Functional training – not just for athletes!!!

 

You may have heard of functional training before or have even seen a video showing these functional exercises and how it uses multiple body part movements in order to achieve a greater result.  Functional fitness exercises are designed to train and develop your muscles to make it easier and safer to perform everyday activities, such as yard/house work, playing with your kids or grand children or just getting in and out of the tub or bed.

 

Functional exercises train your muscles to work together and prepare them for everyday activities by bring together movements you might do at home, at work or in sports into one exercise or movement. Functional exercises usually use muscles from both the upper and lower body at the same time while also engaging your core stabilizers (abdominal to low back and gluts).

 

Functional training is more readily know as sport specific training or exercises that prepare you for any given physical endeavour.  Does that mean that if is useless or pointless for those of us who don’t play sports?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!  Far from it actually; in my opinion functional training plays an even more important role in the “non-athlete,” or those of us who don’t participate in regular sporting activities.

 

Athletes or those of us who play sports regularly, recreationally or intermittently do have a greater chance of getting an injury while participating in sporting activities.  Sometime there is nothing that can be done to stop an injury on the field of play, however, because of the amount of instability that they encounter while playing, their bodies are better equipped to react in order to regain their balance and functionality of their muscles.  Therefore, when they encounter a daily activity such as bring in groceries, slipping on a wet floor or just tying up their shoes, their bodies and muscles have the memory and recognition to be able to react and compensate before a fall or injury occurs.  That isn’t to say that an injury will occur doing those activities to a “non-athlete” but the ability to perform the activity with greater ease is higher in the more functional person.

 

So, the first step to any fitness or exercise program for anyone regardless of their athletic ability, body type, size/weight or frequency of activity should be to determine the physical imbalances in their body.  We want to know the areas of imbalance for a few reasons; first, so that we don’t continue on the same path and compound the problems making them even harder to correct.  Second, so that we can rule out any underlying injury that may be the cause of the issue and fix that area as well. And, third, so that we can be conscious of the stresses that we are placing on our body on a regular basis just buy doing the simple every day activities in our lives.  Once we have assessed our weaknesses or areas that need improvement we can then design an action plan to improve and repair all of the areas affected making everyday life activities easier to do.

 

Without knowing you or seeing your test results, I feel very confident to say that you have a difference in your balance from one foot to the other and then your stability really goes for a shit when you attempt to stand on one leg with your eyes closed.  Try it right now!  Stand up and lift one leg in the air by bringing your knee to your chest and hold it there for 5 seconds with your hands either on your hips or out to the side.  Now try in with your other leg.  Which one was weaker and left you with more difficulty keeping your balance?  Now if you really want to how bad things are, do the test again, only this time close your eyes and see how long you can keep your balance for.  I’m guessing that you were shaking and doing your best to keep upright, probably even grabbing for anything to keep you from toppling over.  This is just one of the functional and balance tests that you will find in our “Functional & Stability testing and Strengthening guide.”  It’s not your fault that this tiny little test seems so monumental to accomplish because you have never been taught the importance of having a functional body.  We are here to show and educate you about the importance of having a balanced and functional body for getting in shape, staying in shape, or just making your everyday life easier.

Weekly Challenge

not sure who this is, but had to post the pic 🙂

The challenge this week is for everyone who has kids.  Get them involved in a fitness quest with you or vice versa.  If you take your kids skiing, put on some skies and go with them, if they want to go skating, dig out your skates and get on the ice.  If there isn’t much that they enjoy other than playing on their smart phones or tablets, then hide their chargers and make them go to class with you or join you in whatever you like to do.  if you have a r…egular fitness class that you go to check to see if you can bring your kid(s) to come along…you will be surprised at how willing instructors are to add in some kids.  Another bonus is that you are showing other people and helping them along the way because they will see how easy and important it is for our kids to be healthy and be apart of our healthy lifestyle as well.

This is not a one time thing, get out and do something with them as many nights of the week as you can!

