Chi's Martial Arts Training Center

Has Shoulder Pain Stopped Your Martial Arts Training?

January 27, 2012 in Motivation by charleschi | Permalink

By Robert Wang, M.D.

I recently saw a fit 74-year-old patient who’d practiced wing chun and tai chi for many years. He came to me because of shoulder pain that was bothering him during the performance of his everyday activities. Even doing slow tai chi forms was problematic because he couldn’t raise his arms above his shoulders anymore. He feared he’d no longer be able to practice or teach his arts.

His X-rays revealed significant shoulder arthritis — so much so that the bone was eroding. My concern was that if he continued putting stress on his shoulders, he’d soon have a permanent disability that affected every aspect of his life. It was difficult to advise him to stop training, but his condition was so severe, I couldn’t let him act in a way that would further the deterioration.

The patient informed me that he’d trained old school all his life. He’d punch a concrete wall every day, and he had knuckles to show for it. To strengthen his bong sao, he’d tie weights to his arms before working out. He said he did these and similar exercises up to three times a day.

That raised many questions in my mind: Did his workouts cause his current problem? How much abuse can the human body tolerate before structures start to break down? How should martial artists regulate their training intensity? Unfortunately, there are no simple answers.

Shoulder arthritis occurs when the cartilage on the humeral head (ball of the joint) and glenoid (socket) wears out. In severe cases, the joint space is lost, and the bones grind against each other. There are several causes of shoulder arthritis, including trauma, inflammation (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis), a large/massive rotator-cuff tear and primary degeneration. No matter the cause, the end result is loss of joint functionality.

People with the problem usually feel pain and stiffness. The pain can be mild and associated only with activity, or it can be noticeable even while resting and may wake a person at night. Stiffness also becomes a problem with everyday activities; sometimes it’s so severe the person can’t reach the top of his head or back.

Shoulder arthritis is diagnosed after a physician obtains a history, performs a physical exam and reviews the X-rays. Initial treatment involves pain management with analgesic and anti-inflammatory medication, lifestyle modification to avoid activities that aggravate the condition and gentle stretching exercises to avoid progression of the stiffness. Painkillers may control the pain enough for the person to continue training. Martial artists will often try to tough it out, ignoring shoulder pain and opting not to use medication. That’s ill-advised. The condition can worsen, and the pain can become so severe that training is impossible.

If the pain cannot be controlled with medication, cortisone may be prescribed. It’s a strong anti-inflammatory that’s injected into the joint. The main risk, albeit a low one, associated with the treatment is infection. The injection should be performed via sterile technique, preferably in a clinic at a hospital. The duration of relief varies. Some patients report lessened pain for a year or more, while others say they notice an improvement only for a few weeks. On occasion, people find no pain relief at all.

Another type of injection, called viscosupplementation, is designed to lubricate the joint. Why does that help? Because arthritis also entails the “drying up” of the joint, meaning that the normal fluid that circulates in it is lost. Therefore, supplemental lubrication can provide relief — according to studies, it’s usually short- to medium-term duration. It may be delivered as a single-dose injection or in multiple doses, often three given at one-week intervals.

If one of the aforementioned treatments helps manage the pain, the afflicted person will want to resume training. I usually advise my patients not to engage in intense workouts because excessive force placed on the shoulder can worsen the condition. I then explain the importance of daily stretching and range-of-motion exercises to counteract the stiffness. The goal, of course, is to prolong the life span of the joint by slowing the deterioration.

If nonoperative treatment fails, surgery may be required. The definitive treatment is shoulder replacement. That involves removing the arthritic surfaces of the joint and replacing them with metal and plastic components. After such a procedure, I always advise against any martial arts practice. Some surgeons, in fact, will perform a shoulder replacement only on sedentary elderly people.

If the patient elects not to have a shoulder replacement, an arthroscopic procedure may be an option. This minimally invasive surgery can address all the non-arthritic causes of shoulder pain (e.g., bone spurs) and improve range of motion. However, it won’t alleviate all shoulder pain and is usually beneficial only for those with mild to moderate arthritis.

Returning to my patient: His arthritis is so bad in both shoulders that the only viable solution is shoulder replacement. However, he insists the pain isn’t severe enough to warrant that. I told him he should stop all training.

I still think about the effects of hard training over extended periods and how it can lead to a breakdown in the anatomy. Yes, such training can facilitate impressive displays of strength and power, but you need to think about the potential long-term consequences. If you don’t moderate your training now to preserve the integrity of your shoulders and other joints, you may not be training at all in the future.

About the Author: Robert Wang, M.D., is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He’s an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine.

The Skinny Man’s Workout Plan

January 27, 2012 in Exercise by charleschi | Permalink

By Paul Kita, Photographs by Scott McDermott

I’VE BEEN CALLED A pencil, a string bean, skin and bones. I’ve heard the three words no man who cares about his physique ever wants to hear: “You work out?” Trainers refer to us as ectomorphs—which sounds like something from Ghostbusters—to distinguish us from mesomorphs, the guys who always look like they work out even when they don’t.
My fellow ectomorphs and I prefer to call ourselves “hard gainers.” We brush off the insults, chalk up our physiques to high metabolism, and take solace in the fact that some of us are good at endurance sports.
At least that’s what I used to do. Then I had my Charles Atlas moment. But it wasn’t a sand-kicking bully who made me want to become bigger and stronger. It was a former girlfriend who wanted to hire movers to carry her furniture into a new apartment because she was afraid I’d hurt myself if I tried to help.
I knew it was time to build strength and muscle. But before I could, I had to demolish five of the myths that hold skinny guys back.
MYTH 1: An ectomorph can’t gain muscle I almost puked during a test of my maximum bench press. Martin Rooney, C.S.C.S., director of the Parisi Speed School in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, explains why: “Lifting weights is a stimulus. It attacks your body—everything from your muscles to your nervous system,” he says. “That was your body being challenged in a way it’s never been before. It isn’t used to that kind of stress. Now your muscles will rebuild and prepare for the next attack.”
I’d need it: That first workout was humbling. At 6 feet tall and 146 pounds, I could deadlift just 105 pounds and bench press 95 pounds only three times. I could do 11 chinups, which isn’t bad, and my 11.5 percent body fat would be the envy of many mesomorphs if they weren’t already laughing at my 12-inch upper-arm girth or my wimpy 20-inch vertical jump.
Rooney assured me that building up from this shaky platform would be difficult but not impossible, as long as I was willing to push myself. “Your body is an incredibly adaptive organism,” he says. “That’s why every time you lift, you have to challenge yourself to provide a greater and greater jolt to shock your muscles into another round of rebuilding.”

