Syphon Fitness » Exercise

Importance of Taking Care of Your Feet

Michael Kuang — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:54:55 +0000

What do you look for when shopping for athletic shoes? Style or Functional Comfort?

Luckily, most if not all of the athletic shoe brands out there have started to combine both.

The reason I wanted to talk about feet, is not because of a foot fetish. But how important it is to the rest of your body. Think about how it feels to have an ankle sprain for example. How does that feel? What does it make you do when you try to walk? Not very fun if you ask me. Which is why taking care of our feet is so important.

It is the only part of our body that contacts the ground when we walk, so having good stable feet is important. We were born to walk, and walking barefoot is ideal. Most of us however started wearing shoes at an early age. So now our feet are weakened by having worn shoes that give us a cushion from the harsh ground.

So this brings me back to my first question about what you look for in shoes. The minimal shoes that are widely popular in stores are a great alternative to some of the other shoes. The shoes that have thick heels or having little to no arch support for your feet can cause long term injuries. In many cases, an injured foot can cause injuries to other parts of your body. Affecting all the way up to your shoulders. So finding a good neutral shoe can help prevent or alleviate some problems.

Foot strengthening exercises are another great way to achieve a stable strong foot.

Here are a few things you can do on a daily basis to help your feet.

Move Those Ankles

Rotate your ankles as your feet are elevated off the ground. A good way to do it is to try writing words with your feet. This helps to work the muscles and ligaments surrounding your ankle and calf complex.

Do Your Leg Workouts Barefooted

This makes your feet to work in a natural environment. Things like squats and lunges can be performed this way and when done right, can give you great results. The Vibram Five Finger shoes were made for this, but I must warn you. DO NOT run long distances with these shoes without having strong feet. Use these shoes for your workouts in the gym and work up to using these shoes for running.

Massage Your Feet

Injuries like Plantar Fasciitis can be painful, so make sure your feet muscles are flexible. Use a tennis ball and place it under your bare foot. Put weight on the ball and move it around the arch of your foot. This may cause a bit of pain, but it is a good pain. Do this for a minute or two a day and you should see some improvements.

The Stretching Debate-Should You or Not?

Michael Kuang — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:14:36 +0000

Saw this article today about static stretching prior to working out or playing sports.

http://peakcontrol.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/to-stretch-or-not-prior-to-exercise-a-systematic-review-of-the-effects-of-acute-static-stretching-on-maximal-muscle-performance/

There have been debate about this for some time now, and I think this article is pretty accurate. My normal warmup would include foam rolling and a little bit of static stretching followed by some dynamic stretching. I believe that any type of stretching is not as effective without foam rolling first. I have become a big believer of the foam roll and apply it every day, workout or not. I get all of my clients to do foam rolling and have made believers with them as well. Especially those who have had major injuries and/or surgery.

So in my opinion, do some light stretching. But, I wouldn’t do it until after foam rolling.

10 Minute Workout #1

Michael Kuang — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:29:10 +0000

In a rush and need a quick workout? Here is one you can do without going to the gym. All you need is a pair of dumbbells that are of suitable weight for you.

Download PDF Below

Program1

Are You Pushing Yourself?

Michael Kuang — Tue, 31 May 2011 15:58:37 +0000

This is a question you should always ask yourself, because it’s the difference between seeing results and failing miserably. Often times I see people coming into the gym and getting on the treadmill and walk at a slow pace. 10 minutes later, they get off and then pick up some dumbbells and do a few arm curls. Then they leave!

To get a good calorie burning workout, you must keep your heart rate up. Challenge yourself and make yourself do the work. If you can’t do that, a good route is to hire a trainer.

Here are some of my tips to use to really push yourself.

1. Focus! Don’t talk of the phone, text, or chat with others in the gym! You are in there to workout, not socialize. Put some headphones on and tune out the world! If you are able to carry a conversation without breathing deep, then you are NOT working out hard enough. Remember the key is to keep your heart rate up!

2. Give yourself some time to ease into things. After a week or so, really start challenging yourself. Set mini goals and see if you can meet them. Example, you can do 10 pushups…so next time go for 15 or 20 pushups. But be realistic! Sometimes people push themselves to the point of injury. I’ve heard of and seen trainers do this to their clients too. If you hurt yourself, you can’t come back in the next day and do it again. Keep in mind that there is a difference between injury and being really sore. Know your limits and slowly work your way to more challenging things. If only we were all Superman!

3. Don’t give up! It took years to gain all those extra pounds! Expecting to lose it all in a few short months is setting yourself up for failure. Change your lifestyle, slowly but surely. It will all come together for you. Remember that we live in a world that has all the luxuries and conveniences. Add in fast and processed foods and more jobs that are desk positions, and you have an uphill battle to face. This is your chance to change, don’t take it lightly. It’s never easy to go against what everyone else is doing.

