Know What’s… What! Navigating Group Fitness

Good Afternoon Internets!

I know I haven’t blogged in awhile, I apologize. I’ve been masters-ing pretty hard the last couple of months.

This blog entry is almost a rant. It’s inspired (or fueled) from looking for new ideas for my classes on the internet. I figure, since I know the industry, and know some people don’t, I could help those who are trying to make sense of what the hell is going on.   

This entry isn’t about how to navigation the nutritional side of the industry, for that click here. This is more on the type of programming that one will often find in a gym.

Before I get into it, I first off I want to say that I am not trying to “knock down” anyone’s programming. I believe any type of physical activity is good and I teach and participate in many of the classes I’m about to discuss! 

My problem is with calling the same type of workouts (i.e., that work the same systems) different things. It just makes everything so much more confusing for beginners. This post is to help those who really don’t know the difference between a bootcamp class and circuit training (if there is any).

#1: High Intensity Training Classes

These classes are (generally) meant for people who have a well established fitness base (i.e., know proper form, are pretty physically fit) and are looking for the next level. They can involve a variety of different equipment (e.g., steps, kettlebells, barbells, dumbbells, no equipment) but basically follow the same principles.

The principles are essentially muscle confusion, strengthening, and anaerobic/power/lactic acid threshold training. The often go by the following names…

·         Circuit Training

·         High Intensity Interval Training Classes

·         Bootcamp

·         Plyometric classes

·         Blast/Body Shock ect ect

·         Cross Fit

·         TRX, Kettlebell***

So if you are wondering if the bootcamp class or HIIT class is “better” for you, they are basically training the same thing, in slightly different ways. 

The important thing to remember here is these classes are most beneficial if you have a well established fitness base. This isn’t saying you cannot participate in these classes if you are relatively “out of shape”, it just increases your chance of injury if you are.

Why? Because you muscles/core are not developed/strong enough to handle this type of impact on your joints and spine. 

Also, these classes are usually pretty fast moving and it can be challenging (not impossible) for instructors to ensure you are using proper form, also increasing your chance of injury. So it really comes down to a) if you like the instructor and b) if you like the layout/equipment involved in the class

***Note: TRX and Kettlebell classes can train the same type of systems in the same way, but involve specialized equipment (i.e., TRX involves suspension training, Kettlebells use weights with handles on them)

#2 Core Inspired Classes

These classes focus (or should focus) on strengthening the core. These types of classes can be controversial among chiropractors and fitness professionals as they often put the lower spine in rather/suggested compromising positions (i.e., fully flexed). I’m not going to get into the debate of what type of core training you should do or is appropriate for core training, but generally, these classes should help you establish a strong core in order to perform more complex strengthening movements (e.g., weight lifting or high intensity training).

The names these classes generally go by are as follows

·         Core Cuts/Hard Core Cuts/Hard Core

·         Ab Express, Ab Attack

·         Pilates

·         Yoga***

This is a personal opinion, and some instructors/trainers may disagree with this, but I believe that these classes (other than yoga) should not last longer than 45 minutes (and that’s pushing it).

Why? Because strengthening the core is good, but fatiguing the core is bad. When we fatigue the core, any other movement that you do after the class may leave your spine in a less than favorable situation.

For example, if one was to participate in a 1 hour Pilates class, focusing on flexing, extending, and strengthening the core through static a dynamic movements, it will fatigue. Then if one were to say, go to the changing room and tie their shoes in a fully flexed position (bent over), this may lead to an injury (i.e., throwing your back out) because there is nothing to support your spine.

Now I’m sure there are many many instructors that would argue that yoga, and pilates are separate entities to purely “core” classes. If you are a trained, knowledgeable, experienced yoga instructor, yes that is very different. Unfortunately, in my general experience in the field, this is rarely the case.

#3 Cardio Classes!

Again, this really comes down to what mode of training you would prefer to participate in. Generally, cardiovascular classes are those that train the aerobic system (less intense, but high heart rate then say a circuit class). However, they come in a variety of flavours. Some common cardio classes include….

