Damage Control and Abdominals

How do I target my abs/shrink my waist/get a six-pack/get a flat tummy?

The abs are probably the body part that people worry most about, and with the most reason: any sort of slacking, exercise or dietary, results in immediate changes to the look and feel of the waistline.

The answer, then, is easy: don’t slack off! Be perfect at all times! Constant vigilance!

More realistic, however, is committing to building a healthy lifestyle, including a regular and challenging exercise program and good eating habits, and having a solid damage control plan, which I present to you today.

The first phase: Water, Water, Everywhere (so let’s all have a drink!)

If you’ve been sedentary for a few days too long, or making poor food choices, you’ll notice swelling and bloating. Speaking as part camel myself, you have to drink water to shed water. Lots of water. The “8-glasses-a-day” schtick is fine for the very sedentary, but if you’re active at all, you need more. Drink your eight glasses, and then add more whenever you move and groove. Yes, you will have to pee more frequently, but look at it this way: 1 – running to the bathroom counts as extra activity, non? And 2 – if you’re peeing water out, it’s leaving your cells, reducing retention (in theory). So drink up, and no, coffee doesn’t count. Water.

Second phase: Vigorous Physical Activity.

All that muscle flexing and heart pumping helps squeeze out any extra water held in your cells. It will also increase bone density, increase muscle mass and tone, improve cardiovascular function, and release endorphins to make you happy. Therefore, we have no further arguments against it, right? You’ll want to challenge yourself each time you work out. I recommend total body interval training, the kind of training that I’ve been doing for a few years now; it’s quick, it’s effective, and, well, it’s quick and effective – what more do you want?

After a brief (5-min) warmup, jump right in to compound exercises, alternated with single-muscle work and/or cardio. I tend to use a great deal of plyometric exercises, mostly because they’re fun, but they also work lots of muscle fibres and keep my heart rate up, too.

Examples:

Squats, followed by Calf Raises, followed by 1 minute of jumping jacks or mountain climbers.
Pushups, Cable Row, Plyo Lunges
Clean-and-Press, Step-ups
Box jumps, Plank twists
Cross-behind Lunges with Lateral Raise, Biceps curls on BOSU

If you keep moving, more or less, for 25 minutes, then take 5 minutes at the end to stretch, it would count as a regular (but intense) workout. On special Damage Days, when you need more, follow it with 20 minutes of cardio intervals, in the mode of your choice.

Just these two steps will help reduce any sudden-onset troublesome areas around your middle.

Um, ok. But I asked about abdominal exercises, remember?

Oh, right. But! The abdominals are engaged throughout a workout like that. And besides, just doing ab work won’t get you anywhere if you don’t have a solid cardio and strength habit.

...

Oh, fine.

My “favourite” exercises for core strength all use various muscle groups and more fibres than the average crunch. Keep your tummy sucked in for bonus points.

Ball crunch:

Holding a swiss ball between your legs, push your low back into the floor and exhale as you lift the ball and crunch your elbows up to your knees. Lower both ends at the same time, but don’t allow your head or the ball to rest. (3 sets of 12-15 reps - 15 second rest between each set)

Yoga boat variations:

Start by sitting up, knees bent 90 degrees, feet on the ground. Hold the back of your knees, and slouch so that your back is rounded. Release your grip, and lift your chest and head to maintain a straight spine. This is your basic position. If you want more of a challenge, pick up your feet, so that your shins are parallel to the floor.

Variation 1: Lift one arm overhead; return. Lift the other
arm overhead; return. Lift both arms overhead and hold; return. Take a quick
rest (10 sec), then reset.
Variation 2: Open one arm out to side; return. Open other
arm out to side; return. Open both arms out and hold. Rest. (10 sec)
Variation 3: Place palms together in prayer position. Twist, moving your pressed hands towards your left hip, and your knees towards the floor on your right. Switch to the other side. Alternate 3 times each side.

Plank Twist:

Start in a strong plank position, shoulders over hands, hips down, back straight. Pull your bellybutton pulled into your spine and your hips tilted under, with a neutral head position. Bring one knee slowly across to the outside of the opposite elbow. Switch. Repeat up to 10 times each side, ensuring you maintain good plank position.

Happy Abbing! (and stay vigilant!)

Jillian Michaels is Trying to Kill Me

The Cranky Book Reviewer (CBR) is branching out to workout videos, it seems.

So, I got me a new dvd with which to kick my butt.

