Think Before You Lift

Recently I rode my motorcycle through a small coastal town and stopped for a bite at a small fish ‘n’ chips restaurant along the way.  It was owned and operated by monks from the local monastery to raise money.  While I was waiting for my order, I asked the monk in charge, with a witty grin on my face, “are you the fish friar”?   Without missing a beat, and not to be outdone by my wisecrack, he simply responded, “No sir, I am the chip monk”.  The simplicity and source of the punchline above makes me think of 14th-century Franciscan friar, William of Ockham.  This English logician was attributed with coming up with the theory that the simplest explanation or strategy to solve a given problem tends to be the best one.  I believe his words were something along the lines of “When you hear hoof-beats, think horses, not zebras”.  This principle became to be known as Ockham’s Razor.  Now I am sure you can tell by the joke above, I’m a simple man with a simple sense of humor.  And my cook

You’re busy, which is why you are reading this post, so I’ll keep it short and sweet.  I’m just going to cut to the chase on this one and get right down to the brass tacks.  When it comes to general strength training, there are only a few key movements you need to perform.  The idea is to strengthen the major muscle groups using compound movements.  By focusing on the following basic, compound movements, you will get the most bang for your buck and the highest return on your time investment at the gym.   Compound Movements: 1. Any type of squat (Low bar, High Bar, Front Squat, Leg Press, Hack Squat, Split Squats, Box Squats, etc.) 2. Any type of deadlift (Conventional, Sumo, RDL, Deficit, Rack Pull, etc.) 3. Vertical Press (anything where you are pressing overhead) 4. Chest Press (Bench, Incline, Pushup, etc) 5. Vertical Pull – (Any exercise where you are pulling from overhead; pull ups, lat pulldown, etc) 6. Row – (Any exercise where you are pulling from a horizon

Now that I have your attention, let me clarify . . . there is a catch. If you want to burn fat while you sleep, you need to work hard while awake. I guess it’s not just about working hard, but more about working efficiently to get your fat-burning machine rolling. So how do we “burn the midnight oil (or fat)” while sleeping?  You may be surprised, but it doesn’t happen by spending hours per week on the treadmill, elliptical trainer or stationary bike. While steady-state cardio and endurance training has its place in the world of health and fitness, it is not ideal for maximizing your fat-burning potential . In fact, long periods of cardio training can trigger the body to burn lean muscle for energy.  Sure, you are burning calories (energy), but there is a difference between burning calories and burning fat. If your goal is to "tone" and create a shapely body without sacrificing lean muscle mass, you need to increase your resting metabolic rate (RMR). The RMR is the amou

Have you ever heard of the “Fat Burning Zone”?  Many people use  this as a target when doing cardio training for weight loss.  And it’s true; There really is an exercise ‘zone’ in which your body will burn a higher percentage of fat than carbohydrates for energy.  However, this common target that most people strive to hit when doing cardio is somewhat misleading.  With a little more understanding of how the body burns calories at different levels of intensity, you may rethink your method of cardio for weight loss.      Without giving you a complete lesson in exercise physiology, I feel the need to give a brief (and very simple) overview of how we burn calories during exercise.  Our bodies produce and utilize a compound called adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used as energy for everything we do.  From breathing and blinking our eyes to lifting weights and running marathons, ATP is always being broken down and is required for all muscular contractions. Basically, if ATP is n

Rarely will you walking into a gym, training center or physical therapy office and not see a foam roller laying around somewhere. For such a simple piece of equipment, it actually is one of the best pieces of equipment in the gym.  Here's why . . . Let's first talk about what foam rolling is doing for your body.  Basically, the goal is to get self-myofascial release (hang with me . . .).  The  fascia is thin connective tissue that surrounds and supports your muscles.  This provides stability as well as keeps the muscles contained (scientifically speaking, it provides a cohesive direction for the line of pull of muscle groups).  Basically, in my non-nerdy way of explaining things, the fascia 'wraps' your muscles and keeps all the fibers as a unit and working in the same direction so they can do their job.  Normally, the fascia has the ability to stretch and move without restriction.  However, there are a number of factors that can cause the fascia to become tight