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Join us for this replay from the archives to learn more about how strength training should complement dieting for weight loss...
Dr. James Fisher answers the question “Why does muscle really matter for weight loss?” Find out why muscle mass should be a vital component of your weight loss strategy and why dieting without strength training is a recipe for long term disaster for your body.
There is a direct connection between your body’s muscle mass and its metabolic effectiveness, the ability to lose fat and keep it off, and your overall health. Why does muscle matter for weight loss? Muscle is metabolic reactive and consumes calories just by existing. You will burn a larger number of calories on a daily basis by having more muscle mass than someone with less. Instead of thinking about weight loss, we should think of it as fat loss because we don’t want to lose just any kind of weight, we want to improve body composition. Focusing on weight loss can be discouraging when people lose less weight than they hoped without taking into account gains in muscle mass. Without strength training, any weight you lose with dieting or activity will not be as much fat as you could lose by incorporating strength training into your routine. Anyone who goes on a calorie reduction plan to lose weight will end up with about 50% of the weight loss occurring within their muscle mass, which is an absolute tragedy. We want to hang on to as much muscle mass as we can as we age. Diet and cardio without strength training exacerbate the loss of metabolically valuable muscle tissue. Protein is a great calorie to consume as it’s thermogenic and used to absorb some of the protein you take in. Government nutrition guidelines should be adjusted to account for this. Maintaining your muscle mass has the additional benefit of preventing and reducing injuries so you can continue enjoying aerobic activities as you age. Weight loss without strength training results in frailty. In the older population, people who are lean are generally weak and have poor mobility. The best thing to do is to focus on strength training to build muscle and improve quality of life along the way. If you increase the amount of muscle mass you have, you will burn more calories by default. Muscle also stores glucose, which will help you with insulin-related conditions like Diabetes.Link:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives to learn more about effective exercise for your lower back and what can surprisingly make lower back pain worse...
In part two of the interview with Dr. James Fisher, we explore what it takes to actually strengthen the lower back and why exercises like the deadlift are not effective in targeting your lower back muscles. Find out how some people can experience significant lower back strength gain in as little as ten weeks with only 15 total minutes of muscle tension (60 to 90 seconds per week!) and why stretching without strength training can actually make your lower back pain worse.
The lower back is a notoriously difficult to train muscle group, which is why so many people are walking around with weak lower backs that are easy to injure and irritate. Fisher did some research with professional athletes to measure the effectiveness of certain exercises in strengthening the lower back and found that exercises that didn’t isolate the lower back didn’t make a major impact. However, lower back isolating exercises had a greater impact over more general exercises like the deadlift. The lower back needs an isolation exercise and preferably one that doesn’t also load the gluteal muscles. These exercises are best done with lower back specific pieces of equipment. In terms of overall strength, people who do lumbar exercises see significant increases in strength. Dr. Fisher has seen lumbar strength increases as high as 200% over the course of ten weeks, as well as improved lifestyle function, with a training frequency of once per week. Lower back exercises are typically just one set and roughly 90 seconds of muscle tension. The lumbar muscles are an example of how you can use your muscles and still lose them due to the deleterious effects of aging. You need to use specific muscle fibers in a specific manner in order to build the strength in your lower back. Stretching can be taken too far if you are not also strengthening the muscles involved. Making your spine and back more mobile without making it stronger can make things worse for you in the long run. Things like yoga should be supplemental to a proper strength training regime. Lower back pain often restricts range of motion, but there are still opportunities to train the muscle group without a full extension. You can start small and expand the range as you get stronger. People with lower back pain also tend to be cautious about moving their lower back, especially during exercise. This is why lower back machines that control the range of motion are effective. They maintain safety and stability while loading the muscles properly. In terms of age, lower back exercises are suited to pretty much everyone in society except for certain individuals; ex. If you’re pregnant, a small child, or have an injured spine. Once you’ve ruled out those conditions, you can safely and confidently strengthen the lower back. The more we know about our body, the more we know how to fix it. Helping identify the source of lower back pain, as well as what isn’t the issue, is all part of the journey of alleviating pain and improving quality of life.Link:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives to learn more about solving the problems causing lower back pain...
Brian Cygan and Dr. James Fisher discuss the origins of lower back pain and why the vast majority of Americans will experience some form of lower back pain in their lives. Learn about the root cause of lower back pain and why most treatments only deal with the symptoms and the pain instead of solving the problem, which often leads to even worse issues down the road.
