The question seems almost non-sensical, like asking if you know how to blink. But, the way you breathe while sitting at your desk is much different than how you should breathe while on a run, or when you squat with 300 pounds on your back. And, we’re not just talking about breathing heavier as you get tired.

Your breath is far more powerful than you think because breathing is so deeply tied to many essential structures of your body, including your spine and ribcage. It might seem impossible, but the way you breathe can do everything from preventing back pain to make you significantly stronger on squats, deadlifts, presses, and almost every exercise imaginable.

Before you complete another workout, it’s time to find out if you’ve been breathing the wrong way, and what you can do to make a small change that leads to incredible results.

The Power of Your Breath

Most fitness tips do not provide instant gratification. It takes a lot of reps and sets, sometimes across a span of years, to change your body.

And while no workout will instantly slash fat or make you more muscular, there are a few techniques that, like magic, can have an immediate impact on how well you train and feel. The Valsalva maneuver, which is a way of breathing, is one of those techniques.

Part of the reason it has such a dramatic impact is that for the majority of people, how to breathe when you exercise is completely overlooked.

When you learn about training, almost everything focuses on the usual suspects:

• How much weight you’ll use
• The reps and sets
• The exercise selection
• What equipment to use

All of these are important parts of training and exercise. But, all of these cover what you do. They tend to avoid how to do it.

While there’s no shortage of exercise explanations you can find online, it’s rare that tips on correct form provide a detailed explanation of how you should breathe.

But, the way you breathe on different exercises can make all the difference between staying pain-free and seeing more progress. Enter the Valsalva maneuver.

To understand how and why this technique is the key to no back pain and lots of strength gain, it’s time for a quick test.

The Soda Can Test: How to Know Your Spine is Safe

To understand why learning how to breathe properly is important, all you need to do is think about a soda can. When it’s pressurized and sealed, it’s very strong. You can stack several bricks on top of it and it won’t budge. But, if you open the can and let that pressure escape, the weight would crumple the can underneath.

Think about breathing in the same way: do it right and you’re unstoppable, do it wrong and you get crushed.

Correct breathing can make every exercise a safe and effective movement. Think about it: No one argues whether exercise is “good” for you, but plenty of people debate whether certain exercises should be avoided because of the risk of injury.

For example, you might know the squat as one of the best exercises for developing strength and building muscle. Or, you might think of it as an exercise that causes back pain. That alone means that plenty of you avoid squats (or avoid doing them with added weight) when, in reality, it’s not the exercise that’s the problem; it’s how you’ve been taught to do the movement.

“Everybody tells you to inhale on the way down, and exhale on the way up,” says Mark Rippetoe, owner of the Wichita Falls Athletic Club and author of Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training. “That is complete and utter BS. If you do that, you will hurt yourself.”

Now, Rippetoe isn’t suggesting you shouldn’t breathe. What he’s saying is that the typical breathing cue is incomplete and leaves out many vital details. And that if you’re just breathing — and not practicing the Valsalva maneuver — then you’re at risk.

“When you Valsalva, you’re protecting your spine,” says Dr. Belisa Vranich, clinical psychologist and author of Breathe: The Simple, Revolutionary 14-Day Program to Improve your Mental and Physical Health. “Most people don’t understand that you have to take a big breath in to be able to protect your spine [when you lift].”

When you inhale deeply, you create what’s called intra-abdominal pressure. The term describes forces within your abdominal cavity or the area surrounded by the muscles on the side of your abs (your obliques), your pelvic floor (on the bottom), diaphragm (on top), rectus abdominus (the area known as the six-pack), and several back muscles.

When you have a heavy load on your back, this pressure is your friend. It’s no different than the soda can.

WIthin your abdomen, the pressure you create with a deep inhalation helps keep your spine rigid and stable.

“Air is support to the back,” Rippetoe says. So the way you should lift when you squat is to inhale deeply and brace your torso, hold that breath (and bracing) on the way down, then either continue to hold it on the way up or exhale through pursed lips when you hit the most challenging part of the lift.

Before you try the Valsalva maneuver, there’s something you should know: in order for it to work for you, you first have to master an even more fundamental skill.

Are You Breathing Well? (Here’s How to Find Out)

Consider this Breathing 101. Because you know how to breathe, it will be quick. But, if you want the Valsalva maneuver to work, then you need to make sure you’re breathing correctly.

To understand how you breathe, it’s important to visualize your diaphragm as two separate parts.

Your diaphragm divides your insides into an upper (thoracic) cavity and a lower (abdominal) cavity. Think of it as the muscle that powers breathing. When you inhale, your diaphragm pushes downward against your abs, drawing air into your lungs and creating more space for them within your body.

“The lungs will fill like a vacuum once the diaphragm drops downwards,” explains Dr. Kathy Dooley, a chiropractor and anatomy instructor based in New York City.

However, a number of things, such as bad posture, can prevent your diaphragm from doing its job effectively.

“When your abs are gripping your diaphragm, it will not let you take a big inhale,” Vranich says. “If you go to take a big inhale, you’ll have to take it with your shoulders because your diaphragm is being squeezed.”

So what should it look like? If your belly moves outward when you breathe in, it’s a sign that your diaphragm is working correctly. It might make you feel self-conscious because it will look like you’re creating a gut, but you’ll feel and perform a lot better.

On the flipside, consider what happens when you don’t breathe correctly. The result looks something like:

This is known as “vertical breathing.” And it achieves the biologically necessary goal of getting you oxygen (because, ya know, you still need to breathe and your body won’t let that not happen). But, it creates a host of other problems.

The Risks of Poor Breathing

If you’re a vertical breathing, it can be a literal pain in the neck. That’s because this type of breathing tightens the muscles in your neck and shoulders. If you have your massage therapist on speed dial, vertical breathing may be why.

This style of breathing doesn’t deliver oxygen as well as a diaphragmatic breath, so you’ll have to inhale more frequently, which can elevate your blood pressure, pulse, and level of anxiety.

Even crazier? Your diaphragm attaches to your spleen, liver, and small intestine, and doing it wrong can cause a domino effect of health problems.

“If you’re breathing up with the chest, you may not be creating the ‘massage’ for your lower organs to encourage your smooth muscle (tissues in the gut) to act like it should,” Dooley says. “You’d be surprised by how much breathing affects your gastric emptying, and how much breathing affects things like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).”

And then, of course, there’s how bad breathing affects your ability to use the Valsalva maneuver.

If you’re breathing “up,” using your chest, shoulders, and other muscles to pull air into your body, you can’t create the type of intra-abdominal pressure that will protect your spine when you lift—even if you took in the biggest breath you possibly could.

“If you’re building good intra-abdominal pressure, you don’t necessarily need to raise your chest upwards [when you inhale],” Dooley says, who adds that the reverse is also true: If you’re raising your chest upwards, you’re not building good intra-abdominal pressure.

Here’s a simple way to tell whether you’re using your diaphragm well. Look in the mirror and watch yourself breathe. If your chest and shoulders are moving up and down in a way that looks like the illustration above, you have some work to do.

How to Breathe Better (And Lift Weights Better Than Ever)

Here are 3 exercises that can help you breathe better and keep your shoulders down.

Breathing Exercise #1: Diaphragm Extensions
While Vranich teaches several techniques, perhaps the simplest method is an exercise that requires you to lie on your back and just breathe. (Yup, it’s really that simple.)

To perform the move, lie flat on your back and place any light object—it could be a book, a pillow or whatever you have handy—on top of your belly button. Rest your hands at your sides and cast your gaze slightly downward, so you can see the book somewhere in your field of vision.

Inhale deeply into your belly, raising the book as high as you can. When you exhale, watch the book lower. Keep breathing in this manner for a few minutes.

Vranich recommends you don’t worry about your pace of breath at first, just notice how breathing into your lower body feels. You may find that performing the technique slowly brings a sense of calm.

That’s because slow, controlled breathing initiates a “rest and digest” response from your body called the parasympathetic nervous system. For this reason, you may want to try breathing in this manner before bedtime, or even at the end of your workouts (when it can help bring your heart rate and signal to the rest of your body that it’s time to chill).

To start, try using it for a minute or so at the front of a training session to teach (or remind) you of how diaphragmatic breathing feels.

Breathing Exercise #2: The 90-90
As the name suggests, the “90-90” indicates that you’ll have a 90-degree bend in your hips, and a 90-degree bend in your knees. And you’ll need a Swiss ball.

Lie on the floor, place your heels atop the ball, and adjust your feet so that you have those right angles at your hip and knee. Dooley shows you how to set up for the exercise in this video:

The object is to inhale into your lower abdomen. Rather than just trying to press upward with the belly, think about filling the whole abdomen in every direction. When you inhale, your abs, your obliques, and the muscles in your lower back all should press outward.

“What we’re looking for is for the abdomen to fill in 360 [degrees] on the inhale,” Dooley says. “These muscles all around you are muscles of exhalation, therefore they need to expand when you inhale to build proper intra-abdominal pressure.”

Stay in the 90-90 until you feel like you’re getting the hang of breathing with all of those muscles, or for as long as your workout will allow. If you typically don’t have a whole lot of time to train, don’t worry about it. Even a minute will be helpful.

Breathing Exercise #3: The Dead Bug (AKA Dying Bug)
This exercise takes the good intra-abdominal pressure you’ve learned and applies it to moving your arms and legs.

To set up for the move, you’ll lie on your back with your hips and knees bent 90-degrees. (No Swiss ball for your heels this time.)

You can hold your arms straight overhead, or press them against your abdomen to feel the pressure you’re creating. Inhale, then exhale slowly as you lower the heel of your left leg to the floor, lift it back to your starting position, then lowering and raising the heel of your right leg.

You’ll do all of this (moving both legs down and back up) on a single exhale, maintaining stiffness in your core as you move. Once you’ve completed the movement with both legs, inhale and repeat. Perform 5 to 10 reps, where moving your left and right leg is one rep.

“This is a fantastic drill for learning how to build intra-abdominal pressure and build core stiffness but ambulate the limbs,” Dooley says. “It has a lot of carryover into things like squatting and deadlifting because you’re trying to maintain core stiffness and abdominal stability while you’re trying to ambulate the limbs.”

How to Valsalva Maneuver Like a Pro

If you know how to breathe deeply into your lower abdomen, then the first cue of the Valsalva is pretty simple.

“Big breath in,” Rippetoe says. “Before every rep, take a big breath.”

Just as you did when you performed the Supine 90-90, the breath should fill your lower abdomen in every direction. That’s half of the battle.

The other half is bracing properly. Here’s where the work you did in the Dying Bug comes into play. You want to engage your abs, your obliques, and the muscles in your back, holding them all stiff as you start your descent downward. Exhale when you reach the top. Then inhale and repeat.

As with anything, the little details matter. The Valsalva maneuver is not something you want to hold throughout a set. Exhale after every rep. Then, inhale and reset before your next rep.

One of the knocks on the Valsalva is that it elevates your blood pressure, which most of us tend to think is a bad thing. And it is, but only if your high blood pressure is chronic. In other words, if you walk around every day with a systolic/diastolic combo that’s well above 120 over 80, then you’ll want to consult with your doctor.

But, the blood pressure lift from the Valsalva is temporary—when you perform it, the pressure goes up. When you stop, it returns to baseline.

However, if you have a known risk factor like an intracranial lesion, then yes, you should speak with your doctor before trying the Valsalva maneuver. Same if you have hypertension that you haven’t addressed. As with anything, exercise common sense and communicate with your doctor if you have any concerns.

