Social Media

This is a quick post to let you know about following me on social media.  So, here it goes.

My Facebook is private, and I'll likely keep it that way.  However, if I know you or work with you go ahead and send me a request.

My Instagram is my public side, of which I show more or less what I do at work or in training or both.  My Instagram handle is martin_iii_mc

My Twitter handle is @southguardllc of which I also have it linked to my other site which is http://www.southernguardiansllc.com, the site is more or less a window to my other thoughts be it political, faith, and family.

Lastly, my youtube account is interlinked to my gmail and this blog, so it's martinlhiii83.  I'll be posting various videos, some of which are designed to instruct.

There you have it, a lot of different social media, many of which are interlinked.  I'd appreciate that if you're reading this you "Like," "Share," "Re-tweet," what you see posted from me.

Thanks for reading!

Eating for the fluffy pillow

In my previous post, I described some of what I do regarding training the fluffy pillow.  For this post, I'd like to go into the food side of things.

For me, the nutrition side of things is the most difficult.  Not to say that I don't know what I'm doing, but I freaking love food.  For the most part, I see the best results compositionally when I do a super low carbohydrate meal plan.  The upside of this is that I do tend to see a heavy reduction in mass, mostly fat mass, but the downside is I also tend to see a dramatically reduced performance when it comes to exercise.

Most with a similar shape such as myself benefit immensely off of a lower carbohydrate diet.  However, carbs truly benefit the performance aspect of the fluffy.  So it sometimes boils down to either a composition goal or a performance goal.  There are ways to get both, and it requires a significant amount of planning and discipline, something that my life with 3 small kids is nearly impossible to complete.

I generally try to stick with eating as much protein and vegetables as I can.  Usually, for breakfast I have a quart container full of vegetables such as cucumbers, peppers, celery, carrots, and/or an apple as well; I also have a banana to accompany that.  I use a protein in my coffee that is a collagen peptide base, rather than your traditional milk-based proteins.  My goal last year, at least nutritionally, was to have vegetables for breakfast nearly every day, something of which I've carried into this year.  This year's goal, nutritionally, was to do the same but for lunch, and so far meeting a moderate degree of success.

I try to have my starchier carbs around my workouts, which the super-intense ones are only 4x per week.  I still try to maximize what I can take in, but with clients it's sometimes difficult to escape long enough to consume anything.  My kryptonite is around when I'm home from work or on the weekends when I have more time to eat something other than what I've prepared for lunch at work, usually Oreo's.

In the end, I try to keep as healthy as possible.  My goals are more or less training goals rather than compositional goals, though I wouldn't hate those when they come.  Goal setting is a characteristic of training, and not exercising.  Nevertheless, the dietary side of things is my more complicated part of my life.  

Training the fluffy pillow

As I had talked about in my previous post, I'm a bit fluffy, not fat, but fluffy.  Could I be smaller?  Yes.  Could I be bigger?  Yes.  The difficulty is not the exercise component for me, it's predominately the diet.  For this post, however, I'll be going over training considerations as well as what my personal weekly exercise load looks like.

I used to love to run.  When I got out of the Marine Corps, one of the things that I can honestly attribute to defining me was running.  I liked lifting at the same moment in time, however, I did spend a considerable greater amount of time hitting the trails or the street.  This was therapy for me and I made some wonderful friends while I performed this action.

About 2 years later, I got into lifting and Muay Thai, which became the new therapy for me.  Honestly, this has been something that I look back upon and realize that it was at this point that my life changed towards where I am today.  I love lifting and I love Muay Thai, they are both therapeutic and they both will tell you when you're doing something wrong.

I bring this up because it's pivotal to training the fluffy pillow.  Since I would be considered predominantly an "endomorph," I can lift heavy weights but also need a fair amount of aerobic training to include to keep the fat down.  4 days each week I get about 2-3 hours of boxing either by actively coaching (donning the mitts and moving with my participants) or sparring.  So with that consider it my "aerobic" time.  I also lift anywhere between 4 hours and 6 hours per week, depending on the program of which I'm running.  So that sums at about 12-16 hours per week of activity.

I also average over 12000 steps per day, something that may at a desk job fail to receive.  So in addition to all of the training that I get either by participating or personal, it's a large amount of daily activity.

In reality, this is probably what keeps me from being obese.

For my body time, some serious lifting, as well as some serious aerobic training is vital to keep someone such as myself healthy.  I thrive with both and many I know with similar shapes do as well.  It's just I have the privilege of incorporating everything as part of my work, unlike many others who are stuck at a desk.  Not only am I impacting my physical health, I'm mentally under much less stress than my peers in other positions.
You don't have to be a personal trainer to enjoy this type of training.  All you need to do is partition time out of your day, likely every day, towards some form of this exercise.  Some in the morning and some later in the day would be perfect in many instances, but not all.  Evaluate your priorities and your body type, and if you find that you're like me and hold a little extra fat then lifting and intense sports may be right for you.  You have nothing to fear.

Fluffy like a pillow...built on steel!