Fisher is an academic and researcher in the UK. He’s published research on muscular strengthening as well as lower back pain. Lower back pain is a constant issue for a large swath of society. According to his study, somewhere between 70% and 90% of people will experience lower back pain in their lives. Lower back pain can be extremely debilitating to a person’s lifestyle and sleep patterns, and can have a major impact on their mental health as well. There is also an enormous cost to society in terms of productivity. At the Strength Coach, we’ve found that strengthening is an important strategy to improving the quality of life of someone experiencing lower back pain. Chronic lower back is when it occurs for longer than three months. At that point it’s important to seek medical guidance from a physiotherapist or general practitioner. About 10% to 15% of people experiencing chronic lower back pain have a specific reason for it like nerve issues or a slipped disc. The remaining 85% to 90% have what’s referred to as non-specific back pain which reduces the ability to mitigate the pain. For many of those people, the solution is often some form of painkiller or passive treatment like stretching and massage. The theories about the existence of non-specific lower back pain have to do with our evolution from quadrupeds in the past. The muscles around the lower back don’t tend to get much direct exercise and there seems to be a correlation between non-specific lower back pain and weak or atrophied lumbar muscles. The muscles that are more intrinsic to the spine over time, as we live a normal life, can atrophy as a result of not using them in a specific and demanding enough way. For most people, their gluteal muscles and hamstrings are very developed and do a lot of the work that the muscles in the lower back should do, and this can result in those lower back muscles becoming weaker, misfiring, and causing pain. With non-specific back pain, strengthening the muscles in the lower back should be the foundational approach to prevent future episodes of lower back pain. Specific lower back exercises are important for everyone in society to maintain their strength and muscle mass in that region and avoid the onset of lower back pain. Once something negative has happened, the road to recovery gets longer. Your lower back is central to everything you do. Without good control of your central muscles, you cannot throw or catch or jump or move well. From there it’s a downward spiral into the realm of disability. An imbalance between ab strength and lower back muscle strength can be part of the problem. We want all of the muscles surrounding the core of the body to be trained effectively, and it’s the lower back muscles that tend to be forgotten. The weak link is usually the lumbar muscles, and this can lead to a negative feedback process, where someone avoids exercising those muscles even more to avoid the pain resulting in greater muscle atrophy. We have other societal factors that are also contributing to the lower back pain that so many people experience as part of their lives.Link:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives to learn more about the importance of muscle burn...
Amy Hudson and Brian Cygan explain why that feeling of your muscles burning is exactly what you want to feel every time you go to the gym. Learn why muscle burn is one of the best indications that you’re exercising at the right intensity and without it, you won’t get the fitness results you’re looking for.
The intensity of an exercise is crucial to achieving the fitness results you want, and the feeling of muscle burn is a positive indication of that intensity. Effective exercise is simply a stimulus, where you stress the body in order for it to change for the better. Effective strength training needs to be intense enough to serve as that stimulus. Labored breathing, muscle burning, and a little discomfort are necessary elements of that kind of exercise. If you’re not experiencing some level of discomfort when exercising you are just going through the motions and aren’t putting in enough effort to see any real results. The fast-twitch muscle fibers are the ones that burn during exercise and they are the main focus of high-intensity exercise. The reason they burn is because they utilize the anaerobic subsystem of metabolism. Fast-twitch muscle fibers store sugar in the form of glycogen, and that’s what is consumed when exercising at an adequate intensity level. Muscle burn is a sign that you’re really tapping into the stored energy of your muscles, which is a good thing and you need to do to get stronger. Some people have more fast-twitch muscles than others and some muscle groups have more fast-twitch muscle fibers than others. Our natural response to the sensation of muscle burn is to be worried, but it’s okay to keep pushing through. The burn sensation is different from pain. As muscles fatigue near the end of a set, that’s when coaching and encouragement are vital. The brain is a prediction machine, and we have to intentionally override the survival mechanisms that tell us to stop exercising and preserve some energy in order to achieve the greatest results. People often look to muscle soreness as an indication that the workout was effective, but it doesn’t actually correlate to results later on. Muscle burn doesn’t necessarily lead to muscle soreness afterward. Eccentric training doesn’t burn as much as basic strength training, but it does produce more soreness later on. Delayed onset muscle soreness occurs more at the beginning of a new program and tends to reduce over time. The Exerbotics equipment gives Strength Coach clients an important advantage but showing progress over time instead of relying on sensations like muscle soreness. If your exercise isn’t delivering any changes to your body, then it’s not intense enough.Link:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives to learn more about life-changing advice and details about pre-diabetes...
Amy and Brian break down the science behind pre-diabetes and how strength training is the most efficient and effective way to escape the negative feedback loop of insulin resistance, systemic inflammation, and weight gain. If you or someone you know has been diagnosed as pre-diabetic, this information could change your life.
Approximately 1 in 3 Americans are pre-diabetic, which increases their risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, and most people don’t even realize they are at risk. Pre-diabetes also increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, problems with vision, and amputation later on in life. There are two leading factors to pre-diabetes: exercise and nutrition. As we lose muscle as we age, we develop insulin resistance which exacerbates the problem. High blood sugar levels over time lead to the wearing out of the body’s ability to even produce insulin. The good news is that pre-diabetes is a very modifiable condition that can be positively affected by exercise and proper nutrition. When we condition our muscles, we improve insulin sensitivity. Fast twitch muscle fibers store sugar in the form of glycogen, which removes it from the bloodstream. When muscles resist the effect of insulin, the insulin remains in the bloodstream at elevated levels and leads to systemic inflammation. Systemic inflammation is the root cause of all the health issues mentioned. Unlike acute inflammation, you don’t feel systemic inflammation except for the symptoms of the diseases and the effects of aging. The most important lifestyle recommendations are to start eating a whole food diet, eliminate high carbohydrates and refined sugars, and then begin strength training. A1C is the measurement of how saturated your red blood cells have become over a 90 day period. Whole food and whole effort strength training are how to keep that number in the safe range. Only strength training can target the fast twitch muscle fibers which are directly related to A1C levels in your body. People can experience tremendous improvements in their A1C levels over a short period of time just by implementing a strength training program in their life. If your doctor has diagnosed you as pre-diabetic, they are going to recommend exercise, and whole effort strength training is your best bet. Research shows that losing the first 5% of your body weight confers the majority of the health benefits, which is good because that means it’s easier to see results in a short period of time. Diabetes predisposes you to weight gain, but the reverse is also true. Elevated insulin levels, weight gain, and insulin resistance act on each other, which leads to a dangerous feedback loop. The best way to break the cycle is smart and brief strength training sessions.Link:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives to learn more about the Exercise Coach's strong business model...
