Keeping on track in the New Year

If every New Year’s resolution were easy to follow, it probably wouldn’t have become a resolution to begin with. Keep that in mind if you are struggling with your own, and try these five steps:

1. Understand the importance of situations in dictating behavior. People who pride themselves on their superior willpower and seem to epitomize self-control probably have no more willpower than you do. Their trick—almost always—is avoiding situations that cause temptation. These temptations might be to eat, to smoke, to be sedentary or to procrastinate. When directly confronted with temptation, the best of us give in. Most psychologists agree this is because of brain pathways that are hard-wired to make us react in a predictable fashion to certain situations. To succeed in controlling your behaviour, you should first try to control your environment. Avoid situations that confront you with temptation.

2. Make your goals health-oriented, rather than appearance-oriented. Weight loss is an exceedinglycommon New Year’s resolution. You’ll have more success losing weight and keeping it off if you focus on losing weight to become healthier, and not more physically attractive. A focus on health leads to positive lifestyle changes that can make weight loss permanent—not temporary. Quick and easy weight loss following crash diets almost never lasts.

3. Make incremental goals. It can be daunting to think about a lofty goal like losing 25 pounds of fat orgaining 15 pounds of muscle before summertime. It’s less intimidating to think about losing four pounds in a month, though. Write down a series of short-term goals and monitor your success over the course of several months or a year. Hiring a personal trainer who can measure your body-fat and let you know how you’re doing week-by-week also helps you stay on track.

4. Don’t be discouraged by failure. Many health and fitness goals are not achievable unless accompanied by permanent lifestyle changes, like eating a healthy diet. Much like trying to quit smoking, trying to make lifestyle changes can take multiple attempts. If you slip up and eat poorly for a length of time, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Forget about it, move on and get back on track. If you tell yourself you’ve failed, you’ve essentially made an excuse to stop working towards your goals.

5. Small changes can make big differences. While it is hard to make long-lasting lifestyle changes, don’t forget many small changes you can make that have huge impacts on your fitness and well-being. For instance, keep pre-cut vegetables around for whenever you have a craving to snack. Instead of juice or soda, drink water with a slice of lemon in it. Walk as often as you can—get off the bus a stop early or park a few blocks from where you need to go. Combined, these small changes, which are easy to make, can be transformational.

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800 or visit their web site www.karpfitness.com.

Chair Stretches

Hold all stretches for 30-60 seconds.

CROSS-ARM STRETCH:
Place your right hand on
knee, and your left hand
right knee. Lean forward
arch your back like a cat.
outward pressure with your
while continuing to hold
You should feel this across
shoulders and back.

ARM ACROSS CHEST:
Place your right hand on
the back of your left elbow.
Push your arm across your
chest, as if you are hugging
yourself with one arm.
You should feel this across
the back of your shoulder.
Perform on both sides.

HANDCUFF:

Sit on the front half of your chair.
Place your hands together, behind
your back. Sit up straight, pull
your shoulders back and push
your chest forwards at the same
time. You should feel this in the
front of your shoulders and in your
chest muscles.

ROTATION:

Slowly twist your body to
one side while keeping your
feet flat on the floor and
your knees forward. You can
use the arms of the chair to
increase the stretch.
Perform on both sides.

HAMSTRING:

Sit on the edge of your chair
and extend your right leg (or
vice versa), with your toes
pointed up. Keep your back
straight and, while maintaining
good posture, push your chest
forward so you feel the stretch
in your hamstrings.

TRX Installation

Anchoring Guidelines:
1. Your attachment point should be 7 ft. (2.13 m) - 9 ft.
(2.74 m) high and strong enough to support your full bodyweight.

2. Adjust the length of the Suspension Anchor so the main loop hangs 6 ft. (1.83 m) off the ground.

3. With the TRX fully extended, the bottom of the foot cradles should hang 2 in. (.05 m) - 3 in. (.07 m) off the ground. When performing exercises lying down (either prone or supine) adjust the TRX so foot cradles hang 8 in. (.2 m) - 12 in. (.3 m) above the ground.

