Strickland Fitness

 The next thing you will need to do for the October challenge is know how to monitor your heart rate during exercise, both resistance and cardio. If you have a heart rate monitor in the closet, dig it up. If you don’t have one, don’t despair. Most cardio machines at the gym have sensors on them for you to check your heart rate. Make sure you know how to use it. The third way is to take your pulse manually. Place the tips of your first two fingers lightly over one of the blood vessels on your neck, just to the left or right of your Adam’s apple. Or try the pulse spot inside your wrist just below the base of your thumb. Count the pulse for 10 seconds and then multiply by 6. So you should at all times be able to, using one of these methods, check your heart rate. Next time you are working out, try stopping and seeing if you can get it. Once you have this down, put a big check mark in the box for Sept. 17^th. Great Job!!!

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Body weight bicep curl

When we do exercises, there is a constant focus on the concentric motion (contraction or shortening on the muscle). However, the eccentric motion (relaxing or lengthening of the muscle) is just as important. For this example, we will look at the biceps. If you do bicep curls to add size or tone up your arms, this great addition will help with both.

To do a basic standing bicep curl (dumbbells or barbell):

Stand with you feet shoulder width apart, slight bend in the knees, spine and shoulders in a neutral position, and your elbows pinned to your sides.

Without changing the position of your shoulders, spine, or elbows, raise the weight to the front of your shoulders. You should be using a weight that doesn’t compromise your form and it should take about 2 seconds to raise the weight. This is the concentric movement. While lowering the weight, concentrate on trying to contract your triceps (back of the arms). This makes the lowering (eccentric movement) to be slow and controlled and it forces the biceps to work in both directions getting the maximum of each repetition. Lowering the weight should take about 4 seconds to complete. Focusing on both movements of any exercise will optimize your results. Your muscles will work harder and more efficiently and you will feel the difference.

In the picture shown, I am doing a version of a bicep curl using my own body weight. The movement of lowering my body using my biceps is done in the same way. I focus on contracting my triceps and controlling my eccentric motion. Feel the burn!

If I stand on one leg and the leg I am standing on is moving, can I still be balanced? The answer is yes. One definition of balance (which we will use for the purpose of this post) is: The ability to maintain bodily equilibrium. This means you don’t have to be completely still to be balanced. However, you need to be in complete control to be balanced.

When I start working with a client, one of the first things I go through is learning how to balance. I do a lot of exercises which makes the body use small stabilizing muscles to help complete the exercise. The client must know how to balance correctly to gain the benefits of these types of exercises. This knowledge helps in everyday life as well as sports and recreational activities.

Let’s learn the first step to good balance. In order to be in a balanced position, you have to activate your core. I will go into the definition of “core” and what it really means in a later post. What this means for you right now is controlling the center of your body. Keeping the center of your body (center of gravity) still will facilitate balance. Now, when I ask a client to stand on one leg, the first thing they do is put out their arms to the side of their body and then begin to lift one leg. This action of putting their arms out to the side has initiated the concept of counter-balance, not balance. Our tendency is to use our arms to add a little weight to each side which we can use to try and help us stay stable. Using this method of balance might keep you on one leg, but it does NOT mean you are balanced.

The legs are equipped with lots of little muscles which help stabilize the ankles, knees, and hips. It’s these muscles that should be used in complete balance. So with the standing on one leg example, the muscles in the leg should contract and relax as needed to keep you standing.

Let’s give it a shot. Stand on one leg and concentrate on keeping your arms relaxed and the center of your body completely still. Once your center is not moving, you should feel some small contractions in your legs which helps you stay in that position. If your upper body is not moving and you are standing on one leg, you are balanced.

You can use this concept in many things in life. If you are a skier or snowboarder, the next time you hit the mountain, concentrate on keeping your center still and let the legs do the work. It will definitely help you stay dry! If you like doing yoga and you can’t seem to stay in a pose without falling, think about activating your core and you will be like a statue.