Explosivelyfit Strength Training

Why sleep?

Do you remember your Mom and Dad telling you to go to bed and get to
sleep so you could do well in school? It turns out they were right
again.

Sleep has an affect on how we feel, look, and perform in our everyday
tasks. As anyone who has gone a few nights without sleep can attest to
it has a big impact on our quality of life. Just ask any young parent
now taking care of their newborn child.

Sleep quality and quantity are equally important. With a shorter
sleep period, the body has less time to repair the muscles and
consolidate the memories of the previous day. Without adequate sleep
each night, the body is less able to concentrate or make good
decisions at work or in school.

Athletes need to realize growth hormone release occurs during this
time. These hormones are absolutely essential for further physical
development.

How does sleep do all these things for our body?

Most of us already have read or know about the stages of sleep but in
case you’ve forgotten here’s a quick review.

High quality sleep, if given enough time, follows a distinct and
productive pattern of alternating REM, rapid eye movement and NREM,
non rapid eye movement throughout a normal night.

NREM makes up seventy-five percent of the nights sleep, and it does
it in four stages.

The first stage is that time between being awake and falling asleep.
This transitions into light sleep, which then moves us into stage two.

Stage two is the beginning of sleep where we become separated from
our surroundings in the room and our daily life. Our breathing and
heart rate settle into a regular pattern as our body temperature
begins to drop. This is where sleeping in a colder room may be
beneficial to getting a good nights sleep.

As we progress further into the sleep process stages three and four
begin. These are the deepest and most restorative periods of sleep
during the night. During this time, our blood pressure drops and our
breathing rate begins to slow down. These physiological responses are
accompanied by a relaxation in muscle tension. As the muscles relax,
the blood supply to them increases bringing with it nutrients to
repair the tissues.

The growth hormones mentioned earlier now begin to be released in
greater quantity than during the daytime. These are critical for
advanced growth and development throughout the body.

Now is the time, after the training sessions are over for the day,
when muscle, tendon, and ligament growth takes place; in effect, a
rejuvenation of the neuromuscular system occurs during high quality
sleep.

Following directly after the NREM portion of our sleep is the REM,
which takes up approximately twenty five percent of the nights rest
time. REM takes place about ninety minutes after falling into the
light sleep.

Does exercising ever get easier?

This is a good question for two reasons. I usually get this from new trainees who just started working out in a large commercial gym with little to no guidance shortly after joining. This is the time when the large gym has taken their money, set up one schedule and then moved on to the next person who walks through the door.

If a trainee asks this question it generally means either they have been sedentary or the program their trainer has designed is a bit too tough for their present condition. The solution to this is to discuss the exercises and the pace of the routine with your trainer and work on an alternate or less aggressive plan until you are up to speed.

In the case of the sedentary person, this solution is especially important due to a lack of endurance, flexibility, strength, and overall body and mind tolerance to the exercise stresses that result from the program.

The second situation is more serious and must be given close consideration due to the complications that can occur from too much exercise too fast into the persons training history. They are just not used to exercising and if pushed too hard exertional rhabdomyolysis comes to mind.

The ideal starting point is to begin slowly with a two day a week overall full body program that features five to ten exercises performed for one set of eight repetitions . Use low loads and pay strict attention to your form on each exercise movement.

In answer to your initial question: Yes, it will get easier over time. As your body becomes accustomed to working out it develops the physiological responses that allow it to adapt to the exercise routine. However, if you are intending on getting stronger and more physically fit you will need to continually increase the intensity and duration of exercise until you are at your health goal. You see your body will not only be accustomed to the program it will accommodate to it. Once this accommodation takes place, there are two directions your body will go; it will stay neutral which is not likely for any length of time or decline and lose tone. The same thing, a lack of physical challenge to your body, causes either of these situations.

So even though it will get easier over time that may not necessarily be what you are actually seeking if you want to get into better shape.

Stick with it and you will be better off if you’ve followed these brief guidelines.

Losing weight by adding exercise or cutting back on your calories-which works?

