Your core, it's more than just abs.

If anyone has ever told you that you need to work your core and all you did was add a couple of abdominal exercises to your workout regimen, you are only getting a third of the job done. Your core involves a lot more than just that so-sought-after six pack. I often refer to the core as the powerhouse of your body. Almost every single move your body makes involves your core. So, back to the question. What exactly is your core?
Of course a part of your core is the front of your midsection or the rectus abdominus (abs). But even this part isn't that simple. There is more there than just that. You have muscles all around that that act as postural muscles to keep you upright. Below your rectus abdominus is your transverse abdominus. Just consider this another layer to your abs. To each side of your rectus and transverse abs are your obliques. These muscles are called obliques because of the direction they run. They actually run diagonally through your midsection. SO MANY AB MUSCLES, how do you work them all?! Simple. The most effective ab workout is the plank (also called a hover). Another great exercise is the Ab Rollout on a Swissball. The great thing about the Ab Rollout is that you can progress from a Swissball to lower apparatuses such as an Ab Dolly, Ab Wheel, or just a barbell with different sized plates when you get the hang of it and want to keep challenging yourself.
Alright, so the front of the midsection is taken care of. What about the back of the midsection? This is also a part of your core, a very important part of your core. Your back muscles are what keeps in you good posture and keeps you from slouching forward as you get older. Also, keeping the back strong greatly lessens your chance of having any lower back problems. One of these muscles is called your erector spinae. You work this by doing Pointers or Swimmers. Depending on who you talk to some consider your latissimus dorsi part of your core. I'm one of those. Your lats are a key part of having good strong posture. A simple exercise for the lats is the Lat Pull Down. If you want to shake things up a Bent Over Row works great too.
The last and final piece of the core puzzle is your hips. YES, your hips. There are A LOT of little muscles that make up your hips and I won't even begin to name them all here. The most important fact to know is that working these muscles is just as important as working everything else. Any exercise that has you working your legs from side to side or outside to inside (in the frontal plane, if that makes sense to you) is going to work the muscles of your hips. A couple of examples is a Banded Step Touch or a Power Step Touch. Squat with a Hip Abduction is an example you see a lot with trainers or group fitness instructors.
All of these different systems of muscles all work together to make the core. It's more than just ab work that is going to give you the strong core you want and need. Results really should come in a total body package. Now you understand why I refer to the core as your powerhouse. It initiates almost every movement you will ever do in a day whether inside the gym or at work or even at home. So take all this, let it soak in, and on your next trip the gym try out some of these exercises and see if it doesn't make a difference in your results.

Getting off the scale, getting a new mindset.

Alright, I'm just going to come right out and say it. I want you to walk over to that awesome new fancy scale you just bought, pick it up, walk over to your trash can, and drop it in. Oh yes, I said it. And I mean it. If you are using your scale as the end all be all means of telling whether you are getting healthier by losing weight, end it now. That is one of the most unhealthy and unreliable methods there is to telling whether you are reaching your fitness goals. You have to get the number out of your mind. The number on the scale means absolutely nothing. I can tell you this, if you are dieting and exercising the way that you should be the number on that scale just may increase. Yes ma'am, yes sir, it just may increase if you are doing everything you are supposed to be doing when looking to make long term healthy changes in your life.
Think about this, if you go from a state of never exercising or exercising sporadicaly to exercising all the time you are going to gain muscle before anything else happens. Muscle is weight, good weight, but still weight. So when you step on the scale for the first time after starting your serious exercise regimen that number is more than likely going to be more than when you started. This is normal. Think of the scale as more of a starting point. Look at your number in the beginning and let that guide you towards your goal. Once you are into your workout routine for a few months, then check it again and see where you have gotten. That's all you should ever use it for.
For my clients I find that measuring inches of extremities and waist line is a more effective approach at measuring results. Your arms are going to change shape with new muscle, same as your legs and your waist will start to get smaller. These new muscles are going to help burn the fat that you want to lose. But you first have to gain the muscle. As I said before, new muscle equals new weight.
Don't let the scale tell you whether or not you're on the right track because no matter how 'smart' your scale is it still has no idea who you are and its just programmed to give a number, a number that really, truly means nothing. Fit and Healthy comes in all different shapes and sizes. So find the shape and size that best fits your body type and get off that scale!

Breaking personal goals, each and every gym visit.

