The Bench Press is a Useless Measure of your Strength pt1

Do you bench a lot?

Here are four reasons you need to alter your workout to do all you can to avoid the bench:

Reason #1: The Bench is an excellent test of your ability to push a bar off your chest while resting on a bench. Thats about it.

It is NOT a good indicator of your ability to perform in an athletic event (other than bench press contests, I guess). It is NOT a good indicator of how many push-ups you can do. Many athletes have been amazing without good bench press strength (see this article on Kevin Durant – he is one of the next NBA draft picks.)

It is NOT real world in any way shape or form (unless you happen to wake up with a bar wrapped across your chest every morning.)

(1) The person being tackled is not shaped like a bar. (2) The person tackling is standing up. (3) The person being tackled is trying to move to one side (unlike a bench press which is straight up and down)

Reason #2: The bench in bench press immobilizes your shoulder blades and can make you more susceptible to shoulder issues as a result.

Think about where your shoulderblades go when you lie down on a bench. Think about how freely they move in any other standing exercise. The difference between you standing vs you lying down with the blades pinned is staggering and is one of the main reasons people experience such shoulder issues as a result of this primitive exercise.

If you want a workable solution try dumbbell presses on a fitball. That works great for keeping the shoulderblades fluidly moving. It also requires other muscles to play in with the exercise.

Reason #3: You already have an overdeveloped chest.

Think about every time you get up off the ground. Every time you try to move furniture. Gravity is such that we use our chest much more than we use our backs. It is also the easiest thing to see in the mirror, so we naturally work it to make it more prominent.

Our poor back and rhomboids on the other hand get left behind more often than not. If our shoulders are pushed forward that can irritate the capsule which can lead to reduced force production.

Reason #4: Death

Every year a few people die doing this non-functional exercise, when they would receive so many more benefits from doing a dumbbell press or 1-arm flyes instead. If just one person dies because of this exercise, that means there are many more out there that have been injured through improper (or absent) spotting.

More often than not this exercise is safe.  However, every now and then, this happens:

Although I cannot deny that if you want to work a muscle group the chest press is an excellent exercise, the potential for injury (usually coming in the form of a more sneaky rotator cuff or elbow issue that starts as a twinge and grows into a bona fide problem) far exceeds the potential gains when we examine the close relatives of this exercise:

Alternatives to the bench press that significantly reduce the risk of shoulder injury and simultaneously activate the core:

Barbell/Dumbbell Press on Fitball

Dumbbell press on fitball

Chest fly on fitball

Chest fly on fitball

Push-ups with different hand positions

Push-up on Bosu Ball (those things are awesome!)

Standing one arm cable press (a personal favorite)

Of course, if you tell your friends about this they will likely want to keep doing bench press.

It’s human nature to keep doing what is easy rather than what gets us where we want to be.

Know that this article is not about to convince your friends to do the more functional and practical alternatives listed above. Just don’t let them come crying to you when they start to experience back/shoulder/neck/elbow/wrist pain or postural imbalances from doing such a non-functional exercise.

In short, the bench press is an easy exercise to teach and do. That doesn’t make it the best, and it doesn’t mean there aren’t a dozen other exercises out there that will provide better gains for the energy and effort expended.

Jamie Atlas

http://jamieatlas.com

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High Heels are Ruining your Posture and Feet: Here’s Why

Wearing high heels can be the source of foot deformities, sciatic nerve pain, knee pain, herniated discs and a range of other crippling maladies. But why am I telling you this…

You don’t even care!

Ladies, don’t even try to fool me for a second… I know you don’t care.

Right now in your head the subconscious wheels are turning, pre-discounting every comment this article is about to make. It wouldn’t matter if I came up with some statistic that showed your teeth would fall out from wearing high heels – you would simply discount it with a wave of your hand and a comment like “that’s why god invented dentures’.

If all women suddenly decided that they cared, there would be a collective rumble as one and all would gather all their berardis, ferrugias and guccis and ignite them all in a large bonfire the likes of which could be seen by the Mars Lander.

This would be immediately followed by a series of high fashion assassinations to which the french revolution pale in comparison (watch out, Blahnik -you’re first on the chopping block!).

This race in high heels is brought to you thanks to the generous support of your local podiatrists and physical therapy association. Every participant gets a free consult and shot of painkiller following the race.

This pricey piece of Manolo Blahnik costs $7000. Thats just for the left one (yep, thats $14,000 if you want the full pair). It should come with a chiropractor and bunion surgery 50% off voucher.

So maybe you DO care and I am being cynical. Maybe it’s not your fault. Lets look at how society has conditioned you to need these fashion tools of torture.

