Swimming to Success

In recent years, swimming records have been broken and set at higher standards with incredible frequency. This was highlighted during the 2012 Olympics in London. During these games, engineers went to several specific efforts to improve the quality of the pool, making it faster. Swimming athletes like Missy Franklin also combined physical advantages with improved swimming techniques to reduce the frictional drag, pressure drag, and wave drag exerted on the swimmers by the water. To improve racing velocity and increase the chances of winning, a swimmer must overcome the dynamic fluid forces acting against the swimmer’s movement in the water. Understanding biomechanics in combination with advanced engineering in pool design has led to faster swimming and improved competition.

The pool design for swimming at the 2012 Olympics was a significant advancement making the pool easier to swim in at a faster pace than the pools in previous Olympics. The efforts in improving the design of the pool were all aimed at reducing the water turbulence created by the waves in the water made by the swimmers. The first engineering change was to increase the depth of the pool to 3 meters. This increased depth dissipates the effect of waves in the vertical direction by creating enough distance between the swimmer and the bottom of the pool that the waves do not rebound off the bottom and increase the upward forces that create frictional drag acting on the underside of the swimmer’s body.

The London pool was also designed with troughs along all four sides so that the waves along the surface of the pool would be captured instead of rebounding laterally at the swimmer. These troughs served the purpose of absorbing the energy generated by the waves so that turbulence and the corresponding increases in drag forces would be reduced throughout the pool. This design served to reduce drag forces coming at the swimmers from all directions on the surface; front, back, and both sides. The overall width of the pool was increased to 25 meters and lane width was increased to 2.5 meters. Both of these width increases served to further minimize the effects that turbulence, caused by waves, had on increasing drag forces between individual swimmers within the lanes and the sides of the pool. The lane lines separating each swimmer’s lane were also designed to spin. This spinning motion of the lane line served to absorb the waves’ energy so that it was reduced rather that entering the adjoining lane. This prevented an increase in drag forces caused by turbulence that would have happened if the waves from multiple swimmers met at full force without the lines acting to reduce the turbulent flow existing between the swimmers. Another subtle way of improving the quality of the pool for swimming would be to increase the warmth of the water temperature. Warmer temperatures, when compared with cooler temperatures in a fluid, tend to have lower viscosity, thereby reducing the effects of drag forces. All of these engineering improvements created an environment in the pool that reduced drag forces, allowing the swimmers to reach faster velocities in the water.

The relative velocity of an object in the water is the difference between the object’s velocity and the velocity of the water. In the case of swimmers in a pool during competition, the velocity of the water is a result of turbulence caused by the waves which in turn are created by the bodily movements of the swimmers’ moving through the water. The more swimmers in the pool and the faster velocities those swimmers are attempting to achieve, the greater the increase will be in the fluid velocity of the water. As the fluid velocity of the water increases so does the drag force effects on the swimmers. In a sense, when the swimmers attempt to swim at faster velocities, they are making it harder on themselves to overcome the drag forces and achieve faster relative velocities to the water. One approach to counteract this during the London Olympics was to leave the two outside lanes empty during the races. Fewer swimmers in the pool decreased the overall turbulence within the pool, resulting in a reduction in drag forces due to turbulent flow.

Body composition and body position of the individual swimmer within the water may also contribute to improved swimming performance. Having longer limbs would allow a swimmer to create greater torque forces when moving the arms through the water, pushing more water behind the swimmer and thereby increasing velocity. Perhaps the most important key to reducing fluid drag forces is to be in what swimmers refer to as a streamlined body position. A streamline position minimizes body contact with the water by keeping the body in as narrow a position as possible relative to the direction of travel within the water. A streamlined position would give an advantage to people whose physical builds are taller, longer limbed, and have narrow body frame and shoulders. When compared to a wider body frame, a narrower and slim frame would help reduce the overall surface area exposed to the viscous or surface drag against the body in the direction of travel. A narrower and straighter body position would also have an increased laminar flow to counteract the drag forces acting backward on the swimmer. This would be an effective way to reduce the drag forces, providing that the swimmer did not reach too fast of a relative velocity that the forward moving water molecules of the laminar flow moved away from the swimmer’s body and further contributed to an increase in turbulent flow. If this were to happen, the turbulent flow would create a vacuum in the water immediately behind the swimmer and increase the overall force of form drag.

Water moving past the swimmer also creates a pressure drag as it moves around the curves and contours of the body. This creates a pressure difference between the head and feet. This difference pushes back against the swimmer, slowing velocity. A wave drag also exists in front of the swimmer created by water that gets pushed in front of the swimmer as a result of movement through the water. Swimmers work hard to make the techniques of swimming motions as efficient as possible by moving in such a way as to cause a maximal decrease in drag forces while creating the fastest velocity possible with little energy lost to overcoming the drag forces. This allows the swimmer to put as much kinetic energy as possible into moving throughout the race distance in the shortest time possible, rather than expending the majority of the energy in overcoming the drag forces. The streamlined position of a swimmer helps to reduce these combined drag forces, minimizing the effects of a decreased velocity in the water.

