Musings Near the Finish Line on the Path to Personal Training

With the completion of the academic portion of the Professional Fitness Consultant Programme at Medix in full view, I have been reflecting on all the positive changes that have come about in my life as a result of it.

I have acquired a great deal of knowledge about myself and my classmates through the supportive and positive critiquing process encouraged by our instructor, Roburt Tranter and I have to admit that I am humbled by the infinite amount I have yet learn.  Although I see the finish line,  I have only just arrived at the threshold of the door to life long learning.

When I leave, I will take with me not only a broad range of knowledge in fitness and personal training but also communication and interpersonal skills.  A good measure of personal empowerment, self confidence and  mental toughness will accompany me thanks to the PX2 unit of the Medix curriculum.    

Although I am acutely aware of the areas I need improvement in, I have faith in myself and what I have learned.  I will not be distracted by fleeting nervousness generated by my novice status.  My clients deserve clear communication and all my attention and they must have complete confidence in me as a trainer. 

As I enter externship, I will be challenged in many ways to integrate all I have learned into an intelligent and effective plan that will help my clients reach their personal health and fitness goals.  I am embracing this opportunity fully engaged and with great anticipation!

My Client LH's Success Story!

Success in a fitness training program is not always measured in kilograms and centimeters. LH’s journey isn’t going to be the same as a many others but it is a true success story! I learned a great deal from my experience with her.

During the time I was training LH, we really came up against some daunting challenges. As time went on I grew to understand the nature of LH’s illness and injuries. She missed a lot of time because of her health situation so we were both worried about her reaching her goals.

At the end of our 3 month period LH had an estimated Fat Free Mass of 45.18 Kg or 99.4 lbs. This is an amazing increase of 12.19 lbs!!  Her estimated Fat Mass was down to 35 Kg or 77.01 lbs for a total loss of 15.4 lbs!!! Needless to say she was ecstatic!

LH was diligent in controlling her food intake and as a result she was able to lose weight and display a visible improvement in her appearance and measurements.

In spite of all the difficulties that LH had to face, she was able to persevere, stick to her training and to actually make significant changes in her body composition. She also gained a lot of confidence in her self because of her results.  This is truly the most valuable result of her training as her new found efficacy will insure continued success in reaching her health and fitness goals and carry forward into other aspects of her life.

ENDURANCE TRAINING AND OLDER ADULTS

There are multiple factors that contribute to the decline in the functional capacity of the aging adult. 
However, it has been shown that older adults are able to adapt to endurance training (and strength training which I will be discussing in an upcoming post) and this in turn slows down functional decline and enhances performance in fit older individuals to the point where their fitness level can rival that of inactive individuals many years their junior.


The Bad News or Some of the Effects of Aging:

VO2 Max (The maximal amount of oxygen your body can consume) decreases starting around the age of 25 to 30 at an approximate rate of 5 to 15 percent per decade.  This is due to age related declines in maximal  VO2 difference (the difference between oxygen concentration in the arteries and the oxygen concentration in the veins) and maximal cardiac output ( the amount of blood that is pumped by the heart per unit time, measured in liters per minute ).

• Maximal heart rate decreases approximately 6 to 10 beats per minute per decade.
• Reduction of stroke volume during exercise
• decline in muscle oxidative activity
• decline in mitochondria
• reduced left ventricle contractability
• decreases in vascular (decreased capillarization etc.) capacity
• loss of lung elasticity
• changes in the diaphragm and decline in performance of breathing muscles

The Good News or The Effects of Aerobic/Endurance Exercise:

• Increases VO2 Max which means there can be  an increase in energy for the older adult.  There can be a 10 to 30 percent increase in VO2 max that is comparable to younger adults in response to endurance training.
• Increases in energy burning (oxidative enzymes) in the muscles
• Increases in the number of capillaries that provide oxygen to the muscle fibers
• Improvement in the condition of the breathing muscles which in turn helps offset the loss of VO2 max due to age related loss of lung elasticity
• Improvement in the ability to tolerate higher levels of physical effort as well as improvement in submaximal endurance performance.  The level at which these improvements occur is dependent upon the degree of training intensity.

