Fitness Tools...the Fitness Tracker

The days of the pedometer are gone. We now have amazing fitness trackers that are excellent at tracking vitals such as calories burned, heart rate, blood pressure, sleep, and distance covered. Wearing a fitness tracker will improve one’s health. Fitness trackers simply make one more mindful and therefore more motivated / goal oriented in regards to fitness. Finding the tracker that is best for you is the key.

Here are the top ten according to PC Mag.  Visit this site to read about all the pros and cons of these models.

1. Basis Peak - $199

2. FitBit One - $99.95

3. FitBit Flex - $99.95

4. Garmin Vivosmart - $169

5. Jawbone UP24 - $149

6. Magellan Echo Sport Watch - $149

7. Runtastic Orbit - $119

8. FitBit Zip - $59

9. Microsoft Band - $199

10. Misfit Flash - $49

This doesn’t give you all the info you need but it gets you started as you investigate which fitness tool is best for you.  Again check out the website for more details about each tracker.

Functional Training Series: The Squat

Functional Training Series: The Squat

The Squat. Many call the squat the king of all exercises. It is very basic for sure. If you sit in a chair at work, sit in a chair to eat, or sit on the potty you need to be able to squat. It is a functional movement basic to all of life. As one squats down an eccentric contraction occurs lengthening the quadricep muscles, and as one rises a concentric contraction occurs shortening the quadricep muscles. The quadricep is the main muscle worked, but the squat develops functional strength in the core of the body, lower back, glutes, and hamstrings . Furthermore, the squat develops stability around the joints of the ankles, knees, hips, and low back. 

Often you will hear people say that squats are bad for one’s knees. Any overuse of any joint where either the volume of repetitions, the load being used is too high, or the technique is incorrect puts one at risk for injury. However, avoiding squatting is not the answer either. The wise choice is to include a squat, lunge or deadlift at least one time per week to keep the body functional by moving the body through full ranges of movement at the ankles, knees, hips and low back. Even a simple body weight squat is enough. Performing 2-3 sets of 5-10 repetitions per week will keep your body functional. As always check with your physician before beginning an exercise program.

There are many ways to perform squats: assisted squats, body weight squats, back squats, front squats, goblet squats, plyometric squats, overhead squats, dumbbells, barbells, and kettle bells. Basic squat technique begins by placing the feet hip to shoulder width with the toes pointed out approximately thirty degrees. The chest should be facing forward and not down. The lumbar spine should remain tight and arched, not rounded and curved. The head should be in a neutral position and eyes should gaze straight or slightly upward. As one begins to squat, hinge at the hips and begin to lower your body maintaining the positions stated above. It is appropriate for the knees to extend beyond the toes and to perform a full squat meaning the quadriceps drop to a position below parallel relative to ground level. As one rises out of the squat maintain the same angles from the waist up and rotate the hips forward. The knees should not go in but run in line with the toes.

Mastering the Squat

Assisted Bodyweight Squat

Back Squat

Front Squat

Kettlebell Squat

Jump Squats

Overhead Squat

Functional Training Series: Pull Ups

If you are following the functional training series we have covered the deadlift, the lunge, the plank and the push up. Between these exercises we have almost completely worked the body in a very balanced manner. We lack only the pull up. Yes ... the pull up. I know most of you are thinking ... I cannot do a pull up. That is ok. Hang in there with me. 

Just as the push up works the 3 major muscle groups involved with pushing the chest, shoulders and triceps; the pull ups works the 2 main muscle groups that pull the back and biceps. The pull up, like the other exercises in the functional training series integrates muscles rather than isolates. The pull up is the perfect marriage with push up creating balance between the pushing muscle groups and the pulling. This balance builds proper ratios of strength, range of movement and posture in the upper body. The pull up is also a core strengthening exercise. 

A great workout series would be to do for example 3 rounds of the following:

3x

10-15 Push Ups

5–10 Pull Ups 

6 Deadlifts or 10 Lunges Per Leg

30 Second Plank

Pull ups can be modified so that almost anyone can do them. Different grips may be used – overhand / underhand. Below are some videos of modified pull ups that can be used. 

How to do Push Ups for Beginners

Modified Pull Ups

Modified Pulls Ups 2

As always before beginning an exercise program consult your physician. Make sure you have a spotter and have set up / using all equipment in a safe manner and as intended.

Functional Training Series: The Push Up

The push up is one of the most basic of exercises. Most of us learned to do push-ups as small children. 

