MIKE'S NEW YEAR TRANSFORMATION

 

Monday, January 5th. Gym and health club owners, as well as personal trainers across the country were salivating at the prospect of thousands of New Year resolutionists coming through their doors with the hopes of getting in shape...again. But these professionals know that about 25% of those new members will forego their dreams after just 1 week, and that nearly half will jump off the bandwagon before the end of the month. In fact, only about 9% of people making a resolution will actually see their goal through to completion. 



 

Mike shuffled through the door of Success Health & Fitness feeling and looking pretty lethargic, even though it was 8:45 in the morning. At 57 years old, Mike stands around 6 feet tall and at the time weighed about 220 pounds. Mike said this was one of his lower-weight days; he often fluctuated between 219 and 225 pounds. We talked for slightly more than an hour, finding out about his previous eating and exercise habits, injuries he's sustained, his sleep patterns, and his present energy levels. Now completely retired from 20+ years in the military, as well as being a business owner and working a couple other jobs, his freedom from the working world came with a price--his mostly sedentary lifestyle had left him with a significant loss of energy, and a noticeable gain in body fat.

 

After our Discovery session, Mike seemed somewhat motivated to get started, but it was obvious he was quite convinced--wondering if this program would be something he could stick with. He had joined other big-box gyms before, and found that the "turn them and burn them" mentality of just increasing membership numbers did nothing for helping people reach their goals. It's understandable why people are hesitant to keep trying when they've been duped so many times before.

 

We scheduled Mike for his Fitness Strategy Session three days later. We took circumference measurements, and calculated his body fat percentage at nearly 29% (that's almost 64 pounds of fat he was carrying). His Functional Movement Screen score of 10 (out of a possible 21) placed him at a moderate to high risk for future injuries. He had pain in both knees when attempting to squat (he couldn't go beyond 1/3 of the way down), and pressing his torso up from the floor resulted in back pain he rated at a 5/10 with just a slight movement. He was unable to complete the lunge pattern due to "extreme tightness behind the knee." In my 3 years assessing clients' movement capabilities, I can only recall 1 individual with a lower score and more physical limitations.

 

Mike came up with 3 primary goals to achieve:

• Lose 20 pounds by summer and increase his amount of lean muscle
• Improve his heart health and reduce his risk of a possible cardiac episode
• Learn how to eat better (he hated the taste of healthy foods such as dark green vegetables)

 

Mike's first two weeks here rarely saw him outside of the Soft Tissue Room. Our first objective was to decrease his fascial density and tension using foam rollers and tennis balls.

Then we would work on gaining range of motion with specific stretches and 2-3 corrective exercises. Truth be told, I felt tempted to keep the defibrillator nearby--his soft tissue work and warm-up left him completely out of breath and sweating profusely.

 

But Mike persisted. He made it through the first week. Adios to those first 25% of the resolutionists! And he persevered through week 2. The soft tissue therapy was getting a little easier. Week three we started with some body weight exercises on the TRX suspension trainer. By the end of the month, Mike started seeing some improvements in strength and movement quality.

 

Within six weeks, significant changes were taking place. Even though Mike hadn't even started focusing on his nutrition plan yet, his body weight was now consistently below 215. Instead of waking up 3-4 times every night, he was getting 8 hours of solid, restful sleep nightly. And upon waking up, he literally jumped out of bed ready to get the day started. This in contrast to previously laying there for 30-60 minutes trying to find the oomph to get up. And his soft tissue work? Body parts that were previously registering 7s and 9s on the pain scale, were now 1s and 2s! He was now moving pain-free!

 

Three months after starting his personalized workout programs, Mike began to implement the nutrition plan designed for him. He had been making some small changes in his food quality and quantity along the way, recording everything he ate on a free website app. Occasionally Mike would get the urge to lower the calorie amounts in an attempt to drop the weight faster. But after showing him how the body perceives too few calories as possible starvation, and that it would result in higher fat storage, he'd slowly increase his food quantity back to his 2,200 - 2,400 a day range. Lo and behold, the number on the scale started moving south again.

 

As of today, Mike's weight is around 205 pounds, and still trending downward at about 1 - 1.5 pounds weekly, despite occasionally eating as many as 2,800+ (healthy) calories a day. As importantly as the fat loss, Mike has also:

• Lowered his blood pressure from an average of 130/82 to 117/74 (bye-bye BP meds!!)...
  