If you already wear heels on a regular basis, you have had the following yo-yo thought process probably as many times as you have worn heels:

Order of thinking for the ‘high-heeltarded’:

This is the kind of advertising that makes me queasy. I look at this and all I hear is: Yoouuu arreee inadequate...Youuu willl nevveerrr bee goood enouuugh... noooobody liiikes youuuu...Youuu haaaave noooo liiiiife - ok so maybe that last bit might be true 😉

Featuring your logical conscience, and your socially bred feelings of inadequacy

Woman in high heels gets out of car, takes first step and goes through standard thought process below:

“Oh man, these shoes kill! Why do I even wear these things?!”

“But my legs look so much nicer in them – and whatever would I match with my dress”

(second step, proceeding compression/impingement of every bone in the foot accompanied by searing pain)

“That is it! My back is already starting to hurt me, my toes are warping into some strange bonsai tree-looking disfigurement and I don’t even like this guy that much!”

“Oh but look at her shoes? She looks so glamorous in them! Maybe she looks a bit uncomfortable, but how would any man even notice her tear-streaked face and muffled cries of pain when she has such beautiful legs!”

And so you walk on, excruciating step after excruciating step, paying the price for beauty…

And even though I know you are held back by your guilt-laden fashion shackles, it is my dream that maybe… just maybe…. there is a little girl out there in cyberspace who has not yet had her mind corrupted by the collection of fashion magazines, womens shoe stores or the constant barrage of “sex and the city” reruns. Maybe it’s too late for you to change. I don’t think it is ever too late. Only you can know.

Look at those high-heel free legs! Now THAT's fabulous

Next time you think twice about wearing tennis shoes to work, think about these legs and remember that you can look just as good in sneakers no matter what you are doing.

But I look so good in heels! Surely standing in High Heels improves my posture?

When you are standing in the high heels, yes, your posture is improved – because if you did not stand tall then you would fall forward. By tilting the back heels up, our upper body instinctively leans back to prevent imminent toppling over.

But here’s the catch – if you stand in heels, then your feet are tilted up. This creates a chain reaction that can cause your hips to counterbalance your elevated heels by tilting the pelvis forward.

Standing in heels can cause your pelvis to tilt forward, putting excess pressure on your lower back.

Is that all? Of course not! If the pelvis learns to stay tilted forward (which can happen if you wear high heelsand/ or work at a desk most of the day) then as you can see above, when we stand our lower back is swayed in and our upper back must respond by arching back.

This chain reaction from the heels to the hips to the upper back has the potential to be a factor in pain and dysfunction in every joint throughout the body and other maladies associated with posture.

Urinary track infections can also be related to wearing High Heels. But dont’t take my word for it – click here to read an interesting article that references Larrian Gillespie, M.D.

Maybe I have been too harsh. Maybe not all of this information applies to you and you are careful and concerned about your feet. If that is the case, then I applaud you for putting your body and your feet before fashion.

Here is the take-home message I want this article to give you:

If you have foot problems, low back, knee, hip or neck pain, avoid high heeled shoes at every opportunity.

If you don’t have any problems, then please use these weapons of fashion in moderation. For your feets future. For your posture.

Experiment with different shoes. Play with your style. At least find something that you can wear to less important days/nights.

Look how happy Janice Dickenson is to be wearing something other than stilettos! (maybe her security guard date has something to do with it as well)

You can be glamorous, attractive and as fabulous as you want to be without artificial elevation. Just take a look at these fashion forward pics:

James Blunt loves flats. He thinks 'they're beautiful, it's true'

Jamie Atlas

https://jamieatlas.wordpress.com

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Afternote: I got some great responses to this post, but was really excited to stumble across this other post (click here to view it) that reinforces the whole anti-heel thing and comes from a womans perspective (because I don’t wear heels – you try finding size 15 heels!)

After-afternote: If you wanted to take the attention away from your feet, you might want to look at the ‘perfect butt’ exercise combo I put together. You can read all about it (and watch a short video of the exercises) right here

The Rowing Machine – Where Posture meets Cardio

The humble rowing machine – the cinderella of the fitness center.

While the fancy treadmills and the high-fashion elliptical machines entertain the guests, showing off their incline adjustments and their new digital displays the rowing machine sits off to the side, all alone. Exiled to the corner as if it were a bad child in a classroom.

In a recent UK survey, 44% of women found men that row as ‘sexy’ . Fellas – do you need more motivation than that?

(I personally use and recommend the Concept2 line of indoor rowers. They are near indestructible!)

The occasional gym-goer will wander over to play briefly, but only for a bit of a warm-up before they are on their way again. Generally speaking, the rowing machine gets left alone in the corner to gather dust.

Live in Denver?  Go to WWW.FITNESSBYATLAS.COM to get a free pass to one of our classes

Shame on us for not giving this excellent machine the respect it is due.