Competitive swimmers wear skin-tight swimsuits in an effort to minimize fluid drag forces by reducing the total surface area exposed to viscous drag. Wearing loose-fitting swimsuits would increase the surface area of the swimmer’s body; thereby increasing viscous drag and reducing velocity. Wearing a tight swim suit made of smooth material may also help reduce drag. The purpose of wearing a smooth swimsuit is to reduce the coefficient of drag so that the friction that exists between the suit and the viscosity of the water is lowered than the friction between the water and human skin. To further encourage a reduction in drag forces, swimmers will often wear swim caps on the heads and shave all exposed body hair in addition to wearing suits designed to reduce friction and drag forces.

A high level of performance in swimming is dependent on the ability to reduce drag forces on the swimmer so that the relative velocity of the swimmer in the water may be as fast as possible. Often athletes only consider how to train the body for better performance. Swimmers do this by training to maintain a streamlined position in the water. However, it is clear that changes to the swim suits as well as the design structure and environment of the pool can also be manipulated to reduce drag forces, resulting in faster velocities of the swimmers. Records may very well continue to fall.

Fat Loss Outside the Gym

For those who participate in a regular exercise program, fat loss comes pretty easily when the exercise program is combined with a calorie deficit. People who seek to lose fat through caloric deficit alone find that journey becomes slower and easier. Those who attempt to lose fat without exercise and/or caloric deficit find fat loss is impossible. Fat loss does not happen without a caloric deficit whether it is created through exercise and/or diet. Whether or not a person chooses to use exercise as tool is personal choice. For fastest results I would recommend making that choice in favor of exercise.

When people consider exercise, most are lucky if they can make time for an hour per session three or four times per week. There are 168 hours in a day; 168 in a week. So if a person can consistently hit fours a week that leaves 164 hours that most people do not think about as opportunities to increase caloric deficit. That is a mistake. So let’s talk about correcting that mistake.

1.       Create a Caloric Deficit: this should be a no brainer after the intro. Exercise and don’t eat less; eat less and don’t exercise; do both at once or focus one. It does not matter which approach is used. Failing to create a caloric deficit is the first step in failing to lose fat.

2.       Track Nutrition: it is impossible to create a caloric deficit if a person has no clue how many calories are being consumed. A food journal is a simple way to stay honest and accurately understand how much food is being consumed. Calorie counters lose more fat and find more success.

3.       Eat Protein: eat it at every meal and eat it first. High protein diets create faster fat loss. Shoot for about 30% of total calories from meat.

4.       Eat Real Food: supplements are highly overrated. Supplements can be an effective way to fill in gaps of a nutritional program. Supplements should never be the entirety of the program or used in place of real food. Supplements are supplemental; a tool to aid in improving an already solid nutrition program of real food.

5.       Set a Step goal: Get a pedometer and set a goal of hitting a certain number of steps every day. Start with 10,000 steps a day. For most people that equates about four miles of walking. Do this on its own or in addition to an exercise program. Walking more is an easy way to burn more calories and increase caloric deficit. Walk the dog every day, park at the far end of the parking lot, hide the TV remote. More steps create faster fat loss.

6.       Get active with the kids: it is summer time and if you are one of the fortunate who can spend the summer at home with kids do something simple; play. Go hiking, swimming, take a sports lesson together. Find physically active opportunities to do things with the kids. A summer spent watching TV and playing video games is a wasted summer for parent and child.

7.       Mow the Neighbor’s Lawn: when was the last time that you performed an act of kindness for someone else without expecting anything in return? Here is a simple way to do just that while having the benefit of burning some more calories and increasing that caloric deficit. If not this, odds are that your neighbor or someone else you know could use a hand with some task. Kindness for someone else that benefits you is a win for everyone. 

      Losing body fat absolutely requires creating a caloric deficit. There is no way around that. However, with a little thought and creativity, it does not mean spending a lot of time in the gym. Find means for increasing activity that involve other people will only make the process more enjoyable and worthwhile.

      Bonus tip: sleep more. People who average 7-9 hours of sleep per night have an easier time losing weight than people who lose sleep less than 7 hours per night.

Good Parenting in Sports

I have the privilege of being the father of a five year old baseball loving boy. For the last two years I have enjoyed being his tee ball coach in his first venture into organized sports. This fall he wants to take his step into football. My wife and I have decided to start with flag football. His inner drive for athletics and competition grows stronger by the day. As a father, I love it and, like all good parents, want him to succeed.

