P90X Review

I have decided to review the P90X workout regimen and give my honest opinion of it only after being asked several times about it. I want to make it clear that this is my opinion only and is not to meant to undermine the program or anyone who has had success with it.

Pros:

It is a well put together program that offers some variety. It comes with a diet plan and exercise log that are probably the 2 most important keys to the success of this program. In other words just doing the workout set before you is not enough. You need to track workouts in order to improve and you will not meet your weight goals without the diet program. It is able to be done for the most part in the privacy of your own home with vary little equipment. There seems to be a pretty decent sized community on the internet for support.

Cons:

Not enough variety. Although there is some variety, most people will either peak or get bored in about 60-90 days. There is no where near enough load bearing exercise (use of weights). There is so much to be said for resistance training in regards to fat loss, bone building, core strength and a whole list of things. The diet plan is not the lifestyle change that I can see people sticking with. It has to be realistic or else your setting yourself up for failure. Working out at home though it sounds nice but is often a challenge. There are many distractions and many excuses not to exercise at home. Sometimes people do better in an actual exercise environment.

In summary I would say that this workout is certainly better than nothing. People who have been doing nothing will most certainly see some progress if they are pushing themselves and eating right. It is in my opinion not the answer for a long lifestyle changing exercise program.

“Is It Really That Important to Warm-Up?”


One of the most neglected ingredients to many athletes’ training program is proper warm-up prior to training. Many athletes don’t even consider performing a warm-up beforehand or if they do it is generally done very poorly and more often than not, incorrectly. For example, athletes can be found warming-up without wearing shoes, the wrong kind of shoes such as flip-flops or unsupported shoes, immediately stretching without any sort of prior warm-up or just simply poor execution of the warm-up exercises in general. All of these prevent the athlete from accomplishing the true importance of a warm-up, which must not be done just because you are told to; it has a purpose and multiple benefits such as:



• Increased core body temperature

• Increased muscle and connective tissue elasticity

• Improved movement patterns

• Increased proprioceptive awareness

• Strengthened stabilizers of joints and spine

• Increased dynamic flexibility

• Readied nervous system for athletic movements

• Prepared better, psychologically for activity




The two most important benefits are lessening of chances for injury and maximized performance from a properly completed warm-up. Once completed, the body and mind are now primed to act within the necessary parameters required for the sport. Remember, one way to tell if you have done an adequate warm-up is that you will have a little perspiration, which means the body is truly warmed-up and ready for more strenuous activity.



When developing a warm-up program for an athlete, it is imperative it follow the needs of the sport as well as the athlete in regards to any possible areas of soreness and/or past injuries they may have or had in the past as well as any weakness in motor skills. The warm-up should utilize many varying dynamic exercises physically preparing the athlete, be it a workout, practice or competition. As stated before, most athletes simply feel it is enough just to stretch before working out, which is known as static stretching. The problem with this is the athlete’s body is not properly warmed-up to stretch creating a situation similar to placing a rubber band in the freezer for a couple minutes, then pulling it out and attempting to stretch it. It doesn’t take much to hypothesize that the rubber band simply snaps under these conditions, which is the same thing that happens to an athlete’s muscles when just stretching is performed without prior warm-up. However, it is appropriate to statically stretch following a training session, especially for any problematically tight muscles or muscular imbalances since the body is properly warmed-up at this point. Instead of utilizing static stretching, athletes should incorporate dynamic exercises into their initial warm-up; exercises that incorporate range of motion through movement. The reason for this is they better prepare the body for movement, increase flexibility, can be more specific to sport and can increase overall conditioning level.



A warm-up can be designed to last anywhere from five to thirty minutes depending on needs of the athlete, discipline, time available and reason for warming-up. Most warm-ups will generally last five to fifteen minutes before practice with the longer warm-ups being utilized at competitions. If you start warming-up consistently for two weeks before training you will see a dramatic improvement in your ability to start the session since the readiness of your physical and mental states will be dramatically enhanced. This is especially true for those athletes who probably just rolled out of bed with very little if any breakfast and expect to complete their workouts. On the other hand, you have athletes who rush to skate after work, have been sitting at an uncomfortable desk all day and now expect to move through a full range of motion without a proper warm-up. From these few points, I hope everyone is now saying “point well taken” and are willing to start a proper warm-up before training.



Because of all of these benefits, when you think about it, nobody really has an excuse not to warm- up prior to activity. While there are many more, these are just some of the exercises utilized on a daily basis in our warm ups.



