5 Exercises for Training the Posterior Chain

The posterior chain is possibly the most important area of the human body when it comes to sports performance. The muscles in this area include the hamstrings, glutes, and spinal erectors. Without these muscles you could not run, jump or even stand. It is extremely important from a performance standpoint to have a strong posterior chain. If you are weak in this area your athletic performance will suffer. There’s no way around it. Yet far too many athletes and trainers focus on moves that do not emphasize this area of the body. They are far too concerned with how much they can bench press or how big their arms are rather than how strong their glutes, hamstrings and back muscles are. Outlined below are 5 exercises that I prefer for training the posterior chain. Add them to your routine and start training for maximum performance!

1) Weighted Bridges

Strong glutes are in my opinion the foundation of an athlete’s body. Without strong glutes they cannot possibly perform at their highest level. Weighted bridges will solve that problem very quickly! Lay on your back with a loaded barbell over your waist. Keep your heels close to your butt. Make sure to balance the bar with your hands and raise your hips up as high as you can, focusing on squeezing your glutes through the entire movement. Make sure to push through your heels. Lower the weight back down in a controlled manner. That is 1 rep. You can do these as heavy, low rep sets to build strength or as light, high rep sets. I suggest mixing it up from week to week. Also, do these 1^st in your routine as it is a great way to activate your posterior chain prior to squats or deadlifts.

2) Heavy Kettlebell Swings

This is easily one of the absolute best exercises for building posterior chain strength. Kettlebell swings recruit your hamstrings, glutes and spinal erectors in an explosive manner, which is great for athletic performance. However, doing light, high rep sets of swings is not going to strengthen your posterior chain. You need a heavy kettlebell for sets of 3-10 reps. If you don’t have a heavy enough kettlebell you can use 2 at the same time (as long as they are the same weight) or add a resistance band to the exercise (one of my preferred methods). To do the swings stand with your feet shoulder width apart, both hands on your kettlebell, and hinge your hips backward bending slightly at the knees. You should be in about the same position as the bottom portion of a RDL. From here fire your hips forward as hard as you can, squeezing your butt tight as you go through the motion. This will propel the kettlebell upward. You do not want to raise it up with your arms. Let your hips do the work. Let the kettlebell swing freely back down between your legs and fire your hips again to propel it back up. If you don’t feel somewhat of a “pump” in your glutes you aren’t doing this right.

3)  Reverse Hyperextensions

If you have access to a reverse hyperextension machine, use it! This may be the single best machine out there for training the posterior chain, yet sadly not many gyms have one. You can do a makeshift reverse hyper if you have access to the right equipment, but it’s not quite the same. Here is an example photo of what a reverse hyperextension looks like. Again, if you have access to this machine start using it!

4) Romanian Deadlift

The Romanian deadlift, or RDL, is an amazing exercise for training the posterior chain. One of the great things about this exercise is that you can do it bilaterally (2 feet) or unilaterally (1 foot), it’s up to you! I like to change it up with this one. If you need work on balance and flexibility do this as a unilateral exercise. If you are looking for raw strength then do this as a bilateral exercise. Either way you will be working that precious posterior chain. Just make sure to get full hip extension at the top of the lift. This is where most people fall short is not driving the hips forward and squeezing the glutes at the top of the move. To do this exercise bilaterally (on both feet) stand with a barbell in your hands, feet a little closer than shoulder width apart, shoulders back, chest out, and head straight forward. Hinge at the hips by pushing your butt back behind you, keep your weight on your heels, and keep pushing your chest out to keep your back straight. Only bend your knees a little bit through the eccentric part of this move. Once you begin to feel your hamstrings stretch begin to lift the weight back up by focusing on driving your hips forward. It is important to keep your back straight throughout this entire lift. As you push your hips forward your legs will straighten out. Be sure to fully extend your hips and squeeze your glutes at the top of each repetition. Do these for 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.

5) Depth Lunges

Last, but certainly not least, are depth lunges. These are reverse lunges with your front foot elevated on a small box or bosu ball if you have good enough stability. By having your front foot elevated during a reverse lunge you are fully stretching your gluteus muscles on every rep. When you go to step up you are forced to engage them through a true full range of motion. Believe me, if you have never tried this before you will be sore the next few days! To add a stability aspect to the exercise elevate your front foot on a bosu ball. Do not do this if you are not confident in your stabilization abilities! The goal is to get better, not injure yourself or your client. Also, I highly recommend doing this exercise with dumbbells rather than a barbell. Just as with every other exercise be sure to get full hip extension at the top of each rep and squeeze your butt tight!

These are only 5 exercises that I like to use to train the posterior chain, but they are 5 of my favorites and that is why I have chosen to share them with you. Work these into you or your clients’ routine and you will see and feel the effects within a few short weeks! Just remember that you or your athlete client are not bodybuilders and should not train like one. You have to think and train like an athlete. There is no group of muscles more important to athletic performance than the posterior chain!

7 Reasons Your Weight Loss Diet Isn’t Working

So, you’ve started a new workout routine like many Americans do every New Year to try and lose some weight. You’ve cleaned up the way you eat so that you are eating “healthy” and you are working out 4-5 days a week. Great! But wait a second, the weight isn’t coming off, and you are starting to get discouraged. What could be going wrong? Why aren’t you losing a few pounds a week? I’ll give you 7 reasons why, and chances are more than 1 of these reasons applies to you.

1) Your “healthy” eating isn’t actually healthy

What most people consider to be eating healthy really isn’t all that healthy. How much butter and sour cream are you eating? If you say “not very much” chances are it’s too much. How about carbs? At what meal do you eat the most carbs? I’d be willing to bet it’s at dinner. Bad move. How much saturated fat is in your diet? Probably too much. Sodium? Let’s not even go there. Can you see where this is going? Most people’s idea of “eating healthy” involves cutting out fast food, soda pop and sugary items like candy, which is great! The problem is there are still large amounts of foods that are not going to help you lose any weight. Here’s the rule I’m going to throw out to you: Eat more meat and vegetables. This leads to #2.

