Study Corner: Metabolic Adaptations In Low Volume Sprints Vs. High Volume Endurance

exercise, Interval Training, Study No Comments »

Ok, today’s scien-tastic study will really appeal to you if you’re pressed for time to work out.  (And who isn’t?!?)

Researchers from McMaster University in Canada compared low volume sprint (interval) training to high volume aerobic (endurance) training.

Without bogging down in too many details (I’ll link to the study at the bottom of this post), the aerobics group worked out at 65% of their maximal oxygen uptake for 40-60 minutes, 5 days a week, for 6 weeks.

The interval training group did 4-6 “all out” 30 second sprints with 4.5 minutes rest between sprints, 3 days a week, for 6 weeks.

Total training time for the aerobic group was 4.5 hours per week.  Total for the interval training group was 1.5 hours per week (with 90% of that time being rest!!).

After the six weeks both groups showed the SAME metabolic changes!

Now, I would have expected the interval training group to be burning more fat, but even though the results were the same, look at the total training time!  90 minutes a week of interval training gave the same fat loss benefits as 270 minutes of aerobics training!

That’s pretty freakin’ cool :)

So, if you want to save time in the gym, start hitting some intervals.  Here’s a step-by-step plan to get you started: Interval Training For Fat Loss

Here’s the citation for today’s study:

J Physiol. 2008 January 1; 586(Pt 1): 151–160.
Published online 2007 November 8.
Similar metabolic adaptations during exercise after low volume sprint interval and traditional endurance training in humans
Kirsten A Burgomaster,1 Krista R Howarth,1 Stuart M Phillips,1 Mark Rakobowchuk,1 Maureen J MacDonald,1 Sean L McGee,2 and Martin J Gibala1

And here’s a link to the abstract: Similar metabolic adaptations during exercise after low volume sprint interval and traditional endurance training in humans

Hardcore Exercises From “Tactical Fitness” Bootcamp

Bootcamp, exercise, Sports 1 Comment »

I’m working on the workout plans for the new Wold Tactical Fitness Bootcamp (Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 6:30-7:30pm) and thought it would be fun to share some of the exercises we’re going to be using to reach the next level of fitness….

Reverse Bridge Push Up:

Twisting Planker Push Up:

Bootstrapper Squats:

Scorpion-Style Shin Box:

Suspended Hamstring Curls:

Tripod Switch:

Tight Burpee:

Kettlebell Split Snatch:

Box Jumps:

Kick-Through Side Plank:

Tiger Push Up:

Hip Touch Twist:

Shoulder Roll:

Deadlift/Pushup Combo:

Modified Rope Climbs:

Twisting Mountain Climbers:

Reverse Wall Walks:

Suspended Triceps Extension:

One Armed Burpees and Deck Squats:

Clapping Dive Bomber Push Up:

Handstands and Handstand Push Ups:

Arm Thread Push Up:

Rocky IV Flags:

Kettlebell Snatch and Windmill:

Spiral Squat:

Shin Box Flag:

Kneeling Jump:

Kick Through Squat With Pillow Twist:

Ok, there’s lots lots more to post, but I’ve got to go set up for tonight’s bootcamp!

Catch ya later!

~ Luke Wold

PS – This is what I look like when we’re done filming these videos for you:

Is Your “Cardio” Making You Fat?

exercise, Weight Loss No Comments »

Is Cardio Making You Fat?

Special Guest Article by Shawna Kaminski

What kind of cardio are you doing? If you’re doing long, slow, low intensity cardio, then you’re going to burn calories WHILE you’re exercising.

But is this most effective fat burning cardio you can do? The kind where you barely break a sweat?

For the time and energy you invest, is there a more effective way?

Is it possible to burn calories even AFTER your exercise session is over? (As well as burning calories DURING exercise?)

Of course! If you’re ever heard of HIIT, or high intensity interval training, then this is your solution.

With HIIT your workout time is literally cut in half and you’ll burn more calories during your workout. As well, some studies have proven that you’ll continue to burn calories for up to 38 hours AFTER your HIIT workout with an elevated metabolic rate. This means that you could train on Monday morning and still be burning calories Tuesday night!

Sound too good to be true? What’s the catch?

The kicker is that for the short time invested in HIIT, you really need to push yourself and get a sweat on. It’s not called ‘high intensity’ for nothing.

