Gravity Fx Fitness

If you’re not training for competition, you don’t need to train like a competitive athlete….

you don’t need to follow the training program of an endurance athlete or bodybuilder, if that’s not your goal.  Instead of spending more time walking on the treadmill,  kick it up a notch or two with the intensity.

Cardio strength training is a great way to lose more fat in the least amount of time.  Swinging ropes, lifting sandbags or doing bodyweight exercises on the TRX suspension trainer uses multiple muscles.

When you challenge your large muscles against some type of resistance and keep your heart rate elevated, you burn lots of calories – during the exercise session and AFTER (afterburn effect).

Here are Vicki and Julie pulling a weighted tire, elevating their metabolisms in the process.  Get more work done in a shorter amount of time.

If you are training for an endurance event, this type of training is a great way to supplement your other training.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

Tweet This Post

Never seen anyone surfing in the Midwest?  Yesterday was an incredibly windy day in the Quad Cities and a couple of windsurfers decided to take advantage of the conditions.

Never tried it, but I did TRY to surf in Myrtle Beach once.  The operative word being “try.”  In celebration of an active lifestyle, here is something you don’t see everyday – windsurfing on the Mississippi.

Both of the guys looked to be over 50 from what I could see.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

Tweet This Post

Women, are your arms ready for wearing tank tops or swimsuits? Summer is right around the corner and my female clients have earned the right to “bare arms!”

These sisters-in-law have worked hard since the first of the year and it shows.  What’s even better than looking great during the Summer months?  Only taking two hours per week to do it.

Vicki and Julie exercise at my fitness studio three days a week for approximately 45 minutes, including warm up and cool down.  Vicki’s husband Ted is Julie’s brother and these three are in their early to mid 50’s.

The workouts can be best described as cardio strength training – going from one  exercise to the next with minimal rest in between.  Some of the exercises are cardiovascular in nature, while others are more focused on resistance,

but they all keep the heart rate elevated and burn lots of oxygen, and thus plenty of calories – during the workout and afterwards (the afterburn effect).

These are not bodybuilding workouts, instead, they involve multiple muscles and create a lean athletic physique.  Using multi-joint exercises are the way to go if you are looking for a time-efficient workout and want sculpted arms.

The only isolation exercises for the biceps are the TRX biceps curls, but this requires you to maintain your body in a straight line, working your core and enhancing your posture.

Various rows with the TRX and dumbbells work the arms and back at the same time.  Pushups on and off the Power Plate help to sculpt the triceps, along with dumbbell bench presses on a stability ball.

Various sandbag and rope exercises further raise the metabolism.  Sprinting on a mini-stepper also creates an oxygen debt without any pounding on the joints.

These ladies are fairly active when not working in the studio, preferring to spend their spare time doing recreational activities, instead of walking on a treadmill or elliptical machine in a typical gym setting.

Bottom line, their routine gets more work done in less time, so they can spend more time with friends and family, often times fishing at the lake, trying to catch the big ones.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

Tweet This Post

One of my clients gave up her jazzercise routine at the first of the year for cardio strength training and hasn’t looked back since.

This fabulously fit 50-something did her previous workout routine for quite some time and it helped her get in pretty good shape…..but her body had gotten used to it and she needed something new to challenge her.  (Vicki in action)

Her sister-in-law had recently started working with me and recommended it to her and her husband.  After the free trial, she decided to give it a try and see how she liked it.  She went from good shape to even better shape.

She has maintained her cardio conditioning and increased her strength at the same time.  All the upper and mid back exercises have reduced some occasional neck problems, giving her increased posture and alignment.

After doing the same exercise routine over and over you need to give your body a new stimulus in order to see improvement.  Besides keeping your body guessing this also keeps your mind fresh, which is also important for avoiding plateaus.

This is why you see so many gym members hit plateaus – you get used to your routine and need a new stimulus.  Recently, a young woman came in to try and make some additional progress.

After doing the elliptical machine 5 days a week, she is in good shape but wants to keep improving.  Your body gets very efficient at doing steady state (pace) aerobics and high intensity intervals will shock the body and increase your metabolism.

