A Different Sort Of Anniversary

Today I’m celebrating an anniversary of sorts. Nope, not my wedding anniversary, that was last month. This is the one year anniversary of having cervical spine surgery (though technically August 18th would be exactly one year to the day :)).

Why on earth, you might ask, would I want to celebrate something like that!?

Well, first I want to say that I hope I never have to celebrate an anniversary of this nature again! But in many ways, that surgery was a sort of rebirth for me in that it was both humbling and yet filled me with more determination to continue on my path of fitness.

(S. Fishkind/8/15/09)


Last June (2008), I started to have symptoms that inevitably led to me losing, for all practical purposes, the use of my left arm and hand from the long term of effects of a car wreck I had been in many years earlier.

That accident caused trauma to my spine that eventually led to arthritis in the lower cervical region of my neck and a stenosis (a closing in of the vertebrae) in the C7 vertebrae in particular.

Though I wanted to treat this holistically, I was informed even from various chiropractors, based on my MRI, that surgical intervention was the only option for this type of condition. More space had to be created to stop the impingement on my spinal cord.

Though it wasn’t a life threatening condition, the combination of severe pain in some areas and numbness in others, not to mention the emotional stress from lack of sleep (and the upcoming surgery), seriously affected the quality of my life 24 hours a day.

Fortunately, thanks to the expertise of a brilliant neurosurgeon, Dr. Gregory Langford of the Howell Alan Clinic in Nashville, TN, I sit here a year later, being able to do "almost" everything I could before the surgery (though there’s almost always some lingering effects from scar tissue and other variables from any type of surgery).

All that being said, I didn’t share this experience merely to reflect on the events of last year. Rather I wanted to share it as a story of a physical transformation.

While I was very fit before those initial symptoms ever occurred, I had to rebuild my strength from the ground up after the surgery. I was only allowed to lift a maximum of 5 lbs and for quite a long time afterwards I was too weak to even do a quarter push-up on my knees.

It was a very slow process requiring a lot of patience. From a strength standpoint I was starting almost from the beginning again, but it did prove to me something that I had always believed, that at any age, no matter what shape you are in, most any person can transform themselves if they really choose to!

I had to literally start by first getting basic functional strength back (just so I could even carry a relatively light bag of groceries). I eventually rebuilt myself up to pretty close to the same overall physical condition that I was before the start of my symptoms. I still would like to add at least 5 more pounds of muscle, but compared to what I was dealing with this time last year I'm pretty happy to be where I am right now! :)




(S. Fishkind August 15, 2009/almost one year after surgery)

While that is my personal transformation, other folks may have goals of weight loss, strength gains, greater flexibility , increases in their cardiorespiratory capacity, or combinations of some or all of those things.

Just know, without a doubt, that it can be done. The most difficult part is just starting the process of transformation. The body is incredibly adaptable, but it does take consistent effort and a little bit of time to make changes.

As part of my celebration, I had the above pictures taken specifically this morning so I could show that even at my age (now 49) and after having gone through cervical spine surgery, that with a little persistence, sound training practices, and a LOT of patience, any able bodied person can get into excellent physical condition!

The way I look at it, the time is going to go by anyway, so you may as well make the most of it and begin making incremental changes today.

I know more than ever, that this precious human body is a true gift never to be taken for granted and along with that gift is a deep responsibility to take care it every day!

2009 Scott Fishkind Time4You Fitness


Please visit my website at http://www.time4youfitness.com/

“Taking Baby Steps”

Years ago there was a movie w/ Bill Murray called “What About Bob” where he was a patient of a psychologist played by Richard Dreyfuss.

Bob was an obsessive compulsive character and extremely dependent on his analyst. This doctor had written a book about taking baby steps in order to try to get past one's fears and taught Bob this technique. So if Bob was nervous about going into elevators he’d say “Baby steps to the elevator” etc…

Basically, it’s about taking on one thing at a time so you won’t be overwhelmed.

“Okay Scott, (you may be thinking) this is a fitness blog, not a movie review board, where are you going with this?”

Well, to me it’s ALL about Baby Steps, whether it’s in learning a new way to deal with one's phobias, like good old Bob, or learning a new way to deal with issues of fitness and weight loss.

Probably the biggest reason most people don’t succeed at their attempts to make a physical transformation is because they get so overwhelmed with the size of the process they can't even begin.

