dynamic warm up.
3. Mobility
Stretching and mobility are not the same thing. Mobility exercises enhance the freedom of movement through the joints, whereas stretching involves muscle lengthening (read below). Both improve flexibility. Is one better than the other? No. Our bodies need both!
4. Cooldown
Whereas the warmup involves dynamic movement, the cooldown is about calming the central nervous system, lowering the heart rate, and lengthening muscles through static stretching (i.e. holding positions and poses).
Setting aside a few minutes to cool down after a workout signals to the body that it’s time to start the recovery process.
A tough workout tears down muscle tissue. It’s during the rest and recovery between workouts when the rebuilding happens.
THE TAKEAWAY
So our message today is: Don’t get caught up in the 80’s mentality of “no pain, no gain.” Does strength training have to hurt in order to get results? Absolutely not!
Incorporate the above steps before, during and after your workouts and you’ll be well on the way to healthy, pain-free gains💪🏼.
A big thanks and shout out to Elise Morgan for this guest post!
Learn more about Elise on Twitter: @elisemthewriter
If you’re looking to build muscle fast, you’re probably a pretty driven person used to working hard and seeing results. If you’re not seeing significant progress with growing muscle from month to month, however, you may need to change your approach. Here are seven scientifically proven ways to boost muscle growth in no time.
Focus More on the Eccentric Phase
There are two phases in lifting weights: concentric (hard) and eccentric (easy). For example, lowering into a squat is an eccentric action, while returning to standing is concentric. According to the European Journal of Applied Physiology, eccentric work is better for stimulating hypertrophy of muscle fibers – more humbly known as muscle growth. To achieve this, do one of two things: slow down eccentric movements or incorporate eccentric-only variations into your session. Using the squat as an example, lower into the squat, then end the exercise to make it eccentric-only. You’ll need to increase weight substantially since muscles are stronger when moving eccentrically.
Prioritize Sleep
All the proper nutrition and weight training in the world won’t counteract a persistent lack of sleep. Avoid burning the candle from both ends and prioritize getting enough sleep every night. During sleep, the release of human growth hormone in your body helps repair cells and build muscle, as well as keeping production of cortisol, a stress hormone, at a minimum. It’s also important not to time your daily workouts too close to bedtime. Instead, give yourself at least two hours after your workout to calm down before you try to head to sleep.
Increase Training Volume
Training volume is the number of reps multiplied by number of sets. This is a primary factor in muscle growth. The math is a little complicated after that, but the bottom line is that you need to use 50 to 75 percent of the maximum weight you can lift for three to six sets of 10 to 20 reps.
Eat More Protein
Weight training breaks down muscles and protein rebuilds them. Harder workouts increase your required intake of protein to grow muscle. Research has shown that you need to eat .25 to .30 grams of protein kg of body weight per meal. That’s the equivalent of three or four eggs or a cup of yogurt. To simplify your goal, go for a scoop of protein powder.
Decrease Rest Intervals
Rest no longer than 30 to 90 seconds between sets. This will provide rapid release of muscle-building hormones like the human growth hormone and testosterone while at the same time ensuring that you really tire out your muscles – a requirement for substantial muscle growth.
Focus on Calorie Surpluses
If you’re accustomed to counting calories to lose weight, this practice can be hard to get used to. However, to be effective in building muscle, you will need to consume more calories a day than you burn. If you consume less calories than you burn, your body sees this as a deficit and responds by downshifting its tendency to grow muscle. Shoot for 250-500 extra calories per day, mostly from protein, which is more likely to be stored as muscle.
Supplement with Creatine
Although creatine doesn’t have a direct connection to muscle growth, it boosts performance for high intensity lifting sessions. According to a research review in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, supplementing your workouts with creating may help you lift an estimated 14 percent more reps than without creatine.
If you want to build muscle fast, these research-based changes to your current approach should do the trick – and remember not to get ahead of yourself. Make sure you allow time to recover from your workouts and get plenty of sleep.
Talk to 10 people and you’ll get 10 different opinions on the best way to get fit.
One will tell you to attend an aerobics class. Another will swear by jogging. Yet another will tell you that dance and biking worked for them.
The truth is that there’s really only one effective way to get fit and be lean.
Before I get into the details, it’s important that we agree on the definition of ‘fit’. Too often skinny is mistaken for fit, and that’s not what you should strive for. In my opinion, “fit” means that you’re lean, strong, and flexible and that your body functions well as a unit.
When someone is skinny but has very little muscle tissue, they aren’t truly fit.
