My pain is gone

Imagine living with pain every day.  You are getting older and your life has become compromised. The prospect that the pain will always be there presents a bleak picture.  It does not have to be that way.  

At both our locations, Austin Personal Trainers and at New Orleans Personal Trainers, our trainers use MedX rehabilitative exercise equipment.  It is used by elite athletes as well as those recovering from injuries.  

Gretchen, one of our trainers, trains Larry. Larry is recovering from injuries sustained as a result of a motorcycle accident.  Prior to beginning exercise he lived in pain every day.

A quote from Larry:  

“Prior to starting at Kelly Personal Training  I was taking at between 4 and 8 ibuprofens a day just so my knees, back, and shoulder weren’t hurting. I was icing my back a couple times a week. Now I don't need anything for pain because the pain is gone. My work requires me to walk around in attics. I can tell my balance has improved as well. The slight discomfort during the workout is well worth the benefits. I have lost 32 pounds too.”

Our equipment is better tolerated by those who have physical limitations, and workout itself will alleviate pain.  Many live in a state of chronic pain.Years ago I was one of them for almost three years. With the right exercise that can change dramatically. 

Lasting impressions: In six months I'll be doing the butterfly across that pool

In 38 years working at nine different health clubs I've seen a lot of amazing, bizarre, interesting, and sometimes disturbing things. I have seen thousands of people come and go. Most do not leave a lasting impression, but sometimes, even a brief encounter will stay with me forever.

It was January 1980. The price of oil was $37 a barrel that year, more expensive than it is today. The George Foreman Grill and other astounding leaps in technology had yet to be invented. It was my third month working at my first health club. The club was awash with new members armed with their New Year’s resolutions.

There was a man there who weighed 290 pounds. He had the look of a former athlete. Under that marbling there was obvious potential to be a well-muscled fit man. He was there for hours each day for five straight days. He told me in six months he would be doing the butterfly across the pool. Given how long he was there with such regularity that was definitely a possibility. I didn't see him the next week or the week after. In fact I never saw him again. But he did continue to pay the mandatory membership bank draft.

I often think of him as a proxy for all those who come to the gym with high expectations but never follow through. Initially people are highly motivated, but working full-time along with raising a family and then coming to the gym for one or two hours is not sustainable for most people. The diminishing return for all that time in the gym is not very motivating.

At our Austin Personal Training facility we don't start from the premise of seeing how much exercise you can withstand but try to find what's the least amount of exercise that will produce the most positive change. That will give you the largest marginal return for your time spent exercising, and it will be more motivating. You will be more likely stick to it for the long-term.

Had that man committed to making modest changes in eating habits, strength trained for a half hour once or sometimes twice a week, and on the other days done something he enjoyed he would have been more likely to have stuck to it. The weight loss would be slower but more sustainable. At the end of the year he would've been 50 pounds lighter and maybe would have been able to do the butterfly. The beauty of it is he would have spent far less time in the gym than under his attempted commitment.

High intensity strength training lowers blood pressure

To lower your blood pressure do high intensity training HIT or start strength training. Better yet, do them both at the same time. High intensity training HIT consists of a series of short bouts of demanding exercise with rest or active recovery (less demanding exercise) in between each bout of exercise. HIT for strength can be done performing a series of strength training exercise with little rest in between. Evidence from two studies point to the positive effects both HIT and strength training have on lowering blood pressure. This study, High-intensity interval training and hypertension: maximizing the benefits of exercise? compared continuous moderate-intensity exercise training (CMT) and high-intensity interval training (HIT), to determine which was better for lowering blood pressure.  They presented evidence that: “HIT for several factors involved in the pathophysiology of hypertension raises the hypothesis that HIT may be more effective for preventing and controlling hypertension”. Another study, Weight Training Has Unique Heart Benefits, Study Suggests, examined the effect of strength training on blood pressure and found: When compared to aerobic training resistance training resulted in increased blood flow to the limbs and a longer-lasting drop in blood pressure after exercise. At Austin Personal Training and at New Orleans Fitness Trainers we do HIT training on aerobic equipment and HIT training for strength in our weight room.

