Five ineffective exercises for Fat Loss, that most people still do
November 18, 2008
There are plenty of things people do in the gym and with their training routines that are ineffective for fat loss. Here are 5 that I see on a regular basis.
- Leg Extensions - First off, these can be very bad for your knees. I don’t recommend doing these if you have bad knees, and further I don’t recommend doing these if you have good knees. I have treated too many people that have injured their knees from doing leg extensions. The shear forces that are place on the knee joint are too high and there are many other way better alternatives (i.e. squats, lunges.) Besides the danger, this exercise is a waste of time if you are trying to burn fat.
- Stability Ball Crunches - 99.999999% of the people that do stability ball crunches do the wrong. With that said, they are not that effective in working your abs as other exercises. Besides, there is a lot of research coming out that talks about how stressful crunches can be on the spine.
- Leg and Hip Machines (abductor and adductor machines) - There are various types of leg and hip machines, but the kinds I am talking about basically open and close your legs. I cringe every time I see people in the gym doing these. First off, they place a lot of stress on the groin musculature and not in a good way. More so, they are a huge waste of time. Another single joint exercise that burns no fat, doesn’t do a whole lot of strengthening, does about zero “toning” and yet again, places the person on their butt. That is the last place you need to be if you are trying to burn fat.
- Biceps curls and triceps extensions - Now I don’t have a problem with these two movements and I use them myself, but remember what we are talking about here…FAT LOSS!! I watch people in the gym that are trying to shed unwanted fat all of the time, and most still spend a good portion of their workout performing single joint arm exercises such as the bicep curl and triceps extension. These two movements wont do much at all for fat loss. If you want to tone your arms, do multi joint exercises such as presses and pulls and wait until you reach your fat loss goal before hitting the arms directly.
- Elliptical Machines - Yes, in the beginning of your weight loss journey these machines will burn some fat, but not for long. There are better ways. Elliptical machines are a momentum based machine that helps you more than it resists you. This is not good for fat burning. Stationary bikes, and treadmills are much more effective for fat burning. Don’t believe me, do your own test. See which machine you can stay on longer at a high intensity. I bet the elliptical wins. That is not a good thing either. It means it is easier. Did you ever wonder why the elliptical machines are all taken in your gym? It’s the easiest machine and most people will do what is easy before they will do what is difficult.
If you are trying to burn fat and lose weight, and any of these exercises are in your plan, you need to reconsider and do things that actually will make a difference. Any exercise is better than nothing, but why waste your time doing things that are barely effective?
Dropping 8 Pounds on a “Knee Rehab” Program!! Really???
November 12, 2008
A couple of months ago I wrote a “corrective exercise” program for a colleague of mine who had a really bad knee. Since he didn’t live close to me, I emailed him the program hoping that it would fix the months of pain and lack of function that he had been suffering through.
A few weeks after, I received an email from him telling me how awesome his knee felt and how he can now do all of the things he wanted to do, including playing with his kids, working out full time and living without pain.
At the end of the email, he also mentioned how since doing my program, he dropped about 8 pounds! I was happy for him, but not that surprised.
Although my intentions for his program were never about losing weight, I wrote the program with all of the necessary components that someone needs in an exercise program to drop pounds and unwanted fat. The main goal, actually, the ONLY goal of his program was to fix his bad knee. So just how was he able to lose 8 pounds on what some would consider a “rehab program!”
Without getting into the specific exercises, here is what was in his program. I think it is very important to pay attention to this list if you are trying to lose weight. Make sure your training program has these components.
- Full Body Training - Although it was all about his knee, I picked exercises that would challenge the whole body. It was important for his knee to be able to respond to the stresses of life.
- Leg and Hip work - Obviously I included exercise specifically for his knee, but I also incorporate hip work too. Things like squats, dead lifts, and glute bridges are all hip and leg exercises. The biggest muscles in your body are in the hip and legs. Train them!
- Resistance Training - Yes, that means weight training. If you do not have some kind of resistance training in your fat loss program, you are seriously missing a HUGE benefit in burning fat.
- Non-Stop movement - I didn’t have a lot of rest programmed into his plan. In other words, I made him go from exercise to exercise, with little down time if at all. This keeps the heart rate up, and the workload at a higher intensity. Both are key to fat burning.
- Multi-joint movements - You would think that with a knee rehab program I would have him doing knee extensions, and leg curls. Not a chance. Most of his plan was centered around multi-joint movements. For example: The squat works the knee joint musculature and the hip joint musculature. Not to mention the ankle joint as well. On top of that, squatting challenges the core at the same time. So just that one exercise gives a ton of “bang” for your “buck.”
Make sure your review the program you are on right now to ensure that you have at least these components included. If you don’t, make sure you change things up to include all of these. You can also add some HIIT, or other cardio as well.
If a guy can lose 8 pounds without even trying while doing a rehab program, you can do it too with a more focused fat loss program.
