Lately, I’ve been receiving a lot of questions referring to the latest studies and research findings, and one question that I receive most queries about concerns the role that stretching plays as part of the warm up.

Currently, there seems to be a lot of confusion about how and when stretching should be used as part of the warm up, and some people are under the impression that stretching should be avoided altogether.

This is a very important issue and needs to be clarified immediately. The rest of this article is dedicated to dispelling some common myths and misconceptions about stretching and its’ role as part of the warm up.

What has Science got to say?

Most of the studies I’ve reviewed attempt to determine the effects of stretching on injury prevention. This is a mistake in itself and shows a lack of understanding as to how stretching is used as part of an injury prevention program and the warm up.

Stretching and its effect on physical performance and injury prevention is something that just can’t be measured scientifically. Sure you can measure the effect of stretching on flexibility with simple tests like the “Sit and Reach” test, but then to determine how that affects athletic performance or injury susceptibility is near impossible.

One of the more recent studies on stretching supports this view by concluding;

“Due to the paucity, heterogeneity and poor quality of the available studies no definitive conclusions can be drawn as to the value of stretching for reducing the risk of exercise-related injury.” (The efficacy of stretching for prevention of exercise-related injury: a systematic review of the literature, 2003, Weldon)

To put the above quote in layman’s terms; there hasn’t been enough studies done and the studies that have been done are not specific or consistent enough. For the most comprehensive assessment and conclusion of research done on the affects of stretching I suggest you have a read through the following article, “The Truth about Stretching.”

Read the Article About “The Truth About Stretching” Here.

The Greatest Misconception

Confusion about what stretching accomplishes, as part of the warm up, is causing many to abandon stretching altogether. The key to understanding the role stretching plays can be found in the previous sentence. But, you have to read it carefully.

Stretching, as part of the warm up!

Here’s the key: Stretching is a critical part of the warm up, but stretching is NOT the warm up.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that doing a few stretches constitutes a warm up. An effective warm up has a number of very important key elements, which work together to minimize the likelihood of sports injury and prepare the individual for physical activity.

Identifying the components of an effective and safe warm up, and executing them in the correct order is critical. Remember, stretching is only one part of an effective warm up and its’ place in the warm up routine is specific and dependent on the other components.

The four key elements that should be included to ensure an effective and complete warm up are:

1. The general warm up

This phase of the warm up consists of 5 to 15 minutes of light physical activity. The aim here is to elevate the heart rate and respiratory rate, increase blood flow and increase muscle temperature.

2. Static stretching

Next, 5 to 15 minutes of gentle static stretching should be used to gradually lengthen all the major muscle groups and associated tendons of the body.

3. The sports specific warm up

During this phase of the warm up, 10 to 15 minutes of sport specific drills and exercises should be used to prepare the athlete for the specific demands of their chosen sport.

4. Dynamic stretching

Dynamic stretching involves a controlled, soft bounce or swinging motion to force a particular body part past its usual range of movement. The force of the bounce or swing is gradually increased but should never become radical or uncontrolled.

Please note; dynamic stretching carries with it a high risk of injury if used incorrectly. Dynamic stretching is more for muscular conditioning than flexibility and is really only suited for professional, well trained, highly conditioned athletes. Dynamic stretching should only be used after a high level of general flexibility has been established.

All four parts are equally important and any one part should not be neglected or thought of as not necessary. All four elements work together to bring the body and mind to a physical peak, ensuring the athlete is prepared for the activity to come.

So what conclusions can we make?

Stretching is beneficial, when used correctly. However, as with most activities there are rules and guidelines to ensure that they are safe, and stretching is no exception. Stretching can be extremely dangerous and harmful if used incorrectly.

Remember, stretching is just one very important component that assists to reduce the risk of injury and improve athletic performance. The best results are achieved when stretching is used in combination with other injury reduction techniques and conditioning exercises.

This post via the My Boot Camp Workout! blog where you get boot camp workouts, dumbbell workouts and more.

Stretching and the Warm up – Are You Confused?