But all it takes is tackling one day at a time, one meal at a time, and one rep of each exercise at a time,. Those small victories really add up, much in the way a series of consistent baby steps will eventually get you to your destination if you are walking somewhere.

But the key is that they are “baby” steps, not leaps and bounds. Therefore you need to be prepared for the fact that it’ll take you longer, not forever, just longer. The good news is that you’ll get there, probably be less exhausted in the end, and still have energy to keep going!

Surely there are MANY methods out there promising rapid transformations, some even work.... sort of.

I say "sort of", because they are usually extremely difficult programs built on nutritional deprivation and extremely intense fitness programs which are miserable to endure.

Even when these types of programs yield sucessful results, they usually end up being short term fixes and most folks end up back where they started, feeling even more beaten down than before.

I’ve sadly witnessed this extremely unfortunate scenario with friends and family over and over again. In fact, it’s what made me want to become a personal trainer, to try and help people find a better way!

If you are willing to take a more long-term approach, making small incremental changes (i.e. "baby steps") chances are much better that you’ll actually learn a new way of day to day living on all fronts.

You will have a much greater chance of looking back a year later, not only having maintained, but continuing to improve your level of fitness.

Ultimately it all begins with your mindset, which is the foundation of all our actions, both positive and/or negative. The technical term for what we want to accomplish is "behavior modification".

It takes time and a sincere inner desire to undo old habits and make long lasting changes. However, I know from personal experience, it's absolutely achievable if you just take on one small thing at a time and build from one small success to the next, i.e. "baby steps." :)


Here's some examples of how to start using the "baby steps" approach:

1. Lets say tonight you go out to dinner and decide you absolutely want some dessert. Rather than either eating the whole thing or trying to "will yourself" not to have any, start by “sharing” it instead of eating the whole thing. So you can literally have your cake and eat it. :)
Eventually you'll get to the point where you can "pass" on the dessert most of the time and just have it once in a while.

2. Likewise, if it’s a huge meal, try sharing it with someone or only eat half of it and bring the other half home to enjoy another day. Even if you just eat half of it and just leave it at the restaurant, it's NOT a waste. It's so much more of a waste to eat it and have it turn into bodyfat, which is truly a waste of your energy and health.

3. Try parking your car a few spaces further away from the store than usual. Over time just park a little further away. You don't eventually want to park in the next county, but just enough that you feel invigorated.

4. If you’re watching T.V., “march in place” or “step “side to side” for a few minutes every once in a while (and try at all costs to avoid eating while watching T.V. or reading).

5. If you drink a lot of soda (even "diet" soda), begin by substituting water for one of those sodas each day. These liquid calories add up in a BIG way and even those that are "low calorie" are still training you to be addicted to a constant intake of artificial sweetners which are really unhealthy!

Believe it or not, even drinking a lot of natural fruit juices adds a lot of calories that will have a long term negative impact on your body in terms of body fat. So try to avoid drinking unnecessary calories. If you love fruit juice, try to cut it with water, a little more each time, so that you can cut down the caloric intake and simple carbs.

This small sample may seem like insignificant steps.

You might be thinking "How is THAT going to make any difference, I've got X number of pounds to lose!!!!, but they are a way to begin the process of long term change.

This process is also very empowering because you learn that it’s not that hard to do things differently than you have before!

Each day, just make another small change (but don’t discard the previous changes), they will add up and give you life changing results in the end. Before you know it you’ll have “baby stepped” your way to a new life!

2009 Scott Fishkind Time4You Fitness


Please visit my website at http://www.time4youfitness.com/

“Cross training” My Personal Approach for Total Integrated Fitness

In this post I wanted to speak more specifically about my own training rotation. I thought some folks might be interested in seeing how at least one personal trainer trains himself. :)

I think that I represent what a lot of people might be looking for in that I'm not a bodybuilder or a professional athlete. I'm a middle aged man with a wife and family and my program is geared towards overall fitness and maintaining a healthy level of lean body mass.

One day is devoted to a full body strength circuit at the gym using reasonably heavy loading. I rarely do isolation work (such as biceps curls or triceps presses) but rather focus on compound movements.

I start each of those strength workouts with about 10 minutes of warm-up. Sometimes I use full body calisthenic type warmups but occassionally I use an elliptical or rowing machine. I just try to get a nice sweat going without expending too much energy. The total time between warm-up, workout and cooldown is usually between 45 minutes and an hour on the gym days!

