What clients are saying - "amazing and remarkable”

Number nine in a series about what clients have to say about their workouts. A recent email from a client:

John,

I just got back from my appointment with the ortho surgeon. The last time I saw him was about 6 weeks before we started in September. His response to the movement in my arm was "amazing and remarkable". He thought I'd be doing well if I could just reach the top of my head. I gave him your name and will take a couple of cards by his office if you'd like. Thank you!!! See you on Wednesday.

Tom

Tom severely injured his shoulder, and as a result he has prosthetic parts in his reconstructed shoulder. He was out for six months before he could resume exercising. When he first started back he would routinely use his good hand to position his bad arm into place to do certain exercises. He could not lift his arm up to shoulder level. After his last workout, I asked him to reach up and touch the chin-up bar overhead. He did it with ease.

Another client who comes in the same day has just started back as well. He broke his arm in nine places and has metal in his arm. I did even know you could break a bone in nine places without being in a motorcycle accident. He is very happy with his results. His wife informed him that he “could never stop doing this” – doing this meaning strength training.

We use MedX rehabilitation exercise equipment at both our locations - at Kelly's Austin Personal Training and at New Orleans Ultimate Fitness Trainers. The unique patented design of our equipment allows us to safely address problem areas like the back and shoulders. The equipment can be finely adjusted to any condition, weak or strong – the weight stacks go up to 1000 pounds. Weight changes can be made with increments as small 1/20 of those of most other equipment, and adjustments for range of motion can be made for those with limited mobility. People of any age or condition can benefit for this exercise program. Our oldest client is 92 years old. The best part is that it doesn’t require endless hours in the gym.

We are convinced that strength training is essential for a higher quality of life as we age. It is our good fortune to be able to play a small part in helping people make positive changes in their lives, and we appreciate their kind words. Seeing clients make positive changes is what makes our jobs worthwhile.

Previous blog entries in the series What Clients Are Saying:
1. @#%& incredible
2. Seems too good to be true, but it actually is that good
3. After each session, I always felt better on all levels.
4. This would not have happened to me if I had a personal trainer
5. This affects all aspects of my life.
6. I saw a remarkable change in my body
7. A Radical Transformation
8. I don’t think I would be alive today

Dynamic Inertia

I don't know what category to put this one under. This workout system is called dynamic inertia - there's an oxymoron if I ever heard one. Kind of like: tight slacks, vacation Bible school, Dodge Ram, high-class hooker. I could go on and I will - plastic silverware, small crowd, dull roar, peace force, and my favorite, act naturally.


I cannot comment on it's effectiveness, but I will say that if something is to good to be true then it is too good to be true. There is no substitute for hard work. Unfortunately for exercise to produce meaningful results the exercise must be of a demanding nature in order to force the body to make a self-protecting adaptation.

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Austin Personal Trainers
New Orleans Personal Training

How much does added muscle increase metabolism?

A number often bandied about is that an additional pound of muscle will burn 50 calories a day. What about already existing muscle? Wouldn't that muscle also burn 50 calories a day too? The 50-calorie-a-day number can’t be true if one makes the assumption that the muscle tissue you all ready had before adding that pound of muscle will produce the same calorie burn - i.e. all lean muscle tissue consumes 50 calories a day. A 155 pound man with 62 pounds of skeletal muscle would have to consume 3100 calories each day just to support his muscles.

A more reasonable assumption is that strength training will results in an increase in resting metabolism for existing muscle plus and an additional increase in metabolism for new muscle. That is the conclusion of Wayne Westcott in his article, Why The Confusion on Muscle and Metabolism?. From the results of two well designed studies he concludes:

A standard three-month strength training program may produce the following effects in previously sedentary adults and seniors:

1. Increase lean (muscle) weight by about 3 pounds.
2. Increase daily resting metabolic rate in all of the trained muscle by about 1.5 calories per pound (from 5.7 calories per pound to 7.2 calories per pound).
3. Increase overall resting metabolism by about 7 percent.

And this:

Strength training does have a significant elevating effect on resting metabolic rate, and is therefore a highly beneficial exercise for increasing daily calorie utilization and enhancing fat loss. It would appear that the metabolic increase occurs in all of the strength trained muscle tissue, and that the additional energy utilization may be about 1.5 calories per pound of muscle per day.

Interestingly both studies were conducted using brief, intense 30 minute workouts of the type we use at our facilities- Austin Personal Trainers and New Orleans Personal Training. With strength training you burn calories four ways:

1. The workout itself
2. Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) - recovery and rebuilding muscle as a result of the workout
3. Added muscle burns additional calories
4. Existing muscle regularly trained will experience an increase in tone and an increase in resting metabolism

Not only will stronger people burn more calories at rest, people who are stronger can engage in more activities and do them for longer periods with less chance of injury creating a beneficial cycle of fat burning. Strength training is something one might want to consider if one is embarking on a weight loss program. For those will little free time you might want to consider high intensity strength training. For time spent nothing burns more calories than high intensity strength training - nothing. One study examining the effect of high intensity strength training on metabolism showed a nine-fold improvement in fat burning.

