How to Work Out, Part I

Many of you probably have 1) improving health and 2) starting an exercise work out plan as new years resolutions.

That's awesome.  I wish you luck.

Let me help you out a bit.

Many people don't really know where to start or how to find the proper work out program.  Choosing the right exercise program is as important as SMART goal setting (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely).

An example I used in my Intro to Resistance Training class I taught last semester explains this well.  Picture someone who doesn't know anything about cars looking under the hood.  It's going to look foreign, the parts are not going to make sense and he's not going to know what to do.  This is identical for most people who take one step into a gym.  It's going to look foreign, the parts are not going to make sense and they won't know what to do.  See where I'm going with this?  Not to put anyone to shame, but that's the way it is - that's why people like me have jobs: to guide, coach, support and motivate people with all the "fitness stuff."

Here are 2 tips to help with your workout plan you're going to start in the new year:

1.  Do not focus on machines.

Not the best idea.

Usually, people are taught to use machines to ease into resistance training.  Machines have a purpose, but in my philosophy of training, I teach people free weight and body weight exercises first.  You'll make far more gains with these type of exercises.  Some machines are not safe and can cause more shear stress on the joints.  Plus machines isolate muscles and if you're not a body builder, you waisting time training one muscle group at a time.  The only machine you need is you!  Learn how to move correctly and focus on getting really good at these basic lifts/movements:

• squats e.g. goblet, barbell back and/or front racked
• deadlifts e.g. conventional, sumo, trap bar
• stiff leg deadlifts (hip hinge)
• horizontal push e.g. pushup
• vertical push e.g. overhead press
• horizontal pull e.g. barbell row
• vertical pull e.g. pull up (assisted or not assisted)
• single leg squat e.g. split squat, lunge, step up
• core stability e.g. front and side planks

Side Bridge with Band Row

Once you build coordination and have been practicing these movements, you can try adding in these exercises:

• single leg deadlift
• kettlebell swing
• hops and jump training e.g. low and high amplitude plyometrics

Box Jump with approach from Jon-Erik Kawamoto on Vimeo.

• cleans e.g. barbell or kettlebell

End of 2nd Pull in a Power Clean

• snatches e.g. barbell, dumbbell or kettlebell
• core stability progressions e.g. anti-rotation presses, jack knifes, plank elbows on exercise ball

This isn't the exact progression but it's a good method to follow.  As I stated above, everyone is different and they are going to progress different, so it all depends.  My client Phyllis told me the other day that she was telling her friends "Just when you think you have figured it out, he changes it on me!"  I smiled. Phyllis is referring to how I incorporate the Principle of Progressive Overload to her training - this principle states that for continuous improvement and progression in the gym, the program must be progressed at the appropriate time.  This is the also known as "muscle confusion" - a term made popular by the media.  Muscles don't think - they contract and generate movement and that's it!

2.  Now you know what exercises to focus on, organize your workout around this template:

•  5 minute cardiovascular warmup e.g. treadmill, spin bike, erg rower
• Self Myofascial Release e.g. foam rolling and trigger point therapy
• Muscle Activation
• Dynamic Stretches
• Main workout e.g. including exercises from above
• Static Stretches

This template is used by all athletes, weekend warriors and fitness enthusiasts that I train at Definitions Fitness Company.

The cardiovascular warmup and dynamic stretches will increase your core body temperature, lubricate your joints and prepare you physically and mentally for the workout to come.  Self Myofascial Release involves using a foam roller, such as the Travel Roller, to remove tissue (muscle and fascial) adhesions, scar tissue, and trigger points.  Roll slowly at a controlled pace up and down the length of your muscles.  Muscles that can be easily rolled with the Travel Roller are:

• arch
• calves
• hamstrings
• quads
• IT Bands
• Adductors (groin)
• Glutes and hips
• Lats

Trigger Pointing the Glutes

Rolling out the lats

*Not the Travel Roller in the picture*

The travel roller has 3 different density balls, kinda like hockey balls.  These are great for more focused work.  The balls are great for the arches, glutes, upper back and chest.

The Travel Roller

Spend a minute a muscle and focus on more tender areas.

Muscle activation includes exercises such as scapular pushups (to improve scapular stability), wall slides (to improve rotator cuff and scapular retractor activation) and glute bridges (to activate the glutes).  These are low level exercises that "turn on" muscles that tend to be inhibited or not that well recruited (middle and lower traps, glute max and med).

Wall Slide 1

Wall Slide 2

Dynamic stretches are stretches used to improve mobility at certain joints in the body (usually held for 2-6 seconds).  Based on the joint-by-joint approach to training, certain joints like to have more mobility, while others like to have more stability.  Along this continuum,  a joint will either gain or lose mobility depending on its position on the continuum.  Movement by Gray Cook does a great job of explain this.

A great resource

Dynamic drills will usually focus on improving mobility at:

• ankles
• hips
• thoracic spine
• shoulder joint

Ankle Mobility Wall Drill

Muscle activation exercises mentioned above focus on improving muscle activation but also improve stability.  This occurs at:

• knees
• lumbar spine
• scapular "joint"

Static stretches will be saved for after the workout as they have been shown in research to reduce power output and jump performance.  I know this goes against what has been taught in the past, but the times are changing.  These stretches can be held for 30-60 seconds or for what ever feels comfortable.

Two Joint Hip Flexor Stretch

A "finisher" can be added at the end of your workout to ramp up your metabolism and "finish" you off.  A "finisher" is usually a high paced circuit or sprint designed to really tax your cardiovascular system.  Check out my article in this month's Oxygen Magazine to find out more about "finishers."

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for Part II.

Jon-Erik Kawamoto