MYTH 2: No matter how much he eats, a hard gainer can’t put on weight If you think you eat enough to build muscle, try this experiment, courtesy of Alan Aragon, M.S., a nutritionist and Men’s Health advisor from Thousand Oaks, California.
Pick a recent day that represents how you typically eat. Try to remember everything you consumed and run it all through a calorie calculator, like the one at nutritiondata.self.com. If you’re like me, you’ll see a problem. I estimated that I ate about 2,000 calories a day, but it was really more like 1,700—nowhere near what I needed to maintain my existing muscle mass, let alone add to it. “Underweight people tend to overestimate their daily calorie intake,” Aragon says. “Then they incorrectly attribute their low weight to a high metabolism.”
So calories matter. But so do the sources of those calories, Aragon says. More food means higher levels of glucose circulating in your blood. That creates metabolic stress, leading to inflammation, and inflammation can lead to a whole host of problems, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. So trying to build a more muscular body with junk food is like trying to build a log cabin with wood drenched in lighter fluid.
Aragon directed me toward whole grains, which provide fiber that may help regulate blood glucose, and foods rich in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids to fight inflammation. But I still dreaded the answer to my next question: How much will I have to eat?

MYTH 3: He has to eat till he bursts Aragon’s nutrition plan called for 2,500 calories on workout days, including 213 grams of protein. That much protein amounts to almost 2 1/2 pounds of raw sirloin, or 34 large eggs!
I had trouble stuffing it all down at first. It took me a half hour to finish breakfast, and my lunches in the company cafeteria horrified my coworkers. Soon I realized I couldn’t consume all my calories in three giant meals. So I adapted: I kept a jug of almonds and a bunch of bananas at my desk for snacks. I stored a block of cheese and a gallon of chocolate milk in the office fridge. “Your body will tell you how it best processes calories,” Aragon says.
“For some people it’s large meals. For others it’s around-the-clock eating. If you time it right, you should rarely feel as if you’re force-feeding yourself.”

MYTH 4: He must live in the gym Each week I worked out 4 or 5 days, training for up to 6 hours total. (See this month’s poster.) But if I felt physically or mentally drained, I skipped a workout or two. “If your body’s sore, it’s telling you it needs more time to recover,” Rooney says. I’m convinced that the extra rest time enhanced my results, giving my body the time it needed to recover and to come back stronger.

MYTH 5: Results will be minor I won’t lie: This plan is tough, especially in the first few weeks. Some days I was so sore I wanted to avoid walking up a flight of stairs. And the results are unpredictable. You may gain a few pounds right away, or you may lose a pound or two because of the radical change in your routine. But once you’re past the shock stage, you should see steady growth. “Beginning lifters can expect about 2 pounds of muscle growth a month,” Aragon says.
Key point: Each time you hit the gym, give your best effort. “You may think it’s just 1 rep you’re missing, but that last rep is when your muscles are working hardest,” Rooney says. “The question isn’t whether you’re a hard gainer, but are you a hard trainer?”
Rooney retested me about 4 1/2 months after my first visit. I deadlifted 250, and my 3-rep max on the bench press jumped to 165 pounds. I cranked out 20 chinups, and my vertical leap soared to 26 1/2 inches. That’s in addition to the 14 pounds I gained. And it may not sound like much, but I added 2 inches to my biceps. My waist was still 32 inches, and my body fat actually decreased to 9.8 percent.
But the sweetest reward wasn’t measured with a barbell or tape measure. A friend mentioned that she was moving to a new apartment and asked if I could help with the furniture.
“No problem,” I said. And it wasn’t.
Want to try it? The Skinny Man’s Muscle Plan is available exclusively on Men’s Health Personal Trainer. There you’ll find Rooney’s complete plan, and have access to our customizable nutrition program—which will help you create the best diet for your goals, lifestyle, and preferences. Click here to learn more!

15 New Muscle Builders

January 26, 2012 in Exercise by charleschi | Permalink

by Lou Schuler

The old reliable exercises are fine for producing old reliable results. But if you want a physique that’s better than the body you have now, you need exercises that do more for you than the ones that took you to this point. Luckily for you (and your muscles), trainers and scientists across the continent spend their days asking excellent questions, such as “Why do we do it this way?” and “What if we did it that way?” The answers they find are surprising—and useful. Turn the page to read about exercise variations and technique tweaks from some of the country’s most innovative trainers. You’ll refresh your workout and soon have muscle in places you didn’t even know it could grow.
Like these exercises? Click here for three MORE exercises you should do everyday

Try a new muscle formula

Do at least 3 sets of pulling exercises—rows, pullups, and pulldowns—for every 2 sets of chest and shoulder presses you perform, says Brian St. Pierre, C.S.C.S., the owner of BSP Training & Nutrition in Augusta, Maine. Chances are you’ve been doing just the opposite, so this approach can help you build the muscles you’ve been neglecting. The result: Improved posture, better overall muscle balance, and faster gains.

Sculpt bolder shoulders

Strong, stable shoulders will help you lift more weight in nearly every upper-body exercise. So start each upper-body workout with the band pull-apart, suggests Shon Grosse, P.T., C.S.C.S., owner of Comprehensive Physical Therapy and Fitness in Colmar, Pennsylvania. It trains your rotator cuff and scapular stabilizers, the network of muscles that help create a strong shoulder joint. (And it counts as another pulling exercise.)
Keeping your arms straight, use both hands (palms up) to hold a stretch band out in front of your chest. Now squeeze your shoulder blades together and stretch the band out to your sides, without bending or lowering your arms, until the band touches your sternum. Reverse the move and repeat. Do 2 or 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps, resting 60 seconds between sets.

Beef up your back

Most of the fibers in your upper-back muscles are horizontal, which is why rowing exercises work them so well. But the ones in your lats are closer to vertical. The J pull-in hits your lats from start to finish, says Lee Boyce, a Toronto-based strength coach. “And it won’t take much weight for you to feel a deep contraction.”
Attach a rope handle to a high pulley of a cable station. Grab an end with each hand and kneel facing the machine. Keeping your arms straight and your torso upright, pull the rope down toward your groin. (The rope’s path of travel should look like a J.) Try 3 sets of 10 reps, resting 60 seconds between sets.

Pump up your pecs

If you’re unhappy with your chest development, you may have one of two problems.
You don’t work your chest enough. Sometimes you just need to do more work. Boyce recommends the 1 1/2-rep bench press, which effectively doubles the workload of your pectoral muscles. On a flat bench, lower the weight to your chest, and then press it halfway up. Lower it again, and then press it up until your arms are straight. Use 70 percent to 80 percent of your 1-rep max, and perform 3 or 4 sets of 8 reps.
Your shoulders are beat up. Years of dips and bench presses will do that to you, says Tony Gentilcore, C.S.C.S., co-owner of Cressey Performance in Hudson, Massachusetts. To build your chest and triceps while sparing your shoulders, he recommends the close-grip board press. Duct-tape a pair of footlong 2×4s together, the 4-inch sides facing each other; secure the block under your shirt. Load a barbell onto a flat bench-press station. Lie on your back and grab the bar using an overhand grip, your thumbs 12 to 15 inches apart. Lift the bar, lower it to the block, come to a dead pause, and then push back to the starting position. You can go heavy: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps.

Add to your adductors

You wouldn’t be caught dead on the inner-thigh machine. But you also don’t want to ignore your adductor muscles, an area of untapped growth potential. Target them by doing pullups while holding a light weight plate between your feet, Grosse suggests. You’ll force your abs and adductors to engage as you work your back, shoulders, and arms.