It is a great exercise for many reasons, but certainly one its best features is that it does not require a gym or any special equipment. Your body is the gym and the equipment. The push-up focuses on building strength in the three main muscle groups involved in pushing – chest, shoulders and triceps. 

The push up begins and ends in a plank position; therefore, it is a great core exercise building the spinal erectors, obliques, and abdominals. Because the body is suspended in air from the toes to the hands the entire body is under tension strengthening the whole body and building bone density. 

The American Council on Exercise rates the push-up as one of the top three exercises all people should use regularly. The push up should be performed 2-3 times per week completing 10-15 per set. The following are the steps to a basic push up:

1. Begin in the prone position 

2. Feet should be hip width on toes

3. Weight on the chest with palms down slightly wider than shoulders

4. Curl your toes and raise up by pushing up with the arms

5. Keep the body in straight line from head to heels – plank position

6. The plank position is the beginning and end of the push up 

7. In the plank position the glutes / hips should not be raised or sagging

8. The head should be in a neutral position looking down – neck in line with spine

9. Lower down until arms bend to a 90 degree angle and push back up until arms are straight

There are many variations of the push up to either decrease or increase the intensity.

Modified Push Ups to decrease intensity:

Wall Push Ups

Mayo Clinic Modified Push Up

Modified Push Ups to increase intensity:

Diamond Push Ups

Clap Push Ups

Weighted Push Ups

Declined Push Ups

Single Leg Push Ups

Medicine Ball Push Ups

T-Push Ups

Functional Training Series: The Lunge

It is arguable that the lunge is the most functional of exercises. We live on our legs, and must be able to move in full ranges of movement bending the ankles, knees, hips and lower back. Cardiovascular training is important for our heart health, but we do not live life simply running upright, on an elliptical, rowing or on a bike. We live on our feet and must apply force into the ground to move. We must be able to balance in different planes of movement as our center of gravity rises or lowers. The lunge builds the bending, lowering and bi-lateral movement that is common to the ways humans must move in daily life. 

Maintaining independence as we age is important, and in order to maintain this independence we must be able to move, bend and maintain balance. The ability to get on and off a toilet, to work in the garden, get on and off a bed, in and out of a car, balance getting on and off a stool, and get off the ground after lying down are basic human movements. If one has the strength to lunge one will have the strength to do the previously mentioned movements and much more. All these movements require some modification of a lunge and balance on one leg. The balance, strength and bone density built by performing the lunge will prevent falls especially in older adults.

The lunge works the quadriceps, the glutes, the hamstrings, the abdominals, the obliques and the spinal erectors. There are many variations walking, stationary, Bulgarian, side, overhead, reverse , lunge + curl + press and many more. It is important to begin with the most basic lunge and one can progress from that point. Remember it is important to consult your physician before beginning a fitness program,and the assistance of a personal trainer for even a short time can insure that you begin training safely, efficiently and effectively. Incorporate the lunge 1-3 days per week and complete 10-15 lunges per leg. Begin with one’s body weight and progress to using dumbbells, bars and more advanced forms of lunging. 

The steps to the basic lunge:

• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart

• Spine long and straight with shoulder blades pinched back – proper posture

• Gaze at eye level straight ahead

• Take a long step forward maintaining proper posture

• Lower the hips until the legs are bent at a 90 degree angle 

• The forward knee should be behind the front toe

• The rear knee should be flirting with the floor but not touching

Below are videos demonstrating proper lunge form.

How to do Walking Lunges

Lunge Exercise: Mayo Clinic

Reverse Lunge

How to do Side Lunges

DB Lunge Curl and Press

Overhead Lunges

Functional Training Series: The Plank

The plank is a core exercise. Often people refer to this category of exercises as “ab” workouts. For years the most famous “ab” exercises were the sit up or crunch. Although these two exercises may have their place in an exercise program, the plank is the best “ab” exercise. 

The plank is not just an ab exercise. It does work the abdominals which run both vertically and horizontally, but also the oblique muscles and the spinal erectors. Today many people spend many hours a week in a seated position which is a flexion position similar to a sit up or crunch. Our bodies need extension, and the plank develops extension strength and proper posture. 

In many ways the body operates as a three link chain with an upper body, middle body and lower body. Clearly if there are only three links in the chain, the middle link is most important. The body works in incorporation and integration. The plank exercise is essential to developing the connected musculature to assist the bodies’ natural design to work in an integrated manner. 

