by: Breion Young and Kayla Rogers

A driven person who knows what they want and is willing to do whatever it takes to get it might actually be harming themselves and their fitness goals if they go too hard without rest. Rest is very important for your body. To most people rest is more important than the work done on the field, court, and track or weight room.

Rest in between sets will be based on what type of training you’re doing. “Time is on your side when you’re training for pure strength,” says Stankowski. When training for strength you’re going to be lifting very heavy weight. Once you’re at 80% of your one rep max or more you’re repetitions decrease because the weight has increased. For this type of workout the rest period should be between three to five minutes. Most athletes like myself will do a set with a high percentage weight (80% – 85%) and not take the recommended time to recover. By my third set with the same weight my body will start to slow down a bit.

Recovery outside the gym is also important. It includes diet, stretching and of course rest. Outside the gym recovery is focused of replenishing the muscle or groups of muscle and to begin refueling the body for the next workout. Protein is a muscle builder and repairs the damaged muscles but it doesn’t refuel it (Recovering from Hard Exercise, Clark, Nancy). Carbohydrates and the calories from them will refuel your body so the work you just put in isn’t wasted.

By: Kayla Rogers & Breion Young

Ever walk into the cardio area of the gym, and feel overwhelmed with options? Or maybe using a cardio machine/cardio training of any sort is an intimidating factor for you, because you simply do not know how to cardiovascular train. While many associate working out/exercising as, “lifting weights” the aerobic aspect of fitness plays an important role too. Aerobic exercise increases peak oxygen consumption (VO2 peak), which is in close relation with overall body fat percentage, body fat loss, and weight loss (Donnelly JE, 2013). In fact, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) suggests 3-5 days a week for 20-60 mins = 150-300mins per week of moderate-vigorous intensity, aerobic exercise, can help reduce body weight (Donnelly JE B. S., 2009).

F.I.T.T Principle

• Frequency: 3-5 days/week

• Intensity: Moderate (40-85%)- Vigorous (60-89%)

• Time: 20-60 minute sessions = 150-300 min/week

• Type: Treadmill, Bicycle, Elliptical, anything personably enjoyable.

The three main machines in the cardio area that are most commonly used, are the bicycle, treadmill, and the elliptical. All three of these machines are beneficial in helping you reach the recommendations that ACSM suggests. It is important to remember that everyone’s aerobic fitness is different, therefore do not feel intimidated by “long distance’ runners on the treadmills, or the marathon participants on the bicycle. If you are internally motivated, all the intimidating factors will play less of a role around you!

References

Donnelly JE, B. S. (2009). American College of Sports Medicine position stand: Appropriate physical activity intervention strategies for weight loss and prevention of weight regain for adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc., 459-471.

Donnelly JE, H. J. (2013). Aerobic exercise alone results in clinically significant weight loss for men and women: exercise trial 2. Obesity, 219-229.

by: Breion Young & Kayla Rogers

Overtraining is something that everybody has questions about. Is it good for the body? Will my performance increase or decrease? What is considered overtraining? “Overtraining is a common problem in weight training, but it can also be experienced by runners and other athletes. It occurs when the volume and intensity of the exercise exceeds an individual’s recovery capacity. They cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness”, says the dictionary. Some of the signs of over training are weight loss, loss of motivation, increase of injuries, persistent muscle soreness, and more. One reason this happens in a lot of athletes is because, when they fall short or don’t meet their goal for the day they push harder. Personally I’ve experienced this first hand myself. I used to work out in the gym like crazy for my sport, even though I grew and became stronger and faster, as time went on my performance and gains started to decrease. I used to work out five or six days a week and now I only work out maybe four days a week.

How to get over overtraining? It’s simple and its crazy to say, but take a break from the gym! With three to five days of rest your body should have a positive response. You can do some light cardio to just maintain a little, but no muscle taxing lifts. Also, you can take that to get in more rest or the proper seven to eight hours of sleep.

Relax and Breath

Have you ever just felt that the weight of the world is on your shoulders, stress is eating you up, and there just doesn’t seem to be a way to relax? “Take a deep breath and relax.” We have all heard this before but it is very true and important to remember in the midst of our everyday lives. Studies have shown that breathing exercises not only reduce stress but relieve tension, burnout, headache, chronic fatigue, sleeping problems, concentration problems, anxiety and phobia, panic disorder, and depression. Elizabeth Scott (2016) says that the benefits of using breathing exercises to treat these conditions is:

1. They work quickly.
2. You can do them anywhere.
3. They take very little practice to master.
4. They’re FREE!!
5. You can use them in a stressful situation to stay calm.
6. They can effectively reverse your stress response, helping you avoid the negative effects of chronic stress.

Breathing Exercises

Yoga is known as the top stress reliever exercise that incorporates deep breathing exercises. The best part about breathing exercises is that it can be done anywhere. They can be done at your desk, on the floor, in your bedroom, outside in the grass, or in your car before going into work or school. Deep breathing requires you to inhale slowly bringing the air through the nose and pushing down the diaphragm as much as you can to fill the lungs, and releasing through the mouth. Mindy Caplan (2014) suggests to:

• Find a comfortable place to sit
• Close your eyes and take slow deep breaths
• When inhaling, expand the diaphragm, and then exhale completely
• “Talk” to the muscles in your body and tell them to relax and melt
• Softening the jaw releases tension in the neck, shoulders and hips, and leads to total body relaxation

Resources:

Caplan, M. (2014, May 14). Learn how to relax with exercise. Retrieved from:             https://certification.acsm.org/blog/2014/may/learn-how-to-relax-with-exercise

Scott, E. (2016, July 6). Breathing exercises for stress relief breathing exercises are popular for a   reason. Retrieved from: https://www.verywell.com/breathing-exercises-for-stress-relief-     3145183

By: Kayla Rogers & Brieon Young

What tools/ incentives help motivate you get to the gym? Is it your fit bit telling you to, “Get active”? Apple watch telling you to, “Get moving/standing to long”? Or is it a simple app encouraging you to reach your 10,000 step margin? Either way all these motivational tools have one thing in common, a pedometer.