Blast your biceps

To hit all the muscle fibers in your biceps, you need to either lift max weight or lift at max speed—which nobody does when they work their biceps, says Chad Waterbury, M.S., the author of Huge in a Hurry. The next time you do curls, use a weight you think you can lift just 6 or 7 times. Bang your reps out as fast as you can while maintaining good form. That means lifting the weight quickly, lowering it at a normal speed, and immediately starting the next rep. Stop the set when one rep is clearly slower than the others. You may pull off 4 or 5 reps on your first set, and fewer on later sets. Rest for 45 seconds between sets, and shoot for 25 reps total.

Trick out your triceps

Waterbury recommends jackknife pushups as a triceps-building companion for the high-velocity curls (tip 6).
Assume a pushup position but place your toes on a bench; keep your hands on the floor, thumbs 6 to 12 inches apart, and hips up. (If you feel the blood rush to your face, you’re in the correct position.) Do pushups as fast as you can without rearranging any of your favorite facial features. (That is, don’t hit the floor.) Go for 35 reps total, with 7 or fewer per set.

Power up your legs

Supercharge any lunge variation by extending your range of motion, making your muscles work harder and grow faster. Boyce recommends these brutally effective leg builders.
Reverse lunge from step: Stand with both feet on a 6-inch-high box or step. Take a long step back with your right foot and descend until your knee almost touches the floor. Return to the starting position, and then repeat the move with your left foot.
Bulgarian split squat with front foot elevated: Place your left foot on a 6-inch step in front of you and your right foot on a bench behind you. Drop straight down until your right knee almost touches the floor. Do all your reps, switch sides, and repeat. Perform 3 sets of 12 repetitions for each leg using body weight only, or 10 reps holding dumbbells at your sides.

Shift your butt into gear

Deadlifts and squats are great for your glutes, but only if you’re actually engaging those glutes. If your knees cave in toward each other, you’re doing less with your butt and more with your back, says Brian Zarbatany, C.S.C.S., training director at the Human Performance Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The solution: Grab the floor with your feet, as if you’re trying to twist through the outsides of your shoes. That helps you keep your knees out and your glutes working.

Get more from your core

The abdominal push press is the best ab exercise you can do in bed, although you’ll probably want to try it on the floor first, says physical therapist Jonathan Fass, D.P.T., C.S.C.S. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Lift your right knee so your hip is bent 90 degrees, and press your left palm into your right thigh, near your knee. Now try to lift your thigh to your chest while pushing back with your hand. If you’re doing the exercise properly, your core should work to produce a stalemate. Hold for 3 to 5 seconds, switch sides, and repeat until you’re sick of it.

Mix it up for a hard middle

If you have a partner, Fass recommends ab prayers, a core-building exercise for two that can double as foreplay. Stand facing each other in an athletic position. Put your palms together (as if praying) in front of your chest, elbows extended 6 to 10 inches from your body. Have your partner push and pull your hands in all directions, forcing you to adjust. Go for 30 seconds, and switch. You should both feel your midbody muscles working.
No partner? Try stir the pot, a classic core exercise from spine specialist Stuart McGill, Ph.D. Assume a plank position with your forearms on a Swiss ball, and roll the ball around by moving your forearms and elbows in a circular pattern.

Build bigger calves

Instead of working your calves in isolation, try the bench bridge, which works them in conjunction with your hamstrings and glutes, says Nick Tumminello, a Baltimore-based personal trainer. Lie on your back with the balls of your feet on the edge of a bench and your knees slightly bent. Lift your hips. You should feel it from your calves through your glutes. Lower your hips and repeat the move for as long as you can.

Move more and risk less

Everyone wants to lift more on the classic powerlifts, and nothing beats hard work, of course. But you can also produce big improvements by incorporating even the simplest of tricks. For the barbell squat: During the move, “Pull the bar down as if you’re trying to rip it apart,” Gentilcore says.
“You’ll activate your lats, which provide more spinal stability.” You’ll move more weight with less risk of injury. And if you actually do rip the bar apart, please send us video.

Boost your bench

This one may seem “bass ackwards,” but to improve your bench press, the experts would like you to start with your butt.
“Clench the bench” by contracting your glutes, and keep them contracted throughout your set, says Joe Stankowski, a personal trainer in Grand Rapids, Michigan. You’ll find that this tweak solidifies your base and allows you to generate more force on the lift. Don’t forget to unclench when you’re done.

Raise your deadlift

Here’s a gear tip: Wash your socks. Then, when you arrive at the gym, perform the deadlift with your shoes off (if your gym allows it), advises strength coach and power-lifter Eric Cressey, C.S.C.S. “Shoes increase the distance the bar has to travel,” Cressey says. They also lift your heels off the floor, which puts more emphasis on your quads and less on your glutes and hamstrings, where it belongs. Either barefoot or in your stocking feet is fine. If your gym frowns on this, invest in shoes with minimal heel lift. Or find a new gym.

The Best Ab Workout

January 25, 2012 in Exercise by charleschi | Permalink

By Alwyn Cosgrove, C.S.C.S.

If it weren’t for dead guys, we’d probably never have started doing crunches. Or situps, or just about any other conventional ab exercise.

That’s because for years, much of our knowledge of the way midsection and other muscles work was based on the study of human cadavers. By looking at the anatomy of corpses, modern scientists figured that the function of your abdominals—particularly the rectus abdominis, or “six-pack muscle”—must be to flex your spine. Which is exactly what you do when you perform a crunch or a situp, or any other movement that requires you to round your lower back. But despite the popularity of these exercises, they simply aren’t among the most effective movements for building a rock-solid core.

You see, your abdominal muscles have a more important function than flexing your spine—their main job is to stabilize it. In fact, these muscles are the reason your torso stays upright instead of falling forward due to gravity. So in stabilizing your spine, your abs actually prevent it from flexing while you’re standing, walking, and running. Here’s my point: If you want better results from your core workout, you need to use a routine that trains your abs the way they’re designed to function. That’s not to say the classic crunch doesn’t work—it does. But the future of ab training is all about stabilization. And guess what? The future is here.

Your Hard-Core Training Plan

Fair warning: This workout may not feel like your usual ab routine. Because the exercises focus on spinal stabilization instead of spinal flexion, they don’t create the same type of abdominal-muscle soreness that you might have felt from traditional core moves. (Moving a muscle against a force causes more muscle damage than resisting movement does.) But that doesn’t mean they’re not working. In fact, since I began using this method in my gym, my clients are seeing faster progress than ever. So don’t worry—not only will this workout make your core strong and stable, it’ll also make your ab muscles pop. The Level 1 workout is the easiest, and a good place for beginners to start; the Level 2 and Level 3 workouts are progressively more challenging. For the best results, do the workout that best matches your fitness leve twice a week.

