Jun

11

Common Workout Mistakes - The First Day Marathon

Filed Under Exercise, Motivation, Work Out | 1 Comment

Thisentryis part 1 of 6 in the series SERIES - Common Workout Mistakes

We talked about work outs a few weeks ago and I thought I would discuss common workout mistakes this week. These are all the things I did wrong when I first started out. Hopefully, you can avoid repeating my mistakes.

My Mistake

The first and worst mistake I made when I started working out was trying too hard. I was frustrated by years of being out of shape and a bit angry with myself for not doing anything about it so far. I was determined to make a change and I wanted to do it NOW!. I signed up for the gym, I read all the workout books and I knew exactly what I wanted my workout to be. I even spent a couple of hours organizing my workout into a nice spreadsheet.

Reality Sets In

Guess what happened. I got to the gym and I just couldn’t do it. I planned for 45 minutes on the treadmill but I could barely do 10. I planned six different exercises with 4 sets of 10 reps each, but I could barely do 1 set. I planned for what I thought was a reasonable weight but I couldn’t lift even half that much. I planned for 90 minutes total at the gym but I didn’t know where anything was and it took me an hour just to figure out which machines I should use and where they were.

The exercises that I did do left me in pain. I was trying too hard and using too much weight. I almost tore a muscle in my arm and my back was sore for days after that work out. Even the treadmill nearly killed me because I wasn’t used to running or walking on a moving surface.

I left the gym dejected, disappoint and dispirited. I almost didn’t come back.  Even though I knew I was out of shape, I had somehow expected to do better. I figured that my determination and commitment to getting healthy would make me perform at a level far higher than I should have expected. However, no matter how determined you are, your body still has limits and if you’re as out of shape as I was, then those limits are pretty low.

Lesson Learned

Trying too hard can lead to injuries both physical and psychological. Your body can’t take much strain at this point and you’re very likely to cause yourself a serious injury if you try too hard. For example, if you’re overweight like I was, running can be very bad for your feet due to the hard impact. Also, trying too hard can be depressing. You try hard enough and fail bad enough that you don’t feel like trying again. That almost happened to me.

A good workout should challenge you but it shouldn’t defeat you. That means you need to pick weights and times that you can actually perform. If you’re going to do sets of 10 reps then you need to do them with a weight that you can lift 10 times. Yes, you should be straining by that 10th rep, but it should be doable. Same for cardio. If you can’t run then walk. Walking is fine. It will get you used to the treadmill and will still work off some calories. If you can’t bike at a fast pace then bike at a slower but steady pace. Set yourself goals that you can achieve and then slowly improve them.

For example, my initial goal was to run on the treadmill for 45 minutes at 6.5 mph. I failed miserably. So I changed my goal. I started with 10 minutes of walking at about 4mph. Yah, sounds pretty easy but that was all I could do back then. Then I slowly increased that goal. Each week I would add a minute to the time, or .1 mph to the speed. Sure, it wasn’t as impressive as powering through that first day’s workout on willpower alone, but it was a lot healthier for both mind and body.

Summary

So no, you’re not going to run a marathon on your first workout. Instead, you need to set goals that challenge you while still being realistic. Try those goals out and then slowly increase them if they feel easy. Your body will thank you for it.

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Jun

12

Common Workout Mistakes - The Bad Workout Partner

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Thisentryis part 2 of 6 in the series SERIES - Common Workout Mistakes

We’re talking about common workout mistakes this week. We discussed trying a bit too hard yesterday .  Today, we’re going to talk about another common mistake, picking the wrong partner.

Why a partner?

Many people like to workout with a partner.  It’s natural, we’re social creatures and we enjoy being social.  If we’re going to spend a good amount of time at the gym, then we may as well do it with a friend.  However, there’s one problem here, you’re at the gym to workout.  If your choice of a workout partner is not conducive to that, then you made a bad choice.  Let’s take a look my own mistake as an example.

My Mistake

When I first started working out, I did so alone.  I was a bit embarrassed about how out of shape I was so I didn’t involve any of my friends in my workouts.  Then, as I was  working out one evening, I met an old friend who happened to frequent the same gym.  We chatted for a while and he made some comment about looking for a workout partner.  One thing led to another and we decided to workout together.  It seemed like a good idea to me, I had always heard about how workout partners can really help motivate and support.  Plus I was a bit flattered that someone else wanted to workout with me.   However, I quickly found that some parters, you’re better off without.