Amy and Jesse Hudson explore the reasons the Exercise Coach saw phenomenal growth over the past 18 months while other fitness brands struggled to stay open. Learn about the key differences in the business model that make the Exercise Coach a great franchise to open, and why the community of franchisees that support one another is the secret ingredient to franchise success.
Jesse is the National Franchise Director for the Exercise Coach. His job is to work with franchise candidates and educating them on what it means to open an Exercise Coach location and recruiting quality business owners to help continue the company’s growth. The last year was notoriously difficult for the fitness industry. Jesse had the opportunity to write an article last year detailing the growth of the Exercise Coach during the Covid pandemic in a national franchise journal. The number one factor that Jesse identified of the Exercise Coach brand was the one-to-one service delivery. Coach-led exercise environments have shown that they deliver excellent results, and this operating model has proven to be very resilient over the last year and really set the Exercise Coach apart from the traditional gyms. Even during restrictions, the Exercise Coach was able to train and cater to the same number of clients. The fact that it’s a personal training brand that doesn’t need as many clients in a single room has kept the Exercise Coach as a very desirable option for franchisee candidates. One thing that franchise candidates notice when they go through the process is the strength of the culture of the company. Without a good relationship between the franchisee and the franchisor, the brand suffers but people saw that Exercise Coach was a brand that went above and beyond to support franchisees. In franchise evaluation, there is a process called validation where you independently verify the information you’re receiving. This was another major factor in the growth of the Exercise Coach as existing franchisees felt well taken care of. The third component of the Exercise Coach’s strong growth is the franchise owners themselves. For most franchise owners, it’s their first time in business and 2020 was a time where many people questioned their decisions. When you go through a crisis, you can’t be certain what’s going to happen but Exercise Coach franchisees really came together to help offer each other advice and support on how to deal with the challenges over the past year. As unfortunate as it is to go through something like the pandemic, in some ways, it does reveal the strength or the weakness in a brand, and we can definitely say that the pandemic revealed a lot of strength within the Exercise Coach. The Exercise Coach is positioned for even greater growth in 2021. There are currently over 120 locations operating right now, with an additional 100 territories coming in the US. The long-term development goal is to open 50-60 territories each year going forward. There is a wave coming. People want to get in shape and spend money on themselves and their families again. The Exercise Coach continues to be one of the strongest fitness franchises in the industry and many investors are recognizing that. The high-tech and completely personalized approach is the future of fitness, and more people and investors are realizing that and coming on board. It’s much easier to walk into a system already in place and run with it, opening a franchise is a great way to start. Jesse believes that the Exercise Coach is going to be the best in fitness over the next three to five years.Link:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives to learn more about misconceptions about machines and if free weights or machines are better...
Amy and Brian settle the age-old debate of which one is better: free weights or machines? Learn about some common misconceptions about machines that prevent people from getting the fitness results they want in the timeframe they want, and why free weights can lead to reduced strength gains and a higher risk of injury.
Spoiler alert: You’re not going to find any free weights at any of the Exercise Coach locations and for good reason. There is a significant strength training advantage to using machines over free weights and it has to do with the purpose of exercise. The results we want from exercise are muscle and neurological adaptations, and that happens when we expose the body to the right type of muscle loading for the right length of time. You can get those results from free weights, but they come with tradeoffs, whereas machines minimize what you need to learn so you can focus on what matters most. Your body doesn’t know or care if you’re lifting a dumbbell, or you’re working on a weight machine, or an isokinetic high tech strength machine, lifting a bag of dirt, or bodyweight exercises. It all has to do with muscle activation and fatigue. The Exercise Coach uses machines because it helps people focus and feel confident in what they are doing without having to worry about the risk of injury. Using a machine will position yourself specifically to do that exercise. You won’t have to worry about the variables and skills associated with using free weights. Machine weights create an on-ramp for anyone to begin exercising and democratize high-intensity strength training. Research shows that high intensity strength training is safe for anyone and targets what matters most, which is age-related skeletal muscle loss. When we effectively and optimally work our muscles, every system of the body gets better as well. Using biomechanically correct machines is the easiest way to introduce people to high-intensity strength training. Many of the conventional exercise methods don’t make it possible for the vast majority of people to safely and confidently engage with high level strength training. One of the objections that people will bring up against using machines has to do with stabilizer muscles, but it’s actually an argument against free weights. The requirement of balancing free weights prevents you from actually applying the optimal stimulus to your muscles. Every muscle in the body can act as a stabilizer muscle. Machines can help you target those muscles directly, instead of relying on free weight exercises to hit them as a side effect. There is no such thing as muscles specific to “real world” applications. There are just muscles, and research shows that strength gains generated from machines do transfer to other types of activities. At the College of New Jersey, researchers found that people using Exerbotics machines developed strength that transferred to free weight and calisthenic exercises as well. The reverse is not always true. There is a lot of skill involved in moving free weights around, that it doesn’t necessarily transfer to other areas of life. Strength Coach clients often report back that they have noticed that everyday activities like carrying the groceries or golfing get so much easier, which are great examples of how strength changes everything. People don’t want to spend a lot of time at the gym and they don’t have to. With a science-based approach to strength training, people can get the results that matter most to them in brief and safe training sessions.Link:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives to learn more about how you can use more effort in less time...
