Don’t fear the free weights!

Remember that one of the big lies in the gym was that women should stick to machines and stay away from free weights? Related to that is the lie that one should “start out” on machines and then “graduate” to free weights. Well, here’s why it ain’t so, as well as why free weights are often better for women.

from big to small… or even teeny

Many people are concerned about starting with free weights and assume that machines are safer. Their idea of “free weights” involves scary giant barbells and scarier, even more giant dudes lifting them.

Take a look at the picture to the right. That is a 2.5 lb. plate, the smallest size plate (although you can often buy even lighter ones if you look around). That’s my hand, and I don’t have very big paws.

That’s a free weight.

Not so scary, is it? You can start with just holding that little plate for your resistance. Hell, you can even start with soup cans.

No matter what your strength level and ability, free weights will accommodate it. Simply add weight as you practice and progress.

maximum muscle group work

Machines are designed to move a weight along a prescribed track. In many ways they allow you to cheat by helping you keep the movement along a certain arc. With free weights, more weird little muscles are engaged just to help you keep the thing going the way it should. Thus your overall use of your muscles is optimized, since we know that exercises which use compound muscle groups are the best for overall strength building.

stability and balance

A corollary of maximum muscle use, free weights build stability and balance in a way that machines cannot. Just trying to stand upright with, say, a squat bar across your neck requires your body to learn how not to tip over. The body’s muscles are engaged to a greater extent than they would be if you were standing under a machine which supported the bar for you. And you cannot learn this stability from a machine. In the case of muscles, they learn by doing.

You’ll often hear people talk about “stabilizer muscles” as if there’s a certain group of muscles that’s special. Stabilizer muscles are just muscles that act to provide stability during a movement. So, for example, when you squat, your leg muscles are the prime movers, but other parts are helping to execute the movement: calf and foot muscles are making sure your feet stay planted, torso muscles are making sure you don’t fold up like a wet noodle under the bar, back muscles are pulling shoulder blades back to make the shelf where the bar sits, throat muscles are helping to make that grunting sound like a bulldog burping up a bean burrito, etc. But when you do a standing shoulder press, your leg muscles become stabilizers as they work to hold you upright.

height

Being a short woman (5′0″), one of the major problems I encounter with a machine is that it simply cannot accommodate me. Shoulder pads hover around my ears, bars lie coyly just out of the reach of my stumpy arms, pulldown bars swing teasingly over my attempts to jump up to reach them (that was before I smartened up and stood on the seat). When I first began to squat, I thought I’d start on the machine, since I was a little timid about approaching the squat cage. To my surprise and annoyance I was too small for the machine, and my arms were not long enough to reach the release handle. I flailed about for a while and realized I’d have to face the dreaded cage. I did it and never looked back.

The moral of the story is this: free weights see no height. I can lift a dumbbell as high as I want or bring it down as low as I want. It doesn’t care. Machines, on the other hand, are designed so that an average person (read: man) can use them. Women are shorter than men on average, so it stands to reason that a lot of us wee women are going to be uncomfortable using many machines that just don’t want to accommodate us no matter how far down we lower the seat. Thus free weights are the ideal choice for doing many exercises comfortably and properly.

natural movement

Machines are pretty stingy with what they allow you to do. As I mentioned, the purpose of a machine is to allow you to move a weight along a pre-defined track. For many people, especially shorter women, the prescribed movement is not natural, and can in fact lead to injury. But free weights not only allow you to do the movement in a way that is natural to you, they also allow for slight variations in the exercise which many machines do not. In addition, many machines, such as the bench press machine, begin the movement when the body is in its most vulnerable position. On a bench press machine, the movement starts with the shoulder joint in a stretched position, its weakest point. In comparison, the bench press with a bar or dumbbells begins the movement at “lockout”, or with straightened arms. The trainee can then choose to use as much or as little range as she likes, depending on her individual needs.

