Posture and it’s role in wellbeing

Posture is a key indicator when considering the health status of individuals and has two key fundamentals: Static posture, the ability to maintain optimal body & joint position over sustained periods, and Dynamic posture, the ability to maintain joint mobility and function whilst moving or heavy lifting in different planes of motion.

Understanding key muscle systems

Among the myriad of systems that make up the human body, your muscles have a huge influence on postural conditioning. It is important for any fitness enthusiast, personal trainer or athlete to have a basic understanding on the role your muscles play and how muscle balance affects your posture.

Tonic or “Stabiliser” muscles are deep and closest to the joints. These muscles are small and are responsible for keeping your joints in line and functioning properly. Your spine is supported by dozens of tiny muscles that hold it together and keep it functioning optimally.

Phasic or “Movement” muscles are your larger muscles responsible for quick, explosive movements and heavy lifting. An example of phasic muscles would be your “Lats” (Latissimus Dorsi), muscles on your back which give you the much sought after V shape.

Balance is absolutely vital between these two muscle systems. With modern day training methods and high intensity classes that tend to be phasic-dominant, it is all too common to see the conditioning and coordination of the tonic system get left behind. This is where degeneration, injury and poor posture come into play. On the other side of the coin, neglect and stressful lifestyles can also contribute to poor posture.

Identifying Postural issues

Here’s a picture of one of my clients presenting current postural faults. Picture 1 shows her on her first assessment. The second picture was taken about 30mins later after some adjustments. Not perfect but I swear she must’ve gained two inches in height!

I come across a range of common postural faults among a range of different clients. Although there are differing reasons for their condition, common symptoms are excessive forward head posture, rounded upper back and forward shoulders. The lower back, hips, knees and ankles also show symptoms which overload the joints.

Postural overloads in joints restrict blood flow to those areas where pathologies such as trigger points, fibrous tissue and other issues occur which can contribute to chronic pain.

 

Posture in the workplace

Sitting at a desk all day that often is not setup properly can cause all sorts of problems. Slouching in your chair, rounded shoulders and excessive forward head are common problems amongst office workers seated for long periods and get worse as the day wears on.

I often recommend that my clients replace their work chair with a swiss ball. Using a swiss ball at work trains your postural muscles constantly through the day*, it is a great investment and best of all, you cannot fall asleep on a swiss ball unless you want to end up on the floor!

 

*If you have never used a swiss ball as a chair before, it is advisable to only use it intermittently throughout the day until your body gets used to the new position.

 

A pretty extreme way to promote good posture!

Exercising with poor posture

Your posture tells the truth about the balance of your exercise program. If you are new to exercise, many problems can be avoided down the track by building a solid postural foundation. If you have been training for a while but have not been conditioning your postural systems, it’s not too late to do so.

I like to use the analogy of the wheel on a car. When changing your wheel it is vital that the bolts are tight so the wheel can maintain a balanced axis of rotation during driving. The same goes for your body. Optimal posture will ensure your joints can maintain their position, operate within a safe, functional axis of rotation, and prevent injuries all the while making those gains you’ve been working so hard to attain.

Swiss Balls when used properly are an excellent tool to condition your tonic system and get rid of any niggles that may be causing you discomfort or pain.

 

 

An excellent way to wreck your back! A common site in many gyms

Postural conditioning as a foundation for strength and movement

I recommend everyone give attention to their postural systems when embarking on an exercise program. The carryover to everyday tasks will have a great impact on your performance if you were a mother constantly picking things up and putting things down, office workers required to maintain positions for extended periods of time, dentists and beauty specialists bent over in sustained positions, athletes, and the list goes on. Building a foundation is key so you can build strength and optimise your movement.

When your body is in optimal alignment it uses less energy which in turn means you are operating more efficiently and will keep you happy!

Written by:

Jaime-Lee Templeton

Exercise Specialist – Corrective Exercise, High Performance, Golf Biomechanics

[email protected]

wellnessdotlife.com

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Why drink Protein Powder??

 

Why drink Protein Powder?

First things first. Do not mistake a protein shake as a common meal replacement or the answer to achieving the perfect body (for simple information on protein). At the end of the day nothing outweighs hard training and good nutrition. The average person should consume between 0.8-1.5g proteins per kg of bodyweight depending on their size, sex and level physical activity.

