5 Home Remedies for a Sprained Ankle

Posted on December 9th, 2016 by Andries Lodder

The American College of Sports Medicine estimates that approximately 9 million Americans suffer from a sprained ankle each year. It’s one of the most common sports injuries, and it can happen to anybody who rolls or turns an ankle while doing something as simple as walking. In many cases, an ankle sprain does not require medical intervention. However, a severe sprain or bone fracture should be treated by a physician.

Common ankle sprain symptoms include:

Sudden pain after twisting or rolling the ankle
Swelling
Bruising
Inability to walk with a normal gait
Tenderness when touched
Limited range of motion in the ankle joint

In addition to these symptoms, an ankle fracture might also include:

Pain and swelling that does not reduce after a day or two
Inability to bear weight on the injured leg
Numbness or weakness
Reduced circulation

If there is any doubt about whether your ankle is sprained or fractured, seek medical attention immediately. If you have a mild or moderate injury, consider these sprained ankle remedies:

RICE

Every athlete and parent knows this age-old remedy for minor strains and sprains, and doctors recommend it because it works:

Rest – Stay off the injury for a few days and get ample rest
Ice – Apply cold to the ankle several times a day to reduce pain and swelling
Compression – Apply a static or elastic compression bandage to limit swelling
Elevation – Reduce the flow of blood and other fluids by elevating the ankle above the heart

It might seem simple, but RICE therapy is truly effective. Start it as soon as possible after the ankle sprain occurs in order to control the body’s natural inflammatory response.

Cold Compression Therapy

If you want to take RICE to the next level, consider renting a cold therapy system for home use. Cold compression therapy uses the same concepts as RICE therapy but adds modern technology to the mix. Instead of holding an ice pack on your ankle, a cold therapy system uses a body-conforming wrap with integrated chambers that allow cold water and pressurized air to flow through the wrap. Circulating cold water stays at the same therapeutic temperature, and the pressurized air creates a pumping effect that rapidly reduces swelling.

The result is a longer-lasting, deeper-penetrating cold that helps damaged tissues heal faster. Cold therapy systems are also convenient to use because all you have to do is add ice and water to the system’s reservoir, apply the wrap, and rest with your leg elevated while the device does all the work.

OTC Pain Medication

Although a sprained ankle is not typically a serious injury, it is still painful. If you find the discomfort too much to handle, consider taking an over-the-counter pain medication that will help reduce the pain and swelling. Check with your doctor if you’re on other medications and always follow the dosage instructions to ensure proper use.

Epsom Salt

After a few days, you can soak your ankle in a warm bath with Epsom salt. It’s important to apply only cold during the first few days after an injury, because the application of heat can actually contribute to additional inflammation during the initial phases of healing. Epsom salt can help soothe sore muscles and connective tissues. You can soak your ankle once or twice a day to help reduce discomfort.

Natural Poultices

A variety of natural anti-inflammatory ingredients can be found in your pantry. If you want to try a traditional poultice to help reduce swelling, consider trying turmeric, garlic, onion, castor oil, or olive oil. Any of these ingredients can be gently heated and applied to a sprained ankle and then wrapped in a bandage for several hours.

If you’re not sure which of these sprained ankle remedies is right for you, consult with a physician. Ask him or her about prescribing cold therapy to help control pain and inflammation while you recover.

For the original article please click HERE

What’s Your Excuse?

Posted on November 21st, 2016 by Andries Lodder

Are you a couch potato? Do you think you are too old to start something new? Are you afraid or do you think it’s just going to be too difficult? Here’s a video clip I compiled of the over 75’s putting us all to shame!

What’s your excuse not to do something?

Exercise, Stress and Overcoming the Barriers

Posted on November 5th, 2016 by Andries Lodder

We live in a world where stress seems to be increasing and physical activity decreasing. So what are the barriers and how do we overcome them?

Many people in our country report that current stress levels are having a very strong impact on physical health (Stress and Wellbeing survey). Interestingly enough, most people agree that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important to them. So if we are realizing that a healthy lifestyle (exercise/diet/sleep) is important, then what is stopping us from actively living it?

