I don't want to bulk up!

Ladies… A large majority of us dream of having a body with nice curves, without any fat on the tummy, abdominal muscles slightly visible, no flabby but shaped arms, no fat between the inner thighs and of course no cellulite on the legs or on any other part of the body. I have got solutions!

Get Well with the Magic of Foam Rollers!

Wellbeing, Pain Reduction, Injury Prevention, Flexibility Improvement, Neuromuscular Efficiency, Performance Enhancement and Maximization of Recovery Time are all the benefits you can get from this simple piece of foam!

• What is a Foam Roller?

A Foam Roller looks like a pool noodle but it is more dense and larger in diameter. I am sure you have seen one of them in your gym facilities.

• What is it for?

Foam Rollers are the poor man’s massage therapists. They help to release tension in the myofascial system (Made up of muscle and fascia, fascia being a connective tissue that surrounds muscles). In other words, it helps to decrease density and over activity on tender areas, knots or trigger points.

The technique used with a Foam Roller is called Soft tissue Therapy, or soft Tissue Mobilization. Chiropractors use the name Active Release Therapy. Massage therapists call it Deep Tissue Work. Physical Therapist Mike Clarke called it Self-Myofascial Release.

• Are there any contraindications?

- Foam rolling should be used with discretion if you have very little muscle density. Foam rolling should never cause bruising!

Foam Rolling should be avoided for very weak or overweight people as the arms are involved in moving the body. It could be hard work in those cases, and it’s not meant to be hard! 

- If you are pregnant, specific precautions must me taken. Make sure your Personal Trainer updates their knowledge about this topic.

- Don’t use it if you have Osteoporosis, because your bones are fragile and brittle.

• When do you use it?

There is no strict rule or universal agreement over this question.

You can use it on a daily basis, at anytime!

If you don’t have much time, Self -Massage with a Foam Roller provides great benefits both before your workout and one-day post workout:

- Used before your workout as a component of your warm-up, it will decrease muscle density (or loosen up your fascia and muscles) and allow for a feeling of wellbeing and performance enhancement during your workout.

- Used first thing in the morning the day after, it will help you recover faster. If you are in situation of acute pain, use it several times per day.

• How do you massage your own body with a Foam Roller ?

Get a Foam Roller, and use your bodyweight to apply pressure to sore spots.

As you roll, you will be able to identify those tight spots. Roll slowly at least 1 or 2 minutes until the pain lessens.

Stop Rolling and Rest for 15 - 30 seconds on the very painful areas.

It works really well on your back, glutes (bum), and thighs.

If you need further explanation and want to include a routine into your workout, please contact me !

• What is better, massage therapy or foam roller?

Hands work much better than foam as they are connected to the brain and can feel. A foam roller doesn’t feel anything! . If cost is not an issue for you, go for a massage before every workout. Yes, it’s gonna be pretty expensive! The Foam Roller provides unlimited self-massage at a reasonable cost.

• And what about Stretching?

Stretching has been said to reduce the risk of injury, however there is still a need for further research. One of the best coaches Michael Boyle says that stretching is much more beneficial if you roll first! Just try it and you will be astonished! Because it softens and loosens up the tissue it will facilitate the stretching.  If you ask elite athletes’ coaches, a good warm up is made up of Self – Myofascial Release, Stretching (Passive and Active) and Dynamic Movements. It seems to be the best way to prevent injury, improve flexibility and enhance performance.

Now, let's roll ! 

Have a lovely week 

Nathalie

Crunches and Sit-Ups. Do we really have to go to all that trouble?

• Crunches are the basis of any workout program, right?

Crunches, Sit-Ups or Abdominal Roll-Ups are at the root of many workout programs today. Researchers, however, have recently determined that the traditional crunch puts extra load on the spine, potentially creating back problems, increasing the risk of injury on your discs. As the time goes on, the discs in your spine eventually herniate. It may go against everything you’ve learned when it comes to abdominal exercises. Read Stuart McGill (1988), if you want to know more.

Also, for some people who are at risk of Pelvic Floor problems, Crunches and Sit- Ups place pressure down on the Pelvic Floor. As the time goes on, leakage may occur because the pelvic floor muscles become weak.

•  But abdominals are made to flex the trunk, aren’t they?

