My Trainer Jill | Exercise Video

I have countless pictures of Izak in a full squat. Cavemen didn't have chairs to sit on. We were meant to squat like this contrary to "popular" belief. If you don't use it, you'll lose it.

The butt and hamstrings are some of my favorite muscles to train. Many knee issues are caused by the hamstrings being too weak in comparison to the quads. In a lunge or squat the hamstrings kick in when the knee gets to 90 (degrees). If you’re not going deep enough on your lunges and squats, you need to find another supplemental exercise to work the hamstrings across the butt. (The hamstrings cross your knee and your butt. This is why seated hamstring curls are silly. They do not work the hamstring across the butt.)

Many people experience knee pain when they go this deep. This pain could be caused by a multitude of reasons and I do not advocate ignoring it! Go as deep as you can WITHOUT knee pain. And for those of you who don’t have knee pain, I’m not suggesting the “ass to ankles” squat shown above, but go deep enough to activate the hamstrings (just below 90 degrees). We’re almost all of us born with this ability, we lose it because we don’t use it!

I don't think it's a coincidence that children are constantly moving... and learning.

In college I minored in Spanish. I remember sitting for (what seemed like) hours at night studying flashcards to memorize words and not getting anywhere. The next morning I would review the cards on my walk to class and low and behold, I’d remember them! This was astonishing to me. There are studies that show people learn differently. Do any of you remember having that teacher somewhere along the way that noticed your learning style was different so they did something about it, or gave you a tip you’ve never forgotten? God bless good teachers! Well, I never put the coincidence together until reading something long after school about the power of movement while learning. If you are a student, or someone who is studying anything you need to remember, take it with you to the bike or the elliptical sometime. It won’t be your most vigorous workout– doesn’t need to be! My friend Samina would go for a walk around her neighborhood in the evenings to study while in school to become a PA. She rocked it! I can’t recommend this however as some of us need to watch where we’re going to avoid trips etc. But it’s harder to fall off of an elliptical or bike. Try it sometime!

I can’t tell you how many people have told me, “I can’t do squats and lunges because they hurt my knees.” And I can’t tell you how many times when I’ve shown them a few simple rules, they’ve been surprised to learn they CAN!

WITHOUT KNEE PAIN.

It’s important to listen to your body. The old saying, “No pain no gain” is actually sort of true. There’s little immediate pain associated with sitting on the couch all day. There’s a lot more “pain” involved in working out. HOWEVER, not joint pain. I never want joint pain. Pain in the joint of a knee, shoulder, hip or back… where bones connect, is never something you want to just “work through”. So listen to your body. Please!

Here are the simple rules.

1. Keep your ankle, knee and hip all in alignment. Often times (women especially) will let the knee cave inward on the squat, lunge or any single legged knee bending activity. Practice this. Do not let the knee cave inward!

2. Keep your weight in your heels. Stick your butt back! In most leg exercises this requires you to reach your arms and shoulders forward so you don’t tip over backwards. Yes! That’s how far back I want you sitting. At the bottom of the movement, how much weight is in the front part of your foot? I want most of your weight in your heels.

3. Stop the downward phase just before knee pain. For most, you will notice that the pain happens at the bottom of the range of motion. Stop just before your knees tell you to! Since I don’t have knee pain, I squat and lunge to 90 degrees because I want to get the butt and hamstrings involved (another important thing for women especially). But if you have knee pain down on those low ends, don’t go there!

4. Add balance movements to your workout. When you stand on your left leg only, you no longer have a leg holding up the right side of your body. A little muscle in the left butt works to hold the hips level and if it isn’t doing it’s job, this can lead to all kinds of problems, including knee pain. See my discussion here for more about that. This also challenges Rule #1 here. If one butt drops, a knee is likely to cave inward as well.

Often times, strengthening the muscles around the knee help with knee pain. There are SO MANY other reasons why you could be having trouble (i.e. improper gait, tight IT band, etc.) but this is a good place to start. Here are some sample exercises reviewing these rules.

It’s all about priorities. Exercise for me doesn’t even go on my to do list anymore. It’s such a priority, I don’t have to think about getting it done. I will literally schedule my day around my workout. And I know what you’re thinking.  I AM a personal trainer. I DON’T wear a suit all day and have to be in an office from 8am – 6pm. LUCKY ME!! But that’s because exercise and freedom are two HUGE priorities for me. You are in charge of your life. Design it how you wish!

If you workout, you will be much more productive with the rest of your day and you will get sick less often. That right there is reason enough to make room for it. If you ask yourself, at any given moment of your day, “Is this the best use of my time?” I’m sure you would find all kinds of wasted moments during your day. Facebook. Magazines. Texting. Games. All while SITTING no less.

How about working some PLAY back into your day!? That can be excellent exercise!

As many of you who know me know, I’m a multi-tasker. To a fault. I know. But if I worked at a desk, I would find a way to get one of those treadmill desks. Where you’re walking (slowly) at your desk instead of sitting. I have a long list of reading that I’m always wishing I had more time for. Maybe once a week I will bring a pile of reading with me to the elliptical. This is NOT how I spend every workout of course. I have plenty of intensity worked into my routine throughout the week, but on recovery days, I get to catch up on reading. (Not the latest on Jennifer Aniston’s long lasting love affair with Brad Pitt either.)