The lady said, "We want decisive members"

Several years ago I walked into a health club; they were running a special offer. After the tour of the facility I told the lady that I wanted to think about it and that I would come back tomorrow. She told me I had to make my decision right then and there if I wanted to get the special rate. She said, “We want decisive members”. I made my decision right there and walked out. There is a reason yearly memberships are a bargain, and there is a reason they are always running specials. Many facilities bank on the fact that you won’t attend regularly. On average, only thirty percent of members attend regularly. So you take the bait and decide to join the health club. To get the discount you sign the monthly bank draft, and the automatic bank draft begins. If you are like most people your attendance is regular at first and then seldom. Cancelling your membership is expensive because there is a $200 processing fee, so you are stuck for a year. There is a reason the renewal rate at health clubs hovers around 30 percent. In many of the health clubs there are personal trainers who will offer you a free training session IF you sign up for a huge package to get the lower rate. If you are lucky you will get the personal trainer best suited for your needs, but often that is not the case. At the end of year the only thing lighter is your wallet. AtNew Orleans’s Personal Trainers and Austin’s Fitness Trainers there are no bank drafts or specials. We do offer the first two sessions free without obligations, so you can make an informed decision to see if this is something you want to pursue. It is a different business model that works for us.

Fourteen years of positive changes

I work out of our Austin Personal Training location, and I was talking to one of our New Orleans personal trainers a few years back. I asked her why there was an influx of business when we hadn’t been doing any promotions, really no marketing of any kind outside of our internet presence. I was heartened to hear her response. She said, “People are starting to know of us in the community. I think we now have an established reputation”. More than a decade ago we asked our clients if they would submit a short testimonial about their experience at our New Orleans location. The result was almost 40 testimonials, 30 of them from doctors.  We appreciate those votes of confidence and all the other testimonials made in subsequent years. One of those testimonials was from a client who works with Adam [pictured], one of our trainers. Her doctor told her, “Under no circumstances stop exercising because that is what is keeping you going” Doctors attributed her years of exercise to helping her prevail. We are fortunate to work with so many good people and to help them make positive changes in their lives.

Kelly Personal Training family 10 years and growing

Our clients and our trainers are like a big family that continues to grow. Our facility is a special inviting place where clients look forward to coming. I received an email from someone requesting Amy [pictured] to be her trainer. Amy told me that person had read a review of her on our Kelly Personal Training Yelp page. I checked the page; there were 15 reviews. I reflected back 10 years to when we first opened – no reviews, no Amy, no other trainers, just two clients, and not near enough income to make the rent. It was just my dog Stella and me. It is gratifying to see how far we have come.Kelly Personal Training in Austin now has nine trainers, two dogs Stella and Bella and an expanding client base. Our other facility, New Orleans Personal Training, is thriving as well.

Safe effective neck exercise

Safe effective neck exercise will result in stronger more flexible neck muscles. You will be less likely to have neck problems, and it will help stave off osteopenia in the cervical vertebrae.  Very few places have this piece of equipment.  We do have this neck machine at our Austin Personal Training facility but not at our New Orleans Fitness Training facility at this time.

Peak strength and endurance at the same time, Is it doable?

An active Marine who trained a lot once told me, "Whenever I do my personal best at bench press my running is way off, and whenever I am at my best at running my bench press suffers". Alan Page was a 260 pound defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings. Toward end of his career he had trained for and completed a marathon – the first active NFL player to do so. He lost a significant amount of muscle; so much so that he switched position to linebacker at 225 pounds. When you run great distances carting around more muscle is demanding. You can improve strength and endurance at the same time. Strength and endurance complement each other up to a point. At some point one is going to suffer at the expense of the other. It is best to seek a balance. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) for strength will increase both endurance and strength. At Austin Personal Trainingand New Orleans Fitness trainers the trainers can put you through a series of exercises with little rest that will have your heart racing and have your muscles exhausted. Rest, recover, improve, and come back next week stronger with more endurance.

The importance of strong flexible calves

On July 30, 1924 Calvin Coolidge’s two sons, John 18 and Calvin Jr. 16 went out to play tennis. Earlier that day the family (pictured) had posed for formal pictures, and Calvin Jr. was anxious to get out of his formal clothes and play tennis. He did not wear socks that day.  He got a blister, then blood poisoning, and died July 7, 1924.

We now have antibiotics to prevent such tragedies. Even so, things can still get out of hand. Recently a friend of mine had a staph infection on his neck. He scratched it and then scratched his ankle. He developed cellulitis in his lower leg, his temperature spiked, and he ended up in the hospital taking IV antibiotics for five days. The same week, my brother had the same affliction and spent four days on an IV taking antibiotics before he got his infection under control. He had an infected blister. He has neuropathy in his feet and has less feeling to know if there is a problem. According this Medscape article those with diabetes are at increased risk for severe cellulitis, and the infection more often occurs in the leg.

