Swiss Ball Hip Roll

Exercise Instructions:

Setup for the exercise ball hip roll by placing a mat on the floor and placing the exercise ball at one end. Lay down on your back on the mat and put your legs over the top of the exercise ball. Your calves should be on top of the ball. For stability, put your arms out flat on the floor with your palms facing down. This is the start position for the exercise. Using your core muscles, roll the exercise ball over to the left as far as possible. Repeat this movement for the right side. This is one rep, repeat for desired reps.

Tips & Advice:

The further you move the ball the harder you core has to work. Move the ball as far as possible for the best results.

Swiss Ball Crunches with a Weight

How can you do this at home? Many of us don't have a weight bench in which to tuck our legs, so you can get your partner or roommate to hold your legs.

Another alternative would be to not use the Swiss ball and lie on your back with the weight in the same position and your legs bent.

Either way, don't use too heavy of a weight or do too many crunches, unless you want to get the belly pooch.

Exercise Instructions:

Setup your the weighted exercise ball sit up by getting a exercise ball and something to rest your feet against. This could be a wall, or as shown in the video a flat bench placed at 90 degrees. Get the desired wight plate and sit on the exercise ball. Place your feet under, or up against, your support. Hold the weight above your head. Keep it close to your head. Slowly lower yourself down until your shoulder blades start to touch the exercise ball. Pause, then raise yourself back to the starting position. Repeat for desired reps.

Tips & Advice:

Keep the weight in place throughout the exercise, don't move it forward/back.

Crunches on the Swiss Ball

This one is fun, too. I like the Swiss balls to be well-aired up, which forces my core to work extra in order to stay balanced.
Good luck.

Exercise Instructions:

The exercise ball crunch is a great all round ab exercise. Lower back support makes it ideal for those with lower back problems/injuries. Sit on the exercise ball with your feet flat on the floor wider than shoulder with apart. Step forward with your feet allowing the exercise ball to roll back to your lower back. Touch the side of your head with the tips of your fingers. This is the start position. Crunching your abs, pull your torso up so your elbows are aiming for your knees. Squeeze the abs tight and pause, lower back to the start position. Repeat for desired reps.

Tips & Advice:

The longer you hold the crunch the harder your ab muscles have to work. Increase the effectiveness of this exercise by holding the crunch for a slow count of 2.

Abs - Swiss Ball

This one is really fun, and you'll feel the burn quite easily.

Exercise Instructions:

The exercise ball leg tuck hits the lower abs. Grab a exercise ball and set it down on the floor. About a body length front the ball, position yourself with your palms on the floor as if you were going to do a push up. Point your toes and pit put your lower legs across the top of the exercise ball. Straighten your body. This is the starting position. Keeping your body dead straight, pull your knees up towards your chest. Extend your legs back to starting position. Repeat for desired reps.

Tips & Advice:

Increase the difficulty of this exercise by only letting the tips of your toes touch the exercise ball. This makes stability harder, increasing the work needed for your core.

Muscle Groups to Focus on When You Work Out

For Sore Muscles This Works Like Crazy

By Marc David (from the Build Muscle & Gain Weight Fast Guide)

As discussed in some previous articles, muscle soreness can be caused by three hypothesis( muscle damage, tissue damage, muscle spasms) resulting in cumulative micro trauma resulting in some type of cellular damage. At times, this can be the leading cause of overtraining and being uncomfortable for a few days after training.
Continual cellular damage over and over to the point where the body cannot recovery can result in overtraining.

Don't worry...

Here's a quick checklist for helping to reduce the amount of muscle soreness you may experience. You can use one or all of these the next time you feel a little too sore from your last workout.

Phase 1 - Pre Training Recovery

Leg Elevation:
Many of us stand or sit for long periods of time before going to the gym and training. This is a less than optimal condition because your overall circulation is less than ideal. What you can do is 20-30 minutes before you train, lay down with your feel against a wall or other object and get the blood back to your upper body and heart.
You'll improve your circulation especially when you train legs or your lower back.
If you want, you can take this opportunity to listen to music or take a quick nap and begin the mental transition into training.

Phase 2 - Recovery During Training

Rest Intervals Between Sets:
A great way to boost the intensity of any workout without changing a single thing is to decrease the rest time between sets. You'll instantly get more work done in less time. If you feel that the intensity is too high, you can increase the time between sets and help reduce the build up of lactic acid as well. The time you take to rest between sets has a significant impact on your next set as well as future performance.

Movement Between Sets:
Just think about it. It's like a warm up and cool down all over again but between the sets. Most people understand the importance of warming up before lifting weights. They also know about a proper cool down after working out.