There’s a variety of ways you can incorporate HIIT into your workout:

-running

-swimming

-rowing

-stair running

-jumping jacks

-anything you can think of

And there are a number of ways you can set your work to rest sets up. For example:

-Do 20 seconds of HIGH INTENSITY work, and follow it with 10 seconds of rest.

-Do 30 sec of work with a 20 sec rest.

- Do 40 sec of work with a 20 sec rest.

-Do 15 sec of work with a 15 sec rest.

-Be creative, there’s no ONE way to do HIIT.

The key is to get the heart rate elevated and then let it slow down and repeat for up to 20 minutes.

How does interval training look in real life with real life athletes?

Take a look at sprinters…

Sprinters have events that are between 10-40 seconds in length, so their training reflects preparation for these events. They do short bursts of intense activity followed by short rests. Then they repeat this over and over again.

In other words…interval training (HIIT).

Take a look at sprinters. Do you see much body fat? They are some of the leanest athletes around with 4-6% of body fat. They have lean, sexy muscle and a stoked metabolism such that they can eat a ton to maintain their physiques.

Now, let’s look at marathon runners….

A marathon is a long event and these athletes train for hours at a much lower pace.

Is this the ‘look’ you’re after? Often marathon runners have some muscle, but it may not be what you had in mind…

It may not be the muscle tone you’re looking for as often is the case that marathon runners have a ‘skinny fat’ look.

Unless you were born to the right parents, that is, unless you have amazing genetics, you won’t get the body of your dreams with low intensity cardio.

What kind of cardio is the most time efficient method of burning fat?

How will you use your cardio time??

Check out my program for a ton of HIIT ideas:

www.FemaleFatLossOver40.com

NEW Information To Fight Belly Fat

exercise, Health, Strategies, Weight Loss No Comments »

Ok, today I have a special guest article from my friend John Romaniello.

John is a kung-fu master at helping people get rid of “stubborn fat” through fighting the hormones that make fat stick.

John is also freakin’ BUILT:

Suffering from Belly Fat?
By John Romaniello

Like many people, you probably suffer from regional fat storage issues. That is, while you store fat over your entire body, it’s probably most noticeable in certain areas, and it’s from these areas in which we struggle most to lose fat. You know–the problem areas.

These problem areas are influenced heavily by your hormonal environment, and where you store that last bit of fat is determined by which of your hormones are most out of whack (and yes, sometimes it’s quite a few of them).

Today I’m going to talk to you about belly fat specifically.

One of the things that has been talked about quite a bit in fitness media lately is the relationship between belly fat and a hormone called “cortisol.” To put it simply, the higher your cortisol levels, the more belly fat you’re likely to have.

By the same token, if you have a good deal of belly fat, it’s reasonable to assume that you have high cortisol.

Having high cortisol is detrimental for other reasons, but for our purposes, let’s focus on the fact that cortisol is keeping you not-so-little in the middle.

Rather than just suffer through this, the obvious solution is to try to lower cortisol levels and resultantly lower belly fat. And I’ll tell you, lowering cortisol is a LOT trickier than you might think.

I’m sure you’ve seen the late night TV ads trying to sell you anti-cortisol pills. Even if they worked (they don’t), it’s a hormone like cortisol can’t be fooled by a little pill.

Besides, wouldn’t it be much more effective to find a solution without taking expensive pills? Something that is also going to help you burn fat overall?

Well, that’s actually possible.

You see, I’m big on using certain hormones to tame other hormones. Essentially, you CAN actually fight hormones WITH hormones. Clever, I know. It’s just a matter of finding which hormones work well against one another. When it comes to cortisol (and belly fat), you need look no further than Growth Hormone.

Also known as Human Growth Hormone or simply GH, growth hormones is produced in the pituitary gland and is responsible for growth (obviously) among other things. More specific to this writing, growth hormones is actually one of the most effective things in the world to offset cortisol.

Put simply, if you want less cortisol, just make more growth hormone.

Just tell your body to do it. Make a few calls.

Okay okay, it’s not that simple…but I have some really good news.

Did you know that there are certain types of training that are actually exceedingly effective at producing growth hormone?

It’s true–indirectly.

You see, growth hormone is normally produced and released in response to something, and in the case of training, GH is released as a response to the production of something called lactic acid. Lactic acid is a waste byproduct of some of the chemical and metabolic processes that happen during exercise.

So, if you do exercise in a specific way, you can produce MORE lactic acid, which will then produce tremendous amounts of growth hormone as a result. That growth hormone surge will also help to work against your high cortisol levels. And as we’ve established, that will absolutely assist you in getting rid of your stubborn belly fat.

