Jan 7, 2022 | Health & Wellness
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Dispelling Strength Training Falsities!
It is amazing to finally see strength training getting the attention it deserves throughout the health and fitness world, but there are still many misconceptions surrounding this incredible type of exercise. My goal has always been to dispel these falsities and let women know they should embrace intelligent, focused strength training and how it will get their bodies into shape the fastest while providing additional benefits like strength, stamina, fat loss, a revved-up metabolism and increased energy. Below are some of the most common misconceptions I hear, and it’s my mission to make sure as many women as possible know the truth! So here we go, let’s bust some myths!!!
1. Strength training will make you big and bulky- FALSE!
It takes an EXTREME amount of time, dedicated hard work, extremely heavy weights, intense macro counting and eating a calorie SURPLUS each day to put on visibly large muscles i.e. bulk. I owned a gym dedicated to heavy strength training for over 15 years and NO one ever packed on large visible muscles, because that wasn’t their intent. Let me promise you something- if you are not completely consumed with extreme lifting 5-6 times a week with split routines, counting and managing every calorie, supplementing, reducing cardio, and only focus on building big muscles- YOU WILL NOT ACCIDENTALLY GET THERE. It takes YEARS of hard-core dedication to get those big muscles. Lifting heavy a few times a week with full body routines will not get you there. Trust me, you don’t just start lifting and boom, get big and bulky.
That leads me into calories. In order to get big, huge muscles, you have to eat more calories each day then you burn, and those calories have to be correct and have exact macro counts for your body. If you start lifting and feel like you’re getting big, more than likely as a normal person working out, you’re eating too much and you’re gaining some fat- IT’S NOT MUSCLE.
Next, women specifically do not possess the amount of testosterone needed to make muscles bigger. There is no visible muscle growth without testosterone. So, unless you want to get a hormone panel to show you are genetically gifted and produce large amounts of testosterone, you won’t gain big size, it’s impossible from a hormonal standpoint.
Lifting for women means LEANER body compositions. It means lowering your body fat and noticing the toned muscles. It means ramping up your metabolism and burning more calories. Muscles burn up calories ALL DAY LONG TO STAY ALIVE!
So, lift to look lean, to amp up your metabolism, burn fat, look great, make daily life easier because you’re stronger, and don’t worry about getting big and bulky!![Kailon, Meet Kristin Fergasse](https://www.kailonfit.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Kailon-4-pillars-page-3-Kristin-02-320x320.png)
2. Strength training decreases mobility and flexibility and puts stress on joints- FALSE!
Repetitive stress should be a concern for all of us. The whole reason I got into strength training over 15 years ago was after 2 major knee surgeries, 2 broken wrists and disc issues (from tennis, action sports and long distance running- ALL REPETITIVE MOTIONS) I needed strength. Light weights require A TON of repetitions. Tons of repetitions mean your joints are doing added work, NOT your muscles. Applying heavier weights to your exercises means your muscles do MORE work than your joints and as you get stronger your joints take on less work overall. You may not feel the repetitive stress at first, but any kind of improper form done over and over will cause damage and you will not have stronger muscles to help take over for the pain.
Mobility and flexibility come from moving our bodies though full ranges of motion and being consistent in our movements. Strength training does just that- as we move one muscle group through it’s working range, the opposing muscle group goes through a full range of stretching! Think about using your bicep muscle to curl a dumbbell up towards your shoulder. As that happens, your tricep goes through its stretching process. As you complete your full body strength training workouts, you will get both strength and mobility within that workout, as long as you’re focused on form, proper execution and utilizing full ranges of motion. Most injuries come from lack of strength especially around vulnerable joints, not lack of flexibility- gain strength and watch everything else become easier!
3. Light weights with high reps are the way tone and get lean- FALSE!
When I say light weight won’t change your body composition, I mean if you can keep going and going and don’t get anywhere close to fatigue, if after you’re done, it feels like you didn’t workout at all, if you are using momentum and just throwing the weight around, or if you have been using the same weight for the same number of repetitions for a long time- then it’s too light and changes to your body will not be made.
Being able to contract a muscle requires signals from your motor neurons (let’s call this mind-muscle connection for now), and the better you are at having them tell your muscles to contact the stronger you’ll get. This takes practice and it takes focus on what you’re doing. This is also why you have to increase the weight- if you don’t your body will adapt and not make further changes. The interesting thing about muscles is they do not get stronger WHILE you workout. We actually break them down during the workout. After, during rest, we repair those tears to create new muscle protein strands that are STRONGER! This does NOT mean they get bigger (see #1 above!). They are stronger and leaner (i.e. toner). But we need progression and added difficulty to keep the changes occurring.
