Strength training relieves chronic neck pain

Three groups of subjects with neck pain: One group did specific strength training (SST) for the neck and shoulders, the second group did high-intensity general fitness training (GFT) on a bicycle, and the control group did nothing.

The results: The GFT group showed a small decrease in neck muscle pain only immediately after exercise; the SST group showed a marked decrease in pain with a lasting effect after the training ended. The control group had no change.

A quote from the study, Strength Training Of Neck Muscles Relieves Chronic Pain: “The reduction in pain occurred gradually in the SST group, with trapezius muscle pain gradually decreasing as muscle strength increased. Although the GFT decreased the pain only temporarily, the authors note that even minor decreases in pain may be enough motivation to overcome barriers to exercise, and the resulting increase in fitness may benefit overall long-term health.”

Pain leads to less inclination to engage in physical activity. Inactivity starts a vicious cycle of deteriorating health and fitness followed by more aches and pains. The trick to reverse that cycle is to do exercise that will not exacerbate injury and cause more pain.

To restate: "even minor decreases in pain may be enough motivation to overcome barriers to exercise". This leads to a positive cycle. It’s been our experience at Austin Strength Training  and  New Orleans Strength Training that proper exercise with the right equipment will alleviate pain. We an extensive line of MedX equipment, the most technologically advanced fitness, sports and medical/rehabilitation equipment available and experienced trainers to work with those overcoming injuries or those with limiting conditions. One of our machines you are not likely to find at most gyms - our neck exercise machine.  

The risk of diabetes from diet drinks

From this study, 2 diet drinks a day could double risk of diabetes:  a liter of diet drinks a day increases the chance of diabetes ten-fold.

A quote from the study:  “The increased risks were the same regardless of whether the drinks were sugary or artificially sweetened…The artificial sweeteners in the diet drinks may stimulate and distort appetite, they said, increasing food intake, and encouraging a sweet tooth. Such sweeteners might also affect microbes in the gut leading to glucose intolerance.”

While not conclusive - the researchers called for more studies - diet drinks might be something to cut back on. More conclusive:  high intensity interval training (HIIT) lowers blood sugar levels.  HIIT is the type training we do Austin Strength Training and New Orleans Strength Training.  One of our clients has gone from taking five insulin shots a day down to one. 

Can stretching one part of the body affect the flexibility of another part of the body?

Cross-over effects in strength training: Strength train a single leg. That leg will get stronger, and to a lesser extent, the other leg will increase in strength as well. Strength train just the quadriceps. The quads get stronger, and to a lesser extent, the hamstrings do too.

The same occurs in stretching; stretching a muscle of one leg has a "cross-over effect" that produces an increase in flexibility of the opposite leg. It is thought to be a localized change; one leg affects the other.

Will upper-body stretches affect the lower body?   From this study, Acute bouts of upper and lower body static and dynamic stretching increase non-local joint range of motion:

“There were significant shoulder range of motion (ROM) increases following lower body stretches. There was a significant hip flexor ROM increase following upper body stretches.

And this:

“Rather than a mechanical or neural drive mechanism, an enhanced stretch tolerance was likely the significant factor in the improved ROM”.

The study concludes that stretching one part of the body affects the stretch tolerance for the whole body. At Austin Strength Training and New Orleans Strength Training we have:

MedX strength/medical rehab equipment that promotes flexibility [pictured]

MedX stretch machines [pictured on left]

And at the Austin location we have weekly stretch classes open to anyone who would like to attend.

Chocolate another charmed substance?

The study: Heavy chocolate consumption may be linked to heart health  

The result: From an analysis of seven studies with 100,000 participants, five of the studies reported “a beneficial link between higher levels of chocolate consumption and the risk of cardiovascular events. They found that the ‘highest levels of chocolate consumption were associated with a 37% reductionin cardiovascular disease and a 29% reduction in stroke compared with lowest levels.’ No significant reduction was found in relation to heart failure.”

And this: 

“A number of recent studies have shown that eating chocolate has a positive influence on human health due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This includes reducing blood pressure and improving insulin sensitivity (a stage in the development of diabetes).”

Of course, everything in moderation, you can’t just gnaw on a great big chocolate bunny to achieve optimal heart health. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), the type we do at  Austin Personal Training and New Orleans Personal Training, has been shown to lower blood pressure, It is also beneficial to diabetics; one of our clients went from five insulin shots a day down to one.

Things are growing in Austin

A couple of years back the Austin area was growing at a rate of 165 residents a day. The growth continues. A quote from Get ready for new neighbors: City to nearly double in size:

“Austin is poised to grow faster than any other large U.S. city in the next 25 years, nearly doubling in population.”