It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you do it together and show your kids that exercise, activity and healthy living are by far the most important lessons that your kids will learn.  If you don’t believe me then ask yourself how important it is for you to see your grandchildren grow up?  That’s what I thought…

Daily Journal

Thought today was going to be much worse for food with the way my day started, but it turned out to be ok

Food

7am – 30g protein drink

7:45am – 2 cups honey chex cereal with 150ml milk

11am – 2 hot pepperettes

12:30 – 2 cups gluten free pasta with meat and tomato sauce

3pm – 2 Reese peanut butter cups….I know, but they were really, really good…I swear lol

4:30pm – 1 cup of baby carrots

8:30pm – 1 cup honey chex

Exercise

Taught 2 boxing class using focus mitts for 20 minutes in each class

Coached wrestling practice and spared with 2 students for 20 minutes

walked 3km with the dogs.

pretty good heart rate day, but not much in the way of weight training.  looking forward to my hard endurance training tomorrow 🙂

Olympic hearts are beating strong!

I love the Olympics! I love everything about them and I always have.  My earliest memory is of the 1984 Olympics in LA and watching it with my dad.  I would have been 8 years old and my dad only 30, but I can remember with exact clarity the emotion he showed while watching and not just watching fellow Canadians compete, but all of the sports in general.  The biggest moment happened when Alex Baumann won his second gold medal with a world record time and my dad jumping out of “his” chair screaming and cheering at the top of his lungs…I could do no more than jump around and cheer with him, not really understanding the scope of it all, but know that it must be something special to almost bring my dad to tears.  30 years later and I find myself in reversed positions with me sitting in the “dad” chair and my young sons cheering alongside me with no real conception of the why behind it, but them knowing that it must be something special.

There have been so many amazing moments during this Olympics and none of them had anything to do with winning a gold medal.  A lot of these are going to be biased towards Canadians because of the generalized covered that we get, but our media does do its best to show the best of all athletes and coaches.  When the Canadian male biathlete was winning his race, as a huge underdog, and during one of the turns he fell and broke the tip of his ski leaving him to falter and finish up in 11th place the other athletes came over and congratulated him and shared their condolences with his circumstance, all of them knowing and saying that he should be the Olympic champion.  I watched the Russian long track speed skater (female) sitting in the bronze medal spot with 2 racers left to go, the only thing she can do it sit, hold her breath and wait to find out her fate. When the dust settled, she earned herself that bronze and jumped up and down with more joy and elation then you could possibly imagine…you could actually feel her happiness through the television screen.  A lot of people may think, “it’s only third” but not her, she thought, “I can’t believe I won the bronze at the Olympics!”  I was so unbelievably happy for her and explained to my boys that she embodies what it is about to be and compete at the Olympics and what it means to represent your country and yourself to the best of your ability.

The next two acts show what it means to represent the Olympic spirit and it makes me that much prouder considering they came from the Canadian team.  A Russian (I believe Russian) cross country skier broke one of his skis during the race and the coach from the Canadian team (who happened to be from the United States) was close by and ran over and gave him an extra sky so that he could finish the race and realize his Olympic dream.  It was identical to the act of the Norwegian coach in Turin when he gave a Canadian skier a pole so that she could finish the race and she ended up winning the gold….amazing, absolutely amazing.  The last moment at the Olympics, so far, was when the Canadian long track speed skater gave up his spot in the 1000m long track race to a teammate who fell at nationals.  Gilmore Junio happened to win the nationals, but felt that the skater who fell was a better skater and gave up his birth at an Olympic event to do what he felt what right in his heart. Denny Morrison replace his friend and training partner in the race and earned a silver medal for Canada, for himself and more importantly for his teammate, training partner and friend, Gilmore Junio.

I hope that I can teach my boys to become the type of men and people that these incredible athletes and coaches have shown that they are and that it isn’t about winning, but doing what you know in your heart is right to do.

Please, if you have any remarkable stories from whatever country that you happen to be from, share them with me and the rest of the world so that everyone can see that we are all the same on the inside regardless of where we may happen to live.