The stress and wellbeing survey noted in 2014 that the main barriers to a healthy lifestyle were: unexpected life events (63%), loss of motivation (61%), expense (60%), and lack of time (59%). Part of my day-to-day work as an Biokineticist involves breaking down the barriers, which stop people from living a healthy life and in particular exercising. In the next section I will use techniques used in my clinical practice to break down the aforementioned barriers.

LOSS OF MOTIVATION

Motivation is one of the most important factors in determining if someone will or will not adhere to behaviour change. The individual must also believe that he/she can achieve the specific behaviour. In order to achieve a desirable outcome we need to start small.

Setting SMART goals (specific, measureable, attainable, relevant, and timed) has worked for many of my patients as it gives them freedom to chose a goal that is both relative to their current situation and also achievable. An example of a smart goal: Walk for 30 minutes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 4 weeks.

They key is to be honest with yourself and start small. It’s a long race so by starting small, you avoid gassing at the start.

EXPENSE

Having worked in low socio-economic areas, this is a barrier I have had to help people overcome all too often. The key to overcoming the money issue is to get creative. Many people don’t know this but your own body, gravity, and the floor are often all you need to start getting active. At the bottom of this blog entry you will find a workout you can complete at home without having to purchase any additional equipment*.

LACK OF TIME

Time and priorities are often confused. Lack of time means you do not have an extra 30 minutes in your day where you could include exercise. This is rarely the case. First of all we need to prioritize exercise. Whether you wake up an extra 30 minutes earlier to get it out of the way, or you have dinner 30 minutes later. The key is to make time. Your health should be one of your first priorities and exercise greatly improves health.

UNEXPECTED LIFE EVENTS

I have intentionally left this barrier last as it is one of the hardest barriers to overcome. The truth is we do not know what life will throw our way. What we do know is how we respond and overcome whatever comes our way. Exercise is proven to reduce anxiety and help alleviate depressive symptoms. Exercise therefore, is a lot like our best friend. We sit down with them and tell them our problems, by the time we are done we hopefully feel better even if the situation hasn’t actually changed. So if you are looking to lift your spirits and deal with added stress, exercise is a great shoulder to cry on.

GETTING STARTED

There is no better time to start than right now. *However, if you are dealing with a specific health condition it is important to pay your GP a visit to see if you can begin exercising safely. If you are still struggling to find motivation and just don’t know where to start, you will be well off seeing a Biokineticist. Biokineticists are health professionals that specializes in helping a wide variety of populations (from people living with complex medical conditions, to the everyday man/woman) break down the barriers and start moving safely. So as Gloria Estefan famously said, ‘Get on your feet. Get up and make it happen’.

Original article by Angelo Sabag, Accredited Exercise Physiologist

Performance Enhancement Training Part 4 – Plyometric Training

Posted on October 31st, 2016 by Andries Lodder

PLYOMETRIC TRAINING

Plyometric Training

So far we have discussed the first 3 parts of performance enhancement training.

First we covered the importance of sport specific training and how to achieve equilibrium through integration for optimal performance.
Then we got to the second part where we emphasized the importance of core stability and how it assists in injury prevention and forms the foundation for improved performance.
Thirdly we discussed the role of eccentric training and how slowing down a specific movement during your training can actually increase your strength, improve stability and how that absorbed energy can be used as an elastic recoil to perform the next movement more explosively.
This leads us into the fourth and final part, a Plyometric movement, which will only be performed when we have strengthened your ligaments and tendons, so that it can handle the forces of a ballistic movement without injuring yourself.

So, what is a Plyometric Training?

Let’s look at the basis of a Plyometric Movement

3 Phases of Plyometric Movement

Currently, typical Plyometric Training comprises three phases (Illustration above). The first phase (A) is a rapid muscle lengthening movement known as the eccentric phase, therefore the preactivation phase. The second phase (B) involves a short resting period known as the amortization phase, this is where elastic energy is stored and muscle spindles are stimulated, and, in the third phase (C), the athlete engages in an explosive muscle shortening movement, termed the concentric phase, where all the stored elastic energy is released. The athlete repeats this three-part cycle as rapidly as possible, with the goal being to decrease the amount of time in between the eccentric and concentric movements. Reductions of time in between eccentric and concentric movement induce the athlete to become faster and more powerful as this primarily improves muscular, tendon and nerve functions.