To find out more, speak to a professional. You can book a consult with Taryn, our dietician at Lifestar Nutrition.

What does protein powder do and what type should I have?

Protein assists in muscle growth and repair, especially following resistance training. A convenient, quickly absorbing protein comes in the form of a protein shake and is most effective when consumed within 30-60mins of exercise (involving resistance training)

The most common protein powder is Whey Protein Isolate (WPI). WPI is low in fat, carbs, high in protein and absorbed quickly. This is most suitable for those who want to maintain or build lean muscle and is most effective directly before/after resistance training.

Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC) is higher in fat, carbs and lower in protein. WPC is most suitable for those who are looking to gain size and undergo lengthy strength training sessions. Like WPI, WPC is most effective when taken directly before/after resistance training.

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Can you exercise too much?

The answer: Yes!

Even the best athletes take a rest day. Your body needs the chance to recover from all the stress exercise has placed upon it. Rest will allow your body to recover, grow and perform better.

How much a person exercises depends on the individual. The average person should take 1-2 rest days per week. Too much training is referred to as ‘overtraining‘, symptoms include:

*delayed recovery

*chronic fatigue

*weight gain

*injuries

*decrease in performance

*feeling tired and rundown

*insomnia

*depression

*loss of concentration

*training has stopped progressing

So people, remember, take a rest day or two. Your body will thank you for it!

Ask your personal trainer for a personalised training program. They will guarantee you avoid overtraining and work on achieving optimum results!

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Training Frequency?

When you consider how often you should train, the answer is different for everyone. The length, frequency & intensity of the session and the type of training will all impact how often you can train. Each individual, depending on their training history and injuries, will help point them in the right direction as to how often to train.

Example: If you haven’t exercised in 5 years then doing 20 minutes of light weights, twice a week could be a start for you. If you’ve trained for 10 years lifting weights 6x per week, then your allowance of how often you train will obviously be different.

My typical guidelines are:

Cardio > Starting at 2-3 for starting out. 3-5+ sessions per week as you get more advanced.

Resistance Training > Starting at 2x weekly for starting out. 3-6+ sessions as you get more advanced.

But this isn’t set in stone. Example: A powerlifter or Olympic weightlifter can train 4x weekly and be at a very high standard. It’s because the intensity and volume attached to those sessions are huge and the body as a whole needs a day of rest between. Whereas a bodybuilder can train 6-7 times per week because they break up the muscle groups they train each day with a lot of isolation work. The intensity isn’t as high as say the powerlifter or weightlifter.

If you’re doing cross-training, lifting some weights, doing cardio or attending our classes then you can probably look at training 2x per week if you’re starting out & building that up to 4-6x per week. You can even start doing what some of our members do now and do 2 classes back to back (1 hour total) a few times a week.

Basically, you have to start off slow, do slightly more & more each week. When you hit the point where you can’t train any more days of the week, add in more intensity slowly or add in more volume slowly. If you go from 2x sessions a week to 6x per week on some crazy program you got from the Internet, it will be too much of a jump. You’ll be way too sore, risk over training & lose motivation all together.

Take your time with how frequently you train & you’ll find training to become a lifestyle rather than a “Go hard for 3 months, burn out & stop training.”

All4Fitness – Making a difference.

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Training for weight loss

So you want to lose weight. What training should you do? Run? How far? How often? Well….great news, you don’t have to run! The perfect combination of weight loss includes both cardio AND weights! Of course you can run if you enjoy it, but most are relieved when they discover it is not the answer.

For example, an effective and simple week of training could include:

Mon: Resistance training – 45min legs

Tues: 20-30mins high intensity cardio or your favourite cardio based class

Wed: Resistance training – 45min Chest & Back

Thursday: REST

Friday: Resistance training – 45min Shoulders, arms and abs

Sat: 20-30mins high intensity cardio or your favourite cardio based class

Sun: REST

Why Strength Training helps keep weight off. Resistance training promotes muscle growth. The more muscle in your body, the faster your metabolism. Someone who has more muscle will burn more calories doing much less than someone who has very little. Meaning the person with more muscle will be able to maintain a leaner/toned physique easier.

It is also important to ensure each body part receives the same amount of attention so you build a beautiful, symmetrical body….remember, nobody skips leg day!

Incorporating high intensity cardio one or two times/wk [eg: spin class, hill sprints, metabolic conditioning or your favourite circuit class] will encourage a very high calorie burn during and long after the session. Of course there are many variations to achieve weight loss, the above is just one of the most simple and effective methods.