The American Council of Exercise states that the plank is one the top three exercises all people should incorporate. It does not require any equipment other than one’s own body. Planks should be performed 2-3 days per week for 3 sets of 20-60 seconds. The plank can be modified to decrease or increase difficulty very easily.

These are the steps to the basic plank. 

1. Lie face down on mat resting on forearms, palms flat to the floor.

2. Push off the floor, raising up onto toes and resting on elbows.

3. Keep your black flat, in a straight line from head to heels.

4. From the ankle joints to the shoulder joints the body should be one straight line without any sagging or rising at the hips / glutes. 

Refer to the following videos to observe proper plank technique as well as plank modifications:

Plank School with Jonathan Ross

Plank Variations - BodyResults.com

Functional Training Series: Deadlift

At Forte Fitness our focus is quality of life. A major aspect of quality of life is simply having a functional body. As we age we all lose degrees of functionality. There is a great deal of attention given to cardiovascular health – as it should; however, a healthy body composition and healthy heart is not enough. We need a body that can move freely in all planes of movement.  This freedom of movement involves the integration of strength, balance and flexibility. Often flexibility is perceived as touching one’s toes, but how often do we need to touch our toes to do daily activities? Functional flexibility is the goal, and it involves the ability to bend in full ranges of movement at the ankles, knees, hips and low back. 

A tremendous exercise to develop a functional body is the deadlift. One may perceive the deadlift as a powerlift that is beyond the need of every-day people, but this is a misconception. The deadlift is simply what the body does when one picks something up off the ground properly. It is the kind of movement that was common to all people in a more agricultural time. The deadlift builds strength in the majority of the major muscles of the body – quads, hamstrings, glutes, spinal erectors, abdominals, obliques, lats, traps and delts. As you can see, many muscles of the body are being used in an integrated manner, and this is the best type of lifting to develop a functional body. The deadlift develops true core strength, range of movement and bone density.

There are several important factors to consider when deadlifting . All movement could potentially cause an injury. One should consult a physician, and it may be wise to use a trainer to learn to exercise safely and effectively before training independently. Always warm up first. Correct technique and proper load must be adhered to. Start light and build up.  Moving very heavy weights, although it can be done safely, is not the goal at Forte Fitness. Our goal with the deadlift is a functional body. 

When using the deadlift to build functional strength, it is important first to understand the correct technique. The teaching cues begin with the proper base. There are a number of bases one can use to safely complete a deadlift. The base most commonly used and that you will see in the video is roughly shoulder width. The bar should be close to the shins. One’s butt should be down and back with the chest up. The back should have no bend in it. The back should be straight and flat. The head should be in a neutral position facing forward. There are also a number of grips, but for our purposes a simple overhand grip with both hands can be used. 

In the following videos you will see a deadlift performed two different ways. The first video demonstrates a deadlift using an olympic bar.  An olympic bar weighs 45 pounds; however, there are also training bars that weigh 15 pounds.  It is always best to start light and master technique and then loads can be increased accordingly. Using the training bar allows people who are very deconditioned, older adults and children to learn to deadlift safely and effectively. The second video uses a special bar called a trap bar or hex bar. This bar weighs 45 pounds but is very useful because it allows for a higher starting point relative to the ground. This is helpful for people who have not developed enough flexibility or low back strength to get in the proper starting position. 

Incorporating a deadlift or a deadlift variation into one's workout once a week will have tremendous benefit in terms of developing a functional body.  A typical deadlift workout would include 3-5 sets of 3-8 repetitions.  

To learn more about the deadlift and its importance check out the following links:

Importance of Deadlifts

Why Women Should Deadlift

TEN STRATEGIES FOR BETTER WEIGHT LOSS

Adapted from Dr. Janet Brill of Fitness Together, here are ten strategies for promoting healthy eating and safe, permanent weight loss:

Eat Healthy to Stay Healthy

Everyone knows that what you eat has a major impact on your health. Americans typically eat an unhealthy diet loaded with fast food, sugar-based drinks, snacks that are high in fat and sodium, with lots of sweets but few vegetables and fruits. This has led to the epidemic of heart-related diseases, diabetes and cancers. The best advice is to EAT REAL FOOD. Avoid refined, processed foods and choose whole foods instead. If you are not 100% that what you are about to eat is real food, then don't eat it! Choose lean, skinless meats, nuts, beans, whole grains and lots of veggies and fruits.

Lose Weight at a Safe Rate

When it comes to losing weight and keeping it off, slow and steady wins the race. Weight that comes off too quickly with fad diets and gimmicks often returns, in greater amounts. The safest weight loss plans involve eating whole foods and exercise, which leads to 1-2 lbs. per week of weight loss. Those who take the slow and steady plan have higher rates maintaining a healthy weight for a lifetime.

