Stay in shape this winter (and beyond) by incorporating some our favourites exercises we use in our programming. Some are conventional lifts, while others are variations on classics. Some will be more strength focused, while others will dial up your heart rate. Either way, start doing them now! Here we go:
1. The landmine clean and press.
An advanced full body movement focusing on power, The landmine clean and press is the perfect exercise to throw into a conditioning circuit given the amount of muscles you are working. The added rotational component makes this a go to of ours.
Once you’ve got the flow of the movement, it is actually much easier than it looks. Break it down by practising the following on the landmine attachment:
Single arm high pull.
.The pivoting of your feet by 90 degrees while changing the bar between your hands.
A single arm press.
Note: A landmine exercise refers to an angled barbell movement where one end of the barbell is on the ground (either in an attachment such as above or safely wedged into a corner of a wall/something stable).
2. The forward to reverse lunge
With added volume compared to a traditional lunge, this variation targets the quads and glutes from two different angles, and really ups your heart rate! You don’t need to add much weight to feel this lunge variation in all it’s glory. Try to go from the forward direction to reverse without your foot touching the ground in between for balance. Regarding technique, practice the following:
On the forward lunge, keep your spine in a straight line perpendicular with the ground.
On the reverse lunge, hinge/tilt forward at the hips more while maintaining a straight back.
Aim for at least 6 reps on each side (forward to reverse = 1 rep).
3. The trap bar deadlift
If you’ve been following us for a while you’ll know we love deadlifting and we will always recommend the movement, but in this case we are going to recommend the trap bar variation over the barbell for a number of reasons.
Both the barbell and trap bar deadlift help to increase hip mobility and increase strength through the posterior chain (lower and upper back, glutes, hamstring muscles), however the trap bar has less of a load on your spine due the torso being more upright. It could be a good starting point if you lack control and stability through your lower back. The neutral grip positioning of your hands (palms facing towards your body) are also much easier in terms of shoulder stability.
4. Pull Ups
Executing a pull up from a full hanging position is one of the toughest upper body exercises you can do, and requires plenty of strength through your upper back muscles, shoulders, and biceps.
Brace the glutes, keep the core tight, and envision pulling the bar towards your chest. As fitness expert and strength coach Bret Contreas says, think of the pull up/chin up as a moving plank and keep a straight line from the shoulders to the knees throughout the movement. Vary your grips and hand spacing to help improve your performance.
Also, your lats (upper back muscles which run from your shoulders to your hips) are one of the primary muscles being used in a pull up, and are key muscles of your core so strengthening them can assist in improving your squat and deadlift.
5. Goblet Squats
A much more natural squat position in comparison to a front and back squat, the goblet squat should be the starting point for all weighted squats as it allows you to set a rigid spine and perfect the balance and movement of a squat. As well as a starting point, there are benefits to programming variations of the goblet squats for people of all levels.
The goblet squat will help you improve the upright torso position that is needed for more advanced exercises (such as cleans, front and back barbell squats, amongst others), as well as being a great exercise for the quads, core, and upper back. Due to the upright torso position, this also allows for less stress through your lower back.
Hello again to the readers of the JS-PT Blog. I felt very honoured to be asked to write another article for you, this time delving into the all too common complaint of plantar fasciitis related heel pain (also referred to as fasciopathy, or fasciosis). In my 6+ years as a practising Podiatrist, I can confidently say that pain under the heel can be a very common issue with a number of possible causes, making it quite handy to have a professional on your side when it comes to treatment. With that in mind, this article, although not exhaustive, will hopefully give you a brief insight into this complex condition and provide some general information regarding treatment. Also, don’t forget to check out our video on the JS-PT Instagram on two quick ways you can directly mobilise the plantar fascia by way of massage and fascia release.
What is plantar fasciitis?
Plantar fasciitis is generally considered to be an overuse condition affecting the strong band of connective tissue (called the plantar fascia) that runs from the front of the heel to the ball of the foot. The role of the plantar fascia is to help to provide support when we’re up on our feet. Normally, the fascia is able to its job without any dramas however in some cases, overstretching and micro-trauma can occur, resulting in pain. This pain is often described by my patients as a sharp pain in the heel after rest (such as getting out of bed or after sitting/lying down), which then gradually dissipates as they “warm up”.
