Best Fitness Blog

...By Karli Taylor

Each and every winter, many people visit their doctors complaining of back pain. Often, they blame the last snowfall. After shoveling the sidewalk or driveway, their backs feel stiff and achy.

In some cases, people have sudden pain the moment they pick up a shovel. Shoveling snow can cause anything from muscle strain to slipped disks and even serious bone fractures.

But if you follow these simple tips, you can help prevent low back pain related to snow shoveling:

• Check with your doctor. Because this activity places high stress on the heart, you should always speak with your doctor before shoveling. If you have a medical condition or do not exercise regularly, consider hiring someone to remove the snow.
• Dress appropriately. Light, layered, water-repellent clothing provides both ventilation and insulation. It is also important to wear a hat, mittens or gloves and thick, warm socks. Avoid falls by wearing shoes or boots that have slip-resistant soles.
• Choose a proper shovel. Consider two types of snow shovels. One lifts loads of snow. The other - with a wide, curved blade - is used as a "plow." Make sure both types of shovels have curved handles with plastic, lightweight blades. The curved handle helps you keep your back straight when lifting the snow-filled blade off the ground - or when you push snow aside with the plowing shovel. Make sure the handle of your snow shovel reaches your chest to avoid hunching over while “plowing” or scooping up snow.
• Try to clear snow early and often. Begin shoveling when a light covering of snow is on the ground to avoid dealing with packed, heavy snow.
• Be sure you can see where you are shoveling. Do not let a hat or scarf block your vision. And make sure the area s well lit so you can safely spot icy patches and uneven surfaces.

Shoveling technique:

• Warm-up your muscles. Shoveling can be a vigorous activity. Before you begin this physical workout, warm-up your muscles for 5-10 minutes with light exercise- even walking around the house and up and down the stairs a few times will do the trick.
• Pace yourself. Snow shoveling is an aerobic activity. Take frequent breaks and prevent dehydration by drinking plenty of fluids.
• Try to push the snow instead of lifting it. If you must lift, do it properly. Squat with your legs at least hip-width apart, knees bent, and back straight. Lift with your legs. Do not bend at the waist. Scoop small amounts of snow into the shovel and walk to where you want to dump it. Holding a shovelful of snow with your arms outstretched puts too much weight on your spine. Never remove deep snow all at once. Do it in pieces.
• Do not throw the snow over your shoulder or to the side. This requires a twisting motion that can put undue stress on your back.

... by Karli Taylor

As the temperature drops outside, more and more of us are bringing our workouts in from the cold. After walking, running or cycling outside for months, the unchanging scenery from the cardio deck can get boring pretty quickly. Don’t worry, there are quite a few ways to make exercising indoors more exciting until the snow melts next Spring.

If you exercise at home on a treadmill or other piece of equipment, try playing games with the timer. I know that countdown timer can seem daunting when you are stuck indoors, but if you use it creatively, it can make the time pass much more quickly.

The next time you get on that treadmill, walk at your normal pace for 5 minutes. Every 2 minutes thereafter, add one notch on the incline until it gets to its highest point. Since most treadmills have anywhere from 10-20 levels on incline, your whole workout could be complete by the time you reach the top! You do play a similar game with the resistance on a bike or an elliptical.

Speed intervals are also a good way to pass the time. You can use the time for this by speeding up for 30 seconds every 2 minutes, or for 2 minutes every 5. Another way to time intervals is with your iPod or your TV. If you watch TV while exercising, speed up for the commercials. If you listen to music, speed up every time the chorus plays. You get the idea, right?

If you belong to a gym that has group exercise classes, try a few of those. Feel embarrassed that you are uncoordinated or afraid that everyone else will be better at the activity that you are? Stay in the back of the room until you get comfortable or bring a friend who is also a novice. Once the music starts and you start to sweat, all of those worries will go away and the class will be over before you know it.

Finally, if you want to spice up your exercise routine, make an appointment with a fitness professional to learn something new. Challenging yourself to do something completely different will not only keep you from getting bored, it will also accelerate your fitness progress!

... by Karli Taylor

First and foremost, there is a distinct difference between our abs and our core. Our "abs", or what we refer to as our abs is actually one muscle- our rectus abdominus muscle. It is one small part of the whole area between our rib cage and our pelvis that we know as our "core". I will delve into that at a later date, but for now let’s talk about that six-pack, washboard or whatever other name you may have for it.