This brings me to the problem that tight calves muscles present when walking. When walking the heels come off the ground early to compensate for the tight calf muscles. When the heels come off the ground early the weight of the body is not distributed over the entire foot bottom, and this stresses the foot structure causing foot problems such as neuropathy. I was told by a maker of prosthetic devices that the number one reason diabetics lose their feet is because of weak calves. Weak calves are generally tight. Stronger calves make for more flexible calves. Muscle has plasticity, tendons don’t. Also, the calves act as a secondary pump for the blood. Stronger calves pump more blood.

While it would not have changed the outcome of young Calvin Jr.'s life it is vitally important to keep the calves strong and flexible as we get older. At New Orleans Personal Training and Austin Personal Training calf exercises are a regular part of our regimen. BTW Calvin Jr.’s brother John lived a long life and died at age 93.

How to stay limber and avoid aches and pains

Injuries can happen suddenly such as a pulled muscle or can happen slowly over time such as a repetitive use injury.  Years later these injuries can come back to haunt us as the aches and pains we live with.  You can keep those aches at bay by remaining strong and limber.  The trick is to do exercises that do not aggravate those old injuries.

At Austin Personal Training and  New Orleans Personal Training  we use MedX medical rehab equipment that can be precisely customized with a premium on safety for those who have those haunting injuries. Exercise safely, release those endorphins, and the pains will go away.

Heavy Weights with Minimal Force Can Be Safer than Light Resistance with a Lot of Force

Care should be taken to minimize the likelyhood of injury when exercising. At New Orleans Personal Trainers and Austin Personal Trainers we use smooth controlled movement that minimize the ballistic forces that can cause injuries.  We also will use MedX medical rehab equipment that can be used by both athletes and those recovering from injury.

Losing weight and keeping it off - what you are up against

This New York Times article, The Fat Trap, explores how people lose weight, but almost without exception, gain it right back.

In one study, 50 obese men and women consumed just 500 to 550 calories a day for eight weeks and lost an average of 30 pounds. A year after the study, subjects had regained an average of 11  pounds and reported feelingfar more hungry and preoccupied with food than before they lost the weight. Yeah, I know the diet was too restrictive, but regardless, it is interesting to note what is going on hormonally. A quote from the article:

“A full year after significant weight loss, these men and women remained in what could be described as a biologically altered state. Their still-plump bodies were acting as if they were starving and were working overtime to regain the pounds they lost. For instance, a gastric hormone called ghrelin, often dubbed the “hunger hormone,” was about 20 percent higher than at the start of the study. Another hormone associated with suppressing hunger, peptide YY, was also abnormally low. Levels of leptin, a hormone that suppresses hunger and increases metabolism, also remained lower than expected. A cocktail of other hormones associated with hunger and metabolism all remained significantly changed compared to pre-dieting levels. It was almost as if weight loss had put their bodies into a unique metabolic state, a sort of post-dieting syndrome that set them apart from people who hadn’t tried to lose weight in the first place.”

And this:

“How long this state lasts isn’t known, but preliminary research at Columbia suggests that for as many as six years after weight loss, the body continues to defend the old, higher weight by burning off far fewer calories than would be expected.”

Who wants to lose significant weight only to feel pangs of hunger more often than not and have a lower metabolism? That is kind of bleak, but there is a solution. To offset that undesirable metabolic adaptation begin strength training, preferably high intensity straining training.

High intensity training (HIT) for strength will burn more calories than other forms of strength training.HIT effectively burns calories four ways. HIT produces higher sustained excessive post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) than any other form of exercise. Muscle is metabolically expensive. HIT will make you stronger, and a stronger body will burn more calories even at rest.

At Austin Personal Training and New Orleans Fitness Training we offer high intensity training (HIT)that has been show effective for weight loss. All you have to do is stick with it and make modest changes in eating habits. You will lose fat and more likely keep it off.

High intensity interval training increases endurance

From this article, Scientists Discover Why High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Can Match Endurance Training discussing HIIT:

“Short bursts of just a few minutes of exhausting physical activity can prepare muscles to work harder, boosting the production of new mitochondria  (powerhouses of the cells, generating the energy that our cells need to do their tasks), which culminates endurance enhancement much like more time consuming endurance training. High-intensity exercise triggers the breakdown of calcium channels as a result of an increased production of free radicals.”

Calcium channel blockers preserve the cell growth capacity against free-radical damage.

Result: less free-radical damage, more mitochondria, and more muscular endurance with less time spent exercising. Additionally HIIT workouts burn more calories long after the workout is finished and the workouts will lower blood pressure and increase blood flow.