All4Fitness – Making a difference.

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How to stay motivated?

Whether you’ve been training for 10yrs or if have just started your
fitness journey, it’s difficult to stay motivated when you aren’t seeing the results you expected, at the exact time you expected them to happen. How do you keep going when you have no promise of success?
Answer. You won’t.

You need to set clear, realistic goals, frequently.  Grinding through those squats, running those last few kms or putting that doughnut away will have no meaning otherwise. What’s the ‘Why’? To achieve things?  To prove to yourself you are getting stronger,
fitter, faster or look better?
Quite often people are achieving what they initially set out to do but
don’t acknowledge the results because:
a) they haven’t set clear goals (The Top 5 Reasons Why You’re Not Reaching Your Goals) and
b) can’t measure them BECAUSE they didn’t set them!

Set short and long term goals.
Short term goals will ensure you don’t get bored and lose sight of the
bigger picture. Long term goals will be achieved via the numerous short
term goals!
How great would it feel to be constantly succeeding? It will feel great enough that you will want to keep pushing hard, showing up to every session and sticking to
your nutrition plan.

Surround yourself with like minded people and avoid negativity.
A lot of people don’t like to see others succeed. Once you start
achieving these amazing results you will find haters will try to drag you
down. Stick alongside your buddies who support you and those who can
keep you positive.

Find the good in everything you do.
Had a bad day lifting? Legs felt heavy during your run? Remind yourself
of the last great session you had and acknowledge you simply had a bad
day, like everyone does!
Gained one extra rep, swam one extra lap?! Congratulations! That is an
achievement and you should be so proud! All the small achievements add up
to becoming great.

All4Fitness coaches encourage their members and clients to work towards
becoming a better version of themselves. Whether it’s achieving your
first double under, first pull up or dropping that first 1kg on the
scales, we will help you stay motivated and do our best to keep you
knocking over those goals. After all, your success is also our success!

All4Fitness – Making a difference.

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How to survive the holiday binge??

Surviving the holiday binge…or your best friend’s wedding, or that guy in your office (who’s name you can’t remember) but it’s his last day at work and there’s free cake. For the rest of your life there will be cake, ice-cream, booze, chips and every other delicious temptation thrown your way. It’s easy to give in, go overboard and say ‘but it was only this one time because…’ No, it’s all of the times because of ‘insert excuse here’, every time.  Do you think this is how to maintain a healthy lifestyle? The answer will not surprise you because these excuses mean giving in to every temptation, every time one rears its luring little head (which seems to occur more often than you would like to admit).

So how on earth are we supposed to manage this?

Two things: Moderation and self-control.

Here are examples of common obstacles you may encounter.

Free food

Solution:

REMEMBER no one is forcing you to eat it! Most of the time it’s not something you want or feel like. You just eat it purely because its free and you don’t want to miss out.

Holidays

Solution:

Make smart choices. There is a whole world of convenient and healthy food out there.

Example 1 Dinner/lunch at the pub.

Choose steak and veg over the cheese ridden overcooked, creamy pasta

Example 2. Breakfast at a cafe. 

Choose eggs and avo on toast instead of French toast with ice-cream.

Easy, convenient options

Fresh (not-fried) sushi or sashimi, Subway on wholegrain bread minus creamy sauce, Thai stir-fry with seafood and ANY fresh beautiful seafood from the local fish and chips shop!

A majority of fast food stores offer a healthy option and you always have the power to ask for items to be removed if you don’t want them. Take control, look after your body and enjoy treats in moderation. Holidays doesn’t have to equal weight gain!

Special Events

Solution: Plan!

Of course you can have a good time and eat nice things, it’s a celebration! Make this event the ONE time you slide away from your nutrition plan for that week and plan around it. That cake (again) at work? Would you rather the cake or enjoy a good meal at your best mates birthday dinner? Easy decision.

Once a week is completely fine.  We are only human and it’s normal to indulge. Moderation is the key!

Accept that all kinds of situations will arise. Manage them rather than letting them manage you!

It will become your LIFESTYLE and you won’t encounter any more frequent ‘but it was just this one time’ situations.

