Sticking to that New Year’s Resolution

Due to popular demand, I will touch on New Year’s fitness and health resolutions. The annual reoccurring trend. While I believe anytime is a good time to start making changes for the better, the time stamp of a new year is something special. I figured that since we’re a few weeks into the New Year, and resolutioners are facing the struggles of sticking to the new plan, it would be beneficial to touch on this topic.

Of course, the hardest part of a new healthy lifestyle plan is actually following it. Depending on your starting point and what your body is accustomed to, the amount of change in habits and lifestyle can be significant. Unfortunately, our bodies do not like rapid change, and become very uncomfortable when we decide to switch things up on them. 

First, habits are hard to change. It takes a significant amount of time to reset the neural wiring in our brains and change the natural predisposition we have to going about our days. If you are interested in how formulating habits works and how to change them, I recommend the book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. A few take home points include that you need to create a positive feedback loop to help reinforce your good habits, the adjustment period takes a lot of mental energy to make a change, and once you’ve developed a new habit, it turns into a default setting for our bodies that we end up doing automatically. 

Diving a little deeper into the adjustment phase and the discomfort you will feel making the change, you should take into consideration how much mental and physical strain this will take on your body. This is where resoultioners fail. Attempting to make a change that is too drastic will send your body into an almost shock-like response. Remember, our bodies do not like change because change requires us to use excess energy and mental capacity. When we try and make too big of a change all at once, our bodies will fight against us with everything it has.

”Small changes for big results”

This brings us to the point of making small changes to achieve big results. You can think about this in the sense of a minimal effective load, meaning that you need to do just enough to get the result you want and no more. Traditionally, resoultioners go all out and their bodies go into high alert mood. Once this happens, it’s game over. This occurs when you drastically change your diet and exercise routine over the course of one day, or in an otherwise short period of time. Your body is going to respond negatively and put an end to the change by making it incredibly difficult, physically and mentally, to stick to the plan. You’ve, in a sense, triggered a “change detector” alarm and now it’s on full alert. Try to make a change now; it’s going to be almost impossible. This is one of the reasons why so many fail. 

Taking a “small changes” approach keeps your body’s change alarm at bay and allows you to sneak things past it. This makes it easier to stick to changes you are trying to make. The only disappointing thing here is that the results don’t always show in a day, or a week, or a month. These small changes will add up over time and become something much larger. Longer term thinking is huge here. It’s too easy to think in the short term. Take an even further look down the road and think about where the small changes will get you in 2, 5, even 10 years. Pace yourself, and the plan, with small increments of change and you’ll be surprisingly happy with the results. 

These small changes are easier to make. Who doesn’t like things they know they will succeed at? For example, small goals and their progressions can include:

Going for a 15-minute walk, progressing to 20 minutes, to 25 minutes, to 30 minutes.

Going to the gym and performing 3 sets of 10 repetitions on 3 exercises, progressing to 3 sets of 12 repetitions, to 3 sets of 15 repetitions.

These are not by any means the coolest things, or the most exciting. However, taking a closer look at what you are accomplishing is very important. To use the walking example, yes you are getting more activity, but you are also teaching yourself how to carve out time during your day to promote a healthier life habit. Yes, walking is fairly easy and may feel like you are not doing much. One thing at a time, though. Making the time is a mentally taxing thing. If you throw in a highly demanding activity on top of that, it will make it much harder to stick to. Keeping with the example of walking, now that you’ve made time for yourself and are sticking to the 30-minute routine, you can change one more variable. Remember, small changes for big results. The next small change could be running for 5 of the 30 minutes. Not the whole 30 minutes, just 5. After sticking to that for a week of two, maybe bump up the running time to 8-10 minutes out of the 30. Then add a few more minutes running every week or two and you’ll be running 30 minutes before you know it. 