READ MORE: 

How Low Should You Squat, Really?

The Truth About the 7-Minute Workout

The Tension Weightlifting Technique: How to Make Every Exercise More Effective

The post Valsalva Maneuver: This Technique Will Fix Your Back Pain appeared first on Born Fitness.

When you don’t feel like doing something — especially something you haven’t tried or succeeded at before — you might say, “I don’t feel motivated.”

To get going, maybe you read quotes, listen to music, or watch an inspirational moving hoping to find your spark. 

But, here’s the problem: boosting motivation doesn’t work that way. 

We think motivation leads to action, when — in reality — taking action increases motivation. 

We think motivation leads to action, when — in reality — taking action increases motivation.

If it seems like a backward process, well, we would agree. It almost seems unfair that you need to dive into something even if you don’t have the mental support and energy. But, that’s how it works.

While we didn’t design the human body, we can help you work with it to ensure that if motivation is low — or hasn’t even been created because you’re trying something new — that you can still set yourself up for success. 

What is Motivation?

Motivation comes from the Latin word movere, which means “to move.” So, in theory, it makes sense that motivation helps you go places in life. 

But, if you want to feel motivated, you need to move (or, more appropriately, take action) first and then the motivation comes. 

Neuroscientists have studied motivation and found that if your brain can understand your challenges, goals, and hurdles, then you’re more likely to have the type of mental energy needed to achieve your goals. 

It’d be great to have lots of motivation, but that’s not the default mode for many new tasks. When you try something new or want to achieve a goal, a part of your brain (your right prefrontal cortex) lights up that creates doubt and disbelief. Your brain is capable of helping you take on the world, but unfamiliarity can lessen your drive.

If you want more motivation, you need to tap into the left prefrontal cortex, which increases mental energy and focus. This other side is fueled by hope, inspiration, and a belief you can succeed. 

What separates drive (left side) vs. dive (right side)?

Your brain needs to understand the actions it’ll take to achieve the goal, and it needs to feel realistic. 

If you can accept this concept, you will have the motivation needed to succeed with many diet and fitness plans.

Why You Have Low Motivation For Diet and Fitness

Many diet and fitness plans are a trap. One that is designed for you to start and stop with limited success. We help clients achieve every goal from fat loss to muscle gain, and we see a common pattern that we work to undo. The pattern usually falls into two categories: : 

Option 1: You want to start a plan and maybe buy a book or diet program. It’s possible you join a gym. But, you never really start or gain momentum. It’s frustrating from the start and you blame yourself. 

Option 2: You start a plan and feel excited. You get new workout clothes, buy healthy food, and dive in with extreme compliance. You likely see some initial success too. Eventually (usually around the 4-week mark), you’ve suddenly lost motivation, almost as if it was sucked from your body. Going to the gym is harder. Eating healthy is no longer empowering; instead, it now feels stressful. 

In both options, you end up in a similar position. The pressure starts getting to you. You sneak in desserts or snacks that are not part of the plan. Piece-by-piece, you start making decisions that you know are less than ideal, and — as a result — you give up on the vision of what you want to achieve.

So, why is it such a likely outcome when your desire to change is so strong?

Unlike most diet books, I’m not going to suggest detox, tell you to buy a supplement, or recommend “one change that will fix everything.“

Sometimes the problem is the plan itself, whether a faulty 4-week fix or a diet plan not designed for your body.

The bigger issue is you’re missing a basic concept that allows you to succeed.

Motivation is real, but relying on it is likely to lead to frustration and failure. 

Why You Lose Motivation

There are two primary reasons that make it hard to rely on motivation. Instead of thinking of motivation as a jumpstart or a first step, think of it as a refuel. 

Motivation is much more likely to keep you going and help you reach your goals rather than help you get started. Luckily, getting started doesn’t mean crushing a month’s worth of workouts or eating all the superfoods. It’s much easier but requires you to rethink your typical approach. 

Your brain is amazing, but if you want to make it work for you, it’s helpful to know how it works. 

As we mentioned, action increases motivation. Your brain is wired to increase motivation for the things we’re confident about, have tried, and understand. The habits we build create feedback loops that make it easier to repeat them. The habits we haven’t built are harder. So, you need to think about how you can make it easier to build a habit before you just jump in and begin a new plan.

The motivation will come…if you give yourself the right tools.

There’s another important reason why it’s hard to rely on motivation when you’re beginning a program. The area of your brain that controls motivation and willpower is the same part of your brain that also handles your day-to-day tasks, short-term memory, and focus. It’s more overworked than your Instagram feed.

Take a minute and think about everything you have to manage on a daily basis. And now, imagine that same overworked employee also has the responsibility of dragging your butt to the gym, eating the right foods, and preventing you from half a dozen old fashions at the end of the day.

If you really want to transform your body, the most important plan starts not with your body or meal plan, but instead an approach that will strengthen your mind.

The Science of Increasing Motivation (And Powering Body Transformation)

For many years, scientists tried to figure out how to increase motivation. Turns out, you don’t increase it directly. Instead, you make it easier for your brain to feel motivated. 

That is accomplished with intention and commitment—two acts that turn your goals into a clear framework that your brain can get excited about. If you can train your mind to understand your goals (and what you’ll do to accomplish them), you can trigger motivation. 

It’s the difference between visualizing a goal in a way that your left prefrontal cortex lights up and gives you the power to persevere and succeed, or having your right prefrontal cortex shut you down.

This might seem like a joke, but the facts are undeniable: there are countless studies showing how making a commitment—and preferably writing down your intentions in specific details—make it much more likely that you’ll not only stay on task but also achieve your goals. 

It’s behavioral psychology 101, and, while it’s not as sexy as meal plans and new workouts, if you make commitments first, then those plans will become more effective. 

Research from the British Journal of Health Psychology suggests why this gets the job done better than “just starting.” Scientists focused on helping people become more consistent with workouts. In the experiment, one group tracked their exercise [the control group], and another group tracked exercise but also tried to increase motivation [the motivation group] by reading about how exercise prevents disease. The idea here was that your brain could better understand why your goal was so important.

A third group [the intention group] did the same thing as the motivation group, but they also had to specify their intentions in the following way:

During the next week, I will partake in at least 20 minutes of vigorous exercise on [DAY] at [TIME OF DAY] at/in [PLACE].

The results? “Compliance” was considered exercising 1 time per week. In the control and motivation group, about 35 percent of participants exercised, at least, once per week. 

As for the intention group, they had an astounding 91% compliance rate. 

Other research, such as work done in Norway, found that those that formulate a plan for their diet eat healthier.

How To Boost Motivation (And Never Run Out)

If you want to increase your motivation, there are several steps you can take. Researchers from Australia found that moving slowly helps you achieve your goals faster. Instead of trying to master multiple habits, it’s more effective to take a step-by-step approach, such as building one habit at a time. This helps reduce cognitive load, which means your brain can both learn a habit and increase motivation. 

In simple English: when your brain has less to process, it makes it easier for you to eat more vegetables or consistently find your way to the gym.

When you create big tasks (I’ll lose 20 pounds), your brain relies on precedent. So, unless you’ve succeeded at this goal before, then there’s a chance your brain will remind you on a subconscious level of past failures, and that can trigger learned helplessness. Fail enough and you come to expect failure.

Instead, if you can focus on attainable small goals, find ways to make it clear why they are important, and set intentions, then you’ve created an environment for good habits, less stress, and more motivation. 

You still have to work hard, put in the effort, and stay consistent. But, when you make your goal simple, clear, and easy to follow, you reinforce a process that makes success a more likely option.

It might seem basic or even ridiculous. But, in no time, you won’t worry about lost motivation. Training your brain for success will build a mindset that will guide you to success.

READ MORE: 

Why You Gain Weight on Diets (and the Simple Fix That Will Keep Off the Pounds)

Winning the War on Hunger: Practical Solutions to Overeating

How Often Should I Change Reps?

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post How to Overcome Lost Motivation appeared first on Born Fitness.

But, it doesn’t take long to realize that the squatting commandments you’ve been hearing for years are very flawed. Case in point: ever been told that your “knees shouldn’t go over your toes” during the squat? Somehow, this idea has lived for decades despite the fact that it’s not true.

Automatically assuming that your knees shouldn’t go over your toes is a great way to ensure that you put a lot of stress on other structures, such as your lower back (as a result of hips), hamstrings, or even your calves. If you’ve tried this approach, you might find that squatting suddenly feels very uncomfortable (note: uncomfortable is different from difficult). And, that’s never a good thing and likely a sign that the movement you’re forcing isn’t going to make your body feel good.

Research supports why allowing your knees to go over your toes isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In one study, participants were restricted from moving their knees in front of their toes. The results? It led to a slight reduction in knee torque (22%) but at the cost of a massive increase in hip torque (1070%).

This suggests that if you apply a movement standard for everyone, it’s likely to cause stress in unintended ways, and this massive increase in stress is likely to lead to injuries, aches, and pains.

It’s perfectly fine for your knees to go over your toes as long as your heels are planted on the ground and your weight is balanced over your natural center of gravity.

The only squat stance that is “right” is the one that is suited for your body. That means it’s time to unlearn what you’ve been taught and start figuring out a better way to squat for your body. Once you do, everything feels better, hurts less, and you’ll become stronger.

Is Squatting Good For You?

“Is it good to squat?” is a fair question, but one with an easy answer. Yes. Sitting down and standing up is one of the most basic movements in life.

Whether squatting is good is not a debate, but form and depth are topics of intense disagreement. The biggest thing you need to remember is that everyone is going to squat a little differently. Your squat form might not look like the ones you see in the pictures or those little “squat form demonstration” illustrations. 

Your knee attaches to 3 main muscle groups: your hamstrings and calves in the back the quadriceps in front. These muscles also play a key role in your hip movement. Translation: When your muscles contract, they work together to balance out force and keep your knees (and other structures) healthy.

Remember the study we mentioned above and how it increased hip torque by more than 1,000 percent? Trying to follow those how-tos might be why your squat form doesn’t feel quite right—or perhaps why squats feel painful. Following a movement built for someone else’s body type isn’t a good idea.

This, of course, is the reason why squats hurt so many people, get a bad reputation, and why you are often tempted to skip this move in your workout, even though you should do it.

No one is going to give you an extra million dollars for squatting deeper.

Making matters worse, the more that you read about squat form, the more likely you are to find conflicting information. On one side you have the purists. They’ll tell you that you must squat “ass-to-grass.”

At the opposite end of the spectrum, are the overly cautious types who worry that squatting too low will damage your knees (it won’t, by the way). And there are plenty of others who will advocate for stopping at seemingly every other point in between—thighs parallel to the ground, or just below it, or well above it (known as quarter squats), and on and on.

No one is “right” but everyone is wrong unless they are showing you how to figure out the right squat depth and stance for your body.

“There’s no one right way to squat—and there’s no one wrong way, either,” says Dean Somerset, C.S.C.S., an exercise physiologist in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. “It’s all about finding what works for your body.”

What’s right for you depends on your goals, strength, and level of mobility, which are things you can influence. But, not everything that determines how well you squat is within your control.

Your body’s bone structure will affect how you move too. Because of all that, many of the standard squat cues you hear about where your feet should be or what direction they should point may not actually work for you. (But don’t worry, we’ll show you what will.)  

The bottom line: Forget the politics. Forget all the “one-size-fits-all” opinions. There are a lot of ways you can go about fixing squats when they hurt. We’re going to break down the different types of squat depth and share a test that can help you start to personalize your approach. 

