Use Your TV For Good.

20 04 2010

I know most us will plop right down on the couch after a hard day at work, turn on the tv and veg out.  Why not use the tv as a tool to really help you use all that pent-up frustration?  Almost all cable providers now offer some type of free exercise programming. I found this website that shows some of the options in my area: http://www.exercisetv.tv/on-demand.

Everyone can find something to try with this service.  There are options for all fitness levels and many different exercise options.  I tried a short beginners yoga class recently and it was just what I needed.  The video was a quick, morning “help you get out of bed” class.  Nothing too strenuous which is perfect since I am not a morning person.  Some of the other options are Pilates, dance, intervals, abs and walking.

Boredom is a workout killer so look into some of these videos.  It might spark an interest in something you never knew you enjoyed.  Even if you are happy with your current workout the you can get better results by varying your workout.  Give it a try- it’s free.  What do you have to lose?


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Categories : Exercises, Just for Fun, Motivation

Do What You Love.

14 04 2010

Rolling Down the River....

Exercise doesn’t have to be a struggle.  Find something that you love to do and do it.  Do you like to run?  Put on your sneakers.  Like to bike?  Pump up your tires and ride.  Hike, play, golf, kayak, walk, it doesn’t matter.  If you enjoy it you will do it.

I found my rollerblades while cleaning my basement this weekend.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get to finish yet so the home gym is now a giant storage area until I can put it back together.   Anyway, I found my rollerblades and dusted them off.   The timing for this is perfect.

I am a hockey nut.  I played from the time I was young all the way to college.  I still play any chance I get.  To me, there is no better workout.  The NHL playoffs start tonight so hockey is really on my mind lately.  Couple this with the fact that I haven’t seen my rollerblades all winter and you get part of my workout today.

I went for a long skate down the Charles River and back during my lunch break (my work is across Storrow Drive from the River which is convenient).  I got to leave work, get out in the sun and really enjoy burning some calories. I always use my iPod for cardio but I left it at home today and do you know what?  Usually I would be miserable but because I love to skate, it didn’t matter.  If you asked me to get on a treadmill without music I might shoot myself.

So if you want to be more active and do it consistently start doing the things you love.  Or maybe the things you used to love but maybe have forgotten about.


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Categories : Behavior Change, Exercises, Just for Fun

How Well Do You Move?

9 04 2010

The part of my job I enjoy the most is assessing how well people move.  When I first meet a client, I take them through a movement screen.  I simply ask the client to do a series of movements and I watch for the areas that they struggle with.  By seeking out the movements a person has trouble with I can tailor their exercise program to specifically target their weaknesses.  As mentioned in my post “Avoid Bad Personal Trainers“, be wary of trainers who don’t assess how you move.

I’ve taken a video of my brother as an example. He visited on Easter and told me his knees and hips were bothering him. I asked him to do an overhead squat test.  For this test you simply hold your arms straight above your head and do a deep squat.  There are a number of things I can discover from this test.  I’m looking to see how your ankles, knees, hips back and shoulders all move during the test.  The exercises I prescribe all depend on what happens during the test.  Here is my brother’s overhead squat test (side view):

I see a number of things going on here but the most notable things are my brother’s excessive forward lean and his arms dropping forward.  By just watching him squat in this position I know we have to strengthen his core and his upper back.  I prescribed him a number of exercises and if he does his homework I hope to have an updated video of him performing this movement better.  And more importantly I want his hips and knees to feel better!


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Categories : Exercises

Hip and Knee Pain Help (especially for you runners out there!)

6 04 2010

Runner or not, most people will experience hip or knee pain at some time in their lives.  You could be diagnosed with runner’s knee- a blanket diagnosis that could be any number of problems.  Perhaps you’re experiencing IT band syndrome, a problem that can affect either the knee of the hip.  Whatever the problem, you can use some foam rolling techniques to help ease the pain.

Take care of these muscles and they'll take care of you.

