Friday, July 26, 2013

Exercise for Aerials

We are getting ready to teach an Aerials 101 class next month, and one question people often ask me is, "What kind of exercise should I do to get ready for this kind of class?"

Aerials, or air steps, are flips and tricks that people do when they are dancing. One of the craziest examples ever of aerials appears in the movie Hellzapoppin. Watch the movie if you have a few minutes. It's totally insane. Joel and I do not teach this level of craziness when dancing. For one thing, we are not teenagers and neither are most of our students. But from watching the film you can see that this kind of dancing attracts a lot of attention. It is also very physically demanding.

In aerials, both partners are sharing the work and relying on momentum to counterbalance gravity. Guys should not feel like they are man-handling the women--it's an equal partnership and we both have to do our part.

Although each move uses its own set of muscles, all aerials require a strong core (back and belly) and strong arm muscles. These moves are not endurance moves. They require one sudden burst of energy followed by rest. So when you are training for aerials, you eventually want to work really close to your maximum capacity for a short period of time.

However--you must start somewhere. Most of our students do not walk in the door ready to start a high-intensity plyometrics program. Before you start even thinking about aerials, you have to build a stable foundation.

Foundational exercises
If you are not a regular exerciser, start off with some basic arm, back and belly exercises like planks. Most people know what a plank is, but if you don't, go check out ACE fitness' description. Although some people may want to hold their planks for two minutes or more, that doesn't really help you train for sudden, explosive moves. Hold your plank still for up to 30 seconds. For an extra abdominal kick, try rocking the plank back and forth about 10 times, rolling over your toes.

A side plank will help stabilize the sides of your abdominals, but you may have to start out keeping the lower knee bent until you develop more core strength.

For your arms, try pushups. Many women I know can do 15 pushups on bent knee but not a single one on straight legs. If your goal is to do aerials, make a concerted effort to do the pushups with straight legs. Even if you can only do one per set, and then work up to two per set. Aerials take a lot of arm, chest and back strength, and pushups will help give you the support to protect yourself from injury.

In any kind of dance, all the power from the lower body comes from your glutes. The best butt exercises known to man are squats and lunges. Many times, when I squat with clients, they tell me they feel it in their knee or quad more than in their glute. If that's the case, push your butt further back and make sure that your knee cap stays right over your heel instead of pushing forward over your toe.

Progressing
Once you have a strong foundation in the core, arms and glutes, you can start trying to develop some power in those muscles. What I mean by power is the ability to generate a short burst of intense effort. For example, jumping is a power move. It is not a sustained activity that you do for and hour at a time.

Power moves

  • Arms: A power move for your arms might be a clapping pushup. I know, I can hear you laughing right now. Two paragraphs ago, you were working up to a straight-leg pushup, and now I expect you to do a clapping pushup? If that's too much of a stretch, consider a "jump pushup," in which you push yourself up with enough force that your hands lose contact with the ground, even if just for a split second. 
    • Medicine balls and sandbells are also very handy "power" tools because you can throw them without hurting yourself. Unlike with a barbell or dumbell, you can throw a sandbell at your spouse and they can throw it back to you. If you do it very quickly and with a weight that wears you out before you repeat the exercise 10 times, then it is a power move!
  • Legs: Jump squats, jumping squat-thrusts (also known as burpees) and jumping lunges are all power moves. You can also jump on to or down from a plyometric box, aerobic step, or Step 360. As you progress into these plyometric moves, I highly recommend that you work with a certified personal trainer, because the likelihood of injury greatly increases when your feet leave the ground.
  • Core:  I like to be careful with the core. I don't try to progress people too quickly or have them do crazy moves that are going to lead to back injuries. If you want to progress beyond the plank and side plank, I highly recommend the TRX suspension trainer. The TRX is a very simple piece of equipment, basically two straps with two handles/foot loops and one anchor end that you secure to a stable point overhead. You can put your feet in the loops to destabilize your body and suddenly pushups, planks and side planks become a major strength and balance challenge.
    • Stability ball: TRX aside, one of my favorite core exercises is an inverted pike on the stability ball. You put your feet on top of the ball with your hands on the floor in pushup position, then contract your abdominals to roll the ball, and your feet, forward toward your hands, making an inverted-V shape with your body.
Cross-Training
Many people like the idea of aerials, but they can be a little surprised by how much core strength it actually takes to execute these moves. Even if you are a regular exerciser, you are likely to feel some muscle soreness with any unfamiliar movements. If you don't exercise much at all, even simple aerials can leave you hurting for a week. 

My advice to anyone who is interested in flashy tricks is to commit to a regular exercise routine. Do some sort of exercise most days of the week. Do a mix of things, including high-intensity aerobic intervals, low-intensity sustained aerobic activity, and resistance training. Once you progress into the power moves, allow your body several days to recover between workouts--so don't do the plyometrics more than twice per week. To get a personalized routine catered exactly to your needs, work with a certified personal trainer.

