Fitness

Jump to links for the following Fact Sheets: General Information on fitness Fitness Commonly held myths about fitness and weight loss Focus on specific muscle groups and Training General Focus on muscles Flexor muscles of the forearm

Fitness 

Exercise is a vital part of any weight-loss program. You may ask yourself why exercise is so important and wonder if just eating less is enough. An easy answer to this question is most likely not. Eating less is not enough for the vast majority of people. The two main benefits of exercise are speeding up weight loss and maintaining any weight loss you have already achieved. People who exercise regularly are more successful in maintaining their weight loss than people who only diet.

Exercise is important because you will use more energy and therefore lose weight faster. But beyond any immediate effect of exercise there are also a number of delayed effects. By building your muscles through doing more exercise, you will actually increase the amount of energy that your body uses every day; the so-called Basal Metabolic Rate (for more information on BMR see chapter 4 of my book, Healthy Intentions: Make it a habit).

Also during the time you take to exercise each day you will not be eating or doing things that may tempt you or make you hungry. It will help you to avoid doing things that are associated with food. Exercise will provide a large benefit and help you lose weight faster and easier.

Exercise provides many short- and long-term benefits that are essential for weight loss. The short-term benefits are from the direct use of energy and burning your stores of fat. This is especially true if you have been eating the right foods and following your weight-loss plan. There are several long-term benefits. Firstly, as your muscles become larger they will burn more fat. Secondly, you will increase your fitness and health as well as feeling better. Thirdly, exercise is associated with a better mood and concentration.

So all around exercise has many benefits that are essential for any weight-loss program. If exercise is performed properly with the right warm up, it should not be associated with any injuries. However, you should see your doctor before starting if you have not exercised before or if you are starting a new exercise program.

Types of exercise

You should have a balanced exercise program that includes both anaerobic and aerobic exercises (for more information see my book)

Exercise does not need to be expensive. You can build your muscles and fitness at no cost by doing activities such as callisthenics and jogging. Alternatively, you can spend a lot on personal trainers, gyms and expensive equipment. This is a very individual and I will try to give you some guidance on the best choices. Simple things such as the medi-ball, jumping rope and free weights are all that you need for a full body work out. Another thing that I think helps a lot with your workout is using music while you are exercising, as a fast beat makes you work harder.

I will provide simple advice for getting the most out of your exercise workout and you will also be able to order some exercise equipment from this website.

Commonly held myths about fitness and weight loss

• Myth: I don't have time to work out.
• Myth: being on your feet all day is all the exercise you need.
• Myth: running is the only aerobic exercise that works.
• Myth: if your parents are fat you will be too.
• Myth: stop exercising and your muscles turn to fat.
• Myth: spot reducing works.
• Myth: the more sit-ups I do the more rippled my abdominals will be.
• Myth: you must do at least 30 minutes of aerobics to burn fat.
• Myth: women who lift weights will end up looking like men.
• Myth: the best personal trainers look the part.
• Myth: exercising during pregnancy will harm the unborn child.

In this section I will discuss some commonly held myths about fitness in the general community. Myths are commonly held beliefs that are passed down the generations and that people hardly ever question. A myth can be quite destructive if it is false as people are quite reluctant to disbelief the myths. A myth can be so strongly held that even scientific data proving that it is wrong is not believed. Don't fall for this trap. It is your heath and wellbeing that are at stake so take advice from the experts.

Myth: don't work out with weights until you first lose body fat.

Fact: burning energy is what makes you lose fat and doing weights can be a great complement to other exercise. If you increase your muscle bulk you will increase the amount of calories that your body uses up and this will help you lose weight. Having a varied exercise program also helps you lose weight and prevents you from losing interest in exercise. Also getting toned is great for your self esteem and for your general wellbeing. So you don't have to feel that you have to lose the fat first before you can start doing weights or other exercise.

Myth: I don't have time to work out.

