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5 Spring Training Tips

The season of spring has finally surfaced! Hurray! To celebrate the sunshine and warmness, here are some workout tips to spring into action at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville athletic club.

  1. Get Heated
    Rev up your heart rate with a dose of intense cardio. Fire up your metabolism.
  2. Explore New Movement
    Don’t continue to repeat the same movements over and over again. Invite some newness into your routine. Static movement is a great way to switch things up. Practice static holds in plank, low plank, low lunge, or wall squat. Feel the burn.
  3. Spice/Switch Things Up
    The winter months can create a lot of mental, emotional and physical stagnation. To snap out of that winter lethargy and boredom, reinvent your workout method. If you’re always on the bike, get off the bike and hit up the treadmill. If you are always concentrating on strength and overlooking cardio, look for new ways to get your heart rate elevated. If you have been overlooking stretching and flexibility, get yourself to a yoga class at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym. If you are constantly involved in strength training, explore fresh variations on squatting, lifting, and lunges. Spice things up! Get out of your comfort zone!
  4. Fuel and Hydrate
    Stock up on lots of greens and drink loads of water to improve your body’s alkalinity and cell vitality. Drinking half of your body weight per day is highly recommended.
  5. Detox
    Spring – a season of new beginnings and renewal – is a wonderful opportunity to detox. One sure way to rid yourself of toxins is to sweat. Take a crazy sweaty yoga class at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym to release any bodily toxins that you are holding onto. Another way to detox is via diet. As the days get warmer, it’s important to eat more cooling, light foods. Introduce more salads and fresh fruits and veggies into your diet. Take a break on all the heavy, comfort foods of winter. Favor refreshing, enlivening foods.

Happy spring, Greenville gym enthusiasts!

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10 Yoga Poses for IT Band Problems & Pains

If you’ve been doing a substantial amount of heavy and intense running, deadlifts, squats, or cycling at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym and feel some lateral knee pain, your IT band(s) may need some serious TLC.

Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) is a frequent injury to the knee that is most often associated with running, cycling, hiking, or weight-lifting (especially squats). This pain usually presents as a stinging sensation just above the knee and can persist during and after activity. No good.

IT band problems and pain usually result from poor training habits, body abnormalities or alignment issues in the legs and feet, and/or muscle imbalances. Foam rolling, RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation), massage, and proper footwear, are all great methods to relieve and prevent IT band problems and pain. But wait…there’s yet another way to rescue your IT bands.

Yoga!

If you’re a gym-enthusiast, athlete, or runner with IT band problems you will definitely benefit from the following yoga poses – poses that you should definitely incorporate into your warm-up and/or cool down routines at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym. Some of these poses are more accessible than others. Just play around with them mindfully to see which ones work for you, following the instruction of these yoga videos. Remember: Never force yourself into a pose. Never! Approach each pose consciously and gently.

All of these poses may be practiced pre-workout or post-workout at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym.

  1. Cow-Face Pose
  2. Pigeon Pose
  3. Double Pigeon Pose
  4. Revolved Triangle
  5. Half Lord of the Fishes Twist
  6. Reclining Twists
  7. Low Lunge
  8. Low Lunge With Twist
  9. Squat (Garland Pose)
  10. Dancer Pose

Practice yoga to prevent IT band issues from arising or to find relief from a current case of ITBS. Correct abnormalities and misalignments in the body. Boost your strength to correct muscle imbalances.

If you want to dive even deeper into a yoga practice, keep in mind that we offer yoga classes at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville athletic club.

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Monday WOD (Workout of the Day)

Next time you hit up the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym, your goal will be to make love to the squat rack. Yeah…you heard me right.

Here’s one solid, squat rack WOD for you to tackle and tear up:

  • 30x Back Squat
  • 15x Push Press
  • 10x Pull Ups
  • 20x Front Squat
  • 15x Push Press
  • 10x Pull Ups
  • 10x Overhead Squat
  • 15x Push Press
  • 10x Pull Ups

Don’t have the slightest clue about these various squats? Don’t know how to properly perform a back squat, front squat, overhead squat, or push press? No worries. YouTube to the rescue!