2) You aren’t eating enough vegetables

Veggies are a key part of any healthy diet program. I usually don’t like the word diet because it makes me think of fad diets like Atkins and other crazy things that you just shouldn’t do, but the way we eat is considered our “diet”. Vegetables are actually a great source of vitamins, minerals and fiber. The great thing about green vegetables is that they are low in carbs, meaning they have very little effect on blood sugar, and they are high in fiber. Fiber plays a key role in digestion and helps keep you regular. Vegetables also make you feel full even though they are not packed with a lot of calories. This is why something like a chicken salad is great for lunch if you are trying to be health conscious and lose weight. The chicken provides quality protein while the vegetables give you plenty of nutrients all while being low in calories.

3) Your meal portion sizes are backwards

More often than not the largest meal of the day is dinner and the smallest meal of the day is breakfast. This is completely wrong! Here’s the problem: when your largest meal is dinner you have the least amount of time to burn off what you ate. For example, if you eat dinner around 7pm and go to bed around 9 or 10 you probably think that it’s fine since you have 2-3 hours before bed. However, what are you doing for those 2-3 hours? Probably sitting on the couch watching TV and burning very little calories. Not to mention your body is winding down for the night and your metabolism is slowing down. So why would you eat a calorie packed meal? It really makes no sense. Your largest meal should be breakfast, followed by lunch and then dinner. After breakfast you have all day to burn off those calories and even after lunch you have most of the day left. After dinner you have very little time. Your dinner should mostly be meat and vegetables with very little carbs. The last thing you need if you are trying to lose weight is a spike in blood sugar before you go to sleep.

4) You are over eating

Just because the food is healthier than it was before doesn’t mean you can eat more. Calories are still calories no matter what the source of food is. Over eating will lead to weight gain. Period. Your body can only process a certain amount of calories within a given amount of time. This is a big reason why it is recommended that you eat 5-6 small meals every day. Eating 3 meals of 800-1000 calories each is simply too much at one time. Your body will not use all of that energy and will store some of it as fat. I’ll use myself as an example. I need about 3200 calories per day based on my height, weight and level of activity. If I ate only 3 times per day I would need just over 1000 calories at each meal. That’s more than my body could process from 1 meal which means it would store the excess as fat. Instead I break my meals up to 5 meals per day at about 600 calories each. This is much more manageable and also helps keep my body going throughout the day as I am consuming energy every 2 ½ -3 hours.

5) Too many processed foods

The problem with processed food is this: there is little to no nutritional value. The calories are there but the vitamins and minerals are not. What is the point of eating something if there is no real benefit to eating it? You shouldn’t eat food that has no nutritional value. At that point you are consuming what we call “empty calories”. The calories are there but the nutritional value is not. Examples are bread, pasta, chips, tortillas, hamburger buns, soda pop, candy, alcohol and anything else that fits in with these items.

6) Alcohol

Think that vodka and orange juice is ok? How about that beer or glass of wine? You’re wrong. Alcohol has 3 effects on your body that cause you to gain weight. First, alcohol has calories. Every drink you have is putting calories in your body. Did you know that just 1 vodka and orange juice packs about 174 calories!? Even the typical light beer is 110 calories and a 5oz glass of wine is around 100-105. That’s not all though. Alcohol also has an immediate effect on your blood sugar levels which in turn spikes your insulin. Let the weight gaining begin! To cap it off alcohol is processed through your liver. You know what else is processed through your liver? Fat. So guess what? If your liver is busy processing alcohol it’s not metabolizing any body fat, which means you aren’t losing any weight. Still think it’s ok to have a drink or 2 a few times a week? Not if you want to lose weight.

7) Too many carbohydrates

I know the FDA recommends about 60% of the diet be made up of carbohydrates, but let’s be real here. That’s just ridiculous. That means that for a 2000 calorie diet a person should be consuming 1200 calories just in carbs! That’s 300 grams of carbohydrates every day. That’s 50-60 grams of carbs per meal! Just 1 large sweet potato has about 40 grams of carbs in it. Yet by the FDA guidelines I should be consuming even more than that each time I eat! No wonder the obesity rate in the United States is skyrocketing. Here’s my recommendation: 40% carbs (800 calories), 30-40% (600-800 calories) protein, and the remaining 20-30% (400-600 calories) fat. The decrease in carbs and increase in protein and fat will yield outstanding results, plus you won’t feel the “crash” associated with a low carb diet because this really isn’t a low carb diet. It’s just not a high carb diet.

If you really want my opinion on what the best diet is to follow for weight loss I would say Paleo. It’s not a zero carb diet like people say it is. Rather, it’s an all-natural diet. Basically you eat fruits, vegetables and meat. No processed foods. I’ve done this and I’ll tell you it works. The meal options can get a little boring sometimes so you have to be creative. Overall though it is a great diet plan to follow and is one that you can stick to long-term and reap the benefits. Give it a try and see how you like it. Otherwise, consider everything outlined above and start losing that weight!

5 Rules for Setting Goals and Sticking to Them

Goals are an important part of life. Without goals we would have no direction and nothing to drive us forward. However, many times we do not stick to our goals, especially when it comes to fitness. There is quote that I love from Steve Smith that goes like this, “The difference between a goal and a dream is a deadline.” It’s so true! What is a goal without a deadline? Simply a dream. It’s something you would like to accomplish but you have not set any guidelines as to how you will do it or when it will be done by. It is only a dream. However, if you follow these 5 rules for goal setting you will be much more likely to stick to them and get them accomplished.