The myth that adding more exercise will automatically reduce the weight on your body may be partially true. You may lose weight.

However if you are exercising at an intensity level high enough to increase your lean body mass you will actually add weight. Even at a higher weight, as seen on the scales, your clothes will fit better, your outlook on life will be improved, and your daily tasks will be easier to do.

Studies and life style adjustments with sedentary over weight females and males have shown that calories must be factored into the weight loss equation if positive results are to be expected. In a recent study with two separate groups of individuals, the outcome was clear-cut.

One group participated in a five day a week exercise program that lasted sixteen months with no calorie restrictions. Calories adjustments, in the second group of individuals, matched their activity levels.

The results of the study showed the second group to have made positive progress in their weight loss efforts despite not exercising. The big question for this group will be can they keep the extra weight off without an exercise program. In my opinion, it is highly doubtful.You must exercise to stay physically fit and keep the fat weight off your body.

Exercise is a necessary and an important part of any successful long-term weight loss program. Aerobics for your heart, resistance training for your muscles and bone health both followed up with a five to ten minute stretching session will help ensure you stay healthy for a long time to come.

The biggest contributor to weight loss appears to be caloric deficit, which means the best exercise program in the world will never overcome a lousy diet.

The subtraction of calories from your daily diet will make a difference in your body but the fitness recommendation is to add more exercise to your daily activity.

Someone said squatting is bad for you-is it?

The short answer is an unequivocal no.

This exercise myth has gained so much traction over the years that it is accepted as a fact by many fitness conscious individuals. People believe what they want to believe regardless of any contradictory facts.

Personal trainers instructing their trainees to stop above or at parallel are some of the worst offenders and continue to perpetuate the falsehood that squats are bad for you. In some rare circumstances, a person should not squat.

If you and your doctor have reached this conclusion, then limiting the squat to above parallel may be the best option to avoid further damage to your body. However, for the rest of the population the squat is an excellent strength producing exercise. It has a well-deserved reputation in the strength profession as the exercise of choice for the development of superior body strength and power.

You need look no farther than the Asian countries to see their citizens resting in the full squat position. Do you think this would continue if they were hurting their knees? I doubt it very much. Let’s take a closer look at this exercise.

The squat is the king of all exercises because of the benefits that result from this powerful activity.

• Lean muscle mass is increased
• Basic metabolism is faster
• Your general physical fitness and work capacity are positively improved
• Mental and physical energy levels are amplified
• You will sleep better
• Body fat will be lowered
• Endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers are released into your body
• The heavy load on your shoulders, back and legs helps to make your bones stronger by increasing their mineral density and helping to protect your bones from the devastation of osteoporosis
• The connective tissues of your body adapt to the load and in turn become stronger and better able to tolerate the additional stress of the weight

Of course, if you or your trainer aren’t cognizant of the correct movement patterns involved in properly doing the squat an injury could be the result.

Pay attention to these few pointers when squatting and you will be just fine. As in the case of any new exercise load lightly until you are familiar with the motion.

• Begin with the bar, evenly loaded side to side, centered on your shoulders.
• Keep a solid arch or the natural curve in your back.
• Keep you eyes focused on a point just above your eyes-not on the ceiling as this throws off your balance perspective.
• Start the move by pushing your hips back, back, not down.
• If you begin by bending your knees, you automatically set yourself up for failure due to the poor positioning of your body’s joints and limbs in the subsequent parts of the exercise.
• Continue to move back until your buttocks are near the floor.
• Once at the bottom start back up with a squeeze of your shoulders, an upright push on the bar with your hands and upper back and extending your hips.
• As you complete the lift start moving your hips forward until you are upright and ready to squat again.

Squatting is as natural as breathing and will continue to be so as long as we inhabit the earth.

They are back again…

One of the major supplement stores is once again running ads trying to suck the unwary into buying a pill that will make them look good in a few weeks.

How often does the general public buy into these get thin quick ploys?