Tune into these YouTube videos with one of my favorite fitness inspirations, Elliott Hulse – a pro strongman and strength coach – to master the front squat.

Click here to learn the correct form. After you’ve mastered that, check out Elliot’s video for a juicy tip to make your front squat that much stronger. Oh yeah.

Next, to master the back squat, check out this CrossFit back squat demo.

To learn the overhead squat, click here for a CrossFit overview of overhead squat basics.

Finally, receive detailed instruction for the push press in this CrossFit push press video.

It’s incredibly important to learn the correct technique and form before you crank out this squat rack workout at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym. Get real familiar with the proper movements to avoid uncomfortable sensations in the body, pain, and potential injury.

In terms of weight, keep it light to start. If you don’t know where you are at for weight, consult a Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym personal trainer. For all fitness related questions, don’t hesitate to ask our athletic trainers and health specialists. The fitness team at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville athletic club is here to help you!

Don’t fear the squat rack. Make it your friend. Get intimate with it. Make love to it.

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Water: A Fat Loss Dynamo?

Fitness, health, and nutrition experts and enthusiasts consistently claim that water boosts fat loss. But does it really? And if it does, how does this process work?

Let’s tackle the first question: Does water enhance fat loss?

The answer is YES. Okay…but why?

  1. Water serves as an appetite suppressant. If your water intake is sufficient, you are less likely to experience cravings. If you drink enough water, your hunger pains will be legitimate cries for food. If you don’t drink enough water, your hunger pains, more often than not, are probably cries for hydration.
  2. Your kidneys require an adequate supply of water. If they are leeched of water, they will not be happy and your body’s waste dumping process will be compromised. When the kidneys don’t get enough water, the liver ends up operating poorly. Your liver is responsible for receiving fat cells and converting them into energy (instead of letting them sit around and accumulate). With enough water, this conversion happens quickly and effectively, optimizing fat loss.
  3. When you start shedding fat, the body senses an emergency. Evolutionarily speaking, lack of fat suggests lack of food, which in turn, suggests lack of resources, including lack of water. Drinking an abundance of water helps to keep that biological panic and a potential binge at bay.
  4. Consuming lots of water increases urine output. Urinating is a process of thermogenesis – a mechanism by which the body produces heat. When your body produces heat, it’s using up energy i.e. burning calories. So, the more trips to the W.C. you take, the more calories your are burning.
  5. Drinking water boosts metabolism because the body has to warm the water up to body temperature. This increase in heat production burns more calories. It is recommended that you drink 1 liter of water first thing in the morning to really jump-start your metabolism.

Clearly, water appears to benefit the process of fat loss. However, I wouldn’t label it a fat loss dynamo. While it does offer mild support in aiding fat loss, it takes much more to burn fat and keep it off. It takes a clean, balanced diet combined with an active lifestyle. Drinking lots of water will not prevent weight gain and cut fat in the absence of the other healthy-living components. But if you have a healthy diet and keep up with your workouts at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym, water holds promise to augment your fat loss.

If you do both strength training and cardio at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville athletic club, try to drink about 1 gallon of water per day to sufficiently augment fat loss.

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11 Reasons to Consume Coffee

As a coffee enthusiast, it saddens me when coffee gets a bad rep. Truth is, hating on coffee is unwarranted. Research indicates that the pros of coffee consumption heavily outweigh the cons. In fact, coffee (in moderation…maybe even excess) is good for you! What’s more, coffee consumption has the potential to support and enhance your Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym workouts.

What’s so good about coffee? How can you benefit from regular consumption?