Hi, I’m your online personal Trainer, Nadine. I am proud to be a part of ACE’s 2009’s Top 10 Fitness Trends called “Boot Camp”. This site has everything you need to get toned and into shape quickly using a boot camp workout designed especially for your needs. You will be amazed at how quickly you will lose weight and tone up at boot camp!

First, let me start by explaining a little about boot camp exercises and what kind of workouts we have here on this site.

A boot camp workout is basically a set of body weight exercises that work the major muscles of the body at the same time. When you work these large muscle groups together they burn more calories faster than if you were to single out each muscle group and work them individually. See the example to the left. This exercise is working the torso (or chest), arms and legs all in one movement. It’s also a huge cardiovascular exercise! Try doing a few of them right now and you’ll see what I mean.

So how does this benefit you?

You benefit by burning more calories faster for a longer period of time than regular cardio exercise. Your muscles will continue to burn calories for hours after you’ve stopped exercising because you’ve worked the major muscle groups with your own body weight resistance into your cardio routine. If you were to do just cardio, for example walking on a treadmill, your body would stop burning calories right after your workout stops. With boot camp exercises you burn more efficiently. Sweet huh

This post via the My Boot Camp Workout! blog where you get boot camp workouts, dumbbell workouts and more.

What is Boot Camp?

After a hard workout your muscles are craving fuel to rebuild themselves and one of the best things you can do for them is to drink a protein shake within 1 hour after you’ve finished your workout. This is especially true after a hard boot camp workout because you are using some major muscles for that.

Here is my amazingly easy recipe:
Grab your blender and mix 8 oz of COLD water with one full scoop of whey or wheat protein powder. You can add any assortment of fruits if you wish such as a little banana and some fresh strawberries. I happen to drink chocolate protein powder with just water and no fruit.   You can add ice if you want.

The protein powder is something you can buy at a local nutrition store such as GNC. I use “Ultimate Nutrition’s Protein Isolate in Cholocate Creme.  I stick with protein powders that have high protein and little fat/calories.  Mine has 1 gram of fat, 100 calories, 20 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar per scoop.  This is a fantastic one to use!

This post via the My Boot Camp Workout! blog where you get boot camp workouts, dumbbell workouts and more.

After Workout Protein Shake

Correct way to do a push up

Push ups are a fantastic form of body exercises and when done correctly can really enhance your caloric burn. They are also a VERY basic maneuver of boot camp! So I’d like to give you a very basic understanding of how to properly do a push-up. Also, many women and sure, some men, lack the upper body strength to even do a push up so if you begin to train now in a few short months you can be doing some major push ups without difficulty.

So my friends, put on your fatigues and hit the deck!

The most common thing you see people do wrong with push-ups is they go through a very limited range of motion. You also will typically see people moving a little too fast through the range of motion, which makes the exercise easier.

So to begin, we’re going to slow everything down. We’re going to go about three seconds on the way up, three seconds on the way down. Think of a slow, controlled movement that eliminates momentum from the picture.

Start from a prone position – belly to the floor – with hands just outside shoulders with the fingers facing forward and arms fully extended. The feet can be together or as much as a foot apart. The hips should not sag towards the ground at any point during the exercise, and should be held in a position every so slightly lower than the shoulders. Weight is forward on the hands so that the arms form a straight line from the wrists to the shoulders; the shoulders should not be behind the wrists.

We’re going to flatten out the back and we’re going to also make sure that we go through a full range of motion, so we are going to come all the way up to the top, stopping just short of locking out our elbows at the top and then, we’re going to come all the way down ’til our chest touches the floor.

Inhale on the way down and exhale on the way up.

Focus on doing each repetition perfectly as opposed to focusing on how many you can do and trying to make a contest out of it.

For those of you who cannot do a push-up, here are some techniques to help get you there. And don’t bother with “modified” or “girl’s” push-ups that are done with knees on the floor. This exercise is a waste of time and, despite conventional wisdom, does NOT prepare the body to perform “real” push-ups.