Amy and Brian go into the science behind eccentric overload and why this little-understood movement is responsible for the incredible gains in strength Exercise Coach clients experience in their first six sessions. Find out what eccentric overload is and how to optimize your exercise so you can use more effort in less time, and see greater results.
Eccentric training is well understood by research labs and high-level coaches but it’s not the most common idea for your average exerciser. It’s built into the unique way that makes Exerbotics so effective. Eccentric is simply a muscle contraction. All your muscles ever do is generate force by either contracting or detracting, and an eccentric motion is when you are attempting to shorten your muscles but the load is so great that your muscles actually lengthen. A good example is the bicep curl. When you bend your elbow to lift the dumbbell, that is the concentric portion of the muscle action. When you lower the weight is the eccentric portion. The trouble is that bicep curls are not a great eccentric training exercise. Research shows that we get better fitness results when we overload and meaningfully tax our eccentric strength. This is difficult to do with traditional exercises but is built into how the Exerbotics machine functions. There is a mechanical mismatch with gravity-based exercises. You can only lower what you first lifted, which means you can never fully optimize the exercise for the eccentric portion of the movement. You need 40% more resistance in order to effectively work your muscles eccentrically, and it’s even greater as your muscles fatigue. We need a way to apply an appropriate resistance eccentrically if we are going to tap into the benefits of eccentric training. Exerbotics is a connected strength training technology that adapts to each user’s ability and strength in concentric and eccentric movements. This allows Exercise Coach clients to give more effort in less time by capitalizing on every second of every rep. With an increase in the quality of the exercise stimulus, comes a decrease in the time spent to get results. Research shows that you are going to get strength gains that are twice as good when you can perform effective eccentric overload. You can also gain benefits to hypertrophy in shorter periods of time compared to traditional methods. Eccentric training also increases flexibility because of the increased extensibility of the muscles involved. The benefits also extend to the metabolic systems of the body. Recent research has shown improvements in cholesterol profile and a general reduction in systemic inflammation in the body. When we perform effective eccentric training we get the fitness results we want in less time, and while feeling less demanding. Eccentric training uses fewer muscle fibers but they are generating more force, which makes it a super stimulus for those muscles. The most basic exercises and protocols are automatically built into the programs of the Exercise Coach. In only six sessions at The Exercise Coach, over 7000 women saw a 33% increase in overall strength. Compare that to traditional exercises, where it can take over a year to achieve the same results.Link:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives to learn more about the science and principles behind strength training...
Brian and Amy explore the scientific research that shows that strength training is the ultimate exercise for combatting the aging process, getting into the best shape of your life, and how those principles are applied to every workout session at the Exercise Coach.
Over the past few months, Brian has been working on the Strength Changes Everything Scientific Support Paper. It has hundreds of scientific resources and is designed to help people dive deeper into the science of strength training. Sarcopenia, the age related loss of strength and muscle, can be prevented and reversed. An effective intervention must target fast-twitch muscle fibers, as sarcopenia selectively affects those cells. Decades of research have led to methods that are motivating and effective for people at all fitness levels. Brian co-wrote the support paper with Dr. James Fisher, Matt Essex, and Jeremy Bourgeois. The paper is structured by introducing readers to sarcopenia and its impact on muscle loss in aging, and on society at large. When we perform science-based strength training, it changes every system of the body for the better. It also fundamentally changes what is required to get fit and healthy in less time. This paper is for anyone that wants to feel inspired and motivated by what is possible with strength training. If you’ve experienced the effects of aging, this paper will show you that you are not disqualified from being in the best shape of your life. The research continues to show that strength training is the best way to combat the aging process. This foundation will help coaches take their conviction and confidence for what they do to the next level. The paper is scientific but still approachable for the average person. It is the encapsulation of years of scientific research that will help you understand the philosophy of strength training and how the Exercise Coach puts it into practice.Link:
exercisecoach.com
exercisecoach.com/scientificsupport
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives to learn more about the benefits of strength training in a fun manner...
In the midst of preparing for the upcoming National Exercise Coach Conference, Brian and Amy play a game of trying to name as many benefits of strength as they possibly can without repeating themselves. As you would expect of something as important to your long-term health and performance as strength training, the ensuing list is ridiculously long and comprehensive.
With the National Exercise Coach Conference approaching rapidly, Amy came up with a game to play on the podcast while Brian is busy getting preparations underway. The rules are simple: Take turns naming a specific benefit of strength training until someone gets stumped. The first batch of short and long-term benefits to strength training include: increased bone density, improved metabolism, decreased gastrointestinal transit time, decreased systemic inflammation, enhanced flexibility, improved cognition and brain function, increased level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, lower blood pressure, increased longevity, and decreased disease risk. Diseases that have a reduced risk are: Alzheimer’s and dementia, stroke, type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, and autoimmune diseases. Further benefits of strength training include: increased vertical jump, an easier time getting off the floor and going up the stairs, increased sarcomerogenesis, increased energy, mitochondrial biogenesis, decreased joint pain, improved body image and self-confidence, improved spinal ability, improved cardiovascular health and function, enhanced joint mobility, it helps facilitate and maintain fat loss, it reduces serum insulin levels and improves insulin sensitivity, improved postprandial blood sugar, anti-aging effects, improved circulation, improved muscle density, the release of healthy muscle derived hormones, destressing, a lower resting heart rate, greater endurance, improved mood, better sleep, increased HDL, reversing sarcopenia, overall improvements in general performance in all areas of life. This gigantic list of health benefits is the reason there is the quote: “If there was a pill that contained all the benefits of exercise it would be the most widely prescribed pill in the world.”Link:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives to learn more about what is accepted versus what is truth...