But did you know that you can use those sample principles on a minute level in between your sets?

This movement not only serves as a 'transition' between an all out effort and recovery but it aids in better circulation and helps reduce the swelling of muscular tissues.

Periodization:
Remember that soreness can be caused by a few hypothesis (tissue damage, muscle damage, spasms). But did you stop to think that if you keep on training "heavy" you just keep on damaging the muscle at a micro level over and over without a change to recover?
Incorporating a light day or week into your training can help flush the area with new blood, reduce the formation of scar tissue and flush waste from the area.
Planning these type of workouts in your training program will speed up the time needed to recover as well as add variety to your program which in turn provides overall recovery.

Phase 3 - Post Training Recovery
My strong hunch is that most people will be unable to avoid soreness at some point and seek treatment.

So that's why there's a few ways you can help reduce the severity of soreness during your training as well as aid in the recovery process after your training.

Contrast Showers:
Done on your lumbar area, this involves using short bursts of hot and cold water to improve the circulation. You can further stretch during this time to flush new blood to the area.

Post Workout Nutrition:

Needless to say...

After your workout your body is in a prime time to devour nutrients. This is an ideal time to give it the protein it needs with the carbohydrates for energy recovery.

You see, if muscle soreness is caused by micro trauma resulting in cellular damage then obviously you want to give your body plenty of materials quickly to repair itself.

Proper post workout nutrition can reduce the amount of soreness you can experience.

Therapeutic Modulaities:

This can encompass such things as massage, sauna, whirlpool, chiropractic adjustments, acupressure and others are among the more popular therapeutic modalities. Make no mistake....

Recovery really begins when you leave the gym. Depending on factors such as your level of fitness, age, medical conditions, you may be wise to use some or all of these post workout recovery methods to speed up overall recovery.

There's no magic formula per se but anything you can do to help speed the recovery process will result in less muscular discomfort and quicker recovery for the next workout.

Have you heard that 90% gym-goers overtrain 90% of the time?

Could it be that simply "under-recovered" and could easily stand to train more if only they could recover quicker?

Sleep:

While there is not a set number of hours you need to sleep as that depends on the individuals schedule, personal preferences and level of stress it's still clear that sleep is vital to recovery.

This is the time your body repairs all that micro trauma.

If you aren't getting enough quality sleep, it can affect your overall recovery and body's ability to repair itself. That can lead to prolonged muscle soreness. The amount of sleep each person needs will vary.

Make no mistake about muscle soreness...

It's uncomfortable!

But using any or all of the above recovery methods you can significantly reduce the duration of muscle soreness.

More important than that...

Create a periodized program that helps to keep your body in a state of recovery and avoid overtraining.

BOSU Lunge Jump

I call these jumping lunges. I don't have my own BOSU, so I just do it in place. It's great for the quads, and it's good cardio. Do 10 of these on each side, and you might be done for the night.

Remember: Don't let your front knee go past your front toes.































Plyometric Power Lunges
Stand facing BOSU with the right foot in the middle of the dome, left foot back in a lunge stance. Bend the knees and lower into a lunge. In an explosive movement, jump up and switch legs in the air landing with left foot on the dome, right foot back. Repeat, trying to land each foot right in the middle. Repeat, alternating sides 8-10 times. March in place for 16 counts and repeat.

BOSU SQUATS

Squat Jumps over the BOSU
Begin standing next to BOSU and place the right foot in the middle of the dome. Squat down and quickly jump over the dome landing with the left foot on the BOSU in a squat. Continue back and forth over the dome, jumping higher for more intensity.

Don't have a BOSU of your own? No problem!

You can do this anywhere!

Below is an alternative:


This photo is Gary Boring and I doing side lunges/squats at Golden Gate Park.

We have our hands in front of us to maintain balance. We are making sure that our knees are not extending too much over our toes. Always smile when you do this.

BOSU Ski Jumps for Cardio

Ski Hops
Stand on top of bubble with feet spaced evenly. Bend the knees and jump up, angling feet and body to the right, hands up for balance and abs tight. Hop towards the left and continue hopping from right to left with feet together, as though 'skiing' down a mountain. Repeat for 30 seconds, march in place (on the floor or the BOSU) for 8 counts and repeat for another 30 seconds.

Hopefully, this series of photos makes sense. The one at the bottom is the end move.

Notice the cat in photo 2. Always exercise with your pets - it brings you closer together.

Don't have a BOSU at home? This one won't be as fun without the BOSU, and it'll be tough to do with similar results. You can jump laterally and get in ski position and back up. Then jump laterally (about 4-5 feet) and ski, get back up and jump to the other side. Does this make sense?

