Tag Archives: exercise routine

Being Sore After a Workout Isn’t Always a Good Thing

Posted on by
3

Some people hold up being incredibly sore after a workout as a trophy of hard work and great gains. “No pain. No Gain.” Right….? No. Abusing your body and being sore will just reduce your overall productivity over the next few days. I’m not saying that ‘soreness’ is bad, but being so sore that you can’t move is. It also means that you pushed hard enough to potentially hurt yourself. The only acceptable time to be that sore after a workout is when you’ve just worked a muscle group that you don’t normally work, and still then: you probably pushed too hard.

There are steps you can take to alleviate soreness both through physical awareness and dietary means. Knowing what ‘good’ movement is when you’re exercising means: good form, controlled actions, and knowing when to quit. Dieting right will give your body what it needs for good strong muscles and make sure the right kinds of nutrients are available to repair them when they need it.

What makes muscles sore?

The medical term for muscle soreness is called DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) in medical communities. Basically when you work hard enough to feel your muscles ‘burn’ they are being damaged by micro-tears that over the next few days will be repaired with any spare protein you’ve accumulated. You shouldn’t feel that for about eight hours. If you don’t feel that burn, you won’t grow new muscle and get stronger.

Some people think that stretching and ‘cool-down’ exercises can prevent muscle soreness, but that’s not true. It has no effect on it, because it isn’t caused by muscle contraction or the presence of lactic acid, so neither action should relieve pain unless you’re suffering from cramps. The reason people thought cool-down exercises worked was because it removes excess lactic acid from the muscles, and lactic acid was though to cause the muscle soreness. That has since been disproved though.

What can you do to prevent muscle soreness?

This is really tough to do, especially when you’re trying to bulk up. The first thing you can do is not challenge yourself. This is the easy way out. If you don’t challenge yourself, you won’t gain muscle, which may not be aligned very well with your overall goals. Then next best thing you can do is not push too hard, but challenge yourself enough to cause muscle growth.

There is no proven bullet-proof way to prevent it if you’re working yourself hard, especially when you’re starting a routine or working a new group of muscles. There is anectdotal evidence (not hard evidence) that warming up, gentle stretching, ice baths, and sports massages work. You can also try taking anti-inflammatory medicine. Remember not to work out while your muscles are sore. Give them time to recover.

What are your remedies?

Preventing and curing muscle soreness is elusive like hangover cures. Everyone has different methods that work for them and there isn’t a while lot of scientific data to back any one system up. What do you do?

Officially Weigh in Once a Week Maximum

Posted on by
4

Weighing yourself on a weekly basis can give you a good idea of the progress you’re making.  It will help motivate you if you’re making gains or motivate you even more if you didn’t make your mark that week.  Weight also fluctuates naturally over time, so you’ll want to maintain a consistent schedule. Remember too, that you won’t see the results of today’s diet and workout until 4-24 hours later, so if you weigh in ever day, it’s most likely you won’t see today’s results until tomorrow.

Weight Fluctuates Greatly Over Time

Weight can fluctuate throughout the day or week.  Depending on your current weight, it might fluctuate up to five pounds or more.  Things like bowel movements, hydration, and food intake can all affect your overall weight. It can be off-putting to work hard and eat right, only to gain 2 lbs. because you’re more hydrated and feel better than you were last time you weighed in.

Weighing yourself at the same time on the same day each week will remove a lot of the variables mentioned above.  I prefer to weigh myself on Wednesday mornings before my morning shower.  This is before I’ve eaten, but after I’ve gone to the bathroom.  This mean’s I’ll be the lightest I can be, only weighing my natural body weight. I also avoid the unpredictable nature of weekend meals.

By all means, weigh yourself on Sunday evening after you’ve eaten. It’s all about consistency. If you weigh yourself at the same relative time, you’ll be able to get accurate relative results. When selecting the time you weigh yourself try to select the time of week with the least variability in your diet and water intake.  You won’t be doing yourself any favors if you weigh yourself today when you’re lightest and then tomorrow after a big dinner.

Results from Today’s Exercise Won’t be Visible Right Away

Whether you’re trying to gain muscle or lose fat, it doesn’t hop on or jump off as you’re exercising.  Sure it might look like you lose weight after an exercise because you didn’t drink any water and sweated out 3 pounds, but that isn’t real.  It can play the opposite way too.  Maybe you sweat out 1 pound and drink 2.  That means you just gained a pound that won’t stick around.

As your body synthesizes protein during muscle repair and burns fat for energy your weight will change.  That doesn’t happen during the workout for the most part. It happens in the 4-24 hours afterward when you go to the bathroom.  You’ll also want to give your body some time to normalize it’s water balance after a workout. If you’re anything like me, you’ll drink upwards of 60 ounces of water during your routine.

Stay Motivated with Consistent Returns

If you don’t know where your weight really is it’s hard to know if you’re gaining or losing.  Giving yourself consistency during weigh-ins gives you a really good idea of if you’re gaining or losing ground in your efforts.

