Amelia Burton

Core Stability Part 3: Challenging your core muscles

2008-07-23T19:19:00.019+10:00

If you have been following the exercises from core stability part 1 and core stability part 2, you would notice that these aren’t particularly difficult exercises, but they require intense concentration. Part 1 and 2, is about training the body to recruit the right muscles to stabilise the core, so now that we fully understand which muscles we should be using, it’s time to challenge them!

Single leg lift: Both legs off the floor
Start lying on your back with both feet off the floor and knees bent. In your last exercise you were slowly lowering one foot down to the floor whilst keeping your leg bent. This time, it’s the same activity but with the lowering leg now out straight. Remember the aim is to maintain spinal neutral at all times. Your back must not arch, nor should your rectus abdominis (six pack muscles) fire up and make your stomach poke out. Using the piece of string tied around your waist (maybe link back to my other article where I explain this) will help you recognise when these pesky six pack muscles have kicked in.

Double leg lift: bent knees
Same starting position, but keep both knees bent and lower your feet to the floor. A lot of people come undone in this exercise. Their hips tilt as they lower their feet, which causes the back to arch. Start with your feet touching the ground very close to your butt and as you get stronger, simply place your feet further and further away from your butt. Only advance this once your hips feel perfectly stable and your rectus abdominis isn’t doing all the work (they will have to kick in a little bit now that the exercises are becoming more demanding).

Double leg lift: straight legs
There are very few people who can actually do this exercise properly. I would not even suggest trying it until you have been doing specific core exercises for a minimum of three months. It’s the same starting position lying on your back. Extend both legs straight up towards the ceiling, and slowly lower them to the floor at the same time. At first you might get ½ way down before you feel your hips tilt and back arch. Just go as low as you can before the back arches, and come up. Over the coming weeks, your feet will slowly get to the floor.

With all of these exercises, you’re better off progressing slowly and being a perfectionist. Remember we are training neurological pathways to recruit the right muscles rather than overloading the body. Nail each stage perfectly before progressing to the next one. These exercises are great when done properly but very ineffective when not.

Do these exercises 1-3 times per week mixed with your other training, 3 sets 12 reps of each stage, and within three months you should have progressed from the exercises in part 1 to these exercises in part 3. The next and final part of this core stability series will move into functional exercises. Good luck and please email any questions if you are unsure.

This is part of a 4 part series. Take a look at:
Core stability part #1: A remedy for back pain
Core Stabliity Part 2: The spinal neutral test

Or if you are going skiing this year check out 4 ski exercises to get you pumped for the snow!

What’s your maximum heart rate?

2008-07-21T09:00:00.003+10:00

Training using a heart rate monitor is a wise idea. You can accurately determine the fat burning and fitness building zones to train in. You know when you’re overdoing it, or when you need to ramp it up, and you can easily measure your improvements along the way. The heart never lies isn’t that what they say! The same goes during your workout, even if you feel like you’re dying but your heart rate shows you’re ok, keep going!!

Training with a heart rate monitor watch and strap is the easiest way to measure your heart rate, but simply taking your pulse and counting the beats works fine too. Count the beats over a six second period and add a zero to get your beats per minute. Why don’t you try it right now in front of the computer? Find your pulse in your wrist or your neck. Count how many beats you have in 6 seconds. Lets say you had 6 beats in 6 seconds. Add a zero and that means you have a resting heart rate of 60 beats per minute (bpm). You would do the same thing in a workout.

To calculate your correct training zones, there are 2 methods, the easy method and the hard method!
The easy method:
Men: 220 – your ageWomen: 226 – your age.
From there you just use a simple calculation to determine the percentage zone you wish to train in. 60-75% for fat burning and if you will be training for over an hour, and 75%-95% for fitness building, shorter more intense workouts.
The hard method:
It’s called Karvonens formula and you need to know your true resting heart rate. To determine this, you need to lay on your back for about ten minutes, eyes closed, fully relaxed. Count your beats over a 60 second period and that is your resting heart rate. However your heart rate falls to its absolute lowest at around 4am (unless you’re still out partying of course!).