The Best Ab Workout Ever: Level 1
EXERCISE		SETS	REPS	REST	DURATION
1	Plank	2	N/A	30 s	30 s
2	Mountain Climber with Hands on Bench	2	N/A	30 s	30 s
3	Side Plank	2	N/A	30 s	30 s

The Best Ab Workout Ever: Level 2
EXERCISE		SETS	REPS	REST	DURATION
1	Plank with Feet Elevated	2	N/A	30 s	30 s
2	Mountain Climber with Hands on Swiss Ball	2	N/A	30 s	30 s
3	Side Plank with Feet Elevated	2	N/A	30 s	30 s

The Best Ab Workout Ever: Level 3
EXERCISE		SETS	REPS	REST	DURATION
1	Extended Plank	2	N/A	30 s	30 s
2	Swiss-Ball Jackknife	2	15	30 s	N/A s
3	Single-Leg Side Plank	2	N/A	30 s	30 s

A black belt at age 78

January 24, 2012 in Motivation by charleschi | Permalink

After practicing jiu-jitsu for 15 years, Gene Pace is awarded with highest common belt in Brazilian martial arts.

By Sarah Peters

COSTA MESA — It’s pretty impressive whenever a student of the Gracie Barra school of Brazilian jiu-jitsu gets a black belt.

Even more impressive is when one of those students is 78.

Gene Pace was awarded his black belt Thursday night during a ceremony after his regular twice-weekly class and sparring session at the Costa Mesa studio.

More than 100 of Pace’s friends and supporters showed up to see his milestone.

“It was overwhelming. And last night…” Pace started with a pause, then laughed. “Well, it was a little emotional.”

The Whittier resident has been training under the Costa Mesa school’s founder and instructor, Mike Buckels, for more than 15 years.

“He’s Mr. Consistency. He never misses a class, not ever,” said Buckels, who holds a black belt in jiu-jitsu, as well as kru in Muay Thai kickboxing.

In those 15 years, before Pace, Buckels had only awarded one other jiu-jitsu black belt, and it was to another instructor.

“The best way to describe Gene is that he just executes what you teach him to do,” Buckels said. “If you show him a move, he will go after that move.”

Although Buckels admits that he is careful whom he pairs with Pace, as an older student Pace is not one to underestimate.

“Gene can still pick me up — and I’m a 180-pound man — and toss me to the ground,” Buckels said. “He practices with people as much as 55 years younger than him.”

Pace fell into the Brazilian practice after signing up for a martial arts course for fitness — and to humor his grandchildren.

“I thought to myself, ‘Well, OK, they can’t kill me, and besides, maybe I’ll learn something,’” Pace said, laughing.

“Once I got started, I had to think, ‘Do you just walk away [and] embarrass your grandkids?’” Pace continued. “Nah, you can’t be disrespectful like that. And everyone just stuck with it.”

Pace’s interest in martial arts transferred to jiu-jitsu after meeting Buckles and liking his style of teaching.

A lot of that style resonated with Pace’s finish-what-you-start attitude.

“The things learn you here are discipline and techniques, which you apply to situations, but you never walk around like a peacock,” Pace said. “But, as Mike says, if someone won’t back down, you finish it.”

10 Foods for a Longer Life

January 18, 2012 in Diet by charleschi | Permalink

In Eat This, Not That!, we often write about the foods you should avoid—foods so infused with calories, fat, and sodium that they should come stamped with Surgeon General warnings like cigarette packs. But the foods on this list? They’re different. They’re among the planet’s most perfect foods, capable not just of helping you boost metabolism and melt fat, but also fight disease, lower cholesterol, stabilize blood sugar, and live a longer, better life. And did we mention that they’re delicious? Make it your goal to work these edible all-stars into your diet every day.

Green Tea

Literally hundreds of studies have been carried out to document the health benefits of catechins, the group of antioxidants concentrated in the leaves of tea plants. Among the most startling studies was one published by the American Medical Association in 2006. The study followed more than 40,000 Japanese adults for a decade, and at the 7-year follow-up, those who had been drinking five or more cups of tea per day were 26 percent less likely to die of any cause compared with those who averaged less than a cup. Looking for more immediate results? Another Japanese study broke participants into two groups, only one of which was put on a catechin-rich green-tea diet. At the end of 12 weeks, the green-tea group had achieved significantly smaller body weights and waistlines than those in the control group. Why? Because researchers believe that catechins are effective at boosting metabolism. Substitutes: Yerba mate, white tea, oolong tea, rooibos (red) tea

Garlic

Allicin, an antibacterial and antifungal compound, is the steam engine pushing forward garlic’s myriad health benefits. The chemical is produced by the garlic plant as a defense against pests, but inside in your body it fights cancer, strengthens your cardiovascular system, decreases fat storage, and fights acne inflammation. To activate the most possible allicin, you’ve first got to crush the garlic as finely as possible. Peel the cloves, then use the side of a heavy chef’s knife to crush the garlic before carefully mincing. Then be sure not to overcook it, as too much heat will render the compound completely useless (and your food totally bitter). Substitutes: Onions, chives, leeks

Grapefruit

Just call it the better-body fruit. In a study of 100 obese people at The Scripps Clinic in California, those who ate half a grapefruit with each meal lost an average of 3.6 pounds over the course of 12 weeks Some lost as much as 10 pounds. The study’s control group, in contrast, lost a paltry 1/2 pound. But here’s something even better: Those who ate the grapefruit also exhibited a decrease in insulin levels, indicating that their bodies had improved upon the ability to metabolize sugar. If you can’t stomach a grapefruit-a-day regime, try to find as many ways possible to sneak grapefruit into your diet. Even a moderate increase in grapefruit intake should yield results, not to mention earn you a massive dose of lycopene—the cancer-preventing antioxidant found most commonly in tomatoes.

Substitutes: Oranges, watermelon, tomatoes

Greek Yogurt

If it’s dessert you want, you go with regular yogurt, but if it’s protein, you go Greek. What sets the two apart? Greek yogurt has been separated from the watery whey that sits on top of regular yogurt, and the process has removed excessive sugars such as lactose and increased the concentration of protein by as much as three times. That means it fills your belly more like a meal than a snack. Plus a single cup has about a quarter of your day’s calcium, and studies show that dieters on calcium-rich diets have an easier time losing body fat. In one of these studies, participants on a high-calcium dairy diet were able to lose 70% more body weight than those on a calorie-restricted diet alone. If only everything you ate could make a similar claim. Substitutes: Kefir and yogurt with “live and active cultures” printed on the product label

Avocado

Here’s what often gets lost in America’s fat phobia: Some of them are actually good for you. More than half the calories in each creamy green fruit comes from one of the world’s healthiest fats, a kind called monounsaturates. These fats differ from saturated fats in that they have one double-bonded carbon atom, but that small difference at the molecular level amounts to a dramatic improvement to your health. Numerous studies have shown that monounsaturated fats both improve you cholesterol profile and decrease the amount of triglycerides (more fats) floating around in your blood. That can lower your risk of stroke and heart disease. Worried about weight gain? Don’t be. There’s no causal link between monounsaturated fats and body fat. Substitutes: Olive, canola and peanut oils, peanut butter, tahini

