Stayfitanywhere’s Blog

I hope everyone had a fantastic Canada Day and are prepared to enjoy a great weekend!  I am heading out of town on a vacation and wanted to share a few things with everyone before I go.

·         This morning I trained Rob Daly  for the first time in 2010.  Rob has been training with me since I first started training clients and has been instrumental during my evolution as a trainer/coach.  To welcome Rob back to training (not that he wasn’t training while he was working in LA) I decided to test him out with one of his favourite workouts http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com/?p=578 and he crushed it!  If anyone is looking for a photographer check out Rob’s website www.robdaly.com to see some of his work.

·         A friend of Mine Cam Beals is leaving for the Calgary Stampede tomorrow and if you know the dates of the Stampede you will wonder why he is leaving so early??  Well he is riding his bike from Vancouver to Calgary to take part in the festivities of the Stampede… Good Luck Cam wish I could have taken part in the journey with you.

·         If you work in the Health Care field take a look at this website for some resources on preventing Healthcare Associated Infections www.haiwatchnews.com.

·         My lacrosse team the Ladner Pioneers is gearing up for the playoffs and as soon I return home we will be starting our first playoff series and I would love to see you in the stands email me or check www.wcsla.ca for dates and times of games.

·         The sun has come out FINALLY here in Vancouver and I have spent most of the morning on my bike zipping around the Seawall from English Bay to Kits beach and I saw tons of cyclists, rollerbladers, runners,  walkers, skateboarders taking advantage of the weather.  I also saw tons of kids playing in the playground, throwing footballs/Frisbees, kicking soccer balls and just generally having fun.  Thank you Vancouver for the reminder of why I love living in this city!

I want to leave you all with one last thing to think about… when you train hard, you need to recover hard!  With that being said I am off to enjoy a vacation but I will be back soon and ready to train and play hard!

Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1

jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com

Monday and Thursday #FitTip at www.twitter.com/stayfitanywhere

I came across an article in the Vancouver Sun Health Section yesterday titled “Shoes your butt will love” and sadly the article was promoting the benefits of toning sneakers, more specifically Reebok Easy Tone.  The name of the shoe itself should be a warning light, easy and tone do not belong together, it takes hard work and tension in your body to create tone.  The name of this shoe is just another way marketing perpetrates the myth that it is EASY to get into shape and marketing gurus use the idea that individuals are looking for a quick way to solve their health and fitness issues when this is simply not the case for a majority of the population. 

The article states that the shoes “force you to engage your glutes, thighs and calves while providing a comfortable, shock-absorbing padding for your foot and knee” and “increases engagement of the abdominal muscles.”  These statements were backed up with the following numbers from a Physical Therapist “because the shoes cause that slight instability they can increase muscle activation BY UP TO (bolded by me) 14% in your calves, 29% in your quads and 16 to 28% in your glutes and hamstrings.”  I thought these were pretty impressive statements so I wanted to find out more about these shoes.  I did a quick search to find out if any of these claims were backed by a published peer-reviewed academic journal article and I found nothing.  What I did find was a great article in the New York times that reviewed these vary same shoes http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/health/08well.html and within the article I found some great information that I would like to share.

But the claim that the shoes offer muscle toning is backed by a single study involving just five people, not published in a peer-reviewed academic journal. In that study, done at the University of Delaware , five women walked on a treadmill for 500 steps wearing either the EasyTone or another Reebok walking shoe, and while barefoot. Using sensors that measure muscle activity, the researchers showed that wearing the EasyTone worked gluteal muscles an average of 28 percent more than regular walking shoes. Hamstring and calf muscles worked 11 percent harder.

After finding the above statement I stopped my search for credible research.  Further along in the NY Time article I found the following…

The shoes are designed only for walking, and because of the instability design, wearers are discouraged from running, jumping and engaging in other athletic activities while wearing them. So the real effect may come from simple awareness that they are wearing a muscle-activating shoe, causing them to walk more briskly and with purpose.

NOTE:  I visited the Reebok website to find out more information about the shoe and I found a collection of exercises that involves all of the discouraged uses of the shoes.  Again look out for marketing, the road to health and fitness is not found through a quick fix.