Looking at the functional anatomy of the lumbar spine, it does not allow much movement. The joints were more built for stability than for mobility. Regarding your abdominal muscles, they function to “stabilize your spine, maintain optimal alignment and movement relationships between the pelvis and the spine and prevent excessive stress and compensatory motions of the pelvis during movements of the extremities” (Sarmann, 1969) . Then, they are not mainly responsible to flex your trunk, even if they are quite useful when you get out of bed, get up from a couch or if you play a sport that require strength in flexing the trunk. All that means that I now try my best to make intelligent choices when it comes to strengthen the core. That’s my approach. Safety first. Respect the body and what it has been designed for.

• So, is there anything to do to strengthen my mid – section in a safe way?

Planks and Advanced Plank Positions, Core Rows, Cable Chops, Stability Ball Roll-Outs, Standing Medicine Ball or Barbell Anti-Rotation Exercises, Medicine Ball Slams are great exercises! There are plenty of stuff to do. 


Please ask me about your training program, I can review it and tell you what to do. As a Fitness Professional, I can help you online ! http://www.helphub.com.au/

• What are the instructions regarding the technique? 

“Hollow out your abs, push your spine to the floor, brace your abs !” The act of drawing the belly button to backbone has been advocated to turn on the core and stabilise the spine. I used to say these words… but I don’t do anymore!. I now recommend people to stay tall, elongate the spine and neck. Keep neutral spine.  If you keep pulling your navel towards the spine all the day long, your organs might suffer from a lack of movement. Breathing through your belly and allowing your belly to relax is important. It acts lack a massage for your organs and it’s healthier.

According to www.pelvicfloorfirst.org.au, to work well, the core muscles need to be flexible and contract and relax. Constant bracing can lead to stiffness. Leakage may occur because the pelvic floor muscles are weak, but can also occur because people have been bracing the core too much and have made the muscles stiff.

• If I don’t do any crunches, how can I lose fat on my tummy?

Let’s address the myth of spot-reduction. If you do thousands of biceps curls, you believe your biceps will get bigger. And if you do thousands of crunches, you believe your tummy will get smaller. It doesn’t make sense. I’m sure you agree! However, that’s the “classic gym logic”.

If you want to reveal your six-pack, your goal is to improve body composition and decrease body fat percentage (for women, below 20% is a healthy goal to reveal a nice mid – section) The first place to look for improved body composition is in your kitchen. Proper nutrition is of paramount importance in effecting your waistline. 


Then, regarding your training, forget the Sit-Ups. It’s just a waist of time. The most potently results-oriented exercise is interval training. Study after study shows that interval training is superior to steady-state cardio exercise in terms fat burning. In addition, full-body resistance training is necessary to increase the fat-burning hormones testosterone and growth hormone (HGH). 


As a Personal Trainer, I can have a look at your program and tell you if it will maximize your chances to get results. Find me on http://www.helphub.com.au/

“You have learned something.  That always feels at first as if you had lost something” H.G. Wells

Happy New Year !

Nathalie

No results with your training ? And yet, your lifestyle sounds healthy

I meet many people who tell me they are doing the right things : smart exercise, healthy diet, and yet they don’t get results.They don’t lose fat (especially on the stomach), they struggle to gain muscle mass, they lack of energy, their performance doesn’t improve…First thing to do is to get your training program and your diet assessed by some professionals.

Then, if you are still not getting results, ask yourself if your “Mind” is under control. Clearly, if your mind is always busy, if you lack of sleep or if you never unwind, you have an enormous chance not to reach your goals, get injured, or worse, get seriously sick (of course, it will happen to the others, not to YOU). This last thing happened to me and it took me 2 years to admit that I have been stressed-out since my childhood.

You might have a cutting-edge training program and the most appropriate diet and yet not being able to reach your goals. It means that Stress, lack of Rest, lack of Sleep make you fat and ruin your health.

It’s not a joke guys ! Everything that happens in your brain impacts your body. 

To sum up : EXERCISE and NUTRITION are pillars for Healthy Living. REST is another one.  Let’s focus on this concept and figure out what you can do, in 3 points.

1. Get adequate Passive Recovery after Exercise

Between 2 workouts, leave some time to your body to come back then exceed its original state of performance.  The recovery time will depend on your training session. It means you must give your body some time OFF. Also, working out 7 days like hell is just counterproductive. Actually, when your muscles are “attacked” (training is an attack), they react and become stronger after your workout (not during the workout) so that they will be prepared for the next “attack”. This building process takes place when you rest. This process is called “Supercompensation”.