Sports were a large part of my childhood; hockey, baseball, football, rugby, basketball, and a year of soccer. Now, in my early thirties I attempt to recapture my childhood in church league softball. Playing and coaching in sports as kid helped form me into the man I am today. My little experience in coaching as an adult has been quite positive and I have had the opportunity to work with great parents of other kids beginning their foray into organized sports.

Unfortunately, it does not go that way for all kids. The growing trend in America is that most kids are done and dropping out of sports by the time they turn thirteen[i]; as noted in a recent article from the Washington Post. There could be a myriad of reasons for this; change in interests on the part of the child, or, expense beyond what parents can afford. Sadly, the most common reason appears to be burnout. Sounds crazy, right? By age thirteen kids have lost enthusiasm and no longer want to play…anything and the primary cause is…parents.

Parents are making their kids hate sports. Not all parents, but it would seem a majority of parents are. Estimates are as high as 70% of kids drop out of sports altogether before becoming a teenager. This is not a problem with bad or lazy kids. This is a problem with bad parenting. Scratch that, stupid parenting; imbecilic, moronic; go poor gasoline on yourself, hold a lit match and play human Frogger during rush hour traffic on the interstate insanity parenting. Did that statement hurt your feelings? If so, you are probably that win-at-all costs, vicariously-living-my-kid-will-fulfill-my-dreams, hypercompetitive, screaming at and threatening the officials’ kind of parent. Do you find your sense of pride through your child’s athletic ability and sports performance? Want to know a secret? Your child probably hates you. If not now, then at some point in the future. Overbearing parents’ hell bent on victory at all costs are ruining kids’ sports. In a nut shell, this kind of parent is the problem. A majority of kids dropping out of sports is the symptom of the greater problem: bad parents in sports.

As a coach, I have been fortunate in that I have not had to deal with any bad sports parents with kids on my teams. But I have seen coaches deal with them on other teams. I have sat in the stands and listened as parents screamed vulgarities at officials, coaches, even other kids. I have come to the conclusion that there is a complete disconnect between what a kid wants out of sports and what the bad sports parent thinks a kid needs.

In kids’ sports, kids spell success F-U-N, not W-I-N. As kids get older they want to win. But until the high school years, for kids, winning is less important than having fun. That is the way it should and needs to be for a child to grow into an adult that enjoys a lifetime of playing sports and being physically active. The parent of a young child that cares more about winning then the child enjoying the sport that is parenting wrong. Winning is not all bad; neither is losing. Both are opportunities for learning and growth for the child. I am not a “let’s not keep score and everyone gets a trophy” person. A child must be properly prepared for real life and learn how to deal with a loss or setback. Properly guided, sports are a great place for kids to learn these lessons. Most kids begin to understand the concept or winning and losing around age five. Keep score, have winners and losers. Every kid does not deserve a trophy. As a parent the job is to make the child a learner in either situation. When properly approached, sports in childhood provide some of the best possible real life teaching moments.

Use the opportunities sports provide to teach your child. Let the coach coach. Too many times parents are trying to yell advice from the stands. I get it, your child is your pride and joy, as a parent you want them to succeed. Odds are that your kid can not hear you yelling from the stands. Or, if you are being loud enough for the child to hear, your child is too embarrassed by the attention to follow the advice. Please, be an enthusiastic and supportive parent. Just limit the comment to encouragement, not advice. When playing sports, your kid is looking for your approval not your opinion. If you believe you coaching abilities are so good, then next year you volunteer: run the practices and games, teach the kids how to play, and deal with the other parents. Not up for that challenge? Encourage, do not assess and advise. Leave that to the coach.

As a coach, I love parents that encourage their child, but stay out of the way a let me coach. I have been blessed to have many of those kinds of parents around. Those parents are helpful and make the coaches life easier. The best coaches have the best interest of the kids at heart, so do the best parents. These parents are smart..Do you know what is not smart for kids in sports? Early age sport specialization and year round competition. At the close of my son’s tee ball season last week a few of the other parents asked if we would be playing fall ball. My answer was a polite but adamant NO! My son is five and focusing solely on one sport year round would be a terrible idea. Aside from the fact that a young child changes interest in activities quickly, ample research suggests that specialization in a single sport before high school actually hurts athletic development.[ii] This the position of the National Institute of Health and the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine. If this well researched position does not convince you, consider this anecdote: Ohio State Head Football Coach Urban Meyer prefers to recruit multi-sport high school athletes. Of the 47 athletes on 2015 National Championship team, 42 of them played two or more sports throughout high school. These kids did not focus solely on football until arriving at Ohio State.[iii]

But so and so coach offered to put my eight-year-old on such and such travel team because it would increase his chances of a college scholarship. Unfortunately, research does not bear this out. In fact, it says the exact opposite. Excessive competition and early travel is one of the major mistakes bad sports parents make. Remember, the kids spell success F-U-N, not W-I-N.  Too much of anything, even a sport a child really enjoys, will eventually become too much. Kids need time to be kids. Beyond that, there is a reason that every major professional sport has an offseason; adult bodies need a break. If an adult’s body cannot handle year round high level competition, what chance does a child’s body have?

