Tag Archive for: Long Beach Nutritional Coach

Grip Strength-The Hidden Crucial Factor in Kettlebell Training

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If you want to become amazing at kettlebell training, then there is one thing you need to develop more than anything else and that is grip strength. A firm and powerful grip is precisely what will enable you to lift heavier kettlebells for longer periods of time, not to mention the best way to ensure that you don’t accidentally launch them through the window in your local gym…

Meanwhile though, building amazing grip strength will benefit you in areas that extend far beyond the reaches of the kettlebell and this is actually one of the biggest reasons to take up this kind of training in the first place.

Grip Strength

By taking up kettlebell training, you’ll be able to build forearm and grip power that will translate to improved performance in just about every aspect of your life.

The question then becomes: how do you develop the kind of grip strength that you need for kettlebell training? And why is it so important anyway?

Why Grip Strength is Crucial

If you want to improve your performance on any movement in the gym, then training your grip strength is essential. Grip strength gives you a firmer hold on the bar or weight and this in turn means that more of the force you apply will go into the movement rather than just holding onto the weight. This can also help you to last longer on movements like pull ups or deadlifts before fatiguing.

This is something that old-time strongmen knew very well and hence they would train with weights that had wider bars for instance in order to increase the challenge for their grip. This also prevented anyone from their audience from stepping up and showing them up by being able to lift the same weights. No matter how strong they were, they would normally lack that crucial grip strength.

And in the real world, grip strength is useful for: opening jam jars, combat, climbing, using tools, carrying luggage and more!

How to Develop Grip Strength

Training with kettlebells is one excellent way to develop grip strength because the weights swing. Each time you perform one of the movements, the angle will change, forcing you to tighten your grip in response and thereby keep the weights held firmly rather than dropping.

There are many more ways you can develop grip strength though in your training and these will help you to improve your kettlebell workouts as well as many other aspects of your training.

Good examples include:

  • Performing pull ups by gripping onto a rope or even a towel looped over a pull up bar
  • Performing curls with thicker bars
  • Training using a grip trainer
  • Attempting to bend bars
  • Performing wrist curls and other exercises that specifically target forearms

Another great option is taking up rock climbing and in particular, traversing. Rock climbing requires you to hold onto the small holes and jutting out rocks that you can grip onto. Traversing means climbing along the wall instead of up and this is an ideal form of exercise as it allows you to climb without a rope (you never get more than a meter off the ground) and means you are gripping onto the wall for longer periods of time while you find your footing.

Pregnancy Woes and How to Avoid Them

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Anticipating the birth of a new baby makes pregnancy an exciting time for most women. It can however also be a time when a woman must potentially deal with a variety of unpleasant conditions that may accompany a normal, healthy pregnancy.

While it is impossible to prevent them from occurring, there are ways that a woman can reduce them and control them so she can continue with her life with minimal disruption.

pregnancy

A normal pregnancy lasts 9 months and each 3-month period is known as a trimester. Different conditions are common with each trimester and the symptoms associated with each trimester often subside as the next trimester period begins. Learning how to overcome those pregnancy woes will help pregnant women feel more in control of their symptoms and enjoy their pregnancy.

First Trimester Symptoms (0-3 months)

Feeling excited about being pregnant is often mixed with needing to deal with nausea and vomiting and a feeling of extreme tiredness. The early pregnancy hormones cause these symptoms and while them can’t be prevented; there are some simple safe ways of minimizing them.

  • Eat small meals regularly to prevent a low blood sugar level.
  • Discuss drinking ginger tea with your doctor.
  • Avoid smells and foods that increase the nausea.
  • Rest regularly and where include an afternoon sleep.

Second Trimester Symptoms (3-6 months)

Nausea and vomiting usually subside during this semester and the chronic tiredness is usually replaced by a feeling of wellbeing and health. As the trimester continues and the uterus starts to enlarge, some women complain of nasal congestion, stretch marks, dizziness increased need to pass urine and constipation. Same ways to control these symptoms include:

  • Increase dietary fiber and continue to drink plenty of water.
  • Change position slowly and keep blood sugars stable by eating regularly.
  • Discuss laxatives with a doctor before they are used.
  • Use Vitamin E cream on stretch marks.

Third Trimester Symptoms (6-9 months)

The final months of pregnancy, may create back pain, general discomfort and fluid retention. These symptoms can be controlled by:

  • Wear low shoes and if necessary support stockings with a doctors approval.
  • Maintain fluid intake even with fluid retention and frequent need to go to the toilet.
  • Rest where possible. Lie on side not back
  • Hot showers can reduce discomfort.
  • Gentle exercise.

