Tagged: crossfit
Overweight Teens Helped by Weights and Cardio – And Man Lands on the Moon.
A recent study in the Journal of American Medical Association Pediatrics found conclusively that for teenagers between the ages of 14-18, a combination of weight training plus cardiovascular work is the best way to “fight teen obesity”. This is the headlines that went up all over the country and internet saying that the amazing findings of this study were that if teenagers did strength training and cardio work combined instead of just one or the other, they would lose more weight.
This is news?
I hate to say it but that was my first reaction. However, when I took a closer look at this study I found that there were in my opinion some flaws in the methods used to determine this conclusion.
Basically this study, which you can read HERE took 304 overweight teens and put them into four groups, one of each doing only strength training OR cardio, one doing nothing, and one doing a combination. They did this program for 22 weeks (almost six months!). They were also given diet counselling. At the end, the group that did the combination of both was found to have lost less body fat overall (compared to the strength training group), but their waist size decreased the most – by a whole centimeter. That’s not even one whole pant size.
Therefore this shows that a combination of aerobic exercise and strength training is better than strength training alone or cardio alone. Again, this isn’t news to anyone (I sincerely hope). This has been proven time and again to be the best approach for those of you out there who are looking to drop inches and pounds.
But when we look a little closer, the criteria for what they consider “overweight” has some flaws. They cited overweight as at or above 95th percentile of BMI or 85th if there was one or more risk factors or health condition already existing (like diabetes). So this means that a teenager with a BMI of above 28.5 (the cutoff for 95th highest BMI percentile according to statisticians) is overweight or obese.
Do you know what that means? An 18 year old who is 5’10” and 180 pounds qualifies for this study as an “overweight teen”. A BMI of 24 actually falls into the 85th percentile of qualification. So if my daughter is 5’3” and weighs 135 pounds according to this study she is overweight. Oh, and another note – when she turns 18, even if she is the same height and weight suddenly she has dropped to the 74th percentile. Does that make sense?
Pretty much any athletic teen is going to weigh at last that much and sometimes more. Using BMI as a method of overweight is a highly flawed criteria in my opinion. There’s a lot of other flaws. They obviously weren’t all following the same diet. Who knows how many workouts they actually completed on their own. It didn’t indicate if any of them were athletes previously, inactive or high level performers. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch for a 16 year old football player to be 5’8 and 160 pounds but have very low body fat and high muscle mass.
This football player is overweight according to this criteria.
So this made national (actually international) news because we heard about it up here in Canada. I guess it was a slow news cycles, what with war in the Middle East and a deadly epidemic spreading around the world.
The simple fact is that kids today don’t get enough exercise. Currently 59% of adults in Canada are overweight or obese in Canada (as of 2012). We can blame a lot of things here. Increased screen time, lack of physical education and after school sports programs, deteriorating nutrition both at home and at school and simply the fact that overweight parents tend to have overweight children because kids learn many things from their parents, not the least of which is eating habits. The medical industry unfortunately can’t or won’t help because many doctors have no clue about proper diet and exercise habits themselves. Many doctors I have worked with or attended have been relatively clueless about these things because it really isn’t their job to know about it even though they are expected to.
However, if you do have a young teenager or someone younger at home then the good news is you can keep their weight down. Guess what’s a great way to get both cardio and resistance exercise without a gym?
Sports.
Whether your kid is an individual sport kid (like I was – I ran track, did cross country skiing and played all racquet sports) or a team sport kid (like my sister who played basketball and hockey) there are a couple of dozen options available for each type. And even if the cost is prohibitive to a budget for things like hockey, there are tons of community resources available in any city for parents who want affordable exercise for their kids. Even something like martial arts isn’t ridiculously expensive, teaches really great fundamentals of coordination, discipline and uses lots of strength at the same time. Finding time as a busy parent can be hard, but what’s the priority – a healthy, happy kid or a promotion at work?
The sad thing is that I have trained kids as young as 8 and 10, and they could barely balance enough to walk slowly on a treadmill. Kids just simply don’t learn these things when they are developing any more. I could go on a rant about parenting and education these days but I’ll save that for another time.
So if you have a teen that is struggling with weight, maybe a good option is to get them to put down the Ipad, register them for a few sports or activities to see what they enjoy doing and get them being active and moving around more. Long term they will be much better off for so many reasons. Maybe even do it with them if you need help as well. Things like martial arts or even group exercise are easy to do with your teenager. Take your kid for a run or a bike ride on the weekends instead of staying inside. Take the whole family out for a long hike without any technology.