The Problems

My new workout partner was never on time.  I would always spend 10 to 15 minutes waiting for them.  Sometimes they didn’t show up at all which was frustrating.  I felt like I was wasting my time.

My partner wasn’t supportive at all.  He was in much better shape than me and he made me very aware of that time and time again.  He would always comment on how well he was doing and how much I needed to improve.  Yah, thanks, I was aware of that.  How about helping me improve instead of criticizing?

His workout style was completely incompatible with mine.  He wanted to do something different each and every day.  He had no plan at all for what part of his body he was going to work on or in what way.  That method might have worked for him but it didn’t for me, which meant we were always arguing about what exercises to do that day.

Trying Again

It got so bad that I actually switched gyms as a way of starting over on my own.  I worked out alone for a couple of years before trying out a new workout partner.  This time was much better.  Our styles were far more compatible.  Even though he was just starting out, he still challenged me into improving my form and routine.  As for me, I learned my lesson from my old partner and tried to be as helpful as possible.  We usually agreed on what exercises we wanted to do and when, and when we disagreed, it was quickly resolved.  Workouts became a fun social activity while still being good exercise.

Lesson Learned

So what’s the lesson learned?  Well, the main lesson is to choose your workout partner carefully.  Remember that you’re working out because you want to be healthier, not because you want to be more sociable.  It’s nice if you can make your workout into a social event and there are many good ways to do this, but this is not your main goal.  Your main goal is to get a good workout and that’s what you should focus on.

So what makes for a good workout partner?

Reliability and timeliness - Is your partner going to be there on time?  Are they going to let you know in advance if they’re going to miss a day?

Support - Regardless of their fitness level, your partner can be a great source of support or an awful source of discouragement.  Are they the type of person who will motivate and challenge you or will they complain about everything and drag you down with them?

Flexibility - Do they insist on doing everything their way or are they willing to work with you and compromise if you disagree?  There’s nothing that says you and your partner must agree on everything but you should be able to come to a mutually agreeable resolution when you do disagree.

Compatible workout style - Is your partner all about Cardio while you enjoy weights?  Do they insist on doing 1 hour of jazzercize while you want to do push ups and sit ups?  It’s great to have a partner with different ideas on what makes a good workout.  Those ideas can inspire you.  However, if you and your partner think of working out in completely different terms, that might be an issue.

Summary

As always, the best solution is communication.  Make sure you and your prospective partner talk before you agree to workout together.  Make sure each of you understands the other’s priorities and preferences.  Talk about scheduling and what time works for both of you.  If you work all of this out ahead of time, you’ll end up with a partner that makes your workout more effective and a lot more fun.

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Jun

13

Common Workout Mistakes - Bad workout form

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Thisentryis part 3 of 6 in the series SERIES - Common Workout Mistakes

We’re discussing common workout mistakes this week. We covered trying too hard on Monday and working out with a bad partner on Tuesday. Today, we talk about a different kind of mistake, bad form.

Overview

Any book, article or blog about fitness and exercise will eventually talk about form, but they rarely explain what form is. So before we dive into a discussion of bad form, let’s talk about good form and what it is. When you work out, you’re trying to exercise specific muscles. For example, if you do a sit up, you’re trying to workout your ab muscles. Yes, you’ll also workout a few other muscles but the main purpose of a sit up is to exercise the core muscles in your abdomen. Form, is your method of doing the exercise. If reps and sets are your quantity, then form is your quality. It determines how well you’re doing these exercises which in turn determines how good of a workout your muscles get.

Quick example of good form

Let’s take a look at good form for a second. Here’s a short little video of someone doing curls. Barbell curls are supposed to work out your biceps and they’re a very common exercise for people at the gym. The gentleman in the video has very good form. Notice that he’s lifting the weight in one steady and controlled motion. He’s doing the full range of motion, from arms almost straight down all the way to arms folded up by his sides. He’s also keeping the rest of his body relatively stable. These are the three key parts of good form. Try to move only the muscles you’re targeting, go through the full range of motion and move them slowly and steadily.

Now men are the most common misusers of form. For some reason, men tend to think that weight is the only thing that matters. They load up on the highest weight possible and then have to use bad form in order to lift it. However, women can also have a problem with form. I’ve noticed that women very often will have the opposite problem. Where as men are using bad form because they’re trying to show off, women will sometimes use bad form because they seem self conscious about their bodies and exercises.