Learn How to Control Emotional Eating

Nutrition experts suggest that 75% of overeating is caused by emotions. Understanding which emotions trigger your overeating is essential. Once you understand the "why" behind overeating, you can develop patterns and plans of healthful techniques.

Determine Caloric Need, then Count

There is a simple law of physics at work in weight loss. Consume more calories than you expend, and you will gain weight; burn more than you consume, and you will lose weight. This is true regardless of percentages of protein, fats, and carbohydrates that you eat. To determine your approximate goal weight, take 100 lbs and if you are female then add 5 lbs per inch; males add 6 lbs per inch. If you are larger framed, add 10%; if smaller framed, subtract 10%. Then take your goal weight and multiply it by 15.3 - this is your daily need for caloric maintenance. With exercise and caloric control, plan for a 500 calorie deficit per day, to lose a pound of fat per week!

Exercise Calories Count

As a general rule to record your exercise caloric expenditure, follow this: for light exercise, reward yourself 2.0, moderate exercise 3.0 and intense exercise 4.0. If you use an exercise caloric expenditure guide, simply move the count 2 decimal points and round up or down.

Journaling

Those who count calories for 12 weeks and record in a journal lose twice as much weight as those who do not. This is not a lifetime commitment - which would be insane! However, for a short time, equivalent to a semester of school, it will train you on how to eat for the future, making calorie counting unnecessary. If you use an online calorie counting service and your goal is 2,250 calories a day, then change this to 22.5 by moving the decimal point two places. Do the same for each food item you are recording, and round up or down - this will make your journaling faster, and just as effective.

Weigh Yourself Weekly

Those who weigh themselves weekly have more success losing weight. Make sure to weigh at the same time of day, and day of the week, each time - in similar clothes.It is typically best to weigh in the morning, before the day gets rolling. And remember, not everyone is going to lose weight immediately, because there are multiple factors such as the addition of lean muscle tissue, which weighs more than fat - so don't get discouraged! After 12 weeks, see where you are. If you've lost around 12 lbs, keep it up. If you have not, analyze your journal for how to make changes. If, however, you have done things the right way and are not losing weight, check with your physician to find other explanations, which could be hormonal in nature.

Get Support

If you struggle with maintaining a healthy weight, be sure to find support and accountability. This can be as simple as asking a friend or spouse to help you, joining an exercise group, and if necessary getting a trainer or registered dietician to help for a period of time. Spending a bit of money on these services for the equivalent of one school semester of your life could be the difference in your healthy and quality of life!

Reward Yourself

To reward yourself, create a caloric deficit beyond the 500 calorie per day goal by cutting a few more calories and/or through exercise. Then treat yourself to your favorite meal or restaurant.

Exercise the Right Way

Balancing cardio exercise with strength training is the best prescription for promoting health, fitness and weight control. Those who perform this combination 4 days a week lose the most weight. However, there is great value in exercising even 2-3 days per week. Strength training will increase your lean muscle tissue and speed your metabolism, as well as aid in preventing osteoporosis, arthritis, back pain, diabetes and depression. There are 168 hours in a week - make appointments with yourself, scheduling 2-4 hours of exercise every week.

To your health!

JULIAN

THE IMPORTANCE OF VARIETY IN EXERCISE AND EATING

It is often said that variety is the spice of life!  From an exercise and nutrition perspective variety is definitely an essential key.

Exercise should always be safe, effective and fun. One issue regarding safety in exercise is variety. Doing the same exercises the same way over months, years, and decades will cause overuse injuries. Often the disciplined exerciser performs the same exercises the same way for months, years and even decades. This may lead to a lean body but could be leading to some joint problems.

Think of it this way, if you had a sand pebble in your shoe it quickly becomes an annoyance. By the end of a whole day with that sand pebble you will have a blister. Change promotes safety and injury prevention. If someone exercises the same way continuing to expect new and better results, he or she will be disappointed. The

body will adapt; therefore, the chaos of variety is necessary to continue improving health by providing a continual and new challenge. Variety leads to better health related results.

Finally, variety provides the "spice" by keeping things interesting and fun and helping one avoid the doldrums of dreading the same old workout over and over again.

By now you are probably wondering, "So how do I get out of my 30 minutes on the treadmill routine?" Well think of your body in parts. The upper body pushes and pulls. The lower body squats, lunges, steps, runs, jumps and walks.