Ok, really, I want to tighten up the Mommy Tummy.

This video, which advertises "Lose 20 lbs in 30 days!" and "20-minute workouts" is brutal, on many levels.

One: Jillian Michaels is brutal. She's not likeable, she's not motivating, and honestly, I don't think she looks that great (aside from her shoulders, which are amazingly incredible and huge and awesome) (I like her shoulders). She's abrasive, and pulls the standard aerobics-instructor "let me yell at my participants instead of doing the workout myself" thing that I hate.

Two: Level One isn't really that bad. I did it three times and decided that I wasn't really being challenged... she calls herself "TV's toughest trainer" for this? So I moved on to Level Two, and...

Three: Dear God, she's a madwoman. Level Two has put me through my paces 4 times now, and yikes. After 20 intense minutes of effort (about 28 minutes, total), I look like I've been pummelled. Red-faced, dripping, panting, shaky... awesome. I expect that I'll have to bite the bullet and attempt Level Three this week.

gulp

I agree with her philosophy: work harder for less time, but know that this video would be too much for 75% of the population. There's a lot of high-impact aerobic work, an unbalanced amount of focus on the front delts, and a too-short warm-up and cool-down for me to recommend this video.

I took my measurements on the first day (none of your business) and will take them again on Day 30, and I'm sure there will be a crazily significant change. Two weeks in, I've missed 5 workouts (wow, that sounds worse than I thought) - it's recommended to do a session every day, but my shoulders are already acting up from carrying small children, past injuries that are flaring up and also with having a 3-month-old that doesn't sleep at night...well, you get the picture. Anyhoo, my arms look more toned already, my jeans fit better, and the mommy tummy is much less saggy and baggy.

But I still don't like Jillian.

Why am I not getting results?

I have been working with a trainer for the past 6 weeks and I'm not seeing results.

I work with the trainer 2x week for one hour. 10 mins on the elliptical and then weight bearing exercises with her.

I was going about 3 other days for cardio which was either 1/2 hour treadmill or 15 each on treadmill and elliptical.

I log all my food on the 14-hour fitness program and keep a watch on the nutrition mix. She advised a 20-60-20 ratio of protein-carbs-fat and a goal of 1500 calories. I have a good deficit every day (over 500 calories) but the scale is not budging.

This past week I decided I needed to move more so I went every day (other than Mon and Fri) and spent 50 mins on the treadmill and/or elliptical.

I weigh in every week and I lost an initial 2 pounds and that's it. Since then nothing has changed - either weight or measurements.

What's up with that? Any advice you can give is appreciated.

If you look around a gym, the people that are in the best shape are the ones that are working the hardest; they're running on the treadmill (not jogging), lifting heavy weights (usually with free weights, not the machines), and taking less breaks than the rest of the gym-goers. This isn't a coincidence!

Intensity: It's the number one key to getting results at the gym (and nutrition is number one for getting results, period (more on that later).

I'd talk to your trainer if you feel that you're not being decimated by your sessions. Seriously - you're not paying her for conversation, and after 12 sessions, you should have a pretty good idea of your form, so her main job is to push you to achieve what you can't by yourself (and "just showing up" doesn't count as an achievement!). She should be tracking your workouts, so you should be able to see a sizeable increase in strength (the amount of weight you can lift) over the last 6 weeks. If not, ask to be pushed harder. A good trainer can work you reeeeally hard without breaking you!

(A great example of intense training (to work up to) is on the Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp - these people work HARD, but get fantastic results in 4 weeks) http://www.slice.ca/Shows/ShowsPage.aspx?Title_ID=105451 (also some great menus and meal ideas!)

Cardio: 3x a week (on top of 2 weight days) sounds great - but again, how hard are you working? Generally, light cardio needs to last 60 minutes, moderate about 45 minutes, and intense/intervals from 20-30 minutes in order to be effective. If you're sticking with 30 minutes (I'd rather work harder for less time, personally), choose ONE cardio machine for each workout (alternating them is fine), and, after a 5-minute warmup at an easy pace, try pushing yourself through some intervals - 1 minute of running/very brisk walking/high incline, followed by 2-3 of recovery...and if that's ok, then work up to 3 minutes of the intense interval for every 1-2 minutes of recovery, and a 5-minute cooldown. In a 30-minute session, that's 20 minutes of "work", so again, make it count! (if you're doing 15 minutes on each machine, there's the break in between in which your heart rate goes down, and because it's a different mode of exercise, your body takes a while to want to burn fat... don't make me get all science-y here.

