Archive for Workout Mistakes
3 Reasons You’re Not Squatting Low Enough (the Squat-Part 2)
Posted by: | CommentsPreviously I mentioned some of the benefits of squatting but with that, there is still much skewed information out there regarding this exercise. Many “so-called experts” like to say how they are bad for your knees or your back…blah, blah, blah but have no legit evidence to back up their claims. If you do any exercise wrong, there’s a good chance you can harm some part of your body. That’s why you need to learn proper form/technique with all exercises, especially the squat.
When done properly, the squat is very beneficial and will actually strengthen your knees, back, etc. But most people that squat, don’t get low enough. They only perform “partial squats” instead of full squats. This happens for 3 main reasons.
1) Laziness: They just don’t want to work that hard. It’s much easier & more comfortable to do partial squats.
2) Pride: They have to use less weight or do less reps to perform full squats so they don’t appear as strong (happens very often with guys).
3) False Info: They have heard and believe squats are bad or “Getting too low is bad for your knees” but the pic below speaks for itself.
So if you’re already squatting, then continue to work on your form and perform full squats (make sure you are getting low enough). Then after you master that, add weight, increase the amount of repetitions you can do in a certain amount of time, etc. And if you’re not squatting, you’re missing out and need to start…today!
The Eat Less / Move More Principle
Posted by: | CommentsYou say you’ve tried everything, right? Well weight loss isn’t near as complicated as people make it. To break it down in it’s simplest form is: If you burn more calories than you are taking in, you will lose weight. It’s been proven thousands and thousands of time. If you eat less (than you are now) and move more (exercise more than you are now), your body will lose weight. It’s IMPOSSIBLE to burn more calories than you are consuming and gain weight. IMPOSSIBLE!
Here’s a classic funny video that displays this principle pretty clearly.
The problem with this method is your body changes as you try to change it so you have to change your approach to be a step ahead. So how fast you lose weight, how your body actually changes/whether you become lean or not, how you feel as far as energy, whether you’re improving your overall fitness level and function in life, etc. are all dependent on more specific factors.
The main 2 factors are the type of exercise plan and nutrition plan you are on. This is where it gets more complicated and really becomes a science if you want to maximize the results you’re going to get because using the same method of attack will work for a little while but your body will catch up eventually. e.g. The amount of calories your body burns when you do a certain exercise lessens over time. So keep the Eat Less/Move More principle in mind but remember you need to change to keep your body changing.
It can be overwhelming/frustrating trying to figure all this out so one great solution is Bootcamp and we’re offering a trial right now for $1.
Fitness Bootcamps Are Dangerous – Part 1
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s January, the time of year when New Year’s Resolutions are kicking and FITNESS GETS HOT (at least for a couple weeks). People are looking for quick solutions to lose weight and firm up and are looking for help on how to do it through books, magazines, gyms, miracles in a bottle, personal training, etc. One area that’s gotten popular is group training also known as “bootcamps.” Fitness Bootcamps are a growing trend in the fitness industry today and for good reason. They typically are MUCH MORE affordable than personal training. They also offer more camaraderie and social support and are much more exciting while still providing expert supervision and guidance.
Unfortunately, bootcamps do have their downside. Many fitness instructors want to jump on the bootcamp bandwagon without having any of the skills or experience to design custom workouts for the wide variety of fitness levels typical in large group training. This can be flat out dangerous (not to mention a waste of your time and money) so I thought I’d offer you 10 tips on how to properly select a bootcamp that will be a good investment, get you results and keep you safe at the same time.
Outdoor Bootcamp
The Top 10 Bootcamp Safety Checklist
1.) The Instructor(s) Must Be Certified With Nationally Recognized Institutions such as the American Council on Exercise or the National Academy of Sports Medicine. There are many online pay-for-certifications where people can get a certificate with little or no knowledge of proper training methods. And many of them have book knowledge but no hands-on/practical experience. This is a big part of what gets people hurt and gives fitness a bad name!
2.) The Instructor(s) Must Look The Part And Walk The Walk. If the trainer takes physical fitness seriously and is on the cutting edge of new training methodologies, they will be fit themselves, plain and simple. After all, who wants to take advice from someone who is in worse shape than they are! I’m always perplexed at why a client would choose an out of shape trainer but regardless this is seriously an embarrassment to the industry, not to mention the trainers themselves.
3.) The Instructor(s) Must Be Experts With Exercise Progressions. Every exercise has the appropriate regression and progression based on your current fitness level. Overweight, de-conditioned beginners SHOULD NOT perform the exact same exercises as their more fit counterparts. If you ask your trainer if he/she can show an exercise modification that better suits your particular situation and they have no idea and give you a blank stare, you should leave and leave quickly!
4.) The Instructor(s) Must Make Themselves Available for 10-15 Minutes Before and After Every Session. Although a good trainer can effectively train the group as a whole and still give that personal touch, he/she must be willing to speak with clients before AND after every workout to answer questions and address any personal issues that might arise within the scope of your training or in related to other very important topics like nutrition.
5.) The Program Must Emphasize Body Weight Before External Resistance. There should be no added weight to any movements until you have mastered the key foundational body weight exercises in full ranges of motion like push-ups, squats, lunges, etc. A red flag should be raised if you are being instructed to add weight to a movement that you have yet to master with your body weight alone. This one’s important because it’s not a matter of if you will get hurt… it’s a matter of when! Too many trainers are more concerned about putting on a show and “hurting people with exercises that are too advanced” than taking the time to teach proper technique. Foundational movements must be mastered and safety should always be a top priorty.
If you’re looking for a bootcamp (or personal training) in the Charlotte, NC area, I’m confident that I meet these criteria and would love to have you join us! Our next phase begins next week. More info here.