BOSU Side Jumps

Side Hops
Stand to the left of the BOSU and jump sideways onto the BOSU, landing with right foot in the middle of the dome, left knee bent and body upright. Step back down and repeat, each time trying to land the foot right in the 'bull's eye' of the dome. After you land, hold your balance for a couple of counts before you step back down. Repeat 16 times on the right and then switch sides.



In addition to being a good cardio and core work out, you are gaining a lot of strength in your legs by doing this.

A good alternative, if you don't have a BOSU, is to do a series of short jumps from side to side and alternate them with long side jumps.

You'll get a good cardio workout from this!

BOSU & Squat Jumps

Squat Jumps onto the BOSU
Stand behind the BOSU. Bend the knees and keep the abs tight as you hop onto the top of the dome, landing with the knees bent in a squat. Step back down with the right foot and repeat 16 times. March in place for 8 counts and repeat, this time stepping down with the left foot. Be sure to land right in the middle of the ball. If landing with both feet simultaneously is too hard, go for a staggered landing, one foot at a time.

Squat Jumps
Stand on the BOSU with feet spaced evenly. Bend your knees and squat, as though you're sitting back in a chair. Then jump up as high as you can and land with soft knees, lowering back into a squat. Repeat for 10 reps and march in place (on the floor or BOSU) before repeating.

The BOSU is pretty fun, though I don't have one at home right now. It's a great tool for balance and core improvement. The best alternative to this, if you don't have a BOSU, is to do jump squats on the floor. You won't achieve the same level of core training, but you will get the work out in your legs, and if you go quickly, yet safely, you'll get some good cardio in, too.

Weight Training and Prostate Cancer

How Weight Training Minimizes the Effects of Prostate Cancer Treatment

By Paul Rogers, About.com

Updated: May 21, 2007

Before I explain the value of weight training in prostate cancer therapy, here's a brief background on the prostate cancer treatment relevant to this article.

Prostate Cancer Hormone Treatment

Prostate cancer is the scourge of the ageing male. It can develop silently with few symptoms, progress slowly, or sometimes rapidly once a critical point is reached, and may require surgery and perhaps drug treatment to cure or slow its development. The prostate is a walnut-size gland just below the bladder and it produces seminal fluid but not sperm.

In most men over 50, the prostate gland grows and may block the flow of urine to some extent, but this is not prostate cancer only 'benign prostate hypertrophy' and it has little to do with prostate cancer, which can spread beyond the prostate.

Because the male hormone testosterone seems to cause most prostate cancers to grow, one of the treatments for prostate cancer is the delivery of drugs to stop the body producing or using testosterone as it normally does, the result being a slowing or cessation of the cancer growth. The problem with this approach is that without testosterone various unwanted health effects occur: reduced muscle strength and bone mass and increased risk of fractures, increased fat mass and reduced muscle mass, unfavorable cholesterol levels and depression and mood swings.

How Can Weight Training Help?

Could weight training prevent some of these symptoms occurring? That's what researchers from the School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University in Western Australia attempted to find out. They studied 10 men aged 59-82 yr on androgen deprivation for localized prostate cancer before and after progressive resistance training for 20 weeks at 6-12-repetition maximum (RM) for 12 upper- and lower-body exercises in a university exercise rehabilitation clinic. The exercises included the chest press, seated row, shoulder press, lat pull-down, triceps extension, biceps curl, leg press, squat, leg extension, leg curl, abdominal crunch, and back-extension exercises.

If you need to see how such a weight training program could look in detail, see my Basic Strength and Muscle Program, which is similar.

Results

The research team tested the subjects at the beginning of the study, at 10 weeks and at 20 weeks for elements of body composition, strength, exercise performance and blood parameters. Here is what they found.

• Body composition
  There were no significant overall changes to body fat, muscle mass or bone mineral density in the group. Note, however, the quadricep muscle mass improvement noted below.
• Muscle strength and endurance
  A significant increase in muscle strength and endurance was noted for the exercises tested for the upper and lower body. Thigh quadricep muscle size increased significantly -- in some subjects up to 15 percent.
• Exercise performance
  After 20 weeks of training there was a significant improvement in physical performance in the nominated exercises of chair rise, stair climbing, and walking tests with incremental performance improvements at 10 weeks and up to 20 weeks.
• Blood parameters
  There were no significant differences in PSA, hormones or hemoglobin blood measurements.

What Do the Results Mean?