Austin at the top of the list

This blog is primarily concerned with health, fitness, diet, personal training, and human performance. Not unrelated to health is the environment where you live and the opportunities presented. From this Forbes article, The Best And Worst Cities For Recession Recovery, Austin ranked first. A quote:

From now to the end of 2010, the economy of Austin is projected to grow by $5 billion, and unemployment has stayed relatively subdued. The city's diverse economy, home to Dell, the University of Texas and the Texas state government, has kept the economy strong.

And from this Forbes article, Best Big City for Jobs, ranked Austin first as well. A quote:

Of the 10 large cities with the best employment prospects, Austin is the leader. Job growth between 2004 and 2008 was a whopping 14.8%--and even between 2007 and 2008, overall growth remained in the black. In some areas, Austin is representative of nationwide changes in employment. For example, manufacturing waned; between 2000 and 2008, jobs in that sector decreased by a third. But service sectors like education and health, leisure and hospitality, and others grew tremendously. Job growth stagnated in 2008, but avoiding net losses was enough propel this city to the top of the list.

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Austin Personal Trainers

New Orleans Personal Training

Exercise Reduces Fatigue In Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy

From this Science Daily article, Exercise Reduces Fatigue In Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy:

“Supervised exercise programs that include high and low intense cardiovascular and resistance training can help reduce fatigue in patients with cancer who are undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy or treatment for advanced disease. The exercise training also improves patients' vitality, muscular strength, aerobic capacity and emotional well-being, according to research published on bmj.com.”

At Kelly’s Austin TX Personal Trainers and at New Orleans Ultimate Fitness Trainers we have had success working with recovering cancer patients. The recovery systems of these patients are fragile. They cannot stand long bouts of exercise. Our personal training sessions are short and designed to efficiently stimulate a change; we then give them plenty of time to recover.


I worked with one client through two bouts of cancer. When she first came in I told her we would build up slowly, but eventually she would be asked to do very demanding work. She replied, “If I can handle chemo I can handle this workout”. She handled it well, and became very strong. I think the fact she was strong helped her when she faced down cancer a second time. As Lance Armstrong once said, “Before I just lived now I live strong”.


This blog has also dealt with this subject in these blog posts:
Exercise for Women Living with Lymphedema
Weightlifting helps breast cancer survivors
Fatigue, Pain Affect All With Breast Cancer, Exercise After Diagnosis Helps
Healthy Diet, Exercise Might Lower Chances of Cancer's Return

Obesity epidemic may threaten mitten industry

From this Science Daily article comes this interesting headline: Obesity epidemic may threaten mitten industry.

Researchers found that fat people generate more heat. Thermograms (see picture) found that obese people dissipate more heat than normal through the hands and less heat than normal through the torso. They speculate that the feet would be another area for venting excess heat.

A quote:

Bottom line, he explains: “Humans weren’t really designed to be extraordinarily heavy.” Indeed, throughout most of human history, survival depended on avoiding starvation. With the obesity epidemic swelling waistlines around the globe, a new imperative is emerging: fighting human biology so that big people can burn calories without feeling like they’re burning up.

If an overweight person wants to lose weigh they will be impeded because of being too hot – and they are too hot from being too fat. It appears to be a catch-22. Not necessarily, one could opt for a cool environment. At Kelly’s Austin Personal Training and at New Orleans Ultimate Fitness Trainers we keep the room very cool and supply fans for those who are more prone to overheat. It is a convenient workout that lasts about a half an hour. We have showers but because of the short time period and cool environment for most it is unnecessary.

Past articles dealing with the type of personal training we do and weight loss:

A Nine-fold Improvement in Fat Burning
Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC)

The Fun Theory And Exercise

This video asks the question: Can you get more people to choose the stairs by making it fun to do?

Their findings: 66% more people than normal chose the stairs over the escalator.

Their conclusion is that fun can obviously change behavior for the better. We agree. Our personal training program at Kelly’s Austin Personal Training and at New Orleans Ultimate Fitness Trainers , while not fun, it is rewarding. It is designed to increase strength, flexibility, body leanness, and cardiovascular endurance. It takes about a half hour. Most do it once, some do it twice a week.

With the enhanced fitness they will enjoy other activities longer with less chance of injury and perform better. I am often asked, "Is their other exercise I should be done the remainder of the week"? Yes, do some thing you enjoy - walk run, ride your bike, whatever it is you enjoy - and you will find you will stick to it, and physically and mentally, you will be way ahead. Free time should be for enjoyment not endless hours of drudgery in the gym.

Conventional wisdom and the benefits of strength training for cardiovascular health and weight loss

Instances of changing conventional wisdom abound. The most obvious example: two covers of Time magazine, global cooling and global warming. Another: A cholesterol count under 250 was once considered acceptable; that was later changed to 200, and after that the ratio of good to bad cholesterol was deemed important.

At some point conventional wisdom on a subject become accepted as fact. Several decades ago coffee was once considered a cancer causing agent. Now from a Coffee and health article comes this:

As coffee is one of the most studied substances worldwide, with more than 20,000 studies looking at its general effects, the coffee and cancer connection has been studied extensively. Currently, scientists are able to state conclusively that coffee does not cause cancer with almost universal consensus.


