Couch to 5K – My first run with a help of a Podcast

For the last few years my line has been, “I can’t run.  I’m allergic.”  Well okay it’s not quite an allergy but whatever the reaction is where you get a variety of pain anywhere from the feet on up to the hips.  As I approach my 9th year as a personal trainer I am realizing that it is a bit ridiculous that I can’t even claim to run a mile comfortably.

I have had shin splints since I was on dance team at the University of San Francisco.  I developed plantar fasciitis while rehearsing for a dance production several years ago.  I spent 2.5 years recovering from a hip flexor injury and have been pain free for a year now.  These are the excuses and fears that have kept me from running.  Although these are all good reasons to stay away from running I know that if I train correctly and get proper instruction I should be able to run a couple of miles without any problem. Read more »

Training the trainer – I got a great kick in the butt!

In the midst of my workout motivation slump I had lunch with a girlfriend who is a Pilates trainer.  She told me that she had been seeing a personal trainer in North Hollywood once a week for over a year.   Right away I said, “I’ll share sessions with you if that’s an option!?”  She said yes and that is what brought me to the World Sports Center on Lankershim for my first time EVER being a paying client of a personal trainer.

I had to laugh at myself as I somewhat fumbled asking where the lockers were and did they have towels . . . you would think it was my first time in a gym.  Garry, my trainer, introduced himself and he definitely fit the description I had heard of a big tall, black guy with dreads with a pleasant demeanor.  I resisted the urge to launch into my concerns and physical issues I wanted him to be aware of before we started.  “Don’t be a pain in the ass.”  I told myself, “Just go with the flow.” Read more »

Hiking in Los Angeles — Runyon Canyon Trail

As a novice hiker I decided to start with a trail in the Hollywood Hills that I have heard a lot about, Runyon Canyon.    For the city folk it’s a super convenient trail that starts just up from Hollywood Blvd and Fuller Street.

The reviews I found on this hiking trail made it sound very crowded and not a true “outdoorsy” experience.  I could see their point but I was pleasantly surprised at some of the inclined, dirt paths that helped get my heart rate up pretty quickly.  There are a few forks in the road and it was helpful to ask the other hikers which way was best for what I was looking for. Read more »

Yes, Even I Need A Personal Trainer

Last week on Facebook my status was, “I need a personal trainer!”  It created quite a response including several people who simply wrote, “huh?”   Yes, it’s true.  Personal training is about motivating people to push themselves out of their comfort zone to become, stronger, faster, leaner, etc.  So what about me?

How many people do you know that work in a restaurant or store and say, ” I never want to eat/shop there again!”  That’s how I have been feeling about the gym.  I know hundreds, possibly even a 1000 exercises to do using free-weights, machines, medicine balls, bosu balls, resist-a-balls, bands, jump ropes and so on.  Sometimes I’m just sick of it, like right now.

My solution is to look for classes and colleagues to help.  Last week I simply started following my trainer friend, Shannon Morgan, around the gym as she did her workout.  She grabbed a ball and did crunches so I followed suit.  She did a wall sit (which I hate and would have never done more than a minute without her) and so did I.  My competitive nature even had me pulling more weight than I was ready for and she politely reminded me I didn’t have to do EXACTLY what she was doing.  Just like that within 30 minutes I had completed a workout that I know would have never happened had she not been willing to let me join in.  Thank you Shannon!

The following day I went back to the Cirque School in Los Angeles on Hollywood Blvd.  This time our conditioning class added in some trapeze tricks.  Which . . . I guess I like but it really hurts to hang by your knees.  It feels like it’s squishing some tendons that weren’t intended to be squeezed but I’m gonna try to tough it out on that one.  I did learn some amazing pull-up exercises that have left me really sore again.

Those new ideas led me into today’s gym adventure.  I showed my training mentor and friend, Paul Redman, some variations of the trapeze pull-ups that he could do on the cable rack.  He is one of the strongest people I know so it was fun to watch him pound out 15 reps of things that I could barely do 5 of.  It was also nice to hear that his arms got really torched and he was concerned he couldn’t finish his workout.   (Trainers all have an evil side.)   In exchange he made me do 6 handstand push-ups.  I got into a handstand, he held my feet and I had to touch my head to the floor and push myself back up.  Luckily he was able to pull my body up so the last one didn’t leave me a jumbled pile on the floor.