Like I said at the beginning, it isn’t news that kids need more exercise, or that a combination of things is likely to help them lose that extra centimeter. But it starts with actually getting them involved with exercise.
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It’s Biggest Loser Time
It’s that time again – I saw the first inspirational commercial yesterday, with two former NFL athletes who are now severely obese starting on their weight loss journey followed by millions of people. Complete with massive weekly weight losses, lots of crying and screaming from trainers, product placement shots from Jenny-O brand ground turkey and Subway and lots of manufactured drama we can look forward to another person losing up to 50% of their body weight whether it be healthy or unhealthy.
You might remember at the end of last season where the winner looked severely depleted on the finale and there was a massive public outcry about her weight loss methods and how unhealthy they were both physically and mentally (and then it was revealed that most of the finale winners do the same thing, she just did it better). So here’s a few revealing notes about this show and some things to think about when approaching your own fitness regime, if this show inspires you to get off of the couch and actually get healthier.
The Winner is pretty easy to pick right away
Here’s the thing – when your body was fit and healthy in the past it really, really wants to get back that way again. Some of the contestants have been unhealthy and overweight their entire lives, and these are the ones that have a hard time once they hit a certain point. The contestants that were formerly athletic and thin (and have a ton of weight to lose) make the final 4 almost every time (unless they get booted due to politics), and almost all of the winners have been fit in the past, either when they were younger or just a few years before. So when I’m watching and I hear that “I was a high level athlete in high school/college” or there is someone who turned 20 and then gained 200 pounds that’s the person you’re going to see going really far unless they sabotage themselves or fall victim to the game politics.
I won’t comment on the trainers except to point out that the workouts they put the contestants through aren’t anything revolutionary or different than what a decent trainer would do – except at a much higher intensity (which isn’t always a good thing) and with lots of screaming and drama for the benefit of TV. And just because they do it – doesn’t mean you should.
Lesson: Your body likes to be healthy – and will try hard to get back there even after you have done awful things to it. It might take a bit longer to do so, but odds are you can get back there as long as you stick with it.
What these people do daily is NOT healthy
Contestants on the show are contractually obligated to burn x amount of calories every day and eat x amount of calories, all of which is controlled. The workouts you see with the trainers are for about 1 hour of the day and are somewhat staged, but they do work out – for hours. People hurt themselves constantly and sometimes you see it and sometimes you don’t, but if you watch you will notice how sometimes things like knee braces and support tape start appearing. When they go home, inevitably their weight loss slows down – because they aren’t working out hours a day and they actually have a real life time management situation with family, children and jobs. If many of you could dedicate 15-20 hours a week to exercise and eating right, you would lose weight too, possibly just as rapidly. Don’t assume that just because they did it, you can too – real, healthy weight loss is much more gradual.
Most of the gains you make while attempting to lose weight are done outside of the gym by eating properly, lowering stress and sleeping well for recovery so that you can exercise again as soon as possible. This is how real gains are made over time.
Lesson: Your body also likes to make change gradually, and will fight back against doing anything forced. Give yourself time and constant effort and the weight will come off.
Why load a leg press with only yourself?
Buyer beware with the products that they push
Please remember that the products that they promote are based on marketing dollars – not the best products. For example, on the most recent episode they were promoting canned soup. Low calorie, certainly – but canned soups are often high in sodium. There are also highly processed ingredients in them, even if they claim to have chicken or vegetables as an ingredient. Subway, which has been a huge sponsor of the show has been shown to not have much more nutritional value than many other fast food places. Things like Lara Bars and other quick snacks are fine once in a while, but should not ideally be eaten over something natural and whole. Ground turkey and chicken are good protein options, but possibly having a whole product from your local farm would be a much better idea (and cheaper). Instead of vegetables cooked in a plastic box, get them fresh from the produce aisle. The trouble is that the general public doesn’t know and will blindly purchase something because they paid the show to be a sponsor – don’t be that person.
Lesson: Just avoid anything processed as much as possible. Eat real food whenever you can. Period.
Don’t get discouraged if your personal journey takes a long time
The main focus for anyone changing their lifestyle should be HEALTH FIRST. In case I didn’t say that emphatically enough. Scale weight coming off is a nice by product of maintaining an exercise program and eating whole foods within your caloric requirements, but it should not be the top priority. In fact, stay away from the scale at the start if you can. Compare how your clothes fit, think about things like energy levels and sleep quality and improve steadily day by day – then step on the scale. Sometimes you get a pleasant surprise when you have had all of these amazing benefits plus you’re down 20 pounds. On the show they do some brief doctors’ visits with lots of tears and crying, especially when people do things like lower their blood lipid values or successfully reverse diabetes onset. The thing is – you can do that too. It’s really not that remarkable if you just start treating your body with respect.