The key to progress is to train early enough and not too late after the last session, exactly when the muscles are exceeding their original state of performance. If you train too early, the muscles are still affected by the last training session and you might keep them from strengthening. On a long term basis, overtraining will increase the risk of injuries and many other symptoms. If on the other side, you train too late or irregularly (for example, every 10 days), it is very difficult to increase your physical performance because your muscles are back to their original state. Their ability to exceed their original state doesn’t last.

2. Restore your sleep 

People forget it and deny it, but Good Sleep is a very powerful way to be happy, healthy, slim and energetic. It is like recharging your batteries. Even though it’s free, it is something really hard to achieve for many people.

You don’t sleep enough because you are too busy and stressed all day ? And you are getting even more stressed and irritable because you lack of sleep ? That’s a vicious circle.

Basically, lack of sleep or sleep disorders are stressors for your body.Your body is well designed to deal with occasional  stressors. However it doesn’t react well to continuous stress. This situation can lead to chronically elevated Cortisol.

Cortisol is an hormone. People think it’s just a toxic substance, but actuallywhen it’s under control (which is rarely the case with our Modern lifestyle), it plays in favor of our well-being.

However, if we are stressed continuously, it will contribute to fat accumulation, particularly around the abdominal area, because of the HSD activity, higher in abdominal fat cells (11 beta – hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-1, enzyme deep within fat cells).

Fat Accumulation is not the only outcome of this lack of sleep. Lack of sleep, often associated with excessive stress, in the long term, can lead to serious Illnesses (adrenal Insufficiency, risk of Stroke and Inflammation, Impairment of the Immune system …)

Be mindful that the body is very good at resisting. Your body can stay 15 years without showing any pathology, so don’t wait to be seriously sick to restore your sleep…

→ What can you do ? (Ready for Action ?) 

It’s more than compulsory that you do these 2 things :

• Sleep in a DARK room. Even small light ray is enough for your brain to think it’s not time to sleep! It will not switch your body into a resting mode. Blackout Shades or eye mask can make a huge difference. Yes, sleep in a dark room is powerful enough to help you lose abdominal fat
• Shut computer, TV and phone 1 hour before going to bed (They are stressors and elevate Cortisol levels and stress hormones) 
  

Then gradually follow the following rules : 

• Avoid stimulants like coffee, tea and soda after 2 PM
• Avoid alcohol, cigarets and recreational drugs
• Light a few candles after the sun has declined can create a relaxing effect
• Reading, taking a relaxing bath, or going for a relaxing walk are beneficial options before going to bed
• Listen to a relaxing music after dinner
• Drink a glass of Herbal Tea 1 or 2 hours before going to bed
• Keep your bedroom cool (18 C or 65 F)

3. Control your Mind

I love the concept of being “Mindful”. We live either in the future, to plan everything, or in the past, to assess the past situations and be better in the future. But what about the present moment ? Do you live in the moment ? Are you Mindful of what’s happening right now ?

Our way of life is stressing. It’s another way to get our body into a state of chronically elevated Cortisol (meaning storing fat and feel lethargic all day long …)

Learning to enjoy every moment of life, good or bad, is a great thing to preserve your health, lose fat and improve your quality of life.

→ What can you do ?

• When you feel stressed. Take 5 deep breathes in through the nose, filling the belly (not the chest) and then gently breathing through the mouth or nose. Bring your attention to the air on the way in and out of your body then go back to your activities
• If you get anxious at night and find it hard to sleep, first, try to focus your attention on the noises outside of the room, then those inside of your room. Afterwards, focus on your feelings and sensations when lying in your bed (softness of your pillow, warmth of the quilt). This technique is called Mindful Sleeping !
• Learn to Meditate. Meditation helps to clear your mind. As far as I’m concerned, I need it everyday !
• Do something pleasurable for yourself each day, no matter how small
• Notice something you are grateful for ( a gratitude list is a good idea !)

Remember that Stress can be Emotional. It includes anger, depression, fear, frustration, sadness, betrayal, bereavement. High responsibility, perfectionism, relationship pressure, financial pressure and career pressure are also sources of Emotional stress. All these things affect your physical performance and your abilities to think with clarity.

Take care guys.

Be Mindful of the importance of REST … It might be the only extra thing you need to reach your goals ! 

Nathalie