Importance for Ultimate Performance

The increase in physical power make athletes run faster, jump higher and hit harder and develop specific skills such as injury protections relative to specific practiced sport. In addition, the forces involved and the quickness of execution induced the involvement of the central nervous system. Plyometric training has shown improvements include muscular and tendon strengthening and resulting in the ability to avoid injuries.

Thus, to get the competitive edge over your rivals and improve your physical conditioning to a different level, Plyometric Training must form a part in all athletic training programmes, in all types of sports. There are many safety consideration to be taken into account, including, evaluation of the athlete, ensuring facilities and equipment are safe, establishing sport-specific goals, determining programme design variables. Teaching the athlete proper technique and properly promoting the programme are by far the most important part before commencing in any Plyometric program.

We have come to the end of the 4 Parts for performance enhancement training. It has been a pleasure to share with you my thoughts and believes on this topic. If you feel like your current conditioning programme doesn’t live up to your expectations and needs, please contact me and I will do my best to help you reach your goals!

ITB Friction Syndrome

Posted on October 24th, 2016 by Andries Lodder

By Merryn Manley

Do you have pain at the outer side of the knee or thigh? You could have ITB friction syndrome.

This condition is exacerbated by sporting activity and is commonly seen in runners, cyclists and endurance athletes.

What is the ITB?

The iliotibial band is a thickening of the fascia and connective tissue that envelops the whole thigh. It extends from the gluteus maximus muscle and a muscle called the tensor fascia lata, down towards the femur, tibia and fibula bones i.e. around the outer side of the knee. Its function is to provide lateral (outer) stability between the knee and the hip.

What causes ITB friction syndrome?

If the muscles around the hip are tight, this can cause compression further down around the lateral femoral condyle, thus causing pain at the outer side of the knee. Altered biomechanics and muscle imbalances play a role in ITBFS. It often arises in runners and cyclists with weakness of their hip abductors and overworked hip adductors. These imbalances place compressive loads through the ITB, causing irritation and pain. The pain occurs at around the same time/distance during activity. Longer training sessions, downhill running and running on cambered courses often aggravate the symptoms.

Treatment of ITB friction syndrome

One can use ice, anti-inflammatories and corticosteroid injections for acute pain. Physiotherapy is largely beneficial in the treatment of ITBFS. We use different modalities, including massage, myofascial release, dry needling, electrotherapy and various taping techniques to reduce muscle tension, tone and pain in the ITB. One can stretch the ITB, however studies have shown that the ITB has the strength of soft steel, thus merely stretching it is not very advantageous. What is more useful, is strengthening the hip abductors and external rotators (pelvic stabilisors) to address underlying weaknesses. Teaching one to self-massage over the foam roller is also helpful.

Visit Physio@Merryn to relieve the pain associated with this condition.

Website: www.physioatmerryn.co.za

Tel: 0733231188

Address: Naturally Yours Center, Corner Main and Culross roads, Bryanston (opposite the Campus)

Performance Enhancement Training Part 3 – Eccentric Training

Posted on October 20th, 2016 by Andries Lodder

So far we have discussed the first 2 parts of performance enhancement training. First we covered the importance of sport specific training and how to achieve equilibrium through integration for optimal performance. Then we got to the second part where we emphasized the importance of core stability and how it assists in injury prevention and forms the foundation for improved performance.

ECCENTRIC TRAINING is the topic for the third part of Performance Enhancement Training. This will lead to greater strength and stability and in so doing enhance your performance. Sounds easy enough doesn’t it? Now that I’ve got your attention, with probably a perplexed look on your face, let me tell you all about what it is and how this type of training can benefit your performance.

There are three distinct phases during a muscle contraction: Isometric, Concentric and Eccentric.

Isometric is where a muscle contracts, but no movement take place, e.g. pushing against a wall or trying to pick up something and using all your force but the object is just not moving.