! WARNING: NEVER clip the carabiner into
the main loop of the Suspension Anchor.

To shorten the TRX straps:

1. Hold one strap of the TRX. Depress the cam
buckle with your thumb and grasp the yellow
adjustment tab with the other hand.

2. Simultaneously draw backward on the buckle
and push the adjustment tab up along the
strap – just as if using a bow and arrow.
Repeat on other side.




To lengthen the TRX straps:

1. Simultaneously depress BOTH cam buckles
and pull downward, away from anchor point.

TRX Core Exercises - Training Applications - Core

Oblique Tilt

Suspended Cycle

Prone Knee Tuck

Right and Left Knee tuck variations

Reverse Pike

Suspended Pike

Straight Arm Sit Up

Suspended Rollout

Suspended Side Plank

Suspended Pendulum (Alternate posture displayed in first frame.)

TRX Core Exercises - Training Applications - Lower Body

Lateral Split Squat

Cross Behind Split Squat

Single Leg Angled Deep Squat

Single Leg Leaning Squat and Knee Drive

High Hamstring Curl

Hamstring Cycle

Suspended Lunge

Twitter Your Way to a Fitter Body

Usually, when you think of measuring your fitness with technology, you think of hospital machines and scary tests.

This isn’t always the case. The combination of fun, fitness-savvy technologies—there’s the Wii Fit or the myriad iPod fitness apps—is a recent phenomena. The former can take you through an interactive exercise routine and monitor your weight, body mass index and fitness level. The latter is somewhat less interactive—but it can go with you anywhere, in your pocket. Both are great for beginners or those who need some external motivation to stay active. They’re also great for techies.

With the iPhone or the iPod touch, you can download programs—known as “apps”, short for applications—that can provide you with a fitness routine, monitor your daily activity level, help you maintain, gain or lose weight,  give you fitness advice, show you how to perform a stretch or exercise, help you eat healthful foods, and more.

Apple boasts a program on its website, called iWorkout, that has 101 workout videos and many of the features already mentioned. This app can be downloaded for $ 2.99 CAD, or—if you already went broke buying the iPhone—you can get a lite version for free. The free version  includes a pedometer and metronomes to assist with timing exercise repetitions.

If you’re looking for more than a basic pedometer, there is StepTrak Lite. (Also free.) This program counts walking and running steps separately, and also totals the minutes of moderate and vigorous exercise the user gets. You reset the counter whenever you’d like. You can adjust the sensitivity of the device, and adjust the “classification bias”, which ensures the program properly differentiates between walking and running. Not interactive enough for you? StepTrak Lite is also connected to Twitter. You can log on when you’re using the app, and send Tweets about how many steps you’re taking towards your fitness goals.

Another great, free application is called Lose It! When you open it up, you have to enter your weight (be honest), height, age, and weight loss goals. The program tells you how many calories you require every day to reach your goal by a certain time—you decide how quickly or slowly you want to lose the weight—and allows you to log the food you eat and the exercise you get. There is an extensive list of searchable foods to chose from, and an easy-to-use scrolling menu to enter the quantity you ate. You can also keep track of “nutrient preferences”, and the program will tell you how much sodium, fiber, protein, etc. you are consuming. When you’ve lost the weight, you can keep using the program to maintain your new figure.

These are only a few of seemingly endless health & fitness apps you can download. From free to a few bucks per app, there will be something out there to motivate just about anyone.

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800 or visit their web site www.karpfitness.com.