The Forgotten Muscle Groups That Kettlebell Training Works

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In the last few years, the ‘gym bro’ has become an anachronism. Old ideas about strength training are falling by the wayside and more and more, we are experimenting with alternative techniques that ultimately present greater benefits in and out of the gym.

So what is a gym bro? What are these old approaches that have fallen out of favour?

kettlebell

The Problem With Old Fashioned Training Ideas

Chief among the ideas that are moving aside is the focus on the ‘mirror muscles’. Your typical gym rat in the 00’s was obsessed with the idea of building bigger biceps, bigger pecs and toned abs and had little regard for smaller supportive muscles that helped to develop true ‘functional strength’ that translated to actual performance improvements and better health. If you train only some muscles at the expense of others, then you will develop an uneven physique that places uneven pressure on your body and ultimately leads to injury.

This is why multi-joint exercises and exercises that force you to move your body through a more dynamic range of motion are now preferred by physical therapists and personal trainers.

And the kettlebell is the perfect example of more adaptive training methodology…

Why Kettlebell Training is the Solution

When you train with a kettlebell, you are using a weight that is unevenly distributed. That is to say that the center of gravity can move as you move the weight, thereby altering the angle of the resistance and adding new elements like balance and resistance.

This forces you to brace your body and balance yourself in ways you wouldn’t have to with something like a bicep curl and that is what allows you to bring in the involvement of your smaller supporting muscles found throughout your body.

So what supporting muscles are you training in particular?

Here are some examples:

Obliques

The obliques are the muscles that run down either side of the abs and are used for bending from side to side and also twisting the torso (applying toque). They are very useful for a range of different movements and are great for aesthetics too – actually making the abs look considerably more impressive.

Serratus Muscles

These muscles are found on the sides of the pecs and are used for extending the arm forward when straight. Again, they can create a more ripped physique and actually provide considerable extra force when engaging in pushing movements.

Forearms

One of the most important muscle groups trained by the kettlebell swing and other movements is the forearms. These include your forearm flexors and extensors which allow you to grip and release things. By improving your grip, you gain a firmer hold on any weight or tool you’re training with and thereby greatly improve your performance.

Erector Spinae

These are two muscles trained by the deadlift as well as many other movements. Their job is to help you stand up straight and keep the spine erect. They can help to combat back problems as well as giving you considerably more lifting power!

The Science Behind Losing Weight

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Two things which you absolutely have to do when you are trying to lose weight are; Eat healthy meals, at regular times throughout the day, and get more cardiovascular exercise.

Some people are of the opinion that dieting is quite easy. That is certainly not true, at least for most people. It should be noted that if losing weight were easy, there wouldn’t be so many millions of different diets, weight watchers and gastric bands.

weight

Having said that, exercising at the gym and working out regularly is for some people very easy, whereas other people just really could not hate it more. So it is different for everyone.

A while back there was an article posted on a website which explaining that losing weight is a very simple thing to do. ‘Weight loss is easy’ it read. It is hard to understand how some people think it is easy. The website in question was dedicated to fitness and dieting and it had some very good advice about how to stay in good shape; however, the section that talked about dieting was not very accurate.

Weight loss can be seen as a science, however it is also psychological. Dieting science is all about burning more calories on a daily basis, then you are consuming. The psychological part of it is somewhat different. You need to train your brain to hate foods which will make you fat. If you can’t do that then you will not be able to stop eating those foods. That’s how it works.

There are ways to overcome both these factors, both psychological and physical. Although I’m not a dietician or a professional trainer, I can explain to you what has worked for me.

First of all, you should find out what your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is. In order to understand how exactly this works, you can go to my hub which is entitled ‘What-are-the-components-of-a-healthy-balanced-diet’

Once you know what your BMR is, you will be able to figure out how many calories you should be consuming in one day. This will ensure that you do not gain any extra weight.

The part which is a bit harder is the psychological factor. What works for me is this.

Write down all the reasons why you want to lose weight. The list can be as long or as short as you want it to be. Next, write what you would do differently if you would be able to lose weight. Maybe you would be able to play more with the kids; maybe it would give you extra confidence around members of the opposite sex. Or maybe you would just feel better in general. Write down everything that comes to mind.

The next thing to write down is what would happen if you did not lose any weight. The things that would happen if you would not be fit and healthy.

When you have that list written out, you should read it at least once a day. Either in the morning or at night before sleeping. After a few days of reading that list, I am sure you will not want anymore unhealthy foods.

Vitamin-rich Fruits You Should Consume Daily

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At a time when many people focused on eating well and reducing weight by improving their diet, the importance of eating fruit is well researched and documented. For those who want to lose weight, many of these fruits provide plenty of Vitamin C, a known fat burning vitamin.