In part 2 of this interview, Brian Cygan and Dr. James Fisher discuss the science of strength and why the accepted wisdom of exercise may actually be causing more harm than good. Learn how many exercises you really need during a session, why “cardio” exercises aren’t necessary if you use the right level of effort, and how to keep yourself from getting injured by reducing the range of motion while still getting the fitness results you desire.
Beyond the minimum exercise dose, you can add as many exercises as you see fit. There is a balance though. If you add too many exercises it can start to impact the frequency of which you can train. As you increase the number of exercises in one workout, you lengthen the time it takes to recover, so there’s a tradeoff. Recent studies have shown that volume is more important than frequency as well. There is an inverse relationship between someone’s ability to work hard and the length of a workout. Eight exercises seems like the optimal number for clients to be able to give their whole effort for as many exercises as they can. The accepted wisdom regarding the strength and endurance continuum is that to build strength you need a heavy load and fewer reps, and for endurance you use a lighter load and more repetitions. Studies have shown that it doesn’t particularly matter. If your strength increases your endurance also increases. As long as you use a high degree of effort you will get the optimal results. 45 seconds of time under tension is usually enough time to achieve the majority of muscle fiber recruitment if you’re using a high level of effort. Some of this depends on the person and their preference because of the perceptual and comfort differences. Longer times under load are associated with higher degrees of discomfort and negative perceptual responses. Across a broad population, this is going to have a negative impact on motivation and compliance. In order to really optimize strength training, we need to start looking at the individual perceptual response and how that impacts the motivation to stick with a program and give a whole effort during exercise. A common mistake many trainers make is recommending older people use lighter weights and increasing the number of reps they do. This often results in the person feeling sore for days and with little motivation to return to the gym. Working with a moderate load to enhance strength and muscular endurance is better. Bone mineral density is a key variable, especially in females and older adults, and we know that it only improves with impact or heavier loads. With a light weight, we run the risk of not improving bone mineral density which can result in a higher risk of injury. A number of studies show that supervision enhances results and the better the supervision, the better the results. One of the key factors with proper supervision is that they promote and enforce good technique. This serves to keep the correct muscles under tension and prevent other muscles from getting injured. If someone is getting injured in the gym, something about the technique went wrong. Supervision can help you avoid those sorts of injuries. Research seems to indicate that we can actually limit the range of motions for many exercises and still see strength increases throughout the range. Injuries typically occur at the extremes of the range of motion of an exercise, so by eliminating those ranges, you reduce the risk of injury and you can still improve strength. With most exercises, it’s not an acute injury that causes problems, it’s the wear and tear over time that creates injuries. For an adult client, the extreme ranges of motion are not helpful, and they can get the fitness results they want with a safer range. If you’re not currently doing any exercise, the best thing you can do is strength training. By doing that you will see cardiovascular improvements at the same time. High intensity training has been shown to improve the cardio-respiratory system within a matter of weeks of starting resistance training. If someone is already a cardio athlete, adding strength training may not improve their performance drastically, but there still will be other health benefits. The idea that you need to do cardio to see cardiovascular benefits and strength training to improve strength is a bit outdated. Strength training with high levels of effort has been shown to stimulate both adaptations. Even cycling, when taken to the highest level of effort, can stimulate similar levels of adaptations to lifting weights. This is why modality doesn’t matter as much as the level of effort involved. Optimal results mean safe as possible, sustainable, with maximum results and minimum time required. This is why so many trainers have landed on strength training as the most effective option. As you get older, strength training becomes a weight loss method, a way to avoid getting injured or sick, and a lifestyle of longevity.Link:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives to learn more about the science of strength and how it may affect your fitness plans and goals...
Brian Cygan and Dr. James Fisher break down the science of strength and discuss what the proper level of resistance during training is, the threshold for the effort that you need to achieve to see results, and why some exercises are best avoided if you want to see optimal fitness benefits.
Fisher is an exercise scientist in the UK and was a personal trainer for a number of years before becoming a researcher. His area of research was mainly lower back pain and lower back strength and has recently been looking into the perceptual responses to resistance training. He advocates a framework of evidence-based resistance training. One of the first papers published was focused on guiding trainers and trainees on what the research supports and how to exercise the most effectively. In total, Dr. Fisher, in collaboration with researchers from around the world, has published over 100 papers. The part he enjoys the most is the fact that once one paper is published, the research always raises new questions to explore. There is a mountain of evidence that supports the health benefits of resistance training. Ultimately, all the benefits combine and stronger people have a reduced risk of all-cause mortality. In layman’s terms, the stronger you are, the harder you are to kill. The goal of most people with resistance exercise is to have a biological age that is lower than your chronological age. We want to live longer and be able to function as if we were much younger. Resistance training resets the biological clock, sometimes by decades. Studies on older males using resistance training showed they had similar cellular characteristics as men in their 20’s. The first thing you need to understand is that the key is the tension of the muscle doing the work, not just moving an external load. The evidence supports the finding that effort is key, which is where most people go wrong as they fear the hard work. Whole effort is one of the guiding principles of the Exercise Coach. The intensity of effort really matters to trigger the results we are looking for from exercise. There is also a threshold of a near maximal effort to trigger a response from the body. If people are working at a lower intensity, the volume becomes a key factor. If we train to a higher level of effort, the volume becomes unnecessary. For the average person, optimal results can be achieved with two 30 minute-or-less workouts per week. For bodybuilders, there are some questions around doing more training in order to maximize muscle growth, but for most people, they want the functionality of strength and not an increase in size. To get a whole body benefit, the minimum dose of training performed is only three exercises: an upper body pressing exercise (bench press), an upper body pulling exercise (seated row), and a lower body pressing exercise (leg press). Those can be complemented with additional multi-joint movements for other areas of the body that need work. Even under lockdown, people can see positive benefits from doing simple exercises like pushups and lunges. Squats are a unique exercise because it has a high degree of coordination and skill. You can become “stronger” at the squat without really seeing results in other areas because you are just becoming better at moving the weight up and down. This is why the leg press is a more beneficial lower body pressing exercise.Link:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives and learn more about why supervision is key to effective workouts...