For those following along at home, this means ramping up your workouts, whether it's walking more briskly (actively refocusing: picture me walking beside you and peskily reminding you to swing your arms more ("chest/hip, chest/hip") or "faster!" every 30 seconds or so), making bigger movements with your exercise videos, or doing a few extra repetitions of your weights. Work harder, please!

Food: If you are being honest with your workouts, and giving it your all (or at least 90 percent on the days that you don't have the full 100 to give), and you are honestly eating fairly cleanly and maintaining a reasonable calorie deficit, and not seeing results, well, somebody isn't being honest somewhere.

This is always the hardest part, but if you have a little bit of this and that here and there, you're probably overshooting your caloric requirements and unwittingly sabotaging your efforts.

Do you have a food scale? I was surprised by how big a 4 oz chicken breast was and how small a 3 oz potato was. Measuring your carbs is always an eye-opener, as is measuring your "extras" - I had to put a measuring cup in our giant bag of trail mix, so that we could see what a serving looked like (it was NOT what we had been eating, that's for sure). If you feel that you really need your treats (I'm typing with sticky fingers and a wine smile, so no judgement from here!), start skipping them every second day. Cutting out homemade raspberry-rhubarb tarts with lemony cream cheese icing (for example) for the rest of your life is a bit daunting and unreasonable, but deciding that my willpower can last ONE DAY and that I can have one (ONE!) tomorrow (and possibly a glass of wine with it) is manageable. Just make sure that you're not overcompensating on the "good" days!

Are you eating three small meals and three healthy snacks? This keeps your metabolism pumping, and prevents the "oh dear, I'm starving and I need to eat a box of donuts" problem. Try to make sure that you have whole grains, lean protein, and a fruit or vegetable with each meal/snack.

Water: the more, the better! If you eat processed or salty foods, water retention can be a big problem, and can prevent you from seeing results. Aim for 2 litres a day (I think that's half a gallon to you Americans), NOT INCLUDING what you drink during and right after your workout. Measure it, drink it, and burn extra calories on your many trips to the bathroom! :)

Um...so that's all the advice I can give you from this far away.

To sum up: 1) Make every workout count (and make sure your trainer is earning your money); and 2) Be scrupulously honest about your food intake.

Let me know how your talk with your trainer goes, but I definitely recommend continuing with a trainer for another 4-6 weeks before deciding to go it on your own...maybe there's another trainer there that you see really pushing her clients? This is probably rather scattered, but I hope it's a little helpful.

Total Body BOSU Bootcamp

I'd been a bit delinquent last week; between houseguests, swimming "lessons" for the pooper, and a long weekend in Edmonton, I only got to the gym twice last week, and I wasn't sure how this week would pan out.

So I skipped my upper/lower split, which seems to have been working nicely, and threw myself into a bootcamp-inspired total body blast, using plyometrics and stabilization drills to completely annihilate every muscle in my body. Actually, the main targets (I discovered the next day while trying to get out of bed) ended up being the medial glutes, quadriceps (teardrop, to be specific), mid-back and shoulders. All of this in 30 sweaty, heart-pumping minutes. Awesome.

Clean and press: With a moderately wide stance, I deadlifted a 30-lb (oooo) barbell from the ground up to my shoulders (the "clean" portion of this powerlifting move), then pressed it overhead, and lowered it all the way back to the floor 12 times. This uses all the major muscle groups in the legs and glutes, as well as low back, shoulders and triceps. I repeated this with the 40-lb barbell for 10 reps, and the 50-lb barbell for 8. Supersetted with...

Hanging knee raises: Simple movement to really focus on the lower abdominals, hanging from the chinup bar (since I'm still not quite ready to try chinups again...) - the knees pull up into the chest as you exhale and curl your hips up. 3 sets of 15.

BOSU agility work: Round side up, I started on the right side of the BOSU. I stepped up with my left foot, then my right, then stepped off the left side with my left foot. Up with my right, then left, and off the right side with my right foot, and it counts as one rep. Yay for plyometrics! It's an up-up-down 3-c0unt, and by keeping my legs bent and my centre of gravity low, I was able to get some good speed going, while burning my legs and lungs near to death. Nice. 3 sets of 15, supersetted with...