Good luck and fire questions at me if you have them.
Becoming Invincible, Part 2- Bulletproof your Body
November 3, 2008
I talked about some things you could do mentally to become a badass in the gym and work to becoming invincible. Being invincible is definitely a frame of mind, but you have to bulletproof your body as well.
To become invincible you have to take care of the most critical parts of your body first and foremost, the areas that give people the most trouble.
There are two main areas of the body that you need to focus on to make sure you are working towards a bulletproof body.
The Shoulder Complex and The Hip Complex
Check out the video below:
Here are the links to my healthy shoulders videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWJn6FQaSMQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2SUs9XU4Zw
Here are the links to my healthy hips articles:
http://backtoformfitness.com/healthy-hips-part-i/
http://backtoformfitness.com/healthy-hips-part-ii/
http://backtoformfitness.com/healthy-hips-part-iii/
Start implementing shoulder and hip work into you daily routine and you will start to get the benefits of a pain free, better functioning life.
As always, comment or feel free to email me with questions.
Becoming Invincible - Part 1 Mental Preparation
October 27, 2008
Feeling like you are invincible is a big part of the answer in actually being invincible. I am going to outline various way to actually become an invincible warrior in your life.
The first thing you need to do is act the part. Here are 9 things you can do in the gym to start your transformation.
1. Go into the gym with 1 or 2 clear purposes. Something simple, but yet effective. Make it a priority-1 goal to set a new personal record in one of your exercises or lifts. One way or another you will do this. Make that decision before you leave for the gym.
2. Get an MP3 player and some extremely motivating, ass-kicking music and make sure it is pumping from start to finish. Music is enormously powerful. Use it.
3. Do not talk to anyone during your training session if possible. Make this a rule. If you must, keep it short and move on. No, you are not being a snob, you are simple keeping focused. People will start to respect you and leave you alone. Focus on what you are doing like you are the only one in the place. Doing this will keep you in the zone and you will start to feel different, like no one can touch you. Use your music to help you here. Crank it, and don’t let anyone in.
4. Perform each rep and set like it is your last. Seriously, make sure each one counts. If you just go through the motions, you are wasting your time, and you will never feel like an ass-kicker. Each rep, and set has to be at full intensity.
5. To go along with number 4, visualize each rep and set before you start. Sit down, crank the music, close your eyes and take about 2 minutes to go through your entire set. See yourself busting through new plateaus and setting new records. Feel yourself doing it. Experience it. As soon as you are finished with the imagery, get to it and do it!!
6. Have fun! Yep, have fun. Be intense, and be focused but have fun doing it. Smile with a “knowing” smile that you are a beast when you train and no one or no thing can stop you, including yourself. Smile with a knowing smile that keeps it fun, but intense. That all-knowing smile borders on confident and cocky!
7. When you are all finished with your planned training for the day, pick one more exercise and destroy it. Do a set of squat jumps, jump rope, medicine ball slams, sprints, anything…just one set, all out, leave it all on the floor. This simple (yet difficult) little addition will make you feel stronger than you ever have before. When you feel hurt, exhausted, burnt out, tired, sore, and unmotivated the last thing you want to do is anything else. By doing something more, that one last thing, you are triggering yourself to be something better and stronger. You will walk out of that gym feeling more like an ass-kicker than you ever have before.
8. Celebrate! Once you are finished, get home, get your post-workout meal in, and feel awesome. Take sometime to reflect on what you did and celebrate it.
9. When you have a training session like this, you should feel awesome and powerful. That is the best time to grab a pad of paper and a pen and write down your goals for your body. When you are feeling pumped up physically and mentally, motivation is running high, and you know you cannot be stopped, start planning your life, one day at a time. Write down everything you want to accomplish in the gym, out of the gym, everywhere. Get it done then. Even if the sweat is still pouring down on your paper, write like crazy. You probably only have a few hours of physical and mental exhilaration pumping through your veins from your training. Use it.
How to Stay Fat (part 2)
October 22, 2008
America is FAT! I don’t need to tell you though, right? Since everyone seems to be fat nowadays - fat must be in. So I’ve decided to help you stay fat. Forget weight loss tips here is part 2 of the “How to Stay Fat” series where I breakdown how you can eat to stay fat - it may surprise you.
Enjoy
-
Subscribe: Keith's Feed
-
See Keith In
-
Keith's Blog
- Wants vs. Needs - The road to building a bulletproof body.
- Frozen Shoulder (part 2)
- How I cured ?Frozen Shoulder? in 90 seconds, and became a ?Miracle Man!?
- 7 reasons your low back hurts
- From Stupid to Invincible (part 2)
- Guest Blog - 5 Muscle Building Tips, By Jason Ferruggia
- My Journey from Stupid to invincible (part 1)
- Wants vs. Needs - The road to building a bulletproof body.