You may want to know your true maximum heart rate which would require you to either do a VO2max test or an all out sprint for a few minutes until you physically couldn’t go any further. This is only recommended for elite sports people. For the regular punters, stick with 220 or 226 for women.

To calculate your training zone using Karvonens formula click here

What do I do with the results?
Use the results to check that your current exercise sessions are effective. If you walk 3 times per week for weight loss, make sure your heart rate is between 60-75% of your maximum (preferably at the 75% mark). Pause throughout your workout and take your pulse for 6 seconds. If it’s not hard enough, swing those arms, find some hills, or speed up! If you’re smashing it out in a spin class and your legs are dying, take your heart rate. Is it high? If not, maybe your fitness is good but your muscle endurance in your legs is not. Back the resistance off and pedal faster.

Another great tip is to measure your recovery rate. Let’s say you have a similar routine that finishes with a little spike at the end (see the best treadmill workout ever), take your pulse at the end, then cool down for 60 seconds and retake your pulse. As you get fitter, the top heart rate may not change that drastically but I bet your recovery rate does. If it drops 20 bpms or more in that recovery minute, you are doing well.

Training with your heart rate is not just for the experienced, everyone can benefit from the extra knowledge gained from understanding your ticker.

4 ski exercises to get you pumped for the snow!

2008-07-18T09:31:00.011+10:00

At least 2 weeks before you go skiing, follow these four simple ski exercises to prepare your legs and core for the burn that will hit them once you hit the slopes.

Watch the demonstrations in this video blog and print up the attached pdf to take with you as a memory jogger. These exercises are great for many activities, not just skiing. So grab some water, throw on your workout gear and get ready to feel the burn, love the burn!

Download the program here:

Program: 4 ski exercises to get you pumped for the snow (PDF)

Watch the video here:

How being present can improve your training… and your life.

2008-07-09T08:00:00.003+10:00

What does being present mean?
Being present or being in the moment means you are free from any thoughts of your past or future. You are focused on what is happening right here, right now. People often spend less than 1% of their time in the present moment which can lead to stress, anxiety and unhappiness.

Why does it help with training?
Firstly, the physical outcomes of the session directly relate to how present the person was throughout. For example, a runner doing a 10km course completely present to their stride, will focus on technique, breathing, and rhythm, increasing their efficiency and speed, resulting in a better outcome. Alternatively, a distracted person may allow their technique to become sloppy and labored, losing valuable seconds every stride. Secondly, being present helps to stop distracting thoughts entering their head and most often these thoughts are negative. See 4.5 ways to change your attitude towards exercise. It also helps to prevent other distractions such as competitors, audience, etc. A perfect example of this is watching Roger Federer or Andre Agassi play tennis. They are focused, in the zone, which allows them to make fast, instinctive choices, without having to use the slower, judgmental, conscious part of their brain.

How can you become present during training?
It starts with focusing your thoughts on your body. For example, the runner may listen to their breathing, focusing on it’s rhythm. Once your mind is reasonably settled, start from your head and work down your body, feeling your position and checking everything is doing what it should be. The runner would start with their shoulders “are my shoulders relaxed, arms swinging close to my side, relaxed but with a forward momentum. Am I breathing through my nose, out my mouth and deep in my belly? Are my core muscles engaged but not stiff? Are my legs running straight, no knocked knees? Am I using my glutes on every stride right the way through? Am I landing heel to toe, not flat footed?”
Depending on your sport, there should be a list of technical questions you could ask yourself which will create a barrier for distractions. Keep going through that list, and before you know it, you will be in a peaceful state of mind, which is in the ‘zone’, and very present. If you get distracted, start your list again.
You may find you can do this for 10 minutes but then the distractions take over. This mental training is like fitness, the more you do it, the longer you can hold it for. Even if you pick one segment of your workout to do it, and slowly build up, that’s fine too.