By the time you’re done reading, you’ll know the right range of motion for your body, so you can get the most out of the squat.

The Deep Squat

Being able to execute a full deep squat is a good thing, but it might not be your thing. Doing the move requires a full range of motion at all four of the body’s major load-bearing joints (the ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders) and proper mobility throughout the spine. Those joints, your muscles, and your brain all have to work together to achieve this position:

That demonstration comes from Georges Dagher, C.S.C.S, a chiropractor and strength coach based in Toronto. He likens the deep squat to brushing your teeth. “From my perspective, the deep squat movement is a toothbrush for our joints, ensuring they are all moving without any sticky or restricted areas,” Dagher writes in the Journal of Evolution and Health.

Just as you brush your teeth every day, Dagher suggests performing at least one bodyweight squat per day, as deep as you can.

If you look at the photo above and think “no way,” don’t stress. Lots of people have strength or mobility issues that can make achieving a deep squat challenging—at least at first.

The good news? By simply working on your deep bodyweight squat form, going as deep as you can with control, and holding as long as you feel reasonably comfortable, you’ll help address and improve those issues.  

“The positions we place our bodies in will have an effect on various elements such as muscles, which can improve our comfort in the squat,” Dagher says.

You can also get more comfortable by adjusting your stance. Somerset explains that the standard squatting position— “stand with your feet shoulder-width apart…” —doesn’t apply to everyone. It’s more of a general recommendation or an average, he says, not a hard-and-fast rule.

To help his clients reach a deeper, pain-free squat, Somerset has them experiment with different stances until they find one that feels right.

“Think of it like going to the optometrist, when they put the lens in front of your eyes and ask which one is better,” Somerset says. “There’s no one standard prescription. It’s about finding the right one for you.”

Here are the two main elements Somerset asks clients to adjust when they dial in their stances for ideal squat form:

• The direction of your toes: Try them pointing straight ahead first. Let’s call that 12 o’clock. Squat as deep as you can. Now turn your feet outward slightly – think left foot pointing at 11 o’clock, right foot pointing at 1. Try the deep squat again. Now angle them even farther outward, to 10 and 2. Squat again. Notice which position feels the most natural and allows you to sink the deepest.  

• The width of your feet: Start with them set shoulder-width apart. Then, gradually try wider distances, giving each the bodyweight squat test and noticing which feels the most natural. One thing to note: The wider your stance is, the more the exercise will emphasize your glutes (the muscles in your butt), and the less work it’ll put on the quads (muscles of your upper leg around the knee).

Here’s more good news: Even if your range of motion is limited, you probably squat more throughout the day than you think. “Most of us can squat to at least a 90-degree angle,” says Dagher. “We do that every day, every time we climb into our car or get up from a chair.”

Each of those moments is an opportunity to practice lowering yourself into a 90-degree squat with control. Think of them as box squats you do throughout the day; don’t just plop onto the cushion, says Dagher. Doing this throughout the day can shore up your stability and make you a better squatter in the future.

Why You Can’t Squat Deep

Bodyweight squats are one thing, says Dagher, who says that, with the right adjustments, pretty much everyone can go into a deep squat. But, Somerset points out that weighted squats are a different story.

“For some people, their squats fall apart under a certain amount of loading,” he says.

You see, even if you’ve maxed out your mobility in your joints, when it comes to doing weighted squats, you may not be as comfortable—or as powerful—at the deeper end of the squat as you’d like, says Dagher.

Why? It comes down to simple genetics. Some people are built with better squatting hips than others.

Quick anatomy lesson: The place where the femur (the big bone in your thigh) meets your hip, called the hip socket, looks something like a spoon going into a bowl. The top of the femur (called the femoral head) neatly fits into the pelvic socket (acetabulum) and is held in place by ligaments.

Everyone’s hip sockets are different. Some of them are deeper than others. The deeper your socket, the harder it will be for you to squat, since the femur bone will hit the pelvic bone. To go back to our “spoon in bowl” analogy, the stem of the spoon (your femur) runs into the rim of the bowl (your pelvis).

People of Scottish and French heritage typically have deeper hips, according to world-renowned spine expert Stuart McGill. Meanwhile, people from the Ukraine, Poland, and Bulgaria tend to have shallower sockets that allow them to painlessly sink into the deep part of the squat.

McGill says it’s no coincidence that Eastern Europe is home to some of the best Olympic lifters in the world.

A deep hip socket has different advantages. It’s helpful for walking and standing and great at producing rotational power (the type of force you need to hit a baseball or swing a golf club). And having deeper hip sockets doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t squat deep. But, it does mean you’ll have to work harder on the move—and may feel pain when you perform it.

The Squat Form Test

There’s a simple way to gauge the depth of your hip sockets. Simply get onto your hands and knees in an all-fours position, engage your core, and slowly rock your hips back toward your heels. You can see Dr. McGill explain how to do the move at the 2:50 mark of this video (although the entire clip is worth a watch if you have the time).

While it’d be great if you too could do the move under the guidance of the world’s leading researcher on spinal health and performance, you can do this assessment on your own. Simply set up your smartphone to your side, hit record, and do the move.

As your hips lower, you may reach a point where your lower back starts to round. The technical term for that is “spinal flexion.” When it happens while you’re squatting with a barbell on your back, the position is known by the delightful name “buttwink.”

Fun as that word may be to say out loud, buttwink while squatting under load can be bad news. “That’s when your hips stop moving and your start compensating with your back instead,” says Dagher. Disc injuries or even fractures of the spine can result.

How Deep Should You Squat?

The buttwink is why you should not view the weighted deep squat as something you must perform.

As McGill says, a lot of great ATG squatters “chose their parents wisely.”

“The extreme amount that I see people deep squatting is just unprecedented,” McGill says. “The risk is greater than is justified by the reward. No one is going to give you an extra million dollars for squatting deeper. If you need to do that for competition, then that’s one thing. But if your objective is health, then it’s pretty hard to justify.”

The same isn’t true for deep bodyweight squats, however. “Buttwink here is not an issue,” Dagher says. Go ahead and wink away when you’re working the deep squat without weight with the goal of improving your mobility and comfort in the squat.

But, where your back begins to go into flexion when you’re doing the all-fours test, that’s where you’d want your descent to stop if you were performing weighted back squat. If that means you can only squat as low as a box, no problem. 

If the box isn’t high enough, you can take a cue from Jim Smith, C.P.P.S, and stack mats on top of the box until you reach the right height. As your mobility and ability to squat lower improve over time, you can pull mats off the pile. No matter what height you reach, Somerset says your main objective should be one thing: control.  

A deep range of motion isn’t meant for everyone, so don’t overthink your squat form. In fact, for many people, trying to reach more depth can be counterproductive–or even dangerous. And for no reason.

Less depth doesn’t mean less strength or muscle. But, it also doesn’t mean creating such a short range of motion (like moving 2 inches, so it looks like you’re bouncing up and down) that you’re not creating tension in the muscles, challenging your body, or doing the exercise in a controlled manner. That’s just called cheating.

“Keeping the squat controlled is more important than the depth or the amount of weight being used,” says Somerset.

Hit the height that’s right for you, with the stance that’s right for you, using a weight that you can manage. And then work the deep bodyweight squat. You’ll soon find that you’ll improve your squat form, will move better, and you will become a lot stronger, too.

READ MORE: 

Why Do Squats Hurt? (And How to Fix the Problems)

6 Exercise Upgrades for Better Results

The Tension Weightlifting Technique: How to Make Every Exercise More Effective

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post The Mystery of Squat Form: How Low Should You Go, Really?   appeared first on Born Fitness.

The obvious approach is that improvement is measured by growth. And growth is measured by accomplishing more than what was done prior. And “accomplishment” inherently implies a comparison to a prior situation or time. 

But, what if the idea of growth wasn’t just measured by how hard you pushed or the progress you could quantify? 

What if getting better was defined by finding joy, calmness, or clarity at the moment? Those traits require improvement of self-awareness over productivity; of self-care over competitiveness.

Different times call for different measurements of success. 

When the going gets tough, you need to find a way to persevere. 

But, perseverance doesn’t have one definition. The only way to get better isn’t through.

Anyone that says otherwise is either too stubborn to see the error of their own ways, bound to burn out, or too selfish to recognize that one person’s fuel is another person’s fire. 

These are hard times. COVID-19 has ravaged us all in different ways, some more than others. But, all of us are affected and impacted. 

Nothing is normal and no one knows what to expect. But, there’s a bigger lesson within. Normal is always relative to time and situation. 

A global pandemic makes us all stop and think. But, the ability to pause, adjust expectations, and find joy in stillness will pay off now and during any time of trouble or challenge. 

It’s Time To Play Chess

When it comes to your health and fitness, I will always encourage you to do as much as you can to be healthy. It’s why I’ve been inspired by all of the fit pros trying to make more workouts available, just as we’ve done.

Unfortunately, there’s a dark side to the adaptable mentality. Doing what you can is not the same as “getting better at all costs.”

I’ve also seen too much shaming of people’s time or struggles. Just because we’re on lockdown doesn’t mean you need to get in the best shape of your life. Or, eat healthier than ever. 

This mindset doesn’t only apply during times of lockdown. When life throws you obstacles, sometimes it’s better to play chess than checkers. 

Movements become more subtle. You take more time. It might not even look like you’re moving forward, but — when done right — you’re setting yourself up to win in the end. 

Personal growth can occur in many ways, and it’s easy to assume that physical fitness becomes easier when there’s more time. But, that’s just a fallacy.

More importantly, buying into that mentality can be damaging. 

A big part of being healthy is not only being kind to your body but also kind to your mind and heart.

This is the reality: 

You’re going to miss workouts.

And have crappy sessions.

You’ll snack more.

You might not even recognize your diet.

Maybe you’re sleeping less because of stress.

Maybe you’re sleeping more because of stress.

It will all feel different — and that’s OK.

Whatever the situation, part of getting through all of this is to not set unrealistic expectations.

I’m as low-stress a person as you’ll find, but that has all changed. Each day is a new challenge of juggling my kids being at home, making adjustments for my businesses, watching friends becoming sick, seeing people die, experiencing friends losing their jobs, and someone managing the emotional weight of it all. 

And, given all of that, I know that I have not been impacted anywhere as much as millions of others, and it’s still difficult for me. The point: hardship is hardship. And when you’re in it, you must recognize and respect it. For yourself and others. 

There is No Wrong Move

Right now, more than ever, it’s important to control what you can control. 

Spend your time focusing on doing the little things that fill you up, removing what drains you (as much as possible), and staying healthy and keeping your head above water. 

Together, as people, we need to support one another because none of us know what the future holds. 

But, I do know this: the love, kindness, and patience you give to yourself and others will make you stronger through the pandemic and when we create our new normal moving forward. 

I spoke with Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Arnold Schwarzenegger. The same guy who used to train for 5-6 hours per day. Even he says it’s important to adjust and celebrate the small victories that you might not have even acknowledged in prior times. 

When he had open-heart surgery, he didn’t start with the same expectations that propelled every aspect of his success. He had a bigger goal but began by adapting and tackling reality. 

That meant building up the strength to use a walker. Then taking 100 steps. Followed by walking unassisted. Each “milestone” was a reason to be proud and moved him closer to where he could do more. Remember, this was coming from a guy who used to squat more than 500 pounds, and now a walker was a success. It wasn’t “normal” but it was necessary. 

It might feel like you’re changing your expectations, but really you’re building momentum.