1) Pick a realistic goal

                One common mistake that people make when setting goals is they set the bar a little too high. Make your goals realistic and achievable. Use what is known as the SMART principle. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. For example, instead of saying you want to lose weight you should determine how much weight and in what amount of time as well as whether or not that goal is realistic and achievable. A good weight loss goal may be to lose 10 pounds over 2 months. You now have a specific goal that is measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.

2) Write it Down

                Once you have determined what your goal is write it down! Then put it somewhere that you will see it every day in order to keep you motivated. Most people don’t do this which is why they fall off of their programs so easily. They set a goal in their mind but never put it to paper. It’s such a small and easy thing to do that there is no reason not to do it!

3) Have a reason

                Okay, this is important and I will tell you why. If you set out to achieve a certain fitness goal but have no real reason as to why you want to accomplish it chances are you will not follow through with your program. Why? Because there is nothing driving you and motivating you to accomplish these goals. However, if you are working towards a fitness goal with some sort of outside motivation you will be much more likely to stick to your routine. For example, someone who wants to lose weight may be unhappy with their self-image, but if that is the only reason they want to lose weight chances are they won’t follow through. Now, give that person some extra motivation, let’s say a wedding, and they will be much more likely to stick to their routine and follow through with their goals because other people will be looking at them. Motivation is the biggest key in sticking to a goal and making it happen. If you are trying to get fit for the sake of getting fit it doesn’t matter if you don’t see it through to the end. You had no real reason to do it anyways. However, if you are trying to get fit for an event, health reasons, or for some other reason that you can use as motivation you will be much more likely to stick to your routine and accomplish your goal.

4) Make a plan

                Now that you have your goal written down, you’ve put it in a place where you will constantly be reminded of it, and you have a purpose, you need to make a plan of action. How are you going to lose those 10 pounds? How long will it take? How many days will you lift weights and how many days will you do cardio each week, and more specifically, which days will you do each? Will you do long, slow distance cardio or more HIIT? How will your weight routine be structured? These are all important things to think about. If you work out all of the details down to what exercises, sets and reps you will do on which days the rest is easy. All you have to do from that point on is follow your plan!

5) Assess your progress

                This is a big one. How do you know if your program is working if you don’t check your progress every couple of weeks? Obviously the scale isn’t going to lie, but what if your goal is something more than just a number? Maybe you want to achieve a certain body fat percentage or increase sports performance in some way. You need to monitor your progress and give yourself a reassessment once per month. This will let you know if your program is working or not and whether you should change your plan or leave it alone. Just keep in mind that doing the exact same routine for too long will eventually stop producing positive results. Change it up every 4-6 weeks.

Basic Nutrition: Part 3 – Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates. The so-called “enemy” of weight loss. The “evil” food responsible for weight gain and bad health. Or so people say. What do you really know about carbohydrates? Do you know that there are primarily two types of carbs: simple and complex? Do you know about the glycemic index versus glycemic load? How about the effects of carbohydrates in your body? If you unfamiliar with any of this I have some good news! I’m about to explain it all to you right now.

Let’s start with the very basics. Carbohydrates are sugars. No matter what kind of carbs you eat it gets broken down in the body as sugar. Plain and simple. In your blood stream this sugar is known as glucose (blood sugar). When stored in your liver it is known as glycogen. Whether you consume simple or complex carbs determines how fast your glucose levels rise. Simple carbs are just that, simple. Their chemical structure is usually only 1 type of sugar which is very easy for the body to break down and convert to glucose. These are things like candy, soda pop, cake, doughnuts, and regular sugar. Simple carbs typically have little to no nutritional value for the human body as they lack vitamins and minerals, plus they cause dramatic increases in glucose levels, so consumption should be limited.

Complex carbs are the healthy carbs. These have a more complex chemical structure than simple carbs as they are composed of 3 or more sugars, making it more difficult for the body to break down. This means that your glucose levels do not rise as quickly and you get a longer duration of energy from these food sources. They are typically higher in fiber, vitamins and minerals as well, making them a good choice for consumption. Examples of complex carbohydrates are fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains.

So now that we got that covered I’ll talk about how carbs work within the human body. Basically, carbohydrates are the bodies easiest source of energy to use. They digest quickly making them a faster source of energy than protein or fat and they are the main energy source for our brain! Carbohydrates are really just an energy source for our body. This is why a person who tries a low carb diet or a zero carb diet feels a “crash” and has no energy. They are not supplying their body with the amount of carbs that it is used too. Their body then has to figure out what else to use to keep itself functioning which ends up being fat and protein (muscle). So why are carbs thought to be so bad if they are our primary energy source? The answer is insulin.

Insulin is secreted by the pancreas. When sugar enters the blood stream as glucose the pancreas is signaled to release insulin. The insulin is then responsible for transporting that glucose to cells in the body for energy. However, when there is a lot of glucose or a dramatic rise in glucose, such as when you eat simple carbohydrates, the insulin actually prevents your body from using fats and proteins for energy. These fats and proteins are then transported to your fat cells for storage, causing the fat cells to grow and as a result you gain weight. When you limit carb consumption or do not eat them you do not have insulin blocking the fats and proteins from being used by your body as energy. This is why low carb and zero carb diets are so effective. However, the results are temporary. What happens is that you become insulin sensitive. So when you begin to introduce carbs back into your diet your insulin levels shoot through the roof which causes you to rapidly gain the weight back that you had just lost. Make sense?