Concentric is a muscle contraction where the muscle fibre length shortens. This type of contraction is most commonly used and forms part of every basic gym program, e.g. it is the upward movement of a bicep curl or a muscle contraction that occurs in all rhythmic activities.

Eccentric contraction is the lowering phase of an exercise or a muscle contraction that occurs as the muscle fibres lengthen, e.g. in a biceps curl the action of lowering the dumbbell back down from the lift is the eccentric phase of that exercise, as long as the dumbbell is lowered slowly and controlled rather than letting it drop.

In our training programs we tend to focus only on the concentric phases of movement. We can’t solely focus on simply raising the weight when performing strength training exercises. It is important to be able to produce force just as it’s important to be able to control force. When it comes to sport, we need to resist movement rather than produce movement. When we are trying to control an opponent or resist an opponent’s forces, we need to deal with that force in a different manner. By focusing on the eccentric portion of the movement, we can focus on stabilizing and keeping proper form.

I am not here to bore you with the microscopic details of how it works exactly and explain everything as if you are reading this in a medical textbook. However, I will give you the key findings that have been researched regarding the benefits of eccentric training:

• Eccentric contractions use less energy and actually absorb energy that can be used as elastic recoil for the next movement

• Older individuals are less vulnerable to injury, primarily because of the reduced strain on muscles and tendons than traditional concentric training

• Increased resting metabolic rate

• While energy costs remain low, the degree of force generated is very high. This leads to muscles that respond with significant increases in muscle strength, size and power compared to traditional concentric training.

Now how do we use this practically? Say you are very strong during double leg squats but can’t perform one single repetition for a single leg squat. Now with eccentric training you get to lower your body weight under control on one limb. This will also increase your stability quite a bit as well. When you go into a single leg squat, the load can change drastically. Different muscles will stabilize the body in order to resist rotation, lateral flexion, and extension of the lumbar spine. Over time, you will gain enough strength and stability to be able to perform the concentric versions of the single limb exercises.

As an athlete, hopefully you can appreciate the value in eccentric exercises. You can implement these strategies in order to progress to get more proficient and stronger in certain movement patterns. You can use long eccentrics to increase the time under tension to build more muscle or make gym training more challenging and improve your stability in those movements.

Eccentric variations can also be used to make an exercise harder. By using 5 second eccentric phases and then perform the concentric phase explosively. This will give you the advantage of the stabilization benefits of the eccentric phase, and then explode on the concentric part in order to maintain power for the concentric phase.

Ballistic exercises certainly have its place, but should be reserved for more advanced athletes who have strong ligaments and tendons, so they can handle the forces of ballistic movements. But more on this next month, where we will look at Plyometrics as the last part of performance enhancement training.

Performance Enhancement Training Part 2: Core Stability Training

Posted on October 20th, 2016 by Andries Lodder

In last month’s issue we discussed in depth about Sport Specificity as the first part of performance enhancement training. We realised that we have to achieve equilibrium through integration of optimal functional strength, power, core stability, balance, proprioception, reaction time, agility, decision making and technique and that only when the body is at total equilibrium, an athlete can perform optimally.

This brings us to the second part of performance enhancement training, Core Stability. Why is core stability so important? How can it improve your performance? Does it help to prevent injuries? Will it really make that much of a difference? The answer to all these questions is a simple YES! But first you have to know what core stability is and which muscles groups combine to form your core.

Core stability is the name given to the strengthening of the core of muscles surrounding the back and abdomen. These muscles are also known as your body’s powerhouse and provide a solid base upon which all other muscles can work upon to initiate movement.

The core can be thought of as a cylinder of muscles around the inner surface of the abdomen. They comprise of your Transversus Abdominus (TA), Multifidus, Diaphragm and your Pelvic Floor.

Your TA is the deepest of all the abdominal muscles which lie underneath the oblique abdominals and your 6-pack muscle. This is the main core muscle that provides stability. It connects to the lumbar spine (lower back) and wraps around to meet in the middle of the front of the abdomen. When contracted it increases the pressure inside your abdomen and pulls tight on the lower back to provide excellent stability to your back.