There are two types of injuries in sports: traumatic and overuse. Traumatic is an accident or results from an unusual for of contact. Despite the best preventative measures traumatic injuries are going to be a part of sports. Overuse injuries, however, are preventable. Simply perform less action or perform different actions. In 2014, the American Medical Society released a position statement on overuse injuries children’s sports. Early specialization and year round competition were two of the reasons sighted for overuse injuries in children.[iv] Next to burn out, were the leading reasons children quit playing sports. The AMSs’ top recommendation for avoiding sports injury in children is to play multiple sports starting at an early age.

As a personal trainer, I would never recommend that an adult client train seven days a week. The body needs rest. Why should a child be capable of more? Before puberty, total practice and competition time for children should be no more than three days per week for a total of six hours or less. Even less time for younger children. Coaching my son’s tee ball team we practice once a week for 45 minutes and played one game per week for 45 minutes. In my opinion, do to more would have been neglectful on my part as a personal trainer, coach, and parent. To do more would have been counterproductive both as a coach and a parent.

When it comes to kids and sports less time, less stress, and fun is more important than winning. Parents, do the kids a favor; let them be kids. Let the kids do what kids do. Let them have fun. Let them play. The good parents will do this and watch their children experience wonderful and enjoyable involvement in sports throughout childhood. Maybe this burn out and drop out trend can be reversed. Maybe kids can get back to playing for the love of the fun. The question is; will parents do the right thing and let them/

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[i] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2016/06/01/why-70-percent-of-kids-quit-sports-by-age-13/?postshare=5441464916019578&tid=ss_tw-bottom

[ii] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3658411/

[iii] http://newsok.com/article/5389737

[iv] https://www.amssm.org/Content/pdf%20files/2014_OverUse_Injuries-Burnout.pdf

Clearing up “Muscle Confusion:” Understanding Muscle Fiber Differences and Training for Results

Clearing up “Muscle Confusion:” Understanding Muscle Fiber Differences and Training for Results

“Muscle Confusion,” the term gets tossed around as if it is some sort of scientifically proven concept that guarantees magical results, whether those results be fat loss or muscle gain. Muscle confusion is key right? Wrong, skeletal muscles are not the brain; skeletal muscles are incapable of thought, rationalizations, and problem-solving. Confusion of the skeletal muscles is a physiological impossibility. The only confusion going on here is the attempt to sound knowledgeable without having an educated understanding of muscle physiology and response to exercise stimulation should influence designing a training program.

There is more to creating an effective exercise program than just getting sweaty and out of breath. The information about to be discussed, from a scientific understanding of human physiology and exercise, is a very simplistic view. Any undergraduate student in a kinesiology or exercise science program could readily explain the science. Understanding the science allows for the art of proper and practical application within program design. A program is designed and executed with a purpose. A properly designed program will make a person better, not create confusion.

To avoid confusion, the discussion will cover the two primary types of muscle fibers: slow-twitch and fast-twitch. The discussion will cover basic anatomical differences, the different systems, providing energy to the muscle fibers, and the necessary ways to stimulate the muscles to maximize fitness levels and build a better, healthier body. After all, if it does not make the body better, why bother?

Before getting into the specifics of the muscle fibers, a quick point needs to be made the chemical substrate Adenosine Triphospate (ATP). It is the driver of all actions within all 430 of skeletal muscles in the human body. Regardless of what type of muscle fiber is working or for how long, it requires ATP for movement. The different energy systems that work within the different fiber types all working to replenish the levels of ATP to allow for continued movement. Many of the calories that are eaten and diverted into the muscles are put to work creating more ATP to fuel continued movement.

Type One Muscle Fibers, aka, slow-switch muscle fibers are excellent at resisting fatigue. This a result of having high numbers mitochondria and dense capillary concentration in comparison with Fast-Twitch fibers. Slow-twitch fibers are fueled by the oxidative system for the breakdown and utilization of ATP. The oxidative system is slowest at using ATP. In practical application, this meanest that Type One muscle fibers are great for endurance-based activities. If the exercise lasts longer than two minutes for cardiovascular exercise or for more than 20 repetitions in a strength-training exercise, slow-twitch fibers are the primary drivers of movement and the muscle fibers being improved with the training stimulus.

The Type Two, aka, Fast-Twitch fibers are capable of developing higher levels of force and higher velocities of movement. In short, fast-twitch fibers work at higher intensities, both with heavier weights and faster speeds. These can be broken into two subgroups: Fast-Twitch B and Fast-Twitch A fibers.