Resistance training will help build lean muscle tissue and keep your burning more calories after you have stopped exercising.  It also accentuates a woman’s natural curves while building or maintaining bone mass – a win/win situation!

The increased strength  makes everyday activities much easier.  The time efficient nature of these workouts doesn’t hurt any, either – about 2 hours a week (3 sessions) is all she does with me and then some walking on her own.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

Tweet This Post

A recent newspaper article interviewed Dr. Oz on staying healthy and fit.  “By the time we are 50, two thirds of how we age will be driven by our lifestyle,” he said.

Doctors don’t change what you put in your mouth – you may need a lifestyle change, according to the doctor.  Here are some tips that he gave:

Don’t travel without snacks. Skip the low-fat “foods” and the 100 calorie snack packs.  Avoid the modified foods and eat nuts, fruits, or veggies instead.  Almonds and an orange or apple is one of my favorites.

Stop drinking diet sodas – diet sodas mess with your body, tasting sweet but not adding any calories.  This can make you want to eat more.  You rarely see thin people who drink several diet drinks daily.  Besides the artificial sweeteners, all that sodium can’t be good for your body.  My suggestion would be trying to drink water instead, to help you feel full and to help eliminate toxins.

Lack of exercise can make you miserable in your later years. Vigorous activity can not only make you look and feel better, it can add “life” to your years.  Don’t spend all your time sitting down and expect to feel full of energy.

Moms need to take care of themselves. Dr. Oz thinks that the most important thing you can do for your kids is to take care of yourself – make time to eat right and exercise.  The short workout routines that we do at my studio are ideal for busy moms who don’t have time to exercise 6-10 hours a week.

Simple bodyweight exercises done in a circuit can be done at home if you can’t get to the gym – think lunges, pushups, planks, and bridges.  Dumbbells, exercise bands or suspension trainers can also add variety to your workouts without taking up much space or investing a lot of money.

This info was borrowed from McClatchy Newspapers.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

Tweet This Post

“My hip felt better at work today than it has in the past month,” claimed one of my clients as he came through the door.

Which means the program must be working!  This person is in his mid 50’s and has no cartilage left in his hip.  His orthopedic surgeon told him you “worked hard and played hard,” spending his days working on concrete and playing recreational sports.

He’s been working with me for just over a month and doing well.  Yesterday’s workout focused on the lower body so it’s a good sign that he felt better the day afterwards.

The workouts are low to no impact, which is ideal for those with past injuries.  They also focus on dynamic flexibility and are done mostly in a circuit for optimal efficiency.

One of the unique components is the Power Plate vibration platform.  It creates reflex muscle contractions which can help with flexibility and weight loss.  The lower body positions involve double and single leg stances (squats and lunges).

It allows for additional stress to the muscles without stressing the joints.  Single leg exercises done off the platform allow for increasing flexibility and strength at the hip.  We also use ropes and an X-iser mini stepper for cardio work.  This places no significant stress on the joints while elevating the heart rate.

He says his bowling is improving so that is likely due to the work on dynamic stretching.  Reaching lunges done to the front and side are some of the exercises done, along with step ups using dumbbells or sandbags for resistance.  Being able to exercise without pain is always a good thing.

The TRX suspension trainer also works well for doing various lunges while providing just enough assistance (added stability).  Its also a great tool for stretching the shoulder and thoracic spine – areas that often become tight with age.

Today’s “workout” involved joint mobility movements and some work with the Indian clubs for additional mobility work.  These easy movements help you recover from more intense exercise, lubricate the joints and help flush toxins out of your body.

Besides being less physically demanding they give you a mental break, leaving you feeling better and ready to hit it hard on your next training session.  They also add to your movement efficiency.

If you stop moving your joints in certain directions they become stiff over time, not so much from aging, but from lack of use.

