A GMC Fitness Specialist's Beginner Training Plan

If you’re one of the thousands who have made a New Year’s resolution to exercise more—kudos to you. While there may be some doubt as to how effective these resolutions are, any excuse to exercise—improved health, stress relief or weight loss—is a good one.

But before you let your excitement get the best of you, let’s take a step back and make sure you’re kicking off your renewed commitment to exercise the best way possible. Especially if you’re like many who’ve left their exercise routine in November, just as the holiday season settled in.

The truth is, if you’ve taken a month or more off from your exercise routine, you’ll need to ease back into workouts. That means listening to your body and accepting that you may not be able to exercise with the same intensity or endurance as before. But not to worry, you’ll be back up to speed in no time (thanks, muscle memory).

On the other hand, if you’re eager to try a new exercise for the New Year, then look no further than strength training.

“Not only are there ample benefits to this form of exercise—don’t worry, I’ll get to those—it’s also a great way to activate muscle groups and enhance strength, while also minimizing injury and impact,” explains Kristie Delgado, MS, GMC’s Fitness Specialist. “On top of that, these exercises definitely do a great job of revving up your heart rate, too.”

Here are just some of the benefits of strength training:

·             Reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke

·             Strengthening bones and reducing the risk of osteoporosis

·             Increasing energy and decreasing fatigue

·             Improving depression, anxiety and mental clarity

·             Improving blood pressure

·             Reducing body fat

“If you’re new to strength training, I recommend starting with these five resistance exercises that you can do anywhere,” notes Kristie.

1. Chair Stand/Squat

·                 Stand tall with good posture.

·                 Push hips back and down, keeping upper body straight and knees over the heels. Do not let your knees shift forward over your toes. Weight should be centered between ball of foot and the heel.

·                 Sit down completely without releasing the tension. Push through your heels, activating your glutes, to rise to the starting position.

·                 To increase the challenge: Try adding weights.

2. Bent Knee Bridges

·                 Lie on your back, with your knees bent at an angle that allows you to keep your feet flat on the ground. Feet should be hip-width apart.

·                 Pushing through your heels, and activating your glutes, lift your hips towards the ceiling until your shoulders, hips and knees are in a straight line. Hold for a count of one-one thousand then slowly lower yourself to the starting position.

·                To increase the challenge: straighten one leg at the knee, holding it in the air so that the thighs maintain alignment with each other. Perform all repetitions on one leg before lowering raised leg, then repeat on.

3. Bent Over Rows

·                 Stand tall with good posture and weighted object in hand.

·                 Keeping your upper body/back straight, your knees slightly bent and your shoulders pulled back and down, hinge at the hips as far as you can without rounding your back. Lower the weights until they are directly below the shoulders, maintaining tension. Ears, shoulders and hips should stay in alignment.

·                 Maintaining this position, pull your elbows straight up to the ceiling, keeping the forearms vertical. Slowly lower the weighted object to directly below the shoulder. Complete all repetitions before standing up.

·                To increase the challenge: Try increasing weights with each set.

4. Seals

·       Lie face down on the ground with your feet extended (toes pointed/relaxed) and your neck neutral, looking down at the ground.

·       Slowly peel yourself off the ground, lifting your head, then your chest and lastly your rib cage away from the ground. Hold for a count of one-one thousand then slowly lower yourself to the starting position.

·       To increase the challenge: Change up your arm position and extend the length of each rep. Place your fingertips on the back of your ears with your elbows flared out to the side. For even more of a challenge, place arms straight overhead in a Superman position.

5. Inclined Planks

·         Stand tall in front of an elevated surface. This could be a table, a bench, etc.

·        Hinge at the hips, maintain good posture and place your elbows on the surface so that they are bent to 90° and directly below the shoulder joint.

·       Keeping your abdominal muscles pulled in and down, step your feet back until your body is in a straight line from the ears through the shoulders, hips and knees to the ankles. Hold this position (aim to hold it for 15 seconds).

·       To increase the challenge: Try using a lower surface. Once you can complete three 60-second planks at that height, progress to a lower surface until you are able to complete all three planks on the floor.

We’re with you from the start.