In the past, this has led to the development of popular fruit based diets like the grape fruit diet, but there is no requirement to restrict other nutrients to lose weight and fruit forms and essential part of all good weight loss plans and should form part of any healthy lifestyle. Vitamins are essential for normal body function.

vitamin

They affect metabolism, human growth and development and a healthy immune system. They are only required in minimal amounts, and the body either stores or excretes excess amounts in the urine.

Fruits contain many vitamins and provide most of the total daily requirements. . Eating 2 pieces of fruit per day, together with other foods, reduce or eliminate the need for oral vitamin supplements. Eating the fruit whole and not juiced is also the better alternative, to provide the other benefits of the fiber rich whole fruit. Vitamin deficiency is a serious condition, which can lead to major health problems if they are not corrected.

Many fruits are like a multivitamin supplement, they contain many different vitamins. The following list of fruits each contains approximately 10 essential vitamins and should be consumed regularly. Apples, avocadoes, bananas, berries, cherries, cantaloupes, grapes, figs, dates, guava, kiwi fruit, oranges, lemons, limes, olives, peaches, pears, nectarines, pineapples, plums, tomatoes and watermelon. The list is not complete and most fruit will provide very high numbers of vitamins.

Fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin A,D,E and K, are stored in the body for periods lasting as long as 6 months and don’t require the same daily intake requirement as the water soluble vitamins like Vitamins B and C. Despite containing similar groups of vitamins, not every fruit contains the same types of vitamins. The amount and type of vitamins that each fruit provides is variable.

The fruit providing the highest levels of water soluble vitamin content that should be included in the diet daily are berries including blackberries, raspberries and blueberries, oranges, bananas and apples. Tomatoes and avocadoes, though often eaten as vegetables, are fruits and are excellent choices of vitamins that can be eaten daily.

More Items That Work Like Kettlebells

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Looking to get into incredible shape and improve your functional strength? Then there are actually few things that will be more effective than a kettlebell workout. There are many reasons for this but the biggest factor is that a kettlebell workout involves training with multiple different angles and multiple different speeds.

The weight is constantly swinging around and constantly changing position and your body needs to constantly adapt to those changes in order to train. This works the smaller supporting muscles that other workouts just can’t hit and the result is more functional power and a better physique.

kettlebell

But the kettlebell isn’t the only tool you can use to do this. If you’re looking to get a truly functional workout, then actually there are several things you can deploy to get the job done. Here are some great examples…

Indian Club Training

The Indian club is a tool that looks like a weapon, a set of skittles or perhaps juggling pins. Essentially, you hold them at one end and then swing and move them around in your hands.

The reason this works so well, is that, as with training with a kettlebell, you are holding a handle that is removed from the weight itself. This then means the angle of the resistance will change as you build up momentum and it means that you can train muscles that might otherwise be hard to reach.

Hammer Training

Another great way to train your body is to use a simple sledge hammer! Just take the hammer and hit something like a car tire. This will use all the torque motion in your body and also require a lot of cardio endurance as well as the basic strength.

Moving Bricks

Take a pile of bricks and then simply move them to a new pile. This involves twisting, picking up each brick and then turning to the side to drop it behind you. Again, you’re training your obliques through the twisting and torque motion but you’re also using your grip and biceps to lift the bricks.

Climbing

When it comes to using your body functionally and as you’re supposed to, there are few things better than rock climbing. Rock climbing allows you to train your grip as you hang onto the walls, your lats, your biceps, your legs and more. What’s more, is that the high stakes and psychological challenge ensure that you are highly engaged with what you are doing and that you are thus more likely to be mindful of your training and more likely to engage more of your body and mind in what you are doing.

Swimming

Swimming is another surprisingly powerful form of functional training that utilizes your entire body moving in synchronous motion. The great thing about swimming is that it allows you to build more strength, more size and more cardio endurance – but also that it allows you to improve your muscle control, muscle fiber recruitment and functional range of movement.

Keeping Fit for Life

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It seems the issue of health and wellness is well known among children, men and women and everyone wants to keep fit. Have you realized how people go the gym of late, seems that business is really booming but I think you don’t have to spend a dime in the gym well unless you need to tone your muscles after losing weight and have a fabulous body that will be people’s envy.

All you need is to eat healthy and enjoy these fruits of your graceful work.

keeping fit

Keeping fit helps you develop a psychological framework that conquers depression. You see when you’re obese or plump in the manner of having excessive fat in your body you will get depressed and continue to eat in a very unhealthy manner, since most people succumb to eating when depressed and this is a risk of shortening your life .It should be able to help you counter most health problems like high blood pressures and cardiac arrests.

People believe that by starving themselves, the amount of fat in their bodies is reduced and some even end up being anorexic but that is not the case. If you again maintain a healthy lifestyle, your metabolism will be increased and do all the work for you by finding a natural way of burning the food that you eat so you do not have to starve or worry about what to eat.

