Which muscle does this work?

A question that routinely is asked is "which muscle does this work?"  The question that I have is "what value do you receive knowing the answer?"  What purpose for you, as the exerciser, does knowing which muscle is the one being used?

Part of my undergraduate and graduate studies consisted of anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics.  Each of these allow for me to understand which muscles are being used, which energy systems are dominant, agonist/antagonist movement, and a variety of other fairly important items when it comes to understanding how the body responds to exercise.  So for me to answer that question to myself or better yet, why am I working this muscle, is much more relevant than what muscle is it.

The specific muscle being worked isn't hugely important unless your bodybuilding or in therapy.  For many, it's the bio-energetic system(s), the energy systems the body uses, which is usually more relevant.  The amount of muscle recruited to perform a task is also generally more relevant to me than which muscle I'm working.

Now, don't get me wrong, if I tell you that you're working your "lats" while performing a pull-up I'm not lying, they're being used.  But, what does this tell you?  It honestly doesn't fully help me unless I'm trying to hypertrophy (grow) or recruit (contract) the lats.  And even still, lats isn't really the name, it's shortened for lattissimus dorsi.  It is however, one of the primary movers in a pull-up.  It helps to stabilize the spine and the upper body in general. Generally speaking, it's involved in all large compound movements such as dead-lifts, squats, and bench press.

So knowing which muscle being worked, has it helped you with this knowledge?  Or is it important to ask "why am I working this muscle?"  Think of questions like that as opposed to which muscle, which really doesn't serve a practical matter.  

The thrill of the fight!

As I pointed out in my previous post with a boxing class for people living with strokes, I have been running a boxing class for people living with Parkinson's Disease for the last year.  We've modeled the program loosely off of a national non-profit program, but we've kept it in line for our needs and our facility.

I have about 16-20 people spread out in 2 sections of our Parkinson's Boxing Class per week. I'm almost to the point to where I have to add another section to fill our demand.  We spend most of the time boxing, rather than other type of work such as medicine balls or anything like that.  However, we do include agility & mobility and a recent addition has been basic strength training.

Even within the boxing itself, we focus on various elements of fitness such as strength, endurance, reaction time, coordination, and cardiorespiratory endurance.  Some of what we have set up is fairly "mindless," but some of what we do requires a tremendous amount of mental awareness and thought.  These areas more than offset our "mindless" options which serve mostly as conditioning (to include all of those elements I discussed before).

I love having the opportunity to get to know each of my boxers.  They truly are wonderful people with wonderful stories.  Many of them have shown a resurgence in life and have taken their lives back over from the disease.  It's this triumph that has been inspiring above all.  I'm happy to serve them all in any capacity that I'm able to.

If you or someone you love is dealing with Parkinson's Disease or any neurological disorder, please don't hesitate to get them assistance.  It may be scary at first, but it'll allow for you to take back your life or theirs.  Remember "Courage is being scared but saddling up anyway."  -John Wayne

A punch stroke

One of the things that I love about working with neurological conditions is the puzzle factor.  Each person has a uniqueness that is not as evident in healthy people.  Each person poses a unique challenge that must be overcome to be effective as a trainer.  This challenge is thrilling and satisfying in ways that are unmatched.

On 2/28 I began leading a boxing class for individuals who have been affected by strokes.  Each participant has been hand-selected to help for us to "pilot" this program and is excited for us to get it off of the ground.  The purpose behind the boxing class is for us to hone in on strength, endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance, weight transfer, balance, and with any luck, neuroplasticity.

Much of what we are trying to accomplish is to take the "medical" perception out of therapy.  Our program is supervised by a Physical Therapist specializing in neurological conditions, of which I refer to her as the "strategy."  I'm next in line and the lead on the "tactical" front, of which once we're in the room and engaged in the program, what I say goes.  From there we have several physical therapy interns and other trainers to assist in safety.

I'm excited about the program and it is our intention to spawn other programs.  We have been running a Parkinson's Disease boxing program for the last year with a high degree of success and participation.  In the same capacity, I'm the lead once in the room and the class beginning.  We have our own "proprietary" program which allows for us to be different when related to other programs that are in existence.

I'm excited for what the future holds in terms of helping these people heal.  In all honesty, I never would've imagined that this is what my life had in store for me and for that I'm appreciative.  

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.  

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!