Your Multifidus lies deep on your back on either side of the spine and connects to the whole lower back. Its main function is to provide stability during back extension as well as providing your upright posture.

Your Diaphragm is the primary muscle for breathing. Its domed shape provides the top of the cylinder of your core. When the TA contracts, the diaphragm tenses up to maintain pressure in the abdomen and therefore providing stability to the spine.

Lastly your Pelvic Floor. Renowned among pregnant women, the pelvic floor muscles provide a sling running from back to front, from the bottom tip of the spine (tail bone) to the front of the pelvis. Your pelvic floor and your TA contract concurrently to form the bottom of the cylinder of muscles.

When all these muscles contract together they keep the spine in its most stable position, and aid in preventing injury. These muscles contract before you move your arms or legs, therefore they function to keep your pelvic region stable during all movements. If you suffer from lower back pain, it indicates that your core muscles are not contracting before any limb movements, and leaves the spine exposed to injury. Therefore by retraining these muscles to contract at the right time forms the foundation of core stability.

By integrating everything it is safe to say that your whole body works in unison to form a kinetic chain. Therefore your core plays a very important role in linking your upper body to your lower body. Now, when your core stability is weak, your ability to efficiently transfer force through the torso to the upper body or lower body will be reduced, losing force generated during movements utilising your entire kinetic chain. This energy loss compromises the efficiency during competitive sports. This reason alone indicates the importance of core stability for athletic conditioning.

Therefore by training the core, the rest of the muscles in a specific area i.e. the hamstrings, gluteals, abdominal, back muscles, chest and arms all work more efficiently and together. By providing pelvic stability through core strength, you take the strain off all your other joints (knees and ankles), thus decreasing your chances of ankle or knee injuries.

Whether you a recreational runner or cyclist, or whether you’re an elite sports person, core stability should be the foundation of your initial training regime.

The difference between having the edge in your chosen sport will time and time again come down to your ability to maintain the most efficient functioning of your core muscles, hence the reason why people call it the Powerhouse of an Athlete.

Test yourself by sitting on a stability ball (Pilates ball) and while keeping your arms crossed over your chest, lift both legs slowly off the ground and maintain your balance, or for a greater challenge, kneel on the stability ball and try and keep your balance. If you can do this, you are well on your way to becoming the next powerhouse in your sporting field.

But before you get to chuffed with yourself, this is just the beginning of performance enhancement core training, our main aim is to get you to stand on the stability ball and do squats on it, or catch and throw medicine balls while maintaining your balance, and finally to bounce on it as if it’s your own trampoline.

Next month we will look in more depth at how eccentric training can improve strength and stability and in so doing enhance your performance.

Performance Enhancement: Sport Specific Training

Posted on October 20th, 2016 by Andries

By Andries Lodder

In today’s environment of competitive sports we are continually seeking ways to improve our performance. Additionally, more and more people are asking about performance enhancement training and what can be done to increase performance.

Proper training is necessary to achieve athletic success, and for success, we have to look at the combination of near perfect posture, optimal balance and proprioception, ultimate core and overall stability, perfect technique, strength, speed and power. These will not only improve your performance but keep you injury free.

Over the next couple of months I will discuss the importance of Sport Specific Training, why Core Stability is so important for your performance, how Eccentric Training can benefit your overall strength and stability, and lastly what Plyometric Training is and the importance of it for ultimate performance.

With the ever increasing level of competition, athletes have come to realize the importance of year round training programs that incorporate all areas of training specific to their sport, the specific times to peak as well as how to prevent overtraining.

Sport Specific Training Programs help dedicated sports people improve their sporting ability through individualized training programs that integrate the sport and body for ultimate performance.

To understand the importance of sport specific training, you have to understand what is needed to create a Sport specific Program or know what exactly is meant by the words sport specificity?

The ability to teach basic techniques of a sport depends largely on the knowledge of the effects you are trying to produce and of the forces that cause these effects. Biomechanics is the answer for the scientific basis for the analysis of the techniques used in sports and emphasizes how it can be used to your advantage in the analysis of sporting techniques.