ABsolutely Flat by Summer

Michael Kuang — Tue, 17 May 2011 20:44:01 +0000

Contributed By NASM

Blame the celebrity icons who dared to bare their midriffs, or even the clothing manufacturers that followed the trend without hesitation. Whomever you choose to blame, revealing abs is all the rage, and summer trends are coming fast.

As I see it, there are three very distinct categories of absters:

1) “I never dare to bare.” 2) “I only bare my midriff when it is dark.” And 3) “I can wash your clothes on myabs!”

Which category do you fall into? I don’t know about you, but most of us fall into either category 1 or category 2. So, if you never dare to bare, or bare only when you feel you can get away with it, don’t worry, some simple tips can start you on the road to your own picture-perfect beach body. And even if you are the owner of a righteously defined midsection, you ab gods and goddesses can learn a few tips as well! So sit up straight and read on!

First and foremost, let’s just lay it all out. The ab machine alone will not define your abs. Neither will the Abfitter, the AbCruncher, the AbIsolator, or what we all feel is a gift to flat abs… the Swiss ball. If ripped abs came in a pill or a box, or with a machine or a ball, would I need to write this article? Go ahead, pull, sweat, beat, or kick your way to flat abs… Any luck so far?

How about this for the truth…

Only diet, exercise, and dedication to an integrated training program can get you the midsection you desire. Now some of you may have put down this article or even used it to wipe away your tears. Sorry! Instead of trying to sell you a magic fix, pill, or machine, I want you to swallow the truth. Your midsection is made up of a few essential muscles.

We’ll start at the core of the matter. Your core is made up of essentially two layers of muscle. The deepest, or innermost, layer is called the “inner unit” and consists of muscles that help to stabilize the spine. Each of these muscles has a special job to do, but they work together to keep the spine stiff so that, as we crunch or move our torso, we can avoid any exaggerated movement of the segments of our spine. Imagine how your body moves when you pull on your head to perform a crunch, or twist/rotate your body to train your obliques. Now imagine if your spine was not stabilized and each segment was able to move more than necessary. Over time and continual training this could lead to back discomfort.

What about those other muscles? These are the muscles that are more visible to the eye and they are themovers of the body. The rectus abdominus, for example, is that muscle with those “packs” that number about eight. Contrary to belief, that abdominal muscle is one long muscle, not eight individual muscles, and it helps us flex our spine. The muscles you see on the side of the rectus abdominis are the external obliques. They sit on each side of the rectus abdominis, on top of the internal obliques, and they help us turn or twist our torso, among other things.

Then there are the erector spinae muscles. These muscles run up and down the spine and their job is to help extend the spine. Traditionally, when you see people in the gym training their “abs,” you see them crunching, twisting, bicycle-kicking, leg-raising, doing situps, side bends, back extensions, and other exercises that look like they were taken straight out of medieval torture devices. What do all these exercises have in common? They all are movement based. They focus on training the “outer unit,” the movers. However, the two units must work together, in synergy.

So let’s get into the cool stuff…

All of your systems-your nervous, muscular and skeletal systems-are all interconnected! So, they are allrequired to do a job when we move. First, your nervous system sends out a message to move, yourmuscles receive that message and move your skeletal system (bones & joints), which basically provide the framework for the body. In other words, your brain sends out the signal to your muscles, your muscles move your joints, and your joints allow you to move.

As it turns out, your nervous system recruits your muscles in synergies (groups of muscles helping each other). Think of it as teamwork. Now, if one member of that team does not do its job correctly, what happens to the rest of the team? The other members of the team are asked to work harder or take on different jobs they might not normally do! If this happens, will that team work efficiently? No. If we only train the movers of our core, and not the stabilizers, the muscle synergies are thrown off! This leads to muscle imbalances.

Muscle imbalances occur when one muscle becomes shortened and the opposing muscle then becomes lengthened. This happens if we overuse a muscle, or if we continually keep that muscle in a shortened position. We learned earlier that if all of the members of the team don’t work together properly, the team doesn’t work efficiently. So… Shouldn’t we work on training both units together? We need to train the stabilizers to stabilize us so that, as we move, we move efficiently and safely.

For this assignment, let’s challenge you a bit with the prone iso-abs.

*If you can master this exercise, challenge yourself a bit more by squeezing your glutes tight, raising one foot slightly off the ground, and pointing your toe.

Ready to move?

This next exercise is the ball crunch . We’ve seen it many times before, but technique is key here.

Want more of a challenge?