Walking/exercising with a pedometer as a motivational tool, is becoming widely used in many health related settings to help increase overall physical activity and health status (Suliman Mansi, 2013). Pedometers help relay valuable information such as the number of steps taken, distance traveled, time spent physically active, and possible energy expenditure estimate (DR Lubans, 2009).

By wearing such device, this helps you have a physical recording of your physical activity throughout the day. For some, having that information helps them meet their physical activity/fitness goals, therefore becoming a tool of motivation. So if you are in an inactive phase in life, wearing a pedometer might be one of the least expensive ways to get motivated (Harvard Health Letter, 2009). So let’s STEP out of that SEDENTARY Lifestyle today!!

References

DR Lubans, P. M.-L. (2009). A systematic review of studies using pedometers to promote physical activity among youth. Prev Med, 307-315.

Harvard Health Letter. (2009, September). Retrieved from Harvard Health Publishing: https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsleter_article-every-step-you-take

Suliman Mansi, S. M. (2013). Use of pedometer-driven walking to promote physcial activity and improve health-related quality of life among meat processing workers: a feasibility trial. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 1-11.

by: Shana Bunce

Plyometrics is nothing new to the strength and conditioning world, but is becoming more popular in individuals’ workouts. With an increase of interest in health and fitness, personal trainers and fitness instructors are looking for more powerful, interesting moves to keep people interested in exercise. Plyometrics is an exercise technique that combines strength with speed to achieve maximum power in functional movements. This regimen combines eccentric training of muscles with concentric contraction (Farlex, 2009). Every time you land from a jump, your muscles get a stretch. That gives your next jump even more power. The combination of stretching and contracting your muscles is what gives the fibers more strength. They can be practiced just about anywhere. Just make sure to have a landing surface, like grass or a padded floor.

When performing plyometrics, be conscious of body position. If the exercises are not done properly or done without the presence of a knowledgeable instructor injuries can happen. Landing wrong can create irritation in the ankles, knees, and low back. But when done properly maximal strength testing can be a safe, effective, and reliable method of evaluating muscular fitness in athletes and nonathletes (Masamoto, Larson, Gates, And Faigenbaum 2003).

Some easy exercises to remember are jumping rope, jumping squats and box jumps.

by: Breion Young and Kayla Rogers

These days everybody is getting into the fitness. Gym memberships across the nation are increasing and the average member age is becoming lower by the year. For some the, “Big Step” is actually getting into the gym, finding what fits you and staying committed to it. For others that step is simply nutrition.

Some believe that weight loss is 75% diet and 25% exercise (Exercise vs. Diet: The Truth About Weight Loss, Apr 30, 2014) and some others believe it’s 80% diet and 20% exercise, which is honestly true. What you put into your body will correspond with your performance and health. So, yes you could be going to the gym 4 days a week and exercising for 30 to 60 minutes a day but you won’t actually get what you want out of it.

Trust me I know it’s easier said than done for anybody, even athletes and for the average person just trying to stay fit. If you focus on eliminating nutrient deficiencies or bad foods, and making sure your portion sizes are right and eat right for the body type that you have, you’ll be moving towards the right direction (Workout nutrition explained: What to eat before, during, and after exercise) . Remember, “You can’t out-exercise a bad diet!” (Exercise vs. Diet: The Truth About Weight Loss, Apr 30, 2014).

by: Shana Bunce

There are many different workout trends that offer great benefits. You may experience physical benefits such as more energy or greater muscle mass. But is there something missing from your work out? Maybe in the cool down? Taking a lap around the track or decreasing the resistance on your recumbent bike are just the beginning. An article in American Fitness (Schroder, 2010) states that it is essential that everyday function should not be compromised by insufficient flexibility (Schroder 2010). So, don’t leave the gym without stretching! After your cool down and before you pack your bag, take a few minutes to stretch those hamstrings and quads, they worked hard today! Stretching and rolling out after workouts is a good routine to get into for the last ten minutes before you head out those doors.  Here are some good easy stretches to squeeze into your cool down.

Anterior-Thigh (Quads) Stretch

• Balancing yourself with your left hand on the wall, take hold of your right foot or ankle and bring it behind you.

• Keep your left knee pointing down and your rear end tucked and not sticking out.

• Bring your heel as close to your buttock as possible without pain.

• Hold for 10 to 15 seconds, then repeat on the other side.

Piriformis Stretch

• Lie on your back and gently pull your right knee towards your chest.

• Keep your left leg straight.

• Hold for 15 to 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side.

Hamstring Stretch

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.

• Bend at the hips (not the waist), letting your upper body hang.

• Reach your hands towards the floor until you feel a slight stretch in your hamstrings.

• If needed, bend your knees slightly.

• If this stretch causes discomfort in your low back, keep your back straight and place your hands on your thighs.

• For a deeper stretch, place your palms flat on the ground.

• Hold for 15 to 30 seconds.

CItations

Schroder, J. (2010). Stretching. American Fitness, 28(3), 23.