How To Fix Your Health

Kyle

Daily Journal

not much in a workout today, just took the dogs for a walk and used today as a recovery day from the last 2 days of tough training.  Food was pretty sparse as well and I didn’t really eat very much, not because I am denying myself anything, but just haven’t had an appetite for much.

5am – protein drink

10am – 20g cheddar cheese, 2 eggs

12:30pm – 3 hot pepperettes

3pm – 350ml dr. pepper (yah, yah, it happens)

8pm  – 1.5cups of gluten free pasta with meat sauce

all of the food with the exception of the pepperettes are organic.

I’m sure tomorrow will be a more realistic and nutritious day for food and I will make sure I get in at least one intense workout in.

 

Journal Day 2

Food

5am – protein drink with organic 2% milk

10am – 2 organic eggs 2 pieces gluten free organic bread with organic butter

11am – 2 pepperettes 6 pieces of pineapple & cantaloupe

5:30pm – 2 cups gluten free organic pasta with organic beef and tomato sauce

I know that it doesn’t seem like a lot of food, but a morning loaded with protein kept me full throughout the day

Exercise

Endurance training – 2 Round of the following…

bench press X 30 reps – 1 min rest

landmines rt X 30 reps – 1 min rest

bicep curls X 30 reps – 1 min rest

face crunchers X 30 reps – 1 min rest

landmines lt X 30 reps – 1 min rest

weighted sit up X 30 reps – 1 min rest

yes it was tough and yes I almost puked because of it, but feel great now…the landmines kicked my ass…(pictured above)

 

 

 

Drink More Water!

Top 10 Reasons to Drink More Water!

10 – Helps energize muscle

            Cells that don’t maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes shrivel, which can result in muscle fatigue.  When muscles fatigue it makes every action we take that much more difficult to accomplish.

9 – Decreases joint pain

            Drinking water can reduce pain in your joints, along with the consumption of healthy fats, by keeping the cartilage soft and hydrated.

8 – Affects your mood

            Research says dehydration can affect your mood and make you grumpy and confused. This ties in directly with number seven – prevents headaches.

7 – Prevents headaches

            If you have ever had too much to drink then you know how effective consuming water is on helping curb your hangover and getting that headache to go away.  Our bodily functions depend on water, so despite it’s better judgement, it takes it from wherever it can get it leaving other vital organs in need.

6 – Maintain normal bowel function

            Adequate hydration keeps things flowing along your gastrointestinal tract and prevents constipation. When you don’t get enough fluid, the colon pulls water from stools to maintain hydration — and the result is constipation.

5 – Maintain balance of body fluids

            Your body is composed of about 60%. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature.  Our body works optimally in the 50-70% hydration range, but you would be surprised to know that the majority of people have a difficult time maintaining at least 50% hydrated.  There are various tools out there that can tell you how hydrated you are if you are curious to know the exact number, but look for subtle cues like headaches or constipation to gauge for yourself.

 4 – Help curb appetite

            While water doesn’t contain any calories, it does take up space in your stomach thus giving you the feeling of fullness.  Drink a glass or two before a meal and you will find that you are not consuming as many calories because your brain will trigger the satiety feeling to keep you from over feeding.

3 – Reduces certain cancer risks

            Various research states that staying hydrated can reduce the risk of colon cancer by 45% (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10404059 ), bladder cancer by 50%  (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/331514.stm) and possibly reduce the risk of breast cancer as well.

2 – Helps kidney function (sorry, have to get pretty technical here)

            For your body to work properly, it must contain just the right amount of water. One of the important jobs of the kidneys is to remove excess water from the body or to retain water when the body needs more.  Many of the substances in the blood and body fluid must be kept at the correct level for the body to function properly.  When the kidneys are working properly, excess minerals, such as sodium and potassium, are excreted from the body in the urine. The kidneys also help to regulate the levels of other minerals, such as calcium and phosphate, which are important for the formation of bone.

1 – You will die without it

            Really? Do I really need to expand and explain more here????

Consistency of effort = amazing long lasting results

Ended the day with a killer kettlebell class, still have to take the dogs for a quick walk before bed, but I’m sure the freezing cold air will do us all some good lol. 