Biomechanics is the science concerned with the internal and external forces acting on a human body and the effects produced by these forces. In other words, the internal and external forces acting on a human body determine how the body moves during the performance of a motor skill, therefore referred to as the athletes technique.

Before we continue, lets take a few steps back. When you first started taking part in sport, you had to learn how to catch or throw or jump. This is called motor learning. Therefore the knowledge of motor learning equips us to make sound judgments concerning methods of instruction, length, frequency, nature of practice, and so on.

Also, when you started running, cycling or swimming, you all agree that you needed to be fit. To get fit you need to improve the cardiovascular system of your body. Therefore the knowledge of physiology equips us to make sound judgments concerning the amount and type of training to prescribe in a given case.

Now, when it comes to training our muscular system for performance, we grab the first magazine with a gym program in and copy that and use it as your strength training program. For the average Joe out there it seems like a good idea, but to me it seems like you just bought the fastest sports car out on the market, and not using it to its full potential.

Therefore the knowledge of biomechanics equips us to choose appropriate techniques and to detect the root of faults that may arise during training.

Therefore, motor learning is the science of skill, physiology the science of training, and biomechanics the science underlying techniques.

Now that we know what Biomechanics is, how do we use it to be more sport specific?

The best and quickest way to improve at your chosen sport is to analyze specific sporting techniques by breaking down the technique into different phases and identify the key areas that need to be strengthened. For example, if you are a runner, the most important areas are your ankles, knees, hips and back. These areas take the most strain and therefore their stability is of most importance. For stability in these areas, you need to focus on specific muscles, such as calves and shins (ankles), quadriceps and hamstring (knees), glutes (hips) and core stability (back).

Integration between the specific sport and your body is the most important factor. Factors such as what type of sport, position played in sport or role in the team, will determine what areas need to be improved and focused on. For example, if you are a sprinter in cycling, you need explosive power for that last burst of energy during the sprint at the end of a race. Therefore your muscles need to be trained to contract explosively.

Finally, equilibrium is achieved through integration of optimal functional strength, power, core stability, balance, proprioception, reaction time, agility, decision making and technique. Only when the body is at total equilibrium, an athlete can perform optimally.

Next month we will look in more depth at core stability for enhanced performance

Strength Training for Women

Posted on October 20th, 2016 by Andries Lodder

FACT OR FICTION – BUSTING THE MYTHS AROUND STRENGTH TRAINING FOR WOMEN

Perhaps you’re afraid lifting weights will make you look bulky. Maybe you’re hung up on the fact that you ‘only need cardio’ to lose weight? Or you just don’t think you have enough time for strength?

The benefits of strength training for women are immense. For example, women more than men, need to meet the essential strain for bone remodeling which is required for the reduction of osteoporosis.

Unfortunately however there are several long standing myths and misconceptions that mean many women overlook strength training as a part of their regular exercise regime. Accredited Exercise Physiologist, Kitty Chao, sets out to bust some of the more common myths about strength training for women and remind you of the important role strength training plays in women’s health.

MYTH 1: LIFTING WEIGHTS WILL MAKE ME LOOK BULKY

Men and women all consist of a different genetic makeup, but the odds are stacked against us as women. Firstly we only possess 5% of all testosterone men possess, this means that on average men have 20 times as much testosterone than women. Testosterone is a hormone that creates muscle hypertrophy for us women we are facing a huge battle to turn into the Hulk! In actual fact it will make you gain a little weight since lean body mass weighs more than fat.

MYTH 2: TO LOSE FAT, YOU ONLY NEED TO DO CARDIO

Doing more cardio is the best way to do more cardio. Ladies this might be hard to take in but steady-state cardio burns surprisingly fewer calories than you’d think. One study found that it takes an average of 86 hours’ worth of aerobic exercise to lose 1 kilogram, and a meta-analysis revealed that steady-state cardio in and of itself is not an effective weight loss therapy.

I don’t know about you, but I can think of about a thousand other more useful things I could be doing with those 86 hours than peddling away on a bike.

Rather than steady-state cardio, why not try out interval training also known as metabolic conditioning (met-con) or high intensity training (HIT). Incorporating these types of workouts into your normal routine has found that is produced equal or if not better results than steady state cardio with just a fraction of the obligation. This is due to the increases in excess post exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) or energy expenditure following a bout of high intensity exercise.