Eggs

When it comes to breakfast, you can’t beat eggs. (That was too easy, wasn’t it?) Seriously though, at a cost of only 72 calories, each large egg holds 6.3 grams of high-quality protein and a powerhouse load of vital nutrients. A study published in the International Journal of Obesity found that people who replace carbs with eggs for breakfast lose weight 65 percent quicker. Researchers in Michigan were able to determine that regular egg eaters enjoyed more vitamins and minerals in their diets than those who ate few or no eggs. By examining surveys from more than 25,000 people, the researchers found that egg eaters were about half as likely to be deficient in vitamin B12, 24 percent less likely to be deficient in vitamin A, and 36 percent less likely to be deficient in vitamin E. And here’s something more shocking: Those who ate at least four eggs a week had significantly lower cholesterol levels than those who ate fewer than one. Turns out the dietary cholesterol in the yolk has little impact on your serum cholesterol. Substitutes: Egg Beaters egg substitute

Quinoa

Although not yet common in American kitchens, quinoa boasts a stronger distribution of nutrients than any grain you’ll ever get a fork into. It has about twice as much fiber and protein as brown rice, and those proteins it has consist of a near-perfect blend of amino acids, the building blocks that your body pulls apart to reassembles into new proteins. And get this, all that protein and fiber—in conjunction with a handful of healthy fats and a comparatively small dose of carbohydrates—help insure a low impact on your blood sugar. That’s great news for pre-diabetics and anyone watching their weight. So what’s the trade off? There is none. Quinoa’s soft and nutty taste is easy to handle for even picky eaters and it cooks just like rice, ready in about 15 minutes. Substitutes: Oats, amaranth, millet, pearl barley, bulgur wheat

Bell Peppers

All peppers are loaded with antioxidants, but none so much as the brightly colored reds, yellows, and oranges. These colors result from carotenoids concentrated in the flesh of the pepper, and it’s these same carotenoids that give tomatoes, carrots, and grapefruits their healthy hues. The range of benefits provided by these colorful pigments include improved immune function, better communication between cells, protection against sun damage, and a diminished risk for several types of cancer. And if you can take the heat, try cooking with chili peppers. The bell pepper cousins are still loaded with carotenoids and vitamin C, but have the added benefit of capsaicins, temperature-raising phytochemicals that have been shown to fight headache and arthritis pain as well as boost metabolism. Substitutes: Carrots, sweet potatoes, watermelon

Almonds

An ounce of almonds a day, about 23 nuts, provides nearly 9 grams of heart-healthy oleic acid, which is more than peanuts, walnuts, or cashews. This monounsaturated fat is known to be responsible for a flurry of health benefits, the most recent of which is improved memory. Rats in California were better able to navigate a maze the second time around if they’d been fed oleic acid, and there’s no reason to assume that the same treatment won’t help you navigate your day-to-day life. If nothing else, snacking on the brittle nuts will take your mind of your hunger. Nearly a quarter of an almond’s calories come from belly-filling fiber and protein. That’s why when researchers at Purdue fed subjects nuts or rice cakes, those who ate the nuts felt full for a full hour and a half longer than the rice cake group. Substitutes: Walnuts, pecans, peanuts, sesame seeds, flaxseeds

Swiss Chard

Most fruits and vegetables are role players, supplying us with a monster dose of a single nutrient. But Swiss chard is nature’s ultimate multivitamin, delivering substantial amounts of 16 vitamins and vital nutrients, and it does so at a rock bottom caloric cost. For a mere 35 calories worth of cooked chard, you get more than 300% of your recommended daily intake of bone–strengthening vitamin K, 100% of your day’s vitamin A, shown to help defend against cancer and bolster vision, and 16% of hard-to-get vitamin E, which studies have shown may help sharpen mental acuity. Plus, emerging research suggests that the combination of phytonutrients and fiber in chard may provide an effective defense against colon cancer. Substitutes: Spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, watercress, arugula, romaine lettuce

Spartacus Workout

January 17, 2012 in Exercise by charleschi | Permalink

A lanky actor transformed himself into Spartacus. The good news: You can do it, too

By Jill Yaworski, Photographs by Cody Pickens

WHEN LIAM MCINTYRE AUDITIONED FOR THE television drama Spartacus: Vengeance, he couldn’t have looked less fit for the title role. He was fresh off a movie called Frozen Moments, playing a man who had awakened from a coma. Skinny made sense for that. For Spartacus? Not so much.
But McIntyre is a good actor, so the Starz network put him at the top of its list, with one major caveat: At go time, he’d better look the part of a rebel warrior.

So he set out to rebuild his musculature. “It was a combination of mental and physical effort,” he says. “The body can do incredible things as long as the mind supports it.”
We’re providing McIntyre’s fitness advice and our own Spartacus workout. Put them both to work, and when you reach go time—beach vacation, high school reunion, first date—you’ll be sure to look the part, too.

CREATE A NO-FAIL PLAN McIntyre wanted a body like Hugh Jackman’s in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It would have been a challenge anyway, but especially so given McIntyre’s 13-hour workdays. His strategy: Never miss a planned workout.

Make it work for you: Focus on the means, not the end. University of Iowa scientists found that people are more likely to stick with a weight-loss plan when they concentrate on specific actions instead of the desired result.
“Break your goal into habits that will help you achieve it,” says Rachel Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., co-owner of Results Fitness in Santa Clarita, California. For example, you might set a goal of completing the 2012 Spartacus Workout 12 times a month. That’s just three workouts a week. But if you reach your 12-workout goal every month, by the end of the year you’ll have logged 144 high-intensity workouts. How many gut-busting workouts did you complete last year?

MEASURE YOUR SUCCESS McIntyre had never been a gym rat before Spartacus. “I didn’t treat my body as well as I should have,” he says. But with his new role, he needed to perform intense weight workouts 4 days a week—every week, for months. Now McIntyre is stronger and fitter than he’s ever been. “When I look back at the photo the Spartacus producers took at the start, I think, ‘Oh, God,’ ” he says. “I didn’t realize how much weight I’d lost for Frozen Moments.” Which is a good reminder: Amazing results don’t happen overnight, but they do happen over time.

Make it work for you: Since you’re not likely to notice a change in the mirror right away, focus on what you can measure: Your performance. “You should be able to do more every workout; lift more weight, do more reps, add more sets,” says Cosgrove. “You can bet that if your numbers are improving, so is your body.”

FUEL YOUR MUSCLES “You can lift all the time,” says McIntyre, “but if you don’t eat the right foods, you won’t have the body you want.” The key ingredient for any diet is protein. It provides the nutrients you need for muscle growth and also keeps you satisfied between meals.

Make it work for you: To grow larger and speed fat loss, Alan Aragon, M.S., a nutritionist in Thousand Oaks, California, recommends eating 1 gram of protein per pound of your target weight. So if you want to weigh 180 pounds, you should eat 180 grams of protein a day.
But some guys say it’s too expensive; others say they feel like they have to force-feed themselves. So shoot for 0.7 gram of protein for every pound, says Aragon. It’s still a highly effective dose for your muscles. The only downside: You may find that you’re hungrier and more at risk of binge snacking.