I did some damage myself to my shoulder after I used a seated bench press machine on which the seat was stuck too low. By performing that movement which was neither natural nor comfortable, I managed to injure myself. If I had been using free weights, I would have had a better chance of finding a good groove for my individual biomechanics. The human body tends to move in an arc or curve. Machines tend to move in straight lines or limited ranges. What gives isn’t going to be the steel but your soft squishy flesh.

training for real life

Real life isn’t tidy, or organized, or perfect. Real life movements don’t usually happen while you’re safely strapped into a contraption that immobilizes most of your body, unless you’re biceps curling a 48 oz Super Big Gulp to your lips while seatbelted into a car — and c’mon, why are you doing that anyway? Real life movements are off-balance, asymmetrical, one-handed or one-legged, moving in curves and squiggles, done in funny ways, done unexpectedly, and done all day long. Real life movements involve lifting awkwardly shaped things like babies and couches and sloshy cases of beer and Rottweilers that don’t want to take a bath. Machines aren’t going to help you when it’s time to haul the groceries out of the car with a screaming toddler stuck to your hip, or when you need to move that load of topsoil for your petunia bed and can’t find your wheelbarrow.

machines that don’t suck

Now I’m going to contradict myself. There are some machines that are quite good and enable you to do things you cannot do on free weights, or things that may be somewhat awkward or impractical with free weights.

calf machine

While I do like single-leg calf raises done with a dumbbell in hand, machines offer some good options for calf training. The donkey calf machine is one of the best for training in comfort even when you are lifting a lot of weight. Unlike the standing calf machine, which places all the pressure on your shoulders (and which I swear makes me shorter when I use it), the donkey calf displaces the weight across your hips and lower back. (I suppose you could always substitute a friendly partner sitting on your hips, but that tends to get a little weird.)

Another good machine that is generally very adjustable is the seated calf machine. This one isolates your soleus because your knees are bent in the exercise. Because this one is designed to accommodate people’s lower legs, it usually allows you to go right down to the bottom of the rep, unlike the majority of standing calf machines (which are pretty much useless for anyone under 5′4″). X-tra short grrrls may have the occasional problem with the bar slipping off your knees; just try your best to hold on to it!

Finally, the leg press machine is a handy backup for calf work if no other machine is available. Seated leg presses in particular, where the body is upright in a chair sort of thing, and legs press straight out in front, parallel to the floor, are best for this, because like the donkey calf machine, the weight is distributed across the hips. If you find that you’re uncomfortable moving a lot of weight with both legs, try using only one leg at a time to reduce the load.

assisted chinup machine and lat pulldown machine

Chinups and wide-grip pullups are wonderful basic exercises that work several muscle groups. However women do not generally have the upper-body strength when they begin training to execute these movements. The assisted chin machine uses a counterweight to make it easier. You can counterweight up to 90% of your body weight and lower the amount of counterweight gradually as you become stronger.

As soon as possible, however, you should move to doing negative pullups. This means moving a bench over to a chin bar, and starting in the top position, then slowly lowering yourself down. Clamber up there again, and lower down again. A helpful training partner is also good for heaving you up to the top, or for giving you just enough of a push to help you get up there mostly on your own steam. You can even begin with modified lat pulldowns that more closely simulate the demands of a pullup by doing them standing. Stand facing the pulldown machine, just behind the seat. Grab the handles as you would normally, squat down slightly pushing butt back a little and bending knees a bit, then hold that position while doing pulldowns.

Strength without size: How to get stronger without getting bulky

By guest author Geoff Girvitz

The first thing I want to tell you is that this article is for women. I am — in case you’re wondering — a man. I hope that’s cool. I’m writing this because you’ve come to this site looking for advice on strength and conditioning (or maybe just getting “toned”), but may not really believe that lifting heavy things will help you. You may actually think that doing so will make you bulky, unfeminine or some other terrible thing. I want you to be clear on what proper training will and won’t do. And I want you to maximize your potential.

Staying weak because of how it might make you look is the same as staying illiterate for fear of appearing nerdy. Stop it. You’re better than that.