One thing about myself is this, I feel fluffy like a pillow with a core made out of steel.  I've battled with my weight my entire life even to this day.  While I've been educated in how to exercise effectively, the issue is life itself.

Generally speaking, I need to build up the framework psychologically to be successful with body compositional goals.  My goals are generally simple, put on muscle, lose fat.  However, if you are to look at the way I gain and lose weight, it's the traditional endomorphic body type.  My upcoming post will go into somatotype to discuss the differences between endomorph, ectomorph, and mesomorph.

I feel like if I look at a cupcake or cookie, I've gained about 6lbs.  On the contrary, If I lift any amount of weight I feel like I've gained some significant muscle.  Not really a great compromise, especially when you consider the whole gain weight concept.

I enjoy lifting weights.  I enjoy food.  I'm like nearly every red-blooded American male.  I honestly try to be good with my diet most of the time, but, I also have a weakness for Oreos and pizza.  I like lifting weights and hate cardio (it's boring) unless it's boxing or kickboxing.  In the end, it forces me to be fluffy like a pillow built on steel.

Restricting what you do can only lead to bigger problems in the end.  I'm now of the mindset that I need to make sure that my overall health is alright.  I have three kids that need my wife and I when I get home each and every day.  I look at getting 4-5 workouts per week as a success.  I eat vegetables at least 2 meals per day and really try like hell to avoid those Oreos at night.

I'm like you and everyone else.  It's just that I have been educated and trained in exercise and diet, but I still love the American in me!

Training the "core"..practical matters

In my previous post, I alluded to what I believe the "core" of your body is.  I'm a firm believer of it being your glutes (your butt) and not necessarily your abdominal muscles or lower back muscles.  However, we can argue that including your upper back muscles may be practical in terms of defining the "core."

Focusing on your glutes, you can engage them every single day if you want.  You can also set aside time for you to go ahead and train them.  The daily engagement is simple, if you're standing....and you should be as often as you can, you should squeeze your butt every few seconds.  This is a simple method that can have profound effects on your posture, your pain or lack thereof, and honestly your well-being.  It's something that you can do wherever you are such as at work, home, sporting events, or whatever.  

As far as training the glut
es are concerned, this is a little trickier.  The simplest exercise you can perform for this would be a bridge.  The bridge can be done in a variety of ways, from simple repetitions to holds to increasing resistance with a dumbbell, barbell, or kettlebell.  There are advantages of all of these, but the glutes do respond well to increased resistance (weight), and therefore to maximize the effectiveness you should probably focus on the weight rather than the sets or repetitions.  

Barbell bridges, and better yet barbell hip thrusters, are probably one of the single best glute exercises that you can perform.  However this does not come without adversity, the barbell in the hip crease (basically your thigh meeting your pelvic bone) is extremely uncomfortable.  A way around this is to use a squat pad or a towel or a combination of these items to dull the pressure that the bar would place on that area.  From there, it's pretty simple, push until your glutes are squeezed together.  If you can do this successfully, you will find that not only are your glutes becoming stronger, but the rest of you as well.  

There are more methods to training your "core" but this is by far the best.  Not for the faint of heart, but to become stronger and overall better, this is something that should be incorporated into your training. 

What is your "core?"

When you think of your body's "core," what do you think of?  Are you thinking of the center of your body?  Are you thinking of your abdominal muscles or even your lower back muscles?  What about your legs?  Do you think those are your "core?"

These questions are all pretty legitimate in terms of describing your "core."  However, everyone I speak with has a different definition of what the "core" actually is.  In truth, all of the questions above can all be the correct answers, though each person would likely identify with only one of those rather than all of them.

My perspective of what the core is are the gluteus maximus muscle (glutes).  The glutes are the largest single muscle in the human body and are predominant in allowing for us to stand upright, walk, and perform a plethora of activities.  If the glutes are strong, typically the muscles around the glutes are strong with it.  Hence, if you call the glutes the "core" then you are likely the most accurate in terms of defining it.

If you look at the apple core above, you can see that the core is in the center and lengthwise, therefore it's larger than only isolated in the center.  But, if you look at the direct center, you can see it is the largest area of the core.  So we can look at the glutes as that center, the abdominals, and erector spinae as the upper end towards the stem and the legs to include the hamstrings and quadriceps as the lower core.  So, the core is much larger, in my mind, than most make it out to be.

I'll be spending a few more posts describing training the core and how to focus and engage it.  

A prescription for exercise? No thank you!

My previous post was not met with a whole lot of fanfare.  For those who are interested, you can check it out here.  I'd like to clarify that I'm not against doctors, I have a lot of respect for them and the training by which they've earned their position.  I'm more of a patient advocate if you will, asking questions or even questioning the doctor when his or her orders are vague or even emotionless.

A client and I were talking today regarding her recent visit to the doctor.  For the condition she's dealing with, she's gone 5 times, some of which were for a bronchitis related condition.  The most recent was for a severe pain in her ribs which was brought on by her incessant coughing that was a result of the bronchitis.  Anyway, her doctor recommended only walking as a form of exercise for her.