FIND A PARTNER McIntyre rarely goes to the gym alone. “There are tons of benefits to working out with someone else. You can do a better range of exercises if someone’s there to spot you,” he says. Plus, others push you outside your comfort zone. “They’ll yell at me when I’m not working hard enough, and compliment me when I am.”

Make it work for you: Find a workout partner or join a boot-camp class at a local gym, says BJ Gaddour, C.S.C.S., a leading boot-camp expert. “The more people we have training together, the more energy, sweat, and encouragement are in the room.”

THINK BEYOND YOURSELF McIntyre inherited his role as Spartacus from the actor Andy Whitfield, who recently passed away after a long battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “Andy was amazing at his job,” McIntyre says. “I want to do justice to the character he already created. I think of Andy and remind myself that no day is too hard.”

Make it work for you: Not in the mood for a sweat session? Keep moving for the people who can’t. Says Cosgrove, whose husband is a stage IV cancer survivor and the co-owner of their gym, “Put it in perspective. It’s not chemo. When you think about people fighting for their lives, it makes a workout seem like nothing.” Honor them by making yourself better. “We owe it to people like Andy to bring our best to everything we do,” says Cosgrove. “And that includes taking care of our health.”

Want to try it? The 2012 Spartacus Workout is available on Men’s Health Personal Trainer. There you’ll find the complete four-week plan with exclusive exercise videos, and have access to our customizable nutrition program—which will help you create the best diet for your goals, lifestyle, and preferences. Click here to learn more!

THE 2012 SPARTACUS WORKOUT

This year, give your body the ultimate fitness challenge
Two years ago we teamed with Starz to create the official Spartacus Workout. Its popularity surprised even us: Readers told us it was their favorite Men’s Health workout ever. So to kick off the new season of Spartacus: Vengeance, we asked Rachel Cosgrove, C.S.C.S.—the fat-loss expert who created the routine—to design an all-new version that’s even more intense, challenging, and effective. Like the original, the 2012 Spartacus Workout requires only a pair of dumbbells, a stopwatch, and, well, some serious grit. But try Cosgrove’s plan just once and you’ll quickly understand why it burns fat, sculpts muscle, and leads to fantastic results.

Directions Do this workout 3 days a week. Perform the exercises—or “stations”—as a circuit, doing one movement after another. At each station, perform as many repetitions as you can in 40 seconds using perfect form. Rest for 20 seconds as you transition to the next exercise. After you’ve done all 10 exercises, catch your breath for 2 minutes. Then repeat the entire circuit two more times. If you find you can’t keep working for the entire 40 seconds, use a lighter weight. If you feel as if you could keep going hard for an additional 15 seconds, progress to a heavier weight.

1. DUMBBELL SQUAT TO ALTERNATING SHOULDER PRESS AND TWIST

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and hold a pair of dumbbells next to your shoulders, elbows bent, palms facing in [A]. Push your hips back and squat deeply [B]. Push back up, rotating your torso to the right and pivoting on your left foot as you press the dumbbell in your left hand above your shoulder [C]. Lower the weight and rotate back to center. Repeat, rotating to the left and pressing up the dumbbell in your right hand.

2. MOUNTAIN CLIMBER AND PUSHUP

Assume a pushup position. Your body should form a straight line from your head to your ankles [A]. Without allowing your lower-back posture to change, lift your left foot off the floor and move your left knee toward your chest [B]. Return to the starting position, and repeat with your right leg. That’s a mountain climber. Now do a pushup [C].

3. DUMBBELL SIDE LUNGE AND CURL

Hold a pair of dumbbells at arm’s length at your sides [A]. Take a big step to your left and lower your body by pushing your hips back and bending your left knee. As you lower your body, bend forward at your hips and try to touch the dumbbells to the floor [B]. (Note: Go only as low as you can without rounding your lower back.) Then push yourself back to the starting position as quickly as you can. Perform arm curls [C]. Alternate back and forth, doing a lunge to your left and then a lunge to your right.

4. PLANK WALKUP WITH DUMBBELL DRAG

Start in a pushup position with a dumbbell on the floor next to your right hand. Lower your body into a plank so you’re resting your weight on your forearms instead of your palms [A]. “Walk” back up to a pushup position [B]. Without leaving this position, grasp the dumbbell with your left hand [C] and drag it underneath your chest until it rests on your left side [D]. Repeat, this time dragging the weight with your right hand.

5. DUMBBELL STEPOVER

Stand holding dumbbells at your sides [A]. Step forward with your left foot and lower your body until your front knee is bent 90 degrees [B]. In one motion, push back up and take a long step back with your left foot into a reverse lunge [C]. Keep shifting between forward and backward lunges with the same leg for 20 seconds, and then repeat on the other side.

6. DUMBBELL SINGLE-ARM ALTERNATING CLEAN

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell between your feet on the floor. Push your hips back, squat, and grab the dumbbell with one hand [A]. Pull the dumbbell up and “catch” it at shoulder height as you rise to a standing position; keep your knees slightly bent [B]. Pause, lower the dumbbell to the floor, grab it with your other hand [C], and repeat on the other side [D].

7. PUSHUP-POSITION ROW AND SQUAT THRUST

Place a pair of dumbbells on the floor and assume a pushup position with your hands on the dumbbells [A]. Pull the right dumbbell up to the side of your chest [B]. Pause, and then lower the dumbbell; repeat the move with your left arm [C]. While holding the dumbbells, quickly bring your legs toward your torso [D], and then jump up [E]. Once you land, squat and kick your legs back into a pushup.

8. GOBLET SQUAT AND ALTERNATING REVERSE LUNGE

Hold a dumbbell vertically in front of your chest, cupping one end of the dumbbell with both hands [A]. Keep your elbows pointed toward the floor and perform a squat [B]. Then push back up to the starting position [C]. Now step back with one leg—into a reverse lunge—and lower your body until your front knee is bent 90 degrees [D]. Pause, and then push up quickly. Alternate your lunging leg with each rep.

9. DUMBBELL RUSSIAN TWIST

Sit holding a dumbbell in front of your chest. Lean your torso back slightly and raise your feet off the floor [A]. Without moving your torso, rotate the weight to your left [B] and then to your right [C]. Move back and forth quickly.

10. DUMBBELL STRAIGHT-LEG DEADLIFT AND ROW

Stand with your knees slightly bent and hold a pair of dumbbells at arm’s length in front of your thighs [A]. Without rounding your lower back or changing the bend in your knees, bend at your hips and lower your torso until it’s nearly parallel to the floor [B]. Without moving your torso, pull the dumbbells up to the sides of your chest [C]. Pause, and then lower the dumbbells. Raise your torso back to the starting position.

http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/skinny-spartacus

Bleeding Edge: The Art in Knife Fighting, Part 1

January 13, 2012 in Motivation by charleschi | Permalink

by Michael Janich

Knife fighting has always been one of the most misunderstood topics in self-defense. Although everyone agrees that the knife is a potent weapon, there’s no consensus when it comes to effective edged-weapon tactics. Some practitioners swear by the traditional European and Asian systems. Others look to military combativesas the ultimate source of blade techniques. Still others regard prison-style knife tactics as the best.