Fact: This is probably the most common complaint that I hear, and I have many a time used it as an excuse not to exercise in the past. Life is about priorities and you should put your health first. Being a doctor I certainly work long and hard hours but still I manage to do a minimum of two hours of exercise every week and you can too. Be creative! Take your bike to work, stop the car some distance from work and take a brisk walk. If you have children make them participate in your exercise so that you do it together. So there is time, you just have to use it.

Myth: being on your feet all day is all the exercise you need.

Fact: This is unfortunately not true. If you have ever tried to get in shape and lose weight you have probably noticed that you need to get moving quickly and sweat before your body reacts with any weight loss. It is recommended that you need to have your heart rate up to 150 for a sustained period of time before you get any cardiovascular fitness. I would also recommend that you do at lease two hours of vigorous exercise a week to lose weight or get fit.

Myth: running is the only aerobic exercise that works.

Running is a great way to burn a lot of calories especially if you do it the right way. It can however be a strain on the body especially your knees and can become very boring if you are not into running. Running is certainly not the only aerobic exercise that works. Any sport that has a lot of movement will burn fat. Sports such as tennis, squash or swimming will also work just and can keep your interest in sports alive so that you incorporate it as a fun part of your life.

Myth: if your parents are fat you will be too.

Fact: if your parents are fat then you are not forced to go down the same road if you don't want to. There is a small genetic predisposition to becoming obese but the largest part of being a ‘large' family is social habit. If your parents are fat they are less likely to exercise and they are more likely to overeat. As the children learn from their parents, they will learn all the bad habits that lead to obesity and this is why you will become fat. If you are willing to change your life style, including exercising more and eating the right foods, there is nothing that will hinder you from becoming slim and muscular. The potential is there so grab it.

Myth: stop exercising and your muscles turn to fat.

Fact: this is physiologically impossible as fat and muscle are two completely different tissues. It's like saying that muscle can turn into brain etc. impossible. What happens when you stop exercising is that your muscles get smaller and the fat that you have increases. This happens quite quickly within a couple of weeks so it's therefore important to be consistent with your exercise and do it every week. It's easy to get fat but darn difficult to get rid of it, as you probably know.

Myth: spot reducing works.

Fact: Some people have the idea that you can get rid of fat from specific places by exercising that part. Such as doing stomach crunches to get rid of abdominal fat. This does not work. The reason for this is the way the body breaks down fat. It doesn't matter what way you burn calories, fat will be taken from your bodies fat deposits in the same way, i.e. a general reduction in fat all over your body. Some places in the body such as the abdomen and hips have what's called long storage fat which gets broken down as a last resort. It's because of this long-term storage in the abdomen and hips that it is so difficult to get rid of this fat.

Myth: the more sit-ups I do the more rippled my abdominals will be.

Fact: doing sit-ups is very beneficial as it strengthens the back and promotes wellbeing. But if you want rippled abdominal muscles you need to get rid of all fat from your abdomen as even the smallest amount will obscure your abdominal muscles and they will not look ripped. So doing sit-ups is certainly good for you but so long as you have any abdominal fat they will not show up.

Myth: you must do at least 30 minutes of aerobics to burn fat.

Fact: this depends on how much you eat and how many calories you are getting. If you are eating less calories that your body is using, then any amount of aerobic exercise will burn fat. From my experience people often eat a lot more than their body is using up so in most cases you probably need more than 30 min of exercise to burn of your fat. It's up to you.

Myth: women who lift weights will end up looking like men.

Fact: this is not true. Women have different hormones and genetics then men. They don't have a lot of testosterone and their hormones don't promote muscle growth the same way that men do. Even full-time bodybuilders that train every day don't end up looking like men (unless they are on steroids). So if you are a woman, it's safe for you to do weights without being worried about looking like Hercules, it just won't happen.

Myth: the best personal trainers look the part.

Fact: this is not necessarily true. Like great tennis coaches, or other trainers you don't have to be an elite athlete to be a good trainer. You need to be a good teacher and good in inspiring and motivating people. People that are quite buffed up themselves may be spending more time on themselves than they spend on you. Ask other people that have had the same trainer. Make a choice on skills not appearance.