At All4Fitness we pride ourselves on being centred on results. We want to see our clients succeed. Nutrition is a huge part of us reaching our goals. We aim to educate our clients and members to live a healthy lifestyle. At the end of the day, we guide you through your 30-60 minutes of training but we can’t watch over you for the other 23 hours of day.

All4Fitness – Making a Difference

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Common Pitfalls with Motivation…

Common Pitfalls with Motivation…

Motivation can be defined as: A reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way.

Remember it takes on average 66days to form a habit. All4fitness wants all our clients to succeed in achieving their health and fitness goals. With that in mind, here are some common pitfalls you may face along the journey. Everyone loses motivation at some point, know the signs and avoid backtracking.

When motivation is gone, HABIT will keep!

Aiming too high – Many clientele set the bar so high that it is just not achievable in the early stages of training, I.e. 20kg in 8 weeks. Make sure you aim for something that is challenging so the reward is satisfying. Check out our blog post on setting and tracking fitness goals.

Your not setting achievable goals – Instead of setting goals that either seem like a life-time away or seem unachievable. Don’t set up for failure, set yourself up for success! Break your goals into blocks to make small but achievable goals that will eventually lead you to the end result.

You’re looking at the scales everyday – Many clients are so fixated on the weight blinking up at them from the scales. They weigh themselves every day of the week and never ever see major results as the scales seem to take forever to move. If you are one of these people that fixate on a number then, STOP!

Put the scales away pull them out on a fortnightly basis. Remember when training with weights or light resistance training you will gain lean muscle, which weighs more than fat. A body composition change is much more representative of hard work then numbers on the scale. Look in the mirror and check out the measurements over the scales. If you like the change you are seeing, regardless of numbers, then don’t stop!

Not having the right nutrition to support your training and goals – The gym is only a part of the complete picture when it comes to hitting your goals. “You can’t out train a bad diet”. Some simple tips can be found on 5 Changes You Can Make to Your Nutrition for Successful ‘Dieting’

All the tools you need are there to ensure you do succeed so why not use them? Seek the advice from health and fitness professionals (such as dieticians/nutritionists). Your diet is what will determine how many kilograms you will lose, how much muscle you want to gain and definitely if you will have that six pack come beach weather. The more help and support you have the less likely you are to lose motivation, so get your nutrition and training program sorted for quicker results.

There is no variability in training – Getting bored with your training? Results are slowing down? Then use variability in your training! If you don’t know how, then seek the advice from a personal trainer.

Training a lot with weights? Then simply up the amount of cardio you are doing. Try some HIIT training, which are short and sharp bursts of cardio based activity that may only take 10-15mins at the end of your next workout but result in a huge number of calories burned. This is only one very simple example. Don’t be afraid to try something new as this may be the secret ingredient you are missing.

I’ll leave you with the most important takeaway from all of these tips: When motivation is gone, HABIT will keep! So just keep at it, doing the absolute best that you can to make it part of your lifestyle.

All4Fitness – Making a Difference.

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How to Squat?

How to Squat?

1. Feet just outside of shoulder width– Toes either face forward or slightly out to the side 15-25 degrees only.

Stance E1539039961323

2. Switch your core on– Many people think that by sucking in your belly you will switch on your core. It is the exact opposite,  you need to fill up your stomach with air to create intra-abdominal pressure to switch on your core.

Core On Wrong E1539073796356 Core On E1539073814466

3. On decent knees should be driven out– Don’t allow your knees to collapse in( Valgas collapse) during decent or accent as this puts your body into a compromised position and you are more likely to not get the lift or injure yourself. (Refer to photos – Valgas collapse vs Knees out)

 Valgus Collapse E1539073642473 Knees Out E1539073664608

4. Bar should be traveling over the mid point of your foot– This keeps the bar in your center line of gravity and makes it easier for your levers (Hips and knees) to generate power to drive out of the hole. The bar should be in line with the middle of your foot at the bottom position of your squat. (Refer to photos – Bar over mid point of foot)

Heels E1539073932804

5. Drive out of the middle of your foot, ensure heels are down– Many cues trainer’s give is to drive out of your heels. If you put to much weight onto your heels then you are likely to fall backwards. The same also goes if you fall forward onto your toes you are more likely to fall forward or put additional strain onto your knees (Refer to photo –  Heels up).  Instead think about pushing the floor apart with your feet while pushing the mid-point of your foot into the ground.