  1. Reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s. A 2009 study found that people who consume 3-5 cups of coffee per day in midlife are 65 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s later in life, compared to those who drank little if no coffee. Further research indicates that the caffeine in coffee may reduce the production beta-amyloid, a protein that is often found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.
  2. Reduce your risk of cancer. Coffee has lots of antioxidants, which may reduce your risk for certain types of cancer including colon, liver, endometrial, kidney, and oral cancers.
  3. Defend against diabetes. Drinking coffee has shown to lower one’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes, even those at high risk.
  4. Curb post-workout aches and pains. Before your workout at the Pivotal Fitness Grenville gym, sip on some java to cut post-workout muscle soreness, inflammation, and pain. The caffeine in coffee is thought to block the activity of adenosine – a chemical that activates pain receptors in cells. Caffeine…a preventative pain agent? Who knew!
  5. Keep your memory keen. Studies have suggested that coffee may keep your mind sharp and muddle-free.
  6. Reduce your risk for gout. Coffee consumption may ward off gout – an excruciating, arthritic disorder of the joints.
  7. Boost your workout performance. Sip on a cup of French pressed Colombian coffee (or whatever black coffee you fancy) pre-workout to boost and intensify your workout at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym. Coffee engenders a surge of endorphins giving you a nice high to work with while you are exercising.
  8. Keep your heart happy and healthy. It has been discovered that coffee drinkers have a lower risk of dying from heart related issues. Coffee is loaded with antioxidants, which may enhance blood vessel function, reduce inflammation, and protect LDL (bad) cholesterol from oxidation.
  9. Lower your risk for Parkinson’s Disease. Coffee boosts dopamine (a happy-inducing hormone) production, which may, in turn, protect against Parkinson’s disease.
  10. Defend against kidney stones and gallstones. By activating gallbladder contractions and encouraging the flow of bile, coffee may deter against gallstone formation. By increasing urine output, it may keep kidney stones at bay.
  11. Reduce your risk of stroke. The antioxidants in coffee may provide protection against stroke by enhancing blood vessel function.

Sip on a cup of Joe to protect your health and get in a better workout at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville athletic club.

Photo Credit: Black Coffee via http://flippyfloppy.tumblr.com/

 

 

 

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7 Simple Fat Loss Wins

Diet is just as important (even more important) as the time and sweat you put in at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym. For increased and sustained fat loss, diet is key. Fortunately, there are some simple dietary (and lifestyle) changes that you can implement to engender impressive, fat loss results. These tips, combined with an effective workout routine at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym, will score you major fat loss wins.

  1. Eat Breakfast – Within 30 minutes of rising, consume 30g of protein. My 30g breakfast of choice consists of 2 eggs, 2-4 pieces of bacon, ½ cup of legumes (usually red lentils or black beans), and sautéed spinach. If you’re in hurry, whip up a protein shake. This is an awesome way to kick-start your day and ward off potential cravings.
  2. Drink More Water – Keep your liver happy. When your liver is dehydrated, it does not metabolize fat as effectively. So, keep hydrating!
  3. Eat More Protein – I can’t stress this enough. Get at least 20g of protein per meal. At breakfast, this is especially important.
  4. Drink Green Tea – Green tea has fat burning properties as well as caffeine for energy. Studies also indicate that it is a good post-workout beverage.
  5. Don’t Drink Your Calories – Just stick to water, unsweetened tea, or black coffee. 1-2 glass of red wine per day, you may be happy to learn, is also allowed. No juice. No soda. No cocktails. No beer. If you have to ask, it probably isn’t allowed (unless it’s your cheat day, of course!).
  6. Walk There – I’ve made a habit of walking places even when it is more convenient to drive or rely on public transportation. Walking is good, low impact cardio and, also, very meditative. It’s an awesome way to clear the cobwebs!
  7. Choose High Protein Snacks – If snacking is just something you can’t rule out, turn to snacks high in protein: Raw, organic nut butters, nuts, cottage cheese, etc.

Sure, there’s a bunch of additional techniques and life changes you can explore further to promote rapid and sustained fat loss. These tips, however, are among the simple.

These changes, though simple, are not easy. It may be hard for you to forgo on soda or give up your sugary snacks. These tips, though simple, require discipline just like your Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym workouts require discipline. It’s amazing, however, how a few simple changes can create meaningful and lasting results.