This may be the area of the body where we as fitness enthusiast make the most mistakes in training. Let’s go through a few basic ground rules for training our abs -

• More is not better! Your rectus abdominus is made up of fast twitch muscle fibers. So what you say? Well that means that it responds best to low reps- yup LOW REPS- like 8-10 at a time. So much for those devices that allow you to do 100 crunches without straining your neck...POINTLESS. Your best bet is to do 3 or 4 sets of 8-12 crunches for your 6 pack. That's it. You can train your deeper core muscles after these surface ones are tired- but that’s a whole discussion in itself!
• Abdominal training should always come LAST. Some people think that you should train your abs first while they are "fresh" in order to get the best results. It’s ok if that’s the only thing you are training that day, but if you are doing another body part- do that first. Your abs provide structural support for other exercises. If you tire them out, you will not be able to perform your best and may hurt yourself in the process.
• You CANNOT spot reduce. If you have excess fat in your abdomen, you can't just train your abs! This excess fat will burn off more efficiently if you train your whole body and add some intense cardio- BUT
• Diet is the key. No matter what you are doing in the gym, the only way to really get definition in your middle is by watching what you put in your mouth. Eating smaller meals often throughout the day will help turn your keg into a 6 pack!

I know that I have thrown a lot of info at you, and you may have some questions. Feel free to ask away!

... by Karli Taylor

Let's talk about stretching. Why do we stretch? Some people think that it will prevent injury. Some people think it will prevent soreness. What if I were to tell you that the only thing stretching does is make you more flexible? Yup- that's it. So if you participate in a sport that requires flexibility- like gymnastics or even golf, then stretching will help your performance. But runners, skiers, baseball players- unless you are tight or imbalanced, stretching will not help your game.

Now Stretching does have its place- I don't want to be known as the anti-stretch trainer. If you are recovering from an injury, you should surely stretch. Why? Put simply, a healing muscle tends to be tighter than a normally functioning muscle, and like I mentioned earlier, if you are tight- STRETCH!

But when should you stretch? Every time I go to a race or a sporting event I see people lined up before the start stretching. I want to grab a microphone and scream at everyone! Stretching before an event will make you weaker. It will loosen up a muscle that is about to produce power- not a good thing. Think about a rubber band. When will a rubber band give the hardest snap back? When it is new or when it has been stretched out a few times? Make sense?

Before any event, warm up by moving dynamically. A dynamic warm-up is not a mile jog or walking a bit before the start. It consists of a series of exaggerated motions that take all of the joints about to be used through their full range of motion. Unlike stretching, dynamic warm ups do not require that you hold any one position for more than a second or two. For example, before a run take 10 or 15 steps each time lifting one knee up and pulling it into your chest. Turn around and walk back kicking your straight leg out in front of you each step. Follow that up by walking with a butt kick. Doing these 3 simple warm-up drills will prepare your body for the stress of hip flexion, knee flexion, hip extension and knee extension- the primary joint actions used while running or walking!

Static stretching, or holding a stretch for 30 seconds, comes after you run or work out. Can you ever stretch during a workout? Again, if something becomes very tight- go for it. Or, in the case of weight lifting, stretching the opposing muscle to that which you are training will actually make you stronger! Try it if you don't believe me. The next time you are weight training, stretch your biceps in between sets of a tricep exercise, or your quads in between sets of a hamstring exercise. Let me know what happens!

... By Karli Taylor

I hope you are sitting down for this one: After the age of 20, if you do not add activity to your day or cut calories, you will gain approximately one pound each year.

Now that I’ve gotten your attention, what if I told you that you don’t have to do anything drastic to keep that weight from creeping up on you? Feel better? Keep reading.

If you walked an average of 150 extra steps every single day, you will avoid that weight gain. That is the equivalent of walking for 3 minutes that you would normally be sitting. You can accomplish this simply by pacing your office or home while on the phone or parking a little bit further away from the front door or your office or grocery store.

Can’t find extra time during your average day to sneak in a few steps? You can accomplish the same thing by going to the gym for 30 minutes 10 times a year- yes- a year!

Now, let’s say you don’t just want to maintain your weight, but you’d like to lose a pound every year as you age. All you have to do is double those numbers and enjoy the benefits of virtually reversing the aging process!

The bottom line is simple: weight gain happens slowly over time. SO slowly, that sometimes we don’t see it until it’s too late and we have gained 20-30 pounds. Start being conscious of the amount of activity you do each day, and this sneaky weight gain will never impact your lifestyle!

... by Karli Taylor

The proven benefits of regular exercise seem to multiply nearly every day!  We already know that it can improve your mood, build your bones, help you lose weight, add years to your life and help you sleep better at night, but now there’s more! A recent  study suggests that working out regularly helps ward off the common cold and even the flu!

In the study of 1,000 adults, . people who spent at least 20 minutes doing moderate aerobic exercise—such as jogging, biking, or swimming—on five or more days per week were sick with cold or flu symptoms, on average, half as often as  people who exercised one day per week or less.  When they did get ill, regular exercisers tended to have milder symptoms than the non-exercisers.

Exercise is thought to boost the circulation of the virus-fighting white blood cells which increases a person’s immunity for up to three hours.  Though that may not seem like a long time, with consistency, those hours make a big difference.

It’s arguable that though the immune function increase is a valid point, people who exercise more frequently tend to lead healthy lifestyles in general, and are therefore less likely than couch potatoes to get sick. Either way, the study shows that those who exercise are sick less often- enough said!