The Truth about your ABS

So let’s get a few things straight.  You do NOT need to work your abs every day.  I am a huge advocate of having strong abdominals.  The abs are part of our core musculature that stabilizes so many movements that we perform every day.

There are two different types of muscles in your body.  One is fast-twitch (strength-related).  The other is slow-twitch (endurance related).  Endurance muscles can be worked every day.  A big example of this is your soleus.  This is the part of your calf muscle that pushes off in the act of running.  Yes runners, you can partake of your addiction every day.

Then there is the fast twitch muscles.  In order to get the most out of these muscles they need time to rest and rebuild.  The issue comes with the abs.  They seem to be comprised of roughly equal amounts of fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles.  However, they are not vastly different than the thighs and arms.

Also, because they are a core muscle group, these mucles are used indirectly while training the rest of our body!!

So, if you want that “six-pack” ab look that old Arnold sports above, cut the volume and use proper intensity.  We’re going for quality, not quantity!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving all.

We had a lovely weekend relaxing with friends at a beautiful lake house in Branson.  I managed to drag my hubby out with me for a run and he managed to kick my tail.  It’s amazing what fitness has done for him the last few months.  I’m severely proud of him.  Not only has he lost a ton of weight, but he has so much more stinkin’ energy!  And he’s a fast little bugar.

 

In this season of gift giving and actually this day of gift purchasing, I like to think about the gift that fitness gives to each of us.  Of course everyone’s body is different, so this gift is different for everyone.  For some it’s the gift of self-confidence.  I love to see the transforming that happens in a client or friends’ life as they make their body healthy.  The beautiful inner person emerges as they discover how much strength they truly have.

For others it’s the gift of higher productivity.  I train a few business professionals and I love to hear stories of their daily work stamina increasing.  And the energy their brains have at the end of the day to keep going.

And then there is the sweet relationship stories.  One wife told me she had never had that “recreational companionship” with her husband before she started getting healthy and really caring about her fitness.  Now she can keep up with him and they do 4 mile hikes together!

I continue to be so thankful for my job in which I get to be inspired by my heros every day.

Let me also take this opportunity to promote one of my favorite portable products that’s on sale this weekend for 25% off.  Love the TRX.  As I go into homes, I will never recommend someone purchase something that doesn’t have at least 50 uses.  This one has 50+.  Feel free to check it out and I’d love to show you how to use it!

POST TURKEY BOOTCAMP starts Monday.  Email for details.

Quick Post

My hubby really likes lists, so I guess this post is for him.  Here’s some of my thoughts tonight.

*I’ve missed the blogging.  Had lots of thoughts, just not the time to type.

*Today would have been an amazing day for a bike ride.

*I do not own a bike.

*Yesterday we had a blast at the Benefit Bootcamp and raised some money to drill a fresh water well on the other side of the globe.  Thanks “campers”.  You made my week!

*I am so thankful to be healthy.  Hate, hate, HATE being sick.

*WholeFIT has some cool opportunities out there.  I should know in the next few weeks what becomes of them.

*It’s tough juggling a job that you’re passionate about and raising kids that you’re more passionate about.

*Death is sad.  There is nothing remotely good about it.

*I really like my neighbors.

*Looking forward to a busy week.

*Wish I had more time to read.  I still have so much to learn about our amazingly complex bodies!!

 

There is joy in movement.

Get Fit, Give Life: Destination KNOWN!!!

Picture by Stan Patyrak

Attention all potential BOOTCAMPERS!!!

Our Bootcamp Benefit for Living Water International will be held at TILLES PARK in Ladue on Saturday, November 7 at 9:30am.

We have 15 spots remaining.  We’d love to have you come out and sweat with us to give life to those you may never meet.

Runners Beware!

A recent study stated that “70% of runners sustain some form of overuse injury with 80% of injuries occurring at or below the knee.”

Ugh!  Every time I turn around, I feel like friends, relatives, or clients who are just beginning to make cardiovascular gains or are making big progress on their path to greater health are complaining of similar injuries.  And inevitably, these people in my life will ask me, “what’s my injury and how do I treat it?”  I will say it again, I AM NOT A MEDICAL DOCTOR!!  Because I deal with humans with imperfect bodies, I do see a lot of injuries, but I am in no way educated or qualified to diagnose these damages.

Although I am not in the business of medicine, Personal Trainers have been called to preventative medicine.  We try to PREVENT your injuries!