Better times are coming, but that doesn’t mean right now isn’t hard. 

When you can’t see clearly, it’s essential to focus on the next step, knowing that each one will take you out of the fog and towards a time and place where things are better.

The healthiest thing you can do is learn to celebrate the small wins, whether it’s the walk you take, the vegetable you eat, the friend you call, or even the deep breath and reminder that “this will pass.”

Fuck the haters that tell you otherwise. 

Sometimes, it’s not about good or bad decisions. It’s about action vs. inaction, and any action is a win.

Remember, we don’t build strength to lift heavier weights. We build strength to help us through moments like this.

As people, we evolve and adapt to situations. That is how we survive and thrive. 

Your fitness goals will be there whether you can tackle them today, tomorrow, or 3 months from now. 

Create energy where you can.

Conserve energy when you feel drained. 

And, remember to stay strong and keep smiling.

When you do, those steps will accumulate, you’ll see more clearly, the pieces will be in place, and then….checkmate.

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Note To Self: F*ck The Haters appeared first on Born Fitness.

Many exercise programs place you — and your body — in positions that leave you vulnerable.

That’s not to say you should never squat with a barbell on your back, perform deadlifts, or do a variety of other exercises.

But, it does mean that recognizing when you are at risk — and how to avoid putting yourself in a position to get hurt — are the first steps of assessing whether a program is right for you. After all, if you can stay healthy and exercise consistently, you will see results.

Before you start another workout, let these tips be your guide to staying healthy, picking the right moves for you, and progressing to the more intimidating when they no longer feel like a challenge.

The Revolving Door of Pain

There are really only two ways you could hurt yourself in the gym. Call them “Whoops!” and “Wearing Down.”

“Whoops!” refers to times when you do something like drop a dumbbell on your foot and break your toes (not that it would ever happen to you). If you dive into the data, you’ll see these events are breathtakingly rare.

Research published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine found that just of 0.2 percent of lifters were admitted to emergency departments—over the span of 18 years. Four times more people wind up in emergency rooms due to bathroom-related injuries every year. Seriously.

You’re far more likely to wind up in AN EMERGENCY ROOM due to a “bathroom-related injury” than you are from lifting. Weightlifting is a tremendously safe activity.

Bottom line: Weightlifting is surprisingly safe, so you don’t need to spend much time worrying about “whoops!” events.

The real danger — the revolving door of injury — is by “wearing down” — and it can oftentimes be prevented.

Wearing Down refers to those times when a move just feels…not quite right. Like when you perform an overhead press and your shoulder says, “stop!” Or when your elbows hurt when you bench. Or when you finish a set of squats or deadlifts and it feels like your lower back got more of a workout than your legs.

These pains can start out subtle and may seem like no big deal, but they can grow into something serious (think: strains, sprains or tendinitis) over time. So it’s important to tune in to these cues. Then you can address them before they become full-blown issues.

“The vast majority of strength-training related injuries are due to overuse or poor technique, and can build up over time into more serious problems,” explains California-based exercise physiologist Pete McCall, M.S., C.S.C.S., C.P.T.

The good news? “Wearing Down” injuries are entirely preventable. Rather than muscling through those times when your body sends you a warning shot, you can identify what they are trying to tell you. Then you can correct the problem.

Or, in some cases, knowing that there are different variations of an exercise can help you avoid pain in the first place. You wouldn’t do algebra before you could add, so why are you doing complex lifts before you master the basics?

Here, McCall and other top strength coaches share the most common causes of weight-room pain for each of the four major movement patterns—squats (or “knee-dominant” moves), hinges (“hip dominant” moves like deadlifts), push exercises, and pull exercises—and explain what’s happening. Follow their advice and you’ll ensure that the lifts you perform do what they’re meant to do: Build you up and make you stronger.

Knee-Dominant Exercises: Squats, Step-ups and Lunges

What you feel: Knee pain (especially around the kneecap), low back pain

What’s causing the problem: “Most knee injuries for knee-dominant moves stem from improper tracking of the knee joint,” explains Mathew Kite, C.S.C.S., an exercise scientist and general manager of D1 Sports Training in Dallas, Texas. Basically, your knee should go in one direction, but winds up going in another instead.

In the case of the squat, your knees collapse inward, a position called valgus. Valgus knees place damaging side-to-side stress on your joint, particularly on your patellar tendon.

Worst of all? “Going valgus” isn’t your knees’ fault. The real culprit is a set of weak glutes.

When your glutes aren’t as strong as they need to be to handle the load on your back, your knees automatically fall inward in order to help you lift the weight. This is okay if it were to happen only occasionally, like on the last rep of your last set while setting a new max. (You’ll see some powerlifters’ knees go inward onsets when they’re really going for broke.) But other than that, you don’t want this to happen.

Making matters worse, having weak glutes can cause you to lean too far forward when you squat. While a little bit of a forward lean is OK, having too much of one can put excess pressure on your lower back.

There’s one more thing that can cause you to lean forward excessively when you squat: poor ankle mobility. You’ll know this is your problem if you feel that it’s difficult to keep your heels on the floor as you lower your butt to the floor, McCall says.

WANT TO AVOID KNEE PAIN? DEVELOP A STRONGER BUTT.

What you can do: Your first goal is simple: “Develop a stronger butt to save your knees,” says Kite. Building up your glutes will help your knees track correctly (think of them angling toward the pinky toes when you squat or lunge). To strengthen them, try adding frog pumps, glute bridges and hip thrusts to your workouts.

If you have a bar on your back, focus on pulling it down into your traps. That will help stabilize the upper part of your torso and prevent it from tipping forward, Callaway says.

If you’re having a hard time keeping your heels on the floor, McCall recommends foam rolling, stretching, and doing mobility drills for your calves prior to squats. Try taking them through their full range of motion with toes-elevated bodyweight calf raises.

Lastly, you don’t need to squat with a barbell on your back. Goblet squats — which are typically done with a dumbbell or kettlebell — are variation that is knee and back friendly, and it makes it easier to squat without your knees collapsing or body leaning forward.

Hip-Dominant Exercises: Deadlifts, Hip Thrusts, and Glute Bridges

What you feel: Pain in your lower back (a.k.a. the lumbar spine) or neck (cervical spine).

What’s causing the problem: “An incorrect set-up,” says Meghan Callaway, CPT. “Many deadlifters set their hips too low and end up ‘squatting the deadlift’—or they set their hips too high [and wind up rounding their back in order to reach the bar]. Both can place the body at a greater risk of injury.” Having a rounded back or overly arched back stresses your spine in its weakest positions.

What you can do about it: Your goal here is to maintain what’s called a neutral spine, which has a natural (but not excessive) curve inward at the lower back, then slightly outward at the shoulder blades, and back inward at the neck.

“Maintaining a neutral spine is what’s going to keep that back healthy and ready for the next workout,” Kite says.

To achieve this when you perform a hinge-style movement like the deadlift, you want to think about getting as much movement as possible from your hips with as little movement as possible from your knees. Drive each rep with your hips, pushing your butt as far backwards as you can.

A good way to learn this pattern is to set a foam roller (or anything that’s straight, like a PVC pipe) against your back so that it has three points of contact with you, touching the back of your head, your shoulders, and your tailbone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TfzOviOVes

Another way to make sure that you are running the show with your hips rather than lower back is to make sure the weight remains as close to your body as possible during deadlifts, Callaway says. When you lower the weight, image the bar almost scratching against your shins, which will help keep the bar closer to your body throughout the movement.

If deadlifts are difficult, there’s no need to pull the weight from the floor. You can place a barbell or dumbbell on boxes or platforms. What this does is limit the range of motion to help you be in a position of power.

That way, you can perfect the movement without getting into a position where you are overly rounded. As you can stronger and better, you can lower the boxes — or, you might find that you never need to pull the weight from the floor. Unless you’re an Olympic lifter, there’s no reason to hold to this belief unnecessarily.

Or, you can do a staggered stance deadlift. The joy of this variation is that it provides the benefits of a single-leg deadlift (where less weight is needed), without the advanced difficulty of balance. The back leg works like a kickstand to make it easier to move in a way that doesn’t make your body vulnerable to injury.

“Push” Exercises: Bench Press Variations, Push-ups, Shoulder Presses, Triceps Extensions

What you feel: Shoulder pain, elbow strain, wrist discomfort.

What’s causing the problem: Not keeping the wrist, elbow, and shoulder stacked during bench and shoulder presses can also introduce instability in the shoulder joint, Kite says. Bending your wrists can also introduce pain.

What you can do about it:  Think tight, tight, tight—all of the way from your wrists to your core.

To get your wrists in order, you need to start by gripping the bar correctly. Here’s an instance where what “feels” natural—and what most people do—is actually wrong.

Watch Starting Strength author Mark Rippetoe explain how to properly grip the bar for a press starting at 1:57 in this video. Note that the process depends you placing your palms on the bar first, rather than wrapping with your knuckles first. Properly placing the bar across your palms will stack the weight on the bones of your forearm, making for a more powerful (and far less injury-prone) press.

From there, you’ll want to keep your core muscles engaged, obliques braced, and rib cage down (no flaring!). “This will help prevent the spine from hyperextending,” says Callaway. She adds that if you can’t press a weight while keeping a natural curve in your spine, you need to decrease weight. It also wouldn’t hurt to build your core strength with the help of exercises like the dead bug and Pallof press.

Still concerned about pressing? For one, barbells are not necessary. You can challenge your muscle just fine with dumbbell variations or even bands or cables. If your shoulders are vulnerable with the bench press, try a floor press, instead, which will limit the range of motion. Worried about overhead pressing? If you have a landmine (or you can just place a barbell in the corner of a room), try this press variation, which is easier on your shoulders and elbows.

“Pull” Exercises: Rows, Pull-ups, Face-pulls, Biceps curls

What you feel: Shoulder pain, wrist discomfort, tennis elbow

What’s causing the problem: “Not controlling the lowering (eccentric) part of the lift,” Callaway says.

Many people put their body at risk by not controlling the lowering phase of the pull-up. If you are allowing your body to free-fall from the top position, that could be part of your problem. Doing so exerts additional force on the joints from your shoulder blades, shoulder, elbows, and wrists. The effect can hold true when you’re doing biceps curls, rows, and any other “pulling” exercise.

What you can do about it: Start by using lighter weights. If you can’t control a weight both up and down, you’re just asking for injury. In general, if you can’t control the weight for 2-3 seconds on the descent, the weight is probably too heavy.

Next, if you know that lowering the weight can lead to injury, it only makes sense to emphasize that type of training. Turn a weakness into a strength and you won’t get hurt. Here’s how it works: “Take three to five seconds to lower your body [from the pull-up bar] or the weight,” Callaway says. You can do this with almost any exercise. And the benefit isn’t just injury prevent; research shows that focusing on the eccentric can cause more of the good “microtears” that helps your muscles become bigger.

With each rep, pretend that you are pinching and slowly releasing an orange from between your shoulder blades. Then, keep your entire body tight and braced to keep your body in a more stable position and prevent swinging (ak.ka. don’t kip). Engaging your core properly will be especially helpful on “hanging” moves like pull-ups. Tony Gentilcore, C.S.C.S., explains the proper way to set up for these moves in this short video:

While pullups are an effective exercise, they’re not necessary. For bodyweight pulling, you can do inverted or bodyweight rows. The closer your body is to parallel to the floor, the harder the movement becomes.