BOSU pushups: Flat side up, I placed my hands on the far edges of the BOSU. With the round side down, you have a very unstable surface, which is excellent for calling your stabilizers into action, making your chest, shoulders and triceps work even harder, and turns boring old pushups into a whole-body challenge. 3 sets of 15.

BOSU jump-in squats: More plyos! Round side up, I stood behind the BOSU, and jumped forward with both legs into a squat position so that my left foot landed on the BOSU, and my right was on the ground beside the BOSU. I quickly stepped back behind the BOSU, and jumped forward so that the right was on the BOSU and the left on the floor. Again, that was one rep. The round side gives an uneven surface to help challenge the stabilizers, strengthen the calf, foot, and ankle, and also allow a new range of motion for the squats. Excellent for legs, glutes, and cardio. 3 sets of 15, supersetted with...

BOSU bent-over dumbbell rows: Flat side up, I climbed up on the BOSU (very carefully), and hinged forward at the hips. Keeping my head lifted and my back slightly arched, I pulled two 20-lb dumbbells up to my waist, squeezing my shoulder blades together at the top. Strengthens the lats, spinal erectors, biceps, and gives the hamstrings an isometric workout, as well as making your whole body shake from trying to hold this position on a wobbly base. 3 sets of 12.

Raise-and-rotates: Holding two wee little 5-lb dumbbells, I started with a bent-arm lateral raise up to shoulder height. From there, I keep the elbows still, and rotate the weight up so that my upper arms are straight out from my body, and my forearms are bent 90 degrees, pressing straight to the ceiling, and the weights are by my ears. (Ok, this one needs a stick figure, but I don't have access to a scanner here...) This exercise is excellent for focusing on both the front and medial delts, as well as the rotator cuff. These are all tiny little muscles, and it doesn't take much to make them work.

There you go! A total body blast, quick and dirty. And boy, will you feel it the next day.

Rambling Fitness Update

(simulpost on kapowfit blog)

Well, it's been a while.

It's now been 11 weeks since the blessed/dreaded event, and although I'm now back to my pre-pregnancy weight, give or take 3-5 lbs, I'm definitely not the same shape that I was. My theory is that my pelvis hasn't shrunk back together yet, but that probably doesn't explain why some of my shirts don't fit well on my arms... I know that nursing will keep some extra baby fat on me till I stop, but still! And there is definitely a bit more pooch to the stomach than there used to me, but it seems to be tightening a little bit more every week.

Here's what I've been doing to get back into shape:

From 5 - 8 weeks post-baby, I was getting to the gym 2 times a week (they have a babysitting room at the Y), and sometimes getting out for a stroll with Vaughn strapped to me. (Aside: I REALLY didn't think that walking was a workout, but I've changed my mind...especially with my walking buddy - that 10 lbs makes a difference!) I would do 30 minutes of weights, supersetting everything, with as little rest as possible. The order of exercises would change with each workout, depending on what equipment was free, but there would be 2 sets of 15 reps of:

Squats
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
Leg Extension
Leg Curl
Lat Pulldown or Seated Cable Row
Incline Dumbbell Press or Dips
Lateral Raises
Biceps Curls

This would be immediately followed by a dash to the babysitting room to make sure that Little V was still sleeping (nice that he sleeps when we're out!), then a dash up to the cardio room for 30 minutes of elliptical or stairmaster. All of this felt good, and I was seeing definition in my arms again, and feeling stronger and fitter.

THEN, I re-read the Oxygen magazine that I got in my stocking for motivation, and switched to a 3-day routine, involving three sets of one of three options for each body part, with a progressive load structure, so that each workout would be slightly different, attacking the muscles from varied angles and rep ranges.

Confused? So am I. It's a good thing I still have my handy-dandy fitness logbook, to keep everything straight. For each day, I need to choose one of the below exercises for each muscle group, and select a weight that will challenge me within the rep range given, making sure that I do all three variations in any given week. Generally, I shouldn't ever do the same workout twice.

Day 1: 3 sets of 6-9 reps / Day 2: 8 - 12 reps / Day 3: 12-15 reps

Leg press / Squat / Lunges
Bent-over Row / Lat Pulldown / Cable Row
Bench Press / Flyes / Incline Dumbbell Press
Rear Delts / Shoulder Press / Lateral Raises
Triceps Pressdown / Skull Crushers / Overhead Extensions
Preacher Curl / Barbell Curl / Dumbbell Curl
Knee Raises / Crunches / Oblique Crunches

..followed by my new attempt at cardio, which I like to call Trying To Run, But Failing Miserably And Feeling Foolish. My first "run" involved a 5-minute walking warmup, followed by a 1-minute run and a 3-minute recovery, of which I needed every second. The next day, it felt like I had a bowling ball bouncing around inside me...not good. However, I'm up to 3-4 minutes running, 2 minutes recovery now, and hope to manage a full 20 minutes, straight, within the next 3 weeks.