Whether you’re just starting out or you’re ready to take your exercise regimen to the next level, GMC’s established Sports Medicine program can help. Our experts work to shift your focus away from difficulties to goals, from discomfort to confidence, from injury to strength. This is made possible with our extensive range of services, our knowledgeable specialists and numerous resources. We’re with you every step of the way.

Isn’t Warming-up Basically Just Stretching?

By: Kristie Delgado, MS, GMC’s Fitness Specialist

With lower temperatures becoming the norm, it’s essential to make sure you take measures to prevent injury before a workout (cold weather can be tough on your body). Some experts say the best way to prevent injury is to warm-up, while others say stretching is the way to go. So which is it?

In a nutshell, you need to do both. Now I know what you’re thinking, aren’t they essentially the same thing? Not exactly. To help highlight the key differences and benefits, let’s take a closer look at each and most importantly, when it’s best to use each of them.

Warming-Up:

A good warm-up routine is designed to send a signal to the brain that the body is about to do some work, and to prepare for it. This preparation includes releasing hormones that tell your cells you need more fuel. At the same time, other hormones help to temporarily shut down expendable functions, like digestion to shunt oxygen-rich blood to the areas the body that will need it. Still, other hormones will work to inhibit your ability to feel pain, which dictates how well you tolerate exercise.

Another purpose of a gradual warm-up is to wake up the muscle cells you’re going to be using. This is important because if you start movement suddenly, not all of your muscles will have received the message to turn on, making it harder to exercise. It also adds stress to the muscle cells that are doing the work, increasing the risk of injury. Some muscle cells need a gradual prompting to get to work, while others can jump right to it instantly. You can think of your muscles as falling into one of two groups: either they’re night owls who need time (and coffee) to get moving in the morning versus the early birds, who wake up alert and ready to go.

Stretching:

Unlike warming-up, stretching can either increase or decrease the risk of injury; it can also either improve or worsen exercise performance. It all depends on the purpose of the stretching, the activity being performed and your needs.

For instance, if you have limited range of motion in a joint that is going to be used during your activity, then stretching the muscles around that joint may help reduce the risk of injury. On the other hand, if you have normal range of motion and stretch beyond that prior to a workout, you can increase the risk of injury. Furthermore, activities that require jumping, change of direction, or speed may benefit from more tension in muscles, so stretching could reduce performance in those activities.

So what’s the bottom line, should you warm-up, stretch, or both? It depends.

Warm-up:     Always, especially if you exercise first thing in the morning or after being inactive for any extended period of time.

Stretching:   Yes, when needed to improve limited joint range of motion, especially if there is an imbalance between different sides of the body.

No, if you are performing an activity that relies on muscle tension for performance. Instead focus on a dynamic range of motion warm-up.

When it comes to exercising, there’s a lot to remember—warming-up, stretching, working out, recovering and more. So where do you start? With a fitness assessment. Because when it comes to exercise, you don’t want to just go through the motions, you want to make the most of it. That’s why the fitness professionals at GMC’s Ellis Fitness & Performance Center are prepared to help you with all of your unique fitness needs and goals.

Does Exercising Ever Really Sound Fun?

By: Kristie Delgado, MS, GMC’s Fitness Specialist

We all know the importance of exercise—improved circulation, healthy weight, lower cholesterol—and the benefits it offers—reduced stress and boosted energy—but there are days (and weeks) where finding the motivation to go just feels impossible.

After all, the last thing you want to do bright and early in the morning or late on a Friday afternoon is to go to work mentally and physically, which is exactly what exercise can feel like. But why does it have to feel like work? Who said exercise has to be hard and boring? You see, most of us have built exercise up in our minds to the point that stress and anxiety surround it, instead of happiness and empowerment.

So let’s change the way we talk to ourselves about exercise. Here are a few of my favorite tips:

1.            Ditch the all-or-none thinking.Getting the minimum recommended amount of exercise (30 minutes, 5 days a week) may seem daunting, so just remember that something is better than nothing. Even just 10 minutes of activity a day will make a difference—seriously. Don’t believe me? Give it a try.

2.            It doesn’t have to be miserable.You may feel like unless you’re dripping sweat after a workout, then it doesn’t really count. But that isn’t at all the case. You don’t have to pound through a long run or lift heavy weights, to get ample activity. Things like housework, dancing and playing with your kids can all count as physical activity. As an added bonus, it counts as moderate intensity if you’re out of breath while you’re doing it.