·         Zumba

·         Spinning

·         Step

·         Any dance inspired class

Now, as with some of the other types of classes, there may be overlap here. For example, in my spinning classes I try and work on lactate threshold but generally 80% of the class can be considered cardiovascular training. So what do these classes do? They help strengthen your heart and lungs mainly. If you’re wondering about calories, typically high intensity will burn more calories/minute than these types of classes, but are meant for more experienced exercisers. 

I would recommend these types of classes for those who a) don’t like to hurt when working out, b) get bored easily, c) like to have fun, and d) have a relatively weaker fitness base.

#4: Mind Body Classes

The traditional mind body class most think of is yoga. As I mentioned earlier, as of right now, the quality of yoga instructor (e.g., training) can vary quite a bit. Yoga is more a lifestyle, some would argue, and I agree with this to some extent. Yoga requires time and dedication to truly do it as it was intended to be practiced.

However, many other mind body classes exist other than yoga. These generally focus on flexibility and strength training, while trying to establish a mind body connection. My class focuses on injury prevention, but I also incorporate some yoga inspired movements. 

Some general names are…

Yoga/Hot Yoga (if they have names in front of them like “Hatha” that just indicates what stream or underlying philosophy of the practice)

Anything with stretch/cool down/mind body

I think I will leave it there for now! I hope this helps some of you navigate the world of fitness classes/group training a little better. Obviously, I didn’t include all of the types of classes out there. This is intended as a general guide to get you started.

Any questions/comments/suggestions are always appreciated! Remember I don’t know everything and love to learn 

Stay Strong

Byn

Egg Muffin Goodness for your Mornings

 Good Afternoon Internet World

Sorry about the lack of blog action. Life has been very busy lately!

Today I’m going to give you a recipe I’m actually going to try today. I’ve heard it’s really good, and is great if you’re time crunched in the morning and want to get your protein in.

I’ll update this blog post once I try one/make them to let you know how it goes.

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

• 1 large sweet onion finely chopped

• 1 green bell pepper chopped

• 1 red bell pepper chopped

• 1 jalapeno chopped (optional)

• 12 large eggs

• Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sautee onions and peppers until desired (I like them more cooked). Whisk eggs in a bowl then add onions and peppers after cooling them for a couple of minutes. Add salt and pepper (and any other spice you’d like). Coat a large muffin pan with oil. Add ¼ cup of the mixture to each muffin cup. Place in oven for 10-15 minutes and enjoy!!

There’s a nice and simple way to make sure you get breakfast and your protein all in one shot!

I’ll let you know how they turn out

*Update*

I cooked a batch up and large 12 eggs made about 13 muffins in a standard cupcake tray. Like my sister said in the comments below they take more like 20-30 minutes to bake. You'll know they're done when you can put a fork in it and nothing is on the fork when you take it out of the muffin!

Franks red hot goes really well with them <3

Here's some pictures....

Egg muffins ready for baking!

She's beautiful!

Yummy

Stay Strong

~Byn Training

Eating Yourself Happy and Bean Salad Recipe for Lunch!

 Good Monday to you Interwebs!

Sorry for the hiatus on blog posts. I was away getting married and honeymooning! 

This week’s blog post is going to be on a topic that has been of great interest to me in the last month or so. Today we are going to talk about how to eat yourself happy. This post may not apply to some of you, but if you are like me, your moods depend greatly on what and when you eat. A lot of people don’t even realize how much their nutritional habits affect their moods. Take this quick survey to see if this is something you may want to keep closer attention too….

1. Do you get grumpy/angry if you go more than 3 hours without eating (or a lot if you don't keep track of when you eat)?

2. Do you get headaches after consuming or NOT consuming high sugar foods or caffeine?

3. Do you have trouble sleeping?

4. Do you often not have enough energy for your workouts?

5. Do you feel like you are going to fall asleep or have trouble concentrating around 2pm in the day?

If you answered yes to 2 or more of these questions, I guarantee your diet greatly contributes to these problems. 