Here’s the short version- if you do not challenge your body, your muscles, your cardiovascular system, it will not change- PERIOD. Heavier weights and less reps or lighter weights with more reps are both ok AS LONG AS YOU ARE GETTING CLOSE TO FATIGUE!
4. You have to go to a gym to gain strength and lose weight- FALSE!
2020 proved that theory wrong! It is absolutely possible to get fit at home. I have an entire at home program dedicated to just that. All you need is some bands and dumbbells, a couch, chair or bench and a phone to log into the app! While a gym does offer a wider range of equipment and weights, it is possible to progressively overload (make the workouts harder over time) at home. Adding more reps, more weight, longer working sets, adding an extra set and taking less rest time are great ways to make your workouts harder at home! I think everyone is realizing working out at home can really save time and money while still producing real life results. I do think it takes more dedication to a consistent routine when working out at home with distractions, but with some planning, you can absolutely do it!
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5. Cardio is better for fat loss and definition- FALSE!
This one has been around for as long as I can remember. So, let’s break it down and dive into the differences. The number of calories burned during any kind of training varies. When talking about the differences between cardio and strength training, while cardio may burn more calories DURING the training session, strength training burns way more OVERALL during the day, and every day as you create more lean muscle. One thing to remember is lean muscle requires calories just to survive. So, your muscles burn through calories all day every day just to exist. That’s how we rev up our metabolism by lifting weights! Once you stop your cardio session, that’s it- no more burning calories.
Lifting weights is the best way to create muscular strength and tone. Cardio will not help define your muscles at all. Especially when you consider most people do the exact same cardio routine down to the distance and time. The body adapts to that very quickly and will begin to burn even LESS calories than it did before. By progressively overloading your muscles through resistance training (making harder and harder little by little), your body will lean out, show definition and burn more calories constantly overtime!
Long duration cardio can be catabolic. That means without proper nutrition it can utilize muscles as fuel. That’s bad for anyone wanting to look tone and healthy. We need to conserve and build up those muscles for our overall health and metabolism.
Here’s the best part- if all you’re doing is cardio, you need to stick to a much stricter nutrition regimen. But by adding in strength training, you need to consume more calories to sustain those lean muscles as they are constantly burning up those calories! Win win! Eat more, feel better, become stronger and look leaner!
Lastly, remember it’s not just about fat loss- strength training lowers blood pressure, burns calories, improves sleep, reduces joint pain, improves mobility and increases bone density! Use your time wisely!
6. You need to be exhausted and sore after every workout- FALSE!
Being sore all the time is NOT the key to progressive overload and seeing maximum benefits. If you can’t walk up the stairs the next few days, it’s not going to be great for adhering to consistency. Most people don’t like the idea of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), which is understandable if it’s hindering normal life activities. By adding in a walk or quick stretch the next day can help lessen the feelings of soreness. It’s good to remember that strength training done correctly makes tiny little tears in the muscles which is a GREAT thing, so as it heals the muscle becomes stronger and LEANER.
You need both- workouts and recovery- to change your body. Follow a great program, work those muscles, and then let your body build a stronger version of itself as it rests. No one should be going hard every single day. Without recovery, the body would be in a constant state of inflammation and destruction. Both play an intimate role in changing our bodies physical and internal structure.
Now, it is important to workout with thought and intensity. If you’re never ever sore and don’t feel the muscles working during or after every workout- then it’s probably not going to make huge changes in your body. An unchallenged body will never change. It can be a slow process of course as you learn and try new things but put thought and effort into how you move your body! Proper form is imperative, if the exercise is not done correctly injuries will occur, consistency will diminish, and it makes it hard to stick with a program! Learn, perform, repeat and watch your strength sore!!!
I hope this gets you excited to move forward with your strength training goals!
Knowing what’s true and realistic is important when starting any workout program, especially lifting weights. It’s hugely important for all of us, and I don’t want you to be afraid to start because of false myths being perpetuated out there! Please let me know if you have heard anything else or have any questions, and I will make another blog about it!
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Jan 7, 2022 | Health & Wellness
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Tips that will help you reach your goals faster!
There are many strategies you can implement into your workouts to make them better, more efficient and definitely more effective! Read below about our top 8 techniques to increase your workout’s benefits and results!
1. Increase the weight you’re using for a particular exercise.
You will be able to perform the same amount of repetitions if you either push a little harder, or if it was time to move up because you have been using the same weight long enough. You may also increase the weight see it naturally decreases your total repetitions. Now, it will be up to you to work hard and get yourself back up to your original repetition range!