For more fat loss tips and nutritional guidance, consult the team of personal trainers at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville athletic club.

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Yoga to Increase Thoracic Extension

If you do a lot of overhead pressing, snatches, squatting, and exercises that require really good thoracic extension, this post is for you.

The thoracic region of your spine is the mid region of the spine. For many people, there is a rounding of this region, otherwise known as kyphosis of the thoracic spine. In order to retain good form and boost your overhead pressing, snatching, and squatting performance, it is important to create and increase extension of the thoracic spine and correct any flexion or rounding that might be going on.

What do you gotta do to create better thoracic extension?

Yoga.

Yoga supports thoracic extension and allows you to do more overhead pressing, snatching, and squatting in your workouts at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym. One pose, in particular, is highly effective in lengthening the thoracic spine. That pose is called Downward Facing Dog.

Downward Facing Dog stretches the muscles below your pelvis. It stretches the backs of the legs, which if tight, can create a posterior pelvic tilt. A posterior pelvic tilt can create flexion (rounding) of the entire spine. Go ahead and try it. Tuck your butt or tailbone and you’ll feel your entire spine flex or round. This is not good. You want to ensure and promote the natural curvature of the spine in all of your actions, especially when you are working out at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym.

Let’s try out this pose. Come to all fours, creating a tabletop position. Press the palms firmly into the ground. Wrists will be directly under the shoulders. Knees will be directly under the hips. Palms are shoulders distance apart. Knees are hips distance apart. Now, raise your trunk from the floor sending your hips to the sky. Press the heels down. The feet should be parallel to each other with the toes pointing toward your head. Roll the shoulders onto the back to create space between the ears and shoulders. Extend the arms strong. Let the heart melt toward the earth. Relax the head and neck. Notice how the positioning of the arms is exactly the form you want to have when doing an overhead press or snatch.

Donward Facing Dog

You can also practice Downward Facing Dog with the assistance of a wall. Put your hands on the wall (like you’re getting arrested). Then, drop your body down through your arms. Slowly start to reach your arms up higher, all the while pushing your chest down through your arms. You’ll feel a sweet release in your thoracic spine.

Practice this pose pre-workout or post-workout when you are at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym. Hold it for 10 long, deep breaths. It is an awesome way to correct that rounding of the spine, open your shoulders, and expand your chest. Boost your overhead strength and get down with some Downward Facing Dog.

Photo Credit: Downward Facing Dog via yogaxtc.com

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A Fitness Myth Debunked

Countless myths are constantly circulating with regards to fitness, health, and weight loss. There’s one in particular that I would like to debunk…

Myth: Weight training makes women look bulky.

Many women shy away from weight training because they are under the impression that they’ll end up expanding instead of leaning down.

Sure, if you’re a woman abusing steroids.

The truth is, to be bulky and appear manly you have to be producing lots of testosterone. The average man produces 10 times more testosterone than the average female. So, unless you are popping steroids, fear not morphing into a man. You will retain your womanly physique if you lift weights, all the while gaining muscle and loosing fat.

Lots of women also believe that the key to weight loss is loads of cardio. Wrong. While cardio is beneficial to your health, you have to be careful because lots of cardio will result in loss of muscle. Loss of muscle makes it that much harder to stay fit and keep the weight off. As you shed fat and muscle simultaneously, you weaken your digestive fire. Less muscle, then, correlates to a lower metabolism. No good.

So, what’s the best weight loss solution?

You may not want to hear this: Diet is first and foremost the most important component in cutting fat. Second to diet is a solid weight training program. Cardio comes in last. In fact, it’s not even necessary to kill yourself with cardio. Clean eating combined with weight (or strength) training creates a highly effective fat loss package all on its own, sans cardio.

So, it’s always odd to me to see so many people (especially women) killing themselves with cardio and avoiding lifting. While a cardio craze may yield temporary weight loss results, it’s not effective for sustained weight loss. To sustain, you must watch what you put in your body and boost your strength.