At this point, I think it is important to note that more than one diagnosis is possible for pain around the heel making adequate assessment from a health professional key.
How is it caused?
As plantar fasciitis is an overuse injury, it can theoretically be caused by anything that places excessive strain on the plantar fascia. As a result, common risk factors seen in practise are as follows (this list is not exhaustive):
Increased BMI (body mass index)
Poor foot and lower limb mechanics (such as having flat or high-arched feet)
Wearing unsuitable footwear
Occupation-related stresses (e.g. excessive periods of sitting or standing)
Muscle tightness or imbalances
Pregnancy
In addition, the onset of pain may correlate to a lifestyle change, such as new shoes or the alteration of a training program and exercise levels.
Can this affect the rest of my body?
You bet it can! As a lot of you would know, foot pain is incredibly frustrating as it affects us with every step. Our body, being the intuitive machine that it is, will try and avoid this pain by way of limping or altering its posture to reduce load from a particular structure (you may see where I’m going with this).
Prolonged foot pain can lead to compensatory action from other areas, changing your lower limb mechanics and possibly causing secondary pain in your ankles, shins, knees, hips, or lower back. It can also work the other way around. The cause of your heel pain can sometimes be due to something occurring higher up such as core and/or glute weakness, or misalignment of the lower leg – it’s a two-way street!
What about treatment?
There are a number of different treatment strategies available for plantar fasciitis. For example, some of the conservative treatment techniques available include:
Rest and icing to manage symptoms
Specially prescribed stretches
Mobilisation and massage from a suitably qualified health professional
At home self-treatments
Strengthening exercises
Certain strapping/taping techniques
This list is not exhaustive and some of the techniques above may be more suitable than others depending on the underlying cause. As a result, I would really like to emphasise that plantar fasciitis and heel pain can be complex in nature, with a variety of factors involved in its onset. This is why making an appointment with a Podiatrist is highly recommended as a more in-depth biomechanical assessment can be performed. This not only ensures that the correct diagnosis is made, but a suitable individualised treatment plan may be devised. Moreover, some people require additional support through an orthotic device to help improve function of the foot and lower leg.
For your health and wellbeing:
Remember, a person’s health and circumstances are unique. This information is general in nature and is not intended to replace individual professional advice or the opinion of your medical practitioner. Always seek the advice of a qualified health professional before making any decisions about your health.
Reference:
Brukner, P., & Khan, K. (2012). Clinical Sports Medicine (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing.
Special thanks to Matt McKean and InStep Podiatry for the special guest blog. For specialist podiatry appointments, find them here.
For more information on training with the team at JS-PT, email us at info@js-pt.com.au.
‘Veganism’. A word which is the catalyst for many debates and let’s face it, some pretty hilarious memes. However, as you have probably all noticed, the vegan lifestyle is becoming more and more popular and there seems to be an increased awareness across the board. Hopefully what follows will give you a brief insight into my life as a vegan and the effect it’s had on me, physically and mentally.
My Transition
I became vegan on the 11th of August, 2015, and I have to say it all happened pretty organically. My partner had been a vegetarian for approximately two years so my consumption of animal products had naturally reduced over that duration – but meat, eggs and dairy still made up a fair bit of my diet. She asked if I would be interested in watching a documentary called ‘Earthlings’ which looking back, was probably what started the transitioning process. I’m not going to go into the discussion of ethics – we’ve all seen the videos and anyone with an ounce of compassion can appreciate the moral justification behind veganism. Instead, I’d more like to focus on the health benefits of a plant-based diet, as this was a huge driving factor with me wanting to becoming one of those crazy extreme vegans. After viewing the documentary, I immediately dove into researching the health benefits of a vegan diet and that was “all she wrote”.
Current Diet Now fast-forward almost 3 years and I couldn’t be happier. Now, I don’t want this article to turn into a solo episode of “This Is Your Life”, because to be honest I could talk about this stuff all day. Instead, I’ll choose three of the more significant diet-related points regarding my experience thus far with veganism.