Your ability to remain present depends on the health of your thoughts.
In any given moment, you can move from being fully present to being filled with upsetting thoughts that trigger emotions based on the past and future. It happens in an instant and is highly dependent on how healthy your thoughts are. If you lack confidence, you will begin negative self talk and doubt. Both result in failure and unhappiness rooted in past and future-based thoughts. It takes discipline to keep refocusing on your body and repel any distracting thoughts.

How can we apply this in other areas of our lives?
Exercise is a great practice pitch for being present as sessions lasting 30-60 minutes is great time frame to stay in the moment. In this modern era with a constant bombardment of stimulus, it is hard to stay focused on one thing for any length of time. Being present in training trains our mind to stay quiet and ignore distractions. People have likened this to meditation, and in fact, being present is most definitely an active form of meditation that brings with it all the wonderful benefits that spill into every area of our life. Practice being present in training and I bet you notice your concentration improving at work.

Here's 6 golden rules for sticking to your workouts.

4.5 ways to shift your attitude towards exercise

2008-07-05T15:40:00.004+10:00

What’s your attitude towards exercise? Love it? Gym junkie? Addicted? If that’s you then congratulations, you are amongst the rare rare 5% of the population. For the rest of us, whose attitude towards exercise is more like our attitude towards brussel sprouts (we do it because we were told it’s good for us, but really – yuk!), here are 4.5 ways to shift that attitude and embrace what our bodies were designed to do… move!

1. Train to embrace who you are, not to punish yourself.
Although I fully endorse a smash ’em up session, do it from a place of encouragement, not of punishment. Listen to your self talk. You should be saying positive things such as “I can do this! Feel the burn, love the burn, I want to challenge myself, I will feel so amazing when I am finished.” A lot of people have very negative self talk, for example, “I am too tired, old, unfit, unwell, fat, stressed to go hard today. I can’t do this, there’s no way. What if I can’t finish? What if I get the slowest time? What if I fall off my bike. Come on you fat slob, after all that pizza and beer last night you deserve to be smashed!’ Would you talk to others that way? Are you maybe just a wee bit tough on yourself? Give yourself a break and cut the internal bickering!

2. Lighten up, it's only exercise!
Believe it or not, exercise should be fun! Even when you’re pushing yourself to the limits, don’t take it too seriously. Did you have a crappy session? Big deal! Does the pressure of trying to bench an extra 20lbs far exceed other pressures in your life? Give me a break! You may need to mix pleasant, fun activities in with your grueling sessions for balance.

If you follow points 1 and 2, you should find that the pressures we put around exercise will stop. For example, if you miss a session, that does mean you are a fat, lazy slob? No, it means you missed a session, that’s it. Read point 4.5 and then remember, you have chosen who you want to be, so embrace that person, and lighten up.

3. Feel the burn, love the burn
When the heat rises in a session, so too does your doubt. Suddenly you question if your body can cope, and the negative self talk highlighted in point 2 comes out to haunt you. When you get outside your comfort zone in a workout, one thing to repeat over and over again is “feel the burn, love the burn” Sounds silly right? But it works! Embrace the burning feeling you get in your muscles and lungs, and learn to love this feeling. This is the point in the workout where you are really making a difference. When you are finished, you body will change as a result and you will improve. So the next time you feel like you can’t do one more push up, or you can’t make that last sprint home, just repeat to yourself, “Feel the burn, love the burn” and before long you will have burnt away twice as many calories, and achieved some kick-ass results!

4. Get inspired
Find light houses in your life. People who make you feel good, energetic, and strong. It might be friends or family, or it might be sporting heroes, celebrities. It may even be a movie or music. If it takes listening to the Rocky sound track to get excited, then ‘do it!’ Enrol others on your mission. It could be your personal trainer, the staff at the gym, training buddies, work mates. The more support you have, the more chance you will have at succeeding.

4.5 Don't see-saw between who you are and who you want to be. Choose one and choose it fully
Look at your past results in fitness, and in other areas of your life. Are you happy with the results? If you are, then great, keep sticking at it. But if not, you need to make a conscious decision to change something. One thing is certain, if you don’t change your behaviour then your results won’t change either.

