Fake it till you make it

"You know it all by heart | Why are you standing in one place?" Gwen Stefani, What You Waiting For?

Sometimes it's impossible for me to wring out an ounce of motivation. Really impossible. Cause then I don't want to work out. If I'm at the gym I'll find myself doing things half-assed and that's not doing me any good--or the folks in the pool if I happen to be teaching a class.

So what do you do? Sometimes you just gotta fake it.

I know, I know. "Faking it" stirs up bad thoughts but stay with me. Have you heard that if you smile, even when you're not happy, that your mood can improve nonetheless? Same principle. You can fake enthusiasm and start to benefit from it.

Go from faking it to making it:
Listen to some kick butt music. Maybe all you need to do is hear a line from a song to go from zero to 65.
Change your scenery: Get outside and run if all you are doing is clocking miles on a treadmill. If you are already running, switch direction or change your route.
A little visualization goes a long way. Imagine yourself 5 pounds thinner or running that extra mile.
Get some rest! Maybe you are overtraining. If you have been working your butt off you may need some extra downtime to let your body catch up.

Are you feeling this yet?

Bone Up

"What comes around goes around" Britney Spears, Showdown

Guess who 80% of the suffers of osteoporosis are? Anyone, anyone? Unfortunately, if you guessed women, you're right. That number is staggering.

Guess what the Osteoporosis Foundation recommends as a preventative measure against osteoporsis? Anyone, anyone? If you guessed weight training, you're spot on! And that is fantastic.

Get a headstart on that condition though by starting to weight training early enough in life so you don't have to worry about osteoporosis. But if that's not an option (late bloomers, you know who you are!) you can still increase the strength of your bones by increasing bone density. All is not lost!

If you are a women concerned about otsteoporosis, pick up some weights. If you are a women concerned about her overall health, pick up some weights. If you are a women wanting to lose body fat....well, 'm sure you get the idea. Here's one you may not be expecting: If there's a woman in your life who's health you care about...encourage HER to pick up weights. (Ok, men...you can be included in this one, too)

Who have you encouraged today?

Women & Weight Training

What do you do when you are in a pinch for an entry? Borrow your own work, of course! Below is the research paper I drafted for my exercise physiology class. I feel weird about posting it here, but...what the hell. I need an entry and I've been pressed for time. So here you go. If you're at all interested... I got an A on this paper. ;) Oh, and I can't find my works cited, so ignore all the superscripts throughout...

Cheers!

There is a general perception that weight training is strictly for men. After all, women don’t need to be stronger, do they? And who wants big, rippling, bulky muscles? Weight rooms are testosterone infested territories that no right-minded woman would dare venture into. That’s just for guys, right? Wrong. Here’s a newsflash: It is critical that this common misconception be changed. The sooner more women begin to lift weights, the healthier these women will become overall. Weight training just may be the single best thing a woman can do to improve her health—for both now and later in life.

Women at any age can benefit from weight training. Younger women will enjoy the end results when their clothes fit more loosely (or better yet, when a new wardrobe is in order!) and their bodies are sleeker and tighter. Sexy muscles are in high demand thanks to well-toned celebrities. But while these stars can afford to effectively “buy” their bodies, the average woman can certainly get the same results from weight training at home or at a local gym with proper instruction. Starting a healthy trend that transcends into a lifestyle change can help women prevent the cold hard realities of aging: stiff joints, brittle bones and reduced mobility. Older women who are far less active now than they may have been thirty or forty years ago will benefit from weight training. While impaired muscle power is linked to disability and limited function in older people¹, it is never too late to slow down Father Time. Weight training can stave off the effects of osteoporosis, a degenerative disease that targets more women than men. The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends “weight bearing and resistance training exercises” to help prevent osteoporosis² by increasing bone density. Improved functionality can be accomplished as simply as wearing a weighted vest. A study by the American Geriatric Society found that seniors with mobility problems gained strength in the lower body by wearing a weighted vest and stair climbing for up to a maximum of 45 minutes, three times a week for twelve weeks³. This improved mobility can only boost self esteem because the aging senior can rely on herself more than others.

The average woman is likely unaware of how important muscle strength is in her day to day life. But whether it’s lifting groceries, opening jars of pickles, or repeatedly picking up children all day long…muscle strength is required to do all this and more. A woman who doesn’t possess great muscle strength will tire easily and spend more time desperately trying to get rested. Building muscles strength will improve this day to day functionality. In a study completed by the University of Massachusetts and appearing in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, both men and women participated in a resistance training program to assess the variability in muscle size and strength changes. After twelve weeks of training, researchers found that women made more considerable gains in relative strength than men⁴. And if there ever were a group of women who should benefit from gains in strength it would have to be the elderly. Thankfully, they can and do. “I started working with a 92 year-old woman after she fell and broke her ankle,” says Miriam Nelson, an exercise physiologist at Tufts University and author of Strong Women Stay Young. “She now lifts 12 lbs with each leg, and 8 to 10 lbs with each hand. Her balance has improved significantly, and she’s bowling again.”⁵