3.            No gym or equipment? No problem. You don’t need any fancy equipment (it can be super expensive) or a gym membership (because it’s not always convenient) to reap the benefits of physical activity. You can do tons of exercises at home: march in place for cardio, do core-strengthening exercises in your living room or go up and down the stairs. 

If you’re struggling to get the minimum amount of physical activity, you are not alone! Only 20% of the American population meets those guidelines. If you need help with creating an exercise program that will maximize your benefits in the time you have available, reach out to the personal trainers at GMC’s Ellis Fitness & Performance Center.

If Strength Training Is Overwhelming, Here Are 4 Things You Need To Know

As if starting a new exercise wasn’t intimidating enough, along comes the world of strength training. With options galore, muscle-building exercises come in all shapes and sizes—there’s resistance bands, cable weights, free weights, body weight—you get the point. While all of these choices are great for the experienced lifter, for someone new to the strength training game, it’s difficult to know where to start.

After all, you don’t want to use improper form, lift too much weight or end up injuring yourself. So while it may be tempting to stay safely on your favorite cardio machine, strength training can offer some serious health benefits—like increasing your resting metabolic rate, improving sleep, relieving stress, supporting bone health and more—so why not give it a try?

But before you do, here are 4 things you should know to maximize your experience and prevent injury:

   1. Learn the 5 major muscle groups.

·         Chest:Pectorals

·         Arms/Shoulders: Deltoids, Biceps, Triceps and Forearms

·         Legs/Glutes:Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Calves and Glutes

·         Abs:Upper abs, Lower abs and Obliques

·         Back: Trapezius, Latissimus dorsi

   2. Learn the 7 fundamental movements.

·         Squats: Every time you sit down and/or stand up from a chair, you are essentially doing a squat. This movement involves your glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings.

·         Hinge: Similar to the movement you make when you bend over to pick something up off the ground; hinges target your hips, hamstrings and glutes.

·         Push: You guessed it, this movement is similar to the motion you make when doing a pushup. This movement is focused on your chest, shoulders and triceps.

·         Pull: The opposite of a pushing, pulling is the motion you make when doing a pullup (which is super difficult). This movement will target your back and biceps.

·         Lunge: The same movement you make whenever you walk or run is a lunge variation, so you’re already a pro at this movement. This motion strengthens glutes, quads and hamstrings.

·         Carry: This motion is as simple as picking up something heavy and carrying it (that heavy purse may be giving you quite the workout). This type of movement improves all over strength and really targets your grip and core.

·         Rotation: The next time you turn around in your car to get something out of the backseat, take note of the motion you’re making (it’s a rotation). This type of movement targets core strength and stability.

   3. Learn your magic number(s).

This applies to how often you should be lifting, how much and how heavy. A good baseline to start with is doing 8 to 10 lifting exercises that target all muscle groups, 2 to 3 times a week. Even if you’re tempted to lift more often, make sure you don’t work the same muscle groups on consecutive days—your muscles need that recovery time to grow (after all that is the point).

As you get to be a strength-training pro you might opt for a split routine. That could mean working the upper body on Mondays and Thursdays and the lower body on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Now when it comes to deciding what weight to use, remember that less is always more. Until you’re more familiar with strength training, it’s important to ease into exercises by focusing more on form and less on weight. You’ll know you’re lifting a good amount if you can complete 3 sets of 8 repetitions.

Once you can complete three sets of 12 to 15 repetitions of an exercise with excellent form—meaning you can just about complete your last rep of each set—it's time to add more weight. Whatever equipment you use, the increase should be heavy enough that you're back to being able to complete only 8 reps per set, and possibly only 2 sets, not 3.

   4. Strengthen your confidence.

There’s no denying that strength training can be a great addition to almost any workout routine, but adding a new exercise can be hard on your body. To ensure that you're utilizing the best exercise for your unique health needs, talk with your primary care provider before you start. You can also get personalized, hands-on training from the experts at GMC’s Fitness & Performance Center to overcome any obstacles, prevent injury and not only reach your fitness goals, but surpass them.