TRX Core Excercises - Rehab Applications

Sit To Stand (Assisted)

Squat With Row Assist

Low Elbow Scapular Retraction

Reach And Pull

Supine Abduction

Supine Hamstring Curl

Prone Plank/ Side Plank

TRX Core Exercises - Training Applications - Upper Body

Suspended Push Up

Suspended Chest Fly

Shoulder Flexion

Shoulder Circuit

Tricep Preacher Curl

Suspended Row

Horizontal Pull Up

Tricep Extension

Suspended Press

Preventing Nagging Golf Injuries - Part 2

This is the second of our two part series designed to prevent those nagging golf injuries. Last week we outlined the basics of flexibility and cardiovascular exercise. This week we are introducing essential strengthening exercises that will provide you with the stability, balance and strength you need to remain injury free this golf season. Before you start, be sure to perform a 5-10 minute warm up and follow the exercises outlined last week.

1. Dumbbell Presses With a Stability Ball

The stability ball is a great addition to your golf workout because as you perform your strengthening exercises the trunk musculature is simultaneously working to balance and stabilize the body. Exercising with a stability ball also demands concentration, which is important when playing a game requiring mental focus, such as golf.

To begin this exercise lie flat with your back on a stability ball and your knees bent at right angles and your feet flat on the floor. Start by holding one dumbbell in each hand with the dumbbells positioned beside your shoulders and slightly above your body. Press the dumbbells up above your chest until your arms are almost straight, bringing them together at the top. Slowly return to the starting position. Use a weight that allows you to perform three sets of 10-15 repetitions. You can take a 20-60 second break between each set depending on your comfort level.

2. Rubber Band Rotator Cuff

This exercise is designed to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles in the shoulder, which helps stabilize the shoulder joint to prevent shoulder injuries and provide a more consistent golf swing.

Standing with good posture, hold your rubber band a little narrower than shoulder width with your elbows beside your waist at approximately a 90-degree angle. Keep your elbows stationary and slowly rotate your hands outward as far as you can. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat for three sets of 10-20 repetitions depending on your comfort level. The exercise should be felt deep in your shoulders. You can take a 20-60 second break between each set.

3. Oblique Abdominal Crunches

If you have a nagging lower back injury, strengthening your abdominals can help to reduce the discomfort you feel when golfing. Strengthening your abdominals can also help to stabilize your trunk muscles helping to keep your body in proper alignment.

Start this exercise by lying flat with your back on the floor. Bend your left leg and place your right ankle on your left knee. Once you are in this position cross your arms over your chest or place your arms beside your head for greater difficulty. Slowly contract your abdominal muscles to raise your shoulder blades off the floor bringing your left shoulder towards your right knee. Make sure to keep your head in line with your body and do not tense your neck or press your chin to your chest. (Hint: keeping your eyes on a spot high on the wall may help you maintain the right position.) You should feel your stomach area, not your neck or lower back. Briefly hold this position then slowly lower yourself back down to the floor. Do 10-12 repetitions to each knee and repeat three times. You can take a 20-60 second break between each set depending on your comfort level.

As the weather improves and you head out onto the golf course remembering these exercises and stretches can help reduce ongoing pain, decrease the chances of new injuries and help your game.

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer in Vancouver. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800.

What are the best exercises to build my chest and how often should I perform them?

It is very common for men to place a lot of attention on their chest routine. Developed pectorals can be esthetically appealing, and may be considered a symbol of strength and power. Typically bench press is the most popular exercise to develop the chest muscles, however, it is not the most effective. Excessive bench press can irritate the rotator cuff muscles. Bench press is also not a great strength indicator as it is very easy to cheat by lifting up your hips or by over extending your back. My favorite exercise for chest development is 45-degree incline dumbbell press. Dumbbells are great because they allow a greater range of motion, and the inclined angle helps to isolate the upper areas of the chest which are typically the most underdeveloped. However, this exercise alone will not develop a chiseled chest. It is important to have staples in your chest routine, but you must shock your system by changing your routine around regularly. Exercises such as dumbbell flies, hammer strength machines, pec dec and cable cross-overs can be great additions to your chest routine.

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer in Vancouver. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800.

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