I see you made it to the third paragraph. Welcome! This is the part where I tell you that women have somehow been sold a false bill of goods when it comes to working out. Guys certainly have their own douchebag idiosyncrasies, but that’s for another article at another time. In this one, I’m going to tell you that high reps with very low weight do not “tone.” They do not strengthen. They pretty much just waste your time. Below I’ll provide details for some of the things that do not waste your time. If you want to know why flapping your arms around with purple dumbbells is not typically helpful, you should be able to do the math on your own by the end of our magical journey.

I don’t have the space (translate: patience) here to detail an approach to every possible physical goal, so I’m going to focus on the following:

1. Looking better naked
2. Getting stronger
3. Not gaining unwanted muscle

I am going to help you with the items above. But before I do, there is another list of things that we need to be clear on:

1. Lifting heavy things is essential for maximizing strength
2. Looking better naked can be achieved far more efficiently if you’re already strong
3. It’s possible to get strong without significant gains in size
4. Being strong is, in fact, pretty awesome

Now is the time for you to get over any pictures of female bodybuilders you may have been unintentionally scarred by. These women don’t look masculine because of strength training; they look masculine — first and foremost — because they take male hormones. Don’t want to look masculine? Don’t take androgens. It’s pretty simple.

Even if you’re not a fan of bodybuilders, it’s an insult to all their hard work to think that you might look anything like them without years of ungodly dedication, unwavering adherence to programs specifically designed for size gain, great genetics and (most likely) some unnatural supplementation. Without embracing the lifestyle wholeheartedly, the closest you’re ever likely to get will be a bad spray-on tan. So, put that stuff out of your head.

This may come as a bit of a surprise, but most people who train for performance (aka athletes) don’t actually want to put on size. With a few notable exceptions, carrying unneeded muscle around makes about as much sense as strapping a car engine to the back of your bicycle. So instead of packing new muscle onto to their bodies, athletes make the most of what they already have. In other words, they get stronger by becoming more efficient. Like most good training, this involves fine-tuning the nervous system.

To give you an idea of how nervous system-focused work impacts strength development, I’m about to drop science on you like a clumsy chemist, so if your eyes are going to glaze over, just skip the next section. If not, here we go…
the science of strength

Signals from your brain travel from your spinal column into motor neurons. Motor neurons connect to multiple muscle fibers. This little assembly is called a motor unit. Bear in mind that multiple motor units comprise any given muscle. If your brain is the boss and your muscle fibers are workers, then motor units are middle managers – overseeing numerous team members. If one of them isn’t working, then their entire team (in this case, the entire group of muscle fibers) won’t work. There’s no halfway here; it’s all or nothing.

In an untrained person, motor unit recruitment is generally pretty lackluster. The brain will send out the signal for a certain movement (the ubiquitous biceps curl, for example), but only about half of the motor units assigned to that movement will be activated. By tapping into these dormant muscle fibers, we are able significantly increase strength with a minimum of outward change. Cool, no? It’s kind of like discovering a superpower. Before we start jumping over buildings, though, we need to understand why so much strength has been lying dormant within you.

To further stretch out an already fatigued analogy, your middle managers have been taking three-hour lunch breaks for years and no one has even noticed. Why? There’s been no need for adaptation. If you don’t consistently challenge your muscles with enough weight to require full recruitment, this adaptation will never occur. No heavy weight with any consistency = no need to lift heavy weight. It’s simple.

If we truly want to get stronger, we’re going to change the way we do things. Especially if we want to put down the purple dumbbells and reap the benefits of powerful, efficient workouts. Since the progression of motor unit recruitment (what gets turned on first) follows the transition from light stuff to heavy stuff, to access the whole workforce, we’re going to need something heavy. How heavy? The research tells us 80% or more of capacity (what you can lift for one repetition). In absolute terms, this translates to a big difference between, say, what a mighty lumberjack can lift vs. a self-cutting emo vegan. However, in relative terms, both should find their respective loads to be extremely challenging. Remember this: no matter who you are, these workouts will be tough. Strong people don’t get off any easier.
“Wait. Wait! Wait! Wait! How can all this not make my muscles bigger?”