Of course, you’re wondering: how to I do it!? It’s easy. While lactic acid is produced in most forms of intense exercise, there is an unusual style of exercise that can actually produce even MORE lactic acid than is generally possible with other types of exericse. Appropriately (and not-so-cleverly) called “lactic acid training,” this type of training uses slow lifting speeds and fast lowering speeds.

The reason for the structure is that lactic acid is primarily produced during the “concentric” or positive/lifting phase of an exercise, and not so much during the “eccentric” or negative/lowering phase. To take advantage of this and produce more lactic acid, we simply–with apologies to Bing Crosby–accentuate the positive and (almost but not quite) eliminate the negative of each rep on all of our exercises.

To quantify it a bit, for each rep, you’d lift it over a period of about 4 seconds, and lower the weight extremely quickly, but safely.

If you were squatting, you’d drop down to the bottom position relatively quickly, and push slowly back to the top. In an overhead press, you’d lower the dumbbells quickly but safely, and press them back over your head over a period of 4-6 seconds.

Performing exercises with these extended concentric movements is going to create a tremendous amount of lactic acid, which in turn is going to prompt your body to produce fantastic amounts of growth hormone. And that growth hormone is going to help you manage cortisol and fight belly fat.

And if all THAT wasn’t enough, lactic acid training is also just a great fat loss training methods, so you’ll lose fat overall.

If you want to fight your cortisol issues, you need growth hormone. And for that you need lactic acid training. Utilizing this method, you’re one step closer to fighting off your belly fat for good.

———————————————————————-

If you want John’s full course for losing stubborn belly fat, you can check it out at ->

Final Phase Fat Loss

5 Essential Booty Exercises

exercise No Comments »

We all want a nice booty, right?

Incorporate the following best backside exercises in your regular strength routine and you’ll burn fat, shape and firm your booty, sculpt surrounding muscle groups, and rev up your metabolism.

1. Kettlebell Swings

Kettlebell swings combine strength and cardio training to redefine your backside. In addition to toning your glutes and hip flexors, you’ll work your core, and cardiovascular system (an all-in-one exercise). Stand with your legs shoulder width apart. Place the kettlebell about one foot in front of you. Push your hips backward, with a slight bend in the knee (shins almost vertical) and reach forward, placing both hands on the kettlebell. From your “hike position” (hips pushed backward, back flat, and chest out) hike the kettlebell behind you, with a purpose (don’t let go).Drive your hips forward, while contracting your glutes and tucking your tailbone under, to swing the kettlebell (always above the knees) until you are standing at “attention” with your hands about chest height.

Important Tips: Always make sure to keep your abs tight (this will keep your lower back protected.) Keep your neck in line with the rest of your spine. Always drive the swing with your hips and NOT your arms. If the bell ever gets too far out in front of you, never reach for it- just let it drop!

2. Lunges

Lunges are a bootcamp workout staple that will firm your butt and tone your legs. Start with your feet hip width apart then step forward with one leg. Keeping your abs tight, chest high, and spine straight, sink down into the move until your front thigh is parallel to the floor and your back knee is almost touching the ground. Concentrate on squeezing your glutes as you push through your front heel back to the starting position. Important tip: don’t let your moving knee extend past your toes.

3. Step Ups

This is a great exercise for your butt as well as your quads and calves. Step ups also increase your heart rate so you’ll get the extra benefit of fat-blasting cardio. Stand with your right foot firmly planted on a step or a bench, your left foot on the floor. Push down through your right heel to straighten and stand on your right leg, squeezing your glutes at the top of the movement. At the same time, pull your left leg forward and up, knee bent 90 degrees and raised waist-high. Lower your left leg back to the ground, then step your right foot down. Alternate legs to make one rep.

4. Hip Extensions

Like lunges, hip extensions can be performed anywhere and without equipment. The key to this movement is positioning your weight so that your butt does the brunt of the work, not your legs. On your hands and knees, you’ll focus the main effort in your glutes and lower back without involving your hamstrings. Tighten your core and squeeze your butt to lift one leg toward the ceiling, keeping the 90 degree bend and flexing your foot so you’re reaching with your heel as you raise your thigh in line with your spine. Keep the movement slow and controlled to the top and then back down again.