I suspect it’s more than enough to cover the cost of the ads and make a hefty profit in the process.

These unscrupulous people will do anything to grab the money and run. There are no magic short cuts to weight loss or a flatter stomach except exercise and good eating habits.

Stay away from these shysters and do what you know has to be done.

Eat five to six meals wholesome meals a day and exercise thirty to forty minutes every day. The weight will come off and you will feel better for it.

The positive effects of walking

According to the National Heart Lung and Blood institute 1 in 3 adults in the US has high blood pressure. Many don’t even know they have the disease because there are no symptoms until the heart, blood vessels, and other parts of your body including your kidneys are damaged.

When blood pressure increases greater stress is placed on the heart and blood vessels. The vessels in the kidney and other parts of the body begin to narrow, thus restricting blood flow.

Maintaining good heart health means keeping your blood pressure less than 120/80. The top number, systolic is the pressure the heart encounters when pumping blood. Diastolic, the lower number, represents the pressure in the circulatory system between beats. If your numbers exceed 120/80 your health is in jeopardy.

Risk factors include older age, race/ethnicity, overweight, obesity, gender, lack of exercise and living an unhealthy lifestyle. All contribute to this growing problem. Some of these factors can be controlled; some can’t. Exercise, maintaining a healthy weight and practicing healthy living habits are all within your power to manage.

One of the simplest actions you can take is to start walking. Buy a pedometer and work up to 10,000 steps a day. Healthy benefits start almost as soon as you step out the door.

A walk can be a fast ten minute excursion down the road or even around your property. Three active ten minute bursts a day are beneficial in lowering blood pressure numbers.

Just walking 4,000-5,000 steps above normal helps lower your blood pressure. Find a friend and head out the door to better health.

Suppertime disaster

We went out last night for supper at a new restaurant, a fast food restaurant that recently opened up by an acquaintance of mine. It is a very nice and clean open brand new building with all the latest in consumer comforts. So what’s the problem here?

The problem is I let my wife order for me while I grabbed the ideal table for us to eat at, back to the wall, near the window, looking at the till, the order counter and the doors-old habits are hard to break.

When I walked up to see what she had ordered she said it was a double patty bacon cheeseburger. Laughing, I thought she was kidding; I went to get a few napkins for us.

The next thing I see is this whopping big heart attack waiting to happen hamburger sitting in front of me. By now, my taste buds are sprouting and I’m ready to eat anything that’s in front of me.

And you know what…I did. There was only a small amount of guilt and remorse as I downed this big burger for supper.

My lack of guilt over this meal was a direct result of my clean eating habits. I knew that one meal of this sort over a four to five week period was not going to be that big of a deal. I abide by the 80-90% rule on a daily basis.

This rule essentially says eat clean 85-90% of the time and on the off days limit the crap and you’ll be ok in the long run. I work out consistently everyday which in this case is a good thing.

The point to all of this is don’t bash yourself over a fall off your normal eating habits. It’s ok to splurge once in a while. Just make up for the lapse the next day by cutting a few calories and adding a couple more sets into your resistance training program.

Running differences between the young and old

The Brazilians recently examined lower body extremity running differences between young and adult runners. This study compared young adults aged 26 to 36 years and older adults between 67 and 73. All the tests were conducted on a treadmill with 3D video equipment that captured the movement patterns of both groups while they ran on common settings. The video specifically looked at the lower leg, ankle and knee during the stance phase of the running motion.

After the kinematics (the study of pure motion without regard to mass) were established variable selected data resulting from the test was calculated.

The older adults each had a substantial decrease in their stride length and ran with a faster stride frequency. Younger runners had greater knee flexion and extension and less internal/external rotation of the tibia while the older runners showed an increased external rotation of their foot. This means they were pointing their toes out farther to the side at the heel strike than the younger runners were during the testing.

The most disturbing part of this testing report was the fact that older runners run with less synonymy between their ankle and knee movements effectively compromising their coordination patterns. This in itself could be one of the major reasons older runners get hurt as they run.