Myth: exercising during pregnancy will harm the unborn child.

Fact: so long as you are having a healthy diet and don't overdue the exercise it should not have any impact on your child. The child is very well protected in the abdomen with several layers of tissue and swimming in fluid so that it takes quite a large amount of force to harm a baby. Some medical conditions may prevent you from doing exercise during pregnancy such as cervical incompetence, so always check with your doctor before starting any vigorous exercise. In the vast majority of cases though no harm will come to the baby even after vigorous exercise, but it's important to check with your doctor before you start a new exercise program.

Please contact us about myths that you have heard or any questions you would like answered. This section is continually expanding as you ask more questions.

Focus on muscles

• Introduction
• The anatomical human
• Body movements
• Resistance training
• Free Weights
• Your body as the weight
• Machines

Introduction 

There are three main types of muscles in the body: visceral, cardiac and skeletal. All of these muscles can be further sub-classified. The only muscle that is affected by exercise and has relevance for beauty and weight loss is skeletal muscle.

Basically, each muscle in your body contains two types of muscle fibres-the so-called red and white fibres. Red fibres are adapted to provide sustained contraction that does not fatigue very easily. These fibres are present in a high proportion in your postural muscles, such as the calf muscle and the quadriceps muscle in the front of your thigh. Red fibres are the main muscle fibres that are exercised when you walk, jog, run or do aerobic-type exercise. Whereas the white fibres are designed for fast, short and strong contraction such as lifting weights, which is an anaerobic-type exercise. There are over 600 skeletal muscles in the body and they comprise up to 40 per cent of your body weight.

From an anatomical point of view, beauty has many aspects including your weight, curves and skin. The prime purpose of muscles is movement; however they are also important because they provide many of the curves in the body that people find attractive. They also consume energy and therefore aid in weight loss. You will discover in my book, Healthy Intentions: make it a habit that beauty, weight loss and muscle development are intimately associated. This can be seen in competitive body-builders. Before competitions they go into an intense training regiment, including strict food restrictions to reduce the body fat so that the muscles are more defined. This is because fat tends to fill in between muscle groups; thereby making the muscles less distinct.

There are a few facts that are universal when talking about beauty. The first is symmetry, which is a vital factor when considering beauty. This goes for many aspects of the human body; in particular for muscles. When considering your weight training, you should always aim for symmetrical muscle development. It is therefore important to develop your upper and lower body muscles as well as right and left sides equally. From a weight-loss point of view, bigger muscle groups will burn more energy than smaller groups. People that start their training tend to focus on the upper body, such as biceps and pectoralis muscles. The largest muscle groups; however are actually in the legs and include muscles such as quadriceps femoris and the gluteus maximus.

A few facts that are important to consider when trying to develop your muscles. Almost all skeletal muscles in the body are paired. When performing a movement there is a minimum of two muscles groups that will act in that movement. If only one muscle group is moving then the movement would be very jerky and unstable. This is related to both the way nerves innervate muscles and simple mechanics. The second muscle group stabilises the movement and makes the movement smooth. An example of this is when you flex your arm, both the flexor group of muscles (biceps, brachialis and coracobrachialis) and the extensor group (triceps) will be contracting.

Muscles work on joints and there are several types of joints. Some joints such as the elbow joint move only in one plane for flexion and extension, other joints such as the shoulder, move in multiple planes. The shoulder joint is the most mobile joint in the body. Muscles influence movements by the way that they are attached to bones. By changing the position of the bones, different muscles may be recruited to perform the same movement. It is therefore important when performing muscle exercises focused at a specific muscle group, to keep the correct position and body posture.

When reading about exercise it is important to understand what different terms mean. The following is a description of the correct anatomical definitions of all the movements of the body, which is also the way they are described in my book.

You will note that I have been very specific when it comes to describing the individual muscles. In many books, websites and training guides there is only a limited focus on the basics of muscles and most focus on describing different exercises. I will focus on both, but if you know the exact mechanics of the muscle group you are trying to exercise you will easily understand how the exercise should be correctly performed.