Bad form in men

Men will typically have bad form in terms of speed and stability. Because they tend to use weights that are too heavy, they have to use more than the targetted muscles to lift them. Remember those bicep curls from the video? How often have you seen a guy at the gym doing those exercises, only instead of keeping his body stable, it seems like his whole body is rocking back and forth? That’s poor form. It means that person is lifting too much. His targeted muscles can’t handle it so he has to use his entire body to help. He’s not getting a very good workout.

Another common mistake is what I call “the kick”. Again, using the curl as an example, how often have you seen someone suddenly lift a weight really hard, allow it to slow down as it reaches the top and then essentially lets it drop down uncontrollably? Again, that’s bad form. This person cannot lift the weight they’re using. They’re “kicking” really hard for a second with their whole body to accelerate the weight and let it build momentum and the whole rest of their exercise is actually gravity.

Bad form in women

Bad form in women is less common but it still happens. From my observations, women typically have a problem with range of motion. Many women, given the exact same exercise, would only move the weight through a narrow range. Instead of moving the arms all the way up until the hands are at shoulder level, they curl just enough so that their arms are at a 90 degree angle. They’re cheating themselves out of half the exercise by using this bad form. Having talked to a few women about this, it seems like it’s an issue of self awareness or being too self conscious. One woman explained it to me as “if I go through the whole range I feel like everyone is watching me and thinking I’m some body builder or fitness freak.” I’m still not sure I understand this completely so if there’s a woman reading this article who could explain or elaborate, I’d sure appreciate it :)

Keys to proper form

Regardless, both men and women seem to have problems with bad form. Remember, when doing an exercise, the three keys to good form are:

STABILITY - Keep your body stable. Try to move only the part of your body that you’re attempting to workout. If it’s a leg exercise, then your legs should be the ones moving. If it’s a bicep exercise, then your biceps should be moving, not the rest of your body.

FULL RANGE - Don’t stop half way. If you’re doing a curl then do the whole curl. If you’re doing an extension, then extend completely, not half way. Don’t cheat yourself out of half the exercise.

CONTROLLED SPEED - Do your workout slowly. Lift the weight in a slow and controlled manner. Even as your lower the weight you should still do it slowly and carefully. Don’t let gravity control the weight on the way down. Slow controlled motions are what you’re aiming for.

Summary

A lower weight exercise done with proper form is far better than an exercise done with more weight but poor form. If you need to lower the weight a bit to achieve proper form then do it. Proper form will help prevent injuries at the same time that it improves your workout.

As always, feel free to send me emails or add comments if you have any questions about this topic or any other fitness and health related subject.

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Jun

14

Common Workout Mistakes - The post workout binge

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Thisentryis part 4 of 6 in the series SERIES - Common Workout Mistakes

Why do you work out? Is it to build muscles? To be healthier? To burn calories? Those are all great reasons, but if you had asked me that question a few years back out I would have told you “so I can eat more!” Yep, I would workout just to justify my eating. I would hike or go to the gym and then binge on food. Even worse, my post workout meals were usually my worst in terms of healthy food. I can’t count how many times I would come back from a great hike only to finish out the afternoon in some buffet. These days I watch other people I work out with. They go on hikes and then have a giant burrito. They work out at the gym and then down two of those energy drinks. I even see some following in my own unhealthy footsteps by following up their great bike ride with a buffet and indulging in a binge that makes me cringe in memory.

Why binge?

So why do we do this? Well, there’s no doubt that exercise can leave some people hungry. I know that I personally feel starved if I’m physically active for more than two hours. So by the end of a hike or a good bike ride, I’m ready to run to the nearest restaurant and jump into their ice cream machine. Gym workouts don’t leave me quite as hungry but I still feel like eating something after I come out of the gym.

The truth is that your body does need some refueling. You’ve just spent a lot of your energy on the trail or at the gym and you need to restock. So you have a right to feel hungry, but don’t waste all that great exercise by indulging yourself at Cold Stone Icecream. Exercise is not something you do so you can eat more, it’s something you do to be healthy. Don’t ruin all that great work by overeating.

