Exercise Of The Day: The Squat

Having proper form while you are squatting is very important.  Check out this video and see if there is anything you can do to improve your squat.  If you have seen this video before, watch it again!  Every time I watch it I see something new. 

Squats should actually be a full-body movement.  You should feel it through your core as well as in your glutes, hamstrings (back ‘o the leg) and quads (front ‘o the leg).  Sit back, arch your back, weight in your heels, toes should be able to wiggle, drop into your squat, maintain the arch in your back and push through the heels to stand up.  An immature squat will make you sore in your quads. 

As you gain better & better form, you will feel it in your hamstrings & glutes.  So watch the video and don’t forget, if you are waiting, you are squatting!

Workout Tunes…

What do you like to listen to when you are working out?  Whether it is on your own, in the gym, or if we are lucky in the park, music is a great way to get motivated to push harder and workout longer.

Some people say that listening to music when they are working out helps give them a boost of energy during their workout.  Some runners choose songs with specific “beats per minute” to help them maintain a goal pace.  Other people find that the music distracts them and they lose track of time, so they end up working out for longer then they had anticipated.  Even Michael Phelps listens to music until the last possible moment.

Check out this article, it says that listening to the right music before and during your workout boosts performance up to 20%.

So tell us, what’s on your playlist?! Your song could be put on the next boot camp music mix.

The X?

Were you in the X last week?  Maybe it is time to reevaluate what you have been eating!  Are you listening to your coach, making good choices, and checking out the blog for snack and meal ideas?

Figuring out what you should be eating can be very confusing and difficult, especially with all the new diets out there.  We are going to try and break it down for you a little bit.

You should all know by now that the Max Body Fitness recommended program is to eat 5-6 meals a day.  Each of these meals should contain protein, carbohydrates and a healthy fat.  We also want you to be drinking a lot of water and abstaining from alcohol, fried foods, and sugar for the month. 

Once you are doing that, you have the basics of The Zone.  The Zone is a diet that takes the belief that you should eat 5-6 meals with protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats a step further then we do at boot camp.  The Zone diet is not just for those who want to lose weight.  According to the Zone followers, the exact combinations specified optimize your body for energy and athletic performance. 

But what if you do want to lose weight?  The Zone will help if that is your goal, but you need to be strict with your portions.  What about the other diets that are out there? 

A lot of our boot campers follow Weight Watchers and have also seen great results.  Weight Watchers allows you to eat whatever you want…in moderation of course.  This is one way you can keep tabs on portion control.  The Weight Watchers program breaks down all foods into a points value. Obviously the more calories in the food, the higher the points.  The basic idea is to stay with in your allotted points value for the day. 

Whatever diet you choose, it is still possible to follow the 5-6 meals a day suggestion.  Eating more meals throughout the day helps your to boost your metabolism which in turn will help you lose weight faster.  Make sure you are eating balanced meals and getting enough calories to give you energy through out your work out and the day.  Do some research and decide what will work best for you. 

Whatever you choose, we will be here to help as best as we can!  This article from prevention magazine is a great place to start.

If you are getting bored with the foods you are eating, try out these foods:

Breakfast: ½ whole wheat English muffin topped with 1 oz low-fat cheddar cheese (melted), eat with 1 cup light yogurt mixed with 2 tbsp dried cranberries

Snack:  fat free black bean dip with sliced veggies, 6 almonds

Lunch:  Turkey Veggie Wrap – 3 oz lean turkey, ¼ cup cucumbers, 1 medium tortilla, 1 cup sliced carrots, 1 apple.  Wrap turkey and veggies up and eat with the apple on the side!

Snack: ½ cup fat free frozen yogurt with pecans

Dinner: 2 tbsp reduced calorie Italian dressing, 1 medium red pepper, 1 medium green pepper, ¾ cup brown rice, 3 oz chicken breast.  Marinate chicken in dressing, cut up veggies and cook veggies and chicken on grill.  Serve over the brown rice.

(For those of you doing Weight Watchers, the above meal plan has 20 points.)

So make good choices and stay out of The X!

Are You A Runner?

Congratulations on making it through week 1 of boot camp! We know it has been tough on you and we are so proud of you for sticking with the program.

When people are starting boot camp, they are often concerned about their lack of running ability.  They are worried about not being able to keep up with the group or becoming injured.  People often think that jumping into a program like boot camp will be too much for them. 

We are sure you have figured out by now that all of the workouts at boot camp are scalable to different ability levels.  But when it comes down to it, running is running.  Whether you are a fast runner or at the back of the pack, you have to put one leg in front of the other and keep on moving.  If you’re in the back now, don’t worry – you won’t stay there forever!

Some people are natural runners, so they may not find this post so helpful.  But for the rest of us, running isn’t so easy.  There is a lot that affects the way you run that doesn’t have anything to do with your legs.  The way you are breathing, what you are doing with your arms, and how you are holding your hands all have an impact on your running.

Here are a few things to remember when running:

1) Keep your shoulders relaxed.  If your shoulders are tense or shrugged, your whole body will follow suit.  It is much easier to run when your body is relaxed.

2) Don’t clench your fists!  You may notice yourself running with closed fists.  Open your hands and loosen up!

3) Remember to breathe.  Once you’re more comfortable with running you may want to try to match your breathing to your running stride, but in the beginning  just try to remember to breathe.  To start, try to remember to take deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. 