The most amusing misconception that women have is that weight training will make them bulk up (fortunately most women don’t have the necessary testosterone in their body to attain such a feat). But in actuality, the reverse is far more likely; the average woman will lose fat as she builds muscle. Indeed, researchers at the University of Minnesota conducted a two year study that found that women who strength trained one hour a day, twice a week lost almost 4% body fat while their non-exercising peers lost nothing⁶. And lifting weights can increase the body’s metabolism as much as 7%⁷. So while the typical woman rests comfortably on the couch enjoying the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy, her body will be hard at work repairing and building up the proteins in her muscles that she shredded when curling those fifteen pound dumbbells. What does that do in the long run? This results in a leaner, more sculpted body, that’s what! So if strength training is such a fabulous answer to a chiseled body, what is keeping women out of the weight room? Could it really be the fear of bulking up? “I’ve never had a female client who isn’t worried about that,” says Larry Krug, a personal trainer at Crunch Fitness in Los Angeles. “It’s the very first thing they’ll ask about.”⁸ And the idea of “de-feminization” of college athletes who strength train continues to be a major concern of coaches, athletes and parents.⁹ This antiquated perception of weight training for women is proven nonsense and especially disheartening considering that a weight training regimen can significantly improve the quality of life for women of all ages.

You can call it whatever you want: weight training, strength training or even resistance training. The important thing is to Do It. The many proven benefits of lifting weights will only improve the quality of life for our mothers, sisters, best friends and wives. Creating a support system for women is a necessity for those who aren’t initially comfortable entering the “male dominated” weight rooms. This could be as simple as getting friends together to lift, spot and gossip. Ultimately women will discover that the gender gap is closing quickly in the weight room as more females discover the benefits of weight training.

Deadlifts

"Don't try to push your luck, just get outta my way" AC/DC, Back in Black

I'm not sure why these are called deadlifts. The name doesn't quite inspire me to jump up and perform this exercise but I will tell you this: deadlifts deliver. This exercise is a personal favorite.

I've learned something very significant about deadlifts that I want to share. Most people do them wrong.
Important things to keep in mind when performing a deadlift:

1. Don't round out your back. It needs to stay fairly straight.

2. Bend from your hips, not your waist. Big difference.

3. Don't go too far deeply into the stretch...think about your hamstrings.

You can don't have to use a barbell with plates to perform this exercise . Dumbbells will work just dandy. Your payoff will be a nice, tight... set of hamstrings.

If you haven't already, click this link to see this exercise in action.

On the ball

Bouncy balls are no longer for kids.

Once you've done a set of crunches on one,it's easy to see why exercise balls are becoming quite popular. They give you an amazing area to work from, allowing for a greater range of motion. Your standard crunch has finally met it's match.

Try completing a set up crunches on an exercise ball. Seated comfortably, roll yourself down until your low back is resting on the ball. Your knees should be over your ankles.

Go ahead,now. Crunch. When you come back down, angle farther back than parallel. Here's where the ass kicking will commence.

After you've completed a set (12? 15? What are you comfortable with?) try the same thing working the obliques. Those "side" abs. Lead with your shoulder up and across toward your opposite hip. Switch sides.

You'll feel these babies burn pretty quickly.

Why stop at crunches? Grab those weights!

Sitting on an exercise ball while lifting will engage your core muscles to keep you balanced. Two for the price of one. Seat yourself in the middle of the ball, keeping your tailbone down and sitting tall. Don't slouch! If your feet are more widely spread apart it will be easier to maintain your balance. The more closely set together, the more difficult it is & the more your working to maintain your balance. Grab your weights and knock out some arms: bicep curls, butterflys, shoulder flys, overhead tricep press, lat pulls, the works. Tell me if you don't feel the difference in the next day!

What about pushups?

Of course you can do pushups with an exercise ball! Roll yourself out, arms comfortably spaced. You can make this exercise easier or harder by where you position yourself on the ball. Belly on the ball makes it fairly easy. Effective, but easy. Roll yourself so that your thighs are resting on top and it will be harder. More hardcore? Keep rolling the ball downward. Try your shins or your feet only resting on the ball. Then I'll bow to you.

There's tons more when it comes to exercises on a ball.

Try some of the links below for more ideas.

Bally Fitness

About.com

Rest

"Can you stand up or will you just fall down?" Hole, Celebrity Skin

Are you resting enough when you exercise? This question touches a couple of bases:

• When you're weight training you should rest your body between 30-60 seconds between sets. This gives your muscles a moment to recover some energy and you a chance to catch your breath. Don't keel over, now!
• Don't work the same muscle groups two days in a row. Try to work your upper and lower body on alternating days. This will give your muscles optimum time to rest and recover and--gasp!--build.

If you continually work the same muscles over and over without any rest your muscles won't have a chance to recover. And you may not see the type of gains you want if you don't give your body time to do that. Visualize this: When you weight train you are ripping to shreds tiny microscopic muscle fibers. When you rest your body repairs those tears. As you increase the amount of weight that you train with your body figures that you need more fibers to help lift the weight. And that, my friends, is how you build muscle. Bottom line, treat yourself to a break.

For more information on the importance of rest while strength training check out this article.

Make a splash

Swimming is an amazing way to exercise and blast calories out of the water (sorry, I couldn't help myself!). On average, a 150 pound woman can burn as much as 120 calories in 10 short minutes by swimming just 10 laps in a pool. Not too shabby, I'd say!

Read more about the benefits of swimming here.

Club 49 rocks

What frustrates me to no end is the idea that PE in schools is irrelevant. But in at least one San Diego area school, educators are recognizing that high risk kids need intervention...and they need it now. Way to go San Marco Middle School!