The first step to prepare the body to do push-ups is to work on maintaining the proper start position. What seems like an easy enough thing to do is actually difficult for many people. So the first drill for those who can’t do a push-up is to get into the starting position and hold it for 30 seconds, breathing steadily the entire time.

Maintaining this push-up posture for 30 seconds at a time is the best way for a beginner to strengthen the body and prepare for doing real push-ups. The “modified” push does nothing to develop the core strength and balance that’s required to do proper push-ups. If you haven’t tried this “static hold” exercise, you’ll be amazed at how difficult it can be, especially when doing 3 or 4 sets of 30 second holds, and how much more difficult it is to hold this position than it is to do modified, bastardized push-ups.

Progress from this “top position” static hold to a “bottom position” static hold, and the body is in a position where the chest is a few inches off of the floor. This is a more difficult drill, so shoot for sets of 10-15 seconds in duration.

Once the two variations of “static hold” push-ups have been mastered, progress to “negative” push-ups. Negative push-ups will help to build the strength needed to do real, full push-ups. To do a negative push-up get into the starting position and slowly lower your body until your chest touches the floor, maintaining strict control during the movement. When doing “negatives” there’s no concern for the push phase of the exercise, so once your chest touches the floor just get back to the staring position by going to your knees and resetting.

Now it’s your turn! Don’t put off exercising any longer. You’ll build lean and long muscles which are fabulously sexy!

This post via the My Boot Camp Workout! blog where you get boot camp workouts, dumbbell workouts and more.

How to do a push-up correctly, even if you can’t do one!

My mother has been a big proponent of increasing bone density since her own mother suffered from osteoporosis and I want to help increase women’s awareness of it especially for young women. It is never too early to start a good routine of taking care of your bones so down the road they are strong and reliable for you.

Osteoporosis is much more common in women than in men. This is because women have less bone mass than men, tend to live longer and take in less calcium, and need the female hormone estrogen to keep their bones strong. If men live long enough, they are also at risk of getting osteoporosis later in life.

Once total bone mass has peaked—around age 35—all adults start to lose it. In women, the rate of bone loss speeds up after menopause, when estrogen levels fall. Since the ovaries make estrogen, faster bone loss may also occur if both ovaries are removed by surgery.

But did you know that there are lots of things you can do about this? In fact you can start today by increasing your calcium intake to 1000mg per day, plus adding Vitamin D (you can do this by going out into the sun for 15 minutes per day), adding green vegetables for vitamins needed to lay down bone, getting enough protein in your diet, and doing some boot camp exercises that increase bone density.

Weight training can help increase bone density, as well as jumping jacks, jumping rope, jogging and brisk walking. Start circuit training and do reps at a low weight to begin. Increase the reps for more resistance. Be sure at add in those jumping jacks too. A study done the University of Toronto shows that aerobic exercise, such as walking, jogging, or dance, improved the amount of calcium in the upper body and upper thighs, two areas at risk for fractures.

This post via the My Boot Camp Workout! blog where you get boot camp workouts, dumbbell workouts and more.

How Boot Camp Exercises Can Help Prevent Osteoporosis

I do want to add the following suggestions to make sure you do this exercise properly:

To all my fellow Boot Campers this is for you! Did you know there is a “military” workout that will kick your body into shape really fast? It does because it uses the whole body in an exercise. Instead of just working your arms for example, this workout involves your entire body so it burns calories faster and longer. You will be using your own body as resistance so no equipment is needed. That’s the best part of all!

1. Do them slow and controlled. Don’t try to finish a marathon with these. Your joints need to be cared for and jerky quick movements will only lead to injury.

2. Try starting out with 5 or 10 repetitions and add a few daily or every other day to avoid over-use injury.

3. If you have any pain – STOP.

4. Be sure you are in good health to begin a workout program.

Burpee-Like Military Workout

1. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your hands above your head.

2. Drop into a squat, placing your hands on the floor beside your feet, and kick your feet back into push-up position.

3. Do a push-up.

4. As you rise up, swing your knees into your chest and place your hands back on the floor, so that you’re in the same position as Number 2.

