Friday, February 26, 2010
The Stages:
Ages 15 to 25, the skin is greasy, from 25 – 35 the skin can begin to look dull and tired and prone to showing effects of stress or late night outs, 35 to 45 the first expression lines and wrinkled begin to appear, over 45 wrinkles and loss of firmness exist…take steps now to begin proper maintenance regimen required to maintain a youthful appearance.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Getting Buff: It’s Not The Weight, It’s Your Form
By Russ Klettke
The most common mistake made by guys who workout is to think maximum weights bring maximum results. If your goal is to increase muscle size – technically known in fitness and bodybuilding circles as “hypertrophy” – the most important rule is to use proper exercise form.
Of course, knowing that and doing it are two different things. In a way, it’s complicated because precise form on all exercises can only be achieved through academic study, high-tech analysis and coaching from a qualified fitness trainer. But for most guys (women too), following some simple rules can help you accomplish all your goals at the beginning and intermediate levels of fitness.
Just as important, understanding and adhering to proper exercise form will help prevent injury. Because if there’s one thing that stands in the way of exercise gains, it’s having a bad case of tendonitis, torn muscles or a sprained back. Here are three key points to follow:
1. Know the human body (especially yours)
Study a human anatomy chart – Think about the musculoskeletal system (your bones, tendons and muscles) as a chain of interdependent rubber bands and sticks. The muscles are the softest and most pliable, the tendons are thicker yet flexible, and bones are most rigid. Weight lifting stresses each of these, and done correctly that stress makes them stronger and thicker. Overstress them too quickly, or at unusual angles that strain them, and you invite injury.
This musculature anatomy chart is obviously focused on a bodybuilder’s physique (muscles only, less of tendons), while this anatomy chart provides a better sense of the gradations between muscles and tendons. Study both in general terms to see the contiguous nature of the body, then think about the mechanics of lifting weights. Proper form can be more intuitive with this study.
Think “balance” – It makes no sense to try to get large biceps if you’re not working the adjoining muscles. In fact, weak forearm, wrist or shoulder muscles will always hold you back if you don’t develop those in concert with the biceps. As you study your anatomy and apply this rule, you’ll begin to see the advantages of working the entire body – all parts are related and need to support each other.
2. Start easy
Warm up and stretch – Yeah, you’ve heard this before. But it really matters, and here’s why: the muscles, tendons and bones need blood, oxygen and other nutrients to work at peak efficiency. Just as you walk slowly the first minute or two after waking up in the morning, the body needs to ease into exercise. Stretching early in a workout (after a few minutes of something light, like an easy run) enables your body to move in a larger range of motion. For a full understanding of this, take a dozen yoga classes.
Trace through the movement with lighter weights – Before you launch in earnest into an exercise, reduce the target weight level by half. Then slowly work through the exercise, just to see how it feels in the muscles. Squeeze out the muscles at the top of the exercise, then slowly return the weight to the starting position. Pay attention to how it feels before you move up to a weight that is more challenging.
3. Feel the pump – but not pain
How does it feel? When you’re done with a set of ten (more or less) reps, where do you feel it? If you did a tricep press, is the “pump” in the back of your arm – or your shoulder or lats? Note that all three work on that exercise, but you’ve nailed it when the tricep area feels most pumped.
Just as important, is the sensation that of a muscle that’s been worked or a tendon that’s strained? If it’s the latter, revisit the path of motion and reduce the amount of weight lifted. Proper form is a matter of nuance.
Despite what’s promised in television infomercials and on bodybuilding supplement websites, muscular development does not come easy or fast. You have to be consistent, balanced, focused and smart about what you’re doing.
The most common mistake made by guys who workout is to think maximum weights bring maximum results. If your goal is to increase muscle size – technically known in fitness and bodybuilding circles as “hypertrophy” – the most important rule is to use proper exercise form.
Of course, knowing that and doing it are two different things. In a way, it’s complicated because precise form on all exercises can only be achieved through academic study, high-tech analysis and coaching from a qualified fitness trainer. But for most guys (women too), following some simple rules can help you accomplish all your goals at the beginning and intermediate levels of fitness.