I could go on and on about small changes and progressions, but I think you can get the idea from the above example. Finding the small, easily obtainable changes will make things easier on your body without triggering its change alarm. If you set it off by attempting to do too much at once, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle. I wish all you New Year’s resoultioners all the best; keep working hard. 

As always, thanks for reading!

Ryan Goodell, CSCS

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Making a Plan - Micro, Meso, and Macro Cycles

It’s always important to have a relatively drawn-out plan whenever you train. This is known as periodization, which, simply put, means a planned training schedule for a period of time. This block of time can be broken down into micro, meso, and macro cycles. By definition micro, meso, and macro cycles are:

Micro Cycle: A period of a training block spanning 7-14 days.

Meso Cycle: A period of a training block spanning 2 weeks – months.

Macro Cycle: An entire training block, which can span from months to years.

Years may sound like a long period of time for which to plan a training schedule, but think about Olympic athletes, who spend 4 years preparing for one event. On the smaller macro cycle end, think about someone trying to shed some pounds for beach season or trying to lose some weight for their upcoming wedding. Micro, meso, and macro cycles are just fancy ways of saying that your program is set up into different blocks and that you have a planned out program to achieve the goal that you have in mind.

Depending on your end goal, these cycles will be made up of different training modalities within the time frame of the specified cycle. I’ve touched on different training modalities in the article You Can’t Beat Physiology. There is no set specific length of time each cycle needs to be, but having a systematic process to achieve the goal makes everything a little easier. You can plan your cycles however you’d like which adds some depth, uniqueness, and variety to your program. Here are a couple examples of how these cycles work:

1. Powerlifting

For the sake of this example, let’s assume that the lifter is trying to put on a little size and improve his bench and deadlift numbers for a meet that is a year away.

Macrocycle – 12 months leading up to a competition

Mesocycle 1 – offseason 2-month block, working on recovery and maintaining general conditioning

Microcycle 1.0 – 7-day off period to let the body recover from pervious meet, walking 2 miles a day outside

Microcycle 1.1 – 7-day cycle consisting of light dumbbell (DB) and body weight (BW) exercises to get blood moving throughout the body and into the muscles

Microcycle 1.2 – 7-day cycle (repeated for 4 weeks), only performing moderate DB exercises and BW exercises

Microcycle 1.3 – 7-day cycle (repeated for 2 weeks), performing moderate to heavy DB and BW exercises

Mesocycle 2 – Mass Accumulation/Bulking (4 months)

Microcycle 2.0 – 7-day cycle (repeated for 15 weeks), consisting of a max effort upper and lower day and dynamic effort upper and lower day (4 days), 2 recovery training sessions, and 1 rest day, while in a calorie surplus 

Microcycle 2.1 – 7-day cycle, deload/recovery week

Mesocycle 3 – Improving peak strength for bench press (2 months)

Microcycle 3.0 – 7-day cycle (repeated for 7 weeks), consisting of a max effort upper and lower day and dynamic effort upper and lower day (4 days), 1 repetition upper day,1 recovery training session, and 1 rest day

Microcycle 3.1 – 7-day cycle, deload/recovery week

Mesocycle 4 – Improving peak strength for deadlift (2 months)

Microcycle 4.0 – 7-day cycle (repeated for 7 weeks), consisting of a max effort upper and lower day and dynamic effort upper and lower day (4 days), 1 repetition method hip hinge pattern day, 1 recovery training session, and 1 rest day

Microcycle 4.1 – 7-day cycle, deload/recovery week

Mesocycle 5 – Peaking/Cutting Weight Leading up to the Meet (2 months)

Microcycle 5.0 – 7-day cycle (repeated for 7 weeks), consisting of a max effort upper and lower day and dynamic effort upper and lower day (4 days), 2 recovery training sessions, and 1 rest day. During this phase lifter will be in a 250 calorie/day deficit to improve body composition.