About every 5th week I have a "recovery week" which means I still exercise every day but I don't do the heavier strength workouts. I still do different types of routines among the various modes of training I will discuss below. After the recovery week I will then pick a different pushing, pulling and isolation exercises as well as different leg exercises. So I am working in 5 week cycles (4 weeks plus 1 recovery week)

The other days of the week I devote to various other types of workouts such as full body medicine ball workouts, kickboxing, aerobic stepping, BOSU training, Pilates, Yoga and a variety of other workouts that contain elements of Pre-habilitation (for example working on smaller muscles such as rotator cuffs among other critical stabilization musculature) using various types of exercises and devices such as stability balls, elastic resistance etc.


I generally have one day per week devoted to metabolic strength circuits using body weight as well as resistance bands/Powerbase . With these circuits the resistance isn’t particularly high but you are moving quickly from one exercise to another and it’s extremely challenging.

This overall Cross training approach has really served me well in terms of maintaining lean muscle mass (combined with a very clean nutrition program) and has made me feel very strong and athletic in terms of how my body functions as an integrated unit.


I only do the pure strength work to help promote some muscle hypertrophy (i.e. muscle growth) and strength, but there are times where I forgoe that type of training altogether and just concentrate on more full-body functional strength workouts where the loading isn't extremely high but they integrate the body from the ground up (ex. split stance one arm cable rows and presses). They are, in my opinion, the most important types of workouts for maintaining a high level of overall fitness.

Because I exercise daily I like to devote my training, on any given day, to one of the many training disciplines that are part of my overall program (for example a day where kickboxing or medicine ball work might be the focus of that day). This allows me to really immerse myself in one particular discipline for that training session.

In the bigger scope of my training approach, this overall cross training style not only keeps my body fresh, but my mind as well. By incorporating many different styles of exercise your body isn’t always doing the “same old thing” which helps prevent overuse injuries as well as overtraining.

There are also times that I will go through periods where I may do workouts mixing a variety of elements into a single workout using moderate intensity and alternating those workouts with days devoted to Yoga just to give my body some extra recovery time.

With my personal training clients I use this mixed approach because they generally don’t have the opportunity to work out as much as I do. Because there are less total workouts per week, I feel that it’s important we incorporate many elements so they can get the benefits of a variety of disciplines.


I spend a lot of time designing each and every workout for my clients to make sure they are appropriate for where they are physically and also to make sure each workout compliments the previous workouts. Also it’s critical that the workouts flow smoothly as well as build from one section to the next. I will also rotate various types of cardio as well as strength work among several sessions.

So, if you find that you are bored with your own workouts or have hit a plateau, I highly recommend using more of a cross training approach. It’s not only highly effective from a results standpoint, but it’s a lot more fun as well!

2009 Scott Fishkind Time4You Fitness


Please visit my website at   http://www.time4youfitness.com/

Are You Just Growing Older, Or Getting Better?

One thing is inevitable, if you're lucky you'll be getting older.








I say lucky because the alternative to getting older is...well... a LOT worse! :)






So, you've got a choice to make, are you going to just plod along and assume that you have to deteriorate with each passing year, or change your mindset and improve physically?






A positive physical change can enhance everything about the quality of your life, not just your appearance. It can have a dramatic improvement on your energy level, self confidence and any health risk factors you may have, so this isn't just a superficial change, it's not just about how you look in your bathing suit on vacation.






I try to look at every birthday as an opportunity to set goals to continually improve. I want to be stronger and more fit in every way.






This makes each year, and in fact each day, an exciting challenge to embrace and look forward to rather than something to dread.






If you've allowed yourself to get into a rut of being overweight and sluggish, ask yourself "Is this the path I want to continue on?"






There was a time where I had to ask myself this same question. I was about 50 lbs heavier, my self esteem and energy were at an all time low, and I knew I had to make a choice.






The irony is that I was only 27 years old at the time.






Thanks to the inspiration of a friend who was into resistance training at the time I started on a path that I've continued to this day.






All it takes is small steps to start making changes in a positive direction.






It doesn't have to happen all at once.






Just start with eating one less unhealthy thing each day and replace it with something healthy (or just eat less of that unhealthy thing).






Just start moving more in your day to day life, eventually you can build a more structured exercise program into your week, the first step is just getting started.






It's really all about having a proactive mindset.






So "Are you going to continue to just grow older or are you going to get better?"






Truly, the decision is in your hands.