Just as important, understanding and adhering to proper exercise form will help prevent injury. Because if there’s one thing that stands in the way of exercise gains, it’s having a bad case of tendonitis, torn muscles or a sprained back. Here are three key points to follow:
1. Know the human body (especially yours)
Study a human anatomy chart – Think about the musculoskeletal system (your bones, tendons and muscles) as a chain of interdependent rubber bands and sticks. The muscles are the softest and most pliable, the tendons are thicker yet flexible, and bones are most rigid. Weight lifting stresses each of these, and done correctly that stress makes them stronger and thicker. Overstress them too quickly, or at unusual angles that strain them, and you invite injury.
This musculature anatomy chart is obviously focused on a bodybuilder’s physique (muscles only, less of tendons), while this anatomy chart provides a better sense of the gradations between muscles and tendons. Study both in general terms to see the contiguous nature of the body, then think about the mechanics of lifting weights. Proper form can be more intuitive with this study.
Think “balance” – It makes no sense to try to get large biceps if you’re not working the adjoining muscles. In fact, weak forearm, wrist or shoulder muscles will always hold you back if you don’t develop those in concert with the biceps. As you study your anatomy and apply this rule, you’ll begin to see the advantages of working the entire body – all parts are related and need to support each other.
2. Start easy
Warm up and stretch – Yeah, you’ve heard this before. But it really matters, and here’s why: the muscles, tendons and bones need blood, oxygen and other nutrients to work at peak efficiency. Just as you walk slowly the first minute or two after waking up in the morning, the body needs to ease into exercise. Stretching early in a workout (after a few minutes of something light, like an easy run) enables your body to move in a larger range of motion. For a full understanding of this, take a dozen yoga classes.
Trace through the movement with lighter weights – Before you launch in earnest into an exercise, reduce the target weight level by half. Then slowly work through the exercise, just to see how it feels in the muscles. Squeeze out the muscles at the top of the exercise, then slowly return the weight to the starting position. Pay attention to how it feels before you move up to a weight that is more challenging.
3. Feel the pump – but not pain
How does it feel? When you’re done with a set of ten (more or less) reps, where do you feel it? If you did a tricep press, is the “pump” in the back of your arm – or your shoulder or lats? Note that all three work on that exercise, but you’ve nailed it when the tricep area feels most pumped.
Just as important, is the sensation that of a muscle that’s been worked or a tendon that’s strained? If it’s the latter, revisit the path of motion and reduce the amount of weight lifted. Proper form is a matter of nuance.
Despite what’s promised in television infomercials and on bodybuilding supplement websites, muscular development does not come easy or fast. You have to be consistent, balanced, focused and smart about what you’re doing.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Men and Weight: Exercise to drop the pounds?
By Russ Klettke
Ask a woman what she does to lose weight, and chances are she’ll say, “I go on a diet.” Ask a guy and you get one of two answers: “I’ve never try to lose weight,” or, “I work out.”
A few years ago the Atkins diet challenged that assumption. Men everywhere loved this idea: eat all the crazy-rich meats you want – prime rib, bacon, hamburgers, pork rinds – as long as you stay away from carbohydrates (bread, pasta, French fries, rice, desserts) that are usually served alongside those dishes. It was a small sacrifice to make, and like magic, a lot of guys lost some weight.
For a while, anyway. But not too many stuck with it long term. Just try to think of one person you know who today continues eating by the Atkins method (just as well – missing nutrients from forgoing carbohydrates can cause a separate set of health problems).
But the fact this happened is pretty amusing. First, it demonstrated that a large segment of the male population really did want to lose weight. Second, they were willing to try tinkering with how they ate, even to the point of calling it a diet.
Where exercise works and where it doesn’t
Since the fall of Atkins, it’s been back to the gym for most men. This is practically male instinct. If you played sports in school, you probably remember what that first month of training did to tighten you up.