Micronutrients – the bottom line is that plant-based diets, when done correctly, will always result in eating a larger variety of foods. More experimentation takes part in the kitchen, more enjoyment is had with cooking, and as well as being very tasty, the meals are more colourful – and more colour means more nutrients! For example, when you’re meeting your protein requirements with foods such as beans, legumes, grains, nuts, seeds and vegetables rather than beef, chicken or fish, it’s pretty safe to say that you’re meeting many other nutrient requirements as well. Long-term, this sets you up for a far healthier and problem-free life, as you reduce your risk of chronic disease. For example, 28% of deaths in the year 2016 in Australia were a result of heart disease. A very significant factor of heart disease is atherosclerosis – the thickening and hardening of vessel walls – and a major cause of this is high cholesterol. But how many people know that dietary cholesterol solely comes from animal products, and that your liver produces enough cholesterol alone for normal bodily function? For me, the proof was in the pudding when, out of curiosity, I had a blood test in February of this year. My results were perfect, and my doctor was pretty impressed. Also, another fantastic change is that I haven’t been sick since becoming vegan, at all.
‘Feeling healthier’ – I have a very clear memory of 2014. I was in a ‘bulking’ phase and was consuming around 4000 calories each day. I have always strived to be the healthiest I can be, so even during this phase I was still eating plenty of vegetables and wholefoods. However, I still felt so crap. Every meal was a bigger struggle than leg day, and I was pretty lethargic the entire day. It was hard! Fast-forward to now and eating that same number of calories is entirely different. There is a noticeable difference with bloating and lethargy, and I’m generally more energetic. It’s hard to explain, but I honestly just feel healthier.
Travelling and eating out – this is something a lot of vegan’s struggle with, but I’ve never really had a problem. Since being vegan, I’ve travelled to over 20 countries with my partner and we’ve never had an issue (thanks to wonderful apps such as HappyCow). Also, almost every restaurant has vegetarian options, and it’s never a difficult task to make these choices vegan-friendly – such as swapping out an egg or dairy product for a suitable alternative. What upsets me is hearing of complaints from the vegan community about restaurants NOT having enough vegan options. At the end of the day, veganism is in it’s infancy, and recognition on a menu in the form of a meal labelled as “Vegan” or “Vg” is a total win in my books. Recognition = awareness, and that’s the beautiful thing.
Current Training and Physical Changes
Training progress, body composition and my style of exercise have also all changed quite considerably. In addition to continuing compound strength training, I now incorporate a lot more gymnastics movements and bodyweight training into my regime and am thoroughly enjoying it. All of my personal bests for bench press, deadlifts and barbell squats have improved considerably, and I have learnt new skills such as handstands and ring muscle-ups. Could I have still achieved this as a meat eater? Probably. But, nothing feels better than going to the gym full of energy (which I didn’t always experience as a meat eater) and feeling like you can conquer anything. Also, it feels great to somewhat prove people wrong. Vegans cop a lot of flak and are always being targeted as ‘protein deficient’ or ‘malnourished’, but I’ve experienced more strength and muscle gain than ever before.
I would like to point out that I am not an expert on veganism and don’t claim to be. As I said, I strive to be well-educated and due to this point, my knowledge on diet and training is forever expanding. Also, my journey with veganism and the positive results I have experienced are just that – mine. Any diet can be done incorrectly, and individuals need to be well-educated with whatever it is they choose to consume.
Thanks so much for reading,
Matt
For information on training with Matt, contact us info@js-pt.com.au or PM us through our socials (Facebook, Instagram). For great content including vegan recipes and training videos, Matt can also be found on Facebook and Instagram.
2018 is now in full swing – school holidays are officially over, the Australia Day long weekend has passed and everyone is now full steam ahead into the working year. Welcome back to a more consistent routine! With that in mind, now is the time to establish some healthy habits to get you moving towards your health and fitness goals fast. Whilst the following this isn’t rocket science, being on top of these few steps will ensure you are moving forward efficiently. Here are 5 habits to master to transform your body.