So I will keep you posted on the various ways I come up with to stay in shape without going into the gym and going about my usual routine.  Like I told my friend Leona who started turning orange from eating too many oranges a day, “Variety is the spice of life.”

Bored With Your Fitness Routine? Join The Circus!!

That’s exactly what I did on Saturday.  I had heard of the Cirque School in Los Angeles and I have been thinking about learning the art of Aerial Fabric.  It is such a beautiful art form and seemed like a good fit with my dance background.  I was disappointed on Thursday to have shown up to a canceled Aerial Dance class but was told that a conditioning class might be a better place to start honing my skills.

With that I signed up for an Aerial Fitness and Conditioning class.  This 60-minute whole body strength-training workout introduces a combination of aerial and Pilates exercises on the trapeze, fabric and rope.  The class kept to a circuit structure meant to increase strength in the core and upper body which a necessary foundation for aerial tricks.  And boy did it work! Read more »

Maintaining a Healthy Balance on a Cruise Vacation

Cruises are known for being gluttonous.  The comedian on our Princess cruise in the Eastern Caribbean made a joke that he was simply scheduled to give us a break between meals.

My family and I did our best to maintain a sense of balance on our 7 night adventure.  Don’t get me wrong.  I was officially off my cleanse and had a “license to chill” (as Jimmy Buffet would say) but I wanted to avoid the aching belly and feelings of remorse when I disembarked.

Within the first few hours we stopped into the fitness center to see what they had to offer.  We signed up for Pilates and Spin classes and grabbed the schedule for the week.  I was impressed with the equipment and could tell by the introduction with the instructors that we would enjoy including our workouts in the vacation routine. Read more »

Foam rolling? The stick? – An Introduction to SMR

Jeff Alexander is a colleague of mine who I have worked closely with in exploring of SMR techniques and tools.  I consider him the guru on the topic and I learn things from him every time we meet.  I asked him to explain what SMR is and why all those people are rolling around on foam rollers in the gym.

Self-myofascial release, or SMR, is the process of applying pressure to muscular knots with implements such as balls or rollers to bring about a release of tension, essentially the same release one gets from static stretching. It can be likened to self-massage. With the right instruction and caution, it can be an extremely effective skill set to have in your recovery tool box. SMR allows an athlete to effectively deal with some of the knots that develop during the course of their conditioning, without needing to wait until their therapist is available for an appointment. When the athlete does eventu- ally make an appointment with a massage therapist, the therapist can go to work on the really deep knots that quite simply were impossible to get to before because of all the other tension in the muscles.

With SMR, you can address tight muscles that affect movement on a daily basis. If you restore full range of motion to your body on a daily basis, then you can potentially avoid the pitfalls of non-impact injuries caused by poor bio- mechanics. Prior to the development of the rollers and balls we use in SMR, an athlete needed a significant knowl- edge of anatomy and very strong hands to address the deep knots of their body. Now, simply use a roller in the right place in short, 2-3 inch strokes and you can find the knots that need a little added pressure to properly stretch them. Whether you use a roller or ball, the key is applying only enough pressure to trigger the release in the mus- cles. This can be tricky, especially for the deep knots, since you might need to apply a fair bit of pressure to get through the outer layers of tissue.

If the muscle fibers are stretched too fast, they will tighten up to protect the body from injury. At the doctor’s of- fice, you know this reflex as the knee-jerk test. During SMR we sense this reflex as a cramp. So, you need to press just hard enough to trigger the release, but not so hard that you trigger the stretch-reflex.

Can SMR replace the massage therapist or chiropractor? No. You need qualified assistance to diagnose and treat conditions other than a tight muscle. Do you need the dentist to brush and floss your teeth every day? No. There are some things you should be able to do for yourself. SMR is a growing concept of self-care that enables the indi- vidual to not only feel better by relieving some of the tension in their tight muscles, but it also helps to reduce dys- functional compensations by restoring proper range of motion. As an added benefit, it encourages education about anatomy by simply causing people to wonder, ‘what muscle is that, anyway?’

Written by Jeff Alexander, founder of Network Fitness LLC
Self-Myofascial Release Coach CrossFit, ISSA, NASM, FMS, TPT

Read more about SMR at: www.networkfitness.com/blog
To download the SMR Introduction with 18 sample exercises, go to: http://www.networkfitness.com/SMR

Perform Better Seminar – Gettin’ Fired Up!

“How do you feel?” 

“Fired Up!”

