Quick ways to prevent weight gain during the holidays… and every other day.

Q: How do I keep from gaining weight during the holidays?

A: The holiday season tends to be one of indulgence - lots of get togethers and parties, sweets and treats. However, it doesn’t have to be at the expense of your waistline and overall health. Here are a few tricks to staying the course fitness wise during the holidays or any other time you’re going be short on healthy options.

Pre-eat

Eating a small healthy meal prior to attending a party where you know there is going to be a plethora of junk food is a great way to limit cravings and over-eating. Showing up semi-full allows you to take part in the get together and even enjoy some of the treats while you spend time with loved ones, however, it will help limit intake of less than healthy foods.

This before...

 

...this.

Exercise

Similar to pre-eating, getting a good workout in before you eat a large meal or attend a party will help keep overindulgence to a minimum because, I don’t know about you, but I don’t crave junk food after a good workout. Exercise also stokes your metabolism, making calories taken in more productive and less likely to end up in fat storage.

 

This before...

... this.

Stop at 80%

Being conscious about how full you are can make a big difference in whether you over eat or not. A great strategy is to stop eating when you’re 80% full. For most, stopping at 80% will be enough food. You might think you want more, but after waiting a few minutes you’ll realize you’re actually satiated.

Stop eating at 80% full

- KO

Q and A

I get asked a lot of questions on a daily basis so I figured I’d start answering some of the more common ones here.

Q. What is the best diet for losing weight?

A. Obviously nutrition is a vast topic and I’m sorry to say that there is no one size fits all diet. However, I’m currently finishing up the Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification and really like the way they try and simplify things. Below is a link to a nice infographic that outlines a starting point based on your body type (somatotype). Here are the three main body types as described by precision nutrition:

Endomorphs - individuals characterized by a larger bone structure with higher amounts of total body mass. Endomorphs are not as efficient at burning off excess calories as other somatotypes. This profile leads to a greater propensity to store energy - both in lean as well as fat compartments. It also leads to a lower carbohydrate tolerance (and need).

Mesomorphs - individuals characterized by a medium sized bone structure and athletic build holding a significant amount of lean mass. This profile leads to a propensity for muscle gain and the maintenance of a low body fat.

Ectomorphs - individuals characterized by smaller bone structures and typically thinner limbs. This profile is linked to a fast metabolic rate and a higher carbohydrate tolerance (and need).

You can see by these basic descriptions that the trend toward a "low carb" diet isn't going to work for everyone and in fact may hinder certain people from performing and feeling their best. Below is the infographic outlining an eating strategy for each somatotype. A couple of things; first, remember that this is just a starting point and that you should adjust your intake from here based on personal results. Second, ignore any supplement or nutrient timing information since we're discussing general eating habits here.

You'll notice that endomorphic types tend to do better on a lower carbohydrate diet, which is popular now, while ectomorphic types actually do better on a higher carb, lower fat type diet more popular a few decades ago. A prime example of why you shouldn't follow the latest "thing" because nothing is truly one size fits all.

Lastly, to reiterate something most have heard plenty by now but worth repeating, try and stay away from highly processed carbs which tend to be full of preservatives and sugars while also being low in nutritional value.

-KO

Core - part deux

 

 

I’ve written about the “core” or “trunk” or whatever else you like to call the area between the shoulders and hips before. I’ve discussed the many muscles that crisscross this area and how many contribute to our ability to stabilize ourselves against gravity and external loads.

While it’s fun to get all geeky and talk about the interconnectedness of our bodies or how the fascia weaves continuously through and around our muscles it may be more helpful to just simplify what is needed. Because back pain is such a common affliction and the core can play a huge role in alleviating this issue let’s cut to the chase.

To protect against injury we need to be able to create adequate “stiffness” around the spine. Because we are three-dimensional beings this means the front, sides and back have to all be up to the task. While it’s almost too simplified, a very basic way to see where you’re at is to do a few plank varieties for time. Starting with the side plank, which many find the most difficult, you should be able to hold this position for at least 40 seconds. 