2. Add extra repetitions with the same weight.
This works to a certain point. If you can add more than 5 repetitions at the same weight, then your weight wasn’t heavy enough to begin with. You can adjust both at the same time if that’s the case! Otherwise, try to increase your number of repetitions in a safe manner where form is your number 1 priority!
3. You can add an extra set to your exercise.
We recommend 1-2 hard sets, but if you’re feeling particularly good on a certain day, add an extra set onto an exercise. You may need to drop the weight to perform it well and safely but that’s ok! So if your biceps are feeling good and you didn’t quite reach fatigue, you can adjust the weight and add an extra set of bicep curls to really feel it! You most likely won’t be able to add extra sets to ALL of your exercises, and that’s ok- keep track of what you’re doing so you can see how far you’ve come!
4. Really pay attention to all of the micro cues of each exercise and work on your form and execution.
All of the small reminders, form cues, and proper exercise demonstrations in the explanation videos are a wealth of knowledge. Pressure points of contact, joint stabilization, exact parts of the body to contract and feel, hip and back adjustments, which way to lean, how to hold something- all of these small things make a HUGE difference when working out for effectiveness. Get the most out of each exercise by doing it better!
5. Mind- muscle connection is key.
Keeping your mind on your workout can be difficult while juggling life. The more you can think about it in the moment, and feel every exercise, the more you’ll get out of it. Some days will be easier than others, just do your best and put all your attention and effort into those awesome workouts!
6. Keeping your heart rate up and the total length of your workout time down by limiting rest periods will make your workout more efficient.
Work hard, break little and watch yourself push through more efficiently! That way you won’t dread a long workout because they shouldn’t be super long anyway! Get in, work hard, and get on with your day.
7. Increasing your range of motion can make for a better exercise.
This takes mobility practice and paying attention to your body and how far is effective versus how far can you actually go. There’s a fine line here. Paying attention to your body’s feedback is important. Adding an extra inch to your lunge or push-up can make a huge difference, but safety first!
8. Go into your workouts with intention and a plan.
Just by logging into our program, you have a plan! We keep you on track and your workouts are ready to go. For you, keeping track of what weights you’re using and your repetitions completed will help you know what is working and what isn’t. We have tools and PDF’s for that as well!
You do NOT have to implement all 8 at one time! These are just a few ideas of one or more things you can add for greater benefits and quicker results. Try one out and let us know how it goes!
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Jan 5, 2022 | Health & Wellness
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What should you be using?
I want to start with something I learned to be true a long time ago; if your muscles are not being challenged, they will not change (visually or physiologically). Light weights will not create strength and definition in muscles and heavy weights will not make you look big or bulky. Over the past 15 years, I have created and instructed more than 35,000 individual one-on-one workouts with clients. This has given me perspective and a very up close and personal look at what works and what doesn’t when it comes to achieving real results.
First, it’s important to note that everyone has different motivations for working out.
For some it’s weight loss, others want to release stress, a lot of people know and want the health and wellness benefits of moving their bodies and others want to physically change their physique and develop muscle and tone. This article is for the people who want to increase muscular strength, definition, endurance and fat loss.
I realize we all have a different interpretation of what “light” weights actually means.
When I say light weight will not change your body composition, what I mean is if you can keep going and going and don’t get anywhere close to fatigue (which just means pushing yourself until your muscles are thoroughly tired), if your goal is 15 repetitions and you realistically could have gone to 30 repetitions easily, if it feels like you didn’t actually workout or utilize your muscular system later that day or the next, if you are using momentum and just throwing the weight around to get it over with, if you are able to workout and simultaneously read or watch TV and think about something else, or if you have been using the same weight for the same amount of repetitions for a long time- then it’s too light and changes to your body will not be made.
Being able to contract a muscle requires signals from your motor neurons (let’s call this mind-muscle connection for now), and the better you are at having them tell your muscles to contact the stronger you’ll get.
This takes practice and it takes focus on what you’re doing. This is also why you have to increase your weights from time to time. If you don’t make those increases, your body will adapt and not make any further strength or physical changes. The interesting thing about muscles is they do not get stronger while you workout. We actually break them down during the workout (this is a good thing)! After your workout and during periods of rest, we repair those tears to create new muscle protein strands that are stronger!
This absolutely does not mean they get bigger. We need a lot of testosterone and a calorie surplus of very specific and proper nutrition to make them appear bigger. They are stronger and leaner (i.e. more defined or toned). But again, we need progressive overload and added difficulty to change our physical body.