So which methods should you bet your life on?

That depends on what type of knife you carry and what situations you’re likely to face. If you’re a soldier carrying a full-size combat knife in a war zone, your needs and rules of engagement are different from those of a convict armed with a sharpened toothbrush or a civilian carrying a tactical folding knife.

My exploration of knife tactics began with the classic military systems. In addition to reading about and experimenting with the work of Anthony Drexel Biddle, William E. Fairbairn and John Styers, I had the rare privilege of consulting closely with the late Col. Rex Applegate and personally picking his brain on World War II-era knife combatives. I also thoroughly researched the works of early modern authorities like Michael D. Echanis, David E. Steele and James Keating, as well as masters of the Philippine and Indonesian systems. Every step of the way, I learned something — even if it was what not to do with a knife.

The result of my 30-plus years of training, research and analysis is Martial Blade Concepts. It draws heavily from battle-proven tactics taught in the Philippines and Indonesia and adapts those methods to the needs of modern personal defense. Although it can — and has — been adapted to military environments, it’s primarily a self-defense system. As such, its greatest value lies in its relevance to the problem at hand: the effective defense of your life and the lives of loved ones against the types of attacks that occur in our society.

MBC is based on a number of fundamental concepts that define its reality-based self-defense focus and clearly separate it from knife systems that are unrealistic, poorly conceived or inappropriate for modern applications. Realistic defensive knife tactics are not about knife dueling. Knife fighting — at least the way I see it — is best defined as “learning how to fight effectively with a knife.” As long as you’re legally justified in bringing a knife into a defensive situation, it doesn’t matter what type of weapon your attacker is armed with. Whether he’s swinging a stick, a brick, a tire iron or a blade, your tactics must be sound and versatile enough to adapt to the situation. Don’t limit yourself to training that focuses only on knife-vs.-knife dueling. Be able to apply your skills to the broadest possible set of defensive situations.

Accept that you’ll fight with the knife you have when you’re attacked. The design of the “ultimate fighting knife” will always be a hotly debated topic, but the truth is that the best fighting knife in the world is the one you have with you when the altercation starts, not the one back home in your sock drawer. Many of the designs recommended by self-proclaimed experts cannot be legally or practically carried by civilians on a daily basis. Understand that, accept it and choose your weapon accordingly.

Research the laws in your area and the areas you typically travel to and choose a knife that’s legal in those jurisdictions. If possible, select one that has a training version that’s mechanically identical to the live blade but allows you to safely make contact with your partner. Then tune your training to focus on the deployment and practical application of that weapon and make its carry part of your daily life.

It’s essential to understand the cutting and puncturing performance of your carry knife so you know what it — and you — can do to a target. You need to have a clear understanding of its destructive potential, and the only way to do that is to actually cut and puncture targets with it.

The best target for this phase of training is one that accurately simulates flesh-and-bone body parts and is covered with a layer of clothing. I use something I call a “pork man.” I start with a 5-pound pork roast, then cut it lengthwise about halfway through its thickness and tie it around a 1-inch dowel with a generous amount of butcher twine (which replicates tendons and connective tissue). I wrap the entire thing in 20 to 30 layers of plastic wrap, tape down the ends and cover it with cloth — the leg of a pair of jeans, a sleeve from a jacket or something similar. The result is a good facsimile of the average man’s forearm, upper arm or lower thigh — the preferred targets of MBC.

Obviously, before you attempt any live-blade cutting, you must have the requisite knife skills and take the proper safety precautions to avoid injury. It’s best to train with an unsharpened knife for at least several months before attempting any cut.

Live-blade cutting allows you to validate the destructive capability of your carry knife against a realistic target and, in the process, gives you an accurate understanding of the resistance involved when cutting through clothing into flesh. During this part of testing, you should assess the effects of each cut and thrust. Be consistent with the techniques you use and make sure they’re not contrived power swings.

Until you’ve invested the time to prove it to yourself, take my word for it: With proper skills, a sharp, high-quality folding knife with a 3-inch blade will cut “to the bone” on a pork man covered with medium-weight clothing.

Real self-defense is all about “stopping power.” In any fight, your goal is to get away safely — period. As such, the focus of your training should be to stop the attacker efficiently and decisively, to minimize injury to you and to create an opportunity for escape. Unfortunately, most knife systems confuse stopping power with killing power. If you defend yourself by delivering a lethal cut but that wound doesn’t produce an immediate stopping effect, you’re still in danger. Although your attacker may die, he has the opportunity to kill you before he does. That’s not good enough.

Study human anatomy to learn what targets you can cut to reliably stop an attacker. Although most systems focus on closing the distance and delivering potentially lethal cuts and stabs to the torso or neck, the effects of those wounds aren’t immediate, reliable or predictable.

Rather than going to martial arts sources, Internet forums or even military close-combat materials — such as the widely touted but wildly inaccurate Fairbairn Timetable of Death — I researched stopping power based on an analysis of knife attacks and interviews with trauma doctors, paramedics, physical therapists and medical professionals who regularly see the results of knife wounds. After hearing about many examples of people who were stabbed repeatedly in the torso but didn’t stop fighting, it became clear that there had to be a better way.

A foundational element of the Philippine martial arts is “defanging the snake,” or biomechanical cutting. Basic anatomy teaches that muscles pull on tendons to move bones. If a tendon is severed or the muscle powering the action is cut deeply enough, the structure that enables movement is immediately compromised. Traditional defanging with a knife involves cutting the flexor tendons or the muscles on the inside of the forearm to take away an attacker’s ability to grip a weapon. MBC expands on this by focusing on three target priorities:

The forearm and flexor tendons to destroy the grip
The biceps and triceps to destroy coordinated motion of the weapon arm
The quadriceps above the knee to destroy mobility

Such cuts not only target the tendons and muscles, thus producing an immediate disabling result, but also can be used to attack adjacent nerves and major arteries, providing an immediate secondary method of disabling the limb and achieving delayed stopping power through blood loss.

This approach has been reviewed by trauma surgeons, neurologists and physical therapists, including the staff of the International School of Tactical Medicine. All have found it to be medically sound and agree that, applied properly, it will produce predictable disabling effects.

That’s why I recommend basing your tactics on natural, easily learned movements that take into account human instinct and the physiological effects of life-threatening stress. The natural reactions you must allow for include the “startle response” and a degradation of fine- and complex-motor skills. Although it’s possible to train to mitigate instinctive reactions to stress so you can apply complicated tactics, it takes lots of time and intense training. A smarter approach is to accept that you’ll respond instinctively and build your tactics on the foundation of that instinct.

In training, focus on patterns of motion that emphasize simplicity and commonality of technique. Rather than learning specific responses for each attack, learn a small number of versatile moves that can be reflexively applied to a range of situations. MBC uses a system of angles like the Philippine arts do, but the angles are based on your point of view and used primarily to identify and categorize incoming attacks. Together, those strategies yield a system that promotes rapid, reflexive decision-making followed by the application of instinctive and effective techniques.

