Another Fitness Myth Debunked

Somewhere along your journey to fitness, whether in the gym, reading the latest books, or talking with your friends, you'll hear a lot of advice about exercise--not all of which is true.

Fitness Myth:
You can take weight off of specific body parts by doing exercises that target those areas.

Fitness Truth:
This concept is called "spot training" and unfortunately, it doesn't burn fat. When you lose weight, you are unable to choose the area in which the reduction will occur. Your body predetermines which fat stores it will use. For example, doing sit-ups will strengthen you abs but will not take the fat off of your stomach. Similarly, an activity like running burns fat all over your body, not just your legs. You can, however, compliment a balanced exercise program with a selection of weight training exercises to gradually lose weight and tone the body.

Exercise Extra
You need to burn off 3500 calories to lose 1 pound. Aim for 3-4 days of cardio per week, and watch the fat melt away!

The 10 Commandments of Healthy Eating for Parents

It's as simple as counting to 10!

1. Thou shalt not force, bribe or coerce thy child to eat.
   
2. Thou shalt set a good example by eating at least five fruits and vegetables, three whole grain products, and three dairy servings per day thyself.
   
3. Thou shalt make mealtimes pleasant.
   
4. Thou shalt encourage thy child to help in meal planning, preparation, and cleanup.
   
5. Thou shalt back off when mealtime becomes a power struggle.
   
6. Thou shalt accept food "binges" as phases that will eventually pass.
   
7. Thou shalt accept the fact that thy child is an individual and thus will dislike certain foods (and there may be many).
   
8. Thou shalt not give up on introducing thy child to new foods. Thou shalt realize it sometimes takes 10 tries to get a child to accept a food.
   
9. Thou shalt use this division of responsibility for eating: As the parent, thou art responsible for deciding when and what to serve. Thy child is responsible for deciding how much (if any) will be eaten. 
10. Thou shalt give thy child a multivitamin-mineral supplement if he is a picky eater.

BACK PAIN

That’s a common question that I get from pretty much everyone new to kettlebell training.

The answer, I’m sure to your surprise, is YES.  

Yes, you can hurt your back training with KBs…

…but you can also hurt your back doing traditional weight training.

You can hurt your back bending over to tie your shoes.

You can hurt your back twisting the wrong way when you put your 2-year-old in her car seat.

The point is that it isn’t a kettlebell that will hurt your back.  

It’s years and years of stress that’s been put on your back because of de-conditioning, lack of hip or thoracic (upper back) mobility, improper training practices, decades of poor posture or just weakness of the muscles supporting your spine.

Don’t blame the kettlebell (or the barbell, car seat, or your new pair of Nikes).

Fortunately, there are solutions and ways to prevent back pain. Some of the more common ones are…

• understanding the real functioning of your abdominal and low back muscles
• making sure your butt (glutes) work properly
• increasing the mobility in your hips and upper back
• learning how to brace when you’re exercising
• knowing what movements put the most stress on your spine and avoiding them if possible
• monitoring your diet for foods that could be inflaming your gut and turning your abdominal muscles "off" (and believe it or not, that’s a big one!)

There has been a lot of "research proven" methods out there to help you with your back pain, but more often than not, these methods fall short.

And my confidence in the medical community really starts to wain when I see a new client with back issues get prescribed some kind of pain killing pill to get rid of his back pain…

...Pills just hide the symptom, they don’t get rid of the problem.

I looked at the research done my Dr. Stuart McGill to get my information.  And when one of his students, Eric Wong (a Certified Kinesiologist), came out with the exact guide that helped him get over 10 years of back pain, I had to get myself a copy to review.If you have a history of back pain, then don’t let back pain limit your training or your life.

To your health,