30 minutes of movement and out the door, leaving plenty of time to spend with friends and family.  So if you’ve been using that old excuse of lacking time to workout, you’re busted.  That’s no longer valid.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

Tweet This Post

There is a new way to do lat pulldowns that might be superior to the standard machine, in my opinion.  Lat machines are a standard in most healthclubs and gyms.

They let you work your back, arms, shoulders, and grip at the same time.  While pullups and chinups are a great exercise, not many have adequate strength to do this demanding exercise.

I was talking to my father recently about his cardiac maintenance program.  About a month ago he graduated from his 12 week cardiac rehab program, after undergoing a quadruple bypass.  Anyway, he mentioned the different exercises he was doing and that some of the people were also doing strength training.

He was trying to describe the lat pulldown exercise – not knowing what it was called – and his description got my attention.  I thought he said something about pulling the bar down behind your head and I wanted to make sure, as this is an exercise that has significant risk of shoulder injury when done in this manner, especially for those over 45.

I then let him know that if he ever did this exercise that you want to pull the bar down in front of your head. I then told the story of an acquaintance of his who injured his shoulder a couple years ago while pulling the bar behind his head.

Due to postural changes and lack of use, many lose their shoulder flexibility over time.  A new alternative to the lat pulldown addresses this issue very nicely.  A seated rope climber called the VLT allows you to do the this exercise with one arm at a time, which has some added benefits.

This allows those with limited range of motion in their shoulders to only reach as high as they can without any pain.  By pulling down with one hand and then the other, similar to climbing a rope, you allow the user to control how high they reach – without fear of losing their grip on the bar.

Not long ago they were featured by trainer Gunnar Peterson in a Muscle and Fitness article……”Using these rope machines is very different from doing lat pulldowns and pullups because the hand-over-hand motion breaks the kinetic chain, forcing you to re-grip each time.”

I got to try them out a a fitness trade show last year and loved it.  Its definitely on the wish list for my studio.  It has 7 different resistance settings and can be used to train strength, cardio and grip all at the same time.  For those like my father who need increased shoulder flexibility and upper body strength, it is a perfect solution – his once powerful hands have become severely atrophied, due to disuse.

I have also seen it used on TV in the training of MMA athletes, including Quentin “Rampage” Jackson.  Pulling hand over hand at an all out pace is an intense and “fun” workout.  It can be included in a fat loss circuit, as well.

Brian Morgan

Tweet This Post

Since playing in a men’s basketball league recently, I’ve altered my workouts slightly to be able to compete and avoid injuries.

While my competitive days may be behind me, in my mind I still want to play my best, even if I’m 15-20 years older than many of the guys.  So today I started off with some self-massage with the Tiger Tail rolling massage tool and then some flexband stretching for my lower body.

Last week I had some tightness in my calf and want to avoid any major muscle tears.  I followed this up with more calf stretching with the Prostretch.  Next I did some interval jump rope training – 20 to 30 seconds on and then 20 to 30 seconds off for 5 minutes.

I followed this up with some bodyweight rows with the Bandit’s Loops suspension trainer, alternating with Power Plate pushup holds.  My elbow is still a little sore and this lets me maintain upper body strength without the eccentric contractions of doing the full movement.

While doing this, I picked one leg off the ground for increased core work.  By having one less contact point, it increases the stability demands on your midsection, which saves me from doing crunches and saves time as well.

Then I did some flexband squat-rows for some additional cardio work and then used the flexbands for lateral agility training.  Definitely need that for playing basketball.

I also mixed in some one arm grappler’s throws with the Ropes Gone Wild for more interval cardio work and to hit my obliques.  Doing these with one arm and the 1 ½ inch manilla rope is a great core exercise.

So all total, the warmup and workout lasted almost 45 minutes, making this workout doable by most everyone from a time perspective.  Not everyone over 40 can jump rope, but if you are still playing sports then you need to do exercises that prepare you for the sport, instead of just playing sports to try and stay in shape.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

Tweet This Post

I recently injured my elbow due to my own ignorance (stupidity) and have learned a few valuable lessons.