Okay, I’m not going to lie to you. If you are weak and have never done any real strength training, you will see some adaptations pretty quickly. For example, you’ll need stronger forearms just to hold onto enough weight. Listen. Please. The gains you’ll experience will not be linear. They will not continue forever. Do not freak out about them or delude yourself into thinking that you will turn into She-Hulk overnight. Unless your mom and dad were both Olympic shot-putters or you gained superpowers in a freak atomic accident, the odds are far, far lower than you think. Far lower.
“Are you sure I won’t get bigger after this initial period of adaptation?”

Emphasizing or de-emphasizing size gains comes down to the following factors:

* Caloric surplus: If you don’t exceed your daily caloric needs, you will not have the raw material to build new muscle. Although it’s rare to meet a female athlete who takes in enough protein anyway, suffice it to say that if you’re getting less than a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day (what is, in my opinion, the minimum required for maintenance), Ms. Olympia will not be calling.

* Density: Two parts here:
o Trying to lift maximal loads while fatigued is kind of like practicing chess while drunk. After months — even years — of this approach, you will still suck. As such, it’s essential to ensure that ATP (the fuel for muscular contraction within the cell) is completely replenished before you lift. This process takes between four and five minutes so I’ll give you some details on how to best make use of your downtime in Part 2 of this article.
o Most of the stresses responsible for hypertrophy (increased muscle size) come from creating a stressful intracellular environment. Lowered PH (more acidity) and increased accumulation of waste products impair performance. Your body will respond by increasing its capacity to restore balance. It’s these adaptations that are largely responsible for size. So, to avoid them, you need to avoid stresses. By sticking with rest periods long enough to facilitate full ATP recovery, you will have also waited long enough for the cell environment to normalize.

* Volume: Once again, the root of adaptation is stress. There are a number of peripheral factors (including the degree of damage inflicted on your muscles) that will accumulate in spite of lengthened rest times. To avoid these, we’ll reign total volume in somewhere between 24 and 30 total reps (that’s the total number for all sets of any given exercise). We’ll get into actual set numbers in Part 2.

* Intensity: As stated above, we need loads in excess of 80% of our single-rep maximum for neurological improvement. You don’t need to be scared of big weights, but you need to be respectful and train safely.

* Tempo: There’s a lot to be said for slow, controlled reps. I emphasize these for beginners because of what they bring to the table in terms of coordination and control. With those skills as a prerequisite, people training for performance, not size, should move fast. How fast? If we go by Canadian strength coach Charles Poliquin’s recipe for hypertrophy as being 30-70 seconds of time under tension, then having the total time for your set come in at under 30 seconds will be fine. For the type of lower-rep sets that we’ll be getting into, a fast lift and controlled eccentric (lowering) motion will be more than enough to ensure this.

* Training frequency: Since training your nervous system for strength is similar to practicing a fine motor skill, there’s only one way to get to Carnegie Hall. Instead of practicing scales, though, you’re going to squat, deadlift, press and pull. The low volume of your workouts will help minimize the accumulated factors that contribute to hypertrophy.

Do you feel better? Do you at least believe that you can add strength without size? I hope so. There’s not a whole lot more that needs to be said. However, you may still have some questions about how heavy weights relate to looking hotter. Fair enough.

It’s like this: the amount of energy you expend correlates directly to the total amount of work you do. If you are so weak that you can only move itty-bitty weights and your fastest sprint is a lame jog then your workout productivity will be limited and you will be sad. However, if you are so strong that you can move great big weights and that your fastest sprint can blister the paint off of nearby houses, your workout productivity will be great and you will rejoice. In practical terms, when strong people perform energy-intensive work, they get more done in the same amount of time. These workouts are not easier, but they are superior.

