Word(s) of the day - Eccentric, Isometric, Concentric

OK, since I did not post a word of the day yesterday, I will be doing three words today to make up for it. The three words today are eccentric, isometric, and concentric.

Eccentric - When a muscle contraction is exerting less force than is being placed on it.


When this happens it results in the lengthening of the muscle. Do not think of lengthening as in being stretched. In this case, lengthening is referring to the muscle's return to resting length. Eccentric is also known as "a negative". This meaning that the work is actually being done to the muscle rather than by the muscle.

Isometric - When a muscle is exerting force equal to that placed on it.


When this happens, no lengthening of the muscle takes place. Isometric actions are used to stabilize the body. An example of this would be during a dumbbell bench press. The rotator cuff musculature stabilizes the shoulder joint.

Concentric - When a muscle is exerting more force than is being placed on it.


When this happens it results in the shortening of the muscle.

It is easy to think that muscles predominantly work concentrically, but this is wrong. By thinking this way, you are really limiting yourself  and your workouts. You have to view muscles functioning in all planes of motion. By doing this, you will be able to design a program for yourself that trains, reconditions, and rehabilitates.

Word(s) of the day - Training Volume

Todays word of the day is actually two words and I believe everyone should think about this when developing an exercise program for themselves. The word(s) of the day today is Training Volume.


Training Volume - The amount of physical training performed within a specific period.


Understanding training volume is so important that I cannot stress it enough. By understanding training volume, one can prevent overtraining. Many people, including myself, have had many workouts where he or she has overtrained a muscle. It is easy to get excited in the gym and overtrain (especially for guys). This is what I like to call " the pump disease". Most guys love when their muscles start to warm up and fill with blood because it gives them a pump. They look at themselves in the mirror at the gym and feel like Hercules. This gets them excited. Instead of thinking about the fact that their muscles are tired, they keep going to pump up even more. Now ladies, this doesn't mean that you don't have a tendency to overtrain as well. Only instead of looking for that pump, maybe your spending two hours on the elliptical to get that butt in shape. Training volume varies for each individual and is based on seven different factors. These include:

*Training Phase (power, strength, or stabalization)
*Goals
*Age
*Work capacity
*Recoverability
*Nutritional Status
*Injury history

Training volume is adversely relating to intensity. One cannot safely do high volumes of high intensity workouts for a long period of time. In other words, when working with weight loads that exceed 90% of your maximum, you rarely will exceed a workout volume of 20 reps (four sets of three to five reps). On the other hand when working with weight loads that are 60% of your maximum, you can easily do a workout volume of thirty six to sixty reps (three sets of 12 to 20 reps). These numbers may vary depending on how often you exercise. What phase of training you are in (power, strength, or stabalization), and your goals dictate the reps, sets, intensity, rest and tempo. All of these things dictate the volume.

So before going to the gym, think about what it is that your trying to achieve and don't overdue it. Listen to your muscles. If you don't, they will fight back and they always win.

Recipe of the week - Almond flour pancakes

Almond Flour Pancakes

Ingredients:

*1 cup of almond flour

*2 eggs

*1/4 cup of water 

*2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

*1 tablespoon of raw sugar ( this may not sound healthy, in which case you can use a sweetener such as Splenda, but I recommend raw organic sugar).

Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan on low heat. While the pan is heating, mix all of your ingredients together as you would regular flour pancakes. The only thing you will notice about these pancakes that is different is that the tops will not "bubble" while cooking. Brown each side and ENJOY!

Be creative, add your favorite fruit to the top of your pancakes. I'm not a huge fan of syrup, but if you are, that is just fine. Get yourself some sugar free maple syrup (tastes just as good I promise). 

Each pancake only has 1 gram of carbohydrates, and 6 grams of protein! WOW! What other pancakes could beat those amazing stats?

Keep it lean and mean.

P.S. If you want to be even healthier, substitute the eggs with Egg Beaters from your local supermarket.

Word of the Day - Hypertrophy

Ok, this is for all the dudes out there who really want to put on some fast mass. Most guys think that the heavier they lift, the bigger they grow. This is not true. While lifting heavy will make you strong, it is not the best way to put on size. This brings me to my word of the day, Hypertrophy. 


Hypertrophy - The enlargement of skeletal muscle fibers in response to overcoming force from high volumes of tension. 


I know your thinking, what does this mean. Well, in other words it means that muscles will enlarge when more tension is put on them, not weight. When the average guy hits the gym trying to put on some size, they usually will do 3 sets of 8-12 reps for each exercise, increasing the weight each set and resting between 45-90 seconds. By resting for this amount of time, the muscle has time to de-contract and loose some of the tension that was placed on it. This is a great method if your are trying to get stronger because you will need that rest time for your muscle to recover in order to increase the weight for your next set. But to enlarge the muscle, one should be lifting a moderate weight and resting about 10 seconds between each set. In some cases, you may even want to decrease the weight for each set. By resting for such a short amount of time, your muscle never fully recovers from the last set creating even more tension. As stated above, the higher volume of tension, the larger the growth.

So if your wanting to put on some size this winter, do it right and train with the hypertrophy method. You will love the results.

*If anyone has a question about hypertrophy please feel free to email me at hanleyben@live.com.

Almond Flour, your new best friend.

Carbs, we all love them and we all NEED them. However, a diet with too many carbs can lead to a flabby untoned body. What changes can you make in your diet to avoid eating carbs that you don't need? Well, I have got one small secret for you. Almond flour! For those of you who love to cook, I am sure many of your ingredients include flour and often times even bread crumbs. Almond flour is a wonderful alternative to both. While flour and bread crumbs are LOADED with carbs, almond flour often times has no more than 6 grams per serving!!! I use it all the time on chicken and in casseroles. By using alternative ingredients like almond flour, I can make sure that the carbs I am eating are good complex carbs. There are three main foods that I use as my source of complex carbs. These foods include sweet potatoes, old fashioned oatmeal, and bananas. Im not saying to never eat other carbs like bread and pasta because we all need to live a little, but limit your breads to the morning and your pastas to one or two times per week. I recommend wheat for both. Almond flour can be found at your local supermarket and is now your new best friend.

Step Out Diabetes Walk 2010

Step Out Diabetes Walk 2010
11/13/10


Vanessa and I signed up for the Step Out for Diabetes Walk in Universal City, and had a great time. The walk was a 5k walk, 3.1 miles. I recommend that more people sign up to help with a good cause, while also helping yourself. Something as easy as walking is a great way to start out for someone who isnt in shape. This is a great way to start your journey to a better body!