Home Posts tagged "Weight"

Five Resistance Training Myths in the Running World

To some, resistance training is the Rodney Dangerfield of the running community; it gets no respect. To others, it’s like Tom Cruise; runners think it might be useful, but it just doesn’t make any sense to them. And then, there are those to whom resistance training is like Abraham Lincoln; it’s freed them from being slaves to ineffective programming. As a performance enhancement specialist who has a lot of “Abe” endurance athletes under my tutelage, I’d like to take this opportunity to bring the Rodney and Tom runners in the crowd up to speed. With that in mind, let’s look at the five most prominent myths present in the running community with respect to resistance training Continue Reading...
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Youth Depression and Anxiety

On Sunday night, I made an impromptu trip to Wal-Mart to pick up an umbrella for the rainy Marathon. As I was standing in line, a woman a few people ahead of me dropped something as she was loading her items onto the checkout conveyor belt. She was taking care of a small child, and didn’t reach down to pick it up right away. Just a second or two later, a rather overweight kid from a few feet away started walking toward her; my first assumption was that he was going to help her out and pick it up. Instead, he walked right past the item on the floor, actually bumped her aside a bit, grabbed a bottle of Sunkist® from a cooler next to her, and then walked off. After throwing a “what the heck?” look at the kid for a split-second, I walked the ten-feet or so over to the women and picked her item up, set it on the conveyor belt, and smiled. She said thank you, and that was that. The bad news is that kids are getting fatter and fatter, people. The good news is that many of them are so rude that pretty soon, we’ll be more occupied with their crap behavior to be concerned with their “husky” profiles. Not surprisingly, the two are pretty closely related: “Regardless of race or sex, increasing weight is associated with emotional and weight-related distress in children.” Young-Hyman D. et al. Psychological status and weight-related distress in overweight or at-risk-for-overweight children. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2006 Dec;14(12):2249-58. I’m going to go out on a limb and infer from the research and my anecdotal Wal-Mart observation that if a kid is overweight, leading to depression and distress, chances are that he’s going to be more likely to treat people like dirt. I was more sarcastic when I was an overweight kid, and as I’ve gotten older and into better shape, I’ve developed a sense of humor – not more bitter sarcasm. To that end, anecdotally, I’ve seen athletes who have lost considerable amounts of body fat and change their demeanors in a matter of months. The more self-confidence one has, the less likely he or she is to point out the shortcomings of others. The stronger and leaner one becomes, the more likely he or she is to help out an up-and-coming athlete. Physical health and appearance can literally transform one’s personality. About three weeks ago, I got a thank you email out of the blue from the father of one of my athletes. This past summer, right as I began working with him, his son (a senior) verbally committed to a solid Division 1 program to play baseball. Since August, this athlete has trained with me 3-4 times a week and given tremendous effort day-in and day-out. He’s leaned out, packed on some muscle mass, gotten a ton stronger, and actually looks like an athlete now. Now, when we lift, it’s like he’s another coach in the room, helping the newer guys out – just like a team captain should. He’s brought in teammates to experience the same great results that he did because he knows that it feeds right back into his own success. Perhaps most impressively, though, is the fact that his father contacted me to let me know just how much of a difference it has made in the way he carries himself. He dresses differently (for the better), walks with his head and chest up, and flat-out treats people better. I think that the take-home message in all of this is that if we’re looking to improve the attitudes of “Generation Y” – athlete or not – we need to make exercise and nutrition integral parts of that battle. Eric Cressey, MA, CSCS, is a strength and conditioning specialist at Excel Sport and Fitness Training (www.ExcelStrength.com) in Waltham, MA. Excel’s experienced staff specializes in working with athletes of all ages and ability levels in a fun and motivating environment. The author of The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual, Eric has worked with athletes of all levels, from youth sports to the professional and Olympic levels. You can find out more about Eric and sign up for his free newsletter at www.EricCressey.com. ec@ericcressey.com Eric Cressey Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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Torn Between Two Extremes

How to Kick That Spare Tire On one hand, this article frustrates the crap out of me, as it’s a sign that there are still a lot of people in influential positions spewing garbage information: “If you've got some weight to lose, say 10 pounds or more, your primary focus should be aerobic exercise, such as running, biking and swimming, which will help lower your total body fat. To get the best results, aim for 30 to 45 minutes of aerobic exercise three to five days a week. Twice a week incorporate anaerobic exercise, such as weight lifting, using eight to 10 different exercises targeting large muscles, Millar says. Overall, your workout should be 75% aerobic and 25% anaerobic, suggests Edward Jackowski, CEO and founder of the motivational fitness company Exude.” Somewhere Alwyn Cosgrove is weeping – or, more likely, cursing angrily in a thick Scottish accent. He debunked all these myths in two recent interviews in my newsletter and his wildly successful (and effective) Real World Fat Loss. And, if that wasn’t bad enough… “Jackowski recommends crunches and reverse crunches; the latter involves pulling your knees toward your chest. A recent study sponsored by the American Council on Exercise says the best at-home abdominal exercises in terms of getting definite results are the bicycle maneuver, where you perform a crunch by touching your knees to your opposite elbows, and the exercise ball crunch, in which you lie back on the ball, thighs and torso parallel with the floor, and raise your torso no more than 45 degrees as you exhale.” I’m all for reverse crunches, but to lump them together with regular crunches is silly. I mean, one of the things that we emphasized over and over again in our Building the Efficient Athlete DVD set is that crunches are actually doing more harm than good! At, the other extreme, this article makes me happy. I’ll always have plenty of job security when there are fat people and corrective exercise candidates at my fingertips because they’re following the bogus information these people continue to spread! Marathon Monday is at-hand; pray for sunshine. Good luck, Steph! Eric Cressey Technorati Tags: , , , , , ,
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Fat Loss with Cosgrove: Part II