Today, I’ll show you how to roll the iliotibial band or IT band.  The IT band is basically a large tendon that runs from the hip down the outside of the leg and connects on the lower leg just below the knee.  Because of its attachment at both the hip and knee, the IT band is the cause of many problems.  Running can cause the band to rub along the bones near and cause swelling.  This is called IT band syndrome.  Rolling the IT band and surrounding muscles can help loosen the tissue and alleviate some of the pain cause by runner’s knee and IT band syndrome.

When rolling the IT band it helps to break it into thirds.  Roll the top third, near the hip first, then roll the middle of the leg and finally close to the knee. You can lean your body at different angles to target different spots.  This can be extremely painful at first but with repetition the area will loosen up and hopefully decrease pain or even prevent injury.


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Categories : Equipment, Exercises, Relaxation

Exercise of the Week- Ball Leg Curl

2 04 2010

If I told you there is a leg exercise you can do at home that replaces the need for expensive equipment and works your core at the same time, would you be interested?  Good, because today’s exercise does just that.  By using a stability ball, you can take the leg curl exercise to new  levels.

The set up: Lie on the ground on your back with your ankles on the ball.  Keep in mind the closer the ball is to your body, the easier the exercise and vice versa.

The exercise:  Raise your hips off the floor- this is your start position (and also a good exercise on its own).  Keeping the hips in the air, pull your heels towards your butt, rolling the ball towards you.  Extend the legs back out, keep the hips up and repeat.

You can make this exercise more challenging by starting with the ball farther away or the super tricky one-leg version.  See the video for both examples. This exercise works your hamstrings, glutes, abs and low back.  Not to shabby for an exercise you can do in the comfort of your home!


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Categories : Equipment, Exercises

Intro to Foam Rolling

31 03 2010

If you like massage but can’t afford them all the time then this post is for you.  A foam roller is an affordable piece of equipment that can relax muscle groups that are commonly tight.  You can roll on top of the roller and target muscle groups of your shoulders, back, hips, and legs.  I use the roller as part of my warm up prior to all my workouts.  You can also us it to work on specific problem areas you might have due to running, standing or sitting at a desk all day or to help recover from injury.

As a society, we sit too much.  We sit in our car or on a train or bus to get to work.  When we arrive at work we sit at our desk all day.  Then we back to sitting during our commute home only to get home and sit on the couch.  Our bodies aren’t designed for all this sitting and so this leads to dysfunction- most notably a weakness in the muscles of the hip- the gluteal muscles.  These are the butt muscles and when they are weak or tight they can cause problems with the low back or in the knees or ankles.

The first movement in the video is simply how to roll your glutes.  The second movement with the ankle crossed over the knee-joint is a stretch with the roll to dig deeper into the muscle.  I recommend about 30-60 seconds for each muscle group but the longer the better.  Foam rollers come in different lengths and levels of firmness and are sold at some sporting good stores.  Or check out Perform Better in my blog roll for a wide selection.  Send me a message if you have more questions regarding the foam roller.


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The Future of Gyms

25 03 2010

One Stop Wellness Shopping

The past two days I have been at a Medical Fitness Conference for work.  My health club is a member of the Medical Fitness Association (MFA) and we go to a few of these conferences a year.  The mission of the MFA is raise the standard of medically integrated health clubs providing benchmarks and other resources that differentiate these clubs from others around.  I am working to bring my club to this higher standard.  The conference was held at Dedham Health and Athletic Complex.  This place is the gold standard of a Medical Fitness Center.   To say I was blown away by this facility is an understatement.

Medical Fitness Centers are a kind of one-stop shopping for health and wellness.  Dedham Health offered so many options my head was spinning.  They are affiliated with local hospitals and during our tour of the medical side I never felt like I was in a doctor’s office.  How could I while I had a view of 11 indoor tennis courts, indoor swimming pool, rock wall, etc. You can visit multiple doctor’s offices inside the facility, from podiatrists to orthopaedics.  X-ray and MRI offices are also on site.  Pretty convenient.   Perhaps you’ve been referred to physical therapy, well they have that too.  Oh and once insurance runs out you can transfer into a special program designed to take you from therapy to a formal exercise program.   After all that hard work you can visit the massage therapist, accupuncturist or the salon.