5. One-Legged Deadlifts

One-legged deadlifts do triple duty, activating your muscles for a highly effective toning session that works your butt, hamstrings, and lower back. Holding a kettlebell/dumbbell in each hand, stand with your feet hip width apart, knees soft. Keeping your weight firmly on your left leg, lean forward from your hips, reaching the dumbbells toward your left foot and raising your right leg out behind you. Remember to keep your core tight and not round your back. Now stand straight, squeezing your glutes as you come back to start. Do a full series of reps before switching to your right leg for the second half of the set.

Train Like A Gladiator!

exercise, Interval Training, Weight Loss No Comments »

A few of my friends on facebook have posted a question like this: “How can I get an action hero body?”

Now, Hollywood action stars have a few advantages: they all have a personal trainer, they can get someone to cook healthy meals for them, and they have lighting technicians making sure they always look their best.

But you can totally steal their workout and do it on your own.

Have you seen “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” on TV?  I’ve caught a few episodes – pretty cool.

And the stars definitely have that “action hero” look:

Here’s a video of the Spartacus stars working out:

(Don’t copy their kettlebell form! Everything else is all good :) )

The Spartacus workout above was written by Rachel Cosgrove, owner of Results Fitness in Santa Clarita, CA.

Here’s the complete program:

60 seconds work / 15 seconds rest

1. Goblet Squat
2. Mountain Climber
3. One Arm Dumbbell Swing
4. T-Pushup
5. Jump Lunges
6. Dumbbell Bent Over Row
7. Dumbbell Side Lunge and Touch
8. Dumbbell Renegade Row
9. Dumbbell Lunge with Rotation
10. Dumbbell Push Press

Total Time: 12:30.

Rest 2 minutes and repeat.

Total Work Time: 27 minutes!

After trying one of my bootcamp workouts, you’ll know that a circuit like this are no joke.

By working every muscle in your body, you not only strengthen and shape, you get a whole body cardiovascular workout… at the same time!

If your idea of “cardio” is running on a treadmill or playing on an elliptical machine, you’ll find that a workout like this is really fun, really intense, and more effective at building an Action Hero Body than anything else.

Talk to you soon,

~ Luke Wold
291 Rhodes St
Carson City NV 89703

Never Be Gymless Again! 50 Bodyweight Exercises You Can Do Anywhere

exercise, Mobile Unit Workouts No Comments »

A Carson City Gym post by Luke Wold….

Hey there, it’s Luke – hope you’re doing awesome, and I gotta tell you: I’m excited about today’s post for you.

You know there are just some days when you can’t make it to the gym: kids get sick, family in town, big project due, traveling, whatever.

And it sucks because the gym has all the cool toys: kettlebells, ValSlides, suspension trainers, swiss balls… the fun stuff!

Annnnnd, summer is coming up.  You don’t want to miss a workout right before beach season

So I want to share FIFTY sweet exercises that will give you a killer workout using only your own body!  You can do ‘em anywhere.

Have fun….

  1. Toe Grab Squats
  2. Areas worked: thighs, ankle flexibility

  3. T-Pushup
  4. Areas worked: Arms, Chest, Shoulders, Core

  5. Reaching Hockey Squat
  6. Areas Worked: Thighs, Balance

  7. Hip Circles
  8. Areas worked: butt, hips

  9. Cobra
  10. Areas Worked: Back, Low Back, Shoulders, Butt, Hamstrings

  11. Short Arc Leg Lifts
  12. Areas Worked: Stomach, Front Of Thighs

  13. Quad Stance Push Up
  14. Areas Worked: Front Of Thighs, Arms, Shoulders

  15. Grasshopper Pushup
  16. Areas Worked: Sides, Arms, Chest, Flexibility

  17. Butt Lift
  18. Areas Worked: Butt, Stomach

    Advanced Variation: Use one leg

  19. Pike Plank
  20. Areas Worked: Stomach

  21. Jackal Pushup
  22. Areas Worked: Stomach, Back Of Arms

  23. Kick Through
  24. Areas Worked: Stomach, Arms, Coordination

  25. Bird Dog
  26. Areas Worked: Low Back, butt

  27. Hindu Pushup
  28. Areas Worked: Arms, Flexibility

  29. Warrior Sit Up
  30. Areas Worked: Stomach

  31. Tiger Pushup
  32. Areas Worked: Back Of Arms, Stomach

  33. Butt Lift Leg Swing
  34. Areas Worked: Butt, Stomach, Leg Flexibility

  35. Chest Tap Push Up
  36. Areas Worked: Chest, Arms, Shoulders, Core, Explosiveness

  37. Plank Walk Up
  38. Areas Worked: Balance, Back Of Arms, Core

  39. Wide Toe Grab Squat
  40. Areas Worked: Thighs, Groin, Ankle Flexibility

  41. Moving Side Planks
  42. Areas Worked: Sides

  43. Squat
  44. Areas Worked: Thighs

  45. Long Jump
  46. Areas Worked: Thighs, Explosiveness

  47. Side Feet Lift
  48. Areas Worked: Sides

  49. Gateswing Squat
  50. Areas worked: Thighs, Groin

    Level 1:

