Gravity Fx Fitness

Craig’s not quite the six million dollar man but he does have some added hardware from two lumbar disc fusions.  More than two years ago he had back surgery to remove not one lumbar disc, but two!

In the two years prior to his surgery, Craig hadn’t done much in the way of exercise because of the back pain.  So when he decided to come in and train it had been at least four years since he had done any sweating.

Because of his past injuries he was eager to try and regain basic muscular function but also had some fears of reinjuring himself, which is understandable.  I was confident we could help him but wanted to take things slow, building a good foundation.

After this kind of surgery it is important to work on core stability to help support his spine.  This would be vital for everyone but especially for someone as tall as Craig.  Most of my clients have to look up at me but I have to look up at him.  Meaning, he has a long torso and more need for spine stability than the average person.

Initially, we split his workouts between the studio and the warm water pool, which is heated to 94 degrees.  The warm water helps loosen up stiff muscles and joints that haven’t seen much movement in a long time.  The water also provides some stability to the joints, taking away the full weight of your body.

There were a few exercises in the studio that he felt some pressure in his back, so we avoided those positions or modified them.  Through use of the vibration platform and doing bodyweight squats on the TRX suspension trainer, Craig was able to greatly increase his range of motion in both his hips and knees.

This is especially important for those with past low back injuries.  If the hips aren’t flexible than you will try to make up for that loss with increased lumbar movement, which isn’t good.

With a back fusion like that, you lose the ability of those joints to move, so his other joints would have to provide more movement, causing them to likely wear out faster.

Obviously, that isn’t a good situation.  Craig has a very busy work schedule and has struggled to make it in for his workouts sometimes, which might have slowed down his progress those first couple of months, but he was determined to stick with it and has seen the benefits.

Exercise is crucial to releasing stress in a healthy manner, instead of relying solely on food, drink or smoking, as so many tend to do.  He has surpassed his expectations of what he could accomplish exercise-wise, but he still has room for improvement.

Being able to do simple things like mowing the grass, using the snow blower and such are no longer an issue.  I showed two exercises in the video; the sled, which he does very well with and enjoys and the ropes, which he really doesn’t care for but does it anyway.

Both of these exercises make you work hard and get your heart rate up, which means they’re good for you.  We didn’t have him do the sled pushing until recently and it might have been too dificult when he first started out.

Craig is proof that a progressive exercise program can provide benefits if you have the discipline, desire and patience to do the work.

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The short and simple reason is that it can help you lose fat while spending less time exercising!

When you do various movements with the ropes for 20-30 seconds you elevate your heart rate significantly.  It is a very simple way to do interval training, which is great for fat loss.  Many of my clients are breathing heavy at the end of their set, often letting out a big “Whoo” because of the hard effort involved.

When you realize that intense effort and increased oxygen intake are vital to your results, there are many different ways to accomplish this.  I like to do cardio strength training because it is a time efficient method for increasing fitness and fat loss.

I have my clients do various resistance exercises to build lean muscle tissue and rope training accompanies these exercises quite nicely.  This way you can increase your metabolism and burn calories after you have stopped training.

Typically in an aerobics class or during a treadmill session you are working at 60-75% of your max HR, which is low to moderate intensity.  After you are done your metabolism returns to where it was previously, in as little as 10 or 15 minutes.

An elite endurance athlete who works at a higher intensity will have a greater “afterburn effect,” but the average healthclub member usually doesn’t work as intensely.  So when you understand that burning more calories is about intensity, you seek exercises that will really get your heart racing.

Obviously, this is assuming you are healthy, injury free and accustomed to exercise.  There are numerous patterns that can be done with the ropes and variety is important for keeping your body from getting stale, but also your MIND from getting stale.

Let’s face it.  There’s a reason that health clubs have all those TV’s in front of the treadmills and ellipticals – to keep your mind off of all the endless repetition going on.  Ropes on the other hand require you to focus on what you are doing and that is elevating your heart rate.

If you’re a busy person like most of us, than training with ropes and doing resistance training in the same session will allow you to lose weight without spending two hours at the gym.  Sounds like a winner for both me and my clients!

Ropes also allow you to get a cardiovascular effect without the pounding on your joints.

Many people seem to forget that you can get cardio training from doing interval work, where you exercise for 20-30 seconds, rest and then repeat, keeping your HR up in the process.