I know this to be true because this is something that I personally struggle with. I need to eat and drink a certain way or I get all 5 of those symptoms (poor Scott). So do a lot of other people. So how can we improve our diet and make our days go from “Blah” to “awesome super excited happynesss”? Well here a few things I have learned over the years. 

To help you even more, at the end of this blog post is a bean salad recipe with a home made dressing I made last week which is super yummy, low calorie, and wont leave you grumpy!

*Note: Although I am focusing mainly on how eating this way makes one feel, eating this way will also help you lose weight!

1. Protein 3 times a day… ESPECIALLY breakfast

This is not just something I made up but has also been studied (specifically by Dr. DesMaisons of radiant recovery). It is very important for your overall functioning and mood to consume protein 3 times a day, especially breakfast. Why? Because it keeps your blood sugar stable. Without going into great detail on how blood sugar regulation and neural cell metabolism works, the more you keep your blood sugar stable (rather than fluctuating up and down all day) the more stable your moods will be. Some excellent options for protein are…

• Nuts: e.g., almonds, walnuts (unsalted and only a handful at a time)
•   Eggs
•  Beans
• Meat: Lean unprocessed meat (e.g., not lunch meat, store bought ground beef, hot dogs)

2 Poached Eggs, Rye Bread and Avocado for Breakfast=Happyness

  

2. Do not go more than 3 hours without eating

The longer you go without eating something the more likely you will become hypoglycemic (low blood sugar), which will leave your brain without any (good) fuel, which ultimately will lead  to a change in mood. The body does not like to be hungry and acidic. That being said, you shouldn’t be eating a cheeseburger every 3 hours. You want to be eating small (250calories ish) snacks every 2-3 hours that consist of complex carbs (e.g., fruits and veggies) and preferably protein. 

3. Stay away from high sugar and processed garbage food

Want an excellent way to feel like crap…eat a bag of Skittles and O’Henry bar then down a diet coke. Sure you’ll feel good for a little bit, but soon enough you’ll be swearing at yourself (or someone around you) when you accidentally drop your pen/eyeliner/purse. Again, this goes back to keeping your blood sugar regulated. If you pack your body with processed high sugar junk it basically goes “what the hell is this stuff”, which makes it very hard to stay homeostatic/in balance. Eating high sugar high processed stuff is just asking for trouble.

4. Stay Hydrated

Please don’t go from consuming no water to 7 bottles a day, because that also isn’t good for your system. What I mean by staying hydrated is increasing your water intake and decreasing your liquid crap intake (pop, coffee with crème and sugar, juice, energy drinks). So say if you drink 5 pops a day and no water, try 1 bottle of water and 4 pops a day for a week, then 2 bottles of water and 3 pops a day the next week until you slowly wean yourself off the sugary stuff. Why……. I know I sound like a broken record, but it’s so your blood sugar doesn’t bounce all over the place.

Byn’s Tip for the Week: Do You Hate Water? I used to as well! Try mixing half water half orange juice and slowly decrease the amount of orange juice over time. This can also be done with other beverages like ice tea and crystal light but those are often high in chemicals and sugar so I don't recommend them.

So there you go... 4 tips to help you not be such a grumpy pants and just generally feel better! I don’t recommend trying all 4 at once starting tomorrow if you live off fast food and pop. This is because if that is the way you roll at the moment, your body is used to having sugar and caffeine pumped into it all day. Taking it away all at once will send it into shock making you feel much much worse, not better. Refer to tip #4 on how to introduce things slowly. 

Now for my Bean and corn salad recipe

This took me exactly 17 minutes to make enough for lunch Tuesday-Friday last week. It has it’s own homemade dressing, has protein, good fats, no preservatives, and is vegetarian (I’m pretty sure it’s vegan too)

Ingredients

Byn's Black Been and Corn Salad! Yum!

• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels

• 1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced

• 1 red bell pepper, chopped

• 2 tomatoes, chopped

• 6 green onions, thinly sliced

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. Place lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and cayenne pepper in a small jar. Cover with lid, and shake until ingredients are well mixed.
2. In a salad bowl, combine beans, corn, avocado, bell pepper, tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro. Shake lime dressing, and pour it over the salad. Stir salad to coat vegetables and beans with dressing, and serve. 

 

Delicious!

As always, questions and comments are greatly appreciated!

Stay Strong

~Byn

Dove's Real Beauty Campagin... A Closer Look

Hello Ethernet!

Today I'm going to comment/rant about something that I have been seeing going around the internet. It is the above picture comparing Victoria Secret's "Love My Body" campaign versus Dove's "Real beauty" campaign.

Now, I think that Dove is attempting to have admirable intentions with what they are trying to achieve through their "real beauty campaign" but to me the above picture falls short in several ways.

First: The Above Comparison suggests that Women with Thin Body's are not "Really" Beautiful

I think a major downfall of Dove's campaign is that they are displaying the -median- women rather than showing true diversity. Notice how none of the Dove models look like the VS models? This is suggesting that only "real women" look like the women in the Dove campaign.

Now, the VS models believe or not, naturally have bodies like that. I find women are quick to say “well VS models are NOT healthy, they’re anorexic”. This is wrong and extremely hurtful for women with this type of body (they’re called ectomorphs). Yes, they work out and eat a certain way, yes it is wrong to over sexualize them, and only use that type of model to sell a product, but I feel Dove is saying there is something wrong if a women looks like a VS model. That is bullshit... period.

Second: What About the Other Women Dove?

Similarly, Dove has also left out of their campaign muscular women, obese women, disabled women, body builders, fitness competitors, women with skin conditions... the list could go on.

Are they saying that these women are not beautiful too?

Again, are they suggesting that the only beautiful women are the ones with an average 25-30% body fat type range of similar height and age who wear bad knickers? Dove has repeatedly said their goal with the "real beauty” campaign is to have women enhance their body esteem by showing diversity. I would argue that this picture (although is superficially diverse) is about as variable as white rice on white bread.

Dotting a couple of different ethnicities and hair colours in a group of women does not = representation of all women, sorry Dove!

Third: Where's the men Dove?

To me this highlights very nicely the transparency of Dove's mission. Yes women have low body esteem generally, but so do a lot of men. So why aren't they part of this social responsibility crusade that Dove has taken upon themselves.... Oh that's right, men aren't Dove's target market.

To me, as a multi billion dollar company, if you are going to attempt to be socially responsible, try not to use it to make a profit. I know, I know, everyone is looking for a profit, even the most serious of social crusades (i.e., the fight against cancer), but to me, if your motives behind something are to bring in a profit by seeming to care about your target audience, it just screams wrong to me.

Anyway, I thought Dove sold soap type products.... not naked ladies 

Fourth: Why the HELL are these women in their underwear.....

Necessary to have an impact in the world of media.... possibly. Trying to get the message across women should be comfortable naked, maybe....

However, if I look closely at this picture, it seems to embody a lot of the things that disempower women, rather than empower them

a) A lot of the women look meek and passive: You should be confident with your body women! Wait… don’t be too confident/muscular/dominant, we wouldn't want you to wander out of the kitchen now would we?

b) They are in their underwear: Nothing is more empowering to women's esteem than saying that their worth is based on what they look like naked! Forget that law degree… it means nothing in the bedroom.

c) Absence of Personality: This is a prime example of the pure objectification of women. We have no inclination of their personalities, their lives, their dreams or their desires in this picture. They are objects, pieces of meat in poorly selected underwear. Go women!

I guess what I'm getting at here is that although this advertisement an attempt to empower women and stimulate change in what a beautiful women is, it falls short in many many ways.


Rant....over

Stay Strong!

~Byn