Lesson: Getting started is the hardest part, but pretty much any condition can be slowed, stopped and even reversed if you do things the right way. You don’t have to feel the way you do right now if you’re unhappy – it’s a choice.
Television shows are meant for entertainment, and this show is a prime example. As I have said in the past, if this show inspires regular people to get off the couch and start exercise, eating maybe a bit healthier and changing their lives then fantastic. Obesity is a horrible epidemic that will continue to get worse if we don’t start getting smarter about it. This article simply means to point out some perspective on the fact that what you see (especially in the fitness industry) often isn’t real.
Until next time, losers. And I mean that in the nicest way.
Today
The fundamental truth about changing anything in your life is that it takes time and effort. I have talked about this many times before and constantly have to talk people down from expecting things to change overnight. In our society we are used to getting things right away, whether it be email, text messages, fast food, even watching a movie can be done instantly online thanks to modern technology. We forget about the fact that advancing a career, learning, growing a family and relationships take time and effort, like anything in life.
But in our society people rush into relationships and when they aren’t instantly happy they get divorced because it is easy. We take up workout programs and diets over and over again because they are really easy to start – but somewhere along the way we lose momentum because we expect this massive change within a short period of time and when it doesn’t happen, instead of continuing for some reason we just stop. We consume crappy things because it makes us feel good for the moment, but then the negative things that happen afterwards just stall our progress.
By just continuing on the path, even if the results don’t happen as fast as you like you’re going to be far better off over time than if you stop and start something different. Ours is a society where we don’t finish what we start. We give up way too easily. We needlessly over-complicate things like health and nutrition and exercise when most tried and true methods are always accomplished given enough time and effort.
So as a message to take away for today, remember that even making one simple change – today – can fundamentally alter the way that your future unfolds before you. Today you always have a choice as to what you want to do, eat, drink, how you want to sleep, what you want to accomplish. The world is in front of you, but we as humans always allow what is behind us to guide our path rather than just moving forward. Once you realize that each day doesn’t have to be affected by what you did the day before it can be a very liberating feeling. Just because you have missed 5 days of working out doesn’t mean that you have to – today. Just because you ate a pint of ice cream last night because you were feeling depressed doesn’t mean you have to do it again – today. You skipped yoga yesterday, but you can find another class to go to – today.
Our lives have an immense duration. Who you were five years ago isn’t who you are now and who you are now isn’t going to be anywhere close to who you are five years from now. You might have a different job, city, partner, spouse, and this can all be guided by making that one simple choice and then doing it consistently over time. Remember, even the Grand Canyon started as a little stream at some point. But it had to start. And all of us can start whatever we want to – today.
So say it out loud – “I am going to do (whatever you want to get done) today.” Make a choice and move forward. That’s the only way to possibly change over time.
If you’re looking for a good book, I recommend The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. It’s what inspired this post and is an easy read. I hope you enjoy it.
Case Study: Chris D
Often I have cases come into my practice where they stand out as a good example of what appropriate progression can accomplish. Also, frequently I get people asking me: what do you do with people? What is your secret to helping people get pain free and strong? I thought this case might be a good example of both and allow me to share some of the principles that have brought me success with people like Chris D. While this is an extreme example of a case, it might help give you insight as to what proper progression and intention can accomplish.
Chris started working with me ten weeks ago. He came to me through a referral described as a “back problem”, which I quickly found out was a bit of a loose description. I can’t obviously share what his scans MRI revealed but needless to say they were detailed and he had a lot of spinal issues stemming from a long career as a contractor. The biggest problem with our initial assessment was a pretty glaring one:
Chris couldn’t sit down. He couldn’t sleep for more than about an hour without waking. He couldn’t work without constant pain in his neck and shoulders and legs. Even driving his car was an exercise in pain management. Due to the pain in his neck, upper back, shoulders, lower back and legs after just sitting in my office for five minutes he was uncomfortable enough to have to stand up. No matter what I tried to do in order to check movements through his upper and lower body he was in pain, and it would flare up at the slightest bit of movement or force. Even isometrics, which is usually the most minimally irritating to most people was really irritating to Chris. I’ll share later what we have found out during the course of his treatment but needless to say it was a very daunting task.
For only the second time in my training career (and you can read about the first HERE) I was faced with a situation where I wasn’t 100% sure if I could help. Chris expressed that his previous physio experience left him feeling better, but of course things came back once he stopped because he didn’t have strategies to keep helping himself after he was done. This is all too common – physio can help to an extent, but then it takes getting stronger to really complete the rehabilitation process.