For more info, check out the American Council on Exercise Exercise Library.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

How much water do I really need to drink?


Unfortunately, hydration needs vary widely from person to person, so there is no one-size-fits-all answer.

The easiest method I have found to gauge my own hydration level is to be aware of my pee. It may not be the sort of conversation I want to have over dinner, but I want to be sure I’m going at least every two hours, going with some volume, and that the color is always a nice pale yellow (colorless is even better).

Why does water matter?
Water is the most important single component of the human body. It makes up more than 60% of your body weight (75% of muscle tissue and 10% of fat cells). It cushions your organs, helps you maintain a constant body temperature, and provides a waste transportation system to help each cell in your body “take out the trash.”

You lose water through sweat when you exercise, especially when exercising intensely or in hot weather. One design problem with the human body is that we don’t feel thirsty until we are already on the way to dehydration. So our goal is to stay ahead of thirst and drink before we need to.

What is dehydration?
Symptoms of dehydration, or excessive water loss, include: muscle fatigue, loss of coordination, lack of sweat, inability to control water temperature, heat-related illness (like cramps, heat exhaustion or heat stroke), and a loss of energy. Dehydration can be life-threatening if you ignore it too long. Athletes and casual exercisers are likely to encounter heat exhaustion and possibly heat stroke if we don’t stay ahead of the dehydration curve.

How much do I need?

The old adage that everyone should drink eight eight-ounce glasses of water per day falls just slightly short of The Institute of Medicine’s recommendation that men drink about 13 cups of total beverages a day and 9 cups a day for women. This is a good starting point, and it can be a useful baseline if you emphasize “at least eight glasses,” or if you drink 10 ounce instead of 8-oz glasses.

Men require more water than women. Older people feel less thirsty and can have more trouble regulating temperature than younger people (the same is true of children). Heavy sweaters and salty sweaters (people whose workout clothes are dripping wet and/or rimmed with salt after an exercise session) require more hydration than those who sweat little.

The weight of it all
Try weighing yourself to see how much water you lose in a day. Start off first thing in the morning, after the early-morning pee, and weigh yourself buck naked. Then weigh yourself again after your workout. Don’t get too excited  if you lost several pounds in just a few hours: weight lost in such a short time is almost all water. For every pound lost during the workout, drink 20-24 oz within the next few hours after your workout.

But what should I drink?
Water, tea, coffee, sports drinks, wine, beer, sodas…what should you choose? Each type of beverage seems to have its own advocacy group. However, for each there is a benefit and a caution. Sports drinks contain salt and other electrolytes (sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium and calcium) to replace minerals lost through sweat. If not corrected after exercise, electrolyte loss can lead to muscle cramps after exercise. Some people dislike sports drinks because of the artificial colors, sugar and additives. However, for an extended exercise event (like a long weekend run or a three-hour swing dance in a non-air-conditioned summer dance hall) a sports drink will help your body hold on to the fluids you’re taking in, and the sugar in the drink will provide just enough energy to fuel your muscles with glycogen.

Coffee and tea both provide caffeine, which can give you a tiny pre-performance boost. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, moderate caffeine intake does not affect hydration status or urine output. However, alcohol will increase your urine output and decrease hydration.

Sodas can also provide hydration and sugar, but they are nutritional pariahs. Personally, I enjoy decaffeinated iced green tea, which I make myself. I don’t put any kind of sweetener in it, just the tea leaves and water on ice. It has just enough flavoring to be interesting and keep me drinking in the hot months. I also like smoothies, which help replace fluids, electrolytes and carbohydrate after workouts. I make mine with banana, orange juice, frozen fruit, plenty of greens and a dab of yogurt. This smoothie is fairly calorie-dense, so it takes the place of breakfast after a workout.

How much is too much?
It is possible to get too much of a good thing. Even too much water, taken too fast and without enough salt, can lead to hyponatremia, or water intoxication. According to the American Council on Exercise, symptoms of hyponatremia include nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness, headache and disorientation, and bloating in the face and hands. To avoid this unpleasant condition, avoid drinking more than one liter of water per hour.

References
American College of Sports Medicine: Selecting and Effectively Using Hydration for Fitness

MayoClinic.com: Water: How much should you drink every day?

American Council on Exercise: How much water is too much?

American Council on Exercise, Certified News: Electrolytes: Understanding Replacement Options

American Council on Exercise, Fit Facts: Healthy Hydration: http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/healthy_living_fit_facts_content.aspx?itemid=173

Science Daily: How much water should you drink?

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Five tips for relieving sore muscles



Whether you are a beginning exerciser or an advanced athlete, you will occasionally experience some muscle soreness when you try a new movement. As your body becomes more accustomed to exercise, it becomes much more efficient at repairing itself, and soreness will go away much faster—but as long as you continue to challenge your body in new ways, you will get sore from time to time.