  
• Reduced his monthly food bill from about $1,000 to less than $500 (for a family of 3). And by the way, Mike eats several servings of dark green and other colored veggies daily...
• Increased his work capacity (strength) in the weighted squat by 525%...
• Enhanced his endurance by 25% as noted in his Escalating Density Challenges...
• Improved his Functional Movement Screen score to 13, with absolutely NO pain in ANY movement...
• Bettered his post-workout recovery time (breathing and heart rate returning to pre-workout figures) from about 90 minutes to fewer than 10...
• Boosted his daily energy levels to where he is active from shortly after sunrise until dark.

Mike has never missed a workout. He's followed his plan almost to the letter, and he is reaping the rewards. Mike is a shining example of how anyone, regardless of age or physical condition, can radically transform his lifestyle and his life. Congratulations to being among the elite 9%!!!

SHOULD WOMEN LIFT WEIGHTS?

Hey girls, this post is for you. I am frequently asked by females about the pros and cons of lifting weights. Too many women are still under the notion that strength training will make them huge and bulky. Lifting weights will NOT do this; lifting cupcakes and pizza slices will! (By the way, about 70% of our membership is women). OK, I can see your eyes rolling, and that voice in your head saying "I already do yoga, water aerobics, Pilates, Zumba!, or fill in your own cardio workout here. Isn't that enough?" The simple and honest answer is "NO". While these exercise formats may help improve flexibility, muscle tone, or your twerking prowess, they do not build significant total-body strength or lean muscle. Think of the weights as tools that will, along with proper nutrition, help sculpt the body you want.

But there are also numerous benefits you may not actually see or be aware of. I've been a personal trainer and fitness coach for 7 years, and have logged thousands of hours working with females from 16 to 83. I'll let a few of these women exemplify why resistance training is crucial for optimum health and fitness.

• "J" is a retired school teacher in her early 60's. She was in pretty good shape when I first met her as she had been exercising for a few years already. But most of her workouts consisted of body weight exercises and "doing the machines." After one of her doctor's visits, she told me that she was at moderate risk for osteopenia, a condition where bone density is lower than normal, and could lead to osteoporosis. For the next year we focused on lifting weights.
  

  

  Not pink dumbbell weights. Single leg weighted squats (which significantly improved her balance), dumbbell chest presses, and straight leg deadlifts. At her follow-up appointment, her bone density was up about 7%, placing her at a low risk for bone health problems. Even in her 60's, she reversed the aging process.
  

  
  
• "D" is a mid-40's endurance athlete, running 2-3 marathons a year. She was presently running a 4:40 marathon, and wanted to get her time closer to 4:15 because her legs were so tired after jogging for 4 1/2 + hours it would take her 2-3 days to recover. Like most distance runners, she would rather pound the pavement for 60-70 miles a week after undergoing a root canal than spend 2 hours a week working out. All that running made "D" very "quad-dominant", in other words, her front thighs were disproportionately stronger than her hamstrings. This asymmetry can lead to knee issues and sport-ending injuries. To help her achieve her goals and keep her healthy, we concentrated on upper body strength (which is highly important and almost always overlooked for runners), and getting her hamstrings and butt stronger. Within 14 months, "D" got her marathon time to 4:02---in her 40's! And at the end of her latest marathon, her legs felt like they could run another.
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• "P" was referred to me by another client. In her 70's, she came to me to help her prepare for post knee replacement surgery--she was hoping to get in better shape so her recovery process would be quicker and easier. After a thorough evaluation, we directed our efforts to strengthening the muscles around her knees, enhancing her hip and ankle mobility, and relearning how to squat properly. Less than 3 months later, "P" cancelled her surgery. To this day, she still enjoys hiking, swimming, and long walks.....on that same knee.
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• "C" was a walking pharmacy. Although she was only in her mid-50's at the time we started working together, she was taking medications for several issues including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and acid reflux, among a few others I can't recall at this time. Tylenol was also her staple for breakfast and a mid-afternoon snack to help with a host of joint pain issues.
  

  

  Combining total-body strength training with a somewhat rigid diet, "C" was able to completely eliminate a couple of her medications, and reduce the dosage on 1 or 2 others. Her low back and knee pain were fully resolved, and she could carry 50 pounds around the gym floor without her heart feeling like it was about to jump out of her chest.
  