Initially Chris decided to give me a two week period to see if what I was doing would help a bit. Here’s a layout of how our first movement session worked (I keep notes on everything I do with every client so this is directly out of my notes):
- Priorities: Mobilize upper neck C5/6/7, upper trap, R side shoulder blade, strengthen L side upper quadrant. Standing mobility in L side hip com/glute com/lower back, strength in R side glute/hip coms and ankle on R side. (this was all based on what I could assess)
Release therapy was done on his upper trap areas on both sides to bring blood flow into the area and expose him to self myofascial release that we could do on his own with a ball. There are varying sizes of these and we used the largest one in order to have the largest surface area and the least access to deep tissue. Chris could not stretch conventionally because any movement would cause his pain to flare.
We started with a manual two legged hip hinging movement with about 20-30 degrees of hip and knee flexion (with a base for support that was 30 inches high as a guide) for control and teaching how to use his pelvis. My initial goal was to work on getting him sitting down (to help with work and being at home), then lying down (to help with sleep). We did some R side isometric engagement (while standing) for his glute and hamstring. We did some standing brace work to teach his inner unit how to engage properly and worked on his walking gait. One major discovery we did right away was that if he flexed his L shoulder 20 degrees forward while walking his pain diminished significantly through his neck and upper back.
After 35 minutes we had to stop because Chris was getting major irritation in his shoulders and neck.
Using proper microprogression and trial and error Chris was able to sit down in his car so that he could drive to his father’s place 1 hour away for Father’s Day in June, about five weeks after we started. His sleep was still an issue and his shoulders and neck would still get irritated quite easily, but through constant self therapy and working on movement patterns we had established on his own, things started to improve. Chris started to experience periods of time without neck/shoulder pain. Through more trial and error we found that if Chris rotated his shoulder blades a certain way he experienced relief. Being mindful of all of these things kept him encouraged and improving.
His lower back and legs started to improve significantly and we introduced compound movements. After the eight week point we discovered that his thoracic spine was likely twisted and began to work on that aspect, which helped quite a bit. Chris discovered that when driving (which he could do at all previously and now could do for extended periods) if he consciously kept his shoulder blades even he could eliminate pain in his neck. By now Chris could squat (with load), split squat, flex his shoulders almost to 90 degrees and even hold his spine against rotational torque.
After ten weeks Chris could deadlift 60 pounds with perfect form. I have a video of it but Chris asked that he remain relatively anonymous.
He has been getting proper nights’ sleep and been able to do more driving for work. He has been able to do work around his home that would have caused serious problems three months ago. Here’s a layout of our most recent workout:
- Alpha Ball warmup – mobility in rotator cuffs (both sides), one legged balance and thoracic spine mobility. Blood flow increase to VL/IT Band fascial line on R side (since doing more with his legs he started to experience some weakness through this area on his R side).
- Dead Lifts starting at 50 lbs and increasing to 60 (he holds the bar in external rotation because his shoulder is able to maintain in that position) for up to 9 repetitions.
- Lying position shoulder flexion with 3 lbs load on both sides maintaining position above 20 degrees from floor (through various positions we found that he is able to use front delt/pec/serratus in this position)
- Single Legged Leg press at 90 lbs of load (does not affect his lower back or hip complex any more)
- Eccentric loaded row in an incline position (I would have to take a picture of this for you to understand but think about lowering through a chest press focusing on the negative portion only)
Chris had made phenomenal progress over his time so far seeing me for only two hours per week. He also does a lot of work on his own, which is what I expect from my clients. He is aware of what he needs to do (and not do) and every time he comes in we have some new insight into a movement pattern that he experienced and we are able to build on that. One thing I constantly express to him is how I love the fact that he wants to understand what is going on and focuses constantly on moving properly. Chris has invested in his recovery, which is vital to any progress you want to make physically. It doesn’t happen slowly, it happens with careful application and time.
So here’s a good example of how a properly progressed strength program can help someone that has been in chronic pain for a long period of time. Many people walk around in situations that can easily be diminished or resolved through a properly progressed program with lots of intention and appropriateness. I’m hoping that Chris will continue to improve. One of our major goals was achieved last week when he actually slept properly, something he couldn’t remember doing for a very long time. These little things can make a huge difference to someone’s quality of life.
If you have any comments or questions about what I have been doing/have done with Chris please simply ask and I will share it (with his permission of course). Also, if you have any people who you think could benefit from the type of treatment Chris has gone through feel free to let me know.
Until next time – keep moving!
Therapy and Exercise Refined 