It’s essential to develop your abilities using methods that involve the repetition of critical skills in challenging conditions. Repetition is the mother of all skill. Repetition under realistic stress is the mother of truly reliable skill. The “flow” drills taught in the Philippine arts can provide challenging and time-efficient training methods. In their rote form, they isolate and refine specific skills. At higher levels of training, you’ll find yourself performing individual drills more quickly and with greater intensity, and you’ll spontaneously transition from one drill to another without cueing your partner. This training format promotes quick actions and closely replicates the level of adrenal stress you’ll experience in a real attack.

Integrating drill practice into a dynamic “chess game” also allows you to experience what it’s like to react to various attack angles from many initial hand positions. In doing so, you program yourself to choose the most structurally efficient responses to attacks and overcome your opponent’s checks, grabs and counters.

About the Author: Michael Janich is a freelance writer based in Longmont, Colorado. He has more than 35 years of martial arts experience and is one of America’s best-known knife-fighting experts.

Your Secret to Never Skipping a Workout

January 11, 2012 in Exercise by charleschi | Permalink

by Cassie Shortsleeve

Would you workout more if you had to pay up every time you skipped the gym? The creators of Gym-Pact, the new iPhone app that charges you for missed workouts, think you would—and when it comes mixing moolah and fitness, the payoff can be big.

Download Gym-Pact and you’ll put money in your account, making a pact with the service—how many times you’ll go to the gym and how long you’ll exercise. (You add your gym to the app and “check in” through a tracking GPS feature.) If you don’t show up, you pay up, and money gets deducted from your account

According to recent research, negative financial incentives work. One study found that when overweight people worked out, it was the ones who had money on the line—instead of just a chance to win cash, or no incentive at all—that lost the most weight: an average of 14 pounds.

“If being overweight hurts your bank account, it will motivate you to lose it,” says B.J. Gaddour, C.S.C.S. There’s less disposable income these days for the movies, or eating out, so every dollar counts. A financial incentive may be just what you need to make a change, he adds.

Not into the whole cash incentive thing? Gaddour suggests making a weekly bet with your significant other about the number of completed workouts each week. If you meet your quota, you win. If you fall short, your significant other wins. “The payout doesn’t have to be financial—make it a household chore or something that one of you would enjoy receiving as a gift,” he adds.

Your At-Home Fitness Plan

January 10, 2012 in Exercise by charleschi | Permalink

Blasting fat has never been simpler—but are you up for this challenge?

By Adam Campbell

Ever seen a photo of Mark Wahlberg’s old home gym? (He recently sold the property.) It was loaded.
Reportedly, the space was 2,500 square feet, with 18-foot ceilings. It housed racks of dumbbells, weight plates, and pre-loaded barbells, along with variety of benches and other necessities. There was a catwalk with cardio machines, and yes, a regulation-size boxing ring right in the middle of it all. Oh, and a full-size basketball court just outside. Plus, a massage table. (Naturally.)
Now, it might be tempting to think, If I had access to all that stuff—at my home!—I’d be in great shape, too!

But sorry, that’s just not true. Right now, basements are filled with dusty fitness equipment, from infomercial weight machines to expensive state-of-the-art treadmills.
The truth is, it takes very little—in terms of equipment—to get fit. What it really requires is time, know-how, and effort. “The latter is the most important,” says Men’s Health fitness adviser BJ Gaddour, CSCS, and CEO of StreamFIT.com. “And I can help with the rest, including the equipment.”

That’s because Gaddour took all of these major obstacles into account—including lack of equipment—when he created the all-new Abs Diet EXTREME Workout.
Our challenge to him was this: How do you design a cutting-edge fat-loss workout that requires very little equipment and maximizes every second of your time?
Gaddour’s super-simple solution: the “dumbbell complex.”

This genius workout method allows you to get in the toughest workout of your life using just a single pair of dumbbells. An extreme workout, if you will. For men, 15- or 20-pound dumbbells will likely do the trick; for women, all that’s needed is a pair of 8, 10, or 12-pound dumbbells. (That’s roughly a $25 to $50 investment, depending on the type of dumbbell you purchase.)
How does it work? You do three exercises, back-to-back-to back, for 30 seconds each without resting. Then you catch a breather for 90 seconds, and repeat for several rounds. You can also alternate between complexes of different exercises. But that’s for starters. To make the workouts even harder, you can reduce the rest between rounds. This increases the intensity for even better results—for both fitness and for fat loss.

An important point: These complexes aren’t comprised of random exercises that have been thrown together. Gaddour carefully chooses the movements so that the weights are challenging for each exercise, and to allow a smooth transition between moves while avoiding excessive “cross-fatigue.” This enables you to work your hardest on each exercise for the entire 30 seconds, but still be able to go several rounds.

The upshot: You work your entire body from head to toe, and at a high intensity. “This is called ‘metabolic resistance training,’ and it’s the most effective way to quickly burn calories and boost your metabolism,” says Gaddour. “You can do it almost anywhere, including your living room, and you don’t have to waste time switching from machine to machine.”
Ready to try it? Then check out the dumbbell complexes below. It’s a time-saving technique that’s expertly designed for the results you want. All you have to do is make the effort. And if you want a complete 12-week program that provides 24 different three-exercise complexes—along with a personalized Abs Diet nutrition plan—check out the Abs Diet EXTREME Workout. It’ll blast fat and help you look and feel fitter than ever.

Directions: You can do your entire workout using either Dumbbell Complex 1 or Dumbbell Complex 2, or use both complexes in the same workout. Simply choose a dumbbell complex and do each exercise within the complex for 30 seconds. Don’t put the dumbbells down or take a breather until you’ve done all three exercises. Then rest for 90 seconds. That’s one round.
After your 90-second rest period is up, you can either repeat Dumbbell Complex 1 or move on to Dumbbell Complex 2. Simply follow the same procedure, and then rest again. (That’s two rounds.) Once you’ve rested, repeat the entire process until you’ve completed a total of 6 rounds. This is what Gaddour calls Level 1. It’s the best place to start. And it takes less than 18 minutes, but it’ll likely be all you want. If you feel like you need to work harder, you can move to Level 2 or Level 3, where you’ll decrease the rest and increase the number of rounds.
Note: A typical rep-range for each exercise is about 8 to 12 reps. If you’re consistently getting more than 15 reps, the weight is too light. (Or you need to move to Level 2 or Level 3.) If you’re consistently completing 6 reps or less, the dumbbells are too heavy. Also, for any single-leg or single-arm exercises, switch sides halfway through each work period. So you’d switch arms or legs at the 15-second mark of an exercise.

Level 2: To make it harder, decrease your rest time to 60 seconds, and complete a total of 8 rounds.
Level 3: This is really tough. Decrease your rest time to 30 seconds, and complete a total of 10 rounds.
DUMBBELL COMPLEX 1 Exercise 1: Close-Hands Pushup Exercise 2: Dumbbell Skiier Swing Exercise 3: Overhead Split Squat

DUMBBELL COMPLEX 2 Exercise 1: Twisting Curls Exercise 2: Overhead Triceps Extension Exercise 3: Single-Arm Deadlift

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