  
  
• My last example is my wife. Barbara has never really had a weight problem. Like many women though, she didn't have much muscle either. She was what is termed "skinny-fat"--a higher than normal amount of fat hidden on a thin frame. And quite frankly, these women are the ones I worry about most. They tend to ignore the fact they are out of shape based solely on their outward appearance. In her earlier workouts, Barb struggled to lift 10 pound dumbbells in the bench press, and could do only 4-5 band-assisted chin-ups. Now she grabs the 25 pound dumbbells without hesitation, and can knock out 10-12 chin-ups with a thinner band helping her.
  

  

  And while she isn't Gina Carano, she can hit the heavy bag pretty hard during her conditioning rounds. Now the biggest problem is to get her to stop showing me her "guns", which actually are pretty impressive!
  

  
  

All of these women, and hundreds more, have improved their lives and their confidence through lifting weights. Whether your goal is to lose body fat (not just scale weight), improve your performance for a particular sport or event, reduce your risk of injury, or even have a healthier pregnancy, strength training will benefit YOU!! I am all for incorporating Pilates, water aerobics, yoga and even Zumba! into your workout program, but none of these will provide all the positive benefits you will find on the gym floor.

 

If you would like to discuss the benefits of a tailored resistance training program, give me a call at 775.432.1356 or 775.722.5484 to schedule a complimentary 30-minute Fitness Strategy session.

 

Don

 

MOVING MORE IS NOT ALWAYS THE RECIPE FOR BETTER FITNESS

We live in a culture that is obsessed with diet and exercise. Or at least in a culture that promotes quick-fix meal plans guaranteed to drop 50 pounds, and high intensity exercise programs with names like Insanity, Body Beast, and TurboFire. We live in a culture known for world-leading medical and scientific breakthroughs. Yet we live in a culture where more than two-thirds of the population are in a state of physical decline. We live in a culture where obesity, heart disease, joint pain and sedentary lifestyles are spiraling upwards at a rate equal to that of our federal deficit.

 

In  an attempt to combat the continuous decline in our society's health problem, physicians, clinicians, celebrity trainers and local politicians are tell people to start an exercise program. Or at least to simply "move more." Unfortunately, millions of people are unable to move, yet alone exercise, due to severe pain. Millions more have lesser degrees of pain, and so they push through an exercise program hoping the pain will go away. But pain is often a health issue, and trying to remedy this with a fitness solution will rarely work. For these people, we need to discover the movement equivalent of the chicken and the egg scenario: Do people move poorly because they're in pain, or are they in pain because they move poorly?

 

Enter the Functional Movement Screen (FMS). The FMS is a system. It is a standard operating procedure for appraising movement pattern proficiency. The FMS consists of 7 basic movement patterns that we knew how to do by the time we were 3 years old, with a simple ranking and grading system. It can be completed in about 12-15 minutes, and it tells the administrator if an individual has dysfunctional and/or asymmetrical movement patterns that can increase his/her risk for injury. The FMS is not intended to diagnose orthopedic issues--it simply lets us know if a person has physical limitations that need to be addressed for optimal movement.

 

Many people who are aware of the FMS believe that its' use is limited to athletes. And while this assessment tool is used by professional teams in the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS, as well as by PGA and LPGA players, it is not sport-specific. As FMS founder Gray Cook states, "The FMS is species-specific." These patterns show themselves in everyday movements because we are all human beings. Like an Equal Opportunity Employer, it does not discriminate due to age, sex, etc.

 

Testing movement patterns is crucial. The human brain understands movement relationships, not isolated muscle and joint activities. The interconnection between adequate mobility and stability creates balance, efficiency, and economy of movement. But if pain or dysfunction exists, these patterns result in compensations to maintain movement quantity at the expense of quality. Left unaddressed, altered movement patterns can lead to further complications, including debilitating, career-ending injuries.

 

But once movement deficiencies are uncovered, the certified health and fitness professional can then work with the client to correct those inadequacies. Oftentimes, the problem can be corrected in a few weeks. One of our clients, a male in his mid-50's, had knee pain attempting to perform the deep squat pattern, and low back pain in the press-up movement. In fewer than 6 weeks, he was able to satisfactorily complete both movements fully with NO PAIN. Additionally, after only 3 weeks on his program, he was sleeping through the night (as opposed to waking up 3-4 times), he significantly increased his energy levels, his blood pressure is lower than it has been in 3 years, and is performing exercises he never thought he could do.