Repetitive stress should be a concern for all of us.
Most of my early life included competitive sports like tennis, long-distance running, golf and snowboarding, which are all athletics of repetitive motion. I needed 2 knee surgeries, broke multiple bones and had disc issues from constant repetitive stress. I knew it was time to strengthen my muscles to help support all the injuries. Light weights require a massive amount of repetitions. All of these repetitions are putting more emphasis on your joints and connective tissue, not your muscles. You are not requiring your muscle to actually function if the load (weight) is too light. By simply applying heavier weights and keeping your repetitions controlled and without momentum, your muscles are now required do more work than your joints and you won’t need to do as many repetitions which limits the repetitive stress and overall damage.
As you get stronger, your joints begin to take on less work since your muscles are now able to handle the load. You may not feel the repetitive stress that’s happening to your body at first, especially if you’re new to exercising, but any kind of improper form done over and over will cause damage and you will not have stronger muscles to help take over for reoccurring joint stress.
If you do not challenge your body, your muscles, your cardiovascular system, they will not change, PERIOD.
Heavier weights and a proper range of repetitions to muscular fatigue is where all the benefits exist! Here are some very general guidelines. A person’s fitness level makes a difference. The more physically fit a person is, the harder they have to work to gain more strength and endurance. A person new to exercising will see faster results at first, because they are starting from the beginning, but they too will hit a point where they have to put in more challenging work to see greater results. Equipment makes a difference. Strength training machines are much easier to load with heavier weights because they offer a benefit of stability.
Doing a machine leg press is much different than doing a free-standing squat with dumbbells or a weighted bar on your back. If you are using bands, then the ultimate goal is to get to muscular fatigue which means you will need light, medium and heavy bands and there will be more repetitions required to get there. Taking all of that into consideration here are some of those general guidelines. First and most importantly, always push yourself as close to muscle fatigue as you can. Keep your rep range between 8-25, again this depends on machines versus dumbbells or bands. 1-3 sets depending on your fitness level and how new to exercising you are. New people- fewer total sets per exercise; experienced lifters, more sets per exercise.
As always, your number one priority should be proper form and technique. From there, you can play around with weight and rep ranges to see what feels right and what can safely and efficiently get you to muscular fatigue. Just remember heavier weights will not make you look big and bulky! It will get you closer to a leaner more toned body.
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Dec 15, 2021 | Health & Wellness
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Face your fears and create purpose driven goals.
Wanting something more than you fear it, is the catalyst for change and an opportunity to grow. Aspiration is the beginning stage of goal setting. This can apply to a physical goal, a career change, moving across the county and can even apply to relationships. Fear is inevitable, but how we handle and overcome our fears is within our control. Taking the first step of wanting something more than you fear it is a major building block for success.
Here are some tips for creating specific goals for yourself!
1. Make the decision.
Your goal is something you want more than you fear it.
2. Make a mental commitment.
Set your intention and commitment to yourself first. Then tell other people about it. Email friends and family, ask questions on forums, sign up for that race or workout program, or apply for the job you want. Make the commitment and hold yourself accountable to it.
3. Create a reasonable time frame.
If you want to lose 10 pounds, don’t set a time frame of 5 days. If you want to run your first 5k, try not to set the date a year from now. Be realistic and understand sometimes things take longer than what we want. But if you’re motivated enough time is just another hurdle you can overcome!
4. Stay consistent.
Once you set your goal, you’re mentally prepared and your time frame is set, the next step is consistency. If it’s a physical goal, be diligent to get those workouts in. If it’s applying for a new job, do your research on the company and the people you’ll be meeting. In relationships, it’s putting the work in and being mindful of what each of you need on a consistent basis. Consistency across the board is key. Without it, all the hard work and desire in the world won’t help you achieve those goals.
5. Track results.
See how far you’ve actually come. It can be hard to see small, daily achievements, but they are there! By writing down your workouts you’ll see your progress. Seeing and knowing that your minute mile pace is getting lower is awesome, even if it’s by a few seconds. Tracking your results allows you to see what’s working and what’s not so you can adjust your path to success!
This is really important to remember…
Even if you don’t reach your original goal, you may find something in the journey that ignites a new passion. You may realize the original goal doesn’t give your life the same meaning now, so you adjust it. You may meet some amazing people that touch your life along the way. Set your intention, work hard and smart (consistently) and pay attention as you go. Reach for new heights and set the goals no matter how unachievable they may seem at the time; we will never fully know our true abilities until they are tested. Let’s discover our capabilities, limiters and dreams through the pursuit.
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