When it comes to fitness results, the key to rapid, positive changes is having a coach who can give you the accountability and motivation you need to work harder and more effectively while still being safe. Brian Cygan and Amy Hudson discuss why supervision is the key to effective strength training, and how when that’s combined with the digital feedback at the Exercise Coach, you can achieve the fitness results you’ve always wanted.
It’s been said that the most forgotten variable in strength training is supervision. There is plenty of research that verifies the personal health benefits of strength training but we need to remember that the vast majority of those studies are supervised. The researchers are effectively acting as personal trainers who are supervising and providing motivation and guidance. Other studies have shown that supervised strength training leads to greater strength increases than unsupervised training. The smaller the coach’s class size, the greater the effect. When researchers looked at supervised strength training with seniors, they found that when the supervision stops the results diminish or regress, even if the participant continues in a program on their own. The supervision of strength training is the key to making it effective. At the Exercise Coach, the coaches are present to make a difference in three areas: safety, effectiveness, and efficiency. When we talk about safety we are referring to not only keeping a session injury-free, but also that workouts can be continued over the long-term. A qualified professional is going to be watching the form and techniques used while also choosing the right loads and machines for the task. Your workouts should be designed for you and your body, focusing on your current levels of fitness, strength, and ability. The effectiveness of an exercise session is determined by the level of stimulus being applied to the body. Effort levels are of paramount importance and supervision provided by a personal trainer has to bring about higher levels of effort than an individual could manage on their own. Studies have shown that people are capable of producing more force and working harder when someone is present and giving them verbal encouragement and accountability. Digital feedback from the exercise machines, when combined with supervision, further increases a person’s ability to produce force. In order for strength training to be effective, you have to pay close attention to form and technique. This is something that a trainer can provide more effectively than someone exercising on their own. Many people fail to achieve the fitness results they are looking for from exercise because they are unable to exercise at the right intensity. It’s also possible to work at too high of an intensity and get injured. A coach helps you achieve the optimal intensity for your body. The Exercise Coach creates plans that are personalized and optimal for each individual. When it comes to efficiency, clients never have to wonder which muscles to exercise or what to do next. The coaches get everything set up according to plan. This allows the client to focus on their form and their goal and makes it possible to deliver those results with a 20-minute workout. When you work harder, it decreases the time it takes to see improvements in your fitness, which is why we optimize every second of every workout. A trainer’s supervision means that you are going to work harder, but the encouragement of a good team will make it enjoyable.Link:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives and learn more about isolation vs compound exercises...
Amy and Brian explore the question “Should you pre-exhaust your muscles with isolation exercises before taking on compound movements?” Find out why the idea of the pre-exhaustion sequence is actually hurting your fitness progress and why putting compound exercises at the very beginning of your exercise program is the key to getting the most results in the shortest amount of time.
Pre-exhaustion is the idea that performing an isolation exercise prior to a compound exercise is more effective in training that particular muscle. This is mainly due to the experience and burn involved. Research out of the UK looked at pre-exhaustion to see if it had a positive effect on the fitness results of a group of athletes and they found that there was no significant difference. Pre-exhaustion training provides no greater benefit when compared with other exercise programs that involve more rest between sets or by a program that prioritises compound movements over isolation movements. This supports the approach of the Exercise Coach where you perform big movements first. Doing movements that involve a lot of muscle mass generates a greater hormonal result for the body which leads to better systemic results. By starting off with the larger, more difficult movements first you get the additional hormonal benefit which will make the following isolation movements a bit easier. Compound movements being performed early in the workout without isolation movements in front of them also allows the Exercise Coach to get better fitness data on their clients. You tend to get better results on exercises that you prioritize earlier in a workout.Link:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives and learn more about the right movements and how they may give you more time...
Discover the secret to amplifying your total-body fitness results while also spending less time at the gym. Find out why multi-joint movements can have a serious positive impact on your strength and physical fitness while taking less time to perform, as well as which exercise is the most effective movement in The Exercise Coach program.
The aim of The Exercise Coach is to design workouts that are total body focused, safe, and effective while also maximizing workout motivation and consistent adherence. All exercise can be broken down into two kinds of human movements. These are multi-joint movements, also known as compound movements, and single-joint movements, also known as isolation movements. Chin-ups are the classic example of a compound movement whereas a bicep curl is an isolation movement. No matter how you move, it will always fall into one of those two categories. The Exercise Coach prioritizes compound movements due to their effectiveness and efficiency. They give you more of the results you want from an exercise program in the shortest amount of time possible. Researchers studied the effects of compound movements and found significant differences when compared to isolation movements because of their hormonal effects on the body. The leg press is perhaps the most important exercise within The Exercise Coach fitness program because of the way it delivers a total-body systemic effect. The Exercise Coach allows you to maximize results and minimize time, while providing safe and comfortable exercises to perform, which is why so many clients are able to stick to the program for the long term. Adding in compound movements to your exercise program releases a hormonal effect that will amplify the results you are looking for in other areas of the body.Link:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives and learn the truth about stretching before and after exercise...