Even though the study could have produced more meaningful results had it been a randomized study where two groups were chosen -- one group chosen randomly to perform the weight training and another to act as a 'control' group -- nevertheless, the positive aspects of the study are that strength increased and muscle and bone mass did not decrease significantly nor did fat mass increase. These are the crucial factors likely to be adversely affected in hormone depletion treatment, so overall the results are very promising.

The bottom line is that if you do find yourself in such a prostate cancer treatment situation, weight training can probably help you to maintain important elements of physical function and health while undergoing the best treatment as recommended by your specialist.

References

Galvao DA, Taaffe DR, Spry N, Newton RU. Exercise can prevent and even reverse adverse effects of androgen suppression treatment in men with prostate cancer. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2007 May 8; [Epub ahead of print]

Galvao DA, Nosaka K, Taaffe DR, Spry N, Kristjanson LJ, McGuigan MR, Suzuki K, Yamaya K, Newton RU. Resistance training and reduction of treatment side effects in prostate cancer patients. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006 Dec;38(12):2045-52.

Exercise Helps Treat Breast Cancer?

Combined Aerobic and Resistance Training in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Randomized, Controlled Pilot Trial

Herrero F, San Juan AF, Fleck SJ
Int J Sports Med
vol. 27, 573 - 580, 2006

Abstract

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the effects of a combined cardiorespiratory and resistance exercise training program of short duration on the cardiorespiratory fitness, strength endurance, task specific functional muscle capacity, body composition and quality of life (QOL) in women breast cancer survivors. Sixteen subjects were randomly assigned to either a training (n = 8; age: 50 ± 5 yrs) or control non-exercising group (n = 8; age: 51 ± 10 yrs). The training group followed an 8-week exercise program consisting of 3 weekly sessions of 90-min duration, supervised by an experienced investigator and divided into resistance exercises and aerobic training. Before and after the intervention period, all of the subjects performed a cardiorespiratory test to measure peak oxygen uptake (O_2peak), a dynamic strength endurance test (maximum number of repetitions for chest and leg press exercise at 30–35% and 100–110% of body mass, respectively) and a sit-stand test. Quality of life was assessed using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 (EORTC-C30) questionnaire. In response to training, QOL, O_2peak (mean 3.9 ml/kg/min; 95% CI, 0.93, 6.90) performance in leg press (17.9 kg; 95% CI, 12.8, 22.4) and sitstand test (–0.67 s; 95% CI, −0.52, −1.2) improved (p≤0.05). We observed no significant changes in the control group. Combined cardiorespiratory and resistance training, even of very brief duration, improves the QOL and the overall physical fitness of women breast cancer survivors.

Chemicals in Our Diets Lead to Obesity

Monday, September 14, 2009 by: Kim Evans, citizen journalist

Most people don`t think about how chemicals in their diets affect their weight or weight loss efforts. But the man-made chemicals you consume on a regular basis can play a big role in whether you`re fat or not - even if those chemicals don`t contain a single calorie.

To understand this, you'll need to know that your liver is your primary detoxification organ. Your liver is also your primary fat-burning organ. Therefore, the more unnatural chemicals you consume on a regular basis, the more time and energy your liver needs to spend detoxifying you. But, the more your liver is consumed with the role of detoxification, the less time and energy it will have for burning fat. It`s really that simple.

For example, we all clearly agree that pesticides are poisons; their primary purpose is to kill living organisms. We know that most non-organic foods are laced with pesticides, and we understand that pesticides don`t magically become non-poisonous inside our bodies. Our bodies see pesticides as poisons too.

How does your body treat a poison? It attempts to detoxify it. This means your body attempts to render the poison harmless, and then removes it from your body, generally through your colon. Your colon is your primary organ used to eliminate toxins from the body, and your liver is the organ most often responsible for rendering poisons harmless.

But what happens when people eat unnatural chemicals in most meals?

Our livers become overwhelmed with the need to detoxify all of those chemicals and poisons, and the poisons start to back up in our blood. The fact that this is happening in just about everyone has been confirmed by several looks inside the average person`s blood.

Your liver will also store toxins and poisons for you that is was unable to render harmless. It does this to keep those poisons out of your bloodstream and from circulating in your body.

But now your liver, in addition to being overwhelmed detoxifying all of the chemicals you`re consuming each day, is also losing its functionality and has become a storage facility for poisons it couldn`t render harmless. Some estimates are that three fourths of the average person`s liver is used to store toxins that the liver was unable to render harmless.

No wonder so many people think losing weight is challenging... Their primary fat burning organ is overwhelmed with another task, and it's become only half functional.

What is the answer? There are a couple of them.