    Level 2:

  51. Shin Box Switch
  52. Areas Worked: Hips

  53. One Arm Lowering Pushup
  54. Areas Worked: Chest, Arms, Shoulders, Core, Balance

  55. Deck Squat
  56. Areas Worked: Stomach, Legs, Balance

  57. Turtle Rolls
  58. Areas Worked: Core

  59. Thrusting Side Plank
  60. Areas Worked: Sides

    Level One:

    Level Two:

    Level Three:

  61. Pike Pushup
  62. Areas Worked: Shoulders, Back Of Arms

  63. V Up
  64. Areas Worked: Stomach

  65. Pendulum Lunge
  66. Areas Worked: Thighs, Balance

  67. Frogger
  68. Areas Worked: Flexibility, Arms

  69. Ground Spiral Squat
  70. Areas Worked: Legs, Hips, Flexibility

    Spiral Squats Explained:

  71. Squat Hold
  72. Areas Worked: Thighs

  73. Shin Box Flag
  74. Areas Worked: Stomach

  75. Willow Quarter Burpee
  76. Areas Worked: Heart and Lungs, Arms, Core, Thighs

  77. Spinal Rock To Pistol Squat
  78. Areas Worked: Core, Thighs, Balance, Coordination

  79. Hop Squat
  80. Areas Worked: Explosiveness, Thighs, Calves

  81. X Plank
  82. Areas Worked: Core, Balance

  83. Spinal Rock To Deck Squat To Burpee With Pushup
  84. Areas Worked: Everything!

  85. Downward Dog Kickover
  86. Areas Worked: Back Of Thighs, Arms, Butt

  87. Bottom Pushup Hold
  88. Areas Worked: Arms, Chest, Core

  89. Cycle Jump
  90. Areas Worked: Balance, Explosiveness, Coordination, Legs

  91. Planker Pushup
  92. Areas Worked: Arms, Stomach

    Planker Pushup Explained:

  93. Rocking Chair
  94. Areas Worked: Core, Groin, Hips, Flexibility, Coordination

  95. Pushup Position Stomach Circuit
  96. Areas Worked: Stomach, Sides, Arms

  97. Hip Touch Twist
  98. Areas Worked: Sides, Arms, Shoulders

  99. Threading Plank To Butt Lift Hold
  100. Areas Worked: Core, butt, Coordination, Balance

Whew!  Have fun!

Talk to you soon,

~ Luke

PS – It would be totally awesome if you left me a comment with YOUR favorite bodyweight exercise :)

Kettlebell Swing Tips

exercise No Comments »

A Carson City Kettlebell Gym Post…

Kettlebells are one of my favorite training tools.  A weird looking hunk of iron you get to do cool tricks with?  Count me in!

And kettlebells are taking off in popularity, most likely because so many celebrities are using them with their personal trainers.

Kim Cattrall, Jennifer Lopez, Katherine Heigl, Penelope Cruz, Robert Downey Jr, the Pussycat Dolls,  Lance Armstrong, Mariska Hargitay, Sylvester Stallone, Clair Danes, Ethan Hawke, the cast of “300″, and Matthew McConaughey all work out with kettlebells.  (I feel more famous just for typing all those names!)

The most basic kettlebell exercise is the swing:

If you want to blast off fat, strengthen your whole body, and build scary endurance… the kettlebell swing is your go-to exercise.