The anatomical human

All terms that refer to movements of the body are in reference to the anatomical position of the body, which is as follows:

1. Standing erect
2. Arms by side of body
3. Palms facing forward
4. Legs together
5. Toes straight ahead

This anatomical position is adopted worldwide. All definitions of movement of the body refer back to this position so there is no confusion as to what is meant. If at any stage you are unsure what is meant by a movement, refer back to the above list and it will become clear.

Body movements

This section provides an explanation of all the basic movements of the body. Some movements that you will do in your exercise regiment will be a combination of these movements. Always think of the anatomical position of the body as described above when considering a movement. All movements are performed by muscles; however the muscles can be working in groups to bend parts of the body such as bending forward (bowing) i.e. flexing, or the muscles can be moving two bones in relation to each other such as flexing the arm.

Many muscle act over more than two joints and will therefore produce movements of more than one joint. The majority of action is usually in assisting one movement but in certain positions they will assist other movements. There are many ways of grouping different muscles together. As this guide mainly aims at training and weight loss, I have group muscles together according to their main movements. This will make it easier to develop exercise regiments that target specific regions. Only terms that are used in this guide are explained in the following list:

• Flexion: decreasing an angle or bending.
• Extension: increasing an angle or straitening.
• Abduction: moving away from the body in the coronal plane. The coronal or frontal plane is the plane that divides the body from side to side.
• Adduction: moving towards the body, this is opposite to abduction.
• Eversion: moving the sole of the foot away from the midline.
• Inversion: moving the sole of the foot towards the midline.
• Pronation: rotation the hand so that the thumb moves in towards the body.
• Supination: rotating the hand so that the thumb moves away from the body.

Resistance training

There are multiple ways of providing resistance training to develop your muscles. As with all activities, there are positive and negative aspects of all these approaches. I find it best to try to combine all of them as this provides the best all rounded approach. When performing your exercises it is best to try to always be standing up if possible. This will keep your core muscles activated and you will burn more energy and therefore have a better weight loss result. As explained in my book, resistance training is only part of the bigger picture when trying to loose weight. By using a wide range of techniques you can give yourself a better chance of success and you may find that it is more fun to exercise when not performing the same movements all the time.

When performing resistance training it is important to cycle your exercises. Do not work the same muscle group for several exercise sessions in a row. When you are performing resistance training there is a small degree of damage to the muscle. The body responds to this by increasing the size of the muscle, which is what you want. If you do not let the body heal properly between sessions, then you will not get the desired effect and in fact may even cause permanent damage.

Free Weights

Pros:

• Free weight combines the best aspects of many of the approaches.
• Provides you with almost limitless possibilities.
• Can be done in many position and therefore you can activate your core muscles as well as the muscle that you are focusing on to boost your results.

Cons:

• Needs proper instruction in the correct positions and how to perform the exercises; it can therefore be difficult as a beginner. This is one benefit of having a personal trainer assisting you initially.

Your body as the weight

Pros:

• Many exercises possible, such as sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups. Working on the medi-ball.
• Activates multiple muscles simultaneously, thereby boosting your results.
• Good for general fitness and flexibility.
• Good for your core stability and strength.

Cons:

• May be difficult to perform initially if overweight.
• Not usually possible to focus on single muscle groups.

Machines

Pros:

• Excellent for beginners as instructions are usually provided with the machine and the machine forces user to perform the correct movement.
• Many weights possible.
• Good for isolating different muscle groups.

Cons:

• Usually performed sitting down. And therefore does not activate core body areas.
• Not so good for flexibility.

Conclusion

This guide aims to provide you with knowledge of the different muscle groups and how they work including interesting facts on cosmetic enhancements. It can be used as an initial guide to starting your training, or as a reference for fine tuning your exercise.