New Year = More Exercise? Start With These Workouts

If you’re one of the thousands who have made a New Year’s resolution to exercise more—kudos to you. While there may be some doubt as to how effective these resolutions are, any excuse to exercise—improved health, stress relief or weight loss—is a good one.

But before you let your excitement get the best of you, let’s take a step back and make sure you’re kicking off your renewed commitment to exercise the best way possible. Especially if you’re like many who’ve left their exercise routine in November, just as the holiday season settled in.

The truth is, if you’ve taken a month or more off from your exercise routine, you’ll need to ease back into workouts. That means listening to your body and accepting that you may not be able to exercise with the same intensity or endurance as before. But not to worry, you’ll be back up to speed in no time (thanks, muscle memory).

So, if it’s too quick to jump back onto the treadmill for an hour, or attend your favorite HIIT class, where should you start? With resistance exercises.

Not only are there ample benefits that resistance exercises offer (don’t worry, we’ll get to those), they’re also a great way to activate muscle groups and enhance strength, while also minimizing injury and impact. And these exercises will do a great job of revving up your heart rate, too.

Here are just some of the benefits of resistance exercises:

·      Reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke

·      Strengthening bones and reducing the risk of osteoporosis

·      Increasing energy and decreasing fatigue

·      Improving depression, anxiety and mental clarity

·      Improving blood pressure

·      Reducing body fat

Five simple resistance exercises (that you can do anywhere):

1. Chair Stand/Squat

·         Stand tall with good posture.

·         Push hips back and down, keeping upper body straight and knees over the heels. Do not let your knees shift forward over your toes. Weight should be centered between ball of foot and the heel.

·         Sit down completely without releasing the tension. Push through your heels, activating your glutes, to rise to the starting position.

·         To increase the challenge: Try adding weights.

2. Bent Knee Bridges

·         Lie on your back, with your knees bent at an angle that allows you to keep your feet flat on the ground. Feet should be hip-width apart.

·         Pushing through your heels, and activating your glutes, lift your hips towards the ceiling until your shoulders, hips and knees are in a straight line. Hold for a count of one-one thousand then slowly lower yourself to the starting position.

·         To increase the challenge: straighten one leg at the knee, holding it in the air so that the thighs maintain alignment with each other. Perform all repetitions on one leg before lowering raised leg, then repeat on.

3. Bent Over Rows

·         Stand tall with good posture and weighted object in hand.

·         Keeping your upper body/back straight, your knees slightly bent and your shoulders pulled back and down, hinge at the hips as far as you can without rounding your back. Lower the weights until they are directly below the shoulders, maintaining tension. Ears, shoulders and hips should stay in alignment.

·         Maintaining this position, pull your elbows straight up to the ceiling, keeping the forearms vertical. Slowly lower the weighted object to directly below the shoulder. Complete all repetitions before standing up.

·         To increase the challenge: Try increasing weights with each set.

4. Seals

·         Lie face down on the ground with your feet extended (toes pointed/relaxed) and your neck neutral, looking down at the ground.

·         Slowly peel yourself off the ground, lifting your head, then your chest and lastly your rib cage away from the ground. Hold for a count of one-one thousand then slowly lower yourself to the starting position.

·         To increase the challenge: Change up your arm position and extend the length of each rep. Place your fingertips on the back of your ears with your elbows flared out to the side. For even more of a challenge, place arms straight overhead in a Superman position.

5. Inclined Planks

·         Stand tall in front of an elevated surface. This could be a table, a bench, etc.

·         Hinge at the hips, maintain good posture and place your elbows on the surface so that they are bent to 90° and directly below the shoulder joint.

·         Keeping your abdominal muscles pulled in and down, step your feet back until your body is in a straight line from the ears through the shoulders, hips and knees to the ankles. Hold this position (aim to hold it for 15 seconds).

·         To increase the challenge: Try using a lower surface. Once you can complete three 60-second planks at that height, progress to a lower surface until you are able to complete all three planks on the floor.

We’re with you from the start.

Whether you’re just starting out or you’re ready to take your exercise regimen to the next level, GMC’s established Sports Medicine program can help. Our experts work to shift your focus away from difficulties to goals, from discomfort to confidence, from injury to strength. This is made possible with our extensive range of services, our knowledgeable specialists and numerous resources. We’re with you every step of the way.