There are numerous full body and core exercises. Cardiovascular health does not have to be achieved simply by doing 30 minutes on the treadmill, elliptical or stationary bike three times a week. The key is simply to get the heart rate up for roughly 20 minutes 3 days per week, and this can be achieved in numerous ways.To determine if your heart rate is in the right range train at a pace that you cannot carry on a conversation but you

can continue to exercise. Intervals of time or distance, for example, jumping jacks for 90 seconds followed by 30 seconds rest or 800 meters on a bike followed by a 60 second rest, are excellent ways to develop cardiovascular health and add variety.

One may also use exercises like jumping jacks, mountain climbers, jumping rope, skipping, hiking, swimming truly almost any movement can be used to develop

cardiovascular health. Creating circuits of upper body, lower body, full body, core and cardio can keep it fun and different each time you exercise. There are many websites you can visit to find ideas for each category upper, lower, full, core and cardio. Just be creative!

Variety is also essential to eating healthfully. Anyone who has been reading my articles

understands that I promote a simple philosophy regarding nutrition: "Eat food!" This

simply means one should consume real whole foods that are not processed and / or refined.

As Americans we have access to so many different options to eat. However, just because you can eat it does not make it a food. When we consume processed foods or refined foods we deliver toxins, poisons to our 300 billion cells which promote disease, illness and death. Processed, refined foods are not foods at all. Real food promotes disease prevention, wellness and life.

As one consumes "real food" variety will insure a variety of nutrients and stimulate all your senses through the beauty of shape, color, texture, taste and aroma. For example, dark leafy greens are typically high in vitamin A and K, dark orange vegetables and fruits

high in beta carotene, citrus high in vitamin C, fish and nuts high in omega 3 fatty acids, beans are high protein, fiber and folic acid and it goes on and on. Just think of all the wonderful cultures and how they have discovered so many unique ways to prepare food.

Enjoy the "spice" of life in the diversity of foods and food cultures. You will have fun and be more healthy!

To your health!

JULIAN

CARDIO OR STRENGTH TRAINING?

I hate to pit one against the other. Both is certainly best. But if you only do one, it should be the strength training. Why?

Cardio training typically happens upright - walking, hiking, jogging, elliptical or on a bike non-weight bearing. These are good forms of exercise and we should do them. However, because most of these are performed upright they do not move the body through full ranges of movement and therefore do not develop truly functional strength & flexibility. Yes, you will develop good cardiovascular health, but we have to bend, squat, lunge, push, pull, get up, get down, and balance in real life.  

As we age we all want to maintain our quality of life - continuing to do the activities we have always enjoyed such as gardening, recreational sports, outdoor activities and the simple chores of life. We want to maintain our independence as long as we can. Losing our strength may be the single greatest factor in maintaining this independence. Nobody wants to feel trapped in his or her body.

Benefits of strength training:

• The Muscle-Fat Connection: Physical inactivity causes a loss of about 5-7 pounds of muscle per decade. This loss creates a 2-5% loss in metabolic rate per decade, which leads to gradual gains in fat. This weight gain and its connection to disease and loss of strength can destroy one's quality of life. A basic 3 month strength program can add 3 pounds of muscle, a loss of 4 pounds of fat while consuming 15% more calories in older populations (Campbell 1994).
• Osteoporosis Prevention: A Tufts University study found that strength training not only slows bone loss but even in our latter decades of life adds bone density.
• Arthritic Pain: The same study from Tufts University found that strength training decreased arthritic pain because it helps to lubricate and nourish the joint and develop strength around the joint to provide more stability and support.
• Glucose Metabolism: Glucose metabolism decreases with age making us more susceptible to diabetes. A four month strength training program has demonstrated an increase of 23% in glucose metabolism in older populations (Hurley).
• Functional Strength & Flexibility: Strength training develops balance which can help in preventing falls. It develops a body that can move in all ranges of movement.
• Cardiovascular Improvement: Strength training can be used in a circuit that keeps the heart rate up and kills two birds with one stone. 
• Confidence: Often, as we age, we lose confidence to move.  We stop moving. This creates a downward spiral in every measurable health index. If you don't use it you will lose it.  Very simply strength will give you more confidence to keep moving and the ability to. The end result is you will maintain and improve every measurable health index.

What should you do? Two days a week push and pull, squat and lunge. Do three sets of 10-15 per exercise and piece the workout together as a circuit and keep your heart rate up!  If you need some more specific ideas... let me know.       

To your health,

Julian