 

Side Plank

In the standard front plank you are shooting for at least 60 seconds. 

 

Plank

Additionally, for beginners, I will often administer a glute bridge test as well to see where the posterior chain is at. With the glute bridge I am also looking for 60 seconds and hoping it’s the easiest of the bunch.

 

Glute Bridge

The reason the aforementioned tests are almost too simple is because they leave out other stabilizing abilities our core has, namely: anti-rotation. In addition to leaving this plane of motion out I am also a big fan of chops, lifts and loaded carries, which will tax the core musculature as well. However, because these are done in a vertical position they tax the core in a different and arguably more functional way. This is because vertical is where we spend a lot of our time especially when we’re under load, i.e. carrying and moving stuff around.

 

Pallof Press - great for anti-rotation training

Chopping exercise

Cable lift

 

Farmer Carry - all around great exercise

So in closing; definitely get good at doing planks and such, which is basically learning how to create stiffness around the spine. However, don’t forget we are (hopefully) active beings and expanding our stabilizing abilities to the vertical position including chopping, carrying and the rotational plane is ideal. 

-KO

No Sleep/No Recovery

Do you sleep enough? There is a good chance the answer is “no” because the average American gets between 5 and 7 hours a night.

Lets start with the basics, stats you may already know but like many of us simply don’t adhere to. For optimal health and recovery we should be getting 7 - 9 hours of sleep a night. I know, it seems pretty optimistic and maybe even unrealistic for many, but getting over that 7 hour threshold is important and you can really feel the difference.

Those that get less than 5 hours of sleep a night are 2.5 times more likely to have diabetes and are at 45% higher risk for heart attack. Sleep deprivation also makes seemingly simple tasks harder. Focus and creativity may be stunted, your thought process can be slower and learning new things can be more difficult. Lets not forget another big issue with lack of sleep, poor recovery.

If you exercise, which you should be, you need adequate sleep to realize all of the gains you are striving for by training hard. Our time in the gym is the catalyst for getting bigger, stronger, and better conditioned, but the time post workout is when your body is really making changes. Outside of simply functioning better, sleep is a vital part of becoming better.

Bottom line - if you do this: 

Then make sure to also do enough of this:

 -KO

The Order of Things

Gray Cook is one of those professionals in the fitness industry that continually seems to challenge my understanding of things and get me thinking about the “why”. Why are we training what we’re training in the manner we’re training it? There ought to be a reason and you should know what it is. One  topic that really stuck with me the first time I read it years ago is the idea that mobility should come before stability.

You’ll often hear that we should be stable first and, until I was forced to actually think about it, I would have agreed with this statement. It makes sense to want to be stable, but in terms of order look at it this way: as an infant we are super mobile and have to learn to stabilize all of that mobility in order to crawl, then cruise, then walk. So while our bodies obviously develop and change, taking some of this insane mobility with it, we should (barring injury) still possess full range of joint motion. 

Cook laid it out as “mobility before stability and stability before movement”. So he isn’t going against having stability early; he just adds the prerequisite of mobility first. Certain strength exercises especially compound lifts require adequate mobility to set up; once we start to perform said lift then stability is needed. To set up properly for a deadlift you have to have the hip and ankle mobility to get into the right position first. Without this you see compensations, which sets people up for injury because they are starting a resisted movement from a bad position mechanically.

If your hips lack mobility your body will find a way if forced to... even if it looks like this

 However, these types of compensations apply to movements outside the weight room as well. Over-pronation of the foot is not an uncommon compensation and can be the result of restricted ankle range of motion. If ankle dorsiflexion (bringing the toes up toward the shin) is restricted, the body compensates by pronating which is the combination of foot eversion (foot rolling toward the big toe while lifting the lateral side), foot abduction (foot turning out away from midline) and ankle dorsiflexion (toe moving up toward the shin). The lack of proper ankle mobility causes the body to compensate, which it will, to continue movement. 