I actually have a friend who drives one hour each way to work every day! Yikes! I can imagine that by the time she gets home, it ain’t happening! And I’m not about to insist she wake up at 4! I know people do it, but I can’t fathom it. Her choices are lunchtime walks or after school playdates with her kids before dinner. Her workout is not going to be an hour at the gym during the week. It doesn’t have to be that. I always go back to my dad. I honestly don’t think he knows what the inside of a gym looks like! And yet he is one of the most fit men I know. His “play” is very physical. Building barns. Fixing fence. Moving cattle.

Perhaps for you, it’s walking from the basement up to the upstairs level of your house 10 times before you jump in the shower. Maybe it’s doing 100 sit ups, 100 push ups, 100 squats before you eat lunch. I personally like the idea of getting sweaty somehow right before your shower. It just fits. And maybe that’s the only goal. To get sweaty! Have you heard of Tabata?  It can be done folks.

We’re all busy. . . I’ve never asked anyone how they were only to hear them say, “Bored.” We fill our time with our choices. What we make our priorities. It’s your life. So take charge of it!

Is it “safe” to cross the street? Nothing is safe.  No one is ever “safe”.

Our kids can barely walk and we’re tossing them balls and giving them rackets and hoping they’ll be the next Michael Jordan. Many of the same run, sprint, cut, jump, throw skills are used to play soccer, basketball, football, baseball, hockey…. and yet, we never think to teach them how to squat properly. How to sprint with good form. How to use their core to throw a ball. In weight lifting, we learn the mechanics of movement. We learn the proper form of a squat (used in every rebound and in every jump). It teaches body awareness. Am I suggesting we load up a bar and see how much a 7 year old can back squat? No. But teaching kids how to do a push up with good form can only help their athleticism. As I’ve mentioned before, Izak (he’s 2 and a half) is in gymnastics for this reason. He’s TWO and a HALF! He barely has the attention span to walk on the balance beam holding my hand! But I see him learning movement. Balance. Coordination. In sports, they’re learning how to play that game. The rules. Where to stand. When to run. In the weight room they’re learning how to move their bodies. Regardless of any specific sport rules. This is critical in my opinion.

Strength training in youth is safer than most sports! AND, a complete strength program has been shown to increase motor unit recruitment and synchronization (coordination), decrease injury potential, increase muscle strength and endurance, improve body composition and increase bone density and bone mass! Why WOULDN’T you not only allow kids to lift weights, but encourage it!?

No, I do not think they should be loading their spines will all kinds of ridiculous weight. But Izak will lift weights as soon as he’s mature enough to follow directions and instruction. He already does some in following mommy around with her clients. (So cute to watch him mimic our activities!) I believe this will only help his future sport endeavors.

Depends. First of all, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. If you’re a runner and not complaining of any issues, why change anything?

Before shoes, we all ran barefoot. But that doesn't mean you should start running this way on your next 5 miler!

I am a heel striker. When I run, my  heel hits first. This means the ground force reactions are FOUR TIMES GREATER than a forefoot striker. Bummer for me. I am NOT a candidate for barefoot running. UNLESS I change my running form, which can be done with some effort.

If you don’t land on your heal first in running, you could more easily make the adjustment to these funny looking shoes by gradually making the transition.

1. Walk in them a while (for weeks) before running.

2. If you’re a heel striker, practice shortening your stride to land more on the mid to front of foot.

3. Listen to your body! Take it slow. Run for bits at a time and ease into it.

Here’s a great article for more detail if you’re interested.

The average 30+ year old doesn’t do explosive movements anymore in their training… and they wonder why they’re feeling older and slower. This is my cute hubby demonstrating “box jumps” using a table on a playground. It’s a pretty high table and he makes it look pretty easy. Whatever height you use, make sure it’s stable and safe to land on.

Stand on your left leg and tap the ground or something close to it with your right hand while keeping your left leg slightly bent and your back the same posture throughout the movement.  Your spinal alignment should look the same when you’re standing as when you’re tapping – all arches and curves still exactly as they are in your best posture. To do this, you have to think about sticking your butt out and your chest out. Abs in.

Are you ready for ski season? Start now!! This is one of my favorite times to be a trainer. When I’m working with a new client and they go skiing for the first time. I OFTEN get a call of excitement from the hill. They can’t BELIEVE how much better they are now that we’ve been working on leg strength and balance. Makes skiing a lot more fun.

I’m going to give you some exercises to add to your regular workouts… Today’s is Phase 1 and each of the 3 phases (over the course of the next couple months) will get progressively more intense. It’s important to build up the strength in your legs before adding the power. Spinning is a great option by the way to get the legs ready for ski season! Try getting in 1 to 2 classes a week (or a good, hard 45+ minutes on your own).

Pick up the pace for faster results!

Increase the intensity of your workouts. I don’t mean that you have to go balls out for an hour! If your usual routine though is to jog 3 miles, try throwing in some chunks of faster paced running followed by slower tempo running to change your heart rate throughout the workout. I love intervals. Make your heart rate go up. Way up! Then let it come back down a little. Long after the workout, your metabolism will still be elevated, increasing the total cost of each workout. In the weight room, lift more weight, increase the # of reps you’re doing or shorten your recovery periods to increase the intensity.