Now, don’t just rush out and get a kettlebell workout DVD and try to follow along.  After a kettlebell workout with Jillian Michaels you won’t be burning fat, you’ll be looking at your spine lying on the floor and cursing her name.  Even if you don’t know anything about exercise, you can see Jillian is putting the low back at risk with her kettlebell technique:

I don’t want to try to teach the swing over the internet, you really need an experienced trainer’s eye on you to get it mastered.  BUT, if you’re kettlebelling it up already, here are a few tips to help you groove your swing:

  • NEVER round your back over at the bottom of the swing (see Jillian pic above).  Keep your low back locked into neutral position.
  • Don’t try to pull with your arms, back, or shoulders.  Drive with your butt and hamstrings instead.
  • Don’t just pick up the kettlebell.  Set yourself up perfectly first, with the kettlebell in front of you, then “hike” it back to start the first rep.
  • Keep your chest up and your back flat.
  • Don’t just let the kettlebell come down on its own.  “Snap” it back like you’re hiking a football.
  • Flex your lats (big muscles on your back) to keep your shoulders packed tight.

17 Ways To Fix Back Pain

exercise, Health, Strategies 1 Comment »

Back pain SUCKS!

I know first-hand how much.  I was rear-ended a few years ago and it messed me up big time.

When your back hurts, it’s hard to be happy or think of anything else.  It wears on you constantly.  My friends tell me that car accident aged me ten years.

So I want to share a few simple strategies that can help you with your back pain.  These have helped me.

1.  Loosen up your hips.

If your hips are tight, your back has to take on the work that you should be doing with your legs and butt.  Here’s a post with videos of my top three favorite hip loosening and strengthening exercises: http://woldfitness.com/2010/08/fixing-knee-pain-with-hip-exercises/

2.  Train with kettlebells.

I know, I know.  The personal trainer at your gym has been telling you that machines are the safest way to exercise.  But the truth is, when you exercise on a machine it can actually INJURE your back!

Machine-based training forces you to follow the path of the machine, even if you’re built too tall, too short, or too wide.  And when you’re all braced into a machine, you’ll do whatever it takes to lift the handle or push the platform, which can wreak all sorts of havok on your joints.  And…. your back is an incredibly complex series of joints and muscle levers, so machines will jack you up right quick!

“Real world” exercises like moving your own bodyweight, barbells, dumbells, and odd objects like kettlebells teach you to support and use your whole body, not just one isolated part.

One of the most info-packed articles I’ve ever written about back health has to do with kettlebells.  Check it out here: http://carsoncitychiropractor.blogspot.com/2010/07/kettle-bell-expert.html

3.  Stop eating grains, sugar, and dairy.

Grains, sugar, and dairy all have an inflammatory response in your body.  The more inflammation you have, the more joint pain you’re going to have.

Getting rid of inflammation causing foods can have an IMMEDIATE effect of reducing total body pain.

More info on…

Grains: http://woldfitness.com/2009/10/grains-suck-wheat-celia/

Sugar: http://woldfitness.com/2010/09/99-ways-sugar-is-poisoning-you-diabetes/

4.  Quit doing crunches!

My chiropractor told me that as long as people are doing crunches, he’ll have job security.

Yes, a strong core is essential for getting rid of back pain, but the old Jane Fonda-standard crunch is exactly the wrong exercise.

The way your back bends during crunches puts enormous stress on the disks in your low back.  And studies have found that after doing crunches your back is actually able to handle LESS stress!

Reverse crunches, planks, and rotational core exercises are all going to strengthen your stomach muscles without damaging your back (provided you find a trainer who teaches you correctly and then watches your form).  Check out tip number 11 below.

5.  Learn the Cook Hip Lift.

This drill will help you fire up your butt muscles, so they can take on the load you’ve been putting on your back.

6. Fix your sleeping position.

Just think, if your sleeping posture is bad, you’re spending 6-9 hours tweaking your back!

If you sleep on your back, put a pillow under your knees.

If you sleep on your side, put a pillow between your knees.

If you sleep on your stomach, STOP!

7. Get in line.

If you’re trying to exercise and your back is jacked up, you’re likely to make it worse – even if you’re doing the exercises correctly!

See, sitting, postural problems, and bad exercise habits have mis-aligned your spine, and until it’s in place, you’re just training it to stay misaligned.  The pain won’t get worse, but it won’t feel much better, either.

I get regular chiropractic adjustments to make sure my spine stays in line.  Here in Carson City is the best chiropractor I’ve ever been treated by: Dr. Brian Russell.

Here’s his website and contact info: http://www.chiropracticcarsoncity.com/

The big mistake people make with chiropractic is only going in when their back hurts.  That’s like exercising only when you get fat, it doesn’t work!

You need to see your chiro regularly, to stop back pain before it starts!  We get constant small misalignments in daily life, they add up over time.  Regular chiropractic treatments keep your back healthy and happy.