Ultimately carbohydrates are not your enemy. You need them. Athletes need them even more than non-athletes because of their high amount of activity. Their bodies need carbohydrates to continuously perform at a high level. The key is to intake complex carbs rather than simple carbs. There is 1 exception though. After a vigorous workout when your glucose levels are depleted you should consume simple carbs such as Gatorade. This will replenish your glucose levels and help your body absorb your post-workout protein. This is also why you see NFL players drinking Gatorade on the sideline. They need to keep their glucose levels up during the game so that they can continuously perform their best. For the average person though I would not recommend drinking a lot of Gatorade or other sports drinks. Stick to complex carbs. Fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains should make up most, if not all, of your carbohydrate intake. I recommend about 40-50% of your daily caloric intake be composed of carbohydrates, which is a little lower than the FDA recommended 60%. I hope this all makes sense to you. If it doesn’t, please comment with a question and I will be happy to answer!

5 Exercises for Developing Speed

Speed development is crucial for athletes. A slow athlete may know the game inside and out, but in the end they are still slow, and therefore unlikely to get any playing time. A fast athlete on the other hand may not know the game as well, but they are fast, and therefore in the coaches eyes more valuable as a player. The way coaches see it is they can’t teach speed, but they can teach the sport. However, what you can to is train speed. With the right kind of training even a slow athlete can become fast and a fast athlete can become even faster. Outlined below are my top 5 exercises for building speed in athletes and why I feel they are the most effective.

1) Squats

The granddaddy of all leg exercises. Different variations of squats are great for developing explosive power, which translates to speed. One of my favorite methods to use is dynamic box squats with bands or chains as added resistance. Using about 50-60% of an athlete’s 1RM plus bands or chains for 6-8 sets of 2-3 reps will help develop pure explosive power allowing them to accelerate faster when they run.

2) Bulgarian Split Squat

Bulgarian Split Squats are one of my favorite exercises period. They are excellent for developing the glutes and hamstrings as well as core strength and balance, all of which play important roles in speed development. You can do these with either a barbell on your back or holding dumbbells. Either way this will be a great exercise. For the purposes of speed development I prefer to do these with dumbbells. The position mimics that of sprinting with one leg extended behind you and the other driving into the ground. Try these for 3 sets of 8 after your squats.

3) Bounding

Bounding? Really? Yes. Stride length is a huge factor in athletic speed.  Think about it. A longer stride means more ground covered in less time. Look at Usain Bolt. He is the fastest man in the world and has a huge advantage over everyone he races because his legs are so long. His stride length is ridiculous! For every step he takes other athletes are having to take 1 ½ steps. That means it a 3/2 ratio of their steps to his. He is covering a lot more ground in a lot less time. Another example is the NFL combine 40 yard dash. Some guys can complete the race in about 18 steps, while others take around 20-21 steps. Who do you think typically has the faster times? The guys who do it in 18 steps, that’s who. Bounding helps to increase stride length, which in turn adds to speed.

4) Single Leg RDL

Another exercise that emphasizes the posterior chain. The glutes, hamstrings and back muscles play such a huge role in speed it is hard to emphasize how truly important it really is to develop these areas. The single leg RDL is one of the best exercises because it makes the athlete focus on balance and movement at the same time, plus targets the glutes and hamstrings extremely well. An athlete with weak glutes and/or hamstrings will be slow. Period. These areas need to be trained and developed for an athlete to be fast.

5) Sprints

Last, but certainly not least, sprints are the key to speed. You can lift all the weights in the world and train until you pass out, but if you aren’t practicing your sprinting you will never be fast! Doing sprints is not just a matter of going to a field and sprinting though. You should be focusing on the mechanics of it. Are your heels touching the ground or are you on the balls of your feet? Are you staying low for an extended period of time or standing up too early? Are you getting a good, strong drive phase and extending your stride as you go or are you getting to full stride length too fast? How is your arm swing? Across your body or straight forward and back? These are all things that you need to focus on to become fast. One mechanical error will throw off your entire body and cause you to be slow because other areas will have to compensate. A good practice is to video tape yourself and critique your form. You can fix a lot of errors this way and cut tenths or hundredths of a second off of your time, which could be the difference in winning or losing a race or getting drafted or not getting drafted to the pro’s.

These 5 exercises are by no means the only ones that I use to help my athletes develop speed, they are just 5 of my favorites and are consistently in my speed routines because of how effective they are. I do not use a lot of Olympic lifting as it takes too long to teach and years of practice to actually get it right. I simply don’t have that kind of time to produce results! Instead I substitute kettlebell exercises as they can be just as effective and are much easier to teach how to do. Please feel free to comment or ask questions.

10 tips for a stronger deadlift

Ahh the deadlift. One of the true tests of strength. Many people pride themselves on how much weight they can pull from the floor. I know I am one of them. However, most people are not achieving their full potential in this lift. The deadlift, when done properly, can improve total body strength and development as well as athletic performance. When done improperly it can lead to severe injury. Here are 10 personal tips for a stronger and safer deadlift.

1) Proper Warm-up

I cannot stress enough how important a proper warm-up is before any kind of workout. So many people go to the gym, do a few light, high rep sets, and think they are ready to lift heavy. THAT’S NOT A PROPER WARM-UP!!!!! You need to warm-up without weight first. Do not do static stretching, as it will actually take away from your strength. Instead perform a dynamic warm-up focusing on the hamstrings, knees, quads, entire hip complex and back muscles, particularly the spinal erectors. Once this is done you can get into your light sets and work your way up to your heavy sets. A sample warm-up would look like this:

Air Squat x 15

Walking lunge with Knee Pull to Chest x 10 each leg

Alternating stationary side lunge x 10 each side

Side to side leg swing x 10 each leg

Frankenstein kicks x 10 each leg

Hip raises/bridges x 10

Fire hydrants x 10 each leg

Bird Dogs x 10 each side

Scorpions x 10 each side

Leg extensions 2×20 (light, to warm up VMO)

2) Foot Placement

Foot placement can make or break your deadlift very easily. I’m talking about a standard deadlift here, not sumo or RDL or any other variation. I have found through a lot of experimentation and great advice from competitive power lifters that the best food placement is right under your hips. This is where you will generate the most power. A wider stance may feel slightly more comfortable at first but you will still not be able to create the torque and power through the hips that you can with a slightly narrower stance.