1. Moving more outside of your gym sessions
Whilst everyone’s new year goal tends to be to go to the gym more, or to eat better, when it comes to getting back in shape, something that’s often overlooked, but that is so simple to do, is to just move more in general. Aiming for 30-60 minutes of activity each day in addition to your gym or boot camp sessions ensures you are more active more often. This goal is especially beneficial for people who sit down at a desk all day. Options to move more could include going for a walk when you wake up or during your lunch break, parking further away, or simply just taking the stairs. Walking also aids in your recovery and digestion. Taking up a social sport or activity to mix things up with your normal gym routine is beneficial too given you can catch up with friends while being active.
2. Sleeping 7-9 hours per night
Sleeping more is one of the most overlooked aspects of fat loss, muscle gain and improved performance. Your body recovers primarily when sleeping, so getting some shut eye for 7-9 hours each night will give the body time to rebuild the torn muscle tissues which occur during training and ensure you are recovered adequately for whichever physical activities you may do the following day. Lack of sleep causes a drop in certain hormones (leptin) which play a key role in how ‘full’ you feel, making you more likely to consume more calories through snacking and cravings. Remember, quality counts, so limit the phone and Netflix before bedtime!
3. Controlling your portion sizes
Whilst we’ve recommended the approximate counting of calories through apps such as ‘My Fitness Pal’ in the past (which we still maintain is a useful tool to educate people on the macronutrient and calorie breakdown of different foods), calorie counting can be flawed due to the inaccuracy of food labels and the potential negative and obsessive effect it can have on your eating behaviours. So, with that in mind, try measuring portion sizes using the palm of your hand as a simple and flexible guide – this idea stems from our friends at Precision Nutrition. Aim for 80-90% of your diet coming from whole foods, with the remaining 10-20% spent on whatever you like, assuming you are eating adequate amounts of protein.
4. Increasing water intake and limiting liquid calories
Maybe you’ve read that increased water intake assists with fat loss, but it is not water per se that achieves this, but rather the effect that it may have on your drinking habits, in particular, by replacing ‘liquid calories’ you may have – such as juices, soft drinks or alcohol – with water intake. Drinking enough water per day (2-3L per day) has major health benefits. Studies have shown adequate water intake assists in the transfer of nutrients throughout the body, flushes out toxins, lubricates your joints and digestive tract, and regulates your body temperature through sweating. One particular study which was conducted a few years back showed that drinking 500ml of water increases your energy expenditure (calories burnt) by 24% (1). With this in mind, drink plenty of water before exercise and before meals as this is likely to increase your metabolism for the following hour and make you feel more full before eating.
5. Being mindful of recovery and managing stress
Being mindful of recovery is often something that is overlooked when people increase their activity levels. Above we mentioned the importance of sleep for recovery, but don’t forget that stretches and foam rolling maintains and improves your flexibility and mobility (recovery) too. Yoga is an obvious option here given you focus on not only stretching, but also the calmness of your mind through controlled breathing. Yoga also helps you mix up your exercise routine – lower intensity activities such as yoga, walking, pilates and meditation, combined with higher intensity exercises such as resistance training, conditioning and cardio provides a good mix of endorphin releasing and mindfulness exercises. Another very simple technique to help deal with stress is spending time in nature. Whether that is just by eating lunch in a park, or adding more greenery to your household or office, nature helps lower your stress hormones and heart rate, and improves your mood.
References
1. Boschmann M, Steiniger J, Franke G, Birkenfeld AL, Luft FC, Jordan J. Water drinking induces thermogenesis through osmosensitive mechanisms. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Aug;92(8):3334-7.
Health is our greatest asset – we’ve all heard it before, and deep down we all know it. Taking care of ourselves physically and mentally through exercise should be one of our highest priorities given all the health benefits it brings, but often prioritising exercise can be a challenging one when the calendar is full. Sure, we all have businesses to run, children to pick up, meetings to attend, but I guarantee you someone who is much busier than you is still scheduling time to exercise. As Arnie says below, if Barrack Obama and The Pope can make time, so can you!