5. Explode upwards, jumping as high as you can.

6. Return to position 1, and repeat.

You will feel the burn from these for sure! Please use care when performing any exercise. This is an intense strength-building, endurance-raising powerhouse combo exercise.

This post via the My Boot Camp Workout! blog where you get boot camp workouts, dumbbell workouts and more.

Burpee-like Boot Camp Workout – give this a try!

Fitness Industry Leader Releases Top Workout Trends for the New Year

SAN DIEGO (Dec. 9, 2008)—

• Boot Camp-Style Workouts: Boot camp workouts remain extremely popular because they provide a total-body workout that’s varied, fun and challenging. Up to 600 calories can be burned during a boot camp session, which is obviously going to facilitate weight loss. But in addition to a great cardiovascular workout, muscles are strengthened through high- and low-intensity exercises such as pushups, squats and lunges. You don’t typically experience significant muscle fitness benefits in other aerobic exercises.

• Budget-Friendly Workouts: With today’s economy showing no signs of strengthening, more people will cut costs to stay in shape. Of the ACE-certified professionals surveyed, 48 percent said that gym memberships will decrease in 2009 and 52 percent said less people will hire personal trainers. Look for more people to use the resources around them as their gym and equipment.

• Specialty Classes: While yoga and Pilates will remain strong, dance-based classes are all the rage this year! Zumba, a fitness program inspired by Latin dance, combines South American rhythms with cardiovascular exercise. Bollywood, ballroom, Afro-Cuban and other exotic dance styles are growing in popularity thanks to shows such as Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance.

• Getting Back to Basics: Despite the fact that many exercises and equipment are becoming more advanced and trendy, trainers will continue to focus on basic movements and techniques with their clients again.

• Circuit Training: Studies have shown that interval training combining strength training and cardiovascular activity at different intensities provides a more time-efficient workout than participating in traditional aerobic and weight training sessions. With an increase in popularity of circuit training, many gyms are even setting up their own circuits to allow their members an easy path to fitness.

• Kettlebells: The reason for the surge in kettlebell training is that it gets back to basic training that requires functional, whole body fitness. Kettlebells require an individual to focus on whole-body conditioning because lifting and controlling a kettlebell forces the entire body, particularly the core, to contract as a group, simultaneously developing strength and stability. Kettlebell workouts engage multiple muscle groups, making it a great way to get a whole body workout in a relatively short period of time.

• Boomer Fitness: Individuals age 50+ have the means, motivation and desire to enhance their quality of life through physical activity—and they are only growing. The 50+ audience continues to redefine our expectations about age, vitality and life, and has highlighted the importance of physical activity as we age. Since September 2007, AARP’s fitness initiative for boomers—aimed at providing a wide range of affordable fitness services to its 39 million members—has been going strong.

• Technology-Based Fitness: From iPods to Cardio Cinema to exergaming (i.e., Wii Fit, Expresso Bikes) the latest in technology will continue to infuse itself in all aspects of fitness. Look for 2009 to provide more interactive video games that provide fitness benefits, as well as new inventions to make exercising a more engaging experience.

• Event or Sport-Specific Exercises: Despite the emergence of new and trendy workouts, sports or recreational activities will remain a popular way to stay in shape. Participating in a friendly game of basketball or volleyball, training for a marathon, or taking a day-long bike ride are just a few ways that people are staying in shape and having fun doing so!

• Mixing It Up: Traditional programming is changing from what we called linear progression to undulating as research shows similar if not better results. For example, mixing low-intensity cardio with intervals on different days, and mixing high-volume, low- intensity weight training with low-volume, high-intensity training on alternate days.

About ACE

The American Council on Exercise (ACE), America’s premier certification, education and training organization, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the benefits of physical activity and protecting consumers against unsafe and ineffective fitness products and instruction. ACE sponsors university-based exercise science research and is the world’s largest nonprofit fitness certifying organization.

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Trainer Nadine

Founder of My Weight Loss Boot Camp

This post via the My Boot Camp Workout! blog where you get boot camp workouts, dumbbell workouts and more.

Fitness Industry Leader Releases Top Workout Trends for 2009