3) Spread the Floor

You’ve probably heard this saying used with squats, but it holds value for deadlifts as well. As you begin your pull the last thing you want (besides a rounded back) is for your knees to buckle inwards. By pushing your knees apart through your lift you will do 2 things: keep your knees straight, and create torque in the hips which will make your lift stronger. By letting your knees move inward you are letting your adductors take over and you are losing all of your power. Pushing the knees out recruits your abductors, most importantly your gluteus medius, and allows you to create more power through your hips and takes pressure off of your fragile knees.

4) Keep the bar close

First, pull the bar right up to your shins. When I say this I mean literally touch the bar to your shins. That’s how close to the bar you should be at the beginning of your lift. This will lessen the chance of the weight getting away from you which would cause you to A) potentially hurt your back and B) not complete your lift do to a leverage disadvantage. You can usually tell a good dead lifter by his shins. If he has scrapes and scars up the front of his shins he probably lifts right. Don’t be afraid to bleed! I’ve gone through many leg workouts after deadlifts with blood running down my shins. Think of it this way; it’s better than a herniated disk!

5) Don’t build up tension

Many people approach the bar and get into their position to pull and sit there for several seconds before they actually lift. All you are doing is creating tension in your muscles and expending excess energy. Take your grip on the bar, keep your legs straight or slightly bent, head down, pull the bar close and get psyched up. When you are ready to lift sink into your position and pull.

6) Drive through your heels

You should never be deadlifting from your toes for several reasons. 1) You cannot generate much force by pushing through your toes. 2) You are at a complete disadvantage from a leverage standpoint. 3) You will destroy your knees. Sit back on your heels through the entire lift.

7) Take a deep breath

This one is simple but highly over looked. Right before you lift take a nice deep breath of air. This will not only supply your muscles with oxygen during your lift but your full lungs will support your upper back and your diaphragm will be pushed down to help support your mid and low back. Try not to exhale too early as you need all the support you can get during heavy lifts.

8) KEEP YOUR BACK STRAIGHT

This one is in all CAPS because I see guys doing deadlifts all the time with rounded backs. STOP! If you cannot keep your back straight or do not understand how to do it you should not be deadlifting. Period. 1) You are putting yourself at serious risk of injury such as a herniated disk or pulled muscle. 2) Your lift will suffer greatly. You cannot lift very much weight just with your lower spinal erectors, which is essentially what you are trying to do when you lift with a rounded back. You should keep your head up, shoulders back, push your chest out and try to arch your lower back. This will straighten you out. Then try to maintain that position through your lift.

9) Pull, don’t jerk

Your lift should be smooth. You will notice a small amount of “play” or “slack” in the bar before you lift. You need to pull that out before actually lifting. As you are getting psyched up for you lift you should be gently pulling on the bar to take out that slack. As you sink into position and begin to lift it should be smooth and controlled, never a jerking motion. You will only hurt your back by trying to jerk the weight up. The initial goal is not speed it’s getting the weight off of the ground. From there you build momentum. Think of it like this; if a truck is pulling a 5 ton trailer and you stomp on the gas you will not move very far. You will just spin your tires. However, if you ease into the gas and get the trailer moving you can accelerate as you go. The same holds true for deadlifts.

10) Hips, hips, hips

You MUST use your hips. You will never lift a significant amount of weight if you extend your knees and then your back. You must do both at the same time which really means you need to focus on hip movement. As you begin your lift you should be pushing your chest out and at the same time pushing your hips forward. You should not be thinking about extending your knees and back. Just focus on moving your hips forward. By doing this your knees and back have to extend, only at the same time rather than individually. The more muscles you can get working together at the same time the stronger you will be.

 

 

Basic Nutrition: Part 2 – Amino Acids and Protein

As you may know, part 1 of this 5 part series that I am calling Basic Nutrition was focused on water and vitamins and minerals. If you haven’t read it yet please do. This second part is going to focus on Amino Acids and Protein. The reason these two are going to be discussed together is because they are very closely linked. Protein is made up of amino acids and when it is broken down in the digesting process the body uses the amino acids to build new tissues in the body. I will discuss all of this later. So let’s get started.

There are two types of amino acids: essential and nonessential. The essential amino acids are ones that the body cannot produce on its own. These consist of leucine, isoleucine, valine, lysine, tryptophan, threonine, methionine, phenylalanine, and histidine. The nonessential amino acids are ones that the body can produce on its own and they are: alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, proline, serine, and tyrosine. In total there are 20 amino acids that the human body uses.

Amino acids serve a variety of purposes and are often referred to as the “building blocks of protein”. This is because protein is essentially made up of amino acids. When your body digests protein it actually breaks it down into amino acids and from there uses those amino acids to construct the necessary proteins for the cells of the body. A good example is muscle. Muscle is largely made up of protein. The protein that we consume in our diet is not immediately transferred as muscle to areas of our body. This protein, such as various meats, is digested and broken down into a variety of amino acids. Some of these amino acids are then reconstructed by the body into the necessary proteins to build muscle cells which results in more muscle. Make sense? This process does not only happen for muscle though. Every cell in the body is in some way constructed of proteins. Skin cells, bone cells, organ cells, and any other type of cell you can think of contains a protein structure. However, they are not all made up of the same kinds of protein. For example, muscles have proteins called actin and myosin which act together to cause muscle contractions. Our skin on the other hand does not have these proteins. If it did we would be able to flex and contract our skin the same way we do with our muscles. It is also known that there are 3 essential amino acids known as the branched chain amino acids. These are leucine, isoleucine and valine. These branched chain amino acids are the key players in muscle protein synthesis and are used frequently as a nutritional supplement to help expedite the protein synthesis process. This ultimately leads to better muscle gains and faster recovery.