Finding that optimal work/life balance can be challenging, but if you follow the following few tips, that balance may be easier to find than you think.
Schedule time to exercise. Enter it in your calendar and make time rather than find time to exercise. Schedule 30 minutes for a workout and some time to shower and change afterwards. Everyone is busy, but let’s face it, if your child needed picking up because no one else could, you could get out of the office. If you had a dinner you needed to attend to which meant you had to leave work by a certain time, you’d make it happen. That same commitment should be made to meeting your exercise needs.
Work out efficiently. You don’t need to spend hours on an activity to see results or to receive the health benefits that exercise delivers. You can do plenty in 30 minutes. Pick something you can do at home, when traveling, or in the gym. High intensity interval training, bodyweight exercises, running, and cycling are all good options. Hire a personal trainer if you need help with consistency and intensity, and therefore the time you do spend exercising is beneficial.
Enjoy what you do. One of the most important points – find something that fits your lifestyle and personal preference, because you are more likely to make time for something you enjoy. Not everyone is a runner or a yoga enthusiast, so don’t do it because you feel as though you have to. If you’re not sure of what you may or may not enjoy, experiment with different activities until you find something. This could mean social sporting competitions, boxing for fitness, dance classes; there’s no right or wrong.
Make it social. Don’t want to exercise alone? Get together a group of friends or work colleagues and join a group activity. Whether it be organising fitness boot camp for your workplace, starting a yoga or pilates class, or joining a social sporting competition such as TRL (touch rugby league) or indoor football, there are plenty of group activities out there to try. Training with friends means you are held accountable if you don’t show, and you won’t want to let the team down will you?
Choose something over nothing. Even if you start by doing the minimum, if it’s more than what you were doing initially, it’s a start. Starting small on little things such as going for walks, or catching public transport every so often is better than doing nothing at all. From there you can build to any of the suggestions in this post .
Once you prioritise your health and start making time to exercise each week, not only will you improve your energy and physique, but you are greatly decreasing the risk of a number of health conditions such as heart disease/stroke, certain cancers, and depression/anxiety. Despite everything that we face each day, it’s easy to forget what our biggest asset is, and that is living a life with good health, because without that we can’t achieve much!
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You can have the best nutrition plan in the world, but if your compliance to the plan is low, your results will be minimal. Those that travel for work often know all about the challenge of remaining compliant with their plan, and even those that travel occasionally can relate. If you fall into this category, then the following strategies will help you increase your adherence to a nutrition plan.
Choosing the best location
Whether you’re away for a conference for a couple of nights or working in an interstate office for the week, your first priority should be location. Not just in relation to where your work commitments are, but how close are you to supermarkets/gyms/restaurants from your hotel? Are you within walking distance? Without these type of places being close, it’s easy to make poor selections.
Choosing a room with kitchenette
Price is an obvious factor here, but a room with a kitchenette or even just a fridge, you can stock the room with healthy snacks/meals such as fresh fruit and vegetables, yoghurts, breads, sliced chicken/turkey, milk, bottled water etc.
Research restaurant menus in advance
If you intend on eating out, hop onto the websites of the possible restaurants where you intend on eating so you know what could potentially fit into your plan.
Bring protein supplements
Often the biggest challenge for people who travel often (even those who don’t) is maintaining adequate amounts of protein. If you are using the above strategies then you should be doing well to maintain sensible eating patterns, but bringing your own protein powder down is a good and quick fall back option if you aren’t able to eat as well as you would like.
While these are pretty simple steps to take when travelling, sometimes it is easier said than done to be compliant with a good eating plan. Put into place these strategies and help increase the likelihood of you remaining on track with your nutrition goals.
Step 1: Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic. Add the coconut milk and water and bring to the boil.
Step 2: Reduce heat to low. Add the chicken, pumpkin and lime leaves and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until pumpkin is tender. Add the beans, peas, lime juice, sugar and fish sauce and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until the beans are bright green and tender crisp.
Step 3: Serve with rice. Top with Thai basil leaves.