All of this is to say that a proper exercise program should be training mobility, stability, strength and power. However, order does matter and starting with strength and power before adequate mobility and stability is a mistake that can easily lead to dysfunction and injury. As one’s training age advances and background adaptations, neuromuscular and connective, have improved along with joint mobility and stability, then strength and power can be consciously pursued.

-KO

Alleviating Low Back Pain

While a hugely vast topic, we can focus on some of the prime offenders that cause low back pain. Outside of specific injury, much of the low back pain or tension people experience is caused by soft tissue and fascia. I’ve talked about the lower crossed syndrome in previous posts and how that imbalance can create low back pain, but today we’ll deal with the posterior musculature.

Thoracolumbar fascia (diamond shaped, low back center)

At the base of the back is a large, multi-layered area of fascia called the thoracolumbar fascia. This is an attachment point for many muscles like the lats, glutes and transverse abdominus to highlight just a few major ones. You’ll notice that this means there are back muscles coming into the fascia superiorly, leg/hip muscles coming in inferiorly and core muscles coming around laterally from the front. Basically this area is a primary connector of the upper and lower body and therefore gets a lot of use. As you can imagine this means that excessive tension in any of these muscles can have an adverse affect on how the low back feels. This is where stretching and foam rolling for the back and hips comes into play.

Don't forget the lats when foam rolling

Starting at the top, when rolling the back out on a foam roller (like I’m sure you’re already doing right?) spend a little time tipping to one side of the back and giving it 10 – 15 good passes before going to the other side. This will target the lats, which can not only cause tension but also limit overhead range of motion. Side note: If you stand with your back against a wall and can’t rotate your arms all the way up overhead and touch, you’re presenting limited range of motion and this is a good place to start.

Using a lacrosse ball for myofascial release of the glutes...

  

...and the hip external rotators. If this is extremely painful start leaning up against a wall so you can moderate the pressure better.

Next we’ll focus on the lower half. Foam rolling, or better yet using a lacrosse ball, on the glutes and hip external rotators can really do amazing things. The glutes obviously get a tremendous amount of use and can therefore get pretty “junky” if you don’t give them some attention. With the lacrosse ball I generally spend a minimum of 30 seconds in each area searching for "hot spots" and really working the affected areas. If you're using a foam roller the same 10 - 15 passes is a good place to start, but you may want to add more in the long run. The lacrosse ball, while definitely more intense, can get into the muscle better and really loosen the hips and glutes up so give it a chance even if it's tough at first.

Interestingly, the glutes and lats have a common line of pull through the thoracolumbar fascia meaning they work together, especially during locomotion. This is why the left arm pulls back at the same time the right leg does when running. The left lat pulls the left arm back while the right glute pulls the right leg back, drawing a diagonal line of pull through the thoracolumbar fascia. 

The common line of pull between the lats and glutes.

While these techniques can really work wonders we must remember that loosening tight tissue is only half the battle; strengthening weak areas is a must for lasting improvement. 

-KO

Coconut Oil for the Skin

Looking for a quick and easy way to cut your exposure to synthetic chemicals? Try using coconut oil instead of lotion.

The lotion I recently replaced contained 11 ingredients, the first being water, four others needing to be looked up because I had no idea what they were, and three of those showing moderate concerns about toxicity by the environmental working group. So not the worst product out there, because I already care about stuff like that, however, improvements could still be made. 

Coconut oil contains one ingredient plain and simple.

Bonus: for a weekend treat try popping some popcorn in coconut oil. It gives the popped kernels a nice buttery flavor, eliminating the need for actual butter, just salt and enjoy. Doing it this way also means you're not using pre-packaged popcorn thus eliminating the chemicals used to line the bags and make the butter flavor.

-KO