So there is the answer, by simply wearing these shoes a person is more likely to walk more briskly and with purpose.  Any movement done with conscientious and deliberate thought including washing dishes, chopping vegetables, swinging Kettlebells, lifting weights, and walking briskly will cause an increase in muscle activation of the muscles required to perform the movement.  By simply thinking of a movement your nervous system activates your brain to run the motor program necessary for creating the movement, thus preparing your muscles to move.  So if you want to get better muscles activation when exercising and moving you don’t need any gimmick all you need is your thoughts!

Contact me at jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com to learn more about conscious movement and personal training.

Move to Live, Live to Move,

Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1

jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com

Monday and Thursday #FitTip at www.twitter.com/stayfitanywhere

To whom it may concern,  

Stayfitanywhere has changed my life in all aspects.  From the old routines of working out where you would target train one body part per workout exhausting your muscles by training hours a day and dreading ever stepping foot in a gym again, to a whole new way of thinking.  The days of working out like a body builder were left back in the 90’s, and now it’s all about the athletic body we all dream of.  Whether you want to stay fit for personal success, look good at the beach, outperform all your colleagues, or be the best athlete to step on the floor, SFA will help you achieve those goals in a fraction of the time.  You don’t have to train 7 days a week, twice a day, kill yourself every session, and worry about counting your calories anymore.  The team at SFA customizes each workout to fit your life style, your goals, and most importantly your abilities leaving you motivated always wanting to come back for more.  

I used to be the guy at the gym you’d see every week for about 3-4 weeks consecutive working out with the same old routine.  Be in there for hours per session exhausting myself to a point where I could barely drive home.  I would feel good; however, I would fatigue and fall off the wagon within a couple of weeks.  After recovering I would come back for the same routine, which ultimately was a cycle of failure.  I would read endless material on the internet to find the next best thing and try to put it to use before I got bored.  I tried all the pills, cut carbs, and even thought about cheating!!  Josh at SFA couldn’t make it any more clear of what to do and how to do it without taking those pills and starving yourself to get the results we dream of.  Now I am the guy you see and wonder how he is so fit in such a short time frame.  Including the warm up, I never spend more than an hour at the gym and sweat like a pig which leaves me energized throughout the day and adds time to complete more daily tasks. Isn’t that what we all want, more time in a day to get done what needs to be done and able to hit the gym?  Results, results, results!!!  It’s one thing if you notice, it’s another when you have random people at the gym asking what and how you do what you do!!!   

When you eat healthy, go to the gym and do what you can, you will see results no matter what.  However if you can maximize the time you have to work out, and eat healthy as much as you can, your results will be 10 times better.  If you’re a rookie with a couple hours to spare a week or a pro and all you do is workout, SFA will definitely revamp your life style and will maximize your results within the given time frame.  My workouts are sports specific, and the main concept I took away was “to be fast you have to train fast.”  My customized workouts took me from an average player to being a contender at winning the scoring title.  Being able to reach levels I never thought were possible, leaves me wanting more and more and gives me hope that I will reach the top level to compete against the best. 

I have been using SFA’s Online Personal Training system as my personal exercise guide for close to a year and I couldn’t be happier with my results.  You can access this tool from any computer and even from your blackberry or iPhone.  It’s a very simple tool that is very user friendly and is easy to navigate through.  They even have videos to show you how to correctly do each exercise.  During my last trip across the UK and South Asia, I was able to log into my account from any computer with internet access and load my personal workouts.  No matter where in the world you are, you will never have an excuse for not working out.  When people talk about working out, your first instinct is to think about the gym.  SFA has the ability to deliver workouts to you in any environment, using your body weight and resistance bands or any other piece of equipment.  This tool helps you record all your activities, whether it’s a customized workout from the SFA team, doing the grouse grind, going for a run, or taking a day off.  An excellent tool when looking back and tracking your results.  Every time you finish your workout, log in to your account and record your activities which allows you to look back and see how your week, month, quarter and even year went. 