This blog is primarily concerned with health and fitness. Not unrelated to health is the environment where you live and the opportunities presented.  Our first location, New Orleans Fitness Trainers, has been good for us, but a little over ten years ago we opened our second location, Austin Personal Training.  It has worked out well. We moved into our new location this year with expanded offerings – more than twice the space, massage, added equipment, and stretching classes.     

Study compares once- versus twice-a-week strength training

In a study, 65-79 year old subjects were split into two groups; one strength trained once a week, the other twice a week. The results of this study,Comparison of once‐weekly and twice‐weekly strength training in older adults:

“One set of exercises performed once weekly to muscle fatigue improved strength as well as twice a week in the older adult.”

Exercise serves as stimulus to force your body to make a self-protective adaptation. That adaptation will only occur if your body is allowed to recover and compensate for stress placed on it.

As we age are capacity to withstand and recovered from stress diminishes. Exercise too often and you’ll ruin two workouts. If you’re not recovered from the first you won’t improve on the second. It’s a waste of time and effort.  

A lot of time is spent in the gym doing the same thing - the same weights, the same reps, the same times - with little to show for it. It shouldn’t be that way; if you are fully recovered you should improve each time.

Through trial and error you can eventually figure it; some never do. At Austin TX Strength Trainers and New Orleans Strength Trainers we pay attention to recovery.  We take the guess work out of it to ensure that the improvements are ongoing.

Are you sore from your strength training workout?

From this book, The Body by Science Question and Answer Book, this quote:

“Soreness doesn’t have any direct correlation to growth stimulation.”

 And this:

“The truth is that soreness is not a valid measure of anything but soreness.”

You might be sore after a workout especially in the beginning, but soreness is not our goal.  Our purpose is to make you stronger which will make your life easier.

Testimonies from our clients describing the changes being stronger has made in their lives:

• 72 year old female client able to crawl around on the floor to reconnect her computer system
• A petite 5 foot woman is able to easily carry her 50 lb bag of dog food
• 69 year old female client able to lift her garage door
• A female client able to place her 80 lb harp in her car by herself
• A male easily able to crawl around attics for his job without any pain

When you stub your toe, your toe is sore, but you don’t expect your toe to come back stronger for the experience. The type of training we do at Austin Personal Training and at New Orleans Personal Training will make you stronger and make your life easier. There are many more testimonies and lives that have been changed for the better through Kelly Personal Training. This is done by working one on one with a trainer once a week for thirty minutes.

Thank you to Gretchen Beaty, personal trainer at Kelly Personal Training Austin, for writing this blog post.

Should Friedrich Nietzsche be your personal trainer?

The Friedrich Nietzsche training method: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger”.

Thirty years ago as an experiment, I tried that method on my arms; I over-trained them. My arms were sore for more than a week. During subsequent exercise my arms were significantly weaker for several weeks.

About that time I attended a seminar. The speaker was Arthur Jones, the founder and inventor of Nautilus. I asked him, “If given enough time for recovery would my arms come back stronger”. His answer: “You damaged yourself and wasted your time”.

 A study bears this out. From this study Acute muscle damage as a stimulus for training-induced gains in strength:

“A single bout of damaging eccentric work did not enhance the response to conventional strength training and significantly compromised strength gains for several weeks.”

Over-training is damage; damage has a cummulative effect. If you don't think so ask someone older than you.

The proper dose of exercise is the amount that produces the best possible result.  Anything beyond that is, at best, a waste of time and at worst, detrimental. Don't waste time and effort when exercising. At New Orleans Fitness Training and Austin Fitness Training we can help you improve with the proper dose of exercise.

A interesting result of a study comparing lifting lighter versus heavier weights

As self-protection the body makes adaptations specific to the demands placed on it if given adequate time and resources for recovery. A study bears this out.  Eighteen well-trained subjects were divided into two groups. One group lifted heavier weights until reaching muscular failure, and the other lifted lighter weights until reaching muscular failure. From the study,Effects of Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training on Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Well-Trained Men:

“These findings indicate that both high load and low load training to failure can elicit significant increases in muscle hypertrophy among well-trained young men; however, HL [high load] training is superior for maximizing strength adaptations.” In both groups the exercises lead to similar changes in muscular size, but the subjects in one group experienced a greater increase in their one-rep-max, while those in the other group increased how much they could lift for a longer time (muscular endurance). Whether it is an increase in muscular endurance or strength, at New Orleans Fitness Training and Austin Fitness Training  we can help you with both, always with an eye on safety.

Birds, hollow bones, osteopenia, and trabecula!