 

FMS evaluations are also being used more frequently in business and industry due to the successes seen in the athletic world. Fire departments that have incorporated the FMS into their pre-employment process as well as into their wellness programs have seen costs per injury reduced by as much as 67% (from about $22,500 to around $7,500 for one Southern California department). A major utility company with approximately 1,500 employees in 3 Midwestern states saw their workers' compensation claim costs from strains, sprains, and body motion injuries fall from "more than $1,000,000 to under $300,000" in just 4 years.

To wrap it up, whether you are an athlete who wants to improve her performance on the court, a 47 year-old corporate executive looking to drop 30 pounds before that upcoming high school reunion, a grandmother who simply wants to play with her grandkids, or an athlete coming off of an ACL injury rehabilitation program, don't jump into an exercise routine without first finding out where you have movement limitations, and what you should do to correct them. We need to live in a culture of First move better, then move more.

Don Holly
www.successfitnessreno.com

Certified Lifestyle Fitness Coach (NESTA)
Certified Corrective Exercise Specialist (NASM)
Precision Nutrition Level 1 Specialist
FMS Level 1 certified

 

TAKE A STAND AGAINST SITTING!

Many of you may know that I worked at one of those big-box, just-sell-membership gyms for a few years when I first became a personal trainer. Like most new employees in any business, once hired I shadowed several "veteran" trainers to learn how they worked with their clients. Here's what I observed way too often: Warm up by riding the stationary bike for about 5 minutes. Then on to 2-3 sets of seated machine chest presses, seated back rows, seated leg extensions, seated leg presses, seated lat pull-downs, seated biceps curls and seated triceps extensions. And between those exercises it was 1-2 minutes on the bike to recover.

 

When I asked the most experienced trainer why he used machines so much, he replied that they're easier for his clients to understand (in other words they didn't have to think), and it was easier for him as the trainer. All he had to do was adjust the seat height and select the appropriate resistance by placing the pin in the weight stack. I remember thinking "Welcome to 1985". Problem was, it was 2008.

 

I almost immediately came to despise almost every exercise machine in the gym. On numerous occasions I was even chastised by the club manager for telling my clients that "machines suck and actually promote dysfunction in human movement". It made no sense to me then, and even less so now, to have a client who's been sitting at a desk or in a car for 10+ hours a day sit in a variety of machines and perform an "exercise" that doesn't even remotely resemble any movement we do in real life.

 

As Americans, we already sit far too long. Numerous studies have proven that people who watch TV and/or drive more than 23 hours a week (that's an average of only 3 hours and 20 minutes a day) are 64% more likely to die from heart disease than somebody who drives and watches television less than 11 hours a week. And for people over age 60, every hour of siting can inhibit your ability to perform everyday tasks by nearly 50%!

 

Other health hazards of chronic sitting include:

• High blood pressure and increased LDL (bad) cholesterol levels (after only 2 weeks of sitting 6 hours a day)
• A 30% increased risk of colon cancer and a 50% greater risk of lung cancer
• Increased risk of insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes
• Decreased core strength which can result in hyperlordosis (rounded back)
• Tight hip flexors and weak glutes (butt muscles) that multiply your chances of sustaining a debilitating fall
• Reduced blood circulation in the legs leading to varicose veins and blood clots
• Osteoporosis from decreased bone density (of up to 1% a year in women)
• A higher chance of lower thoracic and lumbar spine disc herniation
• Declining cognitive function from a lack of blood flow and oxygen to the brain
• A mortality rate similar to people who smoke

So what should you do to combat the negative effects of prolonged sitting? Most importantly--stand up! Simply standing for 10-15 minutes every hour activates your muscular and cellular systems that process blood sugars, triglycerides, and cholesterol which are mediated by insulin. Next, start walking more. While there is no scientific data to support the adage that we should walk at least 10,000 steps a day for improved fitness (it was a marketing concept developed by a pedometer manufacturer), walking is a good compliment to (not a replacement for) a regular exercise program. Companies such as FitBit and Jawbone, among dozens of others, sell fitness trackers that record numerous physical activities including the number of steps you walk daily. You can even join a community of "friends" on their websites and participate in weekly contests to see who tallies the most steps walked (but the first place finisher should not be rewarded with a DQ Blizzard).

 

Lastly, commit to and perform a regular strength training and cardio routine at least 3 times a week for 45-50 minutes a day. But do yourself a favor and stay off the machines. They suck!