Also, if you’ve experienced elbow pain (or something like tennis elbow) in the past, McCall recommends try performing some or all of your pulling exercises with a palms-up (supinated) grip or with your palms facing each other (neutral grip). The rotation of your palm changes the stress you put on your shoulders, and, therefore, makes the movement more kind to your elbows.

READ MORE:

The End of Shoulder Pain

Why Do Squats Hurt? (And How to Fix the Problems)

The Complete Deadlift Guide

K. Aleisha Fetters, M.S., C.S.C.S., is a Chicago-based personal and online trainer. She has a graduate degree in health and science reporting from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and regularly contributes to Men’s Health, Women’s Health, SELF, U.S. News & World Report, TIME, and SHAPE. When she’s not lifting something heavy, she’s usually guzzling coffee and writing about the health benefits of doing so.

The post How to Prevent Knee, Back, and Shoulder Injuries appeared first on Born Fitness.

If you’ve ever thought about adding resistance band exercises to your routine — or are limited to working out at home and don’t have much equipment — you might be surprised by how much you can accomplish without any iron.

How Can You Use Resistance Bands in Your Workout?

Resistance bands can be used for at least four different types of exercises:

• Stretching and mobility
• Warm ups and muscle activation
• Resistance training and “getting a pump”
• Developing the “mind-muscle” connection (learning to better “feel” your muscles working)

Each of these goals require you to use the bands slightly differently, but with each example, you can accomplish quite a bit with just a few bands.

Resistance Band Stretches and Mobility Work

Resistance band stretches can help you overcome the hardest part of stretching — feeling like you are limited by the range of motion in your muscles. You know this as “feeling tight.” (A.K.A. “I’m not flexible!”). Funny as it might sound, the limitation might really be in your head, or in another part of your body.

Think about a simple hamstring stretch, where you lie on your back with one leg on the floor and raise the other leg to the sky. Most of the time you use your hands to provide resistance. Simply looping a resistance band around your ankle can create a different movement pattern (because the pressure of pulling comes at a different angle — from your ankle instead of behind your knee), which might allow you to generate more range of motion.

It’s not magic, but most people will find they can get a better stretch with the resistance band variation. That’s because a resistance band can help you go deeper into a stretch, provide support, or help reduce the load of your bodyweight when you perform a move. That’s why many trainers consider bands to be a “must” for maximizing your mobility.

There are limitless ways you can use resistance bands to assist you when you stretch. Here are two examples—one for your upper body, one for your lower body.

Banded Lat Stretch

https://youtu.be/gjRMe2Bcbu4

Loop a band around something at least 6 inches over your head, such as a pull up bar. Grab the band with one arm and step back, so that you band forms a 45- to -60 degree angle to the floor. Get into a staggered stance and put one knee on the floor. Your arm should be in a straight line and aligned with the band.

Lean forward slightly so that your torso is perfectly aligned with your arm. (It will look like the band is an extension of your arm. You could draw a straight line from your hips all the way up to the top of the band where it’s attached to the pull up bar). Hold this position so you feel a stretch in your back.

Do 5 deep breaths, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth, and then switch sides.

Band Supported Leg Lowering 

https://youtu.be/TY6RmPbKqe0

Lie flat on your back and then bring both of your legs up towards the ceiling. Your legs and body should form the shape of a “L.”

Wrap a band around the arch of one of your feet and hold it stable. Keep both of your knees locked out by squeezing your quadriceps muscles and pointing your toes towards your shins.

Lower your leg that does not have the band around it until either A) you feel tightness in your hamstring, or B) you feel pain in your back (this is bad) or don’t feel stable in your core. When either of those things happen, stop, then reverse the movement and lift the leg back up.

Ideally, you’ll take 2 seconds to lower your leg, then take 2 seconds to lift your leg back up using your core muscles. Perform 1-2 sets of 5 repetitions per leg as a part of your warmup, or pair with a lower body movement such as stiff-legged deadlifts.

Resistance Band Exercises for Muscle Activation

Resistance band exercises can be used to strengthen or activate hard-to-hit muscles. For example, your shoulders are two areas that most people have troubling “feeling.” Because of continuous tension, bands are an effective way to help activation and work those muscles without supporting muscles taking over.

Band pull-aparts are a fantastic way to warm up your shoulders. Remember how bands help create more tension throughout the movement? Tension means more blood flow. More blood flow means you’re muscles will feel warm. It’s like adding oil to a squeaky break.

When performing the movement, make sure you don’t have too much slack in the band, because if you do that takes the tension off of your shoulders. The band pull-apart is also effective because it works your shoulders in a pattern that is often overlooked.

Think about how much time you spend at your desk with your shoulders slouched. The band pull-apart works the opposite range of motion, meaning it helps pull your shoulders back into their correct alignment, improving your posture.

Better posture means less pain. And because you’re pulling the band apart, that means you have maximum tension with minimum weight. This is something that isn’t always easy with weights like dumbbells.

Band Pull-aparts 

https://youtu.be/vBhetF3Cyew

Here’s how to do it: Grip the opposite ends of a long (about 40 inches is typical) resistance band. You can mix up your hand position, from prone (thumbs facing one another) to neutral (thumbs facing the ceiling) to supinated (thumbs pointed away from one another).

Position your hands about shoulder width apart, or at a distance where you feel a little tension in the band. From there, pull your hands outward as wide as you can.

Pause and squeeze the muscles in your upper back and shoulders, then reverse directions and bring your hands back toward one another (back to the starting position), and repeat. Focus on keeping your shoulders down and back throughout the entire movement.

Perform 3 sets of 15-30 repetitions.

Mini-Band Lateral Walks

Remember how pull aparts were great for your shoulders? These lateral band walks can do the same for your glutes and help them wake up.

Place the band above your knees. Spread your legs wide enough that you feel tension across the band. (Consider this an athletic position, like a baseball player about to field a ground ball.) Take one leg and step out to the side. Then, follow with your other leg, making sure you maintain tension on the band throughout the movement.

Walk for 10-15 steps in one direction (i.e. from left to right) then switch and go for the same distance in the opposite direction (from right to left).

Goblet Squats

Place the mini-band around your legs just above the knees. Hold a dumbbell vertically against your chest with both of your hands supporting the weight underneath. Press your elbows inward against your rib cage, which activates the muscles in your upper back.

Squat down by pushing your hips back and pressing your knees outward against the mini-band. Doing so activates your glutes and helps you steer clear of knee pain. Lower yourself down until your elbows touch the insides of your knees, then press through your feet to stand back up.

Resistance Band Exercises for Building Muscle

No matter what some people might insist, weights are not the only way to build muscle. Weights are effective because they add resistance. Bands also provide resistance, meaning they also can help you build muscle.

In particular, bands might be most effective when doing higher rep training, such as performing 20 to 30 reps (or more) per set (this is known as “metabolite training”).

Research has repeatedly shown that building muscle is somewhat dependent on volume — or the number of reps x sets x weight. Because you have 3 variables you can manipulate, bands provide a way to increase volume (through more reps) without needing more weight.

This approach works for any muscle in your body — from arms and shoulders, to your chest, back and even your butt. Just ask anyone who’s ever tried Bret Contreras’s glute burnout. Here is another example of how you can use bands to achieve some metabolic glute work:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYPHRU-B8w3/?taken-by=l2fitnessyeg

Resistance Band Exercises and the Mind-Muscle Connection

The mind-muscle connection is something that not everyone is familiar with but it can make a huge difference in your training. Basically, it’s about using your brain to drive more effort from your muscles. If that sounds a little crazy, rest assured it’s a real thing. (Here’s proof.) And with the help of resistance bands, you can develop it.

Resistance bands are useful way to build that connection because the farther you pull the band and the more it lengthens, the harder your muscles have to work.

The increased tension provides a strong peak contraction at the top of every rep. You’ll really feel those muscles working. Want to take it up another notch? Add in a pause at the top. (Ooh, it burns!)

What are the Limits of Resistance Bands?

Like anything, there are always some limitations. For instance, resistance bands don’t necessarily challenge your muscles through a full range of motion.

Lifting weights consists of a raising portion (the concentric) and a lowering portion (the eccentric). The eccentric phase of a lift is the part where you are lowering the weight back down, and it’s beneficial for both muscle growth and improving muscle control.

They feel lighter on your muscles as the bands themselves get shorter. As we discussed above, that may be great from an injury prevention standpoint. But since eccentric muscle actions are where we elicit the most muscle damage in training, using bands alone might limit the amount muscle you can build.

Bands can also make measuring your resistance a little tricky. Part of adding muscle is creating a challenge for your muscles. That’s why bands work — they add resistance. At some point, however, your body will adapt to resistance. This is why you might stop seeing results. Your body adapts, and you need to keep creating a new challenge in order to fight off plateau.

There are many ways to do steer clear of plateaus, however. You can make an exercise more challenging (if you are doing band rows with both arms, you can switch to a 1-arm version with the same band, which will make it more difficult), or you can add weight. This is where dumbbells and barbells have an obvious advantage, as you can just use bigger weights.

But don’t stress too much. Your hand placement, the distance between you and where the band is anchored, and how far the band is stretched can all be used to increase or decrease the resistance. You can also user thicker bands (which has more resistance) or even add multiple bands.

At some point — yes — you might need to add more weight to create a bigger challenge. But as long as you continue to find ways to challenge your muscles (which can also occur by doing more reps and/or sets of an exercise), your resistance band workout will keep delivering results.

The Resistance Band Workout for Building Muscle

Want to give resistance band exercises a try? Here’s a sample upper and lower body workout designed for building muscle.

Upper Body Resistance Band Workout
1) Band pull-aparts: 4 x 15-20 reps x 60s rest
2A) Band pushups: 3 x 10-20 x 45s
2B) Band 2-arm rows: 3 x 15-20 x 45s
3A) 1-arm band row: 3 x 8-15/arm x 45s
3B) 1-arm band chest press: 3 x 8-12/arm x 45s
4A) Band overhead triceps extension – 3 x 12-20 x 45s
4B) Band biceps curls – 3 x 12-15 x 45s

Lower body Resistance Band Workout
1) Mini-band lateral walks: 4 x 15-20/side x 60 seconds
2) Band leg curl: 3 x 15-20 x 60s
3) Rear foot elevated split squat (can add band for resistance): 4 x 12-15 x 60s
4A) Band good morning: 3 x 20-25 x 60s
4B) Walking lunges: 3 x 10-15/leg x 60s
5) Band iso hold Pallof press: 4 x 30s/side x 60s

READ MORE: 

How to Build the Perfect Bodyweight Workout

How to Master the Art of Old School Muscle Building

The Tension Weightlifting Technique: How to Make Every Exercise More Effective

References

1. Pull, Ranson (2007) Eccentric muscle actions: Implications for injury prevention and rehabilitation.


2. Schoenfeld BJ (2010) The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training.


3. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW (2017) Strength and Hypertrophy Adaptations Between Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.


Landon Poburan is the owner of L2 Fitness in Edmonton, Canada. The L2 Fitness Summit is a video series that includes 11+ hours of muscle building ideas from our friends Dr. Mike Israetel and Dean Somerset. If you’re a coach, or just super into getting swole (Israetel) while staying awesomely mobile and balanced (Somerset), then you may seriously enjoy this product, which is on sale for $50 off through December 10th at midnight. And coaches: You get CEUs! Full disclosure: We here at Born Fitness get absolutely nothing for telling you about this product — we are not affiliates and have no financial stake involved. 