8. Learn the Shin Box Switch.

The guy who taught this to me said to use it with clients who are becoming “chair shaped.”

It’s a great drill that I do at regular intervals whenever I’ve been sitting for a long time (like when I’m writing awesome health and fitness posts and bootcamp workouts!)

9. Get a ten dollar massage!

Go to amazon.com and order a full-round foam roller.  There are lots to choose from.  Then do this series of self-massaging exercises every day:

Every day you build up little bundles of scar tissue in your muscles.  This scar tissue binds up and pulls you out of alignment.  The best way to break up this scar tissue and prevent it from re-forming is a daily massage over the most common trouble spots.

A foam roller lets you massage yourself effectively without having to visit a spa every day.  (And they are fun to hit people with!)

10. Drink more water.

Drinking more water can help you lose belly fat, which will definitely help relieve back pain.  (Here’s how drinking water affects metabolism: http://woldfitness.com/2010/09/raise-your-metabolism-without-diet-or-exercise/)

But a lot of people experience back pain because they are dehydrated.  Sometimes people will come into my bootcamp gym and point to where their back hurts.

It’s actually their kidneys!  Kidney pain can radiate through the back, and a lot of kidney pain is caused by not drinking enough water.

I recommend working up to drinking an ounce of water per pound of bodyweight every day.  Since this seems SUPER HIGH to most people, set a bare minimum of half an ounce per pound of bodyweight.  (If you weigh 200 pounds drink a MINIMUM of 100 ounces of water a day)

Or you can follow the “pee rule” I learned as an athlete:  Look at your urine, if it’s brown stop what you’re doing and drink a lot of water.  If it’s yellow, drink more water.  If it’s clear, drink more water anyway!

11. Strengthen your core!

Your stomach, side, and back muscles all make up what is called your “core.”

(Don’t worry, I’m not going to try and dazzle you by talking about muscles with names like multifidus, transverse abdominus, and quadratus lumborum ;) )

Here are a few posts I’ve done with videos of REAL core exercises that will strengthen your middle and help get rid of back pain:

ValSlide Core Exercises: http://woldfitness.com/2001/09/five-valslide-core-exercises-for-my-facebook-amigos/

Bootcamp Core Exercises : http://woldfitness.com/2010/11/7-boot-camp-core-exercises/

“Secret” Core Exercises: http://woldfitness.com/2010/08/5-confidential-core-exercises-ab-stomach-training/

(All of the exercises above are advanced, talk to your trainer to see which are right for you)

12. Build low back endurance.

Dr. Stuart McGill, the MAN when it comes to back health, says that lower back endurance is more important for preventing pain and injury than is low back strength.

It makes perfect sense if you think about it, no matter how strong you are, if your back is tired you’ll have bad posture and when you try to use your strength, you injure your back.

I like to use the Bird Dog exercise for building back endurance:

Two big mistakes most people make with this exercise are:

a) Looking up or forward.  Keep your neck neutral and look at the floor.

b) Sagging or twisting the low back or hips.  Envision a cafeteria tray on your back, and keep all four corners of the tray even.

13. Dehydrate your spine.

When you sleep, your spinal column fills with fluid.  If you start exercising or stretching or even bend over wrong to pick up your slippers, you can herniate your low back.

Before you do any bending, lifting, or twisting, stand or walk for at least ten minutes to let the fluid in your spinal column dissipate.

I walk around my condo complex first thing every morning while my kettle heats up for making tea.  All you need to do is stand up tall before you start any activities.

14. Quit eating soy.

Like tip number 3 above, soy is a food that causes all sorts of damage inside your body.

The more your cells are under chemical attack from your food, the less your body will be able to focus on healing and strengthening your back.

Check out my in-depth thoughts on soy: http://woldfitness.com/2010/04/soy-my-nipples-and-your-health/

And here is a soy horror story (WARNING: Adult Language!!): http://woldfitness.com/2011/01/soy-tried-to-kill-me-profanity-warning/

15. Double down on hip flexor and piriformis stretches.

Tight hip flexors and piriformis muscles cause your pelvis to tilt forward and pull your spine out of alignment.  To help fix that, do a LOT of these two stretches (several times a day, not just before workouts):

16. Read this blog post:

http://carsoncitychiropractor.blogspot.com/2010/05/check-out-these-great-tips-for-low-back.html

17. Lose weight and fix muscle imbalances.

When you gain weight, it pulls your hips out of alignment. Then when you exercise to lose weight, the weight might go, but the muscle imbalances remain!