Before you jump into your next exercise session, learn why what you’ve been told about stretching is completely wrong and how it can actually increase the odds of you getting injured. Brian and Amy explore some common myths regarding stretching before and after exercise and discuss whether or not stretching is a necessary component of strength training.
Do you need to stretch before you work out? There are a lot of prevailing myths around stretching and exercise and people are usually coming at this from one of two angles, either to prevent injury or to increase performance. In terms of preventing injuries, stretching has been shown in a number of studies to have no impact on the likelihood of injury. Even with uncontrolled environments like a sport, stretching doesn’t seem to have an effect on the odds of getting injured. There is a difference between stretching and a dynamic warm up, which is something that can be beneficial before physical activity. In strength training, the key to preventing injuries is to control the forces that the body is exposed to. Clients in the Exercise Coach undergo no intentional stretching before exercising. Static stretching before an activity does not reduce the odds of an injury, but it does have a negative impact on performance. Over a hundred studies showed that static stretching reduced the strength of the muscle by at least 5%. Stretching is like loading a muscle so it makes sense that it would reduce the muscular capacity. When it comes to stretching after a workout, there are a couple of things that people believe. The first is to reduce muscle soreness. The trouble is soreness is not a good indicator of whether or not you performed an effective workout and not everybody gets sore after strength training. Several studies showed that stretching, before or after exercise, has no impact on delayed muscle soreness. To actually prevent muscle soreness one of the best things you can do is get your body into motion sooner. It can take delayed muscle a couple days to set in, so getting in your next workout can prevent that. A common myth regarding strength training is that it will make your muscles tight or inflexible. It’s not the case that muscles lose flexibility as they get bigger, so the idea of stretching to prevent tightness is based on a false assumption. Resistance training has been shown to actually improve flexibility, not reduce it. It’s very common, especially people who have experienced the effects of aging, that when they start to engage in a safe and effective strength training program that they will start to move better too. The best way to gain flexibility is through the safe and controlled exercises available at the Exercise Coach. When we perform strength training, especially eccentric training, our bodies produce new proteins that contribute to making our muscles more flexible, which doesn’t happen with static stretching. The main takeaways regarding stretching is that you don’t need to do it to prevent injuries before exercise and it’s not necessary to prevent soreness or stiffness. It’s okay to stretch to relax, but it’s not a necessary component of a strength training program.Links:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives and learn more about oxygen intake and masks...
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a lot of talk about whether or not wearing a mask during exercise is a safe thing to do. Amy and Brian breakdown the studies and science behind wearing a mask and oxygen intake, and reveal why The Exercise Coach program makes wearing a mask a minor detail in the pursuit of fitness results.
Covid has made wearing a mask much more common but a lot of people are wondering if it’s okay to wear a mask while exercising. At the beginning of the pandemic the Exercise Coach committed to following the various guidelines, and that includes requiring masks. Generally speaking, wearing a mask is not going to hamper your workout. A good example would be how athletes have been using altitude training masks to increase physical performance for years. They don’t strictly simulate being at a higher elevation, but they do increase the effectiveness of your lungs and breathing capacity. At ground level, we get all the oxygen we need to perform optimally. When we feel wiped out and exhausted from exercise, it’s not due to a lack of oxygen. Even with a surgical mask, you have more than enough oxygen. Studies have been completed that show there isn’t an impact on physical performance when wearing a surgical mask. They looked at the effect on blood pressure, heart rate during exercise, oxygen saturation, and carbon dioxide levels. If you have a chronic lung disease talk to your healthcare provider before performing exercise while wearing a mask. For healthy people, wearing a mask during exercise is not harmful. The Exercise Coach has seen thousands of clients over the past year and they are still getting results despite the mask. Many of the clients are actually surprised at how little impact a mask actually has. The fact that the program is brief and the studios are kept cool and well ventilated makes the workout experience quite enjoyable, even with a mask on. The workouts are still intense and effective, and since they emphasize the lowering portion of the training they net better results than traditional strength training while reducing the requirement for your body’s cardiorespiratory output to increase. Eccentric training produces more force and gets you more benefits. An emphasis on the lowering portion is an advanced training technique, yet it’s more comfortable.Links:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives and learn more about how smart scales can be important to your fitness journey...
Brian and Amy discuss the pros and cons of a smart scale and how using one properly can help you stay motivated and on track to hit your fitness goals. You will also learn how to avoid one of the most common mistakes people make with a smart scale that can derail them in the first few weeks of their fitness journey.
