Strickland Fitness

Training for that Beachin Bod!

Now is the time most people have changed their fitness goals from shedding the winter coat to primping the bathing suit ready body! The question I get is how to do this as fast as possible. The formula is simple and the execution of it is also simple. The hard part is the discipline of keeping to the formula.

So what is the formula: In no particular order….

• Have a low fat (consisting of only good fats: Olive oil, almonds, avocados, etc.) high lean protein (poultry, fish, lean beef), and good carb (legumes, veggies, etc.) eating plan.
• Cut down on alcohol intake. Tough during the summer months, but a beachin body requires discipline.
• Intensify your workouts. Besides eating right, the two other components of a low fat firmed body are cardio and resistance training.
• Concentrate on doing intervals for cardio (read my post about this) as it is much more intense than steady state cardio and burns way more calories and fat.
• Go for it in your workouts. Add a couple pounds to the normal weights you use to exercise or do another set. You should be exhausted after working out.
• Be as active as possible.
• Try creating a fitness competition with a friend. That extra edge will fuel your workouts and you will get the much closer to you goals that much faster. Ahhh, the spirit of human competition!

The Plank

Do you see people at the gym holding a push-up position or holding that same position on their forearms? Do you ever wonder what they are really doing or what they are working? I have actually asked people what they are working when they are doing a plank and the number one response is, "I saw other people doing it so I decided to do it."

The plank has a very specific function and purpose. The Abdominals job in functional terms is to stop the back from hyper-extending (the lower back bending backwards). To feel what I mean, stand up and extend your arms high above your head. Start to slowly bend backwards at the lower back. You should begin to feel your abdominals tightening up the further back you get. Thats the abs doing their job to protect the lumbar spine (lower back).

Now, when you are holding a plank with your body in a straight line from head to toe allowing your lower back to keep its natural curve, you should feel yours abs tight. They are stopping your hips from sinking beneath the rest of your body, or your lower back from hyper-extending. That's the purpose of the plank. Our abdominals are supposed to stop movement, although they are trained mostly to create a movement (ie. crunches and sit ups). To strengthen your abs, do various versions of the plank for increased intensity. You will have decreased back pain because the muscle that supports it is getting stronger.

Try holding a plank for 3 sets of 15-30 seconds with rest in between. Once that becomes easy, try raising different limbs for higher demand of abdominal strength. Do not let the hips sink or the but raise in the air. Concentrate on keeping a straight line from head to toe.

Mobility and Flexibility = Function

When doing an exercise program, the goal shouldn’t only be to gain lean muscle, lose weight, and burn fat, but also for your body to move as it should. For the body to move in a functionally correct way, the muscles have to be flexible, the mobile joints have to be mobile, and the core has to be stabilized.

In everyday life, we create certain motor patterns. Sometimes these patterns are made of movements around a certain weakness, tightness, or lack of mobility. If you continue to move this way, you run the risk of creating instability in the body followed by chronic pain or injury.

So how de we begin to move in a better way? It all starts with how you begin your workout. The first thing is to prepare the body for stretching to help with flexibility. You can do this by doing a self-myofascial release. Myofascial release is a type of soft tissue massage which incorporates stretching and massage of the connective tissues, or fascia. Imagine trying to stretch a rubber band with a bunch of knots in it. How far would it stretch without the knots? That is what we are trying to accomplish here. You want to get rid of the knots so the muscle can stretch to its fullest range. An example of myofascial release is foam rolling.

The next thing to do is to create mobility in your mobile joints. What parts of the body are supposed to move? These joints are the ankles, hips, thoracic spine, shoulder, and wrists. If these joints don’t move through a full range of motion properly, the body will rely on parts of the body that aren’t supposed to move in order to compensate for the lack of mobility. This in turn will create problems, pain, or injury down the line. For instance, someone who has tight hips usually will have back pain because they are using the lower back to make up for the lack of movement in the hips. Begin workouts with active mobility exercises that will put these joints through their range of motion. An example of active mobility is a split squat for good hip flexion and extension.

The last part of good motor pattern is the stabilization of your core. In all the exercises that you do, there should be no change in the pelvis or lower back (lumbar spine).  The tendency is to rotate the pelvis or bend form the lumbar spine to allow for more movement when there is a lack of movement somewhere else. A good example of this is someone lowering into a split squat and having their upper body move forward instead of staying completely straight. If the hips can’t flex or extend enough, the upper body will move forward giving the person the feeling that split squat is going deeper because that’s what they feel it’s supposed to do. Exercises to help with core stabilization are planks and the conscious effort of keeping your stomach tight and pelvis neutral in everything you do.

Getting rid of the knots, stretching the muscles, active mobilization of the mobile joints and core stabilization are the key components to a body’s functional movement.

Weight Loss Resolution?

Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to lose weight? The best way to conquer this goal is to slowly change your lifestyle. What most people do is immediately go on a diet. Let’s just say the diet works and you reach your ideal weight. What do you do then? Most will fall back to old habits and gain all the weight back. That is why they don’t work in the long run. Diets are just a short term solution. If your resolution is to lose weight, try changing it to lose weight and keep it off.

Losing weight and keeping it off comes from changing your lifestyle. Healthy eating habits, getting plenty of rest, having a consistent cardio and resistance program, and keeping stresses down are all the components of a healthy lifestyle. These are the things that will help you lose weight, keep it off, and live a healthy life for good. You will feel great and you will look great.

How do you successfully change your lifestyle? The answer is to set yourself up for success. Most people use the New Year to try and change everything all at once. This is a very difficult thing to do. The best way is to make small changes over time to give you and your body the time to adapt and implement them into daily life. Make a list of all the things you need to do or change in order to meet your goal. Then start with one. Once this change has become part of your new lifestyle, move to the next one. Move through each change as the previous one becomes normal to you. Over time, all the changes you have made will not feel like changes anymore because they will be part of your lifestyle. Have you ever noticed how gyms get really crowded at the beginning of the year and then taper off to normal crowds by March? This is a perfect example of people trying too much all at once. They give up because they say it’s too hard to do all the things needed to reach their goal. This may not be the fastest way to lose weight, but it will have the longest success.

How to keep it sexy

With the holidays coming and more things taking you away from your normal schedule, now is the time to gear up your workouts and maintain your healthy lifestyle. Here is a list of things you can do to stay fit through the holidays.

1. Put your workout time into your schedule. Just like meetings, if you don't schedule them, it's harder to make them happen.

2. Get a workout partner or trainer. Having someone to keep you accountable makes all the difference.

3. Switch it up. Don't get bored. Look for new routines, exercises, and programs.

4. Make a new short-term goal. Set a small goal to achieve by the end of the year. This will help you to stay on point with your gym time and you will not be stuck like everyone else making a New Year's resolution. You will be ahead of the game.

5. Find some new healthy foods that you haven't tapped into yet. People think healthy food is boring tasteless food. I like Arugala salad with grilled chicken and avocado. Tasty!!!!

6. Start logging your workouts, cardio sessions, and food intake. This will paint a clear picture on how musc you are putting in and how much you are taking out.

7. Take up a sport you have always been thinking about. Join a league or make a weekly game with your friends. This will get you practicing and working on something you are not used to. All while burning some extra calories.

8. Read up on the new findings in the fitness world. Fitness is always evolving and some of the new thing out there will blow your mind away.

9. Change your music. I noticed the other day that the music I listen to while working out has been the same for months. Putting some new tunes in completely energized me.

10. Stop looking in the mirror and focus on the inside. How do you feel? Get good rest, eat healthy, and stay active. It makes all the difference!