The rowing machine is one of my favorite machines in the gym. It helps to develop cardio, strength, flexibility and all the muscles you need for great posture.

A common problem I hear from runners and cyclists is that that have great cardio, nice legs but a flabby upper body.

Problem solved.

Still need convincing that Rowing is a great sport for the total body?

Enough said. Moving on.

2 reasons why you want to integrate your local rowing machine into your workouts and cardio days:

1. Better fat burner

Rowing with proper technique works both the upper as well as the lower body. More muscles worked means more calories burned in the same period of time, which means more fat burned for your cardio dollar!

2. Better for posture

Imagine the view when you see someone walking on the treadmill – especially if they are reading their US Weekly or the new People mag. People tend to have poor posture on the treadmill, bike and elliptical machine.

If you are hanging on to the rails as if you are ready for the machine to spontaneously switch into rodeo mode – then chances are you are leaning forward and your posture is suffering.

Take the the normal treadmill/elliptical/bike user:

Are they a picture perfect model of posture or are they a hunched over hunchback of hunchville? (So I’m channeling Dr Seuss?! What’s it to you?!)

Would you, could you, in a rowing machine?

The downside of the rowing machine is that it is not magazine friendly (which might be an upside, depending on your perspective).

This means that instead of catching up on the latest hairstyles and dog handbag fashion, you will actually have to do some real work (but that’s why god created the ipod – so you can listen to your music/Harry Potter on tape/best of John Denver as you happily row away).

Rowing works the legs as well as all the muscles of the back

It is fantastic for strenthening the biceps, shoulders, upper and lower back as well as all the major muscles of the legs.

The major drawback is that you probably don’t know how to do it

But thats about to change: You can learn about rowing technique here.

Or if you would rather have the visual, here is a 3 minute vid:

There are different ways to row, but just pick one and go for it. Your body (and your posture) will be grateful for it.

Once you have the technique down, for my vote its the best fat-burning machine in the gym that also works the upper body in such a way that your posture will never feel better.

Do you row? Put in your two cents about what rowing does to your body to help others understand just how good this machine is.

Jamie Atlas

Live in Denver?  Go to WWW.FITNESSBYATLAS.COM to get a free pass to one of our classes

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Six ways to stop your office job from killing you

I could ask you to go live in a small cave and eat organic berries and do yoga 3 times a day to achieve optimal health and wellness, but how realistic would that be?

(well, unless you had cable tv and a good wireless internet connection – then we’re talking, right?)

We all know there are certain things we should do, but what steps can we take to get the greatest return in investment for a possible change in lifestyle?

Since most of us spend a good chunk of our day sitting at our desk in the office, here is a quick breakdown of the six best things you can do right now to help decrease the impact of the cubicle prison:

#1 Stand By Me:

When sitting down we limit our breathing capacity, shorten our chest muscles and place stress on our neck and upper back, not to mention the tightened hip muscles at the front.

We all sit down too much compared to our chairless ancestors – when not at the desk do your best to stand, stretch, expand your lungs and loosen the tightness in the chest, hip and abdominal muscles. This will help undo the 8 hours of sitting you are likely to do.

#2 Frankie Says ‘Relax’:

Take a short break or two every day to seize a quiet moment. Get outside if just for a moment.

Notice your breathing, your environment, colors and smells around you. Take the opportunity to clear your mind, sharpen your senses and reset your mental machinery before heading back into the fray.

#3 Here Comes the Sun:

Photosynthesize – try to expose yourself to the sun for between 10-15 minutes a day to switch on multiple hormone regulating systems and produce vitamin D for healthy bones and skin.

It’s just plain good for you – If your dermatologist gets on your case ask what the cavemen did to protect their skin 10,000 years ago… cover up with bearskin umbrellas?

#4 Get Up, Stand Up. Stand Up for your Rights:

Invest in yourself! Outside of the office (or perhaps during your lunch break) Don’t underestimate the benefit of a knowledgeable personal trainer, massage therapist or acupuncture session to recharge the body, mind and spirit.

Treats such as these can pay dividends in more productive work hours with less pain and more energy and satisfaction in your life and work!

A workout that leaves your body more stressed is not necessarily the solution. A balance of working hard in the gym and relaxing hard in the stretching area or hot tub is a great way to achieve best results.

If you are overstressed and you work out too hard your body may actually store even more fat in an ‘overtraining’ response to the increased total stress.

Make sure you are making yourself the priority – whether your work realizes it or not, the better your stress level the better you produce.

#5 Twist and Shout:

Don’t tell your personal trainer this, but working out is an inexact science – the most important thing to you, mister/ms dedicated desk jockey, is to get you out of the sitting position and standing upright like your fellow homo sapiens.

