Remember last summer’s vacation and your pledge to “work out every day”?  You packed resistance bands, workout shoes and a notebook filled with gym and body-weight programs to follow. And did you?

Yesterday,  one of my clients and I were discussing the challenge of sticking to exercise over a holiday period. Interestingly, she was very quick to identify me as her motivation to exercise. “Whew, quite a responsibility!” – but I’m guessing that her definition of motivation is not quite the same as my dictionary’s:

mo·ti·va·tion

Motivation is something that we all have to muster in varying degrees throughout our day, but for exercise, sometimes it takes digging a little deeper than Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Case in point.

On a cold & wet Monday morning, it would be a safe bet to say that more people feel motivated to get up extra early to go into work than to head outside for a 5 km run or over to the gym to lift weights.

Why is that?

In his book The Sixty-Second Motivator, Jim Johnson (Physical Therapist) describes 2 important elements that must be present to cultivate motivation, and in turn to instigate behavioural change.

1. Importance.

In my example of getting up early for the office instead of going for a run, it is generally conceived that work time has more importance in our lives than exercise time. Certainly there are many psychological aspects of that discussion, but it is quite apparent that increasing the value, or importance, of a behaviour change is necessary to generate the motivation to successfully make that change. (e.g.: a post-heart attack exercise program, or a back-on-the-dating-scene diet)

“Logical reasons, no matter how much sense they might make, will quite often fail to motivate you to do things. On the other hand, finding a reason that gives you something you really want, will always increase importance, and in turn, motivate you to do things.”

2. Confidence.

Combined with increased importance, an increased level of confidence greatly improves motivation to make behavioural change.

Returning to the example, there is understandably greater confidence that one will stay warmer and dryer by going to the office than by heading out in the rain for a run (or walking to the gym).  However, it is also a fact that running can keep you warm; and that technical clothing can keep you dry. Thus, by elevating confidence in your running skills and in your equipment, there is a corresponding increase in motivation.

“Having little confidence that you can actually succeed in changing a behaviour will set you up for failure, no matter how important it is to change. On the other hand, arming yourself with the proper tools, skills and know-how to succeed will increase your confidence, and in turn, motivate you to change.”

If you get a chance to read Jim’s book, I highly recommend it. It’s a short and easy read. Perfect for your holiday.

Best to you.

Each week I dedicate time to researching and reading new information about exercise physiology and personal conditioning. Sometimes though, nothing beats hands-on workshops and lectures presented by some of the top minds in the fitness field to really provide an attention to detail that otherwise might be missed.

That’s why I also take time to attend conferences and workshops whenever I can.

I’ve just arrived home after attending a national Health and Fitness conference here in Vancouver. Two 10-hour days over what I would otherwise have called my weekend.

At most conferences there are a few sessions that really stand out for me, and it’s from those that I’m able to expand my knowledge with sound, science-based principles that I can closely associate with the work that I do.

So here I now sit with a binder jammed with annotations, stick-man sketches, handouts, notes and great ideas that I can (and will) be able to apply to the personal exercise programs that I design. Additional skills that I can use to help individual clients work out even more efficiently and more effectively – thus helping them to achieve their fitness goals and a better quality of life.

Here is just a few of many though-provoking statements that I took away from this past weekend; each of them unlocks a whole treasure chest of discussion:

1. “Pay attention.” vs. “Be careful.”
2. “Restricted Mobility is a hardware issue. Instability is a software issue.
3. “Sets and reps should be your least important variable.”
4. “Training for postural control is like training for a marathon.”
5. “The #1 obstacle is Motivation.”

and my favourite,

“Exercise is optional. Movement is essential.”

(Thanks, Chris.)

A little knowledge can go a long way to improving your workout.

One of the more striking examples of this is to learn how your body moves and what muscles have to do with it. Because you know that ”making muscles” takes lifting weights, you go to the gym and you lift weights. You mimic what you see others doing, you lift what you can – perhaps in any manner that you can lift it.

As your interest builds, you do some research into what you’re actually doing at the gym.

Through that learning, you begin to understand that the PURPOSE of a skeletal muscle is to move your bones, you learn WHERE certain muscles originate on one bone then attach on another, and you see the PHYSICS behind how a muscles flexes or extends a joint.

At one point a light comes on and you realize “ARGGH!… parts of my routine have been totally futile!!”

Then you adjust your movement. Correct your alignment. Start working opposing muscles. You learn to move the weights against gravity, instead of with gravity.

Voila!  Better results… Bigger muscles. Increased strength. Pain-free joints. Better posture.

Now your’re working smarter, not longer at the gym to achieve your goals

My advice is to take some time to learn more.  This website (along with its embedded links) is a great resource for that. Browse through the categories and you’ll find lots of learning.

Testosterone has been getting a lot of press lately, and not all of it is good.

With hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increasingly prescribed to all types of men—young, old, gay, straight—who just want to maintain their strong muscles and lean midsections, a variety of medical groups have started waving red flags about the many potential pitfalls of testosterone supplementation, from permanent cessation of the body’s ability to produce testosterone on its own, to drops in the “good” cholesterol that promotes heart health.

Increasingly, leaders in the medical community have begun pushing to establish guidelines to use HRT only when it’s medically needed, not as a pharmaceutical fountain of youth.

Read the rest of this entry »

Over the past 2 weeks, my husband has been afflicted with a sore back.

What started out as a 7 day “pain in the neck” has progressed to his lower spine – most likely because of the compensatory role that his lumbar muscles have been performing in order to protect his upper back.

Most adults have experienced times when their back has “gone out” – that painful situation often caused by the simplest of movement, but through an awkward plane of motion.

Given time and rest, this type of soreness usually works itself out (as I hope it does soon for Luc). But what about those who have chronic back pain – those who find that their pain is actually worsening?

Here’s a post that I published in 2009 on that topic… Read the rest of this entry »

Unless you stand over 6-2, there is NO REASON to go so wide on your lat pull down grip.

Some of your peers or other Trainers may have led you to believe otherwise, but using too-wide-of-a-grip doesn’t build big lats as well as a narrower grip.

Sure, a wide grip creates lots of movement in the scapulae (shoulder blades) – but a majority of that work comes from the lateral spread of each scapula (via the mid-back rhomboids  > NOT FROM THE LAT(issimus dorsi) which is what you’re trying to target.

See my earlier post on the scapulae to appreciate how these important bones function.

And while we’re on the topic – when you do your lat-pulls, have you noticed that your shoulder blades rise with each rep? DON’T let them!

Since the lat muscles are what you want to be working here – you need to ensure a strong scapular RETRACTION (inward pinch of the shoulder blades) & DEPRESSION (downward) motion.

A PERFECT LAT PULL-DOWN = A manageable weight + an overhand grip a little wider than shoulder width (before the bend in a standard pull-down bar) + focused work of the scapular retractors (down) and stabilizers.

(Of course, I’m assuming that you already know that Behind-the-Neck pull-downs are notorious for shoulder joint and cervical spine INJURY – so just don’t.)

Doug

Here on the We(s)t Coast, a record cool, wet spring has really been bringing people down. Even the Stanley Cup playoffs can’t allay the desperate need for a few sunny, warm days.

Many people are complaining that their Spring Workout plans also washed away under the longer-than-usual season of hoodies and raincoats. They’re having a tough time mustering the motivation to shed their winter fat layer and to beef up those underlying muscles that T-shirt season usually inspires. Read the rest of this entry »

Image links to article.