Participation in a regular aerobic/endurance programme throughout a lifetime clearly will help  reduce many health risks and ameliorate the difficulties confronted by the aging adult.

• Exerise and the Older Adult.  Written for the American College of Sports Medicine by Robert S. Mazzeo, Ph.D., FACSM  http://www.ascm.org 
• AIR IT ALL OUT! Page 72 Exercise & Health: The Fitness Guide for Men Fall 2011

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Is Wine Good for You?

Wine, particularly the red variety, has been shown to have certain health advantages.  Moderate wine consumption has been documented as benefiting the cardiovascular system by raising HDL cholesterol, the good cholesterol.


The latest news regarding the benefits of wine has to do with phytochemicals it contains such as flavonoids, resveratrol, both of which are antioxidants that help prevent free radical cell damage and saponin.


It has been shown that flavonoids help protect the body from certain cancers (in animal studies).


 Resveratrol, is thought to:

• Keep the body young and strong.
• Prevent Blood clotting and plaque formation in arteries
• Reduce plasma viscostiy.
• Improve cardiovascular health and lower coronary heart disease risk.
• Reduced Tumor incidence ( in animal studies).
• Prevent the development of fat cells (in mice). (Clifton Baile, University of Georgia)

Saponin, one of the other substances found in wine, apparently binds to LDL (bad cholesterol) and assists in removing it from the body.


It is suggested that those individuals who drink one to two glasses per day (a moderate amount) have a reduced risk of suffering coronary artery disease.


Researchers in Canada found one drink of red wine or other alcohol allows the heart to work less by causing the blood vessels to dilate.  The second drink however, caused an increase in heart rate and blood flow without the dilation which led the researchers to warn against repeated excessive consumption as it may lead to a greater risk of heart attacks.


Other Negative side effects of wine (and alcohol) are:

• Trigger for migrane headaches.
• Weight Gain in certain instances.
• Increase in estrogen levels that can cause tumor progression in estrogen positive breast cancer
• Elevate blood triglyceride levels. 

The benefits appear to be numerous for those individuals who practice consumption in moderation.

References:

• Joy Bauer, Today. com
• David Zinczenko, Matt Goulding, Choose Your Best Beverage, Men's Health ABS Training Guide Copyright  Rodale Inc., 2011
• Steve Blechman and Tomas Fahey, EdD, Supplement Rx Info-Bits, Fitness Rx,  June 2011

How to Perform a Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

The Dumbbell Reverse Lunge Targets:

• The Quadriceps
• The Gluteus Maximus
• Core Muscles 

• Stand tall keeping your chest up, and shoulders back, holding a dumbell in each hand.
• Arms should hang straight at your sides, palms facing in.
• Step back with your left foot and bend both knees to lower your body towards the floor until your right thigh is almost  parallel to the floor. The right  knee is bent at a 90 degree angle and the left knee is lowered almost to the floor.
• Push yourself back up into the start position and then repeat the motion this time by stepping back with the right foot.

 

How to Perform Dumbbell Squat

The Dumbbell Squat Targets:

• The Quadriceps
• Hamstrings
• Gluteus Maximus
• Lower Back 
• Calves

•  Stand with your feet Shoulder width apart holding a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing in and your arms hanging by your sides.  
• Keep your feet firmly planted on the floor, keeping your head and back straight.  
• Slowly lower your body, bending your knees until your  thighs are parallel to the floor, making sure that you are not leaning forward or extending your knees over your toes.
• Begin to raise your body, pushing yourself back up to the starting position.

MENTAL TOUGHNESS IN TRAINING AND SPORTS

We've all heard the term "Mental Toughness" and of course we all want to know what it is and how to get it so we can be the best we can be.    

For the elite athlete, this precious asset means the difference between winning and losing.  It sets those that have it apart from those that don't. 

So. What exactly is "Mental Toughness"?