Microcycle 5.1 – 6-day cycle, consisting of light DB/body weight exercises and recovery work to keep the body moving and prepped for meet day

Meet Day – including weigh in, increased food consumption, and performance of squat, bench, and deadlift

This is a general template and just one example of how to program for a powerlifting meet. There are also many different ways to go about doing so. Within the actual training days, there is your exercise selection and training modalities to get the result you want.

This approach can also be used with non-performance based goals-for example, someone wishing to lose a few pounds for their upcoming wedding or beach season. This can even be a simpler program than the above example.

2. Getting ready for a wedding/beach season

Macrocycle – 12 weeks 

Mesocycle 1 – Improve General physical preparedness (GPP) to Increase Metabolism

Microcycle 1.0 – 4 weeks, calorie intake stays consistent, performs high intensity interval training (HIIT) targeting all major movement patterns within an exercise session x3 days/week, performs 2 interval training days/week, and 2 off/recovery days

Mesocycle 2 –

Microcycle 2.0 –  2 weeks, deficit calorie intake of 200-300 calories/day from starting calorie intake, performs high intensity interval training (HIIT) targeting all major movement patterns within an exercise session x3 days/week, performs 2 interval training days/week, and 2 off/recovery days

Microcycle 2.1 –  2 weeks, deficit calorie intake of 200-300 calories/day from previous 2 week calorie intake, performs high intensity interval training (HIIT) targeting all major movement patterns within an exercise session x3 days/week, performs 2 interval training days/week, and 2 off/recovery days

Microcycle 2.2 –  2 weeks, deficit calorie intake of 100-200 calories/day from previous 2 week calorie intake, performs high intensity interval training (HIIT) targeting all major movement patterns within an exercise session x3 days/week, performs 2 interval training days/week, and 2 off/recovery days

Microcycle 2.3 –  2 weeks, deficit calorie intake of 100-200 calories/day from previous 2 week calorie intake, performs high intensity interval training (HIIT) targeting all major movement patterns within an exercise session x3 days/week, performs 2 interval training days/week, and 2 off/recovery days

Wedding Day or Beach Season 

Whatever you goal may be, this form of breaking it down into manageable steps and having a plan can always be applied. It can be lengthier and complex, like the one in the powerlifting meet example, or more simplified, like with the example trying to shed a few pounds. Having a general written out template is helpful for seeing the starting point and to get to where you want to go. I believe it is important to plan out your training, even if your goal is simply to maintain your fitness level. 

If you have any questions about programming or this type of program setup, leave a comment or email me at the address below.

Hope you enjoyed this article,

Ryan Goodell, CSCS 

If you enjoyed this and would like to help me out please share this article! 

If you are interested in other content from Weights and Stuff you can find it at:
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Dissociation Between Your Hips and Low Back

The inability to dissociate your hip and low back movements from one another is one of the most common problems I see when walking throughout the gym. This problem is especially easy to spot if you watch a good sample size of people deadlifting. I’d like to also mention that it’s very impressive to see just how much weight some people can lift while just pulling with their low backs. In addition to deadlifting, this disassociation issue can also be seen while running, jumping, and squatting. Notice that the aforementioned movements are all extension-based.

When I refer to dissociation between your hips and low back, I’m talking about getting extension from only your hip while your back remains relatively neutral, acting isometrically. By performing activities without causing flexion and extension moments at your lumbar spine, you can reduce the amount of stress and dynamic load you place on it. Dynamic load on your spine is not an ideal scenario. 

Individuals who like to extend with both their low back and their hips to create forward propulsion when running/sprinting-or performing any of the other activities listed above-like to move into relative lumbar flexion so they can then extend through those spinal segments. This is what is considered dynamic load. For example, in the picture below, both stick figure lifters end in the same position. The one on the left was in relative flexion and used hip and lumbar extension to finish the lift, causing dynamic load, while the one on the right used hip extension and isometric action at the lumbar spine.  Those who use the movement strategy of hip and low back extension together to create movement often have complaints of back pain, due to repetitive use of their back extensors. If you are familiar with the feeling of gradually worsening tightness or discomfort of your low back when exercising, this is one of the common causes. (Please note that there can be other causes as well.) 