Landon Poburan

Personal trainer, nutrition coach and owner of L2 Fitness located in Edmonton, AB Canada.

l2fitness.com/

The post How to Use Resistance Band Exercises in Your Workouts appeared first on Born Fitness.

How many pillows do you have on your bed?

No, this isn’t a joke. It’s part of an assessment created by world-renowned fitness coach Dan John.

Research tells us you only need 100 minutes of exercise a week—that’s five 20-minute walks.

“If the answer is more than one, you’re a mobility client,” says John. In other words, unless you improve how you move, then you’re doomed to have limited results or multiple injuries, as well as unnecessary aches and pains.

“You might think those extra pillows are just for looks, but if you wake up sore or your hips and back hurt when you don’t sleep with a pillow between your thighs, mobility is another big need.”

Welcome to the world of personalization, where a workout plan isn’t just a series of good exercises – it’s a prescription for your body based on your needs. Before anyone should hands you a workout plan (or you select one online), you need to understand what your body needs.

Think of it this way: Imagine that you are starving and feel like you would eat anything. Because you know you’re hungry, any food will do, so you head to the kitchen.

Then, imagine you can pull out anything and in any quantity – but you can’t see what it is. You figure that you’re hungry and it doesn’t matter because food is what you need. If you eat, your problem will be solved.

You take your food, open the contents, only to realize it’s a meat-filled dish and you’re a vegetarian. You’re hungry – craving food – but this isn’t a good fit. Maybe you’ll eat it and maybe you won’t, but what seemed like an “anything will work right now” was far from the case.

While workouts are a different beast, selecting blindly can leave you in the same situation. Your body might be starving for exercise, but you need to give your body what it needs.

Do the plan that’s designed for someone else, and you might work hard and never see the results that you expect. And nowhere is that truer than when starting a workout plan after a long layoff, or try to chance your program after you’ve been stuck in the plateau for far too long.

Rest assured, getting started in the right direction doesn’t require a degree in exercise science or nutrition, but it does mean a little more pillow talk and answering a few more questions to point you in the right direction.

Step 1: A Great Workout Plan Can Be Fools Gold

One of the easiest things to do when you’re feeling ready to get back into training is to get carried away. “This time it’s going to be different!” You tell yourself. “This time I’ll make myself eat the vegetables! And I’ll spend two hours a day at the gym! It doesn’t matter if I don’t actually have that time. I’ll make time!”

Look, that sort of enthusiasm is admirable. But it’s not necessarily realistic or sustainable. And when it comes to fitness, sustainability is what matters the most. I’ve seen great workouts that require 5 days per week in the gym given to people who only have time for 3 workouts. Far too many fitness professionals will tell you, “Three days of training isn’t enough to get fit.” That’s ridiculous. Just ask Kristen or David.

Now, the three-a-day week plan will be very different than 5 days per week, but both can work. Nearly any type of workout will help you get fit—especially if you’re coming off a baseline of inactivity. The key is finding something you’ll do consistently. To help yourself do that, you should…

Be honest about how much free time you really have.

Before plunging back into the gym, buying a training program you found online, or hiring a competition-style coach to spearhead your return to the hard body club, look at your calendar app.

How much time are you going to be able to set aside for fitness, given your family, work, and other pre-existing obligations?

Does the plan you want to follow fit within the confines of your actual life?

Two to three one-hour workouts per week are all some people can realistically wedge into their schedules. And the best news is, that’s all you need.

“Research tells us you only need 100 minutes of exercise a week—that’s five 20-minute walks,” says John, a strength and conditioning coach with more than 36 years of experience working with clients at nearly every level. “If you add in a couple of squats and presses, or deadlifts and presses, you’d be good.”

Other people don’t even have a block of time that big—which is fine because 30-minute workouts can be extremely effective — if they’re designed correctly.

Pick an activity that you actually enjoy.

It’s difficult to overstate the importance of liking what you do. Studies have repeatedly shown that when people enjoy an activity, they’re far more likely to actually do it.

So, while this might seem like a no-brainer, if you cringe at the thought of dancing, you should steer clear of Zumba. If you love bike rides, consider spin. And of course, if picking up heavy objects is your thing, then ease back into lifting. In fact, John has a program below that’ll help you do just that.

Step #2: Set Your Goals With Super-Simple Self-Assessments

Most people know what they want—to lose baby weight, have six-pack abs, lift more weight, or look like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1980s. But people have a more difficult time figuring out what they really need, much less how to achieve it. If you’re being honest, this is the real struggle: knowing what to focus on, why it’s a problem, and how to fix it.

So instead of trusting that anything is a solution for you (even if it’s worked for others), take the time to ask the questions that will make the answer more obvious. It’s something Born Fitness does with all coaching clients; no one gets a workout plan until questions are answered.

To help you determine whether your priority should be body composition, mobility, or strength, John recommends taking three simple tests (the first was the pillow test). The others are:

1. Measuring your height and your waistline
2. Seeing how long you can hold a plank

The height/waistline test helps you take a look at your body composition. The math here is simple. “If you waistline measures in at more than half of your height,” John says, “you’re a body composition client.”

The plank hold is to gauge your strength. “See if you can hold a 2-minute plank,” John says. “If you can’t, then you’re a strength client.”

It’s worth noting that you can be more than one type of client. In fact, John says most clients have several needs. If that’s the case, then you want a workout plan that will improve all of your needs.

There’s one more assessment you should take before you dive headlong into training, but it’s not exactly something you can do on yourself. Go see a doctor. And not simply the one who administers a physical.

While there is some value to that exam—it’s always good to know your cholesterol levels and check that your blood pressure falls within the normal range—John says you might learn even more from having your eyes and teeth checked.

Sound strange? It is…but it’s also smart because it considers not just what is wrong but what could be causing your problems.

“There’s value to seeing a doctor, but honestly there isn’t one who’s going to say that exercise is bad for a person,” John says. “I usually send people to an optometrist or a dentist because if I’m going to tell you to eat more vegetables, and you have crowns and cavities that make it painful to eat them, you’re going to revert to the brown-and-gray family of foods—hash browns and potato chips. Fat loss happens in the kitchen, but if a person can’t chew, then they’ve got bigger problems to address.”

Step #3: Get Fit and Never Look Back

Ready to get started? Good—but before you do, don’t make yourself vulnerable to your mistakes of the past. For one, don’t judge a workout plan until you perform it over and over (and over) again. John says you can see big results with fewer exercises that take advantage of lifts that offer a lot of bang for your buck, like squats and presses. These lifts challenge a whole lot of musculature at once. There isn’t a tissue in your body that isn’t firing during a properly executed front squat. These full-body movements should form the bread and butter of your workout plan.

In fact, John says that a good workout plan only really needs five types of movements: squats, hinges, pushes, pulls, and loaded carries.

Squats are exercises in which most of the movement takes place at your knee. But you don’t have to throw a bar on your back in order to perform them. There’s the aforementioned front squat, of course. But beginners or those returning to training after time off might be even better served with the Goblet squat, in which you hold a dumbbell vertically, wrapping both hands around the underside of the top weight stack. Keep both stacks in contact with your chest throughout the movement as you squat down until your elbows make contact with the insides of your knees. Then push back up.

Hinges include any exercise in which the majority of the motion takes place at the hips. Deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, and hip thrusts are all good options. But if you’re not ready for a weighted version, a simple glute bridge will do the trick.

Pushes describe any movement in which the implement in your hands starts out close to your body and winds up farther away from it. Bench presses, standing overhead presses, and even push-ups all fall into this category.

Pulls are the opposite of pushes. In these exercises, the object in your hands starts out far and ends the rep near. Pull-ups and any type of rowing fit the bill here.

Loaded carries are exactly what they sound like: You pick up a load and carry it around. Farmer’s Walks, in which you hold a dumbbell in each hand and walk, are probably the most well-known. But another simple way to get this effect is to try what John calls the Horn Walk. In the Horn walk, you hold the handle of a kettlebell with both hands against your chest and walk. Want to take that up a notch? Try pushing the ‘bell away from your chest, then pulling it back toward it, as you walk.

Your Get Fit Workout Plan

Here are two examples of what a program using this format might look like. The first workout plan, labeled “Planks as a Program,” would be ideal for people who didn’t pass the plank hold test described above. They need to work on their strength before they start performing a bunch of exercises under load.

Don’t be fooled by this seemingly simple workout plan—it’s tougher than you think. “I use it when I’m training Special Forces guys,” John says. “I was on a beach in Pearl Harbor and realized that these guys could do everything, but they couldn’t do anything.”

Basically, even elite tactical operators—guys who could run all day and rifle out pushups by the dozen—needed to work on the stability, strength, and ability to create tension that this program teaches.

For the rep-based exercises, John suggests doing 2-5 sets of 2-5 reps. “Planks are a little different, obviously, because they’re for time,” John says. See if you can build up to the two-minute hold. And don’t get frustrated if a workout that seemed easy on Thursday suddenly feels difficult the following Saturday. “You’re working your nervous system here,” John says. “So you might find huge swings in your efforts, just based on how you’re feeling that day.”

How many days per week should you train? John recommends aiming for between two and five workouts per week, with shorter and more frequent being preferable to longer sessions you can’t do as often. “Five days of very short training sessions would trump a bunch of punch-yourself-in-the-face workouts,” John says.

The second workout plan, labeled Strength, would be for people looking to develop exactly that: full-body strength. In this phase, you work lifts for a limited number of reps—no more than 10 total per exercise. That could mean doing 5 sets of 2 reps, 3 sets of 3, 2 sets of 5, or doing three sets with different numbers of reps: 5, 3, 2.

Start with a weight that feels light in your first workout. You can bump up the resistance on successive sets if you want, but you don’t have to. The goal isn’t to keep ramping up the weight until you struggle. You want to feel strong on every rep, and build strength through consistent performances. John calls it “easy strength.”

“If what you did on the first day feels light, go heavier in your next workout,” John says. “You’ll just keep coming in and doing that until you come in one day and you’ll notice the weight feels different. It’s heavier but feels easy. That’s easy strength.”

This workout plan might look like a lot less than what you’re used to seeing on an exercise sheet. Again, don’t be misled. The workouts are tough and get results. They also are time-efficient. You could finish them in 15 to 30 minutes depending on how much rest you take between sets.

And how much rest should you take? One minute between sets is a good place to start. Try to keep that time consistent throughout the workout. You can increase or decrease time from session to session depending on your goal.

A good general rule; rest more between sets when you use heavier weights. That said, keeping your rest periods consistent from workout to workout allows you to more honestly gauge your progress.

Dan John is the author of eight books and many fitness articles. His next book “Now What?” comes out later this year.

READ MORE: 

The Tension Weightlifting Technique: How to Make Every Exercise More Effective

The Fastest Way to Do More Pushups

The Truth About the 7-Minute Workout

The post Get Fit Workout Plan: Avoiding Mistakes and Past Frustrations appeared first on Born Fitness.

I forgot to take a breath, closed my eyes, and suddenly began to panic.

My mind said, “Push!” but my arms wouldn’t move. I wondered if this was what trainers meant when they warned about their extreme programs that could cause “death by barbell.”

Don’t fit your square life into a circle hole of someone else’s definition of fitness.

Those are the thoughts that race through your head when you lay trapped beneath your own bench press; the cold iron grazing your throat like an impending guillotine. In my desperation I gasped a plea soaked in embarrassment.

“Help… help…”

My hero ran over from some direction. I never grabbed his name, but without proper introduction he grabbed the weight and curled it off my head. I jumped up, relieved and exasperated at my Neo-like reincarnation, and thanked my savior for his amazing feat of strength. He chuckled, made sure I was OK, and left with words I’ll never forgot.