Solving the problem

So here are some tips on how to avoid the post workout binge:

Hydrate – A lot of that hunger you feel might not actually be hunger. It could just be your body’s way of asking for water. Make sure you hydrate throughout your workout. If you go hiking, bring water with you and drink it as you hike. Same goes for all other physical activities. At the gym, I try to drink water every 5 to 10 minutes.

Snack – Yep, you heard me right, I’m encouraging you to snack, but only in a healthy way. If you let your body get too low on food, you’re going to be tempted to binge. So keep those hunger levels from getting too high by bringing a healthy snack. When I go out to hike, I usually bring an apple, orange or some other piece of fruit with me. It keeps me from being too hungry at the end of the hike, which means I have an easier time controlling my hunger.

Avoid commercial products – All those energy drinks, sport water and trail mixes are usually crap. That Redbull? Nothing but sugar and caffeine. Gatorade? It’s good if you’re running a marathon but not for every day workouts. Trailmix with M&M’s in it? Junk! Too much sugar and fat. You’re better off with an apple. The same goes for power bars, fruit bars, sodas, dried fruit and all the other snacks the supermarket tries to pawn off on you as healthy. Stick to fresh fruit, veggies and water while being active.

Post workout meal – Yes, it’s perfectly fine to eat after your workout. In fact, I think it really helps recovery. However, keep it healthy. Exercise is not an excuse to binge. Keep your meal healthy and reasonable. All those healthy eating tips we talked about last week should not be forgotten just because you’re sweaty.

Summary

Don’t workout for the wrong reasons. You’re being physically active as a way of becoming healthier, not as an excuse to eat. So stick to your healthy eating habits and keep your sweaty self out of the buffet.

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Jun

15

Common Workout Mistakes - Learning the difference between an ache and a pain

Filed Under Exercise, Work Out | 8 Comments

Thisentryis part 5 of 6 in the series SERIES - Common Workout Mistakes

Pain happens

One of the things you’ll learn when you start getting active, is that things will occasionally hurt. Yep, there’s no way around it, you’re going to be straining physically and your body is going to complain about it. When you go hiking, your legs are going to tell you they really don’t appreciate all those uphills. If you go to the gym, your shoulders are going to make it very clear that they would rather rest than lift weights. Even your butt is going to get into the act, letting you know that the bike seat is very uncomfortable and can you please get back to that nice soft couch? Yes, being physically active means an occasional ache. However, the question is, how do you tell an ache from a pain?

What’s the difference?

First, what the heck is the difference between an ache and a pain? Well, an ache is normal. It’s your body’s way of letting you know “hey, this isn’t comfortable, but it’s ok. We can keep going, just be aware of the fact that we’re getting tired.” When you lift weights, especially for the first few days, your muscles may ache. Walk too much and you may feel a bit of an ache in your feet. Again, this is fine. A pain on the other hand is your body telling you something is wrong. The message here is “something broke. Stop right now!” An ache you can work through, a pain means no more exercise.

Mistake time

Here’s where the mistake part comes in. Some people, especially when they’re starting out, cannot tell an ache from a pain. Some of them will stop every workout when they feel the slightest ache. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone hiking with someone who was new to it and they’ve said “oh wow, I have this ache in my side, I think something is really wrong!” Two minutes later they’re fine but there they were panicking over what they imagine to be a heart attack. On the other hand, there are always those who try to power their way through anything. They’re the ones who get seriously hurt because they don’t pay attention to what their body is telling them. I fall into this second category.

When I first started running, I didn’t pay attention to what my body was telling me. I had this pain in my right foot but I just told myself to toughen up and keep running. Two months later I was in the doctor’s office, unable to put any weight on my foot. Something that started out as a minor pain had developed into a serious stress fracture because I refused to rest my foot. Lesson learned, listen to my body.

So how do you tell them apart?

But how do you tell the aches from the pains? How do you know when it’s an ache that you can work through vs. a pain that’s telling you to stop? Well, there’s no 100% accurate method, especially when you’re first starting out. You’ll eventually just learn how your body communicates. In the meantime, play it safe. If you’re not sure what it is, stop your workout and see if it goes away. If something is bothering you, go see a doctor. And if you absolutely need some tips, here you go:

An ache is usually persistent and dull. It’s a low level kind of pain that doesn’t come and go very quickly. A pain is usually sharp. It hits you suddenly and will stop as soon as you cease doing whatever it’s doing.

