Take 2

Welcome to afitnewyou!  This week I would like to encourage you to continue with your training even if you have a set back due to an injury.  Everyone, average Joe’s, weekend warriors, and professional athletes alike all suffer from an injury at some point along their fitness life.  And while you should treat the injury appropriately and get some rest, it shouldn’t be the time and/or excuse to stop your training completely.  Its kind of like that old joke where a patient walks into a doctor’s office and says “Doc, it hurts when I do this.” And the doctor replies “So don’t do that.”  While that is a classic joke meant to be funny, it should also be a reminder to keep exercising, so you can stay on track to reach your fitness goals.  But, the key is, as the doctor says…just don’t do what causes you pain.  Instead, focus on another area or fitness component to keep you moving.

Alicia’s main fitness goal is to lose body fat, and gain overall strength and conditioning.  When she was younger she was a competitive gymnast.  The wear and tear from her former competitive career contributed to her to having a minor tear in her rotator cuff while participating in her current recreational tennis play.  Although the injury wasn’t physically debilitating, she became emotionally debilitated because the pain she felt from the injury caused her to think that she couldn’t exercise anymore.  The physical pain caused her mental anguish as she was unhappy with her body composition, the way she felt she “looked,” and the thought she could no longer be physically active.  Being that the tear was relatively minor I suggested that she could continue to train.  I suggested that she focus on exercises that would improve her “cardio” and lower and mid sections so that she could remain physically active.  I also suggested that she did upper body and shoulder exercises to improve the strength and function of her shoulder that would aid in her recovery.  Her injury was not a reason for her to stop exercising completely.  I explained that if any one exercise or movement caused her pain in her injured shoulder to simply not do that exercise; but she could still perform exercises that did not illicit any pain.  These ideas reinvigorated her to work out again.  It helped her work on her body composition. And to this day, she was able to heal her shoulder without needing any surgery.  She is even very happy to be playing tennis again.

When and injury does occur, it is considered trauma, and it should be treated appropriately.  The severity of the injury, will determine the treatment.  But most of us know that after suffering from an injury so severe that surgery is required, physical therapy will be prescribed.  And the therapy will include a series of exercises designed to target the specific muscles that were injured.  But most injuries are not so severe, and may only cause us minor pain for a relatively short period of time.  These injuries should not be used as excuses to stop working out completely.  You should continue to exercise, but choose exercises that do not cause pain, and/or do exercises that target other areas of the body.  Fitness isn’t one dimensional, so you can always focus on another area.

I am strong believer in the idea of safety first.  And when someone has an injury it should be treated properly.  Then with consideration of the injury the appropriate exercises should be chosen to both help heal the injury and make the area stronger to avoid a repeat of that injury.  It is a rare time when someone shouldn’t move at all and avoid exercise completely.  Think about it, even laying in a hospital bed will lead to sores if you don’t move.  So get up and lick your wounds if you are injured.  There are plenty of other ways to keep moving to a fit new you!

Intensity

Welcome to afitnewyou!  Today I would like to talk to you about exercising with the correct amount of intensity.  I always say that any amount of activity is better than none; however it is very important for you to exercise at the proper intensity level in order to reach your fitness goals.  Some people need to be motivated to do just any amount of activity, but if you are already regularly active, and veteran exerciser, than you need to make sure your intensity level is on par for you to reach your goals.  The intensity at which you train will have a direct impact on your results, and working at the right level is critical to fitness success.

Joy was a gym member who had a long standing routine of using the elliptical for 45 minutes each of the three times a week she came in for her workouts.  Having spoken to her a few times, I knew one of her major fitness goals was to lose body fat.  And, she believed the way she was training would ultimately allow her to reach her goals.  However, while she was on the elliptical, she would work at this slow and steady pace.  She had such a low intensity level that I would often see her talking to her “neighbor”, using her phone to text, and / or come off of the machine while barely breaking a sweat.  This is one of those times where the slow and steady tortoise will not win the race.  Her intensity level was not suitable for her to reach her goals.  After getting frustrated with feeling that she was working so hard and not seeing the results she wanted, she came to me for advice and I suggested that she bump up her intensity level.  Ever since she has been much happier with her results she has been gaining.

