The key to fat loss- Inefficiency

Let's face it, in nearly all aspects of life it makes more sense to be efficient. Time management, productivity, and squeezing more into our busy days are all topics of articles and books written to better our lives. Whether or not doing more means happiness is debatable and not the topic of this post. What I would like to discuss is an area of your life where being downright inefficient is preferable- your quest to burn stubborn body fat.

We have been in business for nearly 18 years and the overwhelmingly largest percentage of our clients' stated goals involve weight loss (fat loss). You could say we have built our business around fat loss and we are now well versed in the best and most efficient ways to lose fat quickly and effectively. How? By being as inefficient as possible.

In most athletic endeavors it pays to be efficient at certain movements or skills. You want to be a good distance runner? Run longer and more often and you will become a more efficient runner, thus allowing you to cover more distance in less time and with less effort. How about the coveted bench press max for young guys? If you want a big number on the bench, guess what you need to practice? You guessed it. The bench press.

NFL players have months to prepare for the combine where millions of dollars are riding on their ability to perform well on tests such as the 40, vertical leap and max number of bench press reps. Though these numbers do not always translate into true performance on the field, these guys practice these "skills" diligently leading up to the combine to ensure the best test results possible. They are not necessarily becoming better players in the process, but are simply getting more efficient at certain tests. Smart move of you want to slide up a few spots in the draft.

What if you are a regular Joe or Jane and you simply want to get in the best shape possible for this little thing called life? You want to lose a few lbs and squeeze into those skinny jeans or those 32/34 slacks. If you started a solid exercise program that involved a circuit based weight training program you would at first burn loads of calories. Why at first? Your body is not used to the new stimuli and this would cause a positive stress for the body that requires tons of energy. Now, what if you were still performing the same weight training program 3 months later? You would be more efficient at the particular movements in your workout, but you would be using less energy to complete your program than you were at first. You are now more efficient. This means you may be able to lift more weight on say your dead lifts, but you are using less energy to do so. Great for a big DL, not ideal for fat loss.

We have seen better results in the last 12 months with our fat loss clients than we have at any other time in our 18 year history. One of the main reasons for this success is moving to a template based system for training. In the past we stuck to the idea that each individual should perform a specific program for 4-6 weeks before we tweaked it. We could then track progress on each and every exercise and register the incremental differences in strength. But, were clients really moving towards their ultimate goal (fat loss) or just becoming more efficient at particular movements during the 4-6 weeks? You could argue a little of both, but still not a perfect environment for fat loss. We have since changed our thinking a bit and the results speak for themselves.

The strategy is simple- change the workouts each and every week to create enough variety that your body never becomes efficient at just certain exercises. Not huge variations mind you because the basic movements still reign supreme. A basic example would be push-ups and floor presses. Both horizontal pressing movements, yet different enough to not allow the body to become efficient at just one movement. We manipulate the volume, load and reps in the same way so that the outcome is the same without ever becoming too efficient (burning less calories).

This type of programming also eliminates overuse injuries associated with performing the same movements over and over again.

Lastly, who can discount the entertainment value of variety for clients? While we trainers may be able to stick with the same program for 6 weeks while seeking a few more pull-ups or 5 more lbs on our squat, fat loss clients want results and they also need some motivation to show up for their workouts. Variety is just more entertaining (I've heard it's the spice of life).

So there you have it. One aspect of your life where it really does pay to be as inefficient as possible.



RM

Exercise of the Week- Elephant Walk

Elephant Walk



Benefits- one of the main functions of your core muscles is to resist extension (swaying your back). Just a basic push-up is challenging for many of our new clients in this respect. Once you can properly stabilize the basic push-up position, the elephant walk makes a nice progression. Having your hands above your forehead just a little dramatically increases the load on the core.


Execution- We like to perform this exercise like an inch worm. You can either move your arms exclusively while keeping your feet stationary or you can walk your feet in then walk your hands out (inch worm). Using your arms only creates a nice warm for the shoulder complex, if performed pre strength training. The most important aspect of this movement is too resist lumbar extension! Only walk your hands out to the point where you do not collapse in the lumbar spine. Hold the extended position for a 1 count and return to the start point. Keep your hips still as you "travel" from start to finish. Also, don't forget about your cervical integrity (keep you head up).


Progressions- ROM and time. Simply walking your hands out a little more and holding for a longer duration will increase the intensity.

Especially good for- anyone looking for some variety or a progression from basic planks.

Enjoy!

RM

Train like Tarzan- Look like Jane!

This is a new version of an article that I wrote over a year ago. It was the feature article in our newsletter this month. It is worth making the point one more time!

Here you go:

I often address concerns with ladies who understand that weight training is beneficial for weight loss, but they do not want to gain any muscle size. They simply feel that lifting too heavy will result in a “weight lifters” body and not the lean, slender look they desire. A simple explanation as to why this is not a concern usually involves an explanation of the relationship between the density of fat and muscle. Muscle is denser and thus takes up much less space than fat. Additionally, an increase in lean tissue will raise your metabolic rate and result in fewer fat cells (smaller body).

