Is there a set and rep number that is optimal?

You warm up - 10 minutes on the treadmill, manual setting. You move to the first exercise - 1 warm up set, 3 working sets of 10 reps. Exercise 2 - 3 working sets of 12 reps. And so on and so forth.  A cookie cutter routine, taken from some magazine or book and followed to a tee. Finish with a cool down and some stretching and you have yourself a recipe for an unchanged physique. 

Sure, initially your body will respond to this routine but the body adapts quickly, finds a homeostasis, and then rests comfortably in this state if unchallenged. So how then do you achieve the look you want the washboard abs, the tight round butt, the detailed full arms?  Whatever your ideal body image is can be achieved no matter your starting point.  You simply have to go above and beyond what traditional training has laid out for you. Don't be afraid of playing with set and rep numbers that surpass the norm. Training to meet a rep count limits your progress...you have simply hit a numeric goal that doesn't necessarily represent taxing the muscle to the point of adaptation. Remember that all muscle is, is a physiological adaptation to stress. Simply put, your body builds muscle after a stressful encounter with resistance training or activity, so the next time the body is presented with a set of circumstances like those again it is prepared to handle it. So it stands to reason that if the exact scenario were presented again, the body would go through it unscathed and not be forced to adapt any further i.e. no new muscle. 

 "the optimal set and rep range for you to preform is the one that forces you body to take one step closer to the finished product you have envisioned in your head"

Traditional training logic says that you go back next time and add more weight. This is not wrong, but at some point this will not be practical either.  If this could continue infinitely, everybody in a gym would be benching 500+ pounds and squatting a 1000+ pounds. But they are not, because at some point you will hit a weight that is to heavy to move properly.  A new plan of attack is now needed. Something that will allow you to grow and change but not put you at the risk of injury that continuously increasing weight might do. Differences in reps, sets, lifting cadences, ranges of motion, and angles should all be explored. So to answer the query presented atop this article, the optimal set and rep range for you to preform is the one that forces you body to take one step closer to the finished product you have envisioned in your head. 

Giving Thanks

It's that time of year already...Thanksgiving. A time when many of us reflect on who and what we are thankful for. While you are at it, please take time to thank yourself.  We often forget to acknowledge ourselves for all of our accomplishments, and all we have done to take care of ourselves.  Too often we look at our shortcomings, and criticize ourselves for what we haven't done.

I challenge you to really take the time to give thanks to YOU for all you do. If you've started or have continued a fitness routine, if you've thought about it, if you've had a shift in your eating habits...no matter how big or small the steps may have been...acknowledge that.  Take a look at what has worked best for you, what you enjoy the most about exercising and how you can continue with and expand upon it.  Tried something you didn't like, had trouble sticking to a routine, or found some things that didn't work for you?  That's ok.  Thank yourself for trying, and move onto something else. Every day is a chance to start over.  Everyday is a chance to recommit.  We're all different, and so we must find what works best for us.

Living a fit and healthy life isn't about one workout or one meal.  Don't let one bad meal or missed workout derail you from the progress (no matter how big or little) you've made.  Don't punish yourself for it. You're human. Balance. Focus on the good choices, forgive yourself for the not-so-good ones. And please, don't ever compare your abilities or journey to anyone else's.  Your journey is unique, just like you, and it should be celebrated. 

We wish you all a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving. 

~ Bonnie

Nutrition For the Whole Family

Eat better as a family. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Then why is it so darn hard?

For years I've said to my husband (and myself) "I want to eat better. I want our whole family to eat better".  And for years I did nothing about it. Not that we ate terribly, it was just that I knew we could do better. I did (and still do) the majority of the grocery shopping and cooking in our house.  It's a job I love to do, and I take that responsibility very seriously. But...mixed in with wanting to provide my family with nutritious meals is the desire to make them all happy with foods that they'll love to eat. Oh, and did I mention I have 3 kids?  Nutritious AND great tasting? If you're my 14 year old son, you'll argue that those two don't always mix - especially if you're talking about vegetables.

Can we do it? Yes we can. Will we do it 100% of the time? Probably not. And that's OK! I know, I know...we often hold ourselves to such high standards that anything less than perfect is unacceptable. You have to learn to let it go - the ideal of perfection. And, don't punish yourself or beat yourself up if (and when) you fall short. Life is a balancing act, and that holds true when it comes to eating.