I'm not against walking, but as an exercise professional I can acknowledge that most people, even with a rib strain, can do more than that.  The problem that I have is that when it comes to exercise, many doctors do not have adequate training in understanding the dynamics of varying exercises and their effects on the body.  As of now, there's very little interaction with doctors and exercise professionals, unless they happen to be in an environment to where they are employed side by side.

The point that I'm trying to make here is that many doctors are inadequately trained in exercise.  They may have had a semester or two in college regarding nutrition and exercise, but for the most part it's really minimal.  This is where fitness specialists and even physical therapists come in, to bridge the gap.  So if you go to a doctor and they recommend exercise, it's probably a good idea to seek out some specialized coaching, even if it's for only a little while.

If we can get more doctors on board with recommending exercise and improvement in nutrition, specifically with pointing to adequate coaching as their prescription, we can change the entire landscape of the United States.  It is going to take the doctors respecting the fitness professional and the advice that they can give to change the tide.  What could strengthen the relationship will be the fitness professional reaching out to the doctors and even buying them lunch, like a drug rep would, so that they can explain their scope of knowledge and ultimately work side by side.

Why personal training can be cheaper than a trip to the doctor's office.

Something that I do on a regular basis is advise my clients on how they should be feeling or not.  To remember, I'm not a doctor.  However, with experience, I've learned about when one should actually go to a doctor.  This has been a gift from working with a variety of people both as clients and as colleagues.

There are some people that you will find every other week in a doctor's office waiting room.  Very often, they will get the advice that they were looking for, and perhaps the pill, and go on until they run out and need to go again.  You have others who only fear the lifestyle change that is required for them to avoid the doctor's office.

Now, I'm not going to lie, I'm sometimes very skeptical of physicians.  Not to say that they are all like that, in fact, I've met some good ones.  I only believe that to them, I'm a number.  Very few actually know who I am and what I do on a daily basis and I'd imagine that many who are reading this have the same experiences with physicians.

When you see a personal trainer, either via online or in-person, you develop a relationship with that trainer.  The great part is that depending on the network that the trainer has, they can be an asset for you and can help you learn how your body feels better than you would already know.

I have clients who routinely ask whether or not they should go see a doctor.  Very often my advice is simple....if it hurts for a few days and nothing improves, you should probably go.  If it get's better, than no doctor and you save on medical bills.  Most people don't realize that some problems can be remedied with time, and they just rush off for the pill or the wrap.

Lastly, I want to remind you that I do trust physicians overall, but I believe that many are asked to do so much that they often have lapses in judgment or fail to gain a relationship with each of their patient.  

Welcome, Who is Martin Hubner?

My name is Martin Hubner MS, CSCS, Pn1 and I'm a fitness specialist.  I have been active in the field, primarily as a personal fitness trainer, since 2010 and have had experience prior to that as part of my undergraduate internships and my military experience.

My fitness journey began in 2000 when I decided to enlist in the United States Marine Corps.  It began as a preparation for Parris Island and blossomed into an enjoyment of being fit.  While on active duty, my responsibility to myself and my Marines was to maintain a high level of physical fitness, which I did by running and performing strength training using machines.

In 2006, I got out of the Marine Corps and attended the University of North Carolina at Wilmington for a degree in Physical Education and Health, which I achieved in 2009.  While there, I continued my fitness experience and knowledge by increasing my free weight training and martial arts training.  After receiving my degree, I attended Appalachian State University for my Master of Science in Exercise Science, with a concentration of Strength and Conditioning.

I have been working in fitness actively since 2010, as I was hired out of my graduate internship at a local wellness facility.  Since then I've had the privilege of working with clientele with a variety of backgrounds.  I've also had plenty of opportunities to learn more about myself and my particular training style.

First and foremost, my main clientele suffer from various neurological/neuromuscular disorders such as Parkinson's and Stroke.  These people have touched my life in such a way that I want to give them 110% every time.  Most of the methods that I use are through strength training, boxing, and manual manipulation.  These individuals comprise of about 50% of my clientele.  The remainder is distributed amongst individuals with varying other needs, rarely do I receive a competitive athlete or figure athlete as a client, as that's not my specialty.

My second highest percentage of clientele are those who predominately need exercise programming only.  These individuals are the most highly motivated and for the most part they see me once a month or week to verify technique or to undergo the workouts where a partner is necessary for successful completion. They supplement these one on one sessions with online training so that they can maximize their potential.  Often they only need the program and to touch base on a regular basis to keep them on track.

The remaining cliente are usually the ones who require the appointment to hold them accountable for their actions.  These are the toughest overall because they are the most resistant to any outside options.  They also account for about 15% of my clientele.  So while not a majority, they do comprise of a significant amount.

I only wanted to break down my varying array of clientele to show you what my specialization is. I can work with a variety of others, but those listed above are what I do on a daily and weekly basis.  Included in many of their exercise programs are nutritional programs, which complement the exercise.

I'll be posting regularly in this blog sometimes providing fitness advice, sometimes nutritional advice, and others about my clients and the journeys each of them are on.

Thank you for taking the time to read.  I would appreciate "liking" and "sharing" each post so that others may be influenced to take a healthier life.