When you are running do you get a pain in your side or in your leg?  You are probably experiencing a side stitch or shin splints.  These are two ailments that are common with new runners.

A side stitch occurs from tension on the ligaments that attach the diaphragm to the organs below.  Shin splints are caused by an inflammation of the tendons connecting the muscle to the shin bone.  Check out these articles on the side stitch and shin splints to learn more.

 

A Little Sore?

Many of you are experiencing a boot camp favorite: muscle soreness.  Best remedy?  Keep moving.  Be sure to come to class day after day.  Here are a couple of things that help to ease the pain:

1.  Really focus on your dynamic stretching.  You may feel silly, but dynamic stretching before a workout reduces muscle tightness and reduces the chance of injury.

2.  Be sure to eat some high quality protein within 45 minutes of your workout or sooner.  You have a small window in which this helps speed muscle repair.

3.  Continue to eat high quality protein throughout the day (see your book for examples), fruits, vegetables & complex carbs like oatmeal. 

4.  If you can stand it, take 10-20 second bursts of alternating hot & cold showers….it really does help but is pretty uncomfortable.

5.  Take an Epsom salt bath…Grandma was right…it does help!  While in the warm bath, take some time to stretch.

6.  Apply any brand of muscle cream to the area.

7.  Get a massage.

8. Use The Stick!

9.  Keep coming to boot camp. Getting your muscles moving again is usually the best therapy!

Check out this article for more information on DOMS.

Your Success Story…

Here at Max Body Fitness we want you to succeed. But how do you measure success? Is it by fitting in those pair of “skinny jeans?” Being able to run your first 5k? Win a 5k?! Just getting up and down a flight of stairs without being out of breath. Whatever your goal this session please share it with the rest of the campers by posting a comment to this posting.

We try to hold you accountable for what you eat and for making it to camp.  Now we want to help you to attain your goals.  Setting a goal and determining how you are going to achieve that goal is an important part of any fitness routine.  You have already started working out and have probably heard some success stories from other boot campers.  Now it is time to write your success story.

What results do you expect to see?  Think about what it will take to make that happen.  If you want to lose 10 pounds, losing the weight is the end result you are expecting.  But it won’t happen if you don’t do the right things with both exercise and nutrition.  So, think of the actions necessary to achieve that goal, such as making it to boot camp every day, doing your cardio on off days, writing down everything you eat (and not listing wine as “grapes”), and watching your portions. All these little action steps are necessary to get you to that end goal!

How Was Your First Day?

So, today is your first day of Max Body Boot Camp!  After you turned off the alarm and those thoughts of “what was I thinking?” left your head you got up, got dressed and headed out to the park.  You have now become one of those weird people who roll around in the dirt for fun!  Was it everything you expected? Were you pushed beyond your comfort zone?  For those of you in the PM class, are you excited for your first workout?

Was boot camp everything you expected?  Too hard?  Not hard enough?  We are sure some of you had a big reality check this morning.  But don’t worry, just by showing up, you have already started making good choices and you’ll soon start to feel the positive changes in your body.  But getting out of bed and getting to the park isn’t the only good choice you need to be making.

So clean out your refrigerator and go shopping for good food choices.  It is much easier to stick to a nutrition plan if you surround yourself with good food.  Really, you’ll feel better during your workout and all day long if you fuel your body properly for exercise. 

Are You Ready For Boot Camp?

Welcome to November Boot Camp! Your first day at the park is almost here!

During the month there are some important things to remember…

1)  We know that new shoes can be expensive.  But getting new shoes can help prevent injury.  You really should have a pair that is less than 1 year old, even if you haven’t worn them very much!  We don’t want you to throw away your money so take care of your shoes!  The grassy and muddy conditions at the park can be hard on your shoes…so clean them!

2)  It has been proven that people who write down what they eat on a daily basis lose more weight then those that do not.  So use those log books.  We are here to help you make good choices, but you have to take the first step of logging every thing that you eat. 

3)  We know that you are all very busy people.  Traveling for work or getting the kids to school can get in the way of making it to the park every day.  If you miss a day at the park please contact us so we can schedule a make up session.

4)  Please take care of yourself this month.  If you pull a muscle, do not stretch it (if you stretch, you are just adding more micro tears).  Relax and get ice on it ASAP.  And remember, RICE, Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.  That’s right…it says REST!  Sometimes you may need to take a day or two to allow your injury to heal.  But this doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t exercise at all.  We will help you modify workouts or come up with exercises you can do that will allow you to get a great workout without further aggravation to your injury.

5)  It is important to remember that we don’t own the park!  Please be respectful of the parks and help to take care of them.  If you bring water bottles, gloves, towels, or anything to the park, they should leave with you!  Also be mindful of your surroundings.  There are many obstacles at the parks such as holes, rocks, sleeping people, dogs …you get the point!  Keep your eyes open as you make your way through the parks.

6)  Mark your calendars now!  The Boot Camp Challenge will be Saturday, November 29 from 10-11am and Bring-A-Friend Day is Wednesday, December 3 at all camps.  More details to come!!!

7)  Questions or concerns?  Can’t make camp?  Email mark@hbpersonaltrainer.com or call 877-331-0622.

P.S. If you haven’t signed up yet be sure to do so online by Thursday, November 3.