It is not necessary to spend hours in the gym to get results. At Austin Personal Training and at New Orleans Fitness Trainers we can show you how to perform HIIT workouts on our aerobic equipment or our full body strength training circuits.

More articles on HIIT here.

Three different diets, equal in calories, three vastly different results

This New York Times article, What Really Makes Us Fat, discusses the result of a study that produced surprising results.

The experiment: Three separate groups on three different diets stuck to a diet for a month. All subjects consumed the same amount of calories.

Diet 1: A high-carbohydrate low-fat diet - fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean sources of protein.

Diet 2: A low glycemic index diet - fewer carbohydrates in total - non-starchy vegetables, beans, and minimally processed sources.

Diet 3: The Atkins diet - high in fat and protein and very low in carbohydrates.

Results: The fewer carbohydrates consumed, the more energy was expended.

A quote from the article:

“On the very low-carbohydrate diet, subjects expended 300 more calories a day than they did on the low-fat diet and 150 calories more than on the low-glycemic-index diet.”

And another:

“The fewer carbohydrates consumed, the more energy these weight-reduced people expended. On the very low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, there was virtually no metabolic adaptation to the weight loss. These subjects expended, on average, only 100 fewer calories a day than they did at their full weights.“

When there a restriction of calories consumed the body makes a metabolic adaption by burning less calories, even more so when the diet is high in carbohydrates. Strength training can offset that metabolic adaptation. High intensity training (HIT) for strength will burn more calories than other forms of strength training. HIT effectively burns calories four ways. HIT produces higher sustained excessive post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) than any other form of exercise. Muscle is metabolically expensive. HIT will make you stronger, and a stronger body will burn more calories even at rest. 

At Austin Personal Training and New Orleans Fitness Training we offer high intensity training (HIT) that has been show effective for weight loss. All you have to do is stick with it and make modest changes in eating habits.  You will lose fat and more likely keep it off.

Caloric restriction and longevity

A New York Times article, The Calorie-Restriction Experiment, details a study where researchers attempted to find out if eating less increased longevity. 132 men and women reduced their daily calories by 25 percent for two years to see if a Spartan diet affects the aging process and its associated diseases. 

Subjects experienced “astounding drops in cardiovascular risk factors”.

BUT, another quote:

“Ninety-nine percent can’t do it,” John Holloszy, a medical doctor who is the lead investigator at Washington University, told me. “The people in the study are not going to stick with it” after they leave.

Damn.  Two years to figure that out?

The study was about factors effecting longevity, but what I found interesting was that subjects lost about 15 % of their body weight and reached a plateau at a “weight stability” level. It is important to note that subjects were of normal weight to slightly-overweight to start. They did not have much to lose. I am guessing that weight loss was not all fat tissue. If you attempt to lose weight by calorie restriction your body will catabolize lean body mass to lower the body’s metabolism to compensate for the decreased caloric intake. Who wants a "weight stablity" level where you have to go through life under-muscled and hungry?

A more reasonable approach might be to cut back eating just a bit and exercise a bit more. A different study found that more muscle was positively associated with longevity. If you add proper strength training to the mix your body will make a positive adaption to withstand the stresses placed on it by the strength training. The body does so by maintaining or even adding muscle mass and thereby increasing metabolism.

At Austin Personal Training and New Orleans Fitness Training we offer high intensity training (HIT) that has been show effective for weight loss. All you have to do is stick with it and make modest changes in eating habits.  You will lose fat and more likely keep it off.

Muscle mass a better predictor of longevity

From this Scientific American article, Muscle Mass Beats BMI as Longevity Predictor:

“Researchers analyzed BMI and muscle mass data from more than 3,600 seniors in a long-term study. And they tracked which seniors had died, a decade later. Turns out BMI wasn't much good at predicting chance of death. 

But muscle mass was: more muscle meant better odds of survival.” 

BMI is a dubious measurement to begin with.  Pictured is Mike Tyson. According to BMI charts he would be classified as clinically obese. He is not fat and has substantial muscle mass.

More muscle mass leads to a host of positive benefits: more strength, increased gait speed, enhanced flexibility, increased bone density, lower likelihood of falling, increased likelihood of surviving a fall without injury, higher metabolism, lower blood sugar, less chance of developing metabolic syndrome, and better able to positively stress the cardiovascular system just to name a few benefits.

