Mouth Breathers

Been experiencing a bit of gender bias lately.  It's ok though I don't take it personally.  Still, it's been tough hearing my wife talk about all her new people who specifically asked for a female trainer.  I get it I guess.  It just seems like I can't win sometimes.  Women tell Hillary that they don't want a guy to bulk them up or make them feel uncomfortable (I do neither of those things btw).  Guys tell her that they don't want me to injure them with heavy weights and or judge them by how little weight they can lift (I don't do those things either).

Don't feel bad though I've had some interest.  Just this past weekend a gentleman expressed some serious interest about getting ready for a bodybuilding competition and wanted my help.

Now, it's not my area of expertise but I was willing to take on the challenge.  He seemed to have some hurdles to overcome but I don't think his inability to successfully navigate through the two doors to our facility should stop him.  It has been suggested that the speech impediment that I feel could be tapped into as an emotional source of strength was actually caused by massive quantities of alcohol but I'm not so sure.  The fact that he was a very thin man in his late 50's just means that we'll qualify for the Master's division.  Judges like to see you having fun on stage with a big, bright smile and we can definitely supply a big bright tooth.  Ok, just a big tooth.

He seemed very excited when I gave him my card.  I'm still waiting for his call.  Other inquiries consisted of walk-ins who were actually looking for the hair salon next to us.  I tried telling them I could cut hair while they did squats but there were no takers.

Fit Topic of the Day - Huffing and Puffing

Probably once a month I get asked, "When should I be breathing?"  

"All the time," I say.  "If you aren't breathing we really shouldn't be kneeling on the ball with dumbbells in our hands."

Then we both laugh.  Then I apologize for making you laugh while kneeling on an exercise ball with dumbbells in your hands.

Proper breathing patterns are an important part of any weight training program.  I may write more extensively and more seriously about this in a future newsletter to which you should be a subscriber.  They are generally a bit more intelligently written and have fewer instances of grammar bad.

The Basics.  As a general rule you can keep a rhythmic breathing pattern going by remembering to exhale with resistance.  In a pushup for example, you would exhale as you push....up.  A cable row would then be the opposite, you would exhale as you pulled the handles towards you.   When we exhale the abdomen contracts drawing the belly button towards the spine.  By concentrating on that motion of 'drawing in' the belly you effectively squeeze all your guts in and around your spine.  This compression creates a platform of stability within the lower back protecting it as you exert yourself.

There are exceptions to any rule but those generally apply to much heavier weights and more focused forms of breathing.   Also, as you breathe in and out try to focus on breathing into your belly and not puffing out your chest.  This helps to recruit those deeper abdominal muscles by making them stretch and contract.

Ridiculously Fit Person of the Day - Kristin Aiken
I don't know what kind of shape she's really in but she put up a really interesting piece on using a TreadDesk for the first time.  I don't know if it will catch on but it was a good look at finding new ways to incorporate exercise into our daily lives.  Plus, she belongs to the coolest Facebook group I've ever heard of.

Me and My iPod -
35 min eliptical intervals - 5x 5min/1min plus warm-up and cool down.
30 min upper body workout - Bench press on ball, deltoid raises, triceps press and biceps curls, TRX body pulls.

iPod - Arcade Fire, Rage Against the Machine, Propellerheads, Devo, a Janet Jackson/Luther Vandross duet from "Mo' Money" and Celine Dion.
Don't laugh at those last two they're great songs to run to and Celine Dion's 'I Drove all Night' is all about a woman who's so hot and into you that she drives...well...all night, breaks into your house and does special hugging!