The Las Vegas Athletic Club recently approached me with some exercise novice 'frequently asked questions.' For most of my gym junkies, this is old news. However, everyone has SOMEONE who is toeing the line at the gym lobby and frightened to put one foot in front of the other, literally, due to the vast unknown that lies within 'exercising.' Please, please share this info with someone you love. They surely admire YOU for your dedication. Be their cheerleader, their coach, their trainer!
Best way to avoid injuries- Become best friends with a yoga mat, stretching, and foam rolling. Our bodies aren't meant to take the constant abuse that is 'exercise' without some sort of rehabilitation. Foam rolling to break up scar tissue in muscles keeps fascia working at optimum capacity and helps prevent injury. Yoga and stretching is great for muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints but more important it keeps 'body awareness' which also aids in injury prevention. Talk to a fitness professional about how to implement rehab into your routine.
How to stick to your goals- Make the 'process' of achieving goals part of the goal itself; i.e "To lose 10 lbs by the end of next month I'm going to get in 3 days a week of solid cooking of whole/nutritious foods." Having smaller goals within the large ultimate goal that are attainable, makes it so you have successes along the way which keeps adherence and positivity. Keep the small goals flowing strong and keep them in close range. We lose motivation if things are too far off and not applicable to life TODAY. Even having the small goal of just 'waking tomorrow at 6am' is hugely valid. Especially once completed because the world is yours after that!
Curb your cravings- Cravings don't exist just to ruin our day and sabotage our goals. They usually come for a biological reason. You must get to them before they get to you! For instance if it's the end of the day and you're dragging, you're probably craving some sort of 'up' snack better known as 'sugar.' If you're dragging having had solid rest, it's clear that your nutrition has been less than solid. You need to start the day off immediately with energy foods and snack appropriately along the way with nutrition that keeps you going. If you start with a slow burning, complex carb (like oatmeal) for breakfast and eat balanced small meals (lean protein and greens) with healthy snacks (almonds, trail mix, veggies to name a few), you will have the very best defense for keeping cravings at bay. If we eat every 2 to 3 hours small, snacksize meals, we never get truly 'hungry' which creates less room for cravings. Cravings are tricky and evil and take outsmarting. Plan well and prepare foods and you won't be vulnerable to their capture!
Common workout mistake- Using too much weight so people end up using momentum to perform the exercise instead of the actual intended muscle groups. I've seen it with nearly all exercises, not just one. For example if someone is doing bilateral bicep curls while standing and they're using too heavy of weight, they will lose form and depend on momentum. Once that happens they are usually swinging their hips forward and putting their lower back in real danger. On top of it, it's likely that the bicep muscles they thought they were working aren't actually doing a whole lot. The fix- get lighter weight and focus on the muscle groups you want to work. Make those and only those move the weight in a controlled manner and the results will triple the momentum method.
Change up the workout- Today there's very little style of exercise that you can't find in an LVAC class. Ask someone about the desired 'type' of exercise you're seeking be it cardio, strength, or rehab based. Then keep an open mind and experiment with some classes. If you've always been a 'strength' person, it's likely you have some scar tissue in your muscles and would hugely benefit from some yoga, pilates, or stretching classes. If you're stuck in cardio world, you likely have a strength imbalance which can leave you vulnerable for injury so a body pump or bootcamp class could be a great asset. If you're bored with traditional classes, there's so many class 'combos' being born like 'body flow' which combines strength and yoga or 'water zumba' which combines dance with the rehabilitative aspects of water. Drag your friends with you to unknown classes or don't be scared to test your luck with a trainer you've always admired and try to get a free workout out of them, you never know!
I want to start running, but every time I try to run my body/legs are killing me the next day. What am I doing wrong?- Running is a different animal. If performed wrong it's straight up abuse due to the pounding nature. Our hips, knees, and back can be really wrecked if our form is off. Before hammering it on the treadmill, find a professional to look at your form. Then do a walk/run ratio. This can resemble something like this: Warm up 10 min on treadmill with brisk walk, then do a 2:4 ratio (2 min run easy, 4 min walk) for the duration of desired cardio. Skip a day and do something low impact such as eliptical, bike, or swimming. Then the following day you can keep that ratio or make it a 3:3. The key is to start slow and really allow your body to adjust to the new movement. Make small changes and you will be running all out before you know it! And staying healthy!
Favorite post dinner snack- This is such a tough topic. I wish I could tell people to eat well enough all day so they don't have cravings at night, but I'm human, I have them, and that's just plain not realistic. First I will tell you what NOT to eat. Avoid any and all carbs (unless you want a complex carb for the sake of performing well in an athletic endeavor in the morning, but that's a whole other topic) because if not used up, they turn to sugar and ultimately excess fat. Protein from animals is filling, yes, and feeds your muscles, but the hardest to digest which could throw off sleep pattern worst case scenario. So a veggie! Sigh....ugh, who on earth wants just that? Well give celery and almond butter a shot. Celery is virtually guiltless offering negative calories, and almond butter is a lower calorie and higher 'good fat' option than it's brother peanut butter. Plus it handles a bit of a sweet tooth. Have a salt tooth? Go for celery (or any green raw veggie for that matter) with some hummus (mashed garbanzo beans), but be careful to look at the sodium content in your particular brand. Last thing you want is to go to bed with your ring fitting tight!
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