Birds can fly because their bones are hollow. That's what I was always told growing up. Turns out your bones are hollow too, but you can't fly. Bones are hollow to keep them light. To make them strong they have an internal structure comprised of tiny struts called trabecula. As bone density decreases the struts get thinner and weaker. Doctors call this osteopenia. This is still reversible. When enough of the struts erode completely away it is called osteoporosis. You ability to repair this damage is greatly reduced. Strength training can increase bone density, can stop the progression of osteoporosis, and it can reverse osteopenia - two notable cases where clients of New Orleans Personal Trainers and Austin TX Personal Trainers reversed their osteopenia.

Oh yeah, so if it's not the hollow bones how come birds can fly? Don't quote me, but I think it's cause of the wings!

Thank you to John Shafer, personal trainer at Kelly Personal Training Austin, for writing this blog post. 

Weight Watchers doesn’t work, but it is the perfect business model

From this article, Oprah’s Investment in Weight Watchers Was Smart Because the Program Doesn’t Work, this quote: 

“It’s the perfect business model. People give Weight Watchers the credit when they lose weight. Then they regain the weight and blame themselves. This sets them up to join Weight Watchers all over again, and they do.”

And this:

“According to Weight Watchers’ business plan from 2001, its members have “demonstrated a consistent pattern of repeat enrollment over a number of years,””

Fat is life-preserving energy for lean times. Whether those lean times are natural (famine) or self-induced (diet) our body’s gastric hormones are programmed to respond a certain way to restore those fat stores. Reporting on the follow-up of a diet study this NY Times article, The Fat Trap, stated:   

“A gastric hormone called ghrelin, often dubbed the “hunger hormone,” was about 20 percent higher than at the start of the study. Another hormone associated with suppressing hunger, peptide YY, was also abnormally low. Levels of leptin, a hormone that suppresses hunger and increases metabolism, also remained lower than expected.”

“It was almost as if weight loss had put their bodies into a unique metabolic state, a sort of post-dieting syndrome that set them apart from people who hadn’t tried to lose weight in the first place.”

“Preliminary research at Columbia suggests that for as many as six years after weight loss, the body continues to defend the old, higher weight by burning off far fewer calories than would be expected.”

So the end result of the WW diet, or any diet for that matter, is a lower metabolism and increased hunger for a very long time, long enough to slowly gain back most or all that lost weight.

I have five years and four months to go; I am 35 pounds lighter for eight months now. My solution for the occasional hunger pangs is to keep telling myself that the dietary self-discipline is well worth being in a healthier state.

For a lower metabolism the solution is to increase your strength. A stronger body will burn more calories even at rest. The high intensity training (HIT) for strength offered at Austin Personal Training and New Orleans Fitness Training effectively burns calories four ways. With modest changes in eating habits and increased strength you can lose fat, keep it off, and feel the best you have in decades.

Another wine study: Red wine equals an hour in the gym

From this article, A new study says a glass of red wine is the equivalent to an hour at the gym:

“Research conducted by the University of Alberta in Canada has found that health benefits in resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, are similar to those we get from exercise.” Resveratrol comes in pill form too. There are other alternatives as well.

One high-intensity-training (HIT) session for strength plus two bike-sprint interval training sessions will take about an hour out of your week. HIT is what we do at New Orleans Fitness Trainers and Austin Personal Training. Do HIT consistently and you’ll be stronger, more flexible, leaner, and more resistance to sickness and injury. You’ll have stronger bones, lower blood pressure, more muscle,  a higher testosterone level, an increased VO2 max,lower blood sugar, more cardiovascular endurance, and an enhanced sense of well-being as there will be increase in endorphins along with a decrease in aches and pains (enough wine can do that, at least in the short run). 

You will also stimulate neurogenesis, the growth and development of brain cells, something a glass of wine cannot do.

Vigorous aerobic exercise, the only know trigger for building new brain cells

From this New York Magazine article Why Running Helps Clear Your Mind -- Science of Us:

Studies in animal models have shown that new neurons are produced in the brain throughout the lifespan, and, so far, only one activity is known to trigger the birth of those new neurons: vigorous aerobic exercise, said Karen Postal, president of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology. “That’s it,” she said. “That’s the only trigger that we know about.” Vigorous exercise in the form of  High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is what we do  at New Orleans Fitness Trainers  and Austin Personal Training. Regular exercise improves our ability to think and remember through the creation of new brain cells, a process known as neurogenesis, the growth and development of nervous tissue. Another blog post on the same subject: Growing new brain cells by exercising.