Try to loosen and strengthen muscles in multiple directions in conjunction with other body parts. That means front to back, side to side and in rotation (like this woodchop below)

A simple exercise that uses your rotational muscles (great for the abs as well!)

Try to do movements that encourage your body to get out of a seated position and into a position of lengthening while strengthening. Ask the hottest trainer in the gym for a minute of help if you need advice (hey, you gotta get your value for money out of that membership, right?)

#6 Climb Every Mountain:

Aim for small manageable continuous improvement. Ever meet the guy who lost 60 pounds in three weeks, only to yo-yo it back on and then some? The body will respond best to gradual changes to its dimensions.

Push it too hard and it may push back in the form of joint pain, bad technique or injury. So take your time making the changes in your schedule – but dont take lightly the massive potential these small changes can have over time.

The most important thing to remember is that our bodies are not designed to sit at desks for 8 hours. We must take every opportunity to stand and move – Did I mention hydration? Take your first step to change right now and go get a drink from that office water cooler.

If you see someone else at the water cooler, ask if they were reading this post and were just following directions… If they say “yes” then give them a high five from me 🙂 Then talk about Julie Andrews and ask if they think that last picture of the Nun costume makes her look fatter or more alluring.

If you want to read other blog articles the second I post them you can always subscribe by clicking here.

Never run on a treadmill again (pt. 2)

Treadmills don’t change direction – which is a problem.

The reason it is a problem is because that puts you in a running pattern so straight that it causes you to use your joints and muscles in a way you were never designed to.

Ponder our fellow predators for a moment.

Of all the animal kingdom, we are the only one that runs for personal enjoyment

Most other animals develop their ability to run from a survival instinct. If they cannot chase down the slowest zebra/antelope/meal of choice, they go hungry that day. They learn to run, dodge, creep, change direction, sprint and jog as part of their hunting strategy.

But they rarely do it in one direction. Their ability to change direction with speed is usually directly correlated to their ability to catch their next meal.

Humans don’t need to run to escape predators. However, even after generations of laziness our hunting instincts are still strong – take for example of the young child and the voracity with which they set upon the unsuspecting ice cream truck. Natural predatory instincts if ever I saw them.

Seriously… Does any other song spike adrenalin through the system quite like the ice cream truck song?

(While we are on the subject, is it just me or does that guy have the cruise control set on ‘just a couple of mph faster than an 8 year old kid can comfortably run’).

What most of us fail to realize is if we are on a real surface (such as an outdoor trail), we are constantly changing direction, turning corners, moving on uneven surfaces and generally switching up our running pattern and loading our muscles differently with every step.

If we are on a treadmill, we have no choice but to run in a straight line.

If he’s not careful he might tear a ‘hamster-ing’

The next time you watch animals or small children play, watch how they move.

You will notice they will rarely move in a straight line for any extended period of time, but instead will follow a zigzag pattern (without necessarily any rhyme or reason). Just a few of the positive result of this type of ‘play’ is that they develop different muscles, have healthier joints and better balance.

Because animals often run or chase each other in a play-like fashion, I might also be bet they probably enjoy themselves while running around haphazardly… Certainly more than the docile folk you see strolling on the treadmill at an easy Sunday afternoon pace whilst reading one of the latest New York times bestsellers (come on people! It’s a gym, not a Barnes and Noble – at least get a glisten on your brow, for heavens sake!).

Okay Mr Smartypants Personal Trainer – I have been running in a straight line

Whats the big deal about that?

Heres why:

Identical movement pattern repeated equals the same joint pattern of wear and tear, which equals a fast road to Joint Pain City – population, you.

If we move the same joint in exactly the same direction and hit the joint in the same position repeatedly, we can wear the joint down faster and use the same muscles too much, creating strength and flexibility imbalances.

However, if we ‘spread the wear’, our joints have a better chance to regenerate, to be healthier, more functional and be able to keep moving for longer.

A few ideas for balancing the load on your muscles/joints:

Vary the speed, incline and modality of your cardio workouts to make sure you are using the joints in a slightly different intensity, patten and direction each time you hit the gym.

Running on different types of surfaces, whether an outdoor running trail, indoor track or local park, the most important factor to consider is variety. Keep your joints working on different surfaces and you guarantee a variety of wear (not to mention stronger joints and better muscle tone).

As the saying goes, “Variety is the spice of life”. Given what we now understand, maybe they should change the saying to “Variety is the secret to stronger, healthier knees, ankles, hips and muscles that surround each of those joints”.

Yeah, I agree. The first way is a little easier to say. But so less imaginative, don’t you agree?

How are YOUR joints? What do you do to mix up your cardio to make your workout a bit more curvy and less straight? Sharing is caring, I always say.

Jamie Atlas

https://jamieatlas.wordpress.com

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