Try this one! Knee-ups :

Finally, put all the pieces together!

First, no matter how hard we train our abs, they won’t show if they’re covered by fat! Focus on nutrition and watch what you eat. Keep your diet balanced, and move more than you consume. Next, train from the inside out! This keeps your exercise safe and effective.

More Evidence Showing Why Exercise Is Important

Michael Kuang — Mon, 09 May 2011 20:00:13 +0000

An article in the Vancouver Sun talks about how new studies show that exercise does in fact help you live a better and longer life.

http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Benefits+exercise+even+bigger+than+thought+doctor+finds/4724674/story.html

Women’s Arm and Shoulder Circuit

Michael Kuang — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 15:57:42 +0000

Had a request for a good arm workout for women.

Try this circuit using 5lbs to 10lbs in each arm:

Arm curl to shoulder press (15 reps)

Bench or chair dips (15reps)

Lateral arm raises (15 reps).

Repeat the circuit 3 times.

Beginner’s Workout Handicap

Michael Kuang — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 19:08:12 +0000

Many people don’t realize how out of shape they are till they finally get in a gym and do some exercises. That holds especially true for anyone working with a trainer like myself. There are many aspects that are important in getting a proper exercise program. I think the most important thing when you first start off, is making sure any previous injuries are addressed. This means taking the time to properly stretch and strengthen the necessary muscles.

If this isn’t done, chances of re-injury or new injuries can occur. Just going into the gym and putting it on the highest amount possible and trying to lift will do more harm then anything else. Proper alignment of muscles is key to gaining good long term results. This goes for anyone looking to lose weight, gain muscles, or anything in between.

Instant gratification does no good in any program, so make sure you’re on the right fitness track.

Army revises basic training program to deal with physically unfit recruits

Michael Kuang — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:13:30 +0000

This is a little sad to me. New recruits in the Army are so out of shape, that the Army has to change their basic training progams to accomodate.

Army revises basic training program to deal with physically unfit recruits | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Headline | National News.

Dangers of Being a Desk Jockey

Michael Kuang — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:23:42 +0000

By: Eartha Haines

Many of us sit in front of a computer all day and unfortunately, these types of jobs also cause many of us to pack on extra pounds. Our bodies were not meant to sit for 8 or more hours a day but that is what many of us do on a daily basis. Sometimes we are so busy that we forget to eat 3 or more meals a day or even worse, we skip meals – mainly breakfast (the worse one to skip in my opinion.)

Working from home is even more likely to pack on the pounds because it is easy to skip exercising and even easier to snack all day because you are only a few feet from the kitchen. Whether you work a 9 to 5 or you work from home, if you sit at a desk all day, you may be looking for ways to incorporate more exercise into your life. Thirty minutes or more of exercise a day is quite easy to achieve with a little discipline.

First off, there are 2 major downsides to being a desk jockey:

1. Weight gain
2. Muscle loss

Exercise in Spurts at Work
In order to prevent both you will need to start incorporating physical activity into your day. Thirty minutes of exercise doesn’t have to be done all at once. If you are extremely busy, you can do little things that add up such as taking the stairs or spending 10 minutes or so during lunch to take a brisk walk. If you can spare the time, you can join a gym close to work and exercise during lunch.

Hire a Personal Trainer
Sometimes the main reason people don’t exercise is a lack of motivation. When you have worked a full day, the last thing you are thinking about is exercising. Hiring a personal trainer can sort of force you to get off your butt. You will want to keep your appointment with a trainer and it can be a lot of fun learning new exercises and getting health advice. A trainer can often work around your schedule so early before work or after should be fine.

Join a Gym or Make a Home Gym
Joining a gym was one of the best things I have done for myself. I work at a desk all day and the gym allows me to take a much needed break. I can run, lift weights, take a class, etc. all in one place. Best of all since it’s open 24 hours, I can go anytime. A home gym can do wonders as well. If you have extra space to set up some weights and a cardio machine, you can save time and money.

Create Better Eating Habits
I ate horribly at my last job. The commute and stress caused me to skip breakfast most mornings, then I’d eat a huge lunch, then fast food for dinner because I would be too tired to cook. Not to mention all of the snacking and coffee runs during breaks just to pass the time. You have to learn to take back control of your eating habits.

Don’t skip breakfast
Replace soda and fancy coffees (lattes, cappucinos, etc.) with water
Pack your lunch the night before
Bring healthy snacks
Cook easy, healthy dinners
Make better choices when dining out

I know all of the above is easier said than done. Improving one’s health requires baby steps. What it takes is prioritizing and discipline. You do so much for your job or business but none if it will matter if you let your health slide. You can have a good balance with a little extra effort.