Do the work.

July 23, 2015 by

It’s not good enough to just show up.

You have to do the work.

Yes, we all think we do the work.

We often do enough to get by or satisfy our belief of what’s work.

Or we do what’s comfortable, what we’ve always done.

But when it comes to fitness and health, there are so many forces pulling us in so many directions that we aren’t always truly doing the work we need to be doing.

This is not meant as a personal attack.

But if you want to start seeing results*, the first item on the agenda has to be taking stock of where you’re actually starting from, doing a current audit of sorts.

When you go to the gym, how hard are you working? How efficient are you? Do you take your mobile device and check Facebook every few minutes? Do your water breaks seem to stretch out into happy hour territory? Does the intensity of your exercise actually leave you feeling like you’ve put everything you had at that time into it or could you go for round two without even breaking a sweat?

In most cases, we find short cuts. We find the easy outs.

We find any number of ways where we can make the work easier. Longer rests. Lighter weights. Slower pace. Lower difficulty setting. And so on.

This is human nature (at least for the vast majority of us) – we seek the path of least resistance.

When it comes to health and fitness, that’s not always the best course of action.

To teach the body to adapt to higher levels of fitness, we need to put it in higher levels of challenge and stress, beyond what we’re comfortable with, with enough consistency over a long enough period of time.

Being at the gym for an hour will not suddenly confer improved performance, decreased body fat or improved cardiovascular fitness or stamina.

Unfortunately, the feeling many people get from just showing up translates into the feeling that the work was done. This is almost like a mental check mark. And what do we do when we’ve crossed something off our to-do list is we often congratulate ourselves for the job well done and take a break in celebration.

Now, being at the gym and busting your butt for an hour, pushing yourself, putting it out there in a progressive manner, that, when repeated over time, will confer physiological changes. That will be the stimulus your body needs to change and adapt. That’s how fitness is earned and physiques are crafted.

Basically, showing up is not the same as showing up and doing the work.

So if you’ve been working on your health and fitness and haven’t been seeing the results you want, it may be time to sit down and do an honest, objective audit of the actual work you’re doing.

And keep in mind that to earn the results, we have to do the work.

*The work audit should also take into account the “work” you’ve been doing with your nutrition. Exercise without appropriate nutrition will not yield optimal results.

Filed Under: exercise, Mindset, Personal Training, Strength & Conditioning Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Perfect Form in Exercise – Does it even exist?

January 23, 2015 by

There is no such thing as “perfect form” in exercise.

There is, however, ideal form, which is more of a range of forms rather than one fixed position.

Ideal form changes from person to person based on myriad variables which can include at a minimum:

  • body shape (e.g. height, limb length, anatomical structure/build)
  • training experience (beginner, intermediate, advanced, elite)
  • injury and/or fitness status (rehab, post-rehab, post op, fit, sedentary)
  • goals (recovery from injury, lose body fat, gain muscle mass, improve mobility, increase endurance).

Take for example an individual who comes in with knee pain when squatting (either with body weight or with external load). Once cleared for any underlying issues such as nerve involvement or ligament/cartilage injury, there are few ways to aim to get back to squatting pain free.

In many cases, the above described individual will find relief and be able to continue squatting with just three simple positional alterations:

  1. Change in stance position: Many people do better and experience less knee discomfort with a wider stance. There are some people who do better with a narrower stance. Play around with this to find your sweet spot. You may also find that comfortable stance position changes for different types of exercises (e.g. wider back squat vs narrower front squat).
  2. Change in foot position: This involves changing the position of the foot itself. For some people, this may mean turning the foot out (toes pointing away from midline of the body). For others, this may require bringing the foot back to a more forward facing position (neutral foot). Again, your ideal foot position may be slightly different for different exercises. Play with your foot position to find the one that allows you the best range of motion with no pain.
  3. Change in hip travel path: This involves changing the direction of travel of your buttocks as you squat. For some people, a more backward travel path may help, while other may find a more vertical path less painful. As with the previous two, your ideal movement with this may be different with different exercise.

If you’ve been having knee trouble with your squats, give these three a go. Some people may only need to alter one item on the list, while other may have to work with a combination.

And if you’re still having trouble after trying the above, get in touch with us.

We’ll help you get back to squatting pain free.

 

Filed Under: exercise, Personal Training, physiotherapy, Strength & Conditioning Tagged With: , , , ,

Is walking considered the best exercise?

September 18, 2014 by

An oft repeated, and overheard, expression suggests that walking is the best exercise.

And people want to know.

Is it true?

Is walking really considered the best exercise?

Does is rank higher than squats? Push ups? Or any of those fancy machines at the gym?

Does is do better for your body than running hills or pushing yourself through grueling marathons?

Or are the health and fitness benefits of walking being overblown and shown out of proportion from the reality?

The truth, as is almost always the case with these types of questions is, it depends.

It will depend on your current level of fitness and your current health status.

As a physiotherapist, I see people who come in varying states of de-conditioning, disease or injury healing.

For some of these people, a short walk may be an extreme challenge, zapping massive amounts of energy and requiring tremendous physical resources. A few slow steps may necessitate a 10 minute rest before the next attempt. The heart and lungs screaming, sweat dripping down the brow. This would be considered exercise.

As a physiotherapist, I also see people who come in with excellent baseline fitness levels and no active injuries. In their cases, walking would be considered a physical activity (Non-Exercise Physical Activity, or NEPA) but not exercise in the traditional sense. In order for them to be challenged by walking it would likely have to be over rugged terrain, over long durations, and at higher speeds.

Now that we’ve established that walking can be both considered, and not considered, exercise based on individual background, is it the best?

This gets even trickier.

What does “the best” even mean?

I propose that the best exercise is the one that you’re able to do consistently over time at a sufficient intensity that challenges you and moves you towards your goals.

If you’re sick, ill, or out of shape, then walking may be the best exercise for you at that time.

If you’re healthy and fit, then walking, while offering all sorts of associated physical and mental benefits, may not be the best exercise for you. It’s likely too easy for you in your present state.

So to reiterate, it all depends on where you’re starting.

And if you need some professional help finding out where you stand and what exercise is best for you, feel free to get in touch with us.

Filed Under: exercise, physiotherapy Tagged With: , , , , ,