“Currently … almost universal consensus” - maybe not quite a fact, but it is close. That article goes on to say that coffee might actually have a preventative role for liver, breast, and colon cancer.

An area where conventional wisdom has radically changed over time is in the area of strength training. Strength training will make you slow, inflexible, and it is harmful to women – not true. Not too many years back it was rare to see golfers, baseball players, basketball players, runners, or women lifting weights. Now it is the conventional wisdom that strength training improves athletic performance. Even Tour de France bicyclists strength train. Robbie Mckuen, a green jersey winner in the Tour, was asked about gears and where he got his power on the bike. He replied, “In the weight room”.

Now that strength training has moved into the mainstream more studies are being conducted to explore other benefits of strength training. The benefits of strength training and in particular high intensity strength training are becoming more apparent in the areas of weight loss and cardiovascular health. Past articles addressing the cardiovascular health benefits from strength training:

High-intensity exercise better at improving metabolic syndrome risk factors
Strength Training Shown To Lower Blood Pressure
Strength Training for Those Who Have Heart Conditions
Strength Training and Healthy Hearts

And the weight loss benefits associated with strength training:


A Ninefold Improvement in Fat Burning
Study Examining Benefits Of High Intensity Interval Training
Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC)

There are a whole host of benefits associated with strength training. While once strength training was held in disregard, the conventional wisdom has shifted so much that now strength training is touted as the number one bio-marker to prevent aging. Will it change again? Who knows?


The type of strength training we do at Kelly’s Austin Personal Training and at New Orleans Ultimate Fitness Trainers is high intensity interval training (HIIT). It is a full body workout where a series of strength training exercises are performed with little rest between the exercises. With this type of personal training there is a significant cardiovascular effect and significant calorie burning.

How dirty can a health club get?

I have worked in health clubs for 29 years. Some of the more egregious examples of the lack upkeep in health clubs that I have seen:

· Mushrooms growing out of the carpet in the wet area. I was amazed by the phenomenon as much as I was disgusted.
· An infestation of worms crawling around in the steam room
· The smell of urine on the hot rocks in the sauna
· A layer of mildew that spreads like soylent green throughout the wet area
· Tattered and torn carpet -not just a little here and there. It was the dominant theme throughout the workout area.
· A quarter inch layer of dust on top of equipment
· Feces in the whirlpool
· Equipment that remained in disrepair for months at time

I have worked for more than a dozen owners. As a rule they don’t stay in business very long. They have great projections, but very soon costs outstrip the incoming cash flow. At that point they cut costs and let the facility go to pot. That is the beginning of the end. The very end comes when they slash prices to squeeze a few dollars out before going out of business. At one facility where I worked they offered yearly memberships for 55 dollars. A couple of weeks later they closed their doors.

To remain open in any competitive field you have to offer value to the customer to keep them coming back. Keeping the place clean is just part of it. Rather than downgrading what we offer we have endeavored to expand what we offer over the years and keep the quality high. The end result is that we have continued to grow even in these difficult financial times.

Fifty percent of businesses do not survive past their third year, and eighty percent close the doors before their ten year. Kelly’s Austin Personal Trainers is in its fourth year, and New Orleans’s Ultimate Fitness Trainers has been open for more than nine years. To our loyal patrons we are extremely grateful for making that possible and hope to earn your continued business in the future.

Austin, a “post-recession mecca”

This blog is primarily concerned with health, fitness, diet, personal training, and human performance. Not unrelated to health is the environment where you live and the opportunities presented. From this Wall Street Journal article The Next Youth-Magnet Cities, the Journal asked demographers and economists to rank cities that qualify as “post-recession meccas” for young (18 to 29), educated and highly mobile workers. Austin ranked fifth.

For a whole range of indices Austin ranks high. Austin is ranked first or high here: Austin ranks among the best of several indices and Austin is ranked first or high on 31 different indices here:Greater Austin is a Great Place to Do Business

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Austin Personal Trainers
New Orleans Personal Training

A Connection Between Sleep and Alzheimer's?

From this Science Now Daily News article A Connection Between Sleep and Alzheimer's?:

“A new study has found a connection between a lack of sleep and a biomolecule thought to be important in the development of Alzheimer's disease.

In both humans and mice, levels of a peptide called amyloid-β rise during waking hours and decline during sleep, researchers have found. They also report that sleep-deprived mice are more prone to developing deposits of amyloid-β, called plaques, like those found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Although far from proven, the finding suggests that sleep disorders could be a risk factor for Alzheimer's.

A definite causal link between AD and sleep has yet to be established, but it couldn’t hurt to get a little more sleep. Besides getting more sleep there is much you can do to lessen the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Lifestyle changes such as exercise and quitting smoking have also been associated with a reduced likelihood of Alzheimer’s disease.

Foods that have been associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease:

Fish
Green tea
Omega-3 fatty acids
Mediterranean diet
Walnuts
Blueberries
Coffee

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Austin Personal Trainers
New Orleans Fitness Training