If you are new to exercise, the gym, and / or training, I still believe that any exercise is better than none.  However, once you get going, and / or are no longer so “green” in the gym, you need to train at the right intensity level to improve your fitness and reach your goals.  The American Heart Association even recommends that physical activity be “moderate” to “vigorous”.  There are many ways to determine what the correct intensity level for you is, and it really depends on what your fitness goals are, as well as what your current state of fitness/health is.  You can use the Karvonen formula to help you find your target heart rate range with consideration of your current aerobic health.  If your fitness goals include improving muscular strength and/or endurance, there are repetition tests to help you “dial-in” the weights you select.  Personal trainers will also subjectively assess your intensity level while you exercise using a Rate of Perceived Exertion.  If you feel that you have been exercising and not getting the results that you want, it could be that you are not working out at the correct intensity level.

In this day and age where a 40 hour work week is a “light” week for us, nobody has time to waste.  And, if you are honestly putting in a good effort at improving your fitness, you do deserve to reach the goals you seek.  But to reach your goals, you need to make sure that you are exercising at the correct intensity level.  “Working out” should be just that, work; it shouldn’t be so easy.  But while I believe you don’t always need “pain” to “gain”, exercising at the correct intensity level will allow you to better reach your fitness goals and achieve a fit new you!

Make today the day!

Welcome to afitnewyou!  This week I would like to help you stop putting off healthy behaviors like starting a new exercise routine and/or dietary guidelines.  Many people commonly start one or more of these behaviors around a particular upcoming date, for example as a resolution for the New Year, or to “look good” at an event such as a wedding or school reunion.  Then there are others who plan their “start date” at other, more common, future dates, like at the start of the next month or next paycheck.  I sometimes hear “Next month, I am going to…” or “When I get my next paycheck I am going to…” and “After my next physical…”  But I would ask people with those eventual plans “Why not start today?”  And in fact, that is what I am suggesting to you now; make today your start date!  Within reason, there is no reason to not start today.  More importantly, starting today will immediately put you on the path to reaching your fitness goals!

Trevor is an acquaintance of mine that I often have discussions with about how he can reach his fitness goals.  He wants to lose body fat in order to both look and “feel” better, but also to improve his blood work.  He knows I am a personal trainer, so when I run into him, he will ask me what he needs to do to lose his belly fat and gain some muscle mass.  And then, when I make some obvious suggestions such as joining a gym, working out, and eating better, he will rebut me with not only excuses but the acknowledgement that he knew I would give him those answers.  When he tries to end the conversation by telling me he will do what I suggest, but next month when he gets paid again, I respond by telling him not to wait, but to start today.  I know he isn’t ready to take my advice by the number of times we have had this same conversation and the fact that he hasn’t had a body change.  But I also know if he took my advice, he would start to see results sooner than later.

It isn’t just a lack of motivation that keeps people from starting a healthier lifestyle today, sometimes people just find it too hard to start, and therefore easier to put it off to another time.  However, I can tell you that the longer you wait, the more excuses can potentially get in the way.  So, start today!  It is obvious the sooner you start maintaining healthier behaviors, the sooner you will actually be healthier and feeling good!

It also shouldn’t be too hard to start today (or at the latest tomorrow), as long as you make it simple.  For example, when it comes to eating healthier, you may have to wait until your next trip to the supermarket to stock up on healthier food choices, but you can make small changes today that will add up to a big difference.  For example, simply looking at what you are going to have to eat today, ask yourself, can you cut down on the portion size?  Or, can you eliminate or substitute a healthier alternative for what you are about to consume?  For example, swap out the can of soda for a tall glass of water.  Or eat half of your sandwich for lunch and save the other half for dinner or tomorrow’s lunch in order to control the portion size.  You could also make a quick trip to the market today to pick up a few healthier choices to hold you over until that next planned shopping event.

Even with exercise, you don’t have to put of starting a training regiment until a time when you have the money to join a gym.  Most fitness facilities these days offer some sort of free trial…some as short as a day, and others for longer durations.  But, you could go to almost any gym today and be allowed to workout today for a trial.  And even more simple than that is to do something on your own at home.  Go for a quick walk, run or jog around the block.  Do a set of push-ups when you wake up and again when you go to bed.  Perform a set of jumping jacks during the commercial breaks while watching television.  It is simpler than you think to start on your fitness quest TODAY!

There is no better time than the present to improve upon your health and fitness.  Whether you are determined to exercise more, and/or eat healthier, starting those positive behaviors will only improve your life as soon as you begin them.  Even simple changes today will make profound changes in your future.  Don’t delay, start today!  Embarking on a healthier life today is the quickest path with least resistance to a fit new you!