Warm-Up Exercises:

Butt Kicks


Leg Cross


Pistol Squat

High Knees


Prone Scorpion


Split Squat

Back Pedals


Mountain Climbers


Soldier

Side Slides


Frogs


Sumo Wrestler

Grapevines


Supine Leg Raise


Knee Grab

Side Steps


Front Body Bridge


Box Checkouts

Skips (distance/height)


Ab Bridge


Jump Walk-Throughs

Lunge


Jump Jacks


Jump Rope

Reverse Lunge


Vertical Jumps


Torso Rotation

Squat-G.M.-Calf Raise


Long Jump


Opposite Knee-to-Elbow



By utilizing any of these exercises in a structured format every athlete is able to warm-up their body appropriately before practice or competition. However, it is essential that all of the exercises be done correctly and with substantial effort to achieve their maximum potential towards warming-up the athlete. Now is the time to begin implementing a warm-up into your daily routine if you haven’t already and with all of the benefits how could you not?

Weight Lifting Clinic

Jim's Gym will be hosting a weight lifting clinic on Saturday December 12th at 11:00 A.M. We will be covering technique and form for both of the Olympic Style lifts including the Snatch and Clean and Jerk.

The coach will be Jim Storch, Senior Coach for USA Weight Lifting. Jim has over 20 years experience as a weight lifting coach. He has been the coach for the Central Region Empires for 10+ years. He has also completed course work and all the athletic production requirements for a Regional Level coach.

Jim is a 3 time Gold Medalist at the Empire State Games. He has also coached numerous Gold Medalist at the Empire State Games as well as being a National Record holder.

The cost will be $25 for members and $25 for non-members.

Anyone interested can call or email me to get on the list for Saturday.

What's new at Jim's Gym?

Gym Kids
Classes For Kids 4-16

We launched our Gym Kids Classes last week. We are now offering classes
for kids 4-16 years old 3 times per week. The classes are 45 minutes long
and will include such things as push, pull, run, jump, throw, climb and
lift. They will be taught to apply these core techniques safely and
effectively. Gym Kids will have healthy bones, muscles and joints, they
will be able to achieve and maintain a health weight. Gym Kids will be more
attentive in school and learn a healthy habit that will last a lifetime.
Stop on to check out the classes the first week is free. The classes are
being held Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 5:30 P.M.

Functional Fitness Classes
Classes for anyone 16-99

Functional fitness focuses on building a body capable of doing real-life
activities in real-life positions, not just lifting a certain amount of
weight in an idealized posture created by a gym machine. The main purpose
of functional fitness is to teach the muscles to work together rather than
isolating them to work independently. We are seeing phenomenal results
during the testing of this system which began in August of this year. These
results include, weight loss, fat loss, muscle gain, increased endurance
and many other positive results. The first 3 classes are free so stop in
for more info or to try a class.

Gift Certificates
Now Available!!

Gift certificates are now available for regular gym memberships as well
as our Functional Fitness Class and Gym Kids program. Stop in before to get
your today!!

In This Issue
Gym Kids Classes, Functional Fitness Classes, Gift Certificates

The Danger or Muscle Imbalances

I usually write my own stuff but this was a great article and wanted to share it with you.

The Danger of Muscle Imbalances and the Importance of Symmetry

The Danger of Muscle Imbalances and the Importance of Symmetry. Symmetry is a beautiful thing. It seems to be nature’s preferred state, at least in the structure of organisms: two eyes for stereoscopic vision (the better to hunt you with), two legs of equal length for injury-free traversal of the environment, two hands, two arms. For all intents and purposes, the two sides of the body are approximate mirror images of each other, with corresponding muscles and ligaments and tendons. Our anatomical symmetry is obviously a product of evolution, because a balanced body simply works better. Kids born with right legs an inch or two shorter than the left are more prone to injury, just as cars with bigger wheels on the left will be more prone to disrepair. Objective human beauty is determined by symmetry of the facial structure, as if we’re innately drawn to balance. A balanced body structure, too, is objectively attractive, because it connotes strength and competence in matters of survival (war, hunting, protection). It becomes clear that if symmetry weren’t important for survival in this environment, it wouldn’t have been selected for, we wouldn’t be drawn to it, and plants and animals would have assumed entirely different forms. Maybe we’d be amorphous blobs just kind of oozing around (as opposed to the amorphous blobs with legs and arms that presently populate our planet).

But we’re not all amorphous blobs (not yet at least – the American populace sure is doing its darndest). Our bodies want to be perfectly balanced. They function best when everything – muscles, tendons, bones – are equally healthy and strong. When we make a movement, every muscle has to pitch in and do what it can (to the best of its ability). If a single muscle falters, the others have to pick up the slack, and the entire production is compromised. Sounds a bit like Communism, eh? It may not work in government, but it’s definitely the best way to govern your body.

Art de Vany talks about the X-look: a “symmetrical balance of mass in the shoulder girdle, upper chest and back, the calves and lower quads.” The X-look indicates muscle balance – a very, very good thing. Balanced muscles allow our bodies to function the way they’re supposed to function. Injuries become rare, strength and performance optimize, and you start to give off the positive evolutionary cues that say, “Hey, strong, capable human here! I can hunt, slaughter, and haul a deer back to camp, then pass on my superior genetics to my kids!”