Put into the framework of circuit training (performing groups of exercises), your strength development will translate into highly effective workouts that absolutely blow any kind of low-weight, high-rep program out of the water. Instead of performing bad cardio with minimal strength gain, you will be stronger and leaner in less time. You will develop the kind of muscle tone you’ve always wanted with strength to go along with it (surpass it, actually). Most importantly, you will begin your transformation into a bad-ass.

I love working out, but I don't like to get too big....

Are you someone who doesn't just gain extra muscle when working out, but also extra bulk?

A lot of long distance runners complain of the same thing. If you are looking for lean muscle mass, then you need to find an exercise that will burn calories while you rest.

One thing you can do is interval training. You can do this while you run, do the elliptical, jump rope or bicycle. It burns those calories up to 5 hours after you complete the exercise. Whereas, if you do steady running, you're likely to stop burning calories once you step off the treadmill.

8 Reasons to Hit the Gym

Here are the top 8 reasons real women (like you!) go to the gym

* 1. To Battle Depression
* 2. To Feel Sexy
* 3. To Stay Healthy
* 4. For The Kids
* 5. To Achieve New Goals
* 6. To Feel Happier
* 7. To Build Stamina
* 8. To Have Your Cake (and Eat It Too!)

Women's Health magazine provides the list above for reasons to go to the gym. So inspired, I wanted to add my own.

9) To gain strength
10) To burn stress and anxiety
11) To sweat
12) To know that I'm prolonging my life through exercise (good diet, too, of course).

WHAT ARE YOUR REASONS FOR GOING TO THE GYM? PLEASE SHARE!!!

Ask the Acupuncturist

Q:	This might be too 'acupuncture-heavy' for you, but maybe you'll enjoy it. I am interested in using acupuncture to lose weight. I have about 100 pounds to lose. Can acupuncture help me lose weight and keep it off?

A:

