Get Stronger with Fit Tips

Intensity Defined

The scientific literature clearly delineates that “intensity” is the primary stimulus for our bodies to change and improve as a result of engagement in a resistance exercise program.  Intensity is most important controllable factor (uncontrollable factors include percentage of fast twitch or slow twitch muscles fibers, muscle belly length, tendon length, and muscle insertion) in an individual’s response to an exercise program.  It appears that the other variables of an exercise program, although important, are simply not as meaningful as the intensity with which we exercise.  This leads us to an important (and often ignored) question: What is intensity?  Intensity can be defined as a percentage of our momentary ability to perform an exercise.  Stated other wise, it has nothing to do with the amount of weight we lift, it has everything to do with our effort.  Lifting a relatively heavy weight for 6 reps or a relatively light weight for 20 reps are both deemed “intense” so long as it is utterly impossible to lift a 7th rep or a 21st rep.  When looking to produce better results, faster results, or to break through a plateau, the first place to turn your attention to should be your training intensity.  Most well intended trainees err in almost the opposite direction.  They add more exercises, add more sets, and/or increase the number of weekly workouts.  All of these are steps in the wrong direction.

Exercise is Part of Your Job

In the October 2014 issue of Harvard Business Review, author Ron Friedman asserts that exercise not only enhances our performance in the workplace, but indeed, exercise is actually a part of our job.  He states, “Instead of viewing exercise as something we do for ourselves—a personal indulgence that takes us away from our work—it’s time we started considering physical activity as part of the work itself. The alternative, which involves processing information more slowly, forgetting more often, and getting easily frustrated, makes us less effective at our jobs and harder to get along with for our colleagues.”

I'm going to sign up for a marathon to help me lose weight

This is the intention of many first time marathoners.  The assumption is something like this: Training for a marathon involves a heck of a lot of running; if I sign up for a marathon really get serious about running, I'll lose a heck of a lot of weight in the process.  The reality is far different from this.  A 2010 research study indicated that of novice marathoners completing a 3-month training program (a time period in which they ran literally hundreds of miles and expended tens of thousands of calories), some people lost weight, some stayed the same, and many gained weight.  Here is a breakdown of what happened:

New Research: It's not the amount of weight that matters

The Process for Sustained Results

A New Perspective on Exercise for Overweight and Obese Kids

Our Favorite Area of Research

One of the most important discoveries in the field of exercise over the last 10-15 years is that resistance training is far more beneficial for our health and the prevention of chronic disease than we ever would have imagined. Traditionally, we assumed resistance training outcomes centered around increases in muscle strength, muscle size, improved athletic ability, and increased bone mineral density. We relegated health improvements to aerobic exercise. A considerable body of research has shifted our understanding and all but deconstructed this false dichotomy that resistance training is for strength and aerobic exercise is for "health." But why is strength training so beneficial for our health? Emerging science tells us that the answer is, in short, "myokines." Myokines are proteins that are created when our muscles contract. These myokines influence the "crosstalk" between different organs in an autocrine, endocrine, or paracrine fashion. Through these channels, it appears that myokines may have a profound positive effect on metabolic disorders, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and a number of cardiovascular disease risk factors. 20 years ago we knew that resistance training made you stronger. 10 years ago we realized that it makes you healthier. We now are starting to understand that myokines are the probable physiological mechanism for the myriad of health benefits we see from resistance training (benefits that most exercisers, researchers, and health care professionals are still unaware of). The next time someone asks you why you strength-train, your answer should be, "To produce myokines, Bro."

Are Machines Enough? Breaking down another myth.

We've always been taught that strength training on machines is okay for people looking to get a bit stronger or improve body composition. However, if you really want to maximize your improvements as a well-rounded athlete, strength training with machines alone simply won't suffice.  At least that's what the longstanding fitness folklore would lead us to believe.  But what does the research say?  Authors of a brand new research study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research sought to determine what produced better results in terms of improvements in strength, power, jumping ability, and balance in athletes: strength training with machines or combining strength training with machines with "sensorimotor training." The results indicated that resistance training on machines alone-improved strength, power, jumping ability and balance and that additional sensorimotor training provided no additional benefits.  This is yet another study that suggests that basic, intelligent strength training (and yes, on machines) can provide far more benefit than fitness gurus have espoused for decades. 

Improving Speed: Targeting Fast Twitch Muscle Fibers in Long Distance Runners

Humans possess two fundamental classifications of muscle fibers: slow twitch and fast twitch.  Slow twitch muscle fibers are used constantly during almost all activities of daily living.  Fast twitch muscle fibers are reserved for activities that require greater power and speed.  Fast twitch muscle fibers are also used when our slow twitch fibers aren’t capable of completing a task.  Approximately 90-95% of people possess roughly a 50/50 split of slow and fast twitch muscle fibers.  As we age, our fast twitch muscle fibers atrophy (decrease in size) and number.  By our early 30’s, we begin to witness a reduction in fast twitch muscle fibers.  This is why the career of an NFL football player declines rapidly after the age of about 30, especially among running backs.  

Low Force (Not “Light” Weight) = Safe

The common assumption is that lifting a weight that is “heavy” predisposes a trainee to a musculoskeletal injury. The reality is that the weight is just one part of the equation.  During a strength training exercise, the goal should be to minimize the external forces imposed on a joint, bone, or connective tissue.  “Force” is a mass (the weight that you are lifting) multiplied by the speed used when lifting the mass.  If you lift a relatively light or moderate weight quickly (as most people do), the external force that the joints, bones, and connective tissues are exposed to are positively enormous.  If you lift and lower a weight slowly (even a heavy weight), the forces that the body encounters are dramatically reduced.