But despite the obvious importance of maintaining muscle balance, people seem to have missed the memo. Oh, sure, things are getting better, and “functional fitness” is growing by leaps and bounds (take Crossfit, for example, which only gets more popular), but the average gym goer is still woefully ignorant of muscle balance. And if he or she is familiar with the term, they’re probably just focused on keeping their biceps symmetrical with no consideration of overall function. Just how prevalent are imbalanced muscles, really? Well, take a quick look at your gym’s inhabitants. You’ve got the old guys pouring buckets of sweat everywhere despite languishing on the chest fly machine for hours at a time. Or how about the over-the-hill bodybuilder who has somehow managed to keep up with some semblance of a routine while failing to keep up with the regular waxing and deodorant applications (there’s nothing quite like discovering a cache of curly black hairs in your gym bag upon returning home). Then there are the frat boys twisting their bodies into unnatural contortions just to target their medial tricep and get that pump going.

But my absolute favorite has to be the top-heavy, dreidel-shaped buffoons sporting massive chests and bulging biceps along with bird shoulders, chicken legs, and the back development of young boys. These guys are the perfect pictures of muscle imbalance. Still, they thrust these chests proudly forward and strut around the gym, pausing only to scratch their arms in contrived positions that show off their biceps whenever there’s a nearby mirror. Oh, and they love doling out unsolicited advice. They now know better than to accost me (especially when I’m lifting) with that nonsense, but I see at least a few guys fall for their “charms” daily. It might actually be funny if it weren’t so damn dangerous. For every newbie they pressure into working out their way – isolation exercises, for the most part – that’s one more human who’ll be plagued with chronic muscle imbalances, possibly for life.

Muscle imbalances can manifest with devastating consequences. Take lordosis, an abnormal inward curve of the spine, which is sometimes caused by weak hamstrings. Heavy squatters who focus solely on the quads without engaging the posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings) often fall prey to lordosis of the spine. In fact, squats that ignore half of the lower body aren’t technically even squats; they are fundamentally flawed free-standing quad presses. Continue to overwork your quads without including your hamstrings, and you’ll probably end up with poor posture.

Muscle imbalance is also terrible to look at. The guy with huge arms and skinny legs might impress his buddies at the gym, but most casual onlookers will be horrified. The balanced, symmetrical X-look is far more aesthetically pleasing – even if we aren’t quite conscious of it, we are attracted to that body structure.

Muscle imbalances set you up for injuries. Like the boy with a shorter left leg, the guy with weak hamstrings is setting himself up for tattered cartilage and bad knees. The knee is designed to work with everything working in perfect harmony, but when your muscle balance is out of whack, undue stress is placed on the joint. Same goes for other areas of the body, too. In the real world, functional movements require the enlistment of multiple muscles. Carrying a buddy who sprained his ankle and is unable to walk requires leg, core, and shoulder strength. If you’re lacking in one area, the rest of your muscles will try to make up for it. That means muscles that are designed for one thing will have to do another (in addition to performing their original task) – and you know how opposing one’s natural inclinations usually goes.

What causes muscle imbalances? For one, poor form. Taking the squat example from above, it doesn’t mean much if you’re squatting (or deadlifting, or pressing, or doing any of the compound lifts) with poor form. At worst, you risk injury, and at best, you risk favoring one muscle group over another. A true squat is supposed to be a total body effort, with the quads pushing, the hamstrings pulling, and the glutes activating (not to mention the torso-lever supporting it all, which requires equally competent abs and lower back muscles).

Isolation exercises also contribute to muscular imbalance. As a rule, the leg extension machine doesn’t work anything but the quadriceps. Unless you’re a bodybuilder going for ridiculous quads, you should avoid this machine at all costs. Even if you supplement your “leg day” (arm, chest, back, and leg “days” are another pet peeve of mine, but more on that later) with some hamstring curls, calf raises, and glute pushes, you’re still contributing to muscle imbalance. Each individual muscle might be strong in its own way, but they don’t work together. Try to lift a heavy rock after a year of leg extensions, hamstring curls, and calf raises, and you won’t know how to coordinate each muscle to complete the movement. Isolation exercises don’t improve your performance in functional activities (sports, hunting, lifting heavy things in real world terms); they increase your ability to only perform that specific isolation exercise. A machine lover who can leg press a thousand pounds can’t squat the same amount, but a guy who squats a thousand pounds can probably double that amount on the leg press. The woman who curls a ton and loves the reverse back fly may have big biceps and a defined back, but I bet she can’t do fifteen pull-ups like the devoted Primal fitness buff might.