As stated in the previous paragraph amino acids serve a variety of purposes in the human body. Some are used to construct proteins while others are used for other functions. Arginine for example plays a key role in the synthesis of growth hormone, immune system regulation and dilation of blood vessels through the production of nitric oxide. Glutamine is another amino acid that is widely used as a supplement both pre and post workout. Glutamine actually helps the body prevent muscle protein breakdown. This means that glutamine helps to prevent muscle loss. The body has the ability to break down muscle and use those proteins for energy. Glutamine helps to prevent that process. Aspartic acid, particularly d-aspartic acid, is known to promote testosterone production which is great for males looking to naturally boost their testosterone.

So you see, amino acids play various roles within the body. You now know too that protein is constructed of amino acids which is where our bodies get them from is the protein that we consume. So this leads me into my next section: protein. Here I will cover a few different things, mainly the different types of protein.

First let’s start with the all-natural proteins, not the supplements. Not that those aren’t natural, but they are processed. Anyways, there are essentially 2 types of proteins: complete and incomplete. Complete proteins are those that contain all of the essential amino acids (refer to section on amino acids) whereas incomplete proteins lack 1 or more of the essential amino acids (again, refer to the section on amino acids). Examples of complete proteins are beef, poultry, fish, cheese, milk and eggs. Examples of incomplete proteins are beans, rice, tofu and some vegetables such as broccoli. Then you have your breakdown of specific types of protein such as whey, casein and soy. These proteins have different characteristics in terms of digestive rates, amino acid content, and where they are derived from.

Whey protein is probably the most popular form of supplemental protein on the market. It digests very quickly, has a great amino acid matrix and is derived from milk. Many athletes and bodybuilders rely heavily on whey protein for post-workout recovery as it is digested very quickly and starts the muscle building and recovery process. Casein protein is another popular form of supplemental protein. This too is derived from milk, but is much slower digesting than whey, meaning it will feed your muscles at a slower, longer rate. This is great for a mid-day snack or for serious athletes and bodybuilders, before bed. Lastly, there is soy protein. Soy is not so popular with male athletes because of its effect on estrogen levels. Soy actually increases estrogen, so for men to primarily use soy is a bad idea. Soy is also the slowest digesting form of protein. However, natural soy is not as bad. Soy protein is actually derived from soy beans, which many of us refer to as Edimame. Soy is a complete protein and very good for you, just in moderate amounts if you are a man. I really would not recommend supplementing soy protein into your diet, however casein and whey are a go! Just eat soy beans to get that little bit of healthy soy in your system.

Now that we know about amino acids and the different kinds of proteins we can discuss more about proteins role in the body. Ultimately protein is a source of energy just like any other kind of food we put in our bodies. There are 4 calories per gram of protein. Think of calories like energy units. One calorie equals one unit of energy. The way this energy is used is what is different than fats and carbs. Where fats and carbs are used to fuel the body and keep your energy up, proteins work a little bit differently. A straight protein diet would not be a good idea because you would have very low blood sugar levels and as a result very little energy. Protein just doesn’t work that way. What it does do is act as a building agent for your body. As discussed earlier, protein is broken down in the digestion process into amino acids which are used for various functions within the body, primarily cellular structure. In order for muscles to grow they need protein. Without it the body will not have the amino acids needed to build and repair muscle cells. This is the main reason why people who exercise a lot but do not consume much protein in their diets do not achieve very good results. They are breaking down muscle fibers without giving their bodies the necessary nutrients to repair them and build more.

Ultimately protein and amino acids are essential for achieving results from your workouts. Your body needs them in order to repair damaged cells and build new ones as well as perform various bodily functions. I recommend that 30-40% of your diet consist of protein. This means for a 200lb man burning consuming 3000 calories per day should be taking in at least 225 grams of protein daily. Likewise, a 150lb woman consuming 2000 calories per day should consume 150 grams of protein daily. This will ensure that you are getting all of the necessary protein for full recovery from your workouts. Also, use amino acid supplements, particularly BCAA’s and Glutamine. They kick-start the recovery process and will help with muscle soreness. I hope this has been helpful. Please comment with any feedback or questions and check back soon for part 3 – Carbohydrates!

Basic Nutrition: Part 1 – Water, Vitamins and Minerals

I decided to do this Basic Nutrition series to educate everyone on the basic aspects of nutrition. Please keep in mind when reading this that I could go into much greater detail and outline the specifics of nutrition, but that is not the goal. The goal here is to give readers a general understanding of nutrition in terms of what the basic nutritional elements are and how they work with the human body. I intend to break things down in this series as simple as possible. At the end of this series, which will be 5 parts long, you will have a basic understanding of nutrition. Not so basic that you still won’t know much, but basic in a sense that you could give a general explanation of how nutrition works to somebody who has no clue. So here we go. Read, take notes and learn as much as you can because these articles are going to help you understand how your body works and how nutrition is a key factor in achieving your desired fitness goals.

Let’s begin with H2O. Water is the most basic and most important aspect of nutrition. It has zero calories so you cannot consume too much and gain permanent weight from it. Actually, 70% of the human body is composed of water. Water is a part of every single cell in the body, which is why it is so important to drink plenty of it on a daily basis. I personally strive for a gallon a day. Granted I am a 6 foot tall, 200 pound man who works out daily, but that really doesn’t matter. Half of my water consumption is usually during my workouts. Keep in mind that water consumption counts when it comes from fruits and vegetables as well. Some people just cannot consume a lot of water. Eating green vegetables and plenty of fruits will help keep your body hydrated throughout the day. Ultimately I recommend a minimum daily water consumption of 60% of your body weight in ounces of water. To figure that out take your weight x 0.60 and the answer is how many ounces you should be drinking daily at a minimum.

