Why are you walking with weights?
Thursday, February 25th 2010 @ 2:54 PM
Why are you walking with weights? with JJ Flizanes
I am taking a break from writing the book to share something that happens every time I get a workout in outside in a public area.
This is something I have watched and silently conversed about in my head for YEARS. When I was rollerblading last week it dawned on me to share my internal dialogue so I could share this with you and explain some basic exercise principles.
First we have to start out with your goal. I am going to write this based on assumption of some goals but know that if I knew your real goal, I might say something totally different.
I see a woman, or a man, walking down the strand with 2-10 pound weights in their hands and to date, I do not know too many reasons why I would ever say that is a smart thing to do. Here is why:
- If your goal is to make your walking or cardio harder- a weight in your hand does add extra weight but to your shoulders and arms first. It’s not very effective for your legs. The danger in this is 2 fold. First, you have your shoulder motion which is going back and forth. The weight provides resistance in gravity (that means up and down- not back and forth) so your shoulder is working hard to keep your arm attached. The muscles are doing what we call “decelerating” your increased momentum based movement. Your shoulder will get the most workout from carrying a weight while walking but I wouldn’t even call it a good workout. And this brings me to the second point of the potential danger of this exercise style. If you have not made it a point to build up ALL the muscles around the shoulder joint (chest, back, biceps, triceps, deltoids, trapezius, etc) and you lack the muscle strength to withstand long durations of force to your muscles, then you are just wearing down cartilage in your shoulder over time. You may not feel it of course but it is slowly degenerating you over time if you do not have the proper muscular strength (that was built using different exercises) to endure these forces.
- It’s ineffective! If you want to burn more calories in your walk- walk faster! Get and use a heart rate monitor so you know exactly how many calories you are burning and what your heart rate is. You can adjust your speed and intensity as you become more fit because you will see exactly when that is happening. If you want to build some muscle in your arms, choose exercises for the arm muscles you want to build. The bicep and shoulder is what will benefit the most from walking with a weight. And if you have been doing it for awhile, you aren’t even building muscles any longer because your body has adapted. I would not recommend increasing the weight. I would recommend you review your goals and design and exercise program to specifically target your goals. Random exercise only works if you are happy where you are!
JJ Flizanes, Director of Invisible Fitness, named best personal trainer in Los Angeles for 2007 by Elite Traveler Magazine, has appeared on NBC, KTLA, CBS and Fox 11. JJ’s mission is to help women feel gorgeous and confident in a bathing suit without starving or killing themselves in the gym. www.6weekbeachbody.com and www.invisiblefitness.com
Why You SHOULD Eat Chocolate
Saturday, February 13th 2010 @ 10:50 PM
By JJ Flizanes
So why am I recommending that chocolate be considered over other dessert choices?
Chocolate has antioxidants: I have to first explain to you what an antioxidant is and why it’s a good thing. Imagine your body is like your car—the engine makes it run. The engine produces the energy for the car to run just like your body produces energy for you to run. There is a bi-product of the engine when it is creating energy and that is the exhaust. Your body also produces “exhaust” called free radicals—they are a natural bi-product of your body. Free radicals can be neutralized by antioxidants. Back in the day when we ate a Paleolithic Diet (from the earth: meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds), we got plenty of antioxidants in our diet. Now, we eat more processed foods, we have toxins in our air and products and our stress levels are so high that we create even more free radicals than before with less antioxidants in our daily diets. Free radicals cause oxidation in the body which is like rust for your car—it speeds aging.
Have you heard that joke that chocolate is a vegetable? It’s not so far-fetched. Chocolate comes from the cocoa bean and because it’s a plant, it has phytonutrients, which are a “plant based nutrient”. Cocoa beans most important phytonutrients are several classes of polyphenols, which is a group of chemical substances that act as building blocks. These polyphenols are largely recognized as some of the most powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds.
Polyphenols are found in a variety of fruits and vegetables ranging from onions to apples, green tea, grapes and the cocoa bean. Tests showed the chocolate measured significantly higher than green tea and red wine in antioxidant content. That’s great news! Chocolate is good for you!
Chocolate is gluten free: As you will learn later, most of us have a mild to severe allergic reaction to gluten, which is wheat, barley and rye. Most pastries are made with wheat four. Cakes, cookies, pies are usually made with wheat flour so it makes eating dessert very risky for causing inflammation and holding on to a few extra pounds of water. Some molds for chocolate could contain gluten but at least the ingredients are gluten free—it’s a much safer choice.
Chocolate is an aphrodisiac: Now what more could you want?! The Mayans and Aztecs were the first to recognize the potency of chocolate, celebrating the harvest of the cacao bean with festivals of wild orgies. The Aztec ruler, Montezuma, reportedly drank 50 cups of chocolate each day to better serve his harem of 600 women. It’s been scientifically studied and found that chocolate contains PEA, or Phenylethylamine, which is the very same molecule that courses through the veins of people in love! It’s fascinating! Chocolate can promote intimacy and love—can’t beat that!
Not all chocolate is equal however and I want to empower you with the differences so you don’t think you are getting good quality antioxidants from a bad piece of chocolate!
Let me know if we can help work chocolate into your weight loss plan!
Editor's Note: JJ Flizanes, Director of Invisible Fitness, named best personal trainer in Los Angeles for 2007 by Elite Traveler Magazine, has appeared on NBC, KTLA, CBS and Fox 11. JJ’s mission is to help women feel gorgeous and confident in a bathing suit without starving or killing themselves in the gym. www.6weekbeachbody.com and www.invisiblefitness.com