” I can’t hear you!”

I kinda feel like a fish out of water but I pump out some jumping jacks and scream “FIRED UP!”  Todd Durkin is warming up the group and already starting to break into a sweat.  Durkin is the owner of Fitness Quest 10 in San Diego and is an inspiring fitness figure who has a booming training business.  He was just one of 4 speakers of the day who is now on a rotation to lead us in a cutting edge workout featuring the latest in equipment.

This “Learn-by-Doing Function Training Seminar”  is hosted by Perform Better which is a popular exercise equipment company and is held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.   This was my first time attending one of these workshops and it definitely won’t be my last.

The morning was broken into 4 different lecture segments featuring Michael Boyle, Alwyn Cosgrove, Gray Cook and Todd Durkin.  They covered a variety of topics in functional training pertaining to flexibility, preparing semi-private training programs, dynamic stability training and the business of fitness.

In my opinion Michael Boyle was the most interesting and entertaining of all the speakers.  He is a very respected strength and conditioning coach from Boston.  He referred to a couple of quotes in his presentation that stood out to me.  The first is from Frank Gelett Burgess who wrote, “If in the last few years you haven’t discarded a major opinion or acquired a new one, check your pulse, you may be dead.”   This pertains to everything in life but I find even more so in the health and fitness industry.  One decade we’re not supposed to eat fat, the next decade no carbs and on and on.

When I think back to my experiences with my clients over the past 8 years I realize that I learn new methods and techniques all the time.   Boyle commented that the key to this field is to continue to learn, experiment and implement.  I couldn’t agree more.

After a lunch break we started into the “Hands–On Drills and Exercise” portion of the seminar.  Of course I get into Todd Durkin’s Group right away so for the first 15 minutes I am focused on not bringing my lunch back up.  We are throwing medicine balls, doing ladder drills, pulling each other with bands around our waist, waving giant ropes around using the TRX straps and jerking kettlebells every which way.  It’s madness and a blast all at the same time.

I walked away from the seminar with Michael Boyle’s new book Advances in Functional Training, two exercise DVD’s and a TRX suspension trainer to start utilizing with my clients.  The knowledge and ideas I gained from the day’s lessons have inspired me to continue digging deeper into understanding my client’s needs and ways to making their bodies move in a safe and efficient way.

Ouch! Treat your muscle soreness and get back to your workout

Dear Kendra,

I’m pretty sore in a few random places from yesterday’s workout, and I was wondering if you had any tips on what I should be eating immediately after we work out & if there are food I can eat when I’m sore that will help my muscles recover. Should I be icing or heating myself? Will deep stretches today make it better or worse?

Aching Muscles

The technical term for your soreness is referred to as DOMS: Delayed Onset  Muscle Soreness.  This typically happens anywhere from 12-48 hours after a workout.  This is a response to unusual exertion during resistance training which causes micro tears in the muscles.

Here are several tips on easing the soreness so that you are ready to workout again.

1. Drink a protein shake within 60 minutes of finishing the workout.  Protein from food is okay too but the liquid proteins absorbs more quickly into the muscles to begin the repair process.
2. Do light cardio to get your blood moving into those muscles.  It might feel really uncomfortable at first but usually after the first 5-10 minutes you’ll feel looser.
3. Stretch after cardio or a hot shower.  Stick to light stretching which might feel like a 6-7 on a scale of 1-10.  Deep stretches can actually tear your muscle fibers more which is counter-productive to relieving the soreness.
4. If you’re extremely sore you might use a heating pad for a bit.  This will increase blood flow to the muscles which helps them repair.  Only use ice if you have a strain or injury and only for the first 24-48 hours.
5. Drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol.  Hydrated muscles are more responsive to stretching.

Utilizing these techniques will get you feeling better quickly and ready to take on your next workout.

Get Fit For Ski Season – Recommended Article

I was just sent this link by one of my Lifestyle Challengers.   I couldn’t agree more with the recommendation to focus on strength, flexibility AND cardio endurance to fully be prepared to hit the slopes.

I can appreciate a good day in the snow but I admit ski season makes me nervous for some of my clients.  We have to remember that skiing is a sport and should be respected as so.  You should warm-up, stretch and listen to your body throughout the day.   Skip the beer with lunch and wait until you are done with your last run.

Check out this article and think about adjusting your workout program to prepare you for your first day skiing or snowboarding.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/16/DD631A9CAB.DTL