Are you the type that comes into the gym and does the same thing every time your in the gym and can't figure out why you aren't getting results? Or maybe you got results in the beginning and now can't figure out why you stopped? It's because your doing the same thing every time you come into the gym.
You shouldn't ever do the same workout two gym trips in a row. Ever. No exceptions. The whole point of working out is to confuse your muscles. If you keep doing the saaaame cardio routine or the saaaaaaame lifting routine your muscles are going to learn what you are doing and they will quickly adapt and they wont grow or your body will adapt and you won't shed any more pounds regardless of caloric expenditure. And for the love of all things workout and results STOP DOING ISOLATION EXERCISES! Your body doesn't move isometrically so you won't get great results isometrically. And no more leg days, arm days, back days, etc. etc. etc. Work your whole body in a circuit every time you come to the gym and you will get MUCH better, balanced results. This concept should make sense to everybody: The more muscles you work the harder your body works so you burn more calories and you will see desired results much more quickly. Easy concept yes?
The whole point of your workout is to set personal bests. What I mean is you should always be exercising to reach a new goal. So you should always be going harder, lifting heavier, jumping higher, reaching further, etc. If you aren't then, of course, you probably aren't seeing results or you aren't seeing the results that you think you should be seeing. Now that doesn't necessarily mean you have to increase your weight each time you visit the gym. Sometimes that increase is in reps which possibly might mean you use a little less weight. That's perfectly good! That's muscle confusion in action. That is what will give you the body you want!
Quickly I want to end this with a little lecture about your core, specifically your rectus abdominus (the ever so longed for 6 pack). Just because you see someone with a 6 pack doesn't necessarily mean they have great core strength. That definitely isn't what that means. Some of the weakest athletes I've seen in my career have the abs but don't have stability or core strength worth anything. And let's think about the magazines you see where every model and celebrity has a 6 pack, how much do you think they starved themselves the day before to look like that? A LOT of them do. Just because they 'appear' fit and healthy doesn't necessarily mean they are.
Stay tuned in the near future for a whole blog entry dedicated to nothing but the core! Everything you wanted to know and all the things you didn't even think of. Now get into the gym and show yourself your personal best!

Let's talk about that guy, the one you don't want to be.

Okay so we all know that guy who comes into the gym, drives all around the parking lot until a spot in front opens up then finally parks and goes into the gym to do nothing more than walk leisurely on the treadmill. That is the prime example of that guy. Don't be that guy. That guy is paying however much a month to come to the gym and then walk on the treadmill. That's one seriously expensive treadmill. It's costing him not only his gym dues but also gas. Not to mention, it's costing him time he could have been spending actually doing something to change his body and better his health.
Let's first talk about the treadmill. I know I've talked about it before but let's seriously break this down. The things a treadmill can be used for effectively: basic warm-up, interval training, cup holder, clothes hanger. That's it. Really. I come into the gym and I use the treadmill for 10 minutes to get my juices flowing and organize my workout. Once I get that done I hop off, forget about it, do my real total body warm-up and get into my exercises. The only time I use it for my clients is when we are doing interval training. We hop on, do 30 seconds easy, 30 seconds hard, repeat repeat repeat. Even with this though, I find an elliptical is a little kinder to your joints. You cannot hop on a treadmill and walk on it for 30 minutes twice or three times a week and expect that to count as your workout. That's not a workout. It's wasted time (the only time this might not apply is if you are a brand new exerciser, but even then you HAVE to push yourself). In order to change your body you have to challenge your body. If you are hell bent on using that treadmill get on it and bump up the incline, walk that hill for a few minutes, then take it easy, repeat repeat repeat. But I would much rather see you walk over to the free weights and do some lifting. Fact: An hour of weight training is a much more effective calorie burner than an hour on the treadmill.
So I just told you weight training is the way to go, what do you do with those free weights? For starters you won't pick up those weights and start doing biceps curls. That is an exercise that is a waste of time. You will get plenty of biceps work doing other exercises. Fact: Your biceps will not grow out of proportion with the other muscles in your arms. So it is absolutely pointless to isolate them and work them to fatigue. Yeah they might fill with blood like any other muscle and fill out while your doing those curls but as a long term exercise it really is time wasted. Good free weight exercises include things like a Dumbbell Push Press, Split squats, Bulgarian (Rear Foot Elevated) Split Squats, deadlifts, deadrows. Even without dumbbells a great pushing exercise is the Push Up. Lou Schuler wrote a great book with Alwyn Cosgrove called The New Rules of Lifting. I highly recommend that book for any level of exerciser whether you are new to exercise or an advanced lifter. That book has great exercises and great info. Plus Schuler has an awesome sense of humor so the book stays entertaining when most books might go dry and get boring.
So, lots of information to let sink into your brains. Questions? Comments? Concerns? Let me know, find my e-mail on this page.

Double the results, same ol' exercise.

KW Fit Fitness QuickTip:

Looking for more or better core strength but only have so much time to put in to your workout?

Try all of your traditional standing exercises on your knees.

Fact: Taking out the stability of your quads automatically forces your core to engage and work as your power house to keep you stabilized.

Example: Triceps Overhead Extension.

Take it from standing or sitting and grab a mat and kneel (Remember to keep a tall spine). It will make a difference, I promise.

Group fitness, it's just what you need.

