Okay everyone, I am going to show you what it takes to have a good workout. A huge pet peeve I have is see people just machine hopping around the gym. I understand that maybe it is hard for some people to understand how to lift free weights or they are just nervous, but machines are not going to turn you into a supermodel, bodybuilder, or anything for that matter. Yes the argument is that they are safer, and really isolate the muscle you want to work. But when does that ever happen? When in real life do you ever really isolate one muscle in any activity? The answer is almost never.
So what makes a good strength building workout. First use the FITT formula, Frequency, Intensity, Type, and Time.
F= how many repetitions and sets you plan on doing
I= how hard you want to work, based on your purpose of the workout
T= goes with intensity, are you looking for strength,speed,agility,endurance, etc..
T= have a limit on how long you want to work.
I could use this for a Crossfit workout making it look something like this
For example the workout FRAN.( Ohhh NOO)
21-15-9 reps 95# thruster, Pullups
F=21 15 9 for 3 sets
I= balls to the wall
T= anaerobic capacity,speed,strength,endurance
T= trying to beat my previous time
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Creatine, should I or shouldn't I??
The topic for today is Creatine. People at gyms are constantly talking about it and what it does for you, but is it true?
Creatine is a part of the energy cycle the body uses to have muscles contract. After people use the first source, ATP, it used CP, Creatine Phosphate. Taking Creatine as a supplement makes the Creatine readily available, thus making you have more energy during a workout, making you able to work longer, and harder.
Although the first Creatine supplement that had a bad stigma about you retaining water, the new and improved Creatine does not retain water.
The interesting thing about Creatine is that it is not effective in people that are not already weight trained, so if you are a beginner lifter, you have to wait a while before Creatine will be of any benefit to you.
Creatine is a part of the energy cycle the body uses to have muscles contract. After people use the first source, ATP, it used CP, Creatine Phosphate. Taking Creatine as a supplement makes the Creatine readily available, thus making you have more energy during a workout, making you able to work longer, and harder.
Although the first Creatine supplement that had a bad stigma about you retaining water, the new and improved Creatine does not retain water.
The interesting thing about Creatine is that it is not effective in people that are not already weight trained, so if you are a beginner lifter, you have to wait a while before Creatine will be of any benefit to you.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Nutrition Help for the Holidays
The best way to lose that unwanted weight is to count calories. But what does that even mean? How much should I be eating? and what exactly should I eat?
In order to count calories, you need to figure out how much you should be eating. The best equation to use to help you find a number of calories is the Harrison Benedict equation. Here is a link, just add your information and it will give you the calories you should be eating per day. http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
Next, from that number, to have a balanced diet-the best diet out there- 55% of that should be Carbohydrates. Yes, that is right. I know that there are tons of people saying that you should avoid the evil carbohydrates as much as possible, but in reality, they are used for all muscle function and provide a lot of nutrition pathways through.
25% of your total calorie consumption should be Fat. Fat, or the broken down form, triglycerides, is what the heart uses for energy, as well as a way to transport and dissolve certain vitamins.
Lastly 20% of your calorie consumption should be Protein. Many people eat way too much protein when in reality your body can not use that much.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
What many people are missing in a workout
Today while I was at the gym I started to watch people working out just being curious to see if there is anything new that people are doing that I haven't seen, I saw this girl doing her routine, which was a great beginning workout, but the intensity was so slow, it was almost boring to watch.
That is the missing key for many people; Intensity.
The formula for a great workout can be said in an acronym. FITT. Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type. Skipping out on one, makes the workout an entire forth less efficient.
Next time when planning a workout, a helpful thing is to write it out using this same method and check yourself. If you feel that you aren't hitting all points to your satisfaction change that!
Let me know if you have any questions on examples or about anything fitness,nutrition, or mental health wise!!
That is the missing key for many people; Intensity.
The formula for a great workout can be said in an acronym. FITT. Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type. Skipping out on one, makes the workout an entire forth less efficient.
Next time when planning a workout, a helpful thing is to write it out using this same method and check yourself. If you feel that you aren't hitting all points to your satisfaction change that!