Fast-Twitch B Fibers work on the opposite end of the exercise spectrum from slow-twitch fibers. The fast glycolytic energy system fuels these fibers for very high intensity, short duration activities. These muscle fibers have the fewest mitochondria, lowest, capillary density, and low aerobic enzyme activity making it the first and fastest energy system to be utilized, but also the slowest to recover. This why a sprint only lasts a few seconds while it is possible to walk for hours. For these fibers to be utilized, physical activity must be so intense that it lasts 10 seconds or less. Strength-training for less than 6 repetitions, sprinting, and plyometric exercises train the Fast-Twitch B fibers.

Fast-Twitch A fibers bridge the gap between Slow-Twitch Fibers and Fast-Twitch B fibers. The A fibers can be thought of as the medium intensity fibers. Being fuelled by the oxidative glycolytic energy system, the mitochondria levels and aerobic enzyme activity falls in between that of the slow-twitch and fast twitch B fibers. The A fibers are performing the work in cardiovascular exercise that lasts from 10 seconds up to two minutes, think intervals, and in strength training done for 7-19 repetitions.

So, with a basic understanding of the muscle fibers, how should this influence the design and emphasis of a training program? It would be easy if these different types of muscle fibers existed in equal amounts; a program could then be designed to spend an equal amount of time training each muscle fiber type for a well-balance, physically capable and health body. They do not. The slow-twitch fibers comprise roughly 45% of the total skeletal muscle within the body; Fast Twitch B, 20% and Fast Twitch A, 35%.

Assuming that we are talking about the average person who simply wants to be healthy and look good, without training for a high level of sport-specific performance, a training program should break up its time along the same lines. As an example, let’s assume a person has time to train one hour a day, five days per week. This translates into 300 minutes of exercise per week.

If a person wants visible results this is a reasonable time commitment. Less time will improve health but not the reflection in the mirror.

45% of 300 is 135. So to adequately train the slow-twitch fibers a person would need to spend 135 minutes doing endurance based training, preferably cardiovascular exercise. That equates to two hours and fifteen minutes of steady-pace cardio per week. 35% of 300 is 105. So 105 minutes should be spent training the Fast Twitch A fibers using medium intensity exercise. The Fast Twitch B fibers should be emphasized in 20% of training which would translate into 60 minutes of high intensity sprinting or strength training per week.

Five Hours (300 minutes) of Exercise Per Week
Muscle Fiber Type	Energy System	Duration/Intensity	Recovery Ratio	Time Per Week
Slow Twitch (Type I)	Oxidative System	Anything done longer than two minutes or 20 reps	N/A	135 minutes
Fast Twitch B (Type IIB)	Fast Glycolytic	1-10 second or less than 6 reps	1: 4-5	60 minutes
Fast Twitch A (Type IIA)	Oxidative Glycolytic	10 seconds-two minutes or 7-19 reps	1: 2-3	105 minutes

The simplest approach to properly balancing training is to pick one primary goal for the workout. This is especially important for high intensity exercise. For the beginner following this example, training one hour a day, five days per week, it would be best to dedicate one full 60 minute workout to high intensity training with the Fast Twitch B fibers than to try and mix it in with the other days. Two 60 minute workouts could be dedicated to training the Slow Twitch fibers while spending one 60 minute workout training the Fast Twitch A fibers. One workout would be split between the remaining training time dedicated to the Fast Twitch A fibers and Slow Twitch fibers.  See the table below for a sample outline of a training week.

Day	Fiber Type	Duration
Sunday	Fast Twitch B	60 minutes of sprinting and heavy strength training 1-6 reps
Monday	Slow Twitch	60 minutes of steady pace cardiovascular exercise
Tuesday	None	Rest
Wednesday	Fast Twitch A	60 minutes 7-19 reps strength training
Thursday	Slow Twitch	60 minutes of steady pace cardiovascular exercise
Friday	Fast Twitch A/Slow Twitch	45 minutes of 30 second-2 minute intervals and 15 minutes of steady pace cardiovascular exercise
Saturday	None	Rest

Variation is training stimulus is necessary in order to maximize the fitness potential of the human body. However, it should never be confusing. Variations in training should always be deliberate, methodical, practical, and performed with passion. 

Carry the Burden

When in doubt, just get really, really strong. It tends to cure most problems in training and in life.-Jim Wendler

If you are not familiar with Jim Wendler, he is a powerlifting coach who created and popularized the 5/3/1 program for strength training as an intense way to get incredibly strong. I have done the program and it is incredibly effective at improving strength. But consistently training with heavy loads on barbells is not for everyone. For some people deadlifts, squats and upper body pressing exercises are just is not their thing. Nothing wrong with that, however, in real life there is are daily requirements and tasks that simply require some level of physical strength: carrying a child, groceries, loading up the roof rack on a vehicle. At some point, picking up a heavy object and moving it is unavoidable, whether or not a person wants be a powerlifter.