“Probably didn’t think you needed a spotter, huh?”

I looked down at the bar. Just 10 pounds sat on each side.

It was official: My 65-pound bench press found a new way to completely embarrass me.

Nearly 15 years later, and after writing seven books (including a New York Times best seller) and serving as editor for Men’s Health, editorial director for LIVESTRONG.COM, and holding advisor positions for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Examine.com,  I still remember how my strength was sparked by an undeniable weakness.

Starting From Scratch

You see, the bench press incident (let’s call it BPI because it sounds better) wasn’t an isolated account. At the time, I was just a freshman in college, and I was going to the rec center to train very early in the morning.

It wasn’t because of my schedule. I was trying to go when no one would be there. And let me tell you, if you want no distractions at your gym, hit up a college rec center at 5 am. Cemeteries are more alive.

I wanted to be isolated because I was embarrassed. I was weak. I was scrawny. And I had no idea what I was doing. I even knew a girl that could shoulder press about twice as much as I could, so I had to schedule around when she was there. Then again, struggling in the gym was nothing new to me.

Growing up I was overweight. And I’m not talking about little-boy-that-can’t-shed-his-baby-weight. I was fat. I was a constant target of jokes in junior high because boys that saw me in the locker room were convinced I had some of the biggest breasts in school.

At my Bar Mitzvah, I needed some special tailoring because apparently they didn’t make dress pants for young men of my (short) height and extreme girth. I blamed it on genetics. And maybe that was part of it. But my late-night brownie and cookie habits didn’t help either.

Then in high school I suffered a comedy of injuries. I broke my back. I suffered concussions. I tore a muscle in my elbow. I broke my back—again.

Every injury was a roadblock. A hurdle. A reason to quit, give up, and decide that fitness wasn’t for me. I loved playing sports and being active, but I never felt I had the opportunity to show and prove what I could do.

I had a drive to become something better. But I had strong doubts if whom I wanted to be actually lived within me, or could even be fulfilled.

I wanted to quit fitness, but there’s really no escape. It’s like the mob in that way. Some of us just choose to make it a more prominent part of our lives, while others either ignore the value or never cease to grasp that fitness—and health—can be an enjoyable, invigorating, and stress-free (as well as stress-busting) experience.

Ultimately, that’s what kept bringing me back. I felt that I had more to give, and more that I could achieve. Only I had yet to figured out how to release my potential and be happier with me.

A Lesson in Failure

I’d love to pretend that after BPI, I rediscovered the gym, found my Mr. Miyagi, and everything instantly became better. But that would do an injustice to human nature and real life.

Life doesn’t happen in montages. (Although it would be awesome if it did.)

Looking back at my approach to fitness, I’ve probably made more mistakes than every person I’ve ever met—combined.

I lifted weights without instruction and never took time to be coached. I pushed through injuries, which only caused more injuries. I avoided all dietary fats. And then I avoided all carbs. To top it off, I ate hundreds… and hundreds… and hundreds of grams of protein. And I made several girlfriends suffer through the “ass of fire years.” (My sincerest apologies.)

I felt supplements were evil and took none. And then I tried every (legal) supplement in an attempt to become bigger and leaner.

I bulked. I cut. I ran. I swam. I did yoga. And I lifted weights—big weights (eventually) and small weights. I did high reps, low reps, timed reps, Tabatas, and Tae-Bo.

I’ve tried every type of HIIT training, low-intensity cardio, and kettlebell workouts imaginable. I’ve tried ab machines, tested crazy cleanses, and had a shake or two of the Shake Weight. I even used pink dumbbells one time to impress a girl. To no one’s surprise, it didn’t work.

But I never stopped working at it.

And then one day I tried to do something different and learn from other areas where I was actually successful. I was always a good student, and part of the reason for my success is that I never focused on grades.

Instead of stressing about goals, I looked at the process. I didn’t worry about how much weight I lost or strength I gained; instead, I focused on learning what techniques worked. And I spent my time learning how to exercise correctly and improve movements.

By shifting my focus to different goals and removing the stress of the mirror, I discovered a philosophy that changed my life, shaped my career, and allowed me to transform my body.

I am a model of failure, and that is why I have succeeded.

I never quit. And I never stopped learning or worrying about how long it took to make changes. I measured myself by different metrics of progress.

Did I learn something new? Did I set a new goal? Did I try a new exercise, eat a healthier food, or ask a new question about something I didn’t know?

Most importantly, I discovered every life is worth living the way you want. But no life can be lived without a concentrated effort to include healthy behaviors as part of your lifestyle.

The Born Fitness Guide to Success

I’m asked all the time about my favorite piece of advice. So here it is: Your health isn’t limited to a gym, a diet, or the image you see in the mirror.

Your health is what you make of it. The real distinction between healthy and unhealthy is giving a damn about your body; and making sure you do something—heck, anything—consistently so that you can live a long, active life, take care of yourself, and take care of others in this world.

I’m a big believer in goals, good behaviors, and in sharing options that are sustainable. What frustrates me more than anything is that we’ve gotten away from the real goal; we must find smarter ways to make exercise and healthier eating a seamless part of everyone’s life.

Notice I didn’t say lifting weights or cardio, recommend a certain diet, or even prescribe flawless healthy eating. Do I have opinions on my favorites strategies? Of course I do. But I refuse to be dogmatic and insist there’s only one right way.

That approach is a recipe for failure. Only a very small group of people inherently loves all healthy behaviors.

And I’ll be honest—I’ve become one of those people. Feed me Brussels sprouts and chicken all day, and I’ll walk around with a bigger grin than the Enzyte guy. But that’s not normal and isn’t what you should expect from yourself.

We need to do a better job of redefining all the different faces of health. I believe that dessert can and should be part of a healthy eating plan. Or that walking can be a perfectly suitable form of exercise. If these are the behaviors that you enjoy, then you can—and should—find a way to make them part of your life.

Don’t fit your square life into a circle hole of someone else’s definition of fitness.

My journey has created a simple goal: To help identify the diets, types of exercises and workouts, and various strategies that you can apply to your life to be more fit, feel better, and live longer.

And if those options also help you build more muscle, lose your belly, deadlift 400 pounds, or shed the baby weight, then great. Those are extra bonuses.

Your job is to find out what options exist. Healthy living is a buffet. And while there’s definitely some bad Szechuan chicken lurking (yeah, that’s my metaphor for bad info), there are too many good options to walk away without easily being satisfied and living a healthy life.

Therein lies the bigger message: There’s no reason for you to be stressed or feel that a better body, a better mindset, or a better life isn’t for you.

I encourage you to explore the numerous options that exist. Exercise the way you want, whether it’s in the gym, on the field, or in your home. Eat healthier foods most of the time, and—if you want—indulge in some not so healthy foods.

You don’t have to be staring down the chokehold of a 65-pound barbell to have this realization.

If my journey has shown me anything, it’s that the signs are there every day. No matter if it’s Men’s Health,LIVESTRONG.COM, or my brand, Born Fitness, I’ve seen some amazing changes from some incredible people. And most of the time, the individuals thank me for showing them the way.

My response: Don’t thank me. Thank you. 

Thank you for having the courage to pursue what lives deep within your soul. To answer the call that can be so intimidating and scary. And to open your eyes and see that you can have the life you want.

Accomplishing your dream is really no different than building a bigger bench press. All it takes is a deep breath, a clear plan and patience, and a desire to never stop trying.

As long as you keep coming and don’t quit, I’ll be here pushing you forward and providing the guidance to the type of life you choose to live.

This post was originally published on Greatist.com, but after questions about “what’s your background” became overwhelming, I thought it was time to share this here. -AB

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post The Born Fitness Approach to Health and Fitness appeared first on Born Fitness.

To help you understand the difference between a good workout, working harder, and training smarter, I interviewed Sean Hyson, C.S.C.S, fitness director for Men’s Fitness and Muscle & Fitness, and the author of The Truth About Strength Training. You won’t learn any new exercises or magic bullet workout secrets, but the strategy you’ll gain will be as valuable as any other lessons you’ll find. -AB

Should Your Workout Kick Your Ass?

It’s a funny irony that while we want everything else in our lives to be easier, we expect our workouts to be absolute torture. Listen to people talk about their personal trainers and watch their eyes light up when they say, “our last workout kicked my ass!” Meanwhile, TV shows like The Biggest Loser advertise by showing people on all fours, crying and pleading to make the workout stop so they can catch their breaths. There are even best-selling workout DVDs with names like Insanity, promising to deliver the toughest routine you’ve ever tried.

On the one hand, we want mobile devices that do our banking, cars that run on vegetable oil, and complete pre-packaged meals where all we need do is heat and eat, but when it comes to exercise, we insist on the most excruciating experience possible.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have to change my body that way.

It goes without saying that losing weight takes hard work, but somehow, the modern world has become convinced that the only way to see results is to grin and bear it while you hold your feet to the fire. The way fitness is depicted on television and elsewhere in pop culture leads you to believe that losing fat means endless cardio, taking little to no rest between sets, working till you puke, and severe dietary restriction. The message is clear: to look good, you need to make yourself feel bad; you need to endure suffering.

But what if you don’t?

First of all, the idea that you need to burn an enormous number of calories through exercise—or that you even can—can be considered a myth. Eric Ravussin, a weight loss expert and professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La., told the New York Times that “exercise by itself is pretty useless for weight loss.” His point was that people easily consume more calories than they can burn, and that the extra strain of exercise stimulates appetite, making it even easier to replace the calories you worked off.

Just look at the numbers. According to research done by the Mayo Clinic, a 160-pound person performing high-impact aerobic exercise will burn only 533 calories in one hour. (Note that most people aren’t capable of sustaining an intense pace anywhere near that long.) Now consider that a healthy dinner of four ounces of skinless chicken breast and one cup of rice contains 385 calories. That’s right: Eat one light meal and you’re a stone’s throw from breaking even with the calories you burned in that day’s workout.

Does this mean exercise is useless for fat loss? Of course not. Aerobic training taps into fat as a fuel source and weight training builds muscle, which increases metabolic rate, so there’s plenty reason to work out, and work out hard. Research even shows that exercise aids in keeping weight off once it’s lost. A 2009 study looked at 97 women who had lost an average of 27 pounds each and then returned to their old eating habits. The exercisers—those following a walking or weight training program—regained less weight than those who did no training and, interestingly, the weight they did gain back didn’t go to their midsections.

The take-home is that exercise isn’t nearly as important as diet for pure fat loss, so no matter how hard you work, you won’t see results until you’re eating smarter. (However, exercise is still an important part of the equation.) And starving yourself isn’t the way to go either. Diets that promise weight loss faster than one pound per week aren’t to be trusted (yes, it can happen, but go in with realistic expectations), and if you do use one to lose weight more aggressively, you can be sure it isn’t all fat.

5 Ways To Lose Fat (The Safe, Efficient Way)

I radically transformed my body in 12 weeks, losing 30 pounds while gaining significant strength. I wouldn’t say the process was a breeze, but I didn’t dread my workouts or curse my diet. Here’s a five-step program that summarizes what I did and will let you lose weight with minimal pain and suffering. In fact, it’s designed to let you do as little as possible.