People are usually not put in nursing homes because they're out of breath; it's usually because they lack the strength to carry out daily activities on their own.  With proper strength training you can increase your muscle mass – even seniors, and you’ll feel better.  At New Orleans Fitness Trainers and Austin Fitness trainers our strength training program is designed to be efficient and effective in getting those benefits listed above and live longer with a higher quality of life. 

Adding muscle and losing fat at age 65

Kathy is 65 years old and five feet tall. She does her strength training at our gym once a week and attends a weight loss clinic somewhere else. At the weight loss clinic they have a machine that measures body composition. Kathy said it even measures body composition in different parts of the body. 

As a result of their weight loss program people generally lose weight - some of it is fat, and some of it is muscle. Kathy did lose fat, and contrary to normal expectations, they were surprised to find that she actually gained muscle.

If you attempt to lose weight by calorie restriction your body will catabolize lean body mass to lower the body’s metabolism to compensate for the decreased caloric intake. If you add proper strength training to the mix your body will make a positive adaption to withstand the stresses placed on it by strength training. The body does so by maintaining or even adding muscle mass and thereby increasing metabolism.

At Austin Personal Trainers and New Orleans Fitness Training we offer high intensity training (HIT) that has been show effective for weight loss. All you have to do is stick with it and make modest changes in eating habits.  You will lose fat and more likely keep it off.

Muscles linked to increased bone density

From this study Molecule made by muscle shown for first time to build bone:

“The study suggests irisin is fundamental to muscle-bone communication, and likely translates the well-known skeletal anabolic action of exercise by directly stimulating new bone synthesis by osteoblasts.”

Stronger muscles generating more force will require stronger connective tissue and bones to handle the additional stress on the system. Strength training is not just for strength. Proper strength training results in increased strength, bone density, body leanness, flexibility, cardiovascular ability, plus added protection from injury and a stronger immune system.  More than anything else you will feel so much better.

At New Orleans Personal Trainers and Austin Personal Trainers our strength training program is designed to be efficient and effective in getting those benefits listed above and to increase your quality of life. 

Can endorphins really alleviate pain?

From the movie Legally Blonde: “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't.”

From this article, Endorphins: Natural Pain and Stress Fighters:

“In addition to decreased feelings of pain, secretion of endorphins leads to feelings of euphoria, modulation of appetite, release of sex hormones, and enhancement of the immune response. With high endorphin levels, we feel less pain and fewer negative effects of stress.”

Euphoria, less pain and stress?  Yes, especially after a HIIT workout.  Withhigh intensity interval strength training working all the major muscle groups to a thorough fatigue achieves a state of deep relaxation. The pains just leaves your body, and you feel a sense of relaxation that is, well…euphoric. 

If you are injured it is often best to avoid aggravating that injury by exercising.  Another category is old injuries that produce minor aches and pains. Old injuries will come back to haunt you unless you do something to keep them at bay. In this instance you might find that exercise can alleviate that pain.  The personal trainers at New Orleans Personal Training and Austin Personal Training can help you set up a program that will enable you to begin exercising again, avoid aggravating old injuries, andincrease your quality of life.

Lactic acid soreness – “one of the classic mistakes in the history of science"

A quote from this NYT article, Lactic Acid Is Not Muscles' Foe, It's Fuel:

“’The notion that lactic acid was bad took hold more than a century ago’ … It stuck because it seemed to make so much sense.

‘It's one of the classic mistakes in the history of science.’ ”

The article goes on to say that the idea that lactic acid causes muscle soreness never made sense, because lactic acid is gone from your muscles within an hour of exercise,  The soreness stays.

With strength training certain things are observable:

• 1. Muscle soreness after strength training can last for days.
• 2. Given enough time after strength training muscles adapt by becoming stronger.
• 3. The time needed for recovery varies from person to person.

Since we don’t know the precise amount of time needed to recover from strength training why not error on the side of more rest rather than less rest? The advantages:

• 1. Less likely that exercise sessions will become drudgery.
• 2. Less chance of a repetitive-use injury.
• 3. You are more likely to stick to it.
• 4. Less likely to have a compromised immune system from overtraining.
• 5. You will be more likely to receive the full benefit of your efforts.

Regarding number five, when there is insufficient time between workouts you will ruin two workouts - you will not be fully recovered from your first workout, and you will not be up to speed for the second one. You will not improve, and you will have wasted valuable time and effort. To get thehighest marginal return on exercise it is essential to have adequaterecovery time,and lactic acid does not come into the mix. You might find thatless frequent exercise can have a profoundly positive effect.

It is often difficult to get a handle on recovery and how often to train.  At Austin Personal Training and at New Orleans Fitness Trainers we can help you with that.