For example, last Saturday I did my workout after the clients had left.  I decided to get my HR monitor out to see how many calories I would burn.  I used the sandbags, TRX suspension trainer and a barbell, going from an upper body exercise to a lower body movement or opposing upper body movement, keeping my rest periods very short.

I used the ropes a few times to finish off the workout and stopped the monitor at 40 minutes.  In forty minutes I burned 552 calories and had an average HR of 77%, which qualifies as cardio activity, with a peak heart rate of 95%, which is pretty intense!

Now, I obviously am used to this type of training and wouldn’t start someone with that much intensity, but I think you get the point – I definitely got my cardio and strength training done in a single session, leaving my metabolism elevated for several hours afterwards.

I spent the next 20 minutes stretching, cleaning and getting the studio ready for Monday’s clients, while re-starting the HR monitor to see what was going on.  I burned an additional 216 calories, with my heart rate at an average of 68%, still qualifying as cardio.

I think you get the point that intense training can create an “afterburn effect” that is due partly to the increased oxygen consumption.  Heavy breathing is definitely acceptable in your workouts.

Training with ropes is also a great stress reliever – after beating the floor intensely for 20 seconds or more, you tend to forget what you were stressed about.  The alternating upper-cut pattern is also a healthy way to “punch” your particular individual stressor, if you wish.

Besides, with about two thirds of adults being overweight, can it really hurt to take some different approaches?

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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I’m in the process of lowering my bodyfat levels in preparation for Summer, so I’m trying to be a little stricter with my diet, but also training a little more.

Yesterday I did a light workout.  I went to a nearby track for a walk, but decided to throw in a twist.  After each 1/4 mile lap I threw some core training in.

For example, the first time I did an inchworm exercise in the forward position.  You start with your hands and feet on the ground, fairly close to each other and then “walk” your hands out in front of you as far as possible.

Then you “walk” your feet in towards your hands and repeat.  Its great for your core and also good for shoulder stability.  Next lap I did the inchworm backwards until fatigued.

Next lap I did a lateral bear crawl on all fours.  Again, plenty of tension on the core and shoulders, great for adding stability to my rotator cuffs, which have seen their share of problems in the past.

So 2 miles walked and some core training to boot.  Today I alternated between Ropes Gone Wild and some interval sprints.  Interval training is a great way to burn fat and keep your metabolism elevated for several hours.

My upper body was fatigued from previous workouts so I did some grappler’s throws and side to side movements with the ropes, which puts all the emphasis on the core and minimal work for the arms.

I ran 75 yards at about 80% and alternated the runs with the rope work.  These kind of workouts get you breathing hard and burn more calories overall than steady pace cardio, especially those done at moderate intensity.

Elliptical machines are great if you have joint issues, but not that great for fat burning – the movement is too easy and efficient.  If fat loss is the ultimate goal turn up the intensity on your workouts.

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Yesterday I did my first training session with ropes and it was a blast!   If you’ve never heard of doing workouts with ropes, it probably sounds a little strange.

After seeing several videos with Art of Strength founder Anthony Diluglio, I was convinced that there was definitely some value in this.  One, it adds some measure of creativity that is not usually associated with exercise.

While “training” is a part of my lifestyle – something that is just a part of me – I realize that for many people exercise is something to dread, and any way that you can mix things up and add some creative movement is a big plus.

Two, it is a way to do some upper body cardio and take away some of the pounding that occurs with running on hard surfaces.  As a massage therapist, I’ve worked on more than a few runners with overuse injuries and this might give the joints a little break.

Just because something is new and different doesn’t make it better, or even worth while, but I think you will see a lot more of rope training in the near future.

Yesterday just happened to be incredibly warm for February in Illinois, so it was a great chance to get outside and see what the ropes are all about.  I wasn’t dissappointed!  Besides being a lot of fun they provided a great grip workout.

My forearms, biceps, and lats were “pumped”….. and while I’m not into bodybuyilding training, I enjoyed the feeling.  When you watch Anthony on the video you see that there are many different movements that can be done, so I’ve got plenty to work on.

I definitely see this as something to add to my fitness studio circuit, which I plan on opening soon.

Bottom line – find some form of exercise you enjoy and if not, do something that doesn’t take up all your time, being sure to get some quality resistance training in.

If you want more info, go to Art of Strength.

Get moving!

Brian

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