The first is to stop consuming chemicals in your diet on a regular basis. This generally means giving up processed foods, except perhaps on the rare occasion, and eating organic foods as much as possible. Plant-based foods, particularly vegetables, are very liver friendly. If you learn how to prepare them so they`re delicious, it`ll be much easier for you...

This will prevent many new chemicals from entering your body, and is a tremendous step in the right direction. But what about those poisons already stored in your liver and circulating in your blood? Many people think that simply changing their diet to a more natural, chemical-free diet will address past toxicity, but for most, it isn`t powerful enough.

Liver cleansing is a powerful hundred year old practice that uses coffee enemas to detoxify the liver. The process helps your liver release its stored toxins into your colon for immediate removal. And through the liver, the bloodstream is also cleansed. Using coffee enemas regularly, with a natural diet, can make weight loss very easy by getting your prime fat-burning organ back on your side.
(I can't vouch for the coffee enemas, but I did find the article interesting. If any of you try liver detoxing, let me know. I'm excited to learn. - Melissa)

Cardio at Home

Home Cardio Exercise: Mountain Climbers

One of my personal favorites. I get mighty tired after about 20 of these.

Mountain Climbers. This is a great conditioning exercise that increases core strength and endurance. To perform this exercise correctly:

1. Begin in a push-up position (arms lined up with the chest, legs extended out)
2. Make sure to keep the head in line with the body and the stomach muscles contracted throughout the range of motion.
3. Start the movement by bringing the right knee to the chest and back to starting position.
4. Quickly alternate to the left leg and continue this movement for a timed period (anywhere from 30 seconds - 5 minutes).

This home cardio exercise tip brought to you by the Dallas personal trainers from Fitness Trainers To Go.

Cardio at Home

Home Cardio Exercise: Bodyweight Base Rotation

This exercise improves on rapid response and is great for conditioning the core muscles. This drill can also improve an athlete’s core performance. To perform this exercise correctly:

1. Begin with the feet shoulder width apart and a slight bend in the knees (45 degree angle). Make sure that the shoulders are squared and aligned with the body
2. Begin the movement with a small hop while rotating the hips 45 degrees to the right and the arms counter rotate to the left. Make sure the shoulders stay facing forward by only using the hips.
3. Quickly hop while rotating the hips to the left and the arms counter rotating to the right. Make sure the shoulders stay facing forward by only using the hips.
4. Pretend there is an “X” on the floor and your feet move to the ends of the “X”
5. Make sure to rotate from the trunk, not the shoulders

Cardio at Home

Home Cardio Exercise: Rotating-Pivoting Upper Cuts

Home Cardio Exercise: Rotating-Pivoting Upper Cuts. This is a great conditioning exercise that improves trunk flexibility, shoulder endurance and is also a great way to release stress. To perform this exercise correctly,

1. Start in an upright position with the feet pointing straight, shoulder-width apart. Make a fist with the hands and place them in front of the face.
2. Begin the movement by cocking the right elbow back and rotating to the left side while swinging an upper cut punch, stopping at eye level, and pivoting the right foot towards the punch. Repeat with the left side.
3. Make sure to pivot with every punch, but keeping the head straight at all times. Make the movements fast and explosive.
4. Advanced clients can use light weight from 1 to 5 lbs.
Repeat for a number of repetitions or a timed period.

When you use the weights, don't snap your hand out as it will hyper extend your elbow. Use slow, controlled movements when using the weights.

Cardio at Home

Easy Home Cardio Exercise: Invisible Jump Rope

Invisible Jump Rope. This traditional exercise can also be used without any equipment, which can sometimes get in the way. It focuses on conditioning, core, and ankle stability and strength. To perform this exercise correctly,

1 Start in an upright position, with the feet shoulder-width apart.
2 Pretend that you are holding a jump rope in your hands elbows stay in at the side
3 Begin by jumping, pushing off on the toes and swinging your arms in a circular motion, as if there was a jump rope in your hands.
4 Repeat for a number of repetitions or a timed period.

Cardio at Home

Easy Home Cardio Exercise: Traditional Jumping Jacks

Traditional Jumping Jacks: This traditional exercise can still be a challenging exercise. It focuses on conditioning and total body endurance. To perform this exercise correctly:

1. Start in an upright position with the feet together and hands to the side.

2. Begin the movement by jumping vertically while at the same time move the feet out shoulder width apart and the hands coming up above the head.

3. Return to starting position and repeat for a number of repetitions or a timed period.

4. Make sure the core stays tight and the movements are quick and controlled.

You can vary these by switching your legs back and forth or crossing them over and back to normal again.