You will be more flexible and active since having a fit body means that you also have an energetic body therefore you can perform any task without having to tire quickly.

A high percentage of us have an ageing phobia and so more plastic surgeries are performed and more people are heading to the shops for anti ageing creams. Why spend all that money yet you can easily withhold the ageing process, hard to believe right?

Here is the thing, when you feel old, it means that your body is tired or not in good shape but when you feel young, it means that energy is freely flowing in your body and your body is in a pretty good shape.

So by keeping fit, you will feel younger and thus ageing will not be an issue to you. It also helps you burn more calories than you take in and this is a good thing. If you can burn around ninety thousand calories a year then a daily intake of two hundred and fifty calories will not be a bother and this is another way of losing weight without starving. Keep fit, stay healthy, younger and happier.

What Being Healthy Really Means

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Health to most people means, “not being sick.” People who are ill are considered to be in “poor health.” For these people, health is simply the absence of sickness. There is another more comprehensive view however, held by groups like the World Health Organization and the International Scouting Movement that suggest that true health is not only physical wellbeing, but also includes, mental, social, spiritual and intellectual wellbeing.

In today’s society, there is a lot of emphasis on maintaining physical health, but most people spend little or no time looking after these other areas of wellbeing. If we are going to measure how healthy we are, we must consider how we are looking after the “whole of us” and not just our bodies.

health

Being healthy means taking time to consider those areas of our lives that we do sometimes neglect and finding ways to care for them. Research has shown that if we do not do this, then it will affect our physical health. Many of the reasons we say we are in “poor health” are caused by carrying too much stress, and eventually they will produce physical symptoms if we do not learn how to de-stress.

We usually care for the needs of others in preference to caring for ourselves. Self-care however, is not selfish but is a way of ensuring that our bodies are healthy in a holistic sense. We choose to go to the gym after work, which may seem to be caring for our physical body, but if it is something we want to do and we like to do, it will produce health benefits to our mental and social well-being. If we would like to study in a course that interests us as personal development, but consider ourselves too busy to enroll in a course without attempting to reschedule our time, we are not caring for our intellectual health.

Giving ourselves permission to self-care as a whole person is the first step to enjoying true health. It is not only important for us personally, it influences our roles as partners, as parents and as colleagues at work. It affects our productivity and our ability to enjoy life and to take advantage of the opportunities that life offers us.

When we adopt this holistic attitude for our lives, and in making lifestyle choices, we have begun to understand what true health really means.

How to Use Hand Balancing to Build Incredible Strength and Control

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What is missing from your current training program? Probably just about everything. When you work out normally, the problem is that you are repeating a simple range of motion to build up microtears and metabolites. This is what stimulates growth and if all you’re interested in is developing muscle size and aesthetics, then that is the perfect way for you to train.

But if you’re interested in improving your actual strength and power. If you’re interested in becoming faster and more agile. If you want to be healthier then there’s a lot missing.

strength

And what’s more, is that this type of training is incredibly boring. Is it any surprise that we struggle to stick at this kind of training when it’s so repetitive and so mundane?

The good news is that the fitness community is starting to wake up to this reality and demonstrate some solutions. One such solution is to use kettlebells. Another is to use hand balancing…

What is Hand Balancing?

Hand balancing is the forgotten art of… well… balancing on your hands. Simply put, this involves performing movements like hand stands, like planche and like v-sits. The beauty is in the way you transition between these movements and the various different variations you can eventually pull off to demonstrate not only muscle power but also muscle control, balance and precision.

Those who become truly adept at this kind of training will eventually learn to do things like clapping handstand press ups, planche on just two fingers and all kinds of other fantastic feats.

This can also be combined with bar work, as demonstrated by a lot of ‘street workouts’ found on YouTube (look up ‘Bar Starz’ or ‘Bartendaz’). This then incorporates more pulling movements like muscle ups, like one armed pull ups and like levers.

Why It’s Amazing and How to Get Started

So what is so good about this form of training? Well, for starters, this type of training encourages you to be much more present psychologically and to really stay focussed on what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. To perform well at this, you need to concentrate hard and this strengthens the ‘mind muscle connection’.

At the same time, like kettlebell training, this form of training forces you to use smaller supporting muscles in order to hold your body at different and less expected angles.

Finally, this kind of training is fun and highly rewarding. Not only do you get a huge amount of reward out of being able to pull off these movements but you also find there is inherent reward in being so engaged with the movements themselves.

So how do you get started?

Actually, it’s very easy. All you really need to get started with type of training is a set of push up stands that will make hand balancing easier for beginners. A pull up bar is also a great tool. As you become more confident and skilful, you can then progress to training with things like parallel bars (cheap and easy to comeby), gymnastic rings and more advanced tools.