If you don’t know where you are, it’s hard to feel good about the results.  If you don’t feel good about your results, there is a good chance you’ll slip. When you meet your goals, celebrate in a healthy way, and when you don’t, try harder for next week.  You only have seven days to meet your mark.

TREKDZ76Y2QR

Vary Your Treadmill Exercises

Posted on by
4

Most people think you just hop on a treadmill and go.  You can adjust the intensity of your workout by increasing the speed and that’s just about it.  False.  It’s not just for cardiovascular workout either.

Varying the settings on your treadmill during your exercise routine can increase the effectiveness of your workout, because you work different muscle groups as your stride changes.  This allows tired muscles to rest and other muscles to pick up the slack.  More advanced treadmills also have programs to change the settings for you, so you don’t have to remember yourself.

Incline

The average treadmill also has an incline feature, and that incline feature can vary your workout greatly.  As the incline of your run or walk increases, you use different muscle groups and move from a cario workout towards a strength training workout.

Getting used to running at even a minor incline can also increase the power of your muscles enough that when you’re running at level, you can squeeze out a couple, or maybe even a few, miles per hour on your job speed.  Working those muscles can also increase your jump height and distance too.

Speed

When you’re running you can be doing one of four things:

  • Walking – this is great for warming up and cooling down.  At steep inclines it also promotes muscle growth.
  • Jogging – a medium jog is a great way to cool down after an extended run or intense sprint.
  • Running – extended running builds cardiovascular strength, which helps your heart keep up with your other muscles while you’re exercising.
  • Sprinting – sprinting builds muscle and burns fat.  You’ll want to work some intense sprints into each treadmill workout to round things out.  The best way to do it is in intervals that feel comfortable – like 30 to 60 seconds.

Rounding it Out

Try playing with different settings while you exercise on the treadmill.  Unless you’re doing an extended run to promote cardio, try not to stay on the same setting for more than 30 to 60 seconds.  Once again, some of the more advanced treadmills have preset programs that will change these settings automatically for you.  They’ll usually have descriptions of the programs and how each effects you in the manual.

Remember that you don’t have to do all of your walking/jogging/running/sprinting on a treadmill too.  When it’s nice out, try going for a run outdoors.  If you’re looking for cardio, pick a nice flat piece of terrain.  If you want to build muscle, throw in some sprints.  Hiking is also a completely different experience and can build some great muscle too.  Oh, and it can be fun too!

When I’m hitting up the gym, I usually start out my routine with 10-15 minutes on the treadmill to get warmed up.  About a third of the time I’ll kick it up and run a 5k (3.1 miles).  There’s nothing more exhilarating than finishing a 5k – except maybe going farther.

Do you have any additional exercised you do on your treadmill?  Have questions about anything I said?  Just contact me shooting me an email or leave a comment below.

A Simple Leg Workout Routine

Posted on by
Reply

If you haven’t already read my upper body workout routine, you should.  I’ve outlined some of my overall workout routine information there, and won’t be going over that again in this post.

This leg workout, when coupled with a 10-15 minute cardio exercise to get heart rate up should last about 45 minutes to an hour depending on your pace.  You’ll see some ab workouts here, because it takes focus away from the legs so they can rest when they need to.

  • Leg Extensions - Leg extensions are when you lift weights with your lower legs, moving them from a sitting position to straight. It mostly works the quads. Increase intensity by increasing the weight.
  • Sit-Ups – Follow through and touch your elbows to your knees.  This works your lower abs and pelvis.  Be sure not to hold your hands behind your head, because that can cause neck injuries.  Add weight by holding a disc weight.
  • Leg Presses - A leg press machine comes in various configurations, but basically it forces you to fully extend your legs from a squatting position to straight.  It works most of the same muscle groups as a squat (below), but doesn’t include the upper body and back muscles. Increase intensity by increasing the weight.
  • Crunches on an Inclined Bench - Don’t do a full sit up yet.  Just raise your body about a third of the way through a full sit up.  This works your upper abs.  Increase the incline until maximum and then add weight.  I usually carry a disc weight flat across my chest while inclined to add weight.
  • Calf Lifts – Hold a weighted barbell over your shoulders or a dumbell to your chest, and move between standing flat on your feet and pushing up with your toes (almost like trying to stand on your tip toes, but not that far). This works your calves very well. Increase intensity by increasing the weight.Increase intensity by increasing the weight.
  • Squats – Stay in the same position as your calf lifts, but squat to the floor and then push back up to full standing height.  Make sure you squat completely to the floor, not a sitting position.  Move your upper body and legs equally.  Don’t move your legs and then your back.  That’s a good way to cause damage. This primarily works the thighs, hips, and buttocks, but also works the lower back, upper, and lower abs. Increase intensity by increasing the weight.

I usually alternate days working on upper and lower body, but you can also mix these exercises in with upper body workouts and do them every day, depending on your regimen and what you feel comfortable with.  If a muscle group is feeling sore, feel free to swap out exercises that cause less pain.  Never work a muscle group that is in pain.  Let it heal before you exercise it or you could cause damage.

If you need help with any of these exercises, just get a hold of me either by email or in the comments below.