Let’s take a closer look at how to structure your weight training sessions to achieve a leaner, slimmer body.

First, let’s explore the ways we gain muscle. We must first understand the muscle growth (hypertrophy) principles, as well as the factors which affect it. Hypertrophy is the increase in muscle size as overcompensation for micro-trauma due to overuse. In other words, how your muscles respond to the stimulus of weight lifting. The two principal types of hypertrophy are myofibrillar hypertrophy, and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.

Myofibrillar hypertrophy- is an enlargement of the contractile fibers (myofibrils). This type of hypertrophy is accompanied by the ability to exert muscular strength and is developed with low rep/heavy weight training (1-5 reps). This type of hypertrophy results in a much more dense and strong (functional) muscle.

Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, on the other hand is the increase in the volume of the non-contractile muscle cell fluid, sarcoplasm. This type of hypertrophy is accompanied by an increased resistance to muscular fatigue which is the result of a bodybuilding based routine (multiple sets/10-15 reps per set). This cell fluid accounts for 20-30% of the muscle size. This is type of hypertrophy may be desirable if you compete in bodybuilding but may not give you the ideal body for an evening gown. Unfortunately, most women’s programs are based on this type of protocol.


Based on the ways that our body gains muscle, women should aim for a lower volume, lower rep range (heavy weight) program as opposed to the typically prescribed low weight, high reps protocol.


It would stand to reason that lifting heavy weights for low reps would produce a lean, muscular body without any “non-functional” muscle size. Very lady-like indeed!

Rick Mayo

Random Friday

So many thoughts, so little time. This is a good day for randomness.

- Our "Biggest Winner" challenge is off and running. With just a few weeks down we have already seen individual weight loss of up to 12 lbs! We'll have the team and individual results out by next week. Check our Facebook page for more details.

- Here is a great video of Mike Boyle explaining why he doesn't feel that traditional back squats are the "bees knees" for increasing sports performance. I addressed this briefly in the Single Leg Box Squat post. There are safer and, according to Mike more effective ways to increase leg strength. I'm glad Mr Boyle is keeping pace with our findings :)

- We are hosting our 1st annual Charity Boot Camp. It will be held at the gym on Sat the 21st at 10:00 am. The entry fee is 1 frozen turkey to be donated to Project Open Hand. The Fresh Market is participating by offering turkeys at cost to all participants. Roswell Bikes and Fleet Feet are going to kick in some goodies. Be there or be square.

- Here is a great article about body weight training by Mark Sisson. We use body weight as resistance in nearly all of our programs. Not exclusively, but in some from or another. Think you can't get strong muscles with just body weight? Read this.


















- Ross turned 24 yesterday. When you ask someone as young as Ross he old he is, he simply holds up his hands and says, "this many".

Nobody messes with the West Virgina Ninja. Nobody!



Have a great weekend!

RM

Exercise of the Week: T-Spine Stretch

This week's exercise is not actually an exercise, but it is an extremely important mobility movement.

Thoracic Spine Stretch



Benefits- Thoracic (t-spine) mobility is extremely important for your posture, shoulder function and neck/shoulder health. Your cervical (neck) and lumbar spine (lower back) should be stable areas of your spine, while your thoracic spine should be very mobile. While we don't recommend any stretching for the lumbar or cervical spine, we do recommend several movements for the t-spine. One of our favorites is the t-spine stretch featured in our above video. Without proper mobility of your t-spine, all of your rotating movements will transfer the stress to other areas of your back that are not supposed to move.

Execution- You may have done a similar stretch to the one above in your workout, but there are some subtle differences between the stretch we are demonstrating and the traditional rotating stretch. First, note that your knee is to be bent more than 90 degrees and it remains in contact with the floor. Why? Like I mentioned above, we do not want any movement in the lumbar spine. By holding your top leg at more than a 90 degree angle and keeping it in contact with the floor, you are locking your lumbar spine. Next, your hand is kept in contact with your body instead of reaching out to the floor with the traditional stretch. We do this because we are simply looking for a stretch in the t-spine and not looking to over stress the shoulder joint. Reaching to the floor only aggravates a sore shoulder and actually distracts you from really emphasizing the rotation in your mid back. Really try and push your shoulder to the ground while keeping your knee bent greater than 90 and in contact with the floor. Also, placing a towel or half roller under your head is a good idea.

Progressions- The progression for this stretch is to bend your bottom leg, reach with the free hand (top) to grab the foot of the bottom leg and to simultaneously work the shoulder to the floor while stretching the quadriceps of the bottom leg. This is a fantastic combo stretch

Especially good for- Everyone! Everyday! Golfers can really use this specific stretch to help them get more range of motion in their swing. We work with several golfers and this stretch is a staple in their program.

2 sets daily of 30-45 seconds each should do the trick. You can perform this movement more often and hold for a longer duration, if this is a problem area for you.

Get to stretchin!