Heels Up E1539074237346

6. Once you get past the transition zone (Approximately half way) – Drive your hips through by squeezing your gluteus. Refer to photos; Photo 1 Michael has his gluteus switched off and knees locked. Photo 2 Michael has his gluteus squeezed and is in a good finishing position.

Duck Butt E1539117596707Glutes On E1539117568476

 We’ve also uploaded some short instructional videos on our Facebook Page

All4Fitness – Making a difference.

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5 Changes You Can Make to Your Nutrition for Successful ‘Dieting’

Do you wonder why you haven’t been able to shift the weight?

1. This is going to hurt but the simplest step is: Stop eating crap!
Most processed foods are generally filled with so much rubbish!
They have lost their nutrients during the processing phase and are often
filled with unhealthy fats, sugar or artificial sweeteners and
ingredients you can’t even pronounce (just turn the package around and check out the ingredients list)!

Many of these ingredients (artificial sweeteners, artificial colours,
hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup) are not even utilised by
the body. Your body thinks they are inedible!
Think about this, you wouldn’t eat a bowl of sticky tape so why consume
anything else that isn’t actually food? Not to mention, these kinds of
ingredients are toxins and often stored with fat so they stay inside your body with nowhere to escape.

Choose foods that are in their natural state aka WHOLEFOODS (eg: apples,
chicken breast, green beans) AND aim to make these total 60-75% of your
diet.

Photo[2] Copy

2. Avoid fad diets
Fad diets: Any diet that promises rapid weight loss following extreme
methods. Do they work? NO.
You are likely to drop a few kgs in the first week as promised but basically
because you are so restricted. Sorry everyone, the TRUTH is that weight is probably
just water.
Once you quit the diet (because it is so farfetched and impossible to
maintain) the weight will come back on and possibly, more than you
started with.

Further negatives:
*disrupting your metabolism
*restricting foods, causing nutritional deficiency
*fatigue
*muscle loss (Check out Strength Training – The key to keeping the weight off.
*brittle nails and hair loss
*bloating and/or constipation
*mood swings

It’s not complicated. Follow a normal, balanced diet. If you don’t know what that
means, see a dietician. We recommend Life Star Nutrition who you have access to hear with us.

3. Avoid snacking
All those ‘little things’ you’ve had throughout the day: that cookie, the
5 handfuls of nuts you’ve mindlessly gnawed away on, that can of Coke,
the few M&Ms from the jar….oops, that’s now empty.Studies show the average person accumulates an extra 500 calories per day
through snacking. That’s an entire meal! Those extra snacks over a week can equal 3500 calories! FYI there are
7700 calories in a kg of fat…do the math. That could mean an extra half a kg of bodyfat gained in just one week.
Plan your day to provide enough food for consistent meals that keep you
going. For the times you just NEED something try: packing a muesli bar,
piece of fruit or snack box of nuts. This keeps you from wandering to the
closest vending machine or cafe for a sweet treat you will regret later.

4. Drink water
The first sign of dehydration is HUNGER!
Instead of turning to food, ask yourself ‘how much water have I had to drink
today?’ More often than not, you will realise you’ve had nowhere near
enough. Drink a glass of a water and within 20mins the hunger will
disappear, if not then maybe it’s time for small portioned healthy snack or a wholefood based meal.
Just a few further benefits:
-Dehydration also slows your metabolism to conserve energy. Nobody wants a slow metabolism!
-Drinking water flushes toxins from your body
-Keeps joints lubricated
-drinking more water leads to drinking less sugary or artificially sweetened beverages (which again, adds to your calorie intake and leads to unwanted body fat!).

5. Carbs do not make you fat.
Restricting yourself of this magnificent food group could be what’s
actually crushing your weight loss goals!

Carbohydrates are your body’s number one source of energy.
You need energy to go about your daily lives…breathing, sitting,
training, thinking!
Avoid carbs and you’ll experience feeling weak, lethargic and incapable
of focussing on simple tasks like to talking to other human beings.
Restricting carbs due to the pure fear of getting fat often does the
total opposite, leaving your body in a state where it thinks it is starving and actually stores fat!
Again, a balanced diet consisting of all food groups and in moderation
will encourage a healthy, beautiful body! We’ve talked about goals, the key to weight loss (hint: strength training) and now you’ve got some simple tweaks to get your diet right. You’re not alone and we know you can do it!

All4Fitness – Making a difference.

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