Why are you sore?
Strenuous exercise causes microscopic damage to your muscles. This damage prompts your body to strengthen your muscle tissue so that you will be better able to handle the same activity the next time. As the repairs and improvements begin, waste products build up in the muscle tissue, causing some discomfort. In order to remove the waste products, your muscles bring in extra water to dissolve the substances, creating swelling.

What can you do?
Time is the best healer for sore muscles. The soreness should peak at 48 hours after your activity and then start improving. In the meantime, there are a few things you can do to alleviate the stiffness and discomfort.
  1. Drink lots of water. Water helps increase your blood volume to make it easier to move harmful substances and waste products out of your muscle tissue. The exact quantity you need depends on your weight, gender, activity level and the weather outside. As a general guideline, take a look at your pee when you go to the bathroom. It should always be a pale yellow color. If it becomes a more concentrated yellow, drink more.
  2. Keep moving. The more you move, the better your circulatory system works. This means that blood can move more freely through your muscles, removing waste products and excess water, and delivering nutrients to your muscles. Gentle exercises, like walking or low-intensity swimming, are good choices.
  3. Get wet. Whether pool or hot tub, pressure from water can help your circulatory system function more effectively. You don’t have to swim to get this benefit: you can walk or play in the pool. The best water of all is a hot tub—whether a hot bath or a Jacuzzi with bubbles. The Jacuzzi adds the extra benefit of massaging action from water jets, which will further improve your circulation. In my own experience, the Jacuzzi is the number-one muscle soreness reducer.
  4. Eat well. If you are serious about health and fitness, you should always focus on eating quality foods, but it’s especially important when you are recovering from a bout of strenuous exercise that produced muscle soreness. A nutrient-rich diet packed with vitamins and minerals from vegetables and high-quality proteins will give your body the supplies it needs to repair muscle damage and prepare you for the next bout of exercise. Focus on foods as close to their natural form as possible: like grilled fish and fresh grilled, steamed, or raw vegetables.
  5. Sleep strong. Your body does its major repair work when you sleep. Make sure that you give yourself plenty of time for rest each night. To facilitate good sleep, take a hot bath before bed. Spend a half-hour relaxing  (reading, meditating, praying) before you turn out the lights. Use white noise (like a fan on low) to drown out distractions, and reserve your bedroom for sleep only—in other words, condition your brain to understand that bed is for sleeping, not watching TV or eating.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

What I’ve learned from my TRX


 I bought a TRX trainer about six weeks ago. If you aren’t familiar with this piece of gym equipment, it is basically a bunch of straps that allow you to use your own body weight to perform exercises from basic to extremely advanced in a limited space. To set it up, you tie it to a tree, a pole, or hook it over a sturdy door.

What I love about this piece of equipment is that absolutely anyone at any fitness level can use it. The only thing you have to change is the type of exercise you do and the angle of your body. For example, you can loop your feet in the handles, hands on the floor, and do a TRX pushup.  A beginning exerciser would to this activity on their knees. A more intermediate person would do it with legs extended, as a full pushup, and a very advanced athlete would do it with power (either pushing themselves off the floor or adding a clap at the peak of the upward phase of the pushup).

Of course, you can do these same exercises without the TRX, but putting your feet in the straps makes you instantly unstable. In order hold form, your core, arms and even your legs have to work much harder to do the same movement. You activate more muscles with every exercise you perform. That makes your workout more efficient, so that you can get better results and burn more calories in less time.

The TRX is also fun—when you change up a simple movement like pushups, it becomes a new exercise, and you engage your brain. You get to learn a new skill, which means you’re building new neural pathways.

I knew about all these benefits when I first bought the TRX, but what I did not know was the way it would clearly display my muscular imbalances—in other words, before I had the TRX, I did not know how much weaker my right hip was than my left. I do lunges all the time. Lunges with weights, side lunges, walking lunges, but I had never performed a one-legged lunge with the free foot in a TRX handle.

On my left foot, I could easily do eight reps the first time I tried it, with no balance issues. On the right foot, I was so wobbly that I had to grab on to the wall or furniture nearby each time. I could manage to do eight reps, but I had to gut it out. And I definitely felt it the next day.

This experience solved a big question I’ve been having. For the past year or so, my right knee has been bothering me from time to time. It’s not horrible or disruptive pain, but it is uncomfortable.

From working with the TRX, I have also noticed that my right leg always wants to rotate outward when I do a squat—which all indicates a muscle imbalance: my right glute is overly tight, sapping its strength and rotating my right leg outward, which in turn, is misaligning my foot and knee so that I don’t roll through the knee joint properly, causing the hip and knee discomfort.

Long story short: because of my work with the TRX, I am beginning to correct the weakness in my right glute. My hips and knees feel so much better, and every day, I am decreasing my risk of long-term joint damage—all stuff I never would have known if I hadn’t bought the TRX!

For more information:
The Official TRX Training YouTube Channel:

ACE Fit
TRX Suspension Training Workout