I highly recommend SFA’s services to anyone and everyone.  My family, friends, colleagues, and teammates love their services and actually get sick of me talking about how SFA changed my life, till they try it.  They all come back and agree that it will change your way of thinking when working out. It’s made custom for everyone, leaves you wanting more, and most importantly, results are instant.  I couldn’t have gained the results I have gained without the help of these professionals.  They made me realize healthy living is not a hobby, it’s a life style, thank you SFA! 

Andy Saran

andysaran@gmail.com

More and more I find myself watching individuals move and noticing how they are using their body.  I have come to the conclusion that although every person has pretty much an identical physical make-up, each person uses their body very very differently, and no 2 individuals are the same. There are 600 muscles in the human body and it is very interesting to watch how some people are very dominant with certain muscles and much less so in others.  So what does this mean?

When certain movements are performed, there can be certain muscles that act as primary movers as well as synergistic movers (groups of muscles that work together to cause the same movement).  For example, in a push-up, the primary muscle would be the chest, while the main synergists would be the shoulders and triceps.  A very common imbalance with a push-up with many individuals is that while performing the push-up, they are using their body in certain way where the chest is not the primary mover.  Rather, the shoulders and musculature of the arm become the primary movers and the chest and musculature of the upper back become the  synergistic muscles.  And what does this mean?  Imbalanced and inefficient movement!  The chest has the potential to be a big, powerful muscle- just look at the breast muscle of a bird.  Yet, when most people perform push-ups, they are not firing the chest muscles to the potential that they could be.  The other possible danger with imbalanced musculature is joint wear.  Anytime there are imbalanced forces acting around a joint, the joint will wear down prematurely and can lead to arthritis.

So what’s the answer?  Corrective exercise!  This type of training focuses on first addressing imbalances (through an assessment) and identifying the necessary exercises/stretches to correct them.  The next phase is to screen a series of movements (again through an assessment) and retrain the body so that the primary and synergistic muscles are working in an optimally sequential fashion.

Here are other imbalances that I commonly see:

-Over dominance of the quadriceps vs hamstrings.  Most people are very quadricep dominant and have a poor understanding of how to engage the hamstrings while engaging in lower body movements such as squats and lunges.

-Over dominance of upper back musculature vs mid back musculature.  The fact that most people have desk jobs these days puts our bodies into a poor postural position.  The result is that our upper backs are very tight, our shoulders are rounded forward (internally rotated) and our mid-back (mid/lower traps are weak).

The benefits of rebalancing your body through corrective exercise are many:  improved posture, improved biomechanics, reduced injury risk, reduced pain, reduced muscle tightness/pain, improved joint health, and increased bodily energy.  If you are interested in re-balancing your body through corrective exercise, or want to know more, don’t hesitate to contact me.  Having a Stayfitanywhere trainer perform an assessment for you can help easily determine what your imbalances are and steps can then be taken to address them.

Happy (Corrective) Training! 

Andrew Burchell

Advanced Health & Fitness Specialist

aburchell@stayfitanywhere.com

Do you want to make a lifestyle change?  Most of you reading this will say YES.  Are you ready to make a lifestyle change?  Read more to find out.

I first saw the stages of change model in a psychology class I took in University and saw it again in a workshop I took at a Can Fit Pro conference.  The stages of change model is a tool used to assess a person’s readiness to make a change in a particular behaviour.  This model is most often used with drug addicts or alcoholics, but can be used for any behaviour that needs to be changed.

Your lifestyle is a set of behaviours that defines who you are, so in order for a lifestyle change to take place behaviours must change.  If you would like to see a change in your body there are two areas that most people need a behavioural change: Physical Inactivity and Nutrition.  When I look at client’s nutrition habits these are behaviours that most often need to be changed: not eating breakfast, skipping meals, drinking too many calories, and eating highly processed foods.  In terms of physical inactivity the behaviours that usually need to be changed are: too many screens (TV, computer, video games, etc), and work schedule (time management).  All of these things eventually tie together but you can’t change everything at once, it is too overwhelming, it is best to start with one and once you have accomplished one the rest will follow (but only if you choose). 