Check back for part 2 of this post soon…
The Body By Buck Newsletter…
Posted by: | CommentsThe Body By Buck Newsletter is in full swing. Our new bi-monthly newsletter is packed with health and fitness tips, strategies and ideas that you can use to live a better life as well as the latest Body By Buck news. And best of all, it’s FREE. Issue #2 included an article on the 5 biggest fitness mistakes and some other great practical info.
So if you want awesome info like this delivered automatically to your email two times a month, then Sign Up Now (top right of this page)! If you don’t then you’re missing out because Issue #3 comes out tomorrow, December 15th and there will be a lot more great content coming your way. Here’s a quick preview…
How many situps/crunches do I have to do to get rid of this belly and get “6 pack abs?”
Posted by: | CommentsRecent question from a reader I thought I’d share:
How many situps/crunches do I have to do to get rid of this belly and get “6 pack abs?”
How about 2,000? Not really. There’s really no way to answer this question correctly and not knowing your current bodyfat level, measurements, eating habits, medical history and exercise program, I can’t even begin to make a fair assessment but I’ll share a few quick thoughts.
There are many factors that can contribute to getting 6 pack abs. “Doing situps/crunches” is not an important one (I’ll explain). Honestly you don’t necessarily have to do any situps or crunches to get 6 pack abs. Here are 6 things you do have to do:
First your nutrition has to be on point. You need a well balanced diet (high protein, healthy fats, and natural carbs) that stokes your metabolism and provides your essential vitamins and nutrients. That means no starving yourself here.
- You have to create a caloric deficit (burn more calories than you consume) to help get rid of your bodyfat through an exercise program.
- You need to have an intense weight training and cardio program several days per week that includes interval training.
- You have to do compound movements that offer a lot of “Bang For Your Buck.” You actually can’t spot reduce in your body – this means you can’t make your body burn fat from a particular area by exercising that area (yes advertisements can be very deceiving here). That’s why hundreds/thousands of situps won’t necessarily burn fat from your “belly.”
- You need adequate rest through sleep and time off from training. Your body can’t recover properly without rest (I promise I know this first hand).
- You have to be committed long-term and ready to change your lifestyle. This is a process. Not a quick fix. You didn’t get a “belly” overnight so you can’t get a “six-pack” overnight. Anyone who promises differently is NOT telling the truth.
Still feel lost? You can hire a personal trainer or an even better solution is bootcamp where we’ll help you with all of these (for less than the price of 2 sessions with a trainer). There’s still room. Register Now!
Time To Divorce Your Workout!
Posted by: | CommentsYou know you do it. And if you don’t, you know someone that does. You get into the gym and head straight for the same familiar machines and exercises. Same weight/reps and move on to the next machine or exercise. You’ve been doing it for months, probably years. Maybe even since your high school weight coach gave you the workout…and now your 33 still doing it. Or maybe you keep doing the same group exercise class each week, 3x/week, or the same video that was popular 5 years ago. Working out doesn’t have to be, and shouldn’t be, that boring. If you are bored and in a rut, then guess what? So are your muscles! And you probably aren’t seeing the type of results you want either.
It’s a good idea to change your exercise routine at least every MONTH or so. This is about the time your body will adapt to what you have been doing and need a new challenge. Also, you will have something new to look forward to, and it will prevent you from both mentally and physically getting into a rut.
Benefits of changing your workout:
- Prevents plateaus-which will in turn help you keep moving toward your goals!
- Helps prevent injuries by constantly challenging muscles to adapt and not creating muscle imbalances or overtraining injuries
- Recruits more muscle fibers- which will help develop more tone & strength and increase your body’s ability to burn more fat
There are several ways you can mix it up, but here are a few:
- Exercises (there are MANY ways to work one muscle group-don’t get married to just one! Each time you increase the difficulty of an exercise, your body has to scramble to adapt and perform)
- Volume (how many reps & sets you lift)
- Intensity (how hard or how much weight you lift)
Don’t get in a rut-you will get discouraged and want to give up because you aren’t seeing results. Change it up! You won’t be disappointed.
Interested in changing it up but don’t know how? Or just not able to get the intensity you need b/c it’s hard to push yourself when you’re alone. If so, the BodyByBuck Bootcamp is a great solution for you! Your body desires change…
Cardio is overrated…
Posted by: | CommentsMy colleague Ben and I have similar training philosophies. When talking about weight training, he summed it up perfectly:
“If I hear one more person tell me that cardio is the best form of exercise for fat loss, I swear I’m going to… Seriously, I think this one is dying but it isn’t going away quietly. Metabolism is the machine that burns fuel in your body, and your lean muscle is the main determinant of how fast your metabolism is. The only way to increase your lean muscle is, WEIGHT TRAINING.”
No sugar coating in that. What are your workouts looking like? Are you a slave to group fitness or are you challenging your body in new ways that are going to build muscle, burn fat, and boost your metabolism around the clock? If not, you need to add some intense weight training to your workouts today!
Big Workout Mistake #1: Training only your favorite body parts
Posted by: | CommentsWant to maximize your workout results. Then train the whole body. If you only train your favorite body parts – you are doing your body a grave disservice. Not only could you be slowing down your metabolism and limiting the results you’ll get, you could be creating an unbalanced and out of proportion physique. This can also lead to overtraining, stubborn injuries.
When you workout in all facets of conditioning, your body is running at peak levels. Your metabolism is stoked and running hot because you are requiring it to function in many planes of movement, working various muscles all over the body and essentially requiring it to work harder than it would if you only trained 2 of your favorite body parts over and over. Get that body working at a maximal level – train the whole body. Yes guys – that even includes legs!!