Here’s why skinny doesn’t equal fit:
A skinny person’s body fat percentage could be higher than ideal—even though you don’t see a lot of fat on them
A skinny person’s resting metabolism will be low since little muscle is present to burn calories at rest
A skinny person’s body won’t be functionally strong, which can lead to injuries
So how does one get truly fit? It’s this simple: Strength Training
Strength training is when resistance is used to challenge your muscles in order to gain strength and endurance. You could do this with traditional weights, exercise bands, medicine balls, cable machines, sandbags, kettle bells or even just using your own body weight.
Regular strength training has the following benefits…..
Improved strength and muscle tone
Improved cardiovascular capacity
Higher resistance to injury and disease
If that’s not enough to convince you that strength training is the only way to truly become fit, read on…
Top 9 Reasons To Strength Train
1) To Build Muscle and Gain Strength: Don’t worry, ladies. This does NOT mean that you’re going to ‘bulk up’ or look too masculine. What will happen is that your arms, tummy and legs will become tighter, leaner and more defined.
2) To Lose Fat: When it comes to losing size, all that you want to see go is fat, not muscle. Strength training ensures that you maintain and grow those muscles and lose unwanted fat.
3) To Build Strong Bones: The older we get, the more important our bone density is. A good strength training program is one of your best defenses when it comes to osteoporosis.
4) To Alleviate Anxiety, Stress and Depression: Sure there are plenty of pills out there that claim to give these benefits, but you and I both know that strength training is a more wholesome and effective way. And besides, who really wants pharmaceutical side effects?
5) To Sleep Better: Here’s another pill you can stop taking once you start strength training. Study after study have proven that strength training improves sleep.
6) To Improve Chronic Back Pain: If you are one of the millions across the globe who suffer from back pain then you’ll love the benefit of decreased pain.
7) To Improve Insulin Sensitivity: Today diabetes is a huge threat. Minimize your risk by improving insulin sensitivity through regular, challenging strength training.
8) To Improve Good to Bad Cholesterol Ratio: Here is yet another pill that you could potentially stop taking while on a strength training routine. Blood pressure and heart health are of utmost concern, so why not give yourself the advantage of a strength training routine?
9) To Raise your Metabolism: This helps to reduce body fat and to keep that body fat off, even on the days that you aren’t able to exercise. Pretty awesome, right?
A solid strength training routine will tone your legs, lift your buns, strengthen your core, and will result in inches and pounds lost.
All those things I mentioned at the beginning of this post–aerobics class, jogging or biking–these are all great things to do to improve your fitness. However, to round out that fitness program and get the best results, strength training is the key, hands down!
Not sure how to safely add strength training to your current fitness routine? Contact us at lifeSport Fitness for a free consultation, or sign up for a free one-week trial at our boot camp workouts in San Jose or Campbell. We can teach you how to successfully strength train in a one-on-one session or at boot camp.
Before I tell you about my latest super-fast strength training routine, I want to give a warm welcome to all my “newbie” campers!
Almaden bootcamp: Welcome to Kristi, Janti and William. Even though you were sore from workouts earlier in the week, you guys did an excellent job on the obstacle course today!
Campbell boot camp:Welcome to Lisa, Noelle and Renu. You guys are hard workers and it’s great to see you blending right in with the “veterans”.
Willow Glen “FitCamp for Women over 40”:Welcome to Angela, Shadie and Gloria. Woo Hoo! You ladies rock! I saw some serious effort during your interval training segments this week. Well done!.
A number of you “newbies” have approached me to talk about your fat loss goals. I can tell you’re really motivated. I suspect that we’re going to see some serious fat loss happening this month!
Speaking of fat loss…………strength training is key to revving your metabolism and helping you burn calories all day long. So, I’ll share with you below the workout I did the other day at my gym. If you have dumbbells at home, you can do this workout at home. It took me 22 minutes, and I worked all my major muscle groups.
I did three sets of each superset with no rest in between the exercises. When I had completed three sets of a particular superset, I rested for one minute before beginning the next superset.
I did 12 repetitions per set unless otherwise noted. I used dumbbells that fatigued me by the last few repetitions of the set.
A1: Push ups (15 reps)
A2: Dumbbell squats
B1: Assisted pull ups (if you’re at home, substitute dumbbell bent over rows)
B2: Dips
C1: Step ups with dumbbells
C2: Dumbbell shoulder press
Doing a “superset” routine is a great way to get a strength workout completed without being in the gym forever. If you need to get another strength training session in this weekend, give this one a try!
Talk to 10 people and you’ll get 10 different opinions on the best way to get fit.