In knowing that 70% of our bodies are made up of water, let’s take a look at some of the health benefits that water has for us. Take a look at this picture below by Seth Larson.

Water is a pretty amazing thing huh? I think so. Without it we cannot survive. You can literally go weeks without food but only days without water. Whether you are at work, at the gym or on the go you should always have a bottle of water with you. In fact, before you drink your coffee in the morning you should take your vitamins with a tall glass of water to help hydrate your cells and flush the toxins from your body that have built up during the night. That brings me to the next topic: vitamins and minerals.

Vitamins and minerals are another very basic and key aspect of nutrition. Many foods contain vitamins and minerals. However, not all foods do. Processed foods contain little to no vitamins or minerals. This is why items like cookies, crackers, candy and soda pop are often referred to as empty calories. The calories are there, but the vitamins and minerals are not, which means there is no nutritional value. Fruits, vegetables and different types of meat on the other hand are high in vitamins and minerals and should be your primary source of calories. Be aware though that when you cook these foods they lose some of their nutritional value. I do not recommend eating raw meat or sea food, but your fruits and vegetable should be eaten raw as often as possible in order to receive their full nutritional value.

Since we are on the topic of raw and cooked fruits and vegetables I want to clear up a common myth. Microwaving your food does not affect the nutritional content of food any more than cooking on a stove top or oven. Also, it does not mutate the cellular structure of the food. If it did you would see your food mutate into something else. A microwave heats food just the same as anything else, by causing the water molecules within the food to move faster, causing friction within the food itself, therefore it heats up. In fact, with some foods cooking in the microwave actually preserves more of the nutritional value than cooking on the stove. Take broccoli for example. When broccoli is boiled on the stove the surrounding water actually absorbs a large portion of the nutrients from the broccoli. However, if you were to cook it in the microwave this would not happen. So the next time somebody tries to tell you that microwaving your food is bad you can tell them it’s not any worse than cooking on the stove and you now know why.

So back to vitamins and minerals. You cannot actually consume all of the vitamins and minerals that your body needs for the day just by eating. For this reason I highly recommend taking a daily multi-vitamin. I have been taking them for years and if there is one nutritional supplement that I recommend to all of my clients, family and friends it is a multi-vitamin. Vitamins and minerals are critical for the proper function of your body. Iron for example plays a key role in oxygen delivery to cells and liver metabolism while many vitamins help support immune function and proper function of organs. Along with the increase in vitamin and mineral nutrients you will experience an increase in energy. This is because the body is now getting the required amount of vitamins and minerals that it needs to be able to function properly and does not have to work as hard to maintain energy levels. I actually notice a difference in energy if I go too long without taking multi-vitamins. I feel sluggish and tired whereas with my vitamins I feel more energized and healthy. Again, this is because when I am taking my vitamins my body is receiving all of the necessary nutrients for it to fully function the way it is supposed too rather than fighting to stay energized because the required nutrients are not there. Also, vitamins and nutrients play key roles in immune function, digestion, cell production, recovery from workouts and much more. Without vitamins and minerals our bodies could not perform all of the necessary functions to keep up healthy.

This wraps up part 1 of my Basic Nutrition series. I hope that you have learned about the importance of water and vitamins and minerals. The key takeaways here are that water is a part of every cell in the body and makes up about 70% of our structure, therefore it is crucial to keep your water intake up. Plus it plays a key role in metabolism which can help with weight and fat loss. I would recommend a minimum of 60% of your body weight in ounces of water each day. For a 150lb person that would be 90oz of water daily. Also, vitamins and minerals are key players in many bodily functions to include organ function, blood cell production, maintaining energy levels and much more. Without vitamins and minerals your body will not function properly and you will lack energy. So remember to drink your water, take a daily multivitamin and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and you will be well on your way to a healthier, better functioning body! Check back soon for part 2 of this series: Amino Acids and Protein!

High Intensity Interval Training

You know that the best way to burn body fat is by doing cardio. That’s pretty much common knowledge. You probably know too that you need to be around 70% of your max heart rate to achieve the best fat loss results. Right? Maybe? Wrong. It used to be believed that the most efficient way to burn fat was by staying within this certain heart rate range known as the “fat burning zone”, but recently it has been determined that this isn’t really true, and I agree. In fact, I’ve never really been a big believer in this so called “fat burning zone” for one main reason; athletes. Take a look at a football player versus a cyclist or a sprinter versus a marathon runner. Notice the way each of them is built. The football player and sprinter are lean and muscular while the cyclist and marathon runner are generally skinny and have very low amounts of muscle mass. Why do you think this is? One word: training.

The training styles of a power athlete versus that of an endurance athlete are extremely different, which causes their bodies to adapt and respond differently. The training style of the endurance athlete is along the same principles of the “fat burning zone” workout which keeps you at a steady pace for a long period of time. While this may be great for burning body fat it is terrible for maintaining or building muscle. In fact, your body will actually start to lose muscle! This is why the marathoners look so skinny and have relatively no muscle on their bodies. The power athletes on the other hand use a training style known as HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training.

HIIT is a great way to simultaneously stay lean and build muscle mass. Look again at the 100 meter sprinter. He or she is lean and muscular, which is a direct result of his or her training regimen. Not only do they do cardio, they keep up with a weight program as well. We can focus on that later though. HIIT involves short durations of high intensity activity, like sprinting. Usually a 1:2 ratio works out pretty well, but it may be a 1:3 or even 1:4 ratio depending on the duration of your work interval. Let’s say our work to rest ratio is 1:2 and we are doing sprints. We would sprint for a number of seconds, let’s say 10, then rest twice as long, 20 seconds, and then sprint again. Repeat this as many times as you can handle and then give yourself a break. After you have fully recovered repeat the exercise.