I almost forgot… the full gym with all your typical strength training and cardiovascular machines.  There are multiple class studios for yoga, spinning, karate and anything else you can imagine.  They’ve got the kids taken care of with an amazing daycare and of course the outdoor pool and programming in the summer.

Anyway, this is the future of fitness.  The big box gyms might give you a nice deal for $10 per month but you don’t get personalized service like I saw today.  Health involves so much more than exercise and fitness and it was uplifting to see a facility devoted entirely to all aspects of one’s health.


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Categories : Equipment, Exercises, Just for Fun

Exercise of the Week- Forward Lunges

24 03 2010

The forward lunge is another favorite of mine.  It is right at the top of my must-do basic exercise list.  Lunges mimic everyday human movement.  We  lunge to tie our shoes or pick objects up off the floor.  This movement strengthens muscles that cross the hip, knee and ankle joint.  It also challenges your balance in a way that a leg machine at a gym could never match.  It is easy to make the exercise more challenging by adding dumbbells by your side (as in the video) or a weight bar on the shoulder.  There are also many variations to the basic lunge- side lunges, reverse lunges etc.  I’ll cover those in future posts.

I highly recommend this exercise for the many benefits it provides and the fact that you can do it anywhere.  You will get a lot of “bang for your buck” with this leg exercise and I truly feel if it were the only movement you did to strengthen your legs you would still be doing better than most.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.


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Beware the Infomercial!

20 03 2010

Yours for 10 easy payments of $19.99

One of the most common questions I’m asked is “What do you think about the (insert name of any infomercial product)?  We’ve all seen the alluring 30 minute commercials promising amazing results in little time.  Gorgeous people jump on the equipment and show you how easy it is to have washboard abs and drop dress sizes in the blink of an eye.  Sounds great, doesn’t it?  So why doesn’t everyone look like the pretty people in the commercials.

It’s because most of the products don’t work.  Very few of these gadgets will get you the results you want.  Most of them are cheaply made and many are designed for only one or two exercises.  You had better enjoy doing these exercises and I hope you have a high tolerance for boredom.  The infomercials make everything seem effortless.  The problem is that it takes effort to improve your body and your health.  Plain and simple.

If you really want to look like the models on tv you have to exercise and eat like a fitness model.  I guarantee that these models are not simply using the product they are selling.  They exercise intensely for multiple hours a week and most importantly they eat clean.  Nutrition is always the most important factor for dropping body fat to reveal 6 pack abs.  Stop wasting time watching the infomercials and start exercising and eating better.  You’ll get better results following those simple instructions than you would from any new fitness toy.

If you haven’t seen it yet check out my post Home Gym Essentials.  I discuss my criteria for buying home gym equipment in more detail and show you some of my “must have” pieces of equipment.


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Categories : Equipment, Exercises

Exercise of the Week- The Plank

16 03 2010

Today is the beginning of my exercise of the week posts at BTG.  Each week I’ll choose an exercise, post pics and videos, show variations for different fitness levels  and discuss the benefits.  I had to decide if I should start with a crazy, off-the-wall exercise that looked challenging and cool  or something a little more boring but effective.  I decided to start with the basics because if you were my client this is how I would start.  Regardless of your fitness level you have to build a strong foundation before you can build the house!

I consider the plank a “core” exercise.  Core in the sense that it will be a staple in your workouts but also anatomically speaking.  When I say core I’m talking about your abs, low back, hips and pelvis working together as a unit.  In my opinion, everyone should be able to hold a plank position with little or no trouble before moving on to more complicated exercises.  The plank, when done properly, shows control and stability of the spine.  Believe me- this is a good thing.  This simple exercise can improve posture, decrease back pain and solidify your middle.

The basic plank is held for as long as possible (20 – 60 seconds for a beginner and longer for advanced trainees).  When this becomes easy, try some of the variations shown in the video.  Besides being a great core exercise the plank is a precursor to a push up.  If you can’ t hold a plank position then you can’t do a proper push-up.  See- we are building on a strong foundation.  Start with the  basic plank and then if you are ready try the advanced variations.


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