Is one of the behaviours above the reason you aren’t achieving your ideal body?  Take a look at the condensed model below to see where you fit in.

Stage One: Precontemplation

You have no interest in changing your behaviour because you don’t see your behaviour as being a problem. 

Stage Two: Contemplation

You are aware of the behaviour that needs to change, you are weighing the pros and cons of change. 

Stage Three: Preparation

You have decided to make a change and are researching what it takes to make a permanent change.

Stage Four: Action

You are consciously making decisions to change your behaviour and have strategies in place to help you succeed.

Stage Five: Maintenance

You have made the change and have developed coping techniques to avoid relapsing to your old behaviour.

Stage Six: Termination

You are no longer tempted by your old behaviour.

Relapse

The return from action or maintenance to an earlier stage.

If you took the time to read this you are past the precontemplation stage and are on your way to making a permanent lifestyle change.  Contact me with any questions you may have or if you would like my help in achieving the body you have always wanted!

Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1

jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com

Monday and Thursday #FitTip at www.twitter.com/stayfitanywhere

In just over a year the stayfitanywhere team has found a permanent home!!  Our Personal Training studio is located at 1732 Alberni St in beautiful downtown Vancouver.  We are a few steps from Coal Harbour, within walking distance of the seawall, and a very very short run to Stanley Park.  Our surroundings couldn’t be any better and we are looking forward to utilizing all this area has to offer in terms of our training.  The stayfitanywhere facility is equipped with everything necessary for our clients to achieve all of their fitness goals! 

If you are in the neighbourhood stop on by and say hello, and if you would like to schedule a time for your free fitness consultation please don’t hesitate to email me at jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com to arrange an appointment.

Looking forward to seeing you all very soon,

Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1

jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com

Monday and Thursday #FitTips at www.twitter.com/stayfitanywhere

A daily ritual of mine is to peruse new articles and find ones with interesting headings. This one from the Vancouver Sun today caught my attention, Physically active boys tend to be smarter: Study. It was a study on how activity levels can increase congnitive function and development. Although, they were clear to say, they weren’t sure if the smarter boys were just more active or if the fitness activites made them smarter. But it was concluded that cardiovascular exercises do improve cognitive function and development. We’ve even proven it to ourselves, when we manage to tear ourselves away from our work for even 5mins, walk around the office, take deep breaths, it helps refocus and energize us for the next task. Plus, with some of us being in Vancouver, it’s simple for us to take a step outdoors and look at the mountains and ocean which we sometimes take for granted. You don’t need to be personal training, but take a few minutes out of your hectic work day and enjoy what’s around you. If it helps younger kids with clear thinking, don’t you think it’s worth a try?
Here is the full article in the Vancouver Sun

~joe cheng
jcheng@stayfitanywhere.com
Visit Stayfitanywhere for your free eBook.

I have saved perhaps the most important exercise of all for the end, the primal movement pattern: Squat.  This is another exercise that can be done anywhere and is an exercise that is performed every time you get in and out of a chair amongst the many other times you perform this movement during your day to day life.  Following are some important principles to consider when performing squats.

Body Weight Squats

·         Start by standing tall, shoulders back, feet shoulder width apart, and eyes looking forward

·         Push your bum back and bring your hands forward as you pretend to sit down into a La Z  Boy chair (hands go out to counter balance your bum going back)

·         When lowering yourself during the squat be sure to think your knees and hips are moving at the same time (not knees before hips or hips before knees) FLUID MOVEMENT!!

·         Keep your knees in line with your toes and don’t allow your knees to travel over your toes

·         The angle you create at your ankle should be the same angle you create at your hips

·         At the bottom of your squat the weight of your body should be equal throughout your feet

·         At the bottom of your squat imagine that you are pushing your knees out against something and use your bum and hamstrings to unfold your hips as you stand up

·         It is your goal to squat as deep as you can without breaking the above principles

You can do squats several different ways, with a bar over your shoulders, with dumbbells in your hands, or with a small child in your arms.  Each different squat represents a different challenge and slight variations in body position but if you follow the above principles you will find success in your ability to squat in nearly all situations.  If you are having trouble with the body weight squat try this regression: Chair Squats – Follow the above principles and lower yourself so that you actually sit down in a chair.  Be sure to use your bum and hamstrings to bring yourself back to a standing position.  To make your squat more difficult try the following progression: Quick Drop Squat with Full Extension to your Toes – Follow the same principles as above, however you are going to drop to the bottom of your squat as fast as you can and from there you will power all the way up to your tippy toes.

