Friday, April 4, 2014

BUILD A GLADIATOR BODY !!!

 If you have been looking for the ultimate program to build the body of a Roman Gladiator, look no further ! go pick up this Program Now, you will NOT be disappointed

http://soldierfit.usn123.hop.clickbank.net/?rd=gp

Friday, May 4, 2012

Why Strength Training is great for the Elderly

   Most of you have heard about the Elderly slipping or tripping


 then falling more often than most people,not the broken hip 


causing the fall but just a mild slip or imbalance followed by the 


fall.


   As we age and start moving slower and lifting lighter and light 


items, we start using less of our Fast Twitch muscle fibers and 


more Slow Twitch muscle fibers. Fast Twitch muscle fibers are the 


type of fibers that have a high output of force and velocity but 


very low endurance. Slow Twitch have a low force production but 


higher endurance.

   What happens with aging is that these Fast Twitch fibers are 


not needed as much anymore so the body starts to break down the 


nerve pathways and "Atrophy" or shrink the Fast Twitch fibers, 


making them "dusty" and less responsive. When the Elderly person 


slips, their Fast Twitch Muscle fibers don't fire like they use 


to, this situation happens faster than the person could 


consciously respond in order to prevent the fall, that would be 


whats called a "Central Nervous System" response.


    In young individuals this is normally an "Autonomic Nervous 


System" or Automatic response/reflex,something you don't have to 


think about, your body reacts to catch you. Exercises like Yoga, 


Pilates and Stretching only serve to compound this state in the 


Elderly. 


   The best plan for older folks is to do Strength training, lift 


weights,  just a moderate poundage, or jump rope if possible, and 


at the very least,get one of those small exercise trampolines and 


have the Elderly gently bounce up and down on it to stimulate 


their Fast Twitch fibers, if they are unable to even do this, 


balancing on one leg, balancing on a "Bosu" ball or any balance 


training will help rebuild those Neural Pathways  to the Fast 


Twitch Fibers and the next time they trip or slip their body will 


react "Autonomically" and help to prevent them from falling 


anymore. 


Stay Strong, Nick.


Thursday, April 19, 2012

WHEN STARTING A WORKOUT REGIMEN, DONT OVER DO IT !!

    I know, I know, seems like a no-brainer right ?! Its Personal Training 101, don't thrash your client in the first workout to try to impress them to stay with you, you will just make them so sore that there is no way they will be able to wash their hair or get dressed, let alone choose to let you torture them more, unless they love pain. 
    Most people will do this to themselves, thinking they can do more than they should and the next day they say, " I'm not that sore", then 2 days after, they are so sore they can't move. This is called "DOMS", or "Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness". I suggest that the first 3 workouts you do, start with a lighter weight and do just ONE set of ONE exercise for EACH muscle group. Example: 


1. bench press - 1 set of 15 reps, medium difficulty weight, enough to barely feel the burn.
2. Squats - same as above
3. back rows - same
4. shoulder press - same
5. core front planks - 1 set of 15 seconds holding plank
6. Bicep curls - same as #1
7. Tricep extensions - same


    This is just an example. If you do this workout, I suggest you do this on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.On your off days you can do more "functional" activities to get blood pumping thru the worked muscles. After a week, add one more set to each exercise, then another on week three, stay at 3 sets of 15 until you stop getting results. you should only go to "failure" on the last set, no more. when you can complete all three sets to 15 reps, add 5 pounds to the weights on the next time you do it. 
    Ok, so my point in all this is, you are not working out to impress anyone (at least not until you hit the beach), egos in the gym get you injured, please take it slow, give your body time to adapt to the new stresses and you will be fine. think of this in the same way as you would going the the tanning bed, essentially your body reacts the same way, you wouldn't go in for your first tan session and lay there for 30 minutes would you ?, not unless you wanted to know how a Maine Lobster feels !!! Any questions ??? Thanks for reading !!!


                    STAY STRONG !!!!!
              
                    Nick 
  

WHY MOTHER NATURE "HARDWIRED" US TO BE FAT AND LAZY

  Mother Nature, she is wonderful, beautiful, but she could not foresee our future. There is a natural reason behind why we gain body fat so easily, and why we all sit down to "rest" every chance we get.           
  She created us to SURVIVE. Anyone who knows anything about survival will tell you that it is all about conserving calories, taking it easy as to not burn off more energy than we get from "Hunting and Gathering", She created us to handle times of famine and to be efficient when we needed it. In a survival situation you never want to expend more calories than you would gain once you could take a game animal or find roughage to refuel, you want the most "bang for you buck". She also created our brains and other organs and muscles to run off of glucose (blood sugar) or Ketone Bodies, this instinct to feed our brains drives us to find food, especially SWEET food. Living in this modern age of Carbohydrate "plenty",  this drive causes us to crave carbs and sugar non stop, and because our brain is greedy, it tells our fat cells to store any excess glucose, and the liver stores extra glucose as well for times of famine, but because we eat so much sugar nowadays, our insulin is always slightly elevated, known as "insulin resistance". So once the brain uses the glucose in the blood, having this elevated insulin tells your liver and fat cells to hold on to the excess glucose they have stored and instead makes you hungry so you go eat more sugar and this process repeats. It is a huge vicious cycle of eating and storing and weight gain. The other aspect that compounds this situation is the fact that we are driven by our instinct to conserve energy and relax at every opportunity, further causing storage of excess energy intake. So, to sum this up and adhering to the "KISS" principle; 1: Be more active, stand longer, walk more, exercise more, yada yada yada.
2: Reduce your Sugar intake, if possible cut out ALL added sugar and soda and all simple Carbs like potatoes and Bread.....ALL BREAD, (I know most of you will never give up bread, at least reduce your consumption could help). 


  This is a highly simplified explanation and suggestions to help you get started on your path to health and fitness. Please if you have ANY questions,just comment and I will respond !! Thanks for reading !!


                                                                                       STAY STRONG !!
                                                                                                      Nick

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Paralysis by Analysis

Paralysis by Analysis

   I'd like to start this post with something I believe to be a huge issue in America today, "Paralysis by Analysis". This is when you research and research a subject so much, in so many different formats, from so many different sources that you end up so confused as to what you should do that you end up doing nothing. Its the same as going out to eat and the menu is so big that you have no idea what to order, however if you were to go to In-N-Out Burger where the menu is limited to like six items you make your choice very easily. I was at this point a few years ago in my search for the proper way we should be fueling the "Human Machine", so many different ways to eat, "Organic", "Raw", "Vegan", "Vegetarian", blah blah blah, ad infinitum ! then I found the "Paleolithic" diet, and from a Survival/Natural Living point of view, its really a lifestyle and way of eating and not a "fad Diet". Now I am not saying this is the end all be all for all but I feel its the closest as we may get in this Modern World, but I will get into the Paleo thing in later posts, The Point of this post, for me, is to help you all find the right path, call me the "Pathfinder" if you will, to get you to the point of making the healthiest overall decision for the wellbeing of you and your loved ones. That's a short primer to a very overlooked syndrome in not only this industry, but in American Culture period.