Let me know if you have any questions on examples or about anything fitness,nutrition, or mental health wise!!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Exercise Basics
Hello everyone!
Today I am going to talk about a couple main components of exercise.
The" 3 Big" are Endurance, Flexibility, and Strength. Each of these should be incorporated into your workouts weekly. The level at which you want to utilize each of these should depend on your goals as well as current state that you are at. What I mean by that is that people who want to be power lifters should focus most of their training on Strength rather than the other 3, while a Crossfitter should have equal focus on each of the 4.
Endurance has 2 components, Muscular and Cardiovascular. Muscular , obviously, has to do with your muscles.It is defined as how long a muscle can do repeated contraction without fatigue.(LCSC.edu), while Cardiovascular Endurance is a health-related component of physical fitness that relates to the ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to supply fuel during sustained physical activity and to eliminate fatigue products after supplying fuel.(plu.edu). Examples of each of these are circuit training for Muscular Endurance, and walking for Cardiovascular Endurance
Flexibility focuses on stretching the muscles to improve range of motion and prevent injury. Another thing that flexibility helps is pain in areas, the biggest being tight hamstring muscles that cause low back pain.
Lastly, the one that everyone focuses on the most is Strength. Strength also has 3 different levels to it; Stabilization, Strength, then Power. Stabilization strength is the ability to perform exercises in an unstable plan for many repetitions at a time. This is the first building block to strength based programs. The next being basic strength. These include exercises as the squat, bench press, shoulder press, etc. The next phase being power. These moves are explosive, such as a hang clean, box jump, burpee, etc.
References
Today I am going to talk about a couple main components of exercise.
The" 3 Big" are Endurance, Flexibility, and Strength. Each of these should be incorporated into your workouts weekly. The level at which you want to utilize each of these should depend on your goals as well as current state that you are at. What I mean by that is that people who want to be power lifters should focus most of their training on Strength rather than the other 3, while a Crossfitter should have equal focus on each of the 4.
Endurance has 2 components, Muscular and Cardiovascular. Muscular , obviously, has to do with your muscles.It is defined as how long a muscle can do repeated contraction without fatigue.(LCSC.edu), while Cardiovascular Endurance is a health-related component of physical fitness that relates to the ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to supply fuel during sustained physical activity and to eliminate fatigue products after supplying fuel.(plu.edu). Examples of each of these are circuit training for Muscular Endurance, and walking for Cardiovascular Endurance
Flexibility focuses on stretching the muscles to improve range of motion and prevent injury. Another thing that flexibility helps is pain in areas, the biggest being tight hamstring muscles that cause low back pain.
Lastly, the one that everyone focuses on the most is Strength. Strength also has 3 different levels to it; Stabilization, Strength, then Power. Stabilization strength is the ability to perform exercises in an unstable plan for many repetitions at a time. This is the first building block to strength based programs. The next being basic strength. These include exercises as the squat, bench press, shoulder press, etc. The next phase being power. These moves are explosive, such as a hang clean, box jump, burpee, etc.
References
Retrieved from Plu.edu: http://www.plu.edu/~chasega/terms.html
lCSC.edu. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.lcsc.edu/mcollins/FIT%20&%20WELL/FW09ch04.html
Sunday, December 4, 2011
General Ad
Hello everyone!
This is my first post on my new blog, I am very excited to help everyone with any exercise, nutrition, and wellness needs. If there is any questions you may have send me a question via e-mail. Also, check here periodically for updates and newly added posts which will come very often. I have a lot to say about the do's and don'ts the how to's and how not to's and everything inbetween.
Thank you for reading this guys and I will be glad to help anyone that needs it!
Christian
This is my first post on my new blog, I am very excited to help everyone with any exercise, nutrition, and wellness needs. If there is any questions you may have send me a question via e-mail. Also, check here periodically for updates and newly added posts which will come very often. I have a lot to say about the do's and don'ts the how to's and how not to's and everything inbetween.
Thank you for reading this guys and I will be glad to help anyone that needs it!
Christian
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