The wisdom of setting the bar lower from a former Olympic hopeful

After spending several hours in the gym the first week of the year, the man told me, “Six months from now I will be doing the butterfly across that pool”. I didn’t see the man the next week; in fact, I never saw him again. What good is an exercise program that requires several hours a week if you don’t stick to it? It is worse than useless if you are paying monthly bank drafts to the gym/collection agency.

From this NY Times article Advice From a Former Olympic Hopeful: Set the Bar Low - The New York Times some quotes:

“There are those who manage to maintain a rigorous fitness routine despite the demands of work and family. But far more common are folks like me — those who have a hard time fitting fitness into daily life.”

“I asked myself, what’s a goal that I know I could achieve? I settled on two short workouts a week. I figured at a minimum I could get in a run every Saturday and Sunday.”

“As it turns out, my approach is sanctioned by science ... a growing body of evidence is showing that doing higher-intensity workouts just a couple days a week can be just as good for you. I now understand that quality need not be quantity.”

Instead of seeing how much exercise you can fit into your life see what is the least amount that will produce the highest marginal return, the biggest bang for your limited free time.  If you do that, make modest dietary changes, and do an activity you enjoy you will find that a year from now you’ll still be doing it, and your quality of life will have profoundly changed.  At Austin Personal Trainer and New Orleans personal Trainer we can help you achieve that change without endless hours in the gym.

Doctor says asthmatic's improvement using high intensity interval training is remarkable

I am an asthmatic prone to bronchitis and debilitating migraines induced by sinusitis.

A year and half ago I got pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, and my asthma flared up and stay flared.  I was weeks using a nebulizer to get the asthma under control.  

My oxygen consumption level was in the low 80 percent range.  My heart had to work harder to get the oxygen I needed. As a result my blood pressure rose, and my resting pulse was twenty beats per minute higher. I was listless and constantly tired. 

Forced expiratory volume (FEV) measures how much air a person can exhale during a forced breath.  My FEV test was one long wheeze.  I was a mess.

My oxygen consumption level is now in the high nineties, where it should be.   My blood pressure and resting pulse are the lowest they have been in decades, and I am 35 pounds lighter (that comes from diet).

My FEV measurement is now above average for my age with asthma, above average for my age without asthma, and my doctor says it is the highest it has been in 10 years. I asked him how he would characterize that result. He said, “Remarkable”.

For more than a year now I have been doing high intensity interval sprint training (HIIT) on a bike twice a week along with a weekly 22-24 minute high intensity interval strength training session. When I first started doing the eight sprints it took me 29 minutes to complete, and it was very difficult.  I would not start the next sprint until my pulse returned to a specified reasonable rate.  It now takes me 19 minutes - same exact protocol, same difficulty level, and the same RPMs – and it is a comparative breeze.

In total, factoring out sick times, vacations, and life in general it comes to about 48 hours of exercise in a year. 

Is there a study showing improvement for other asthmatics doing high intensity interval training?  Yes - the effect of interval training in children with exercise-induced asthma competing in soccer.

Is there a personal training facility specializing in HIIT using bikes and strength training? Yes - our Austin Personal Trainers facility! 

Americans heavier than 20 years ago

According to this AOL article Americans weigh 15 more pounds than they did 20 years ago - AOL as the title says:

“According to a new federal report U.S. men and women weigh about 15 pounds more than they did 20 years ago!”

The number is for average adults, but the average adult has changed over the years. The average age of Americans has gone from 30 years of age in 1980 to 37.7 years of age in 2014, and 37 year olds tend to weigh more than 30 year olds.   

How much of that 15 pound gain is fat and how much is muscle? It may be that they actually lost muscle and gained even more fat.  The number might be accurate, but it’s not specific.

Here is a number that is specific: adults lose on average 5 pounds of muscle as decade as they age.  Less muscle means a lower metabolism leading to increased likelihood of fat gain.

At Austin Personal Trainers and New Orleans Fitness Training we can help you reverse that trend.  One of our clients, 65 years old, attends a fat lose clinic.  Her latest reading at the clinic indicated that in addition to losing fatshe was gaining muscle.

Lifting lighter weights produces the same results as heavier weights, a point to consider

From this NYT article Lifting Lighter Weights Can Be Just as Effective as Heavy Ones:

“A new study finds that people who lift relatively light weights can build just as much strength and muscle size as those who grunt through sessions using much heftier weights.”

If lifting heavy or lighter weights produce the same strength increases you might do well to consider which produces those results in the safest manner. Increasing strength should not be the cause of injuries, but rather it should give you protection from injuries.