Carrying loads is a natural requirement. Parents, if you cannot pick up your young child when the kid wants to be held, the child is not too heavy; you are too weak. It is a sad display when a child loses affection because the parent to unfit to give it. Metaphorically and physically, life requires the capacity to carry burdens. Get to work and get stronger by training with loaded carries.

Loaded carry exercises have several physical benefits beyond sharing loving affection with children. When performed properly loaded carries are incredible for improving posture, total body coordination, moving under load, grip strength, and ultimately confidence. From an aesthetic standpoint loaded carries are fantastic for building the muscles of upper back and shoulders. Any skinny runt of a kid can have a six pack. People with eating disorders can make their abs show and any person willing to be ridiculously strict with their diet can achieve abs in a healthy way. But if a person wants to look like a strong, fit person; if a person wants to make it clear that fitness is important without having to say a word, it is time to focus on developing the traps, rhomboids, and shoulders to develop that linebacker look. Loaded carry exercises are one of the best and simplest ways pack on a lot of muscle while drastically improving strength.

Success in training with loaded carries begins and ends with proper posture. Just because it can be picked up and carried does not mean that the exercise was performed beneficially. If the exercise cannot be performed with proper posture than the weight is too heavy for the individual’s strength level.

There are five different carrying exercises that everyone should master. The basic set up a posture requirements remain the same. The major difference between the exercises is the position of the weight in relation to the body throughout the carry. There are two primary ways to perform a loaded carry; for time or distance. Pick a weight and carry it for a specific amount of time. This can vary from 30 seconds up to 3 minutes. With distance, minimum distance should be 20 yards and could be along as 400 yards.

1.       Farmer’s Walk is performed holding a dumb bell or kettle bell in each hand. The arms are kept straight at the sides with the hands level with the hips. The strength goal with this exercise is too be able to carry a combined weight equal to the individual’s body weight.

2.       Suitcase Carry is similar to the Farmer’s Walk in that is uses the same body positioning. The major difference is that with the suitcase carry weight is only being held in one hand. A one-handed carry is an excellent way to train core stability and strength; it forces the opposite side of the abdominals to work hard to keep the body in an upright posture. The strength goal with this exercise is to carry half of bodyweight

3.       Overhead Carry is performed using a barbell or a weight plate and extending the arms straight overhead. It is important to ensure that the elbows in line with the ears when performing an overhead loaded carry as this is the safest position for the neck and shoulders. If an individual lacks the mobility in the shoulder to align the elbows with the ears this exercise should be avoided and work should be done to improve shoulder mobility.  Assuming healthy shoulder mobility is present, the emphasis of moving the weight to an overhead position does an excellent job of strengthening the entire back and improving posture. It is impossible to do this exercise in a position of poor posture. If any pain is experienced anywhere along the spine while performing this exercise it is an indicator of an underlying posture problem that needs to be addressed. Stop doing this particular exercise and fix the posture problem before resuming.

 

4.       Waiter’s Carry is like the suit case carry in that weight is only carried in one hand. However, the position of the weight is changed so that the arm is extended overheard. Doing this adds to the core stability of the suitcase carry by strengthening the stability of the upper back and shoulder. An excellent strength goal for this exercise is one quarter of body. Due to the potential higher risk of injury to the shoulder with this exercise, it is not recommended for people who have had a history of rotator cuff problems.

5.       Trap Bar Carry is the pinnacle of super strength when it comes loaded carry exercises. The trap bar is a bar not commonly featured in most commercial gyms. However, if you happen to have one, it is unmistakable. This diamond shape bar also a person to stand in the middle of it. It is commonly used for a variation of deadlifting. What makes the Trap Bar an effective tool for carrying exercises is that it allows far more weight to be carried than the hands could hold using Dumb Bells or Kettle Bells. Basically, if you can deadlift it with this bar, you can carry it, even if for a short distance of 20 yards or less. The technique on this is simple; load up the bar and deadlift it into a standing position and start walking. The strength goal for this is 1 ½ times body weight.

Few exercises combine total body strength training, conditioning, endurance, and posture improvement into a simple process. Loaded carries do all of this while creating significant calorie burning. Sometimes life feels heavy; be prepared by training to carry burdens.

Why I love Carbs

Carbs: most people have a love/hate relationship with this misunderstood source of nutrients. High performance athletes love carbs for the easily accessible energy carbohydrates provide. But for the overweight and/or obese person, carbs can feel like a like a curse from hell. So which approach is right? The answer is…it depends. Whether or not carbs are good for a person is dependent on multiple factors: amount consumed per day, the source of the carbs, and the reason for consuming them. Carbs have been so demonized by the fitness industry that some people are afraid of touching a banana, much less actually eating one. However, once the health benefits and proper usage of carbs is understood, carbs are no longer a four-letter word. They become one more weapon in the arsenal of good health.