The Acupuncture Weight Loss Solution By Diane Joswick, L.Ac. A:I am going to tell you a secret. All diets will work if they lower your caloric intake and you STICK TO IT! It’s pure physics: Our weight is determined by the amount of energy that we take in, and the amount of energy we expend. So why is obesity now a national epidemic? The problem is that it is against our nature to limit calories. We instinctively eat more than we need to. This is a “gift” passed down from our hunter-gatherer ancestors from a time when there wasn't a drive-thru window on every corner. We also tend to eat in excess due to our modern lifestyles, chronic stress, and other psychological “triggers”. Going to Extremes People will go to drastic measures to lose weight. Fad diets ask you to eat an unnatural and unhealthy diet, such as a meal plan of cabbage soup or pineapples or rice or no-carbs, They may work in the short term because of the low caloric intake, but there is absolutely no way you can keep it up. Your body and mind will rebel and take revenge for putting it on such a restrictive regime, rather than providing whole foods and a “whole diet” with proper nutrients. Instinctively, your body will crave foods and gorge, filling up, terrified of and preparing for the next starvation, packing on fat for stored energy. Eating an unnatural and highly restrictive diet can cause yo-yo dieting and drastic ups and downs in body weight. Improper diet practices can also cause malnutrition, organ damage, slow metabolic rate and imbalances within the body. Wouldn’t it be great to decrease the amount of food that you take in, and increase the amount of energy you expend? It’s entirely possible, thanks to acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Acupuncture and TCM address both the physiological and psychological aspects of weight loss. A comprehensive therapy for weight issues rooted in TCM promotes better digestion, smooths emotions, reduces appetite, improves metabolism, and eliminates food cravings. Weight loss according to Traditional Chinese Medicine According to TCM, the root of excess weight is an imbalance within the body caused by malfunctioning of the spleen and liver organ systems. In five-element theory, the spleen is responsible for the proper functioning of the digestive system, ensuring that the food we eat is transformed into Qi — the vital substance of life. Disharmony of the spleen will have symptoms such as fatigue, slow metabolism, water retention, loose stool, and feeling of heaviness. The liver’s job is to keep the flow of your body’s Qi and blood (as well as your emotions) running smoothly. Our modern, fast-paced lifestyle and chronic stress can negatively impact the liver’s ability to function properly and smoothly, which, in turn, can cause the spleen and the whole digestive system to function poorly and decrease your metabolism. Liver disharmony can also cause some of the “triggers” that lead to cravings and compulsive eating. Backed by Research A growing body of research supports the use of acupuncture and Asian medicine in weight loss: A 2003 study published in The Journal of Medical Acupuncture found that participants receiving acupuncture lost more than three times more weight than the control group. In a study conducted by the University of Adelaide in Australia in 1998, 95 percent of the participants receiving electro-stimulation on acupuncture points reported appetite suppression. The results showed that the acupuncture group was more likely to experience a reduced appetite and to lose weight than the control group. The Acupuncture Weight Loss Treatment From a TCM perspective, the acupuncture points, foods and herbs that are chosen to assist with weight loss directly influence the Qi of the spleen and liver systems to treat the root imbalances that are causing the weight gain. From a Western perspective, acupuncture and TCM have been shown to have an effect on the function of the nervous system, endocrine system, digestive system, food cravings, and metabolism. All of which can help to energize the body, maximize the absorption of nutrients, regulate elimination, control overeating, suppress the appetite, and reduce anxiety. Acupuncture Points for Weight Loss The beauty of acupuncture is that each treatment is catered to the needs of the individual patient. Acupuncture points on the body will be chosen for overall well being with the objective of increasing circulation of the blood and Qi (stimulating the metabolism) and calming the nervous system. In addition to treating the root of the imbalance within the body, different acupuncture points may be chosen for each treatment as different symptoms arise. For instance, if you are experiencing a desire to overeat related to premenstrual syndrome (PMS) one week, then that can be addressed at that week’s appointment. Generally treatments are scheduled once or twice a week for 8 to 12 weeks or until the goal weight has been reached. The treatments include a combination of auricular (ear) and body acupuncture, ear tacks or pellets to leave on in-between treatments, herbs and supplements, abdominal massage, breathing exercises, and food and lifestyle recommendations. Ear Points Acupuncture points on the ears have been found to be particularly effective for weight loss. The human ear has been described as a micro-system of the body in an inverted fetal position; it contains points relating to all major organs and body parts. Auricular points for weight loss are stimulated with small tacks during treatment. Then seed-sized beads or magnets are taped to the points to enhance the effectiveness of the points at home. The beads will generally stay in place for 3 days to a week and can be gently massaged for 10-second intervals if cravings occur. Here are some of the most commonly used auricular points: Shenmen: Important point for calming the mind and reducing stress Small Intestine: Reinforces spleen, promotes digestion. Mouth: Calming point used for smoking, over eating and hyperactive talking. Hunger Point: Used to relieve hunger and control compulsive eating Endocrine point: Moves liver Qi and aids in the function of the metabolism A Total Health Program Most patients report a marked decline in appetite and cravings with acupuncture alone but herbs, healing foods, and exercises can definitely enhance the efficacy of the treatments. Herbs and Healing Foods: The herbs and foods that are chosen during a weight loss treatment are for promoting healthy digestion, energizing the body, augmenting Qi, and improve elimination of water, toxins, and waste products. Foods that are bitter, sour and acrid to taste are especially good for weight loss, while sweet, salty and greasy foods should be reduced. Abdominal massage/exercise: Points on the abdomen improve digestion, absorption of food and peristalsis of the intestines. The abdominal points can be stimulated with massage or by belly breathing, where the abdomen is consciously moving in and out with each breath. Deep breathing with visualization can also strengthen will power and be used as a tool to curb hunger and cravings. Acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine are powerful tools for healthy weight loss, by itself or as a supportive treatment in conjunction with other weight management programs. In the struggle to eat less and expend more energy, you may find that acupuncture is just what was needed to overcome cravings, boost energy, enhance your metabolism, and increase your willpower to succeed! About the Author: Diane Joswick, L.Ac. refined her acupuncture weight loss skills in her private practice in Del Mar, Calif. Her new book, The Acupuncture Weight Loss Solution(TM), will be available in bookstores in 2008.