What is a smart scale and how are they different? The major difference is the measurement of body composition and the connectivity of the associated apps. These kinds of scales allow you to more accurately track your relevant fitness metrics, and what gets tracked gets improved. Smart scales use a technology that has been around for decades called bioelectrical impedance. When you step on the scale it sends a small current through your body and can use the speed of the result to measure various body composition metrics. Getting the measurement of body composition regularly is a great way to see progress. When pursuing a fitness program, it’s important to track more than just bodyweight because of the increase in muscle mass and reduction of body fat. One issue that occasionally comes up when someone first starts using a smart scale is that you might notice that your body fat is going up, even though you may be losing weight and gaining muscle. This is because the measurement is based on the hydration within your body and that’s one of the first things someone sheds when beginning an exercise program. If you’re starting a new fitness habit, the first couple of weeks of smart scale measurements may be a bit misleading. It’s important to realize that the results will be more consistent and reliable over time. Smart scales are intended to be used at the same time each day. Hydration levels fluctuate throughout the day so using them at the same time will give you more consistent measurements. It’s also important to get more data points and measure your weight more often. When you get into a rhythm of measuring with a smart scale you can get enough data to say something meaningful about the trend over time. The pattern tends to look like a sawtooth on the day-to-day scale but over time you will be able to see the overall trend. All physiological changes tend to follow the same pattern. When it comes to which scale to purchase the app that comes along with it is very important. Accuracy and reliability are what you should be looking for. Knowing how much lean mass you have in your body is powerful information to know and a good indicator that your fitness and health are moving in the right direction. Maintaining optimal health and fitness is a journey, and a smart scale is a great tool that tells us we are moving in the right direction. They can also be a tool to fuel your motivation and assure you that the investment you are making is actually propelling towards the health and fitness you’re after.Links:
exercisecoach.com
Six Tips to Make Your Scale a Super-Tool | Exercise Coach: exercisecoach.com/6-tips-to-make-your-scale-a-weight-loss-and-wellness-super-tool
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives and learn more about how strength training can help people with osteoporosis...
Learn why strength training is the foundation to rebuilding bone strength and bone density and why osteoporosis isn’t a permanent sentence. Amy and Brian break down the research around bone density and strength training, what exercises you should do to strengthen the most vulnerable parts of your body, and what exercises you should avoid completely.
Many people are recommended to engage in weight bearing exercise to help deal with the effects of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis and osteopenia affect millions of people of which 80% are women. Research indicates that as many as 1 in 4 women over the age of 65 have low mineral content in their spine or femur. Just moving around isn’t going to cut it in terms of reversing osteoporosis. People can be very active and still suffer from osteoporosis. You need to exercise in more meaningful ways to deal with osteoporosis and this means proper strength training. Strength training improves every system of the body for the better, and this includes the skeletal system. The goal of this kind of strength training isn’t to increase bone mineral density; the aim is to prevent future fractures. When you look at it that way, strength is the lead domino in that it improves strength, balance, and bone density. Sarcopenia also weakens the bones as well as the muscles as we age, so aiming for strength first will also address osteoporosis. Strength also acts as a shock absorber in the case where you experience a high impact force. There are two schools of thought on how strength training affects bone density. The first says that the results are sight specific and load dependent. The second says that it’s due to hormonal factors. Other research shows that your bones will not get stronger without sufficient loads. We need the bones attached to the muscles to be loaded in order for our bodies to send signals to the bones to get stronger. We need to perform exercise that directly loads the bones we want to strengthen, as well as perform exercise that creates the metabolic stimulus that elicits a full spectrum release of miocines. Building stronger bones takes time - up to multiple years to really turn around bone loss - which is often more time than it takes to see other health and fitness results. This is a path we have to travel in order to apply the level of muscle loading we need to grow stronger bones. Bone strength is a marathon, not a sprint. The very first step to improving bone strength is to begin a safe, effective strength training program. There are a few exercises that should be prioritized to strengthen bones, typically movements that address the hips, legs, and lower back. For anyone with osteoporosis, they should avoid overhead pressing movements and twisting movements.Link:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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Join us for this replay from the archives and learn more about the optimal amount of exercise...
One of the most common questions we get at the Exercise Coach is “Is exercising twice a week really often enough?” Listen in as Brian Cygan and Amy Hudson explore why whole effort exercise twice a week is not only enough, it’s the optimal amount you need to achieve the best fitness results for your body in the shortest amount of time possible.
Exercising twice a week is more than enough. In fact, exercising more often can actually be counterproductive. The most important thing you can do as you age is addressing the health of your fast-twitch muscle fibres. To stimulate and improve the quality of your fast-twitch muscle fibres the exercise needs to be intense and brief. When we work our muscles in this way it forces adaptations, which are the end results that we are seeking from an exercise program. The flipside of this intense exercise is that you need to give your body enough time to fully recover and super-compensate, which takes at least 48 hours. All the results we want from exercise, like increased muscle mass, strength, neurological efficiency, and improved insulin sensitivity, are not actually caused directly by exercising. Our bodies produce the results we want once we’ve achieved adequate recovery. If you exercise more frequently than twice a week, all we are doing is interrupting and disrupting the body’s innate ability to produce the very results we want. Overtraining can cause people to stall out and even go backward in terms of their fitness improvements. We should be able to measure the results of any exercise program, which is why this idea is built into every program at the Exercise Coach. If you’re not seeing results from your exercise routine, question whether your exercise is intense enough and whether or not you are giving your body enough time and resources to recover properly. During a workout, you are depleting the stored energy in your muscles so that they will build themselves back up over time. Your recovery time is just as important as your workouts. The consumption of your muscle’s fuel is a major metabolic signal that triggers these kinds of transformations. The answer to getting the best possible results is almost never just exercising more. The key is combining whole effort exercise and whole food nutrition to get all the results we want.Link:
exercisecoach.com
This podcast and blog are provided to you for entertainment and informational purposes only. By accessing either, you agree that neither constitute medical advice nor should they be substituted for professional medical advice or care. Use of this podcast or blog to treat any medical condition is strictly prohibited. Consult your physician for any medical condition you may be having. In no event will any podcast or blog hosts, guests, or contributors, Exercise Coach USA, LLC, Gymbot LLC, any subsidiaries or affiliates of same, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, or agents, be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to you or others due to any podcast or blog content.
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