The reason for consuming carbs is straight forward: carbs are more easily and quickly digested by the body, making them more readily available to provide energy for the body. Energy is kind of important if the body is going to move. The more movement that occurs and the more intense the movement; the more energy is needed to support the activity. For this reason, athletes drink Gatorade instead of stopping to eat a steak with peanut butter in middle of competition. Those can be a healthy food options but the body does readily digest and make use of protein and fats during exercise. No fuel, no performance. For this reason, sports drinks are appropriate for athletes during competition or practice; the couch potato, not so much.

The source of carbs, I would argue, is more important than how many are consumed. A person can eat three bananas before consuming the same amount of sugar that is in a donut. With the added bonus of the naturally occurring B vitamins and potassium, two nutrients most people inadequately consume, in bananas. Vegetables contain more Vitamin C than ice cream; oatmeal has more fiber than a candy bar; rice will sustain a person while chips will cause a crash. The simple way to distinguish a healthy source of carbs versus unhealthy is the farm test. Carbs should look like they came off of a farm, not out of a factory.

Low carb diets have long been the go to fat loss recommendation from fitness professionals and doctors alike. It may be an appropriate method for some people: diabetics, inactive overweight and obese people, and sugar addicts may benefit from following a low-carb nutrition program. This is assuming that a person want to lose weight without strenuously exercising. For the person wanting high performance and endurance, a low carb approach is a mistake. The harder the training the more carbs needed.

So how does a person determine an appropriate amount carbohydrate intake? I would suggest basing needs on body weight; consuming one gram of carbohydrates per pound of body weight would be moderate carb consumption. This would be appropriate for someone that has a job being on his or her feet all day but does not exercise. A low carb diet would be consuming less than one gram of carbs per pound of body weight. This would be for the diabetic or obese person who does not exercise. Consuming up to two grams of carbs per pound of weight would be a moderately high carb diet. Consuming more than two grams per pound of weight per day would be a high carb diet. Only people who exercise regularly are the only ones who should toy with a moderately high or high carbohydrate diet.

Grams PerPound of Bodyweight Per Day	Appropriate Circumstances
<1	Diabetic, Obese, Non Exerciser
1	Daily Activity, Non Exerciser
1-1.5	Daily Activity, Exercises 2-3x/week less than an hour
1.5-2	Daily Activity, Exercise 4-5x/week for an hour
2+	Daily Activity, Exercises 5+/week for more than an hour

Beyond basic nutrition, carbs serve a few lesser known, but just as important functions regarding health. Carbohydrates play a vital role in proper thyroid function. The thyroid regulates almost all of the hormones within the human body. It needs carbohydrates to properly manage the creation and circulation of healthy hormone levels. One of the dangers of following a long term low carbohydrate diet, particularly for women, is a disruption in healthy hormone levels. This can disrupt everything from metabolism, to sleep cycles, body temperature, and for women, menstrual cycles. If and when a low carb diet program is employed, it should be done with a short-term approach with a specific end date in mind. Typically lasting eight weeks or less.

The word hydrate is a part of carbohydrate. Carbs love water; they are more easily digested, and put to better use within the body in the presence of adequate hydration. In the body, carbs are converted to glucose and stored. When stored in the muscles, carbs are stored as glycogen, the primary source of fuel for the muscles. High carbohydrate stores within the muscles make them appear bigger and fuller because of the water drawn into the muscle when the glycogen is stored.

Despite the evils of insulin in the presence of diabetes; it does play a healthy role in the body. It is responsible for storing nutrients, particularly glycogen within the muscles. Carbohydrates, the healthy ones from the farm, help insulin function properly and promote health in the body. The junk carbs that come from boxes, bags, and wrappers cause insulin to function improperly, potentially resulting in diabetes. No one ever developed diabetes eating apples.

Perhaps the most important function of carbs, from a fitness stand point is the avoidance of gluconeogenesis. Gluconeogenesis occurs when glycogen levels within the muscles have gotten too low, usually from a combination of high activity and inadequate carb intake. The muscles need something to fuel increased demands for activity. Through gluconeogenesis, the body breaks down protein from the muscle tissue and converts it into glycogen to be used as fuel for the activity. This state often results from a prolonged low carb diet combined with attempts to maintain intense exercise. It may cause weight loss, however, if the weight loss is coming from muscle tissue instead of body fat, health has not improved and performance will most definitely decrease. Gluconeogenesis is the reason low carb diets are not for high performance athletes.