6 Exercise Machines You Should Do Without

Here are some tips from Men's Health....

While machines might seem like the foolproof way to exercise, they aren’t always the safest. In fact, sometimes they actually contribute to the injuries you were trying to avoid in the first place. Here are 6 machines you should lift without.

The Seated Leg Extension

The myth: It’s the safest way to work your quadriceps, or thigh muscles.

The truth: Physiologists at the Mayo Clinic determined that leg extensions place significantly more stress on your knees than squats. Why? Because the resistance is placed near your ankles, which leads to high amounts of torque being applied to your knee joint every time you lower the weight. What’s more, Auburn University scientists found that people who squat long-term have tighter, stronger knee ligaments than those who don’t squat at all.

The alternatives: Free weight squats, split squats, and lunges—performed with perfect form—are all better choices for working your quads and protecting your knees.

The Behind-the-Neck Lat Pull-Down

The myth: The best way to perform the lat pulldown is to pull the bar behind your head, down to your upper back

The truth: Unless you have very flexible shoulders, this exercise is difficult to do correctly, and can increase your risk for shoulder impingement syndrome—a painful condition in which the muscles or tendons of your rotator cuff become entrapped in your shoulder joint.

The alternative: Simple—just pull the bar in front of your head, down to your collarbone. You’ll work your back just as hard, but with less risk for injury.

The Pec Deck

The myth: It’s a super safe and very effective way to work your chest muscles.

The truth: This apparatus, also called the chest fly machine, can overstretch the front of your shoulder and cause the muscles around the rear of your shoulder to stiffen. The result: Doing this movement frequently can lead to shoulder impingement syndrome.

The alternatives: Forget the machine, and stick with exercises such as the pushup, dumbbell bench press and dumbbell incline press; they’re easier on your shoulders and the best way to build your chest overall. In fact, Truman State University researchers found that pectoral muscles are activated for 23 percent less time during the chest fly, compared with the bench press.

The Seated Hip Abductor Machine

The myth: This machine is the best way to work your out thighs, including your glutes.

The truth: Because you’re seated, it trains a movement that has no functional use. And if done with excessive weight and jerky technique, it can put undue pressure on your spine.

The alternative: Work the same muscles, but while standing. Simply loop a resistance band around both legs, and position the band just below your knees. Now take small steps to your left for 20 feet. Then side-step back to your right for 20 feet. That’s one set. This is much harder than it sounds, but you can do it anywhere, and it’s also a great warmup for any sport.

The Seated Rotation Machine

The myth: Twisting on this machine helps melt your love handles.

The truth: It works the muscles under your love handles, but will do little to reduce the fat that covers them. What’s more, because your pelvis doesn't move as you rotate your upper body, this exercise can put excessive twisting forces on the spine.

The alternative: As long as you don’t expect to shrink your love handles, you can use rotational exercises to work your obliques. But here’s the secret to safety: Before you do any rotational exercises, brace your abs forcefully—as if you’re about to be punched in the gut—and hold them that way as you do the movement. This limits your range of motion and helps to keep you from rotating excessively at your lower spine.

The Smith Machine

The myth: This machine—which looks like a squat rack with a built-in bar that runs on guides—gives you all the benefits of squats, but none of the risk that comes from holding a heavy barbell across your back. That’s because the bar can easily be secured at any point during the movement.

The truth: Because the bar runs on guides, you can only move straight up and down as you squat—instead of down and back, as you would in a free-weight squat. The result: An unnatural movement that puts extra stress on your knees and lower back. Need another reason to skip the Smith? Canadian researchers found that traditional squats produced almost 50 percent more muscle activity in the quadriceps than squats done on a Smith machine.