There are several benefits to doing HIIT rather than slow, long distance cardio. First is the anabolic effect. HIIT actually promotes muscle growth and the use of type-II, or fast-twitch  muscle fibers which are bigger, stronger, more powerful and more metabolic than type-I muscle fibers, or slow-twitch fibers. Type-I fibers, your slow-twitch fibers, are built for endurance rather than strength and power. Therefore, they do not consume as much energy in as short of an amount of time as the type-II muscle fibers do. Again, this explains why a marathon runner looks skinny and frail while the 100 meter sprinter looks muscular and fit. However, the athlete that is composed of primarily type-II muscle fibers will not have the endurance that the mostly type-I fiber athlete will have.

Another benefit of HIIT is the EPOC effect. EPOC stands for excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. This simply means that your oxygen consumption levels post-workout will be elevated to a much higher level than if you were to do slow, long distance cardio. What does that mean? It means you will burn more calories post-workout. So not only are you burning calories during your workout, your post-workout caloric burn is now elevated, leading to greater amounts of fat loss.

The one setback to HIIT is that it is very intense and hard on your body. I do not advise doing this style of training every day, but working in with a regular weight routine will yield outstanding results. I would recommend following a routine of 3 days of weight training and 2-3 days of HIIT in order to allow your body a day or two to recover from the intense work during the week. Also, you cannot keep up this pace for a long time. Starting off you may only do a total of 20 minutes of intervals, if even that. You must build up your tolerance to this kind of training as your body will not be used to the intensity. After a week or two work up to 30 minutes. If your goal is an hour of cardio try breaking up your intervals into 5 minute sections. For example, start with a warm up, then 5 minutes of 10 second sprint 20 second rest intervals, followed by 5 minutes of recovery. Repeat this pattern for an hour if you can. It is extremely difficult and I really don’t recommend it, but hey, if you’re looking for a challenge there it is!

Overall, if you are looking for an increase in metabolism and fat loss without losing muscle, but actually promoting muscle gain, go with the intervals! Sure the long distance cardio may be the traditional way of doing things, but the results of interval training are right in front of us every time we watch football, 100 meter sprints, or any other sport requiring short, powerful bursts of energy. These athletes are muscular, strong and lean just like all of us want to be. The difference is the training.

Why We Get Fat

Have you ever thought about why people get fat? I mean really think about it. We all know the theory that becoming overweight is a result of overeating and most of us know the “calories in vs calories out” theory that states if you burn more calories than you consume you will not gain weight. While this may be true to some extent I think that it is missing a large piece of the puzzle. How about the type of calories that you are putting in your body? Don’t you think that that is just as much of a factor as how much? I do. I think the types of calories you consume are just as important as how many calories you consume. I’ll explain why.

I want to start by talking about blood sugar and insulin. The relationship here is pretty simple. When you eat carbohydrates your blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels rise. This causes your body to secrete insulin which removes the sugar from your blood stream and gives it to your cells for energy. However, this process causes some things to happen that are not in our favor in terms of staying lean. The first thing is that the insulin can only pull out so much sugar from your blood stream to be used for immediate energy. Any excess sugar is moved to inactive cells, being your fat cells, for later use. The other thing that happens is if your blood sugar levels are high and your insulin is removing a lot of sugar your body is not able to use the fat and protein in your blood stream for energy. That, too, then gets transported to your fat cells for later use. This is why sugar is so frowned upon and blamed for rapid weight gain. Sugary drinks like soda pop or sugary foods like candy cause instant spikes in blood sugar and insulin which in turn causes weight gain because of the processes explained above.

Now, it’s obvious that nutritional choices play a huge role in whether or not we stay lean. Unfortunately the “recommended” guidelines for food consumption favor a very carb-heavy diet. If you refer back to the previous paragraph you’ll understand why this is a bad thing. Also, with the popularity of fast food people will have an even harder time keeping the weight off because they are eating french fries which are spiking your blood sugar, a hamburger with a bun that is spiking your blood sugar even more as well as feeding your body high amounts of saturated fat, and washing it all down with a Dr. Pepper which is shooting your blood sugar levels through the roof. This is the main reason why I think the calories in vs calories out theory is flawed. You may only eat 2 meals per day and work out pretty regularly, but if those 2 meals are anything like the one I just described you are going to get fat even though you are burning more calories than you are consuming. I’ll give you the perfect example. I use to train a very large man. He was 6-5, 330lbs and a tow truck driver. I had him wear an arm band that estimated his caloric burn from the time he woke up to the time he went to bed. On average he was burning an incredible 6500-7000 calories per day! I worked his butt off 3 times per week burning around 700 calories every workout and it killed me because he did not lose 1 single pound. When talking to him about his nutrition he admitted that he was eating at McDonalds twice per day because they were playing the Monopoly game! Are you freaking kidding me!? I couldn’t believe it. I really didn’t know what to say to that. Still, we figured out how many calories he was taking in on a daily basis, including the McDonalds, and it was less than he was burning by about 500 calories per day. He should have been losing about a pound a week. It was very clear that his choices in food were the problem. Since his body was having to deal with so much blood sugar and saturated fat it had no time to process any body fat, therefore he could not lose any weight.

As a trainer these situations are extremely frustrating because I really pride myself on my service. When people listen they get outstanding results. When they don’t they get mediocre results at best. What a lot of people fail to understand about fitness in general is that nutrition plays a much larger role in your results that anything else does. Some people refer to the “80/20 rule” that basically says 80% nutrition, 20% exercise. It’s pretty much true. You can work your butt off every night, just like my tow truck driver did, and not achieve anything if you aren’t making the right food choices. The bottom line here is watch what you eat because no matter how hard you train you can’t out train a bad diet.