Here's Part 2 of the interview with Alwyn Cosgrove that ran in today's newsletter. http://ecressey.wpengine.com/newsletter52.html We've got a ton more quality information like this available in our free weekly newsletter; subscribe and you'll be the first to hear it! Go Red Sox, EC
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Fat-Loss with Alywn Cosgrove

I thought you might be interested in checking out Part I of the fat-loss interview with Alwyn Cosgrove that we ran in today's newsletter. Part 2 will be out next week; you can subscribe to the FREE newsletter to be the first to find out when the time comes: Enjoy! EC
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Ten Weeks to Summer: What’s your plan?

I’m not sure if you all are aware of it, but it’s just under ten weeks until Memorial Day – the unofficial start to summer and the time at which everyone starts panicking about how they’ll look at the beach. With that in mind, I was brainstorming the other day about what motivates people to get things done (in this case, get lean).

In the weight-training world, I’ve always been motivated the most by competition and quantifiable goals. This is one reason why I’ve done so much better from a physique standpoint as a powerlifter than I ever did as someone who “worked out.” Let’s face it: there is a huge difference between training and working out.

And, if there is one thing that is the closest thing to a universal motivator, it’s money. People do stupid human tricks, enter reality TV shows, and spend hundreds of dollars each year on lottery tickets in hopes of padding their wallets. Likewise, lots of people will go to great lengths to avoid being separated from their money, even (sometimes) in the case of worthwhile investments.

To that end, an “ideal” fat loss motivator (in my mind) would integrate these three factors: competition (with oneself or another), quantifiable goals, and money…so here’s what came to mind.

Find a friend, and have him/her take your 7-site skinfold readings: pectoral, abdominal, thigh, triceps, subscapular, suprailiac, and axilla. Add these seven readings up and write the number down (I don’t really care what your body fat percentage is).

Next, make out a check for $500 (or any amount) and put it “aside” (whether that’s in a glass jar on your counter, or even with a deposit to an interest-accumulating account) for the duration of your fat loss phase. That money could potentially go anywhere: your friend, a charity, you name it. The point is that it’s no longer yours; you have to work to earn it back.

Set a fat loss goal in millimeters you’re going to lose off your 7-site skinfold total. If you hit it, the money is yours once again. If not, it goes to your buddy or, better yet, charity. In the latter case, you’ll help out a good cause and get a tax write-off – even if you are still a tubby failure!

The next step would be taking steps to ensure success – namely, forming a plan. For the dietary component, you can’t beat Precision Nutrition from Dr. John Berardi. For training options, I have been very impressed with Afterburn from Alwyn Cosgrove and Turbulence Training from Craig Ballantyne.

So what are you waiting for? Shouldn’t you be writing a check that your butt CAN cash?

Eric Cressey


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The First Time in Five Years

It's one thing to make a resolution, it's another thing to adopt a lifestyle. At over 900 lbs. Manuel Uribe left the house for the first time in five years after dropping 256 lbs, from his peak of 1,235 lbs. When given the option, Manuel Uribe made a choice to adopt the Zone diet over gastric bypass surgery, back in 2006; this decision has made the difference. Having adopted a manageable program, Manuel has set the bar at 250 lbs within four years. Ask yourself: Are you on a plan that you can tolerate for the next four years? If not: What are you expecting to happen? Beginner exercisers are not the only ones who fall into the mismanaged training program, athletes do it to. The first step in any successful training program is adherence, if you cannot stick to your plan, it's worthless. If you are forcing yourself through your routines and through your training, you're not proving anything; you're delaying the inevitable. What can we learn from Manuel? It's great to set goals that test your limits, as long as you have the self-efficacy to get there. The first step, is accomplishing enough to have that self-efficacy. Lofty goals and "hardcore" programs do not create self-efficacy, they slowly diminish it. The number one determining influence of positive behavioral change is past performance. The clincher: was it positive or negative. Your coach, your training, and your habits should envelop your goal. I have no doubt that in four years Manuel will walk away from his bed at 250 lbs. Where will you be? Jon Boyle jb@ericcressey.com
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