MYTH 3: LIGHT WEIGHT IS ALL YOU NEED

What this myth is referring to is lifting light weights for more reps. Ever had a goal of nailing your first tricep dip ? Doing light weight tricep kick backs will not help you in reaching that goal.

You will not get bulky from lifting heavy weights, in fact you will get STRONGER and look SLIMMER !

Lifting light weights for more reps will build muscular endurance. Whereas lifting heavier weights will build strength and help you reach that goal.

MYTH 4: YOU WON’T HAVE TIME FOR STRENGTH TRAINING

It’s already hard for you to fit in your daily runs, walks and cycles right ? Why not try and swap the 30-45 min walk or run for a 10 minute high intensity session and use the remainder 20 minutes for strength training?

It has been shown that 2 full body strength training sessions twice a week is just as effective as 3 times a week.

MYTH 5: IF I DO SIT UPS IT WILL GIVE ME ABS

There is no such thing as spot reduction is what this myth is referring to. Your body cannot spot reduce fat in specific locations. If you have problematic areas in your arms or stomach, doing thousands of bicep curls and thousands of crunches won’t help.

We are all different and our bodies are predisposed to storing fat in certain locations in a certain order.

When you start to lose weight, your body will lose the fat you currently have in a certain order as well – it might come off your arms first, then your legs, then your belly, then your chest, and then your butt. Or in a different order, depending on your personal genetic makeup. It’s different for every person.

Top 5 reasons why you can’t ignore strength training

Women more than men, need to meet the essential strain for bone remodelling which is require for the reduction of osteoporosis
Strength training increases lean tissue mass and decreases fat which in turn reduces non functional fat to carry and a greater portion of lean body mass which can in turn increase strength
Higher metabolic rate due to an increase in muscle and decrease in fat
Stronger connective tissues to increase joint stability and help prevent injury
Also an increased in self esteem, being more confident with your body.

Top tips to get started with strength training

Start off with light weights if you’ve never had any prior experience, over the next couple of weeks try to increase the weights you’re using
Start off with a whole body routine consisting of upper body and lower body exercises
If you are at the gym try out a weights class normally these are called “body pump”.

Original article by Kitty Chao, an Accredited Exercise Physiologist

HIIT TRAINING

Posted on September 5th, 2016 by Andries Lodder

Why is it so Effective?

HIIT Training or “High Intensity Interval Training” is all the hype at the moment and is easily among the top fitness trends for 2015-2016. Have you ever wondered why it is so effective at helping you reach your goals, whether that be weight loss or increasing your cardiovascular fitness?

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a training technique that has you push yourself in an all-out effort followed by a short and sometime active recovery, which is then repeated for multiple intervals.

This style of training puts a large stress on your cardiovascular system and increases your body’s need for oxygen during the effort phase creating an oxygen shortage. This shortage tries to replenish itself during the recovery phase, however due to the short nature of the recovery the system doesn’t have time to recover fully before the next interval. This after-burn effect is known as Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption or “EPOC” and is the reason to why this style of training is so much more effective at burning calories and in turn fat than your steady state or regular aerobic exercise.

Other benefits from this training can be that it is quick and easy to do, requires little to no equipment and is great at elevating your metabolism for hours after you have finished your workout which means you will keep burning fat long after your session has finished. Below is a quick example of a HIIT session you can try yourself at home, in the park or at the gym… Give it a go and change up your training next time you are looking to train.

Do as many of the below exercises as you can for one minute each and move straight into the next with little to no break. After completing all five exercises have a one minute break and repeat four more times. This workout will only take 30 minutes, however will hit all muscles groups and have your heart rate soaring, ENJOY!

EXERCISE RIGHT’S 30 MINUTE HIIT WORKOUT:

Push-ups x 1 min
Squats x 1min
Dips x 1min
Mountain Climbers x 1min
Bridge Hold x 1 min

By Adam Martin, Accredited Exercise Physiologist (for the Original Article)

For more information about HIIT, do not hesitate to contact me