The alternative: If you’re not comfortable with barbell squats, simply do the exercise while holding dumbbells at arm’s length next to your sides. You won’t need a spotter, and your body will be free to move through the natural motion of the squat.

Pretzel Lift

A

> LIE ON THE FLOOR on your left side, knees bent 90 degrees and left leg in front of you. Lean on your left forearm, elbow aligned under shoulder, and rest right hand on hip.
> PLACE A WEIGHTED BALL behind your right knee and raise leg to hip height, foot flexed and slightly higher than your knee.

B

> KEEP YOUR SHOULDERS and hips square as you lift your right leg a few inches. Lower leg to hip height and repeat. Switch sides to complete set.

(You should start with about 10 reps on each side & slowly increase the reps when you get stronger.)

**This is good for your core & your glutes.**

Carbohydrates and Vegan Athletes

Carbohydrates - The cornerstone of an athlete's diet

Here’s a cool article about carbohydrates for the vegan athlete. A friend, who is a part of Organic Athlete, introduced me to this great website. Enjoy!

Why are carbohydrates critical?

Even if you've never experienced “hitting the wall,” you've probably heard about it. The dreaded bonk is the athlete's worst nightmare. One minute you're running comfortably, the next you can barely walk. When the body runs out of carbohydrate supplies, it goes into survival mode and athletic performance is compromised.

Carbohydrates are essential fuel for every cell in the body, and glucose (a simple sugar) is the primary form of energy in the body. Glucose not only supplies energy for the body, it is also an important precursor for protein production and lipid metabolism. Keeping the body's carbohydrate stores topped off, then, is essential for optimal nutrition. By choosing the proper foods for fueling our cells, you can avoid the bonk and maintain energy levels throughout exercise.

Which carbohydrates are best for fueling activity?

What sporting event is complete without a spaghetti dinner? We've all heard that athletes should consume lots of “complex carbs” like pasta, bread, and grains. Complex carbohydrates are usually considered the best source of carbohydrates, and indeed these foods are rich in them. But in terms of nutritional density, fresh, ripe fruit is more easily digested and supplies more nutrients per calorie than starchy alternatives. Where breads and starchy foods can take up to twenty-four hours to digest, a meal of fruit digests and begins fueling your cells within minutes. Processed sugar justifiably got a bad reputation because of its nutritional bankruptcy, but simple sugars that come from whole foods have been unfairly lumped into this same category. Fruits provide a complete package of readily available carbohydrates and an array of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, co-enzymes, and electrolytes to provide balanced nutrition for all cellular actionsSeeking sweets

You may consider a sweet tooth the bane of your existence, but did you know a sweet tooth does have a purpose? To satisfy our appetites and biological need for simple sugars we seek them out in whichever form we can find them. Fructose, the primary sugar in fruit, is easily converted into usable glucose and also tastes sweet. Our need for glucose is undeniable, and fruit is the most readily available, healthful source of simple sugars. Unlike starchy foods, which require cooking in order to be made palatable, fruit requires minimal preparation time. The next time you feel you need to refuel your muscles or just have a meal, consider fruit as an optimal fuel.

Are you eating enough?

Sometimes people transitioning to a plant-based diet experience low energy levels. Often this is because people are not consuming enough calories. Animal-based foods are generally more calorie dense due to high fat content. A hamburger, for example, contains around 500 calories. 5-7 bananas would have to be consumed for the same amount of calories. This means a larger volume of food must be consumed, but in the end the body is supplied with far superior nutrition.

The case of the Kenyans

A study of the diet of Kenyan runners found over 80% of their calories come from carbohydrates. The same is true for the Tarahumara Indians, the legendary marathon runners from Mexico. By the very nature of their profession, top athletes consume large amounts of carbohydrates. Animal foods, with the exception of dairy, are devoid of carbohydrates. Most athletes consume carbohydrates from processed foods like bread and refined sugar. All athletes – even the Kenyans – would do well to increase their consumption of whole foods as a main source of carbohydrates.

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