Truth in Fitness

Welcome to the new blog on all that is true and scientifically corrrect on topics from fitness, wellness, biomechanics, sports medicine and nutrition. Please check back for all that is true in the fitness world, or I should probably say all that is wrong and misconstrued in the fitness world.

Being newyears resolution time the health clubs and Gyms are packed with eager exercisers. Eager to jump onto any trend that will allow them to loose weight and money to spend on products and gimmicks to make their tasks easier. If you are among those of us that work out consistently year after year, by February the gym will again be devoid of the new faces and the same old folks will still be at it. We set our fitness goals too high, we want to believe that a pill will help us be more fit, we embrace exercises that injure us, we do not know that we do not know. Please read, research, ask and be self informed. Set small goals, do not drastically change your life, simply modify and make adjustments in diet, exercise and lifestyle. Being fit is not hard and does not take much time, just some foresight and insight. Please ask for help from a credentialed professional if you need it.

some tips can be found in our news letter www.ncprecisionfitness.com

All the years that I have been in the fitness, wellness and rehab. Industry it still never ceases to amaze me that all the well intentioned resolutioners fail in their quests. Please chart out your goals, and the steps to achieving them. Make them small attainable steps. Be consistent. Eat less and eat smarter but do not think that you must be a saint. Live and be well, make good choices throughout the year, exercise more often than not. Take the harder path, park far away, take the stairs. Succeed, and don't be afraid to ask for help.

The holiday is upon us. Time for burgers, beers, chips etc.. Not to rain on your holiday but there is a theory called Creeping Obesity. It states that on almost every major holiday that we overeat we actually reset our metabolism a few points lower. This means that the volume and quantity of what we put in our body is so extreme that is changes our metabolic rate, meaning we get fatter and our risk for disease increases. So this holiday before jumping into that potato salad with both feet, stop and think. Take a one spoon sample of everything, just by cutting down on the portion sizes you will save hundreds of calories.

Many people will suffer from Lower BackPain (LBP) some time in their lives. Most will recover fully within a few weeks. Many use exercise machines to attempt to strengthen the abdominals and lower back, this however is one of the most common fitness myths.
One of the most dangerous machines in the gym is the back extension. The spine has very little ability to move on it’s own, it is influenced strongly by the hips and abs. The spine musculature consists of stabilizers that serve to protect the disks, and the extensors of the lower torso. Just like the abdominal machines performing a hyperextension on a machine or bench can cause up to 1000lbs of compressive force on the spine, there are better and safer exercises.

I just do not understand why with all the literature and science available today people still feel it necessary to slam weights. No wonder almost every person in the gym has had some sort of sprain / strain. Does it make them feel more masculine to slam and drop the weights. is it a call for attention. It is very distracting to those of us in the gym who use proper mechanics and lift weights we can controll with PROPER FORM when you drop the dumbells from a standing position. But then again, this is usually the guy in a tank to who is also busy looking at himself in the mirror.

When was the last time that you were in the gym and just stopped and looked around?. How many people looked lost, how many kept their body still, did not use momentum to perform their exercises. When was the last time that you saw a big guy using ‘little’ weights while standing on one leg.
Most people join a health club with excellent intentions and lots of motivation, we happily sign contracts for years and fork over our cash whether we go regularly or not.
But there is a sad fact at work here, the vast majority have no clue how to exercise properly. ‘Gym science’ has survived for years and years with absolutely no scientific base at all. We happily go the club and perform exercises that we have done for years and see others doing yet very few know that they do not know how and or why some exercises are better than others.
If you are sick we see a Doctor, car is broken we see a mechanic. But for some reason when it comes to fitness the vast majority of us just assume that the machines in the gym will do the trick. The doctor and mechanic both perform diagnostic tests, but most people just jump in to exercise with no realization of the consequences of improperly applied exercise. There is a reason that lower back pain and joint injuries plague society, but we continue to perform the same dangerous exercises over and over?. But hey, the doctors are happy.

The few people that know they do not know usually hire a personal trainer, but what if your trainer doesn’t know that he doesn’t know what he is doing. We all know the kind of education a doctor or mechanic must have, sadly there are few standards that trainers are held to. At last check there are only 3 organizations that require a 4 year degree in health science prior to taking their certification exam. It never ceases to amaze me how many trainers actually believe they are at the top of their profession yet they consistently recommend absolutely the most dangerous exercises with no scientific base from which to justify performing that exercise. There are actually three or four home study certifications that have gone bankrupt but those trainers are still out there with no checks and balances.
Some of those ‘gym science’ exercises have been proven to cause permanent damage, yet I see them performed daily and encouraged by most trainers. If you contract with a personal trainer please realize that if they do not perform a fitness assessment then they are guessing. This assessment should include health history, posture, flexibility (not a sit and reach test!), balance, and movement analysis. If those tests are not administered than that trainer does not know!. You do not go to your doctor expecting free services and a reputable and well educated fitness professional will not be giving away their services either.