It seems to be going fairly well, but I've already started "slacking" on the biceps and triceps, only doing 2 sets. After all, I put the little pooper on a postal scale the other day, in his car seat. He weighed in at 20.5 kg, which any gym bum knows is exactly one of the big weight plates, or 45 lbs. THAT explains my somewhat-toned arms!!!

And FINALLY, I'm back on the schedule! I got a call last Tuesday night, saying that they really needed someone to teach the Wednesday morning step class the next day, that they had called everyone else already, and that they were desperate. I felt the love. So, the class is mine, at least till May.

Woohoo?

Training abs while pregnant

So... instead of not posting at all (which is the current/normal state of things), I've decided to post a query regarding training abdominals while pregnant, since that's where my mind's at these days.

I was going to ask you what your thoughts were regarding crunches. The classes I do all have a crunch portion, and what I've read says that you shouldn't do them on your back after the 4th month... supposedly it can reduce oxygen flow to the baby... I'm just wondering how much it actually does this. I've been doing the crunches up until now, and I can always modify a bench so that I'm on an angle, but I would rather not. I don't want to hurt the baby either.

Great question!

I've been modifying various ab exercises, especially since I'm still teaching a step-n-sculpt class, and there would be a riot if I didn't make them work abs, too!

The important things are that 1 - you don't do anything new, that you haven't done before you got pregnant, 2 - you feel ok while doing it (no pulling or cramping), and 3 - you NEVER hold your breath. From now on, think of abs as a yoga workout, with a constant and controlled inhale/exhale.

PLANK:

This should be done from the knees only - the low back is getting weaker. Challenge yourself by keeping your shoulders behind your elbows, and really dropping your hips/tucking in the butt.

SIDE PLANK:

Keep one knee down, and always press the hips forward to maintain a straight body line.

CRUNCHES:

It should be fine to do crunches from

an inclined position if your body says it's ok. You can also try crunching on a ball - but keep your feet wide for balance. Otherwise, I've been modifying crunches by sitting up and crunching back; drop from a fully sitting-up posture to a slightly slouched posture... see stick figures, below. You can add a twist at the top, too.

LOW BACK EXTENSIONS: NO WAY.

This is mostly because lying on the tummy is probably getting more and more uncomfortable -- and I can't help but picture a kid's face smooshed against a window... But, since the low back needs to stay strong and flexible as your centre of gravity changes, I like the cat/cow option. Start on your hands and knees and exhale, tucking your chin and pelvis under, and pushing your back as high as possible, pulling your abs in. Then inhale, and reverse it: chin and hips lift up as high as you can, and the low back/abs drop down low. Think about exaggerating each posture as much as possible, and don't forget to breathe deeply. (see stick figures, below)

KEGELS:

Gotta do em. Lots! Often! Daily!

All of these are good options, BUT - make sure your doctor approves!!! If you have the diastasis rectus abdominus (common condition in which the abs separate), you may be advised not to do any abdominal training, in which case working your transverse abs by holding in your stomach may be all you can do.

PERSONALLY, I'm starting to lean towards "why bother" for my own abs, although I'm finding the cat/cow is excellent for stretching things out and making me feel stronger.

Hope this helps! (but check with your doctor!)

Supersets vs. Intervals

What's the difference between supersets and interval training?

Dear Fitness Fan,

Great question! I’m glad you asked!

Supersets are groups of weight training exercises grouped without resting (can be working similar or opposite muscle groups), in order to increase caloric burn and maximize use of time. Intervals are “intervals” (hence the name) of weight training interspersed with cardio training, and also increase calories burned/maximize time. They’re just two different approaches to getting the most out of a quick workout.

For more focus on strength or mass gains, a slower pace, with longer rest periods (up to 3 minutes between set), is recommended, in order to allow the muscles to recover enough to lift more weight. Greater benefits are seen in strength and muscular development, but the tradeoff is time – it takes much longer to do a workout, and you have to do cardio on top of it.

Yours in fitness,