Food – 1/4cup basmati rice with 1/2 cup chopped peppers and 6oz sirloin steak, 3 pieces of both pineapple and cantaloupe and 2 hot pepperettes (help curb and sweet tooth cravings that I might have).

I know it doesn’t seem like a lot was done or accomplished today, but it is consistency of effort that matters in creating a habit of a healthy lifestyle.

see everyone tomorrow and I hope that you take the small, necessary steps to create your healthy lifestyle.

measurements and vacation

6 1/2 weeks until vacation in the Dominican Republic, so I guess it is time to turn up the intensity and motivation on my personal nutrition and exercise program.  In light of the quick deadline I have decided to post my measurements as means to increase my motivation and have everyone keep me accountable to achieve my goals.  We have a bio-impendence scale that measures body fat %, water, weight, and a few other things as well, but I will just post the important numbers and my end goal result.

height –   5′ 6.5″

weight – 204.8lbs

BMI – 32.6

BF % – 15.8%

Fat lb – 32.4lbs

FFM – 172.4lbs (fat free mass)

TBW – 126.2 (total body water)

My target body fat percentage is to get down to 11-12%

My Predicted weight – 192lbs

Predicted Fat mass – 22.6lbs

 

There are only a few numbers that I or anyone should actually care about.  The first one is the fat mass, which is the total amount of fat sticking to my body dragging me down.  The second is total body water, more importantly the comparison of my total body to my total body weight.  To be optimal we want to be in between 50-70% water.  So, we take our weight and divide it in half and want to have more water than the difference.  For me it is 102.4lbs, so, as we can see I am well over 50% water and should have all of my organs working optimally.

I’m going to be posting all of my workouts, exercise and food choices everyday to show everyone what it takes to reach and smash a fitness goal once it has been established.

 

Helping 100,000 people

I have been writing blogs for about two weeks now, but I have never actually introduced myself or why I became a blogger in the first place.  My goal is to help 100,000 people make a positive impact on their health and lifestyle in the next 18 months (July 2015)! 

I have been a certified personal trainer and health coach for almost 18 years (will be 18 years in July 2014) and have been helping people with exercise for as long as I can remember.  There was one major problem however and that was that I could only help people one hour at a time during our sessions.  I have always wanted to help people and when I started running bootcamp classes 10 years ago, I felt as if I was making more of a difference to more people, but then I was still only helping them on a hour to hour basis and you can only fit so many people into the class…If you do the math it would take a hell of a long time to help 100,000 people if I continued to travel down the same path.

There was another turning point in wanting to help and educate more people and that was when one of my clients asked me what aspartame was made of.  I could honestly tell him that I had no clue and didn’t really give it much thought, so he told me and it was one of the most disgusting things I had ever heard…I mean, fucking gross (no I’m not going to tell you in this article, but will soon).  But, that one question lead to so many other concepts that I had never really given much thought to, so I started digging and doing research and the more I discovered the more pissed off I became.  Outraged would be a better word for it, not as much because of what I found out, but more because it is allowed to happen.  Let’s be realistic, businesses are in it to make money and they don’t care about health issues if it is going to affect their bottom line.  I would like to make a note that there are some pretty incredible businesses out there that are more focussed on helping people then exploiting them for a hefty profit and they should be commended and rewarded for their ideals and convictions.  I’m pissed off and the more I think about it the more pissed off I get because the government approves or turns their back on regulations because they get their pockets lined with cash….sorry, I will rant of the government later!

I am making it my mission to educate and enlighten people on the products that they are consuming even though they make think it is healthy and to give them exercise tips and advice to help them live a healthier lifestyle. 

I’m pretty sure that I’m going to piss you off, make you question almost everything that you have been told, educate you and hopefully give you a few laughs along the way.  I also hope that you gain some benefit, knowledge and insights and if any tips, advice or comments I have made help you to reach your goal or help you in some way of living a healthier lifestyle then I’ve done my job.

Please feel free to ask any questions or share any comments and I will help you the best way that I can.

Kyle

How To Fix Your Health