Articles & info
Exercise & training
Useful topical articles on health, fitness and nutrition from the Forme & Function team.
19/06/2008
Posture & Health
Are we that far from the chimp? We're all told in school to stand up straight, and that seems like a good idea but then if you look at the evidence all around you, in just about everyone we see, we promptly forget it! The head forward, the rounded shoulders, the arched lower back, the splayed feet - it is almost as if we have not fully evolved into the fully upright position yet. And it gets worse as we get older! Yet it is perfectly possible to correct our posture and immensely beneficial to do so, as I shall explain.
08/04/2008
Women and Exercise
Women must be careful not to over indulge in training on weight machines, for two main reasons: to prevent joint injury and to maximize exercise efficiency. Females are generally much more flexible but not as strong as their male counterpart. Plus women experience increased joint laxity when premenstrual, which added together leads to a high susceptibility to joint injury.
08/04/2008
Lose Your Curve and Lose Your Life!
The spine has a natural S-curve: the lower back has a forward curvature (towards the belly button), while the middle back has a slight hump or posterior curvature. The forward curvature of the low back is essential to maintain proper weight bearing relationships in the disks and spinal joints. If this curvature is not maintained during lifting activities, both disk and ligament run the risk of injury. There is however a trade-off of risks; when the low back curvature is held throughout a lift, there is an elevated risk of muscle injury, since ligament support is greatly reduced in this position.
08/04/2008
Flat Surface Training is Dead!
For years and years and years, we have been performing crunches and sit-ups as a primary source of abdominal conditioning. This has led to increased spinal curvature in the middle back. Because you start these exercises lying flat on your back and then flex forward, the abdominal muscles are continually trained in a shortened range of motion. In fact, the crunch motion is completed by 30 degrees of trunk flexion, leaving the hip flexors to do the rest of the work. Is this where you really want your abdominal muscles to be strong?
08/04/2008
Train Slow - Be Slow!
There is no doubt that high resistance training can improve performance in most any sport. Unfortunately, few publications readily explain how to use weight training to enhance sports performance. Instead, athletes read bodybuilding magazines for the latest weight training programs. The problem with this lies in the fact that body builders' goals are mass-driven and so they most commonly train with very a slow tempo; a biceps curl for example may be performed over the span of six seconds. Slow tempo training is very good for developing muscle mass, but not for enhancing one's quickness.
30/01/2008
Flatten Your Abs Forever! (Part 3)
Hopefully you’ve already read sections 1 and 2 of this 3-part report. Stress is a very real part of our life these days and for many of us, it’s thwarting our ability to develop flat abdominals. There are six different types of stress that we encounter:
29/01/2008
Flatten Your Abs Forever! (Part 2)
YOU ARE WHEN YOU EAT - Many people today are inconsistent about when they eat and give little thought to planning what they will be eating during the day. This commonly leads to skipped meals or quick substitutes for real, quality food, which disrupts blood sugar balance and can lead to cravings and overeating later in the day. Skipping breakfast is very common today and there is no question that skipping breakfast slows your metabolism for the entire day.
28/01/2008
Flatten Your Abs Forever! (Part 1)
Millions of people around the world head for a gym everyday in the pursuit of a better looking physique. Often, the body they’re after includes a great looking midsection with low levels of body fat. Capitalizing on people’s desires for flat abs, infomercial tycoons have sold millions of dollars worth of abdominal flattening gimmicks, most of which people never use simply because they do not work. Let’s face it, if it were as simple as just exercising, every guy in the gym would have a six pack and all the women would have flat tummies. All it takes is one quick glance around the gym to realize that this is not the case.
24/07/2007
Spinal Warm Up
It is estimated that up to 80 percent of the population has experienced or will experience at least one bout of low back pain in their lives. So it would be wise to warm up the spine thoroughly prior to physical activity, but how? This article will share with you several simple methods you can use to prepare your spine for exercise.
19/04/2007
What is functional exercise?
The terms 'functional training' and 'core stability' are the latest buzz words within the fitness industry. Suddenly every man (and woman) and his dog are rolling around on physio balls performing all manner of 'circus skills' to the encouragement of their personal trainers and sports therapists. Whilst the introduction of 'fun' is important to the longevity of any training cycle, I believe that many of the people using this form of training are doing so without 'qualifying' their clients needs in terms of current biomotor ability.
14/12/2006
Endurance training
Over the past ten years, endurance training has seen a turnaround that will have athletes sighing with relief, and yet new training regimes still enable them to reach for Gold.
15/11/2006
Complex Training
In the world of athletic performance enhancement, strength coaches and athletes alike are looking for new ways and methods that are superior to 'modern' methods. One method used today is called 'complex training'. First published in United States literature in 1986 by Dr. Steve Fleck and Ken Mentor after a trip to the Soviet Union, complex training's theory can be described as anticipating that a certain load is heavy when it really is not. The result is an explosive movement.
04/09/2006
Speed and Power Development
For some odd reason, there is a perception that once a person becomes an adult, speed and power training are no longer a necessary part of their training program. Yet, many of these people perform activities and sports that require a great deal of speed and power!
08/08/2006
Cardio Training
Most of you reading this article will be indoctrinated in the philosophy that regular cardiovascular conditioning is important for your health and that such training reduces your risk of heart attack. If you do agree with this premise, you are also very likely to believe that to achieve cardiovascular conditioning you must regularly perform cardiovascular exercises, such as running and biking or using one of the many cardiovascular machines.