Gravity Fx Fitness

“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

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After a long Monday I am left with little time to exercise – a perfect time for a little Power Plate workout.  I had a fairly intense workout two days ago, so something lighter will do the trick.

If you have heard that a 10-15 minute workout on a vibration platform is the equivalent of a normal workout, it depends on what you are used to.

If you haven’t been exercising for quite some time then you can get some results from 3 of these sessions a week, but if that is all you do, you won’t look anything like your favorite athlete or be mistaken for a fitness model.

Your best results will come from combining it with other forms of resistance training – or you can do a session in between longer workouts, as a maintenance workout.

Like most people, I need a time efficient workout now and then to keep my metabolism elevated.  It also serves as a nice break from more intense workouts – it can help you recover faster.

Tonight I combined the vibration platform with some joint mobility movements.  Besides being a very joint friendly workout, all the reflex muscle contractions helped increase my circulation and flush out some waste products.

Movement based workouts are good for relieving stress and keeping the mind fresh, something we all could use.  I spoke once of “fire and ice training”.  This would definitely be a good example of the two extremes – high and low intensity.

Get moving!

Brian

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Can you burn fat with 15 minute workouts?  Yes, you can…. if the exercise session was intense enough.  Interval bike workouts are one way to achieve this.

I had a pretty long day today, which didn’t leave me much time for a traditional workout tonight.  Not a very strenuous day, but a long Monday just the same.

So I decided for a shorter exercise session.  I put my five fingers “shoes” on to give my feet a little workout and did a little self-massage with a Tiger Tail massager to warm up.

I picked a whole body exercise in order to get the most benefit – one that works my upper and lower body at the same time.  The squat-row movement wasn’t overly strenuous, but doing about 25 sure got my quads burning.

Bodyweight exercises work fairly well when you are 240 plus…..plenty of resistance.  In between sets I did some joint mobility movements to get some extra work in.

So I didn’t burn tons of calories but I did plenty to increase my health.  The movements worked all my joints, helping to lubricate them.  The movements combined with the self-massage helped flush out some of the “junk” that accumulates in all of us, by increasing lymphatic flow.

While I didn’t get quite breathless, I did increase my oxygen intake, flushing toxins out of my body in the process.  So I did manaqe to get some health benefits, as well as decreasing stress levels.

When I have more time and energy I will do a more intense workout that lasts slightly longer.  But that fifteen minute session was much more productive than just sitting on the couch.  At the end of the week it all counts the same.

My new exercise toy should arrive tomorrow in the mail.  Can’t wait to try out my fitness rope.

Get moving!

Brian

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Never heard of such a thing?  I use it to describe the ways in which I exercise.  I’m kinda ADD and much of my workouts are short and intense - Fire.

I like using circuits involving tools like sandbags, resistance bands, and bodyweight training.  I like to get a lot of work done in a short amount of time, instead of doing 90-120 minute exercise sessions.

If you want to burn some fat, turn up the flame – get your heart rate up while working your muscles against some type of resistance.  Use exercises that involve multiple muscles and joints, without resting very long between movements.

This type of training can elevate your metabolism for several hours afterwards, burning plenty of calories in the process.  There has been quite a bit of research in recent years to back this up, as well as the “in the trenches” results achieved by several fat loss gurus.

But this type of intense training may cause you to “burn out” if done all the time, without taking some time to do some less intense activity/training.  It might also lead to some joint inflammation and overuse injuries, if not done properly.

This is where the Ice training comes into play.  I like to mix up my intense days with easier days, where I may focus on joint mobility movements or take a walk or hike.  Something to give your mind a little break, as well as your body.

The joint mobility movements that I do are like a “Westernized” version of Tai Chi that can include isolated movements of the joints or whole body movements.  The main difference is that this can be done in as little as 10-15 minutes – longer, if you want.

This activity incorporates a mind-body connection where you really focus on how your body is feeling while moving.  This can help you deal with stress and anxiety, which I am prone to.

I’ve been doing this since 2003 and notice a big difference in my posture and an increased efficiency in my everyday movements.  It helps with coordination and can be useful in regaining mobility after an injury.

Being somewhat ADD, I also appreciate the fact that it can be done in a fairly short amount of time.  I frequently incorporate it into my warmup to lubricate my joints and get my body ready for further exercise.

So the Fire and Ice Training philosophy kinda mimics my own personality – intense and easy going at the same time.  Bottom line, many physical problems are movement related – not enough or too much (overuse injuries).

We all need some balance in our lives and this includes periods of intense activity and less intense.

Get moving!

Brian

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