 Flexor Muscles of the forearm

• Introduction
• Description of flexor muscles
• Brachialis
• Biceps brachii
• Movements performed by this muscle group
• Stretches for this muscle group
• Exercises to train this muscle group
• Biceps cross cable curls
• Standing barbell curls and standing dumbbell curls
• Dumbbell hammer curls
• Pull ups
• High cable cross cable curls

Introduction The flexor group of muscles act by flexing the forearm (see Figure 1). They produce the well known bulge in front of the upper arm. They are relatively small muscles, so you should use small weights to work this muscle group. This is an attractive group of muscles; however they are not so useful for weight-loss purposes due to their small size. My book, Healthy Intentions: make it a habit explains how building up your muscles can actually help in weight loss. Muscles in this group include: biceps brachii and brachialis. The elbow joint is only capable of performing flexion and extension.

Description of flexor muscles

Brachialis The brachialis attaches to the humerus and ulna (see Figure 2). This muscle is only able to move the elbow joint and is always active in any movement of this joint. The brachialis is the strongest flexor muscle of the arm. It lies underneath biceps brachii and is therefore not very obvious externally. If well developed, it can be seen as a strip of muscle in the lower arm beneath the biceps. When extending the forearm, it stabilises the movement by slowly relaxing.

Biceps brachii This muscle actually acts across two joints - the elbow and the shoulder - and therefore produces a more complex range of movement than brachialis (see Figure 3). Biceps brachii has no attachment to the humerus at all. It attaches to the scapula by two separate tendons, which is why it is called ‘biceps' (from Latin; Bi meaning two). It has a very interesting attachment arrangement to the forearm. One attaches to the radius. The other attachment is by the so-called bicipital aponeurosis, which passes across the cubital fossa and attaches to fascia of the forearm. Due to these complicated attachments biceps brachii is able to produce a variety of movements. Three main movements are produced by this muscle group: supination of the forearm, flexion of the elbow and flexion of the shoulder joint. Supination is the act of assuming the supine position, i.e. the act of turning the palm forward or upward by performed by lateral rotation of the forearm. If the forearm is supinated, biceps brachii will be the main flexor of the forearm, which can be used if selective training of biceps brachii is required.

The main movement produced by this group of muscles is flexion of the forearm. If the palm is facing forward i.e. in the anatomical position (see Figure 4) both muscles will act together. If you hold your hand sideways with the thumb facing upwards, then the biceps becomes the main flexor muscle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Stretches for this muscle group

Stand straight with your arms behind your back, palms together and facing away from your body (see Figure 5). Push away from your body. It is important to keep your back straight. You should feel a stretch in your shoulders and arms. You may also grab something and walk slowly forwards. Keep arms straight against a corner and walk forward.

Exercises to train this muscle group

Biceps cross cable curls The benefit of standing up while doing this exercise is that you activate more muscles in your back and legs and thereby add to the intensity of the exercise. It is important to keep your back straight and not swing back. It is far better to use less weight and do the exercise slowly and in a more controlled way than to be swinging back and forth. If you are having trouble standing still, rest your back against a wall.

Standing barbell curls and standing dumbbell curls Slowly move the barbell all the way up to your chest and all the way down to your thighs. Variations Use a curved bar and vary your grip. Count to two or three as you are moving up and down. Stop in the middle of the movement and count to five. This exercise can be done on a preacher bench With dumbbells You need a pair of dumbbells. Slowly move dumbbell up and down, holding your hand with palms facing up. Variations Move dumbbells together or separately. Squat down as you are using the dumb bells to activate your leg muscles.

 

Dumbbell hammer curls Hold the dumbbells at a 90 degree angle. This will isolate the biceps as you can see from the above pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pull ups Grab pull up bar with palms facing forward, arms should be in line with your body. Pull up until your chin is above the bar then slowly come down. Pull ups can be difficult initially, but if you persist you can get great benefit out of them. Get someone to help you get up with your chin and then slowly come down without assistance. Use a machine that assists you with gravityt of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

High cable cross cable curls Stand in centre of cross cable machine with arms at 90 degree angle to the body. Fully extend arms and then slowly flex forearms towards each other. Do not move the arms.The only part that should be moving is the forearm at the elbow joint.