2009 Scott Fishkind Time4You Fitness

Please visit my website at     http://www.time4youfitness.com/

The Benefits of Elastic Resistance

Often people have difficulty getting a resistance workout in because they either can’t get to a gym due to lack of time or the cost of a gym membership. They may want to set up a home gym but lack space to accommodate it. These are definitely real issues confronted by a lot of folks.

However, a great solution that they might not be aware of is using elastic resistance, either in the form of resistance tubing or flat bands (the most common flat bands being Therabands®).

In addition to those items, there are innovative elastic resistance based devices on the market that allow for a lot of versatile workout options,  such as Bodylastics (pictured below), Lifeline's TNT System (and their other products) and the Powerbase®  which was invented by Mike Flynt (the author of "The Senior", who returned to play college football at 59 years old).



I wrote a detailed review of the Bodylastics Max Tension set and made comparisons between it, the Lifeline and Powerbase systems in this blog post (click on link):

My Review Of Bodylastics Max Tension and More About Elastic Resistance Training

I wanted to mention that in this article I often will refer to tubing, bands or cables somewhat interchangeably though technically "bands" are actually flat of elastic resistance devices and tubing or cables are more.... well.... tubular.


Anway, I’ve been using elastic resistance as part of my training arsenal for close to 20 years and I can vouch for the fact that you can get a real workout using this equipment!

My first experience with elastic tubing was in 1990, I purchased a Cory Everson “Body Shaping Home Gym” (which was elastic surgical tubing w/ plastic handles and a door attachment). Cory is a multiple Ms.Olympia winner who had a show on ESPN called Bodyshaping for many years which is where I saw this new (at least new to me) device advertised.

The package also came w/ a workout video (back in the days before dvds) which I still have. In fact for fun, I broke it out one day not that long ago and ran through it and it was STILL a great workout, kudos to Cory for being so far ahead of her time!

Being a fitness-a-holic even back then, I bought it so I could continue my workouts when I went on vacation. I knew the cabin in Lake George, N.Y. where I was going with my then Fiance’ (and now wife of 19 years), wouldn’t have any workout facilities available. The thought of going a week without some resistance training was “unthinkable” to me. I know, a bit loony, I admit it, but I still bring workout equipment with me when we go anywhere (at least a yoga mat and some elastic resistance).

I would wake up early each morning on vacation and I’d wrap the tubing around a tree trunk because the cabin didn’t have a door strong enough to anchor the bands to. It was actually really nice working out in the fresh air by the lake doing rows and chest presses with it and then a variety of exercises just anchoring the tubing with my feet. I definitely felt those workouts and loved the convenience of being able to “bring the gym with me” no matter where I was!

Over the years I’ve learned that there are many benefits to using elastic resistance, many of which I will cover in this post.

• Affordability: Elastic resistance is very affordable. You can purchase resistance tubing at most large chain stores, such as Walmart, Target and the like, as well as Sporting goods stores and various online outlets. The best brands though, Bodylastics or Lifeline, are worth getting because they are of a significantly higher quality and are considerably more versatile due to the ability to connect several resistance cables at one time.
  

• Portability: As mentioned in my "vacation remembrance" above, it’s a very portable form of equipment. In fact, flat resistance bands can pretty much fit in your pocket if need be, and even more easily into a briefcase, so you can take them anywhere. You can even use them during a lunch break for a quick workout, or take them with you when you walk in a park to include some resistance training.

• Convenience, availability, and time efficient: These are all closely related to portability. The simple idea is that if working out is convenient, it is much easier to make time for it. Rather than having to get in your car and spend time driving to a gym, having a quality elastic resistance system available at any time means you can always find time to exercise if you really are commited to doing so.

• Versatility: They are incredibly versatile! With the addition of a door attachment, you can mimic a lot of exercises that would normally be limited to the equipment found in a gym setting. 

• Joint Friendly: Elastic resistance is easy on the joints because it is a form of variable resistance which increases in intensity as they lengthen. This means that the most resistance occurs in the place where you generally have the greatest degree of strength from a biomechanical perspective (elastic variable resistance works in sync with the "strength curve" of the human body for most exercises where the body). This means that in the weaker ranges of motion, your joints aren’t having to be subjected to too much overload. This means less stress on the joints and connective tissue and less chance of injury.

• Transitional Fluidity: With elastic resistance it's very easy to flow from one exercise to the next. For example, you can easily go from doing chest presses to rows without having to make much of an adjustment. This makes the process of resistance training very efficient and "user friendly".

