The 7 "Deadly" Fitness Sins – Part I

Print Version

Over the course of some 15 years in the fitness industry, I’ve had the opportunity to witness a variety of trends and behaviors in the gym, some of which need to be addressed.  Despite the fact that each individual has their own set of health and fitness goals there are certain common principles and practices that one needs to follow in order to achieve optimal health and fitness.  Additionally, there are certain all too common practices that need to be avoided in order to avoid injury and become healthy and fit. 

• Women avoiding weights – “But I don’t want to get big and bulky…”.  If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that phrase uttered over the years I could probably help bailout a few banks, but I digress.  Thanks in part to The Governator and his bodybuilding protégés women seem to believe that if they start lifting weights they will inevitably grow massive, muscular physiques.  Therefore, to their detriment, many women avoid lifting weights/resistance training and stick with a low to moderate intensity cardio routine.  Big mistake.  

First of all, if “getting big” were that easy, countless numbers of men would not be downing protein supplements by the caseload or performing a seemingly endless number of bench presses from every angle imaginable in the hopes of adding a few extra pounds of muscle.  Similarly, if weight training caused such explosive muscle growth, the use of anabolic steroids would not be as prevalent as they unfortunately are.  The point that I’m trying to make is that developing a bodybuilder’s physique is not as easy as stepping into the gym a couple of times a week, picking up a pair of dumbbells and doing a few sets of squats, rows, and bench presses.  The fact is that in order to develop large muscles one has to eat like bodybuilder (consume a caloric surplus of at least 500 calories/day), train using a high volume weight lifting routine (9-20 sets per bodypart), and most importantly, naturally manufacture enough testosterone to support their training and nutritional efforts.

Taking this last factor into account, even if the average women were to eat and train like a bodybuilder, it would be highly unlikely that she would develop a bodybuilder’s physique because women simply do not produce enough muscle-building hormones to support Ahh-nold-like growth.  In fact, most men do not naturally produce that amount of testosterone, hence the aforementioned reliance upon supplementation, legal and otherwise. 

“But what about those women bodybuilders who develop big muscles,” you ask?  Anyone can tell you that ninety-nine percent of those women are artifically elevating their testosterone levels through the use of anabolic substances.  Therefore, the bottom line is that as a woman you should feel 100% secure that lifting weights is safe in terms of maintaining your womanly physical characteristics. Further and more importantly, weight-training is essential to your health and fitness for the following reasons:

1. Weight bearing exercise helps increase bone density and can prevent or delay the onset of osteopenia and osteoperosis.  With hip fracture a genuine concern for women as they advance in age, one of the key preventative measures is to strengthen your bones beginning at an early age.
   
2. The more muscle you have in relation to fat, the more fat you will be burning even when you’re not exercising.  Too much cardio and not enough resistance training can result in muscle protein degradation which will have the net effect of increasing your bodyfat percentage and reducing muscle definition. 
   
3. Upper body strength – Both men and women lose muscle mass as they age, usually beginning at age 30, yes 30! Therefore, if you want to remain independent and strong into your 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and beyond, you better start pumping some iron.   

• Men avoiding cardio –The male counterpart to the women who only performs cardio and avoids resistance training, are those men who think that it is their manly duty never to do anything in the gym that does not involve a set of dumbbells or a barbell and a pair of 45-pound plates.  Presumably, building up the superficial muscles of the chest and arms is so important to a man’s health and fitness that one can afford to skimp on strengthening that small, yet powerful muscle that you can’t show off on the beach – the heart.  Beware guys, because when you avoid cardiovascular exercise you put yourself at risk of damaging the engine that keeps everything else running.  That said, I sympathize with the desire to avoid running or sitting on a piece of stationery machinery for 30-60 minutes at a time.  Even if you’re like me and running on a treadmill is not your idea of a good time, there are still a number of ways that you can get your heart into shape and burn some extra calories.  These include, but are not limited to:
  
  
  1. Circuit Training – Basically resistance training without resting between sets.  This wayyou get the best of both worlds.  For example, you can perform a set of push-ups, squats, pull-ups, and lunges in sequence with 0-15 seconds of rest in between.  Rest 30-90 seconds (the less rest the better) and then repeat the circuit or move on to a circuit of different exercises.  This type of training ensures that you obtain the benefits of both cardio and weight-training and get into great overall shape. 
     
  2. Agility or sports drills – Most men who lift weights are competitive by nature and envision themselves competing on some level in their favorite sport.  So, what better way to get your cardio in then by training as though you were training for a particular sport so the next time you go out and play you can dominate your opponents.  To train for a sport you can buy a video or enlist the services of a coach or trainer that can put you through a series of fun and challenging drills specific to your sport.  It is a great way to get your heart pumping while keeping you mentally engaged.
     
  3. Take a class – I know that most men probably cringe at the idea of taking an “aerobics class.”  Don’t worry guys, the days of Jane Fonda are over.  Nowadays, many gyms offer unique types of classes that are actually quite fun.  If you can put your ego and preconceptions aside you may actually wind up surprising yourself with how much you enjoy doing something new.