 Mental toughness can be defined as:  " having the natural or developed psychological edge that enables you to:  

• Generally cope better than your opponents with the many demands (e.g., competition, training, lifestyle) that are placed on you as a performer  

•  Specifically, to be more consistent and better than your opponents in remaining determined, focused, confident, resilient, and in control under pressure.". (Jones et al, 2002)

To really understand "Mental Toughness"  we have to look at the different types of motivation. 

The "Mentally Tough" individual is said to have what sports psychologists  call "intrinsic motivation".  

This type of motivation is based on taking pleasure in the activity rather than on an external reward.  Individuals that have this type of motivation are self determining, self starters who are willing to go all out for the sheer love of what they are doing.  They do well at setting goals for themselves and need little encouragement to put forth their best efforts.

The other type of motivation is "Achievement Motivation".  This type of motivation refers to an individual's degree of desire to accomplish and control the mastery of skills and to hold a high standard.   

Achievement Motivation is often related to the degree of difficulty of a task an individual chooses to undertake.  People with low "Achievement Motivation" choose simple tasks in order to avoid the risk of failure while those higher in this motivation tend to choose tasks with a moderate degrees of difficulty that can be challenging but are perceived as doable.   

We all have varying degrees of these types of motivation so how do we develop Mental Toughness and get the best performance from knowing this?

• Start with the right mental attitude:  Be positive!  
•  Take control of your negative self talk.  We all have negative and positive self talk.  Develop mental toughness by re-framing your negative and self  critical thoughts with positive affirmations, focusing only on those thoughts that make you feel better about yourself.  This will help you develop that all important self efficacy; the unshakeable belief in your ability to achieve goals.
• Be well prepared for your event by anticipating potential problems, practicing and giving your all to your training but be able to revise your goals and your outlook on possible failures.   Let them go and view them as learning experiences that will lead to your future success.  
• Get out of your comfort zone.  You need challenges and different stimuli to make progress.  You have to have periods in your training where you take it to the limit.
• Practice mediation and relaxation techniques and combine them with visualizing  and rehearsing the steps you will take to perform at your highest level.  Your subconscious mind will view it in real time and already done.
• Learn to respond to your athletic challenges by finding "The Flow" or "Zone".  This is a learned state of mind that is much akin to meditation where you respond to high pressure situations with a reduction of brain wave activity.  This allows you to reduce the impact of distraction and discomfort in order to give an optimal performance.   

 We can all benefit from employing some or all of the above mentioned techniques in developing Mental Toughness, not only in realizing our sports and fitness goals but also in many other aspects of our lives.  If we raise our belief in ourselves our behavior and performance will follow for we will act and perform like the person we believe ourselves to be. 

References: 1.  Mental Toughness in Training by Sean Hyson, C.S.C.S. Mens Fitness, www.mensfitness.com


                      2.  What is Mental Toughness and how to Develop It? 
David Yukelson, Ph.D., Coordinator of Sport Psychology Services , Morgan Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes, Penn State University 

Let's Debunk a Myth: Eating Fat Will Make You Fat

Well, this is FALSE if you are eating the right fats.  Fats are used as an energy source and are used in many important body components and functions such as:

• chemical messengers which are formed from essential omega-3 and omega 6 fats.
• joint and muscle health and recovery
• activation of genes that help with fat burning (omega-3 fats)
• formation of cell membranes

Good fats are:

•  Naturally occurring saturated fat found in coconut oil:  It has some surprising health benefits, such as:
•  Improving heart health
•  Helping the  thyroid gland
• Increasing your metabolism. 
•  Helping with weight loss.
•  Improving  immune function and

• Polyunsaturated fats lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol.  Fish oils such as krill  oil and seafood like salmon (omega-3) as well as safflower and sunflower oil are examples.

• Monounsaturated fats: They lower total bad cholesterol (LDL) while increasing good cholesterol (HDL). They are found in , walnuts, avocados, almonds, olive and canola oil and have been found to help in weight loss.
• Reference:  Dr. Mercola's News letter
• Nutrition 101 M&F Hers' Ultimate guide to eating right by Jim Stoppani, PhD, Karla Dial and Allan Donnelly, Muscle and Fitness Hers' July/August 2011