No mystery there: any time you engage in new and strenuous activity – playing basketball, swimming, lifting weights (it’s all good) – you are increasing your muscle mass. That revs up the metabolism because muscle is metabolically active tissue, much more so than fat. Just to exist, not counting the exercise, a pound of muscle burns through 50 to 70 calories per day. A pound of fat needs just 3 calories.
But are you really going to train as hard as an adult, with a job and other life responsibilities, as you did when you were in high school? Ninety minutes a day, maybe twice on Saturdays? Do you have a coached workout program, and teammates who will bury you in peer pressure if you slack off?
Perhaps not. Which is the reason just joining a gym (or ordering something off a fitness infomercial for home workouts) is a good start, but not always sufficient for managing weight.
Instead, we go back to the “d” word (diet). But this time, rethink it. A balanced meal of low-fat proteins (chicken, fish, legumes and meats that end with the word “loin,” because they’re the leanest), fiber- and water-rich vegetables, whole grain and other unprocessed carbohydrates, and even a little bit of sweet fruit in place of desserts, all can go a long way. You’ll have the energy you need to continue working out.
But “eating right” takes a little bit of life engineering. The next few blogs will go into this in detail, with ways to manage weight through a combination of exercise and diet. They both matter, and they work.
Ask a woman what she does to lose weight, and chances are she’ll say, “I go on a diet.” Ask a guy and you get one of two answers: “I’ve never try to lose weight,” or, “I work out.”
A few years ago the Atkins diet challenged that assumption. Men everywhere loved this idea: eat all the crazy-rich meats you want – prime rib, bacon, hamburgers, pork rinds – as long as you stay away from carbohydrates (bread, pasta, French fries, rice, desserts) that are usually served alongside those dishes. It was a small sacrifice to make, and like magic, a lot of guys lost some weight.
For a while, anyway. But not too many stuck with it long term. Just try to think of one person you know who today continues eating by the Atkins method (just as well – missing nutrients from forgoing carbohydrates can cause a separate set of health problems).
But the fact this happened is pretty amusing. First, it demonstrated that a large segment of the male population really did want to lose weight. Second, they were willing to try tinkering with how they ate, even to the point of calling it a diet.
Where exercise works and where it doesn’t
Since the fall of Atkins, it’s been back to the gym for most men. This is practically male instinct. If you played sports in school, you probably remember what that first month of training did to tighten you up.
No mystery there: any time you engage in new and strenuous activity – playing basketball, swimming, lifting weights (it’s all good) – you are increasing your muscle mass. That revs up the metabolism because muscle is metabolically active tissue, much more so than fat. Just to exist, not counting the exercise, a pound of muscle burns through 50 to 70 calories per day. A pound of fat needs just 3 calories.
But are you really going to train as hard as an adult, with a job and other life responsibilities, as you did when you were in high school? Ninety minutes a day, maybe twice on Saturdays? Do you have a coached workout program, and teammates who will bury you in peer pressure if you slack off?
Perhaps not. Which is the reason just joining a gym (or ordering something off a fitness infomercial for home workouts) is a good start, but not always sufficient for managing weight.
Instead, we go back to the “d” word (diet). But this time, rethink it. A balanced meal of low-fat proteins (chicken, fish, legumes and meats that end with the word “loin,” because they’re the leanest), fiber- and water-rich vegetables, whole grain and other unprocessed carbohydrates, and even a little bit of sweet fruit in place of desserts, all can go a long way. You’ll have the energy you need to continue working out.
But “eating right” takes a little bit of life engineering. The next few blogs will go into this in detail, with ways to manage weight through a combination of exercise and diet. They both matter, and they work.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sun - Winter and Summer
Sun protection is necessary any time you are outside. Of course, there are times when it is stronger than others; but, even on cloudy days you are subject to sun damage. Skin needs protection everyday. The use of SPF’s year-round is important to protect against UVA and UVB rays. Begin with the use of a moisturizer with SPF protection. If you use an SPF moisturizer during the day, it is even more important to have your nightly cleansing routine at work to properly remove the moisturizers high chemical content. Leaving the moisturizer on all night, without properly cleansing, could result in a face full of irritation!
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