So losing weight is the FIRST step, then second is to work with someone who understands muscle imbalances and how to fix them.

I was going to make a video about this, but my bro Kevin beat me to it! Check it out:

All right!

I have another 33 tips for getting rid of back pain already written down, so make sure to subscribe to my newsletter and enter your email in the box at the top right of this page :)

Talk to you soon,

~ Luke

Off-Day Workout And “Old Man” Warm Up

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Special Guest Bootcamp Exercise Post

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS, CTT
101 Bodyweight Exercises

This article is long overdue.

Today I want to talk about the best off-day workouts you can
do between hard sessions of Training.

In most cases, simply walking, biking, hiking, stretching/easy yoga,
and easy bodyweight exercises are all good enough off-day activities.

Doing 500 kettlebell swings and 200 pushups on an off-day might be
fine once in a while for an advanced person, but in reality, that
is not an off-day. That’s a workout.

The 5 true purposes of off-day activity are:

1) For health (if your life is sedentary, i.e. desk job + commute +
sitting down leisure time), then you simply need to get up and get
moving for 30 minutes each day at a minimum.

If you are a manual laborer who walks 3+ miles per day or does 1+
hour of moderate activity (lifting boxes, etc), then you really
don’t need to obsess about off-day activity – stretching, foam
rolling and massage, and meditation are probably best for your health.

We’re not trying workout on our off-days. We’re just trying to
improve our general health and well-being.

2) Mobility (aka Yoga) – In many cases, we can do low-intensity
bodyweight exercises and mobility drills to fix our bodies.

This includes foam rolling, simple torso (ab endurance exercises),
shoulder mobility drills, hip mobility drills, moderate bodyweight
exercises, and stretching. This will not qualify as a workout, but
will get you a bit of a sweat going.

And there are some cool new bodyweight exercises in this program:

=> 101 Bodyweight Exercises

Combined with walking, mobility exercises – such as those found
in my “Old Man Warm-Up” would be an excellent way to spend 45
minutes each day.

3) Enhanced recovery from past workouts and preparation for future
workouts – same movements as above but this is a different benefit.

By doing light activity, we get blood flow to the sore areas and
this might help recovery, decreasing soreness and getting us ready
for our next training session.

4) Social time with family and friends and errands – Incorporate
light activity into your daily life. Take the dog for a longer
walk, meet your friends for a walk, play extra long with the kids
outside, or do your errands by foot rather than by car. Heck, walk
around a shopping mall and people watch.

5) Relaxation – Unplug. Go for a walk without a phone, ipod, or in
my case, a portable CD player. (Yes, I have one and I use it
regularly.) Let your mind wander as your body wanders.

That said, what I do on my off-days is something that I call my
“Old Man Warm-up”, that I also do before all of my hard workouts.

It lasts about 25 minutes, and in the list below I’ve added a few
other exercises to give you a little extra sweat without stealing
from your recovery.

The Old-Man Warm-Up/Off-Day Activity Session

1) Foam rolling: Upper back, lats, upper back/posterior deltoid,
TFL, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, adductors, hamstrings, glutes.

2) Acuball rolling: calves, glute, biceps (I have a sore left biceps).

This takes about 5-10 minutes.

Then I move into a bodyweight circuit.

3) Cross-body arms (also called X’s in some manuals)
4) Bodyweight squat
5) Bird Dog or Bird Dog with Leg Abduction
6) Glute squeeze
7) Plank or side plank or ball plank or bird-dog plank
8] Band pull (done 4 times at various points in circuit)
9) Overhead lunge (using broomstick)
10) 1-Leg RDL
11) Stick-up
12) Chest stretch, shoulder stretch
13) Psoas/hip flexor stretch
14) Downward dog stretch (hips up position)
15) Cossack lunge
16) Yoga Pigeon stretch
*17) Stability Ball Leg Curl – 10 reps
*18) Pushup – 25% of max reps
*19) 1-leg lying hip extension
*20) Chin-up – 25% of max reps
21) Spiderman Climb with 3-second hold at top
22) Forearm stretches
23) Neck/trap stretches
24) Leg swings
*25) Total Body Extension – 10 reps

I hope this off-day activity guide clarifies the purpose and
recommendations for these days.

Add a little gratitude and meditation for bonus karmic points and
you’ll feel like you’ve done something without doing too much.

Keep rocking,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS, CTT
101 Bodyweight Exercises