When a person understands how and where the sources of healthy carbs should be consumed, learns to consume carbs in appropriate amounts, and consumes them for the right reasons; the health benefits will be reaped. That is why I love carbs. Carbs are not evil, avoiding carbs to be healthy is unnecessary. Put in the effort to learn to eat the right carbs in the right amounts for the right reason and you can learn to love them too.

Why We Exercise: the Thought Processes of Those Who Make it a Lifestyle

 At some point every person who has ever attempted to make exercise a part of his or her lifestyle reaches the point of considering whether to continue the journey or quit. Over the past several years of being a personal trainer I have come to see many common qualities within the thought process of those who choose to continue the journey. My personal weight loss journey spans sixteen years and having lost over 100 lbs. Sixteen years is a long time and I have no intentions of quitting. Ever. It is my opinion that everyone who has a story similar to mine has, at some point in their personal journey, come to some personal realizations. The collective mindset of we who exercise may look different in outcome but the thought processes remain the same.

The most common complaint that I received from clients or people in general, is that eating healthy and exercising regularly is hard. And they are right; it is hard to choose vegetables and fruit instead fries and ice cream. It is hard to get out of bed for a 5 am workout. A person who wants to deadlift twice his body weight will have to work hard to get there. So will someone who wants to run a marathon. Exercise is not easy. If it feels that way it’s being done wrong. Other things are hard. It is hard having your knees hurt every time you take a step. Getting out of breath going up stairs is not fun. Suffering from a slipped disc in the lower back because of excess body fat is not an easy thing. The reality is that everyone will deal with hard; there is no escaping it. The question is what kind of hard do you want? People who successfully live a life of good health and fitness have accepted this reality: hard must be dealt with in some manner. The great thing about having a choice means that a person can choose differently. Which hard have you chosen?

Motivation powerfully influences of choice. But there is a difference in the motivation of people who consistently live making healthy choices for a lifetime versus those who are on and off, or off entirely, is choosing to live healthy. The people are on and off tend to view being healthy as being a certain size or seeing a certain number on the scale while this may be helpful to an extent of the primary motivation for exercise is to look a certain way, be a certain size or weight, are extrinsically motivated. There definition of health comes from what they perceive as what others think about their appearance. Health is dictated by society’s standard of beauty and health. Why allow the opinions of others to dictate your sense of health and self-worth? Intrinsically motivated people, however, tend to make exercise a life-long commitment. The difference in the mindset is that instead of being influenced by and competing with external factors, the intrinsically motivated person is only competing against his or her self. The secret of success in staying motivated is realizing that being better than yesterday is the goal. Do something today that makes yesterday obsolete and tomorrow easier; living in the moment to make today better than yesterday is the only way to make motivation permanent.

In contrast, a lifetime of fitness is about external rewards not internal ones. Yes, there is an incredible sense of confidence and accomplishment that comes from staying the course in fitness. That is an important part of building a healthy mindset. However, most people who have a successful fitness journey find their greatest reward in inspiring others to press on in the own journey and to accomplish things that low levels of fitness may have once prevented. This goes beyond a healthier weight or size. It moves towards new opportunities. That is the greatest external reward to have the opportunity to attempt anything without fear of being held back.

When a person begins to see new opportunity as a reward his view of work changes; freedom is found in the hard work, not in avoiding it. The work, in and of itself, becomes a part of the reward. I happened to be an avid hunter. In September I spent ten days in Alberta, Canada elk hunting. My hunt met with success on the first evening; nine hours into the ten day hunt. Not every hunt is successful so quickly. Beyond the feeling of accomplishment and pride in the providing of free range, organic meat for my family, one of the most joyful moments of the experience was when I strapped on a pack loaded with the two front quarters of the elk and hiked it out of the valley back to the vehicle. The physical work was equivalent to climbing Pinnacle Mountain while carrying 125lbs in a pack. As physically grueling as that work felt, I loved it. The work was not done that night by moonlight at 10:30 pm. The work was done over the previous four months preparing for that moment. That night was the reward for the work. Those kinds of experiences would have been far more difficult, if not impossible, 100lbs ago.

The final aspect in the mindset of those who exercise comes from finding freedom in the work; over time, more enthusiasm in the process than the results. There is nothing wrong with wanting results from an exercise program. Results that improve body composition and overall fitness should absolutely be some of the objectives of exercise. However, those results only come to those who develop more enthusiasm in the journey than the destination. The secret of this is realizing that once the destination is reached; it is time to pick a new one and move into a new journey with new challenges. Passion for the journey is the only way to make the arrival a reality.

The mindset of those who pursue a lifetime of exercise and fitness seek to become different; in body and mind. The body will only achieve what the mind can believe. Enthusiasm creates freedom in the work. The reward of freedom is enjoyment for the process and renewed motivation. It is a choice, a hard choice. Choose the hard with which you are willing to live.