See if you can find 7 different ways to perform a squat, and do each different one every day of the week.

Move to Live, Live to Move,

Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1

jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com

Monday and Thursday #FitTips at www.twitter.com/stayfitanywhere

I covered pushups in my last post and as always we have to equal our pushes with pulls, so it is onto my next favourite exercise: Pullups.  Pullups cover the pull primal movement pattern and can be done anywhere you can find something solid to hang onto that is above  your head.  Following are some important principles to consider when performing pullups.

Narrow Grip Pullups

·         Grab a hold of the handles with your palms facing in towards each other, be sure to have a strong grip

·         Brace your midsection and squeeze your bum cheeks together – Think Core and this will help keep you from swinging back and forth

·         Use a little jump if you need to get started and begin to pull your chest towards the bar as you breathe out

·         While pulling think about using your lats (the big muscles on the back side of your body) and squeezing between your shoulder blades

·         When your head clears the bar you have completed a pullup but still need to get down, don’t just drop!  Slowly lower yourself down as close to the bottom as you can get, then pull again!

Pullups are an incredibly difficult exercise and were no doubt an essential movement critical for the survival of our ancestors.  If you are unable to complete a pullup using your own weight try this regression: Bent Knee Reverse Pushups – Go to a squat rack or smith machine and set up an Olympic bar just above your hip height.  Grasp the bar with a strong grip and walk your body underneath the bar until your shoulders are below your hands and your knees are bent to 90 degrees at your feet are flat on the ground.  Maintain the same principles as the pullup above and pull your chest towards the bar.  Once you are confident with the Narrow Grip Pullup you can progress to: Wide Grip Pullups – All of the above principles are the same the only difference is the grip, as you might have guessed.  Grab a hold of a bar with palms facing forward and hands at least one hand width wider than shoulder width. 

Here is a video of some guys having fun with pullups at the local playground http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMjFN-m2VOM. 

Move to Live, Live to Move,

Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1

jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com

Monday and Thursday #FitTips at www.twitter.com/stayfitanywhere

I would like to start off with pushups because they are my most favourite of my favourite exercises.  Again the reason I love them so much is because they can be done anywhere, they encompass 1 of the 7 primal movement patterns, and there is a ton of ways to make pushups easier, harder, and just generally more fun!  Following are some important principles to consider when performing pushups.

Pushups from your toes

·         Start on your hands and knees, position your hands just wider than shoulder width and be sure to have your hands directly below your shoulders

·         From here step back to your toes creating a straight line with your ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, and ears

·         This is your set position and the straight line position should never be broken throughout the exercise (think core – brace your midsection, hips strong)

·         Lower your body down towards the floor to create 90 degree angles at your elbows

·         At the bottom push your body away from the floor while exhaling

Complete pushups that meet these principles and you will see tremendous gains in total body strength as well as your push primal movement pattern.  If you are unable to do pushups from the toes try this regression: Knee Pushups – Maintain all of the same principles as above, except you are performing pushups from your knees and making a straight line from your knees to your ears.  If you work on this you will build up enough strength to progress to pushups from your toes.  If you are proficient at pushups from your toes and are looking for a challenge try this progression: Pushup Shoulder Touch – Maintain all of the same principles as above, except when you push yourself away from the floor touch your right hand to your left shoulder, and lower back down with two hands and repeat touching your other shoulder.  You will likely need a wider foot position in order to keep your hips and shoulder square to the floor when you touch your shoulder.

There are many more methods of performing pushups, and if you know of any you would like to share please don’t be shy.

Move to Live, Live to Move,

Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1

jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com

Monday and Thursday #FitTips at www.twitter.com/stayfitanywhere