Club Blog

By: Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D
Fitness Psychology San Diego

See those club members who look like they can’t make up their minds on the treadmill, recumbent bikes, elliptical machines, and other cardio equipment? Fast, slow, on the treadmill running as fast as they can, then jumping to the side and barely able to catch their breath before jumping back on. They aren’t confused. They are getting fitter, healthier and stronger often in half to one-third the time of typical endurance workouts.

They are also improving their insulin sensitivity, improving their cholesterol numbers, turbo-charging their fat metabolism, potentially eliminating diabetes type 2 and some forms of depression and hypertension, increasing their levels of human growth hormone and expanding aerobic capacity. Interval training trumps steady state uphill exhaustion when it comes to putting a smile on your face and reducing stress as well.  Not bad for someone who doesn’t seem to know if he/she wants to give it his/her all or coast for a bit.
Don’t let that up and down fool you. It’s intentional. If you haven’t tried High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT, what are you waiting for? A pill to swallow?

Maximum exertion followed by a brief rest period for 6-10 cycles, is the essence of HIIT.  Start with a comfortable 3-5 minute warm-up and then a series of 30-second sprints each followed by 90 seconds of recovery, and end with another 3-5 minute cool down.  Or adjust the incline while going at a steady pace, increasing the exertion peak and decreasing the recovery time as you become fitter. Some like the idea of sprinting for a couple of minutes and then doing a slower jog or walk for a minute, followed by 6-8 cycles. When it becomes too easy, sprint for four minutes and cool it for two minutes.  Go faster and longer with about a 50% reduction in your cool down time for each “peak.” Think approaching 95% of your max heart rate and peak VO2 Max.

Your VO2 Max, which is the maximum amount of oxygen you use during peak exertion, is a measure of your cardiovascular fitness.  HIIT boosts this measure increasing your ability to use oxygen more efficiently, allowing longer and more strenuous workouts before fatigue sets in.  Your metabolism continues to burn longer as well post-exercise, some say burning up to 15% more calories during the 24 hours following a HIIT session.

Of course, obese, deconditioned, injured folks, or those with hypertension or heart disease should check with exercise savvy physicians to be cleared for this type of elevated demand.

Think of HIIT as a dance, back and for the across the aerobic-anaerobic line, each time, catching your breath.  Probably won’t get you a trophy on “Dancing With the Stars,” but it sure will increase your health, fitness and happiness in a condensed time frame. You decide what’s more valuable.

Good read: Importance of Weight Training For Weight Loss

By: Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.

Seventy-five percent of our planet is water. Can you swim?  Swimming, or aquatic exercise as it’s currently called, is a rhythmic, totally dynamic physical activity that calls on every large muscle in our bodies.  It not only promotes flexibility and builds lean muscle mass, but it soothes, energizes and massages.  It’s truly one of the world’s most perfect full-body exercises, developing the swimmer’s strength, endurance and cardiovascular fitness.

The Sporting Club’s aquatic manager, Kevin Bree, is our über-swim coach who, if the world was flat, would probably swim off of it. Steps from the club is a Jr. Olympic outdoor San Diego pool and Jacuzzi, surrounded by cabanas and fire pits. It’s a wonderful extension of more traditional indoor gym activities, a terrific cross-training element, and ideal for a seasonal change-up to weightless, ageless exercise.

Astonishingly, in 1910, a YMCA handbook assured that outdoor swimming would “prevent the growth of gray hair.”  While not quite accurate, the buoyancy of swimming does protect vulnerable joints, and like many forms of vigorous exercise, may well add to longevity. Swimming burns about 100 calories for every ten minutes of freestyle exercise the average person does. It may not be the single best way to lose weight, but your heart, lungs and muscles sure appreciate the workout.

Think about this:  when your body is in the pool up to your waist, your body bears just 50% of its weight.  Go deeper, up to your chest, and your body now bears about 35%.  Go all the way up to your neck and you are only bearing 10% of your own weight.

Unlike jogging, every arm stroke and leg kick is a form of resistance training through the twelve times as dense as air substance that water is.  Want to improve your flexibility?  Think about the wide arcs of your arms, your hip movement as your legs move, the reaching and you’ll see that aquatic exercise keeps your joints and ligaments highly flexible.  Pool workouts also help avoid asthma attacks and some research demonstrates that swimming can actually help improve asthma.  Like other forms of cardio exercise, swimming can also improve cholesterol levels, and provides benefits to your arteries as well, keeping them flexible by keeping your endothelium healthy—the lining of your arteries.  There is even some data that suggests that swimming can help replace lost brain cells through a process known as neurogenesis.  And of course, your cardiovascular system benefits by improving your body’s use of oxygen without overworking your heart.  Naturally, checking with your doctor before taking on any exercise, especially if you know you have a medical condition, is the smart thing to do.

All this in a low-risk, low-impact exercise just steps away from the club.  So after you’ve improved your cardiovascular condition, flexibility, physical appearance and posture, reduced your stress level and improved your balance, it’s time to stretch out, enjoy the sun and soak up the sun’s warmth—with sunscreen of course.  Just think of all that chlorine as…perfume!

By: Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.

With each birthday after our 39th (a nicer way of saying, “as we age”), our muscles tighten and our range of motion diminishes.  Duh.

This puts a damper on our activities of daily living including everything from leaning over to tie our shoes and reaching for our carry-on bag in the overhead compartment to twisting when we reach to put on our seat belt and bending down to pick up the kids’ toys. Thankfully, the Sporting Club has highly skilled trainers and fitness professionals who are masterful at helping members stretch and gain flexibility, regardless of age or health status.