1. Create a Realistic Diet

Consume 12 calories per pound of your body weight daily. So if you weigh 180 pounds, start eating around 2,100 calories. Get in one gram of protein per pound of your body weight and let 20% of your calories come from fat. The rest of your calories can come from carbohydrates. This is the diet I recommend in my e-book, The Truth About Strength Training, and the one I follow. It will work for anyone

2. Lift Heavy Weights

Compound exercises like the squat, deadlift, and bench press were at the center of my own weight-loss program. Together, they stimulate virtually every muscle in the body, preventing that muscle from being lost when calories are low. (When the body gets the message it needs to hold on to muscle, it does, even when resources are scarce.) Reps don’t need to be any higher than eight on your main lifts, and should often be closer to five.

I can hear your screams. “What? Five reps is too little. I can’t burn any calories with a set that short.” That’s true, but you’re not trying to burn calories with weight training, as that’s largely a waste of time anyway (see above). Rather, low reps imply heavy weight, and when you’re dieting hard, you don’t want to perform long sets with a heavy bar on your back, believe me. Lack of energy leads to a lack of focus, and then accidents happen.

3. Focus on Recovery

Heavy training is tiring and stressful to the central nervous system—the control center in your brain for all your muscle actions. Even when you’ve caught your breath, you often need to wait longer before performing your next set, as your nervous system isn’t recovered enough to recruit all the musculature needed. This can mean rests of up to two or three minutes between sets, especially when calories are low and recovery ability is compromised.

I’m not saying there isn’t any value to the fast-paced circuits that some trainers set up for their clients—they boost growth hormone naturally and do increase calorie burn—but I recommend making them a smaller part of your program. Put in your time on a squat or press, and then you can follow it up with a two-to-four exercise sequence where you perform higher reps with little to no rest between sets. Just be sure to pick exercises that aren’t affected by your fatigue. Breaking form on rope slams and kettlebell swings isn’t as dangerous as losing it on stepups and bentover rows.

4. Limit (or Stop) Jumping

The Biggest Loser seems to have everybody doing plyometrics these days. The trouble is, plyos aren’t for everybody. Explosive exercises, such as jumps onto a box, clapping pushups, and single-leg hops and bounds are advanced exercises best used by athletes who need to be quicker and more agile. If all you need to do is drop 20 pounds, there are safer ways to go about it. And the heavier you are, the greater your risk of injury when performing plyometrics.

So why do we see them being done by overweight people all the time on TV? As far as I can tell, it’s because it makes for good TV. That is, if you like watching people suffer.

5. Start Sprinting

Box jumps require a bit of experience and athleticism to do properly, but sprinting up a hill is doable for almost anybody. Find a fairly steep grade and dash up it. Walk back to the bottom and, when you’re ready, charge up the hill again; repeat for about 20 minutes. (You don’t need to go again right away—in fact, this may cause you to break form and get hurt, so don’t.) While running on flat ground can cause pulled hamstrings or hip flexors in beginners, sprinting on an incline slows you down so you don’t put the same pressure on your lower body. You can still work hard and not get hurt. Imagine that.

A form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), sprints allow you to burn calories at an accelerated rate for days after the workout. They also increase your conditioning, which will help you perform better overall in the gym and in any recreational sports that you may be doing to stay active and fit. While fat loss comes mainly through dietary changes, increasing your overall activity level carries you the rest of the way, and sprinting can play a big part in that.

In addition to sprints, I’ve also done longer cardio sessions—i.e., walking—to burn extra calories and improve general conditioning. Walking can actually help enhance your recovery from weight training sessions, making it a multifaceted tool in your overall fat-loss program, despite the fact that it doesn’t kick your ass.

In fact, it’s kind of nice.

Sean Hyson is the Training Director of Men’s Fitness and Muscle&Fitness magazines. He is the author of The Truth About Strength Training.

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Should Your Workout Kick Your Ass? appeared first on Born Fitness.

I don’t know why I always timestamp my articles when I write, but this one seems especially meaningful now that I just glanced at the clock again and it’s 4:54 am and all I’ve written is: lkandfopinpoianqvaoperwnvopin

That’s 17 minutes of masterful prose from a New York Times best selling author. The thing is, I’m not suffering from “writer’s block.” I know exactly what I’m going to say, but I’m having trouble just letting go. So rather than think and try and structure this like a classy magazine article, I’m going to do what comes most natural and just write.

Find what works for you. Keep your eyes on the goal. And make sure that fitness is a part of your life, but not all of it.

I am you. Human. Busy. Tired. And occasionally wondering,

“When the hell am I going to find time for the gym.”

“Is it bad if I admit I’m too busy to work out?”

“Do I really have time to exercise and workout?” 

“If I skip a few days is it really that bad for my fitness and happiness?” 

I run a business and consult with very successful companies, help clients, and write books. I have a family. I’m married and I have responsibilities. None of these are complaints. They are realities.

I’ve spent the last 15 years of my life in the fitness industry. I wake up each day at 4:30 am ready to take on the day. And ready is probably an understatement. The early rising is both a choice and a necessity.

I do some of my best work in the morning when there are no distractions. I’ve also built a business that requires me to grind on both ends of the coast. I enjoy my job, love training hard, eating healthy, and doing everything that goes with being in the fitness industry. Which, in many ways, makes my job so much fun.

But that’s the thing: these days my job isn’t spent in the gym. I no longer work the gym floors and spend my hours between squat racks. Sure—I still train people and love it as much as anything I do, but I don’t live in the gym, despite what it might appear.

So when I tell people, I’ve been unable to make it to the gym they look at me as if something is wrong.

Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal. People go through times when they can’t train. It happens. It’s normal. And honestly, it’s healthy. You should never feel bad if you miss a gym day. But what happens when a day becomes 2 days, a week, a month, or even a year?

It happens all the time and one day we wake up and ask, “What happened? And who has been shrinking all of my pants?”

That’s where I’m at right now. (Ok, so my pants still fit just fine.) It’s 4:54 a.m. and I’m looking at my computer screen and asking, “What happened?”

The answer: Nothing bad, even if you’ve been told to feel that way.

The Myth of the Fool-Proof Fitness Strategy

This isn’t, “7 Ways to Make Sure You Never Miss a Workout.”

This is honesty and how to cope with situations when life gets real and you’re not sure how to react. Oftentimes we blame things like lack of support, drive, or laziness. And while these definitely can contribute to fitness failures, sometimes there’s nothing to blame.

The reality is I’ve rarely had a time when I’m more supported in my goals. About 6 weeks ago I started my Getting Shredded project. If you missed it, my wife issued me a fun challenge and I was eager to accept. I wrote about it, and then the outpouring was massive. Hundreds wanted to join my journey, so I built a community where I could answer questions each day and have people follow my program and receive diet help.

The Getting Shredded community has been one of my best “accidents.” The people in there are amazing, and their gratitude is incredibly fulfilling. Each day I read things like,

I also wanted to throw in a thanks for doing what you do. One thing I’ve learned along the way is that there is a lot of bad information out there. It’s good to know someone is trying to weed through all of the crap to really help people figure out what’s accurate and what’s not. -Carrie

The information and motivation on the site is unreal, really well done. Seems like these are these kind of people should be talking to each other. Really good forum man! –Garrett

I gotta say I love this program! Am getting leaner, down 4-5lbs already. Nutrition is great. The workouts are out of this world. I continue improving and am able to push myself a little bit further every time I train. I am super happy that I get the chance of asking such things and receiving the information directly from you. This is by far the most enjoyable form of programming I ever did. -Tim.

By the way, I appreciate all the work you’re putting into this program. I’m really enjoying it and learning a lot about. Not only about fitness, but about myself. Thanks for everything Adam. You’re doing a great job. –Gilbert

I could go on and on. I love the community and everyone in there and it allows me to fulfill a primary mission: Show people that with effective training (just 4 days per week) you can experience some great changes. The diet isn’t crazy, we eat dessert, and it’s just fun.

Best of all, every time I want to take a day off or don’t feel like training, I never want to let the community down. It’s all the accountability and support I need.

And for the first 4 weeks things couldn’t have gone better. I lost 2% body fat, didn’t lose any muscle, and was feeling incredible. I’ve been energized, sleeping well and showing no signs of burnout.

Then life happened.

A big work project started taking over my life. Then another company I consult with needed help. Then an article was due. And another. At first I was able to keep up with the rising demands and still meet my training goals, until it dawned on me that I hadn’t spent any time with my wife.

Something had to give and it was my fitness. I skipped a day. And then two. All the while I didn’t say anything to the community. I kept checking in, answering their questions, providing support, but not really saying anything about me.

In retrospect, it was the biggest mistake I could have made.

Busy Isn’t an Excuse. It’s Life.

It wasn’t that long ago that I used to say, “Being busy isn’t an excuse.” While my feelings have not changed, the meaning of that statement has. For those who know me, I don’t even use the “B” word. I hate it because it’s a crutch. It’s a ridiculous joke because we are all busy. Yep, each and everyone one of us.

Busy isn’t an excuse. It’s a reality. We get busy and sometimes something has to give.

When that happens we must choose our priorities and then make tough decisions. We are all the CEO of our lives, and sometimes we make decisions that aren’t perfect simply because no option fulfills all of our needs.

In my case I had a choice: Gym or the Queen of Born Fitness.

I will always choose my wife over the gym.

In this scenario, my work could not be pushed aside. Everything I put my name on is a representation of me, so I can’t do anything other than push harder and give more than anyone expects. That’s my formula for success.

That meant my fitness had to suffer. In my mind I didn’t think I was letting down the people working hard because I thought I was selflessly putting their needs first by still checking in each day, providing the workouts, and offering my help.

But as more days passed when I wasn’t in the gym, the more I realized my apparent selfless acts were selfish and potentially harmful.

I was hiding my own inactivity as if there was something to be ashamed of when in reality I should have been sharing my mindset and embracing it for all to see. And for that I feel bad and upset I didn’t act sooner.

Ten years ago I used to beat myself up when fitness wasn’t priority #1. I had to make it to the gym. Had to obsess over foods. And had to control everything. And when I lost control I felt bad.

Now? It’s different. These last 2 weeks have not bothered me other than the fact that I didn’t share this sooner. And that’s really why I’m writing this now.

When life happens, you must make the decisions that allow you to move forward happily and comfortably. It requires you to be aware of your state in life.

If your health is in dire situations or you are very much overweight, then your fitness and nutrition isn’t something that should ever be pushed aside.

But there will always be situations where something as important as fitness might have to take a back seat—as long as the ride is short.

The Too Busy Solution

I’m back now. I’m refocused. My plate is less full. And my life can return to its normal balance. I can already feel the anticipation of my next gym session.

I’m not upset for missing time. I’m just frustrated that I felt embarrassed to open up and let people know it’s ok to take a detour to your goals.

And maybe that’s the biggest, most important lesson of all: As long as you ensure that health and fitness is a priority (a real one with a commitment), then timing doesn’t matter.

That’s the foundation of #BeTheChange: Find what works for you. Keep your eyes on the goal. And make sure that fitness is a part of your life, but not all of it.

Life isn’t a book of 4- or 6-week promises and “get back in shape goals.” It’s a never-ending novel that we can keep rewriting in so many awesome ways.

I was busy. It happened. And I won’t let it bother me or make me feel bad. I’m going to go hit the gym now and act as if I never missed a day. Because you know what? In the grand scheme of things, it’s almost as if I never did.

Want Help Finding Your Fitness Freedom?

It’s not about me. It’s about your goals and making sure coaching is right for you. If you’re looking for diet and fitness help, online coaching might be what you need.

Learn more about Born Fitness online coaching.

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Are You Too Busy to Work Out? Me Too. appeared first on Born Fitness.