Don't get hung on whether or not everyone likes what you make. That one might be difficult - especially of you're a people pleaser like me. Feeding a family and expecting everyone to like what you serve all of time is just not going to happen. It's not. When I shifted our meals into a much healthier and cleaner direction, my kids were less than thrilled. There were complaints, faces, and probably some tears too. But, they survived each time. It really didn't take long for my family to get used to a change in eating habit.

I think a big key is getting them involved.  My kids love learning to cook...guess the apples didn't fall far from this tree.  Letting your kids help plan a meal, and teaching them how to make is a great way to have them excited about what they're going to eat.  Of course you want to be age appropriate, but even a young child can help mix ingredients. Educate them about the food you're feeding them.
Also work on that willpower when you buy groceries! Clean out your kitchen and eliminate the foods you don't want them to eat - or you to be tempted with.  Having 'junk' food in your house for the kids is a killer when it comes to eating healthy.  If it's in the house it could end up feeding your cravings and weaker moments.  And if you have younger kids in the house, they aren't able to go to the store and get it for themselves.  If you share the grocery shopping responsibility with others in your household, ask that they don't buy junk either. It's important to have healthy options available for everyone in the house. 

Remember to be gentle with yourself. It is both a journey and a learning process.  The more you can share it with those in  your life, the more success you are likely to find.  Next week we will have some family friendly nutritious and delicious food that your family can try!

~ Bonnie

Health and Fitness and the Special Needs Child

Special needs children often are overlooked from a physical education standpoint. Special needs children can gain just as much if not more than their fully functional peers from training. Whether the child is physically or mentally handicapped there is a training program that can assist them and can be tailored to fit the specific needs of the child. While diversity should rule any good training program, routine and repetitious programs are best suited for special needs children to develop good habits.

Training children is difficult to begin with. Add in the a special need, and you have to place your patience hat on. Smile, laugh, and enjoy the fact that you are assisting a human being most people look past in the sense of physical capabilities. Training the special needs child is both challenging and rewarding simultaneously. What I find most enjoyable is the necessity to think outside of the traditional exercises and get creative with your choices. Tailoring the movements to fit the limitations presented to you. 

There are risks to training the special needs child. Not fully understanding the disability, not having a diverse and extensive selection of exercises, not understanding the recovery time of a child's Central Nervous Sysytem can all play into injury. You have to approach this type of training with kid gloves, literally. Easing into the program and assessing constant feedback from a caregiver as well as the child is a must, and listen and pay extra attention to everything during a session.  

Understand that the training program you put together is going to benefit the child in cognitive function, aerobic activity, and coordination. This program can aid the child in their everyday function exponentially by increasing hand/eye coordination, body awareness, and strength and flexibility. Not to mention the confidence that arises from accomplishing tasks from session to session.

Please understand that the benefits for outweigh the potential risks associated with training the special needs child, and the reward is a happier healthier child.                        

- Ty

What is a calorie?  .   .   .   .   . 

 

cal-o-rie

noun

1) the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water through degree Celsius (defined as 4.1868 joules), small calorie

     

2) the energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water through 1 degree Celsius equal to one thousand small calories and often used to measure the energy value of foods, large calorie 

 

 

 

     Scary stuff!  Are you on the edge of your seat yet? In all reality it's pretty simple, and yet some what complex. But nothing to be frightened of, as some "diets" and "trainers" would have you believe. Simply put do more from an activity standpoint than you consume from a food standpoint and you will lose weight. Eat more, do less and you will gain weight. Kind of.

 

     Food, while often looked at from a comfort and taste stance, should be viewed as what it is: FUEL. Fuel to run the body through a gambit of processes - from activity, thought, repair, and growth. That is foods true use. Not to say for an instant that taste shouldn't play in to choices you make on occasion, you have to enjoy your food from time to time. And here is something that you won't hear often enough, there is no such thing as a bad food. Everything you could ever think of to consume has a place, and can be used in a manner suited to a healthy eating plan. 

     The caloric value of food, the source, quality, and freshness should be accounted for when selecting you fuel. As well as your goal and current condition. You must account for all you are and do when designing your food plan. You must understand that the calories you choose can make or break your look and health, if you are to look only at food as the means to your end or goal. The backside of calories, or energy expenditure is just as crucial in achieving your goal as the intake. 

 

"obsessive misguided calorie counting must come to an end"

 

     I will leave you with this - food plans are a living breathing thing. They must adapt constantly or die. Your obsessive misguided calorie counting must come to an end, and any plan that has you counting every calorie and worrying over every misstep, will leave you wanting more and failing in the long run. Learn your body's ability to efficiently use calories, and how you can do it quicker when you do indulge, and you will be much happier and healthier.