I recently had a “regeneration session” with The Sporting Club’s personal trainer, Eric Isselin, and it was eye opening—ok, joint opening was more like it! If you haven’t experienced this type of a stretch, you are missing something.

Like many at the gym, I do a fair amount of dynamic stretching after warming up before a workout, but this was way different.  Butt kicks, high knees and hugs, carioca, glute walks, climbing “over the fence,” are some examples of dynamic stretching you see in the gym.  Eric’s calls his stretching routine “regeneration” for a reason.

His post-workout “on the table” PNF, soft-tissue and active stretching session was an outstanding way to reduce my muscle tension and soreness, increase range of motion in my joints, and increase my general energy level (primarily due to increased circulation).

There’s been some confusion about the value of stretching before exercise, in part, due to a recent CDC study of 100 papers that looked at stretching studies.  They found that people who stretched before exercise were not less likely to suffer injuries. But perhaps a better interpretation is that while warming up can prevent injury, stretching before exercise has little or no effect on injury. In either case, a good warm up followed by pain-free dynamic stretching before exercise (holding a stretch for 30 seconds or so without bouncing) has been shown to be generally superior to static stretching before an exercise session.

Why is stretching so valuable, even for people who don’t exercise? Here are the top 5 reasons to stretch it out:

1. Boosts flexibility and reduces likelihood of muscle strain

2. Improves blood circulation to, and nourishes, muscles, helping recovery from injury

3. Develops balance and coordination and decreases likelihood of falls

4. Reduces lower back pain by loosening muscles in the lower back, glutes, hamstrings, piriformis and hip flexors.

5. Enhances cardiovascular health, artery function and reduces hypertension.

Finally, while you are busy stretching your muscles, don’t forget your mind.   For it was none other than Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. who noted, “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”  That’s true mind-body benefit!

(ARA) – More than just aches and pains, arthritis is a chronic disease that damages joints and can lead to loss of function or disability. In fact, it is the most common cause of disability in the United States, affecting 50 million Americans or 22 percent of the total population.

For years it was believed that people with arthritis should not exercise because movement could cause further damage to joints. Now, physical activity is recognized as playing an integral role in the prevention and treatment of arthritis. According to the Arthritis Foundation, exercise provides relief from pain, improves physical function and quality of life, and delays the onset of disability without worsening symptoms or the progression of the disease.

Unfortunately, the already staggering social and economic impact of arthritis in the United States is set to explode in coming decades.  A new government report found that the number of adults with arthritis has increased by almost 1 million since 2003 to 2005 and it’s estimated that arthritis will affect 67 million Americans in 2030. 

The effects of arthritis can be devastating, but self-management strategies such as weight loss and increasing physical activity can lessen pain and improve function, and may prevent or limit the impact of arthritis on daily activities. “For every one pound you lose, that’s four pounds of pressure off each knee,” says Dr. Patience H. White, the Arthritis Foundation’s vice president of public health. In addition, losing as little as 11 pounds can reduce your risk of developing knee osteoarthritis by 50 percent.

It is important for Americans to make daily movement a year-round goal. While it may seem hard to get started, there are plenty of opportunities for you to move year-round, no matter where you are or what the season:

* Move with others. Enjoy exercise more by making it a social activity you can enjoy with your friends. The Arthritis Foundation organizes events year-round to keep people moving, including the Jingle Bell Run/Walk and Arthritis Walk, which also raise money for important arthritis research and community services. You can get started today by registering for an event near you.

* Take a walk. A stroll around your neighborhood or on a walking path will not only leave you with a trimmer physique and less joint pain, but can also improve your mood and overall sense of well-being. When it’s too cold or hot outside, move indoors by using a treadmill or walking in place. For a walking program that is specifically designed to reduce arthritis discomfort and improve overall health, try the Arthritis Foundation’s Walk with Ease program.

* Try Tai Chi. Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese exercise with a variety of proven health benefits, such as reducing stress and relieving arthritis pain. Because its gentle movements are easy to learn and do not require uncomfortable bending or squatting, Tai Chi is a great way to move all year. Check with your local Arthritis Foundation office to find a class near you.

To find out about more ways you can move year-round, visit www.letsmovetogether.org.

Starting a fitness program without testing your fitness level is like beginning a journey without knowing exactly where you and having no map to guide you to your destination. Fitness testing establishes your starting point. Plotting out check points along your fitness pathway can direct you toward achieving both short-term and long-term goals.

Seven reasons for fitness testing before and during your exercise program are to:

1. Establish your baseline. When you know initial fitness status, you know how far you have to go to reach your goals. Testing helps you set specific, achievable yet challenging goals with realistic target dates.

2. Compare yourself to others. Many tests are standardized. They provide norms, so you know where you stand in relationship to the “average” person’s score.

3. Individualize your program. Knowing your fitness level springs you out of the one-size-fits-all exercise mold and jumpstarts your personalized, streamlined training path.

4. Know how hard to work. You can estimate your optimum training range using maximum or predicted maximum fitness scores. For most phases of training, exercise intensity is typically performed within a target zone of 60-85% of your maximum cardio or strength level.

5. Evaluate your progress. When you measure your progress regularly, you can see how far you have advanced from your baseline fitness level. Each milestone that you achieve is a great confidence booster that propels you on toward your goals.