Newsletter Archive
July 2007
IN THIS ISSUE
Hello
from Cor Clinic!
Wow, it is HOT!!!
We are right in the middle of summer. How is everyone
doing with their goals? Have you been sticking
with your plan? Have you been exercising regularly
and watching your diet? Have you been drinking
enough WATER?
This heat can be brutal. It is really easy to
get tired and lazy in the heat and get side tracked
with our goals. We need to make sure we stay focused
and keep on the path to better health and fitness.
This month, I am going to talk a little bit
about calorie intake. Last month, we talked about
the compliance grid and how it can help you stick
with your program. Hopefully eveyone has printed
it out and is using it to their benefit. This
month, I want to talk about over-eating and how
it can really mess up your plans for weight loss.
We have a Q&A about one of my favorite exercises
ever, the squat.
Patrick Ward, Ms, CSCS, NASM-PES, CPT, USAW Club
Coach
FEATURE ARTICLE:
A Little Bit Goes a Long Weigh!
People constantly get frustrated with their weight.
Many people in this country struggle with weight
loss. That struggle is usually directly related
to their daily caloric intake. I can't make it
any more simple than saying, "YOU NEED TO
WATCH YOUR CALORIES." People who tell you
that you don't have to watch your calories are
lying to you. Everything comes down to the simple
equaption of energy in and energy out. If you
are losing some weight, or better yet, your measurements
are going down then keep doing what you are doing.
But, as things start to slow, then it it is time
to make a change! Just like with training, our
body adapts to energy intake. If we are eating
1800 calories and moving towards our goal and
then things come to a grinding halt, we need to
make the right changes in order to continue towards
that goal. In most cases, this can be done by
lowering calories slightly. This along with your
regular exercise program will help to get you
moving again.
Knowing that, I don't want to talk about burning
fat or lowering calories today. I want to talk
about over-eating. Consuming too much calories
is the downfall of the american diet. But how
much is too much? Some people seem to believe
that if they over-eat a little bit, but if the
food is healthy food then they wont gain weight.
Your body only knows calories. It doesn't know
anything else, and when there are more calories
than it needs, it stores them.
Lets look at a little example:
It is known that 3500 calories are equivalent
to one pound of body weight. Does that mean if
you eat 3500 calories a day that you will gain
a pound a day? Obviously not. It is a lot more
complicated than that, and there are many things
to take into consideration. However, for this
example, knowing that 3500 calories are equal
to a pound of body weight, lets examine what happens
when an individual eats as little as 100 calories
above their daily intake needed to maintain their
body weight.
If we eat 100 extra calories a day and multiply
that by 365 days a year, we have 36500 calories
extra for that year. Knowing that 3500 calories
are equal to one pound of weight, if we divide
36500 calories by 3500, we end up with 10.4lbs
of weight gained in one year!
It is amazing how such a little bit of over-eating
can lead to such a large amount of weight gain!
Now, if we multiply that by 4 years, it is easy
to see how so many people in this country are
over-weight.
Look at your diet. Look at your caloric intake
and plan accordingly. I know people always want
to say that it is to hard for them to sit there
and count calories. Well, I am sorry. Life is
hard. You have to to do this though, your health
depends on it. As I say "It is better to
do it now, than to do it later, when the doctor
forces you too.".
MONTHLY Q&A:
Q: What's the best execise to
work my legs?
A: I don't know if there is
a best exercise for anything. Variety is the key
and knowing when to change your program, when
to progress it, what to change, and how to progress
it are key. I do think that squatting gives you
the biggest bang for your buck, not just in your
legs, but your whole body. Nothing else activates
as much tissue as squatting does, and it can really
get the heart rate up. A lot of people think squatting
is only done with a heavy bar on your back. This
is not true at all. There are many ways to squat
and many variations.
If you are just starting out and lack leg strength
and balance, placing a ball in between your back
and a wall can be very helpful for you to learn
proper technique and develop hip strength before
progressing to more advanced variations.
Body weight squats are excellent as well. Instead
of throwing a bar on your back, you can try first
to hold a medicine ball infront of you, or hold
dumbells down at your sides. These variations
will add intensity to the exercise and make you
work even harder to complete a repetition.
body weight squat
dumbbell squat
Of course, you can always then advance to back
squatting (squatting with the bar on your back)
or front squats (squatting with the bar across
the front of your shoulders). These are the most
advanced variations and should only be done one
you have mastered the basics and have enough leg
strength, and more importantly core strength and
stability to hold the bar on your back or front
of your shoulders to complete the movement with
a healthy spinal position.
To practice with your body weight, stand with
your feet about shoulder to hip width apart and
your toes pointed just slightly outwards. Hold
your arms up in front of you (palms facing the
floor). The movement begins by pushing your hips
back slightly. This helps to get your center of
gravity over your base of support (your feet),
as well as engages your hips and takes straing
off of your knees. Squat down, keeping your heels
on the floor at all times and your chest up, eyes
looking straight ahead. Decend to a comfortable,
pain free depth. Pause at that depth and count
to three and then stand back up. Try and perform
10-15 repetitions. Rest and repeat 2-3 more times.
Squats really make you work hard, and if you
do everything correctly, you will get the results
you want.
Good Luck!
Do you have a question you'd like to see
answered in next month's Q&A column? Email
your question to pward@corlcinic.com
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