Basically, I ignored my body’s own pain signals until it was too late and had no choice but to stop what I was doing and make some changes.  In my quest to be “lean and mean” at the age of 44, I tried pushing through pain, which is never a good thing!

Yes, you may definitely have to push your body past its comfort zone to achieve great physical feats, but the adage “no pain, no gain” is a bunch of crap that usually leaves you with loads of injuries down the road.

Specifically, two weeks ago, my right elbow was throbbing after I got done playing basketball for the first time in 10 or 12 years.  I don’t like taking anything if I don’t absolutely have to, but I ended up taking some Advil to reduce swelling and inflammation.

I’ve used icepacks and soaked it in a large pan of ice and water quite a bit, too.  I’ve had restricted movement at my shoulder and shoulderblade for a while, with some nasty triggerpoints in my levator scapula and rhomboids (upper and inner areas of shoulderblade).

My pecs and lats have also been tight and contained some triggerpoints (tight bands of muscle) that haven’t responded to self-massage with a massage ball or tennis ball.  These items plus a rolling massage tool like the Stick may be great for maintenance work, but don’t always replace the hands of a skilled massage therapist.

The result of the tightness and movement dysfunction (misalignment) in these areas puts unnecessary stress on my elbow and I also have some tight bands of muscle in my triceps.  Instead of taking the time to get some quality soft tissue work, I tried to work through it – BIG mistake!

I’ve been doing weighted pushups with a sandbag on my back and single arm kettlebell presses to try and increase my upper body size and strength.  My elbow didn’t want to fully straighten so I just ignored the discomfort and shortened the movement.

Playing basketball and all the overhead movements involved was the last straw.  Two weeks later, the elbow feels much better but is definitely not 100%.  Yesterday I did some upper body strength work and partial pushups with my bodyweight is all I can do for the pushing movements, except for static pushups on the Power Plate.

Its not quite ready for much eccentric work, but the vibration platform allows some static work without causing pain – keeping the stress to the elbow minimal but still providing some maintenance strengthening to occur.  The increased blood flow probably aids the healing process, also.

This minimal joint stress would probably benefit athletes during their competitive season – helping them maintain strength when combined with some resistance training.  So I talked to a massage therapist the other day who does some quality deep tissue work and we are going to exchange services.

The stretching I received at a recent continuing ed course helped quite a bit as well, but if I don’t get the proper massage work done, my problems will only get worse over time and keep me from achieving my goals of a lean, athletic physique.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

Tweet This Post

If you want to lose weight without spending hours on the treadmill, burst training is the way to go!

Did you know that several studies have shown that you can burn fat in sessions lasting 30 minutes or less?  The key for weight loss in minimal time is intensity – turn up the flame.

When you go into oxygen debt with your workouts, you increase fat burning when the training session is over.  In one study, a group of women performed a short, intense workout and the other group did a moderate intensity aerobic session.

Both groups burned the same amount of calories (300) with their workouts, but the interval group lost more bodyfat, with the shorter workouts.  Another study saw the group doing short bursts of exercise keep their metabolism elevated for 24 hours after they stopped exercising.

Their workouts were 15 minutes shorter than the aerobic group.  Intense training puts you in oxygen debt, which leads to fat burning after the workout has ended.  If short on time, crank up the intensity for best results.

Interval (burst) training increases the production of testosterone and growth hormone in your body.  These hormones build lean muscle tissue to keep your metabolism elevated.  They also assist in fat burning.

Ropes Gone Wild are one way to speed up the fat loss, sprint training is another.  Vibration platforms have been shown to increase positive hormone production while decreasing cortisol, a stress hormone that is associated with endurance training.

I like to combine whole body vibration with sandbags, suspension training, resistance bands and ropes.  Besides giving you a great workout in 30 minutes or less, it gives you plenty of different exercises to choose from.

Besides being very time-efficient, it reduces the chance of boredom, which is why so many people give up their New Year’s resolution 3 months later.  For best results over the long haul, add in some leisurely activities here and there – long walks or hikes, bike rides, or paddling a canoe or kayak.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

Tweet This Post