• Wearing a weight belt – A vestige of the 1970’s, the ostensible idea behind wearing a weight belt (besides the obvious fashion statement) is to protect your lower back from injury.  However, the actual effect of this antiquated practice is quite the opposite.  Although the belt may help support your back during heavy lifts, it is only a temporary and artificial means of protection.  Have you ever stopped to think why so many people who can squat and bench well more than they weigh “throw out their backs” by doing something as simple as bending over to tie their shoes?      

Generally speaking, the reason for that phenomenon is a weak core due to use of artificial supports and/or lack of training.  If you are accustomed to wearing a weight belt and you do not routinely perform core strengthening exercises, then you are a great candidate for chronic or acute low-back pain/injury.  This type of core muscle weakness can be caused or exacerbated by the very apparatus you use to “protect” your low-back.  Therefore, wearing a weight belt cannot merely be considered a fashion faux pas, but must be seen as a muscle-weakening device.  Ultimately, a strong core musculature is your best defense against low-back pain and injury.  The core muscles are nature’s weight belt so train them as such.

• Copying the form of the most fit looking person in the gym – Just because someone looks good doesn’t mean they know what they are doing.  A nice physique is not necessarily indicative of a healthy, pain free body.  When you are young, your body is quite resilient therefore pain or injury as a result of poor exercise form may not show up until years later.  Therefore, before you perform a given exercise it is absolutely essential to know what you are doing and why you are doing it beyond the fact that it appears to be effective based on the physique of the person who is performing it. 

• Failing to re-fuel after your workout - Take the gas nozzle away from your mouth because I’m not talking about gassing yourself up after you workout.  I am, however, talking about providing your body with the nutrients it needs at the end of a workout so that muscles can repair themselves, grow stronger, and become more fit. 

Some people spend a couple of hours in the gym working their bodies to death and then leave the gym without eating anything for an hour or two after they have finished exercising.  That is equivalent of attempting to create a beautiful garden by planting top notch seeds in first-rate soil and then neglecting to provide the growing plants with the amount of sun and water they need to grow.  Even the best workout regimen will not produce results if you do not give your body the proper nutrient mix within thirty minutes of finishing your workout. 

Research has shown that the 30-minute window following your workout is the best time to replenish your muscles and re-fuel your body with a 3:1 or 4:1 carb to protein food mix so that your muscle cells receive the nutrients they need to repair themselves and grow stronger.  Even if your particular goal is not muscle growth, your body needs to replenish its energy stores so that it can effectively adaptto the specific demands imposed upon it during the workout. 

• Overtraining – Not replenishing your body after your workout is one way to sabotage your results.  Another way to do so is by overtraining.  Yes, there is such a thing as working out too much.  Remember, when you exercise you are placing physical stress upon your body so that it can adapt to the specific demands you placed upon it.  For example, you may be training to run a 5K.  In order to achieve that goal, you have to train your body to have the strength and endurance it needs to finish the race.  Thus, you have to provide your body with enough training stimulus to get stronger and improve your stamina.  However, there will come a point of diminishing returns where your strength and stamina gains actually turn into setbacks if you train too long, too intensely, and/or too often.  In other words, in order to avoid the injury producing and performance diminishing effects of overtraining you have to strike the proper balance between exercise and rest.

So, what is the precise amount of physical stress you need to get more fit without overstressing your body?  Of course, that depends on the intensity, frequency, volume, and duration of your workouts.  There is no set formula because every individual possesses a different capacity for recovery.  However, a good rule of  thumb is that if you regularly feel physically tired before your workouts even begin then you probably need to back off and adjust one of the components of your training regimen, i.e. intensity, frequency, volume, or duration, so that you have adequate time to recover. The upside is that this will ultimately result in improved performance.

One final note, contrary to the “no pain, no gain” philosophy, you do not have to kill yourself every workout in order to be healthy and fit.  Especially since most of us have increased stresses from other areas of our lives, it is not always beneficial to push your body as hard as you can every workout.  In fact, research has shown that you can physically benefit by alternating high-intensity workouts with moderate to low-intensity exercise sessions.

• Stretching before the workout – Despite popular wisdom, there is an absence of research proving that static stretching (holding for 20 seconds or more) before exercise helps prevent injuries.  Nevertheless, warming up prior to engaging in a given activity is advisable in order to prepare your body for more stenuous activity.   Most importantly, the warm-up should be specific to the activity you are going to perform in order to "activate" the neuromuscular connections specific to the movements you are set to perform.  For example, if you are going to play a softball game some light sprints and warm-up tosses before the game will help raise core body temperature and prepare the legs and shoulders for the increased demands that will be placed upon them during the course of the game by running the bases and throwing the ball with near maximal or maximal effort.
  
  Once the activity is over, static stretching may have its place.  Again, there is no clear cut scientific proof that the act of stretching after an activity confers any short or long-term injury prevention benefit.  However, it may help your body feel more relaxed after strenuous activity.         

©2009, Andrew Kass.

This information is not intended to diagnose or treat any specific or general condition or to replace your own judgment or that of your physician, medical, or health professional.  Please always consult your physician and/or health/medical professional before making any diet, exercise, or lifestyle changes in connection with the information contained in these newsletters. 

Personal training in Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Washington, DC
Contact Andrew at ak14ak@aol.com or 240-403-1292 for more information.