Who you are being in this very moment is the only thing that will affect your future. So who are you being right now? Make a choice. Be the person you have always been or choose to make a shift and alter who you become.

Embrace that choice and choose it fully. Then and only then will you shift the past patterns which have led to who you are today.

"If you want to look into your past look at your present conditions and if you want to look into your future, look at your present actions. "
Chinese proverb

***Click here to see 3 ways to train like a champion

Core Stability Part 2: The spinal neutral test

2008-07-01T09:21:00.009+10:00

Ok, so you’ve mastered Part 1, diaphragmatic breathing and you’re ready to progress to the next stage. This stage is all about maintaining spinal neutral while we move. To see how good you are at using your core muscles, try this test. You will need a piece of string tied around your waist. Tie this string along the line of your belly button. Have the tension so when you are relaxed, it gently digs into your belly, but when you draw your belly button in, it becomes loose. If you forced your tummy out, it would get really tight.

Lay on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. There should be just enough arch so you can slide your hand under your lower back, but no more. This is spinal neutral. You should feel relaxed here.

Draw your belly button into your spine and gently apply pressure onto your hand. The string around your waist should remain loose. If it gets tight, you have recruited your six pack muscles, rectus abdominus. This is a no-no. Stop, relax and try again. The muscles you are wanting to recruit are located like a corset around your abdomen, the transverse abdominals (tva). You may be able to feel a ridge and inch either side of your belly button.

Try it now, while you are sitting here. Draw your belly button in and feel for that ridge. Don’t worry if you can’t feel it, you soon will! If it’s hidden under a doona of body fat, read my 5 tips for losing body fat.

Now you are ready to move. The aim is to remain in this spinal neutral whilst lifting one leg up at a time. Start with your right leg and slowly lift it off the floor. Observe your stomach and lower back. Does it arch, flatten, twist or tilt? Does the string stay loose or get tight. Everything should stay still.

Stage #1: Alternate legs slowly. It’s the transition from side to side where you may feel some instability. Do these transitions slowly and make sure that string stays loose at all times. Remember perfect practice makes perfect. Do 3 sets of 12 repetitions. Each leg raise should take about four seconds up and four seconds down.

Stage #2: Both feet off floor, take one foot down slowly to the floor. Only progress to this stage if you have mastered stage #1. This places more pressure on the back and abdominals so make sure you hips don’t tilt and your back doesn’t arch as you lower each leg. Remember to make sure the string stays loose. Do 3 sets of 12 repetitions. Each leg lowering should take four seconds down and four seconds up.

Remember you can recruit your tva muscles at any time. Sitting at your desk, standing or lying. The better you get at recruiting them, the more effective they will become at stabilizing your spine and reducing the chance of back pain.

Stay tuned for stages 3, 4 and 5…

***Have you read about the 3 ways to train like a champion?
***Have you been following your weekly eating score card?

Depression and exercise: beating the blues with exercise

2008-06-30T08:08:00.002+10:00

It is widely accepted that exercise benefits people suffering from depression, but rarely do depressed people feel like donning their lycra outfit and bouncing out the door for a workout. So how do we as friends, loved ones, or sufferers break that downward spiral caused by depression and the lethargy that goes with it?

Depression affects one in five people, so chances are either you, or someone close to you suffers this debilitating disease. More and more studies are revealing that what has historically been thought of as the cause, a chemical imbalance, may not be the main culprit but rather it can be caused by an individual’s interpretation of certain events in their lives, and the way they choose to deal with them (The myth of the chemical cure).

Accepting depression as a result of the way people see themselves and their world means people have taken responsibility for themselves. Breaking the ‘blame cycle’ opens up more opportunity for a person to re-ignite that fire in their belly and take matters into their own hands. It is at this point that exercise can really propel a person into recovery as it is the link between thinking and actually doing. It’s the law of inertia, action, leads to more action, and sometimes, a stroll through the park is just enough to give a person the energy to make that phone call they are dreading, or book that appointment with a therapist, or write the CV they have been hesitating about.

