Why we do what we do Part II

Breaking out the ??????
 

Last week, with the help of Lewis Carroll I talked about asking the right questions as you begin your training program.  In the seven or so days since you have amassed quite a few.  If you have not stop now and give yourself five minutes to reflect on this.  There are few things in life you will be able to tailor as well as you can your training.

Once you have asked the right questions (and universally once starting down this path more and more questions pop up, it’s a good thing.) or identified what the job is (a watch is not a croissant) now comes step two.

Yes that’s right..Let’s look at tools.

Tools in this context is not just limited to equipment.  Yes in my training with my clients I use a wide variety of equipment from kettlebells to bands, but here we are also talking about protocols.  This can range from LSD (long slow duration) cardio training, to threshold training, to limit strength, speed strength, to yoga, to plyometrics to isometrics.

With your list of questions and goals you can start picking out the tools that best fill the needs of the job.  If some of the terms I just used are unfamiliar to you then time for research, and, guess what, more questions.

The purpose of this blog is to set you up to be an informed exerciser, because guess what, once you have carved out the goal, and done the work to identify the tools, you now OWN  your training, and that my friends is a wonderful thing.

If you want to take the short cut (a sign of intelligence) then I invite you to contact me in helping to amass, then possibly cull the list of questions and then after that discuss the tools that will take you where you want to go.

Next entry we will talk about laying out your game plan.

Keep the faith until next time true believers.

Steve

805-285-6401

 

A Thinking Man's Guide To The Warm Up Part II

Earlier this year (snickering behind my hand) I blogged about what the real purpose of warming up is.  Very literally warming up the muscles so they are soft enough to move with force yet activated enough to respond to it FASTER than the speed of thought.

My questions for you at this point is, when we move, when we exercise, are the muscles the only things that move? What do the muscles move? And WHERE does the movement actually take place.

Think on that.  Yes I am going to give you the answer and yes if you don’t already know it then you are gonna go duh, but I do want you do really think about it.  Make your brain itch just a bit and when we scratch it, it will be all that much better.

Okay enough of the filler.

Bones are moved by the muscles, and movement actually takes place at the joints.

Okay if any of you actually said Duh or Doipe I am sorry and I hope you did not smack your forehead to hard.

Now, what has that to do with warming up?

Remember what I said about getting the muscles more loose and fluid.  The key word here is fluid.  In the case of the joints we are literally talking about fluid (as opposed to fluid like).


Synovial fluid is produced at the joint capsule as a result of movement; it has a lubricating effect, helping the bones slide around more easily where they meet at the joint.  Going back to my car/oil metaphor, do you want to be driving around with low oil?  What’s good for the pistons is good for the joints (bet you never heard that variation before).

There is a LITTLE BIT more to the story, but I will save that for part III of warm up, later this same year but I will leave you with this.

                                                     MOVE YOUR JOINTS.

And also a question…

How many angles and degrees do your joints move in?

I look forward to your questions and comments.

www.fitnessnexus@yahoo.com

A Thinking Man's Guide to "The Warm Up"

What is a warm up?

Many people understand a warm up to be stretching to loosen the muscles.  In reality warming up really is just that, this misunderstanding has led to injuries with average exercisers and high level athletes.

A muscle can be seen as a rubber band, which can stretch several times beyond its resting  length and then pull back to its original size.  If that rubber band were put in a freezer (inactivity) then taken out, when you tried to stretch it, it would most likely snap.

The purpose of an effective warm up is to warm up that rubber band that that it has the elasticity to move.

Another way to think about this is starting your car.  If it has been a few days since you have driven or you live in a colder climate you will let it set and idle for a bit.  The oil, usually described as a car’s life blood, is thick and viscous when the engine is cold.  As the car warms ups the oil gets thinner, more fluid, and moves through the system more easily.

Not letting the engine idle can mean it clogging out just when you are about to accelerate into traffic. Bad thing.  Warming up your muscles, tendons and joints before regular exercise is the idling time your body needs to get it’s fluids…well fluid, so that it does not clog out when you begin your routine.

An additional value of a smart generalized warm up routine is that it does not have to be done JUST before a workout.  Ideally it could be done several times a day for the same purpose, keep that rubber band lose and functional, keep the fluids circulating.

We train to be better at life. The more you marry the two, using one to assist the learning of the other, the stronger you will be for it body and mind.

If you need help with program design you can contact me at

Fitnessnexus@yahoo.com

All the best,

Steve