This inability to dissociate can arise for multiple reasons. Three of the main contributors are weak anterior core musculature, poor neuromuscular control, and tight hip flexors. 

The anterior core musculature is made up of a couple different muscles aside from the popular rectus abdominis, aka the six pack. These include the internal/external obliques and transverse abdominis. Their job, as a collaborative unit, is to increase intraabdominal pressure during movements in order to keep the spine stable. If these muscles are weak and cannot counteract the forces of your hip flexors or momentum when moving forward, you will move into extension. 

Neuromuscular control can also present as a problem. The abs, hip extensors, and back musculature can all be plenty strong, but that doesn’t mean they sequence correctly. In my opinion this is the hardest problem to fix due to the repetitive nature of movement and the amount of repetitions required to create a new movement pattern. This is where people often get frustrated when they do not see immediate results because their previous movement pattern is so ingrained into the brain that it becomes hard to change. Hard to change, but still possible. This change in movement patterning calls for a lot of repetitive tedious exercises, which aren’t physically challenging but frustrating because they come with a lot of trial and error of movement till you get it right. 

Lastly, tight hip flexors. These buggers can cause many problems, and disrupting your hip and low back dissociation is just one of them. The iliopsoas muscle of your hip flexor group attaches to the lumbar spine and inserts itself onto the femur. You can think about your pelvis as having four ropes attached to it. These four ropes consist of your anterior core musculature, hip flexors, hip extensors, and spinal erectors/back extensors. If the hip flexors are tight, they throw off the balance between these four strings, moving you into an anterior pelvic tilt. When it comes time to perform an activity that requires hip extension, like squatting, jumping, and especially running/sprinting, the hip flexor will pull your spine into more extension as your hip extends, causing extension of the back and hip at the same time.

So how do you correct some of these issues listed above?

Simply put, strengthen the anterior core muscles, practice hip extension with isometrically acting back extensors while keeping a neutral back, and lengthen the hip flexors/make them more supple.

Some good isometric anterior core exercises to try are reaching planks and shoulder tap planks shown below. While performing these, making sure to contract the glutes and abdominal musculature at the same time. 

Reaching Plank

Shoulder Tap Plank

For neuromuscular control, I like to start with a prone hip extension and then progress to a birddog. It is important to pay attention to where the extension is coming from during these exercises, feeling the spine stay relatively neutral and the motion coming from the hip. It is good to concentrate on the glute contraction when performing these exercises and not attempt to extend the leg too high towards the ceiling. People do not generally tend to have a ton of hip extension. Normal is considered ~10 degrees of extension at the hip. If you are getting more than that, you might be getting it from the low back. 

Prone Hip Extension

 

Birddog

 

To lengthen the hip flexors, I like the hip flexor bench stretch. I don’t have a fancy name for this one so if you have a better one please let me know :)

Hip Flexor Bench Stretch

Shown below is the proper way to perform this stretch. It is important to keep the abs tight to keep from going into extension of the lumbar spine. Remember to breathe as you perform this stretch as well.

When the abs are not held tight, you can fake hip extension as shown below. Most of this motion, however, is coming from the lumbar spine. Trust me, you are not impressing anyone with your stretching skills so just preform them correctly and get the desired affect even if it makes you look very inflexible. That is, after all, why you should be doing the stretch in the first place, so don’t cheat yourself.

This should be a good place to start if you have difficulty dissociating your hip and low back movement. If you have any questions about this topic feel free to leave a comment or send an email to the address listed below. 

As always, please like, comment, and share! That always is a huge help to get this information out there. 

Thanks for reading,

Ryan Goodell, CSCS

If you enjoyed this and would like to help me out please share this article! 
New posts every Sunday! 

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