What do you do for your leg workouts?

Biofeedback: An Interesting Take on Human Performance

Posted on by
1

Biofeedback isn’t a new idea, but some high performance weight trainers have taken a new spin on it.  The idea is that if you want to get the maximum gain for your weight training efforts, you need to listen to your body and do what it is going to perform best at during that specific workout.

What does that mean?

If you’re going to work out, but your body isn’t going to respond well to bicep curls, you won’t do them in favor of another exercise your body will respond well to.  maybe you’ll end up doing bench presses today instead of curls, and because you’re listening to your body the muscle you build as a result of the bench presses will be dramatically better than if you forced yourself into doing curls.

How do I do it?

There is a simple method for testing your body’s response to any given exercise.  You just stand with your legs straight and reach for your toes.  As soon as you feel your body resist the action, stop and make a mental note of how far you stretched.  Do a couple of test exercises at a minimal intensity and then do the stretch again.  Not how far you stretched again, but this time compare it to your original.  Is it better or worse?  Rinse and repeat this method for a few exercises.

Now that you know which exercises your body is responding to the best, you can focus on doing those exercises for that workout.  You’ll find that you have an easier time doing those exercises and you aren’t forcing your body to do something it didn’t want to.  You’ll want to stop and do biofeedback tests a few times during your routine to make sure nothing has changed.

I’ve included a video of they guys from AthleteCreator.com and Extreme Human Performance using biofeedback to do Bench Presses below:

This is a second video from GymJunkies.com doing much of the same:

The Science

Your body responds to every movement you make by restricting or increasing range of motion.  This is a defensive reflex that kicks in when you’re making movements you shouldn’t.  It’s function is to keep you from injuring yourself.  When you’re working out, doing range of motion tests for each exercise will tell your body whether that specific motion is going to be helpful or not.

The whole biofeedback system is based on your body’s innate ability to contract muscles to prevent range of motion when you’re not moving the way you should.  Think about when you break a bone and all of the muscles around that area contract to restrict movement.  It’s the same feedback system.  Utilizing range of motion tests during your workout give you a noticeable physical response to what your body wants to do.

Using Biofeedback to your Benefit

Utilizing biofeedback to find out what positive motions will get the best results during your workout will help you build muscle and burn fat.  When you’re doing exercise that don’t test well, you won’t see noticeable gains in your overall fitness, whereas when you do, you’ll feel better working out and see excellent results fairly quickly.  Biofeedback and range of motion testing seem to really give great results.  It will be interesting to see how this type of exercise evolves.

Simple Upper Body Workout Routine

Posted on by
1

This is about a simple upper body workout routine that I alternate every other gym visit.  Basically I do one set of five different exercises (a circuit), moving through all of the exercises until I reach the first one.  I then do a second set, and finally a third set.  Every set is on 10 repetitions, and I adjust my intensity so that I’m usually failing between repetition 5 and 10 on the third set.

I try to alternate the exercises between muscle groups so that each muscle group has time to rest before I move on to an exercise in a similar group.  For upper body, I tend to move between abs and arms.  I also always start my visit to the gym with a 2 mile run to get my heart rate up.  With a simple 5 exercise x 3 sets x 10 reps routine and a short run, you can easily spend an hour at the gym.

I note the intensity of each exercise I do in my phone and record it on a spreadsheet when I get back to my computer.  This way I can track progress as I go.  In my other life, I’m a data geek, so this stuff is important to me.  I want to see statistical progress in my fitness adventures.

The following is a list of the exercises I do in one of my circuits for upper body work out on odd days:

  • Bench Presses - Lay on a flat bench and push a barbell up towards the ceiling.  This works your pecs and upper arms.  Be sure to vary your hand stance to work different muscle groups.  Increase intensity by increasing the weight.
  • Crunches on an Inclined Bench - Don’t do a full sit up yet.  Just raise your body about a third of the way through a full sit up.  This works your upper abs.  Increase the incline until maximum and then add weight.  I usually carry a disc weight flat across my chest while inclined to add weight.
  • Bicep Curls – This mostly works your biceps, but can also work your forearm and pecs depending on your form. Increase intensity by increasing the weight.
  • Sit Ups on an Inclined Bench – Follow through and touch your elbows to your knees.  This works your lower abs and pelvis.  Be sure not to hold your hands behind your head, because that can cause neck injuries.  Add weight by holding a disc weight.
  • Tricep Curls - Lay on a flat bench and hold a single weight above your head.  Push it towards the ceiling and then bring it back down.  This works your triceps and forearms.  Increase intensity by increasing the weight.

If you’re unsure about how to do one or more of the exercises above, just contact me and I can help you get your bearings.  I will be posting videos about how each one works at some point.  I need to see what the rules are about cameras in the gym I go to.  A quick video search on Google gets some pretty great results as well.

These workouts should work for just about anyone at any level.  You should be able to adjust your weight to increase or decrease the difficulty of the specific exercise you’re doing.  Even if you just started trying to be fit, you can start with one pound weights and move forward from there.  Everyone has to start somewhere.