Whether the weights lifted are lighter or heavier in both instances the stress imposed on the body needs to be sufficient to affect a positive change. When the body is exposed to more than it’s used to handling, as an act of self-preservation, the body responds by making a positive adaptation if given enough time and resources to recover from the imposed stress.

Lifting a very heavy weight requires force that can be potentially harmful.  Additionally, momentum is often required just to have a chance of completing the repetition; momentum is counter-productive as it has the effect of unloading the muscles you are trying to work.

With a lighter weight there will be less force needed to move the weight, and if you slow down the movement just a bit it will be even safer and there will be less momentum – less unloading of the muscles. If a set is taken to volitional failure (you can’t move it) a heavier weight will have a shorter time under load than a lighter weight, but in both instances the muscles will be exposed to more than they can handle producing deep fatigue. The main difference is the potential for injury.

A characteristic of many strength exercise programs is a very high injury rate. Google any strength training program along with the keys words injury rate, and you will likely see a whole lot of hits. With a program with high potential risks you might make 10 steps forward barring injury, but if you are injured you will likely take 10 or more steps backward.

At Austin Personal Trainers and New Orleans Personal Trainers we place a high premium of safety and increasing strength.  We use MedX equipment with its special medical rehab features. We can show you how to safely increase your strength and avoid injuries.

How many more calories are burned standing instead of sitting? Not much

Researchers measured the caloric expenditure of four groups doing four different activities: typing while sitting, watching TV while sitting, standing, and walking. In 15 minutes it turns out that standing burns 2 more calories than sitting. From this article How Many Calories We Burn When We Sit, Stand or Walk, some quotes: “Someone who stood up while working instead of sitting would burn about 8 or 9 extra calories per hour. (Just for comparison, a single cup of coffee with cream and sugar contains around 50 calories.)” And: “When the volunteers walked for 15 minutes, even at a fairly easy pace, they burned about three times as many calories as when they sat or stood. If they walked for an hour, the researchers calculated, they would incinerate about 130 more calories than if they stayed in their chairs or stood up at their desks.” You’ve got options for creating a caloric deficit. You could stand at work for most of the day and earn cream and sugar in your coffee, or you could sit at work and drink your coffee black. An Oreo is 45 calories. You could walk an hour at work (good luck with that) and eat three Oreos or the equivalent, or pass on the sweets and sit. There is another option. Do a form of exercise that burns more calories while you are doing it, long after you finished doing it, and will raise your resting metabolism so that you are burning more calories even when you are sitting at work drinking your coffee with cream and sugar. While the best way to lose fat is eating less, exercise can help. High Intensity Training (HIT) burns calories four ways. One study examining the effect of high intensity strength training on metabolism showed a nine-fold improvement in fat burning. This is the type of training we do at Austin Personal Training and at New Orleans Personal Training.

Which supplements really work?

My dog Stella’s vet recommended turmeric for the inflammation in her leg. Stella and I both take it. Stella no longer limps, and my chronic sinusitis has all but disappeared, 

So many supplements out there, which ones work? Rather than spending hours researching on the internet, it would be nice if there was one big info-graphic showing which supplements are backed by science. There is here. The supplement ratings go from strong, good, promising, inconclusive, sight, none, all the way down to harmful. According the graph turmeric was trending and the research was promising. At Austin Personal Trainers and New Olreans Personal Trainers we follow the research. The exercise protocol we use was derived from a study working with osteopenia sufferers at the University of Florida. Researchers found that bone density increased, joints hurt less, and muscles were stronger and more toned with minimal time exercising. It has been shown effective for men and women of all ages.

Lumbar exercises increased bone density significantly for post transplant patients

From this study, Resistance training prevents vertebral osteoporosis in lung transplant patients:

“Osteoporosis and vertebral fractures are a consequence of glucocorticoid immunosuppression therapy in lung transplant recipients…Vertebral fractures are the most prevalent type of fracture in transplant recipients, representing approximately 35% of all fractures, and they can be the most debilitating and activity-restricting injuries in organ transplant recipients.”

The researchers wanted to see if lumbar extension could reverse thevertebral osteoporosis that results from the post-transplant drug regimen. The control group did nothing, and the trained group did lumbar extension exercises.  Six months later the control group was worse off, and the trained group returned to with 5% of their pre-transplantation baseline.

At Austin Personal Training and New Orleans Personal Training we have been seeing results like that for years. It helps to have capable trainers, the best lumbar extension exercise machine on the market, and the protocol to use it. The exercise protocol we use was derived from a study working with osteopenia sufferers at the University of Florida. Researchers found that joints hurt less, bone density increased, and muscles were stronger and more toned with minimal time exercising. It has been shown effective for men and women of all ages.