One of the side effects of depression is lethargy, yet one of the side effects of lethargy can be depression, which makes it very difficult to break the cycle. Doing it alone often proves too tough, so whether it’s you or someone you know, here are some tips that may help bridge the gap between thinking and action:

1. When you go to meet up with them, rather than sitting in their house or a cafe, go for a 20-30min walk together.

2. If someone isn’t ready to seek emotional help, send physical help: Although personal trainers are in no way equipped to deal with issues surrounding depression, an empathetic trainer will match the exercise routine to the mood of the person. Whether it be as simple as going for a walk or practicing yoga in the comfort of their own home, a trainer will ensure that physical activity is achieved. Find a trainer who is willing to go to their house and who is understanding of the delicate condition of the sufferer.

3. Help them make a plan or set a goal: Help them plan a physical event that will motivate them to exercise. It could be a 5km fun walk, a bush walk, a six week yoga course. Do it together to aid in motivation

4. Make it social: this could mean only two people or it could entail a group. Even if someone doesn’t feel like socialising, when it’s an active situation, there are lots of distractions to make conversation flow, and create an enjoyable atmosphere.

More tips on depression and exercise

For more information on depression and dealing with depression, visit Beyond Blue

Core Stability Part #1: A remedy for back pain

2008-06-22T20:11:00.008+10:00

Do you suffer from back pain? 80% of people suffer from chronic neck or back pain at some point in their lives, with the majority being posture related and preventable. You’ve probably seen people doing absurd things on giant balls, or performing what looks like a DUI test police would conduct. If you ask what on earth they are doing, they answer simply... “oh it’s my core stability program.” Does this core stability stuff work, or could it be putting our body at risk?

The answer: Core stability exercises are one of the best ways to strengthen and retrain the body’s postural muscles to work effectively. They are excellent when you progress at the right speed, and bad for you if you done incorrectly. There is a fine line between these exercises helping or hurting your back. There are about 5 stages, and the key is to progress only when you have mastered one stage, no matter how long it takes to learn.

Stage #1: Diaphragmatic Breathing Test

This is the hardest stage to master! Whilst you are reading this begin to observe your breathing style. Don’t change anything, just observe. Place one hand on your sternum, in the middle of your chest. Place the other hand over your belly button. Now look down (or go stand in front of the mirror) and observe which hand moves more when you breathe in, top or bottom hand?

If you answered bottom hand, good work, you are a diaphragm breather and can progress to stage #2. Just make sure it’s not because you took some deep breaths, it’s all about your everyday breathing style.

If your top hand moved more, you are like most of the population, a shallow breather. This means when you breathe in, instead of using your deep intra abdominals to lower your diaphragm, the muscles of your upper rib cage, neck and shoulders lift your heavy rib cage to make room for your lungs (no wonder your neck and shoulders are tight!). Not only is it an extremely inefficient, laborious way of breathing, but it also means the deep muscles of lower abdominals get a free ride. These muscles are also the core stability muscles we need to strengthen. If they can’t even help your lungs to breath, what chance have we got of getting them to stabilise your back! So we need to get these guys doing what they were designed to do – help you breathe through your diaphragm.

How to breathe through your diaphragm:
1. Whilst sitting in your chair, place your hands back in the above position, one on sternum and one on belly button.
2. Breathe all the air out of your lungs, when you go to breathe in, don’t move your rib cage, instead, allow your tummy to relax and poke out.
3. When you breathe out, draw your belly button through to your spine, like you were squeezing all the air out.
4. Focus only on your bottom hand on your stomach, it should move out when you breathe in, and move in towards your spine when you breathe out.
5. If you are struggling. Try doing it lying on your back, it’s easier.
6. You must not progress to stage #2 until you are breathing this way unconsciously. This can take weeks. The more you focus on it, the faster your body adjusts. Make sure you can do it whilst exercising.

What type of breather are you, shallow or diaphragm? I’d love to know how hard/easy you find this exercise. I believe this is the hardest stage to master, and until someone can breathe correctly, they will never be able to stabilise their backs properly.