Next time you are at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym opt for a weight training routine over cardio. Maybe even consult a Greenville gym personal trainer to help you design a customized diet plan and weight training program.

Shift your perspective and make strength and diet a priority to realize true, lasting weight loss results.

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New Year Countdown: Burpee Challenge

Happy New Year’s Eve to all of you Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym enthusiasts! In celebration of the impending New Year, I would like to share a burpee challenge inspired by trainers at Rise Above Fitness. I’ve tweaked the burpee challenge a bit to observe the lucky number 13. Run through this challenge to continually remind yourself that 2012 is soon to be a period of the past. Goodbye 2012. Enter, now, the year of 2013.

Complete this brutal burpee challenge to start off the New Year with a bang and detox from all of the holiday indulgences you ingested. This burpee challenge is an opportunity for you to kill two birds with one stone: To (1) cleanse and (2) commemorate the New Year.

Before you give this challenge a whirl, retrieve a timer to record the amount of time it takes you to brave this burpee routine at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym.

For this challenge you will need a weight bench, a pair of dumbbells, and a wall ball. Consult trainers at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym if you have questions concerning the exercise equipment.

2013 Burpee Challenge:

  • 13 Box Jump Burpees
  • 113 Double Unders
  • 13 Burpee Curl Presses
  • 113 Double Unders
  • 13 Ball Slam Burpees
  • 113 Double Unders

Give it a go. Push your limits. Sweat out the sweets and stagnation of the holiday season. Set the New Year on fire with a fierce Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym session.

Disclaimer: You will most likely feel a bit sore starting off the New Year upon completion of this challenge. That’s a good thing! It means your muscles got some sweet action. It means you are starting off the New Year boosting your strength and supporting your health. Props to you!

Enjoy your final day of 2012. Make your last workout of 2012 at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym count.

Finally, may you enjoy an abundance of health and strength in 2013!

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10 Yoga Poses for Core Strength

The holidays have this sneaky way of adding excess adipose tissue to the belly region. All of the various seductive sweets really start stacking up after heavy, regular indulgence. That’s why it is incredibly important to stick to structure and pledge to discipline. Sure, this is the time of the year to be merry – to party, to indulge, and to unwind. Yet, you don’t have to completely lose yourself and stall (even backslide) on your fitness progress. If you want to maintain your current core strength and continue advancing, you must hit up the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym regularly and vigorously.

There are several yoga poses that, if practiced regularly, will keep your core strong, solid and toned. These poses are highly accessible and work all muscles of the core. Most core exercises only target the superficial muscles of the stomach (the 6-pack abs). These exercises, rather, target all layers – even the deepest layer – of your core. These deeper muscles are very important for balance.

Incorporate the following core yoga poses into your Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym routine at least 3 times per week for results.

Plank Pose

  1. Plank Pose (Hold 2 minutes)
  2. Down Dog (Hold 2 minutes)
  3. Dolphin Plank Pose (Hold 2 minutes)
  4. Dolphin Pose (Hold 2 minutes)
  5. Boat Pose (Hold 2 minutes)
  6. Half Boat Pose (Hold 1 to 2 minutes)
  7. Side Plank (Hold 1 to 2 minutes each side)
  8. Forearm Side Plank (Hold 1 to 2 minutes each side)
  9. Chaturanga (4-limbed Pose) Push Ups (5 to 10 repeats)
  10. Cat/Cow Exercises – Massage the internal organs of the belly and experience a sweet release in your spine. Do as many as you wish!

A fit core will support you in many ways. Yes, you’ll look good in a bikini. That’s not the only bonus, though. A fit core prevents lower pack pain and injury. A powerful core supports balance and allows you to exercise with less effort and more ease. A strong core cultivates stronger and more confident posture. Knowing this should definitely inspire you to give your center of gravity some extra attention.

A strong core is very empowering, creating outer and inner strength. To sculpt and strengthen your center, mix in a bit of yoga in your Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym routine.

Photo Credit: Image via Denice Lindell

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