It's that time of year where everyone makes their New Year's resolutions to hit the gym and lose a few pounds! It's also that time of year where all of the treadmills and elliptical machines get crammed and no one can find an empty one to use. You really want to stick to your plan and REALLY lose those pounds? GET OFF THE MACHINE! I wouldn't stick to an exercise regimen either if all I did was go to a gym and walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes. It's boring! Step off the machine and step into the group fitness room. Yes, I'm serious. Group fitness isn't grandma's aerobics anymore. That means guys, too, can get GREAT results from group fitness. There is a fair amount of hype when it comes to group fitness from long time trainers and gym owners. A lot of people say group fitness isn't really working out or it's easy. Answer this one question for me. What is the difference between doing a dozen push ups in the group fitness room and a dozen bicep curls out on the strength training floor? NOTHING. It's all the same. It is proven that group fitness gives results. I'm talking proof in numbers. Group fitness is fun, definitely a lot more fun than walking or cycling or climbing in place on a machine. Group fitness creates an atmosphere where people can safely push their limits and find awesome results. It also gives a feeling of accountability when you start to get to know the people that are working along side you. It's especially beneficial for you to take the time out to get to know the instructor. If they are a good instructor they will make sure that you aren't slacking off and you'll hear about it when you skip a day! It's the perfect atmosphere that tailors to nothing but results. Yes I will say the word one more time, RESULTS. Why wouldn't you do it? Find a class and just get into it and do it. I don't care if it's a barbell lifting class, a step class, a cardio groove class, a boot camp class, or a yoga class. Make 2010 the year that you change up your routine and actually STICK TO IT. Find the group fitness schedule at your gym and check out a class that tickles your interest. You will be pleasantly surprised, I promise.

Synovial fluid, warming up in winter.

For most of us December means the coming of colder (or just plain cold) weather. It means the runners start to move indoors to begin their often thought mundane training on the treadmill for the next 4 to 5 months. All of the outdoor activities come to a close and everyone starts to move inside to stay warm. Even the birds fly to wherever the warm air is. As the weather changes it's important to remember that our workout should change as well. During the cold season I cannot stress to you enough how important warming up is before your workout. A warm up is just that, you are getting your body warm. Your muscles aren't going to work properly if they are still frigid and unwilling to budge from the trek outdoors you had to take in the cold to get indoors. Also, it is really important to warm up the synovial fluid around your joints. What is synovial fluid? Synovial fluid is the liquid, almost like an egg white kind of thickness, that surrounds your joints and prevents frictions between articulating (meeting or touching) cartilage. This synovial fluid cannot do its job correctly unless its warm. Staying with the theme of egg whites imagine what happens when we cook that egg white, it becomes solid. That solid mass isn't really going to help reduce stress between any joint. If the synovial fluid stays cold, it has pretty much this same texture and it won't protect anything. A warm up during winter is CRUCIAL to exercising safely without injury.
I stress how important a warm up is anytime you workout regardless of the weather but in the winter months I have no leniency. It just puts too much stress on your body. So don't let the cold weather keep you from a really great workout. Hop inside, warm up, and get your fitness on!

Fitness is about your body, not everyone elses' thoughts.

I have recently been semi- bombarded with questions about warming up and why we warm up and even why we do the things we do when we exercise. All very legitimate questions, but having very broad, long answers. I really haven't been doing this that long (a little under two years) but I have found that EVEN if I give you sage, sound advice if it doesn't make you necessarily 'fit in' on the fitness floor then you aren't going to do it. Why is that? What is it about YOUR personal fitness goals that makes you feel necessary to keep doing the SAME old routines in the SAME order on the SAME day with the SAME ineffective warm up just to fit in with the crowd? I write all of this, of course, with an example so it makes more sense.

I had a gentleman approach me at the gym the other day wanting to know what he could do for his tight muscles. I asked him if he stretched after he worked out and he replied no he only stretched sometimes before a workout. My eyes got a little wide and I asked why he was still stretching before his workout then went into a little shpeel about how its been proven that stretching after your workout is proven to be more effective and less apt for injury and that if he wanted a really good warm up to focus more on things like movement rehearsal and full body movement to really get the synovial fluid warm and lubricated around his joints. He really seemed to soak it all in and I know he was listening. So I felt good about it when the conversation ended.
Less than 48 hours later I see this gentleman out on the floor stretching. So in my mind I'm thinking this is great he's taken my advice and is stretching after he worked out so I asked him how his workout went and he said he was just warming up. I gave him a very confused look and asked him if he had already forgotten what we talked about. He replied no but if all the other guys on the floor were stretching too then it must not really be that bad and has to get the job done and he didn't want to stick out as being the odd one doing the movement rehearsal like lifting just the bar like I had shown him to warm up the chest for a chest press or doing slow full body low squats with hand raises, tai chi, etc. His appearance to 'the guys' mattered more to him than his own body and his own workout. Why?

Okay, now comes my point. It's your body; it's your workout. Who cares what everyone else is doing around you? I guarantee you if you spent all that time getting your mind focused in with your movement you would have that much better of a workout and MUCH better results. I heard a comedian once say "If your body is in on it, more than likely your brain needs to be in on it too." Very true for exercise. So forget about everyone else, warm up like a pro, and do your workout like a pro and get the results that you really want. That's the point of spending all that time in the gym anyway, am I right?