• Mind-Muscle Connection: Elastic resistance is a great way for people to learn to make a “mind-muscle” connection with resistance training. Since there isn’t any way to use gravity or momentum (as opposed to dumbbells or barbells which people can “swing” back and forth), you learn to feel the sensation of the muscles contracting and releasing as you flex and extend your limbs. I often find I feel more subtle delayed onset muscles soreness (aka DOMS) from a band workout than a free weight workout. Not that soreness is ever a goal of mine, but it shows that this form of resistance can really create overload.

• Preparation/Adaptation: I have found that anytime I've had to have a "layoff" from training due to illness or any other reason, elastic resistance is a great way me to gradually get my muscles stimulated again and prepared for resuming my overall resistance training program. Along those same lines, for someone who has never done any resistance training or just hasn't done any for a long time, elastic resistance is a great way to ease into it. In truth, I  really feel that for most people, elastic resistance is a superior modality of training compared to free weights or even cable machines. 

• Safety: Elastic resistance is generally very safe. “Not having to worry about “dropping” a weight on your hands, face or feet” is a nice benefit. The only caveat regarding safety and elastic resistance is to make sure that if you anchor the resistance that it is completely secure. If you use a door, it should be a solid, heavy door (not hollow). Also, I highly recommend using a door you can lock with a bolt to make it even more secure. You should also check the bands before each use to make sure there’s no frays or tears in them because you wouldn’t want them to come apart while you are using them, particularly if you are doing an exercise where they could snap back into your face. Also, it is important not to "overstretch" the bands if you need more resistance but rather use a heavier band or add additional bands (for systems like the Bodylastics and Lifeline TNT system which give you that option).

• Reactive: Resistance Band Training enhances muscle reaction and response time. This is because the elastic resistance is very "alive", as you stretch it, it builds up energy which isn't limited by gravity. This also means you can work explosively against elastic resistance in a way that is different and in my opinion more effective than any other form of resistance. While you can work explosively with medicine balls and cables, the increasing "accomodating resistance" creates a different type of deceleration component.

• Multiplanar/Multiple Vector Training: Elastic resistance tubing allows you to set up the resistance along many “lines of pull” at many angles. This means you can also work in multiple planes of motion against different force vectors rather than just up and down against gravity as in free weight resistance.

• Ground Based Training: This type of training such as rowing or press from a split stance or parallel stance position is incredible whole body training. You have to incorporate all of the segments of the kinetic chain for stability in order to properly perform the movements. This means you are getting core stabilization training at the same time as working on the muscles creating movement.

• Combination movements: also a form of ground based training, you can do squats, split squats or lunges combined with rows and presses of various types. These upper body movements can be performed bilaterally, unilaterally, alternating or reciprocally to create whole body exercises that work you from your toes upwards! 

     

• Buildups: I learned about these from J.C. Santana. The idea is to use elastic resistance exercises from a more functional ground based position and then moving on to more supported resistance training. So you may do a split stance alternating chest press with elastic resistance and then move into doing a dumbbell bench press.

• Supersets: This is somewhat the opposite of the buildup. You would perform a supported exercise followed by a more functional ground based exercise. An example would be to do a one arm D.B. row followed by a split stance unilateral row w/ elastic resistance.

• Deloading Days: Another concept I learned from J.C. Santana. This would be doing a lighter loading day using elastic resistance as a form of active recovery. I do need to specify that just because one is using elastic resistance doesn't automatically equal lower loading. If you have either Bodylastics or Lifeline TNT systems you can have a substantial load available, so you would have to select lower loading from the available elastic cables available.

• Partner Training: with elastic tubing you can work with a partner doing rows, presses many other types of training as a team. For this type of training I recommend using a brand called "Slastix" tubing. These bands are covered in a protective sleeve. This not only protects the bands themselves from damage, but if the band does break it is designed to stay in the sleeve, protecting you from contact.  These can be purchased at Perform Better:
  

http://www.performbetter.com/detail.aspx_Q_ID_E_5227_A_CategoryID_E_281 

For solo training I would have to say that my favorite resistance cables are the Bodylastics band mentioned above, and you can learn more about them from the detailed review I wrote which is linked in the beginning of this blog post.


Bodylastics Website (click on this link)

I'm sure there are more reasons I haven't thought up at this time (and I'll add them in if I find them) but as you can see, I'm a big fan of elastic resistance and highly recommend using them in your fitness program.

2009 Scott Fishkind Time4You Fitness

Please visit my website at  http://www.time4youfitness.com/