An ache is familiar. You’ll usually have the same ache if you do the same activity. When you bike, your butt will always hurt, or at least mine does. A pain is unfamiliar. You might do the same activity a hundred times and you’ll always have the same ache, but on that hundred and first time something new will show up and that’s a pain.

An ache usually doesn’t hinder you from doing something. My legs ache at the end of a hike but I can still use them. A pain will stop you. My stress fracture got to a point where I couldn’t put weight on my foot.

Number 1 tip

My number one tip is to play it safe. If you’re not sure if it’s an ache or a pain, stop, take a break and see how you feel. If something persists, go see a doctor. You’re better off losing some workout time than risking your health.

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May

14

Ready For Your Workout?

Filed Under Exercise, Healthy Habits, Work Out | Leave a Comment

Thisentryis part 6 of 6 in the series SERIES - Common Workout Mistakes

Maybe you read 60 in 3 in the morning, right before you head to work. Maybe you read it in the evening before you go to sleep. You might even read 60 in 3 during the day, while you’re at work. Whenever you read this article, it’s still a good time for your ten minute workout. Yes, that’s right, you’re going to get up and workout regardless of time of day and where you are.

Lunges - Start with the lunge, one of the best exercises ever invented. If you don’t know what a lunge is, click on the link and you’ll get instructions complete with a video courtesy of Cooper’s guns. One note, we’re not going to be going as fast as the guy in the video. We’re going for a 5 by 5 rep. That means it takes you 5 seconds to go down and another 5 seconds to come back up. So while the guy in the video takes about 2 seconds to complete a lunge, you’re going to take 10 seconds.

Deadlifts - We’re going to follow the lunge with the deadlift. Again, click on the link if you don’t know what that is. Unlike the video, we’re going to do this with no weights. We’re also going to use the 5 by 5 rule again. So stand up and then slowly bend at the waist for 5 seconds until your fingers dangle down and hopefully touch the ground. If you can’t touch the ground, that’s fine, just try. Then take 5 seconds to straighten back up.

Leaning Press - Keep going with the press. Now the video shows a man lying on the ground doing these. We’re not going to do that. This is supposed to be a workout you can do anywhere and lying down at work is probably not acceptable. So instead of a lying press we’re going to do a leaning press. All you need to do is lean forward against a wall and then press yourself back into an upright position. Again, take 5 seconds to go forward and 5 seconds to push yourself back up.

Trunk Twist - Now lets work out that core for a minute with the trunk twist. It’s a very simple exercise as you can see from the video, and when you slow it down with the 5 by 5 rule, it becomes even more effective. Make sure you have some room around you since you don’t want to hit anything as you swing those arms; trust me, I’m talking from experience :)

Squats - And we’re going to finish it up with the squats. From a standing position start bending your knees until you reach a squatting position. Now stand up. Rinse and repeat using the 5 by 5 rule to make sure you slow it down.

A Note On Weights

This is supposed to be a quick workout that you can do anywhere. It’s halfway between a workout and a warmup routine and isn’t supposed to be very challenging. It’s just supposed to get you up off your butt and doing something physical. However, if you want to increase the difficulty a bit, feel free to hold something in your hands while doing this. I just did this routine while holding my laptop in my hands.\

Medical Disclaimer

Again, I’m not a doctor, nor do I know your specific medical issues. If you have some kind of problem, don’t be silly and attempt this workout. For example, if you have a serious back issue, don’t do the deadlift just because “that guy on 60 in 3 told me to do it!” Know your body’s limitations and check with a doctor before you do something dumb.

Time

5 exercise, 10 reps each at 10 seconds per rep. That’s less than 10 minutes. If you’re at work then think of it as a break that will make you more productive. If you’re at home, think of it as something a bit more productive than catching up on that last episode of American Idol or checking out new pictures on cuteoverload.com.

Not A Workout Substitute

Again, this is supposed to be a simple workout / warmup. It’s not a substitute for a real workout.  This is something you do in addition to a regular workout.

Repeat

Don’t just do this once.  You need to keep active all through the day and if you have a desk job like me then you should do something like this at least once every two to three hours.  So bookmark this page and then come back to it every two to three hours.  Make this a habit.

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Our bodies were designed with regular physical activity in mind.  They are not meant for sitting behind a desk for 8 hours.  Make sure you break up that monotony with a quick workout.

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