So what is causing my runners to hurt?  Unfortunately, we can only guess, but here’s some of the industry’s best guesses:

1)When I ran college cross-country, my coach, Neil Butler used to say, “we were created to run!  There should be no pain in running.  Every pain can be led back to improper form!”  Our sedentary society causes us to slouch when we sit, weaken our back muscles, and pull everything inward as we sit at our computers.  Not to mention our use of treadmills which really causes improper form in some folks.  RULE #1:  Get someone to assess your running form and help you make the necessary changes.

2)Foot pronation and lack of proper footwear is another guess.  A good friend of mine recently purchased a decent looking pair of Nike’s at a nearby department store.  They “looked and felt okay” so he bought them for a bargain price.  It wasn’t but 2-3 weeks after that this friend started experiencing pre-injury symptoms.  He then went to a running/shoe specialty store which charged him more than the dept. store, but he left with a very good pair of shoes that will help to correct his imbalance and thus “prevent” his oncoming injury.  Often you really do get better quality for more money.  Even if you mostly pay for the expertise of the sales associates.  RULE #2: Pay the big bucks for shoes…they’re worth it.

3)The third major reason runners often injure is adding too much stress too soon.  With the recent hype surrounding the half marathon and other road races, beginning runners have jumped right into an online training program.  A good rule to follow in injury prevention is the 10% rule.  RULE #3: Do not increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% each week.

Stick with these rules and you will be on the road to healthy running!

Bootcamp goes CO-ED!

In case you’re wondering, the bootcamp benefit advertised below is co-ed.

We’d love to see husbands, wives, boys and girls all chipping in to sweat for a good cause!

Get Fit. Give Water.

For the last three years, my church has been doing something around Christmas time that I think is pretty amazing. We’ve been pushing back on the crazy US consumerism during the holidays through a movement called Advent Conspiracy. The main organization that Advent Conspiracy promotes is Living Water International.

Did you know that lack of clean water is the leading cause of death in the world? Most people think it’s cancer and other illnesses. Nope. Lack of something that we flush down our toilet every day. 1.8 million people die every year from water born illnesses. That includes 3,900 children a day. That’s one child every 15 seconds. And the solution to this epidemic is relatively easy. Building fresh water wells right there in the communities that need water. $10 will give a child clean water for life.

That being said, YOU ARE INVITED!

To BOOTCAMP BENEFIT:
When: Saturday, November 7, 9:30 – 11:30am. That’s right…two hours!
Where: TBA, hopefully somewhere full of hills, stairs, and empty playgrounds
How much: $30. All proceeds goes to Living Water International.
Sponsored by: Rachel Bergman www.wholefit.org; Susan Schilling www.faithfulfitness.net; and Stacey Flower (personal trainer/group fitness extraordinaire).

Let’s work hard, have fun, and turn this:

into this:

Please contact us ASAP if you’re interested in joining! Spaces are limited.

8 hours please!

Only 2 more weeks of bootcamp! I will seriously miss these ladies that I’ve gotten to know over the last 6 weeks. They have worked so hard and given their all every session.

Our next to last challenge is NOT nutrition related! Woohoo! I told the girls this challenge will absolutely be MY hardest to abide by. Here ’tis. Get 8 hours of sleep every night for the next 2 weeks. Seems easy enough, right?

American adults average 6.9 hours of sleep each night as reported by the National Sleep Foundation. We are working more, still finding time for our leisure, but cutting back on this precious sleep. Lack of good quality sleep causes “poorer health, a less vibrant sex life, lower productivity on the job and more danger on the roads.”

Here’s what it does to the exerciser. After hard workouts, our bodies rebuild and repair muscle cells during our rest. More specifically during our sleep. If good quality sleep is neglected, the best training plans will NOT work. This includes weight loss.

Our human growth hormone and protein synthesis all occurs (guess what) IN OUR SLEEP!

The harder we work during the day (remember our bodies were CREATED for hard work) the more apt we are to fall asleep quickly at night.

One more thing. Caffeine can stay in your body’s system for up to 8 hours. Plan accordingly!

All of this being said, I have exactly 24 minutes to fall asleep to get my eight hours.

Rest well all!

Eat up boys!

I just read that the researchers for the USDA recently reported that certain compounds found in watermelon can have a similar effect as Viagra.

That’s your thought for the day!