The very idea of “leg days” or “arm days” is counterproductive to real fitness and contributes to muscle imbalances. Did Grok have “leg days”? Did he ever spend a few hours just curling a heavy rock so his biceps would grow? No! The body is meant to function as a machine of interlocking parts, every single one of which is integral to overall performance. When we mentally separate our lifting days and focus on specific body parts, we start to think of our muscles as islands unto themselves, and eventually they’ll start to function like that – imbalanced and totally cut off from the rest of the muscles. What’s ironic is that the people who do this really think they’re balancing things out. If they only knew…

How do we promote muscle balance and fight muscle imbalance? Pretty simply, by exercising the right way. Luckily, Primal exercises are all about promoting proper muscle balance. Big, compound movements force us to use every muscle in our bodies correctly, and the best way to train for these big, compound movements is to just do them. Even if you’re worried about the size of your biceps, resist the urge to curl. Instead, just do a few more pull-ups and know it’ll all work out in the end. Also, be aware of your form, and get coaching (either in person or via videos/info on the web) on the more complex lifts to ensure you’re actively engaging all the requisite muscles.

And so, perfect Primal muscle balance is about symmetry on the micro level, between opposing muscles – the hamstring/quad, the bicep/tricep, the abs/back – and on the macro level – the entire body working in concert to perform a task. Total body muscle balance, then, requires individually balanced muscles. To isolate our muscles and go for an imbalanced look is to reject our essential natures – that of symmetrical beings constantly searching for balance in all areas of life – and invite ruin and chronic injury. To use our muscles as a cohesive, united force is to promote optimum health, freedom from injury, and better results.

Functional Fitness

Things are going great for you and your workouts, you are lifting more than ever before, going nuts on the cardio machines and able to leg press a half a ton. You go home from the gym and you are taking the garbage out and your back goes out on you. What happened? More than likely your training is not geared toward functional fitness. You might look great, ripped and toned but your not prepared to carry a case of water into your house, carry a load of fire wood or many other everyday activities.

Functional fitness focuses on building a body capable of doing real-life activities in real-life positions, not just lifting a certain amount of weight in an idealized posture created by a gym machine.

The main purpose of functional fitness is to teach the muscles to work together rather than isolating them to work independently.

A good example of a functional exercise is the squat. Not a leg press but a real squat, the kind of squat where you break parallel. We should be bending at the knees to pick things up and unfortunately things are on the floor a lot and not above parallel. If you train your body to squat in a partial range of motion when you go to lift something heavy below that range your risk of injury greatly increases.

For example the leg press, you may be strengthening certain muscles but your body is learning very little because you are not activating core stabilizer muscles.

In a good functional fitness class you should push, pull, run, throw, climb, lift, and
jump, effectively and safely.

Functional exercise is much more neurologically demanding than machine exercises. For this reason people jumping into functional fitness may be startled as it is harder than working with machines. But this is not a bad thing!!

Functional fitness classes are now available at Jim's Gym!! Contact us for more info. Your first week is free because it is something that has to be experienced. Hope to see you soon.

10 Delicious DIY Salad Dressings

10 Delicious DIY Salad Dressings

So without further ado, we present our top 10 tastiest, most nutritious salad dressings:

1. Raspberry Vinaigrette

While we’d usually pass on honey, this salad dressing was too darn tasty and refreshing to forgo – especially when paired with a salad of mixed baby greens, feta cheese and toasted walnuts. If you’d prefer to steer clear of honey altogether you can replace it with one packet of Splenda if you are so inclined. (FYI – 1 tbsp of honey is about 64 calories and 17 g of carbs)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup raspberry vinegar
1 tbsp of honey
1 tbsp fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

Method:
Pour vinegar in a mason jar or other container with a tight lid. Add honey and chopped mint, cover with lid and shake. If still too bitter, add in a bit more honey or Splenda to even out the flavor.

2. Citrus Vinaigrette

Liven up a regular salad with this crisp and refreshing summer-inspired salad dressing.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tbsp fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
6 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp chopped walnuts
2 tbsp grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Again, in a large mason jar or container with a tight lid, combine the vinegar, orange juice, grapefruit juice, lime juice, and lemon juice. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking vigorously. Once mixed, add the walnuts and cheese and stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste

3. Dill Vinaigrette

This salad dressing is so tasty, you’ll want to double the recipe so that you can have it again when dinner time rolls around!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey (or 1 packet of Splenda)
1/2 tsp dried dill weed
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp dry mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
In a blender, combine the oil, vinegar, sugar, dill weed, onion powder, garlic powder, dry mustard. Blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

4. Balsamic Vinaigrette

Although this makes a great, simple salad dressing, it is equally delicious as a marinade for meat or when drizzled on steamed vegetables.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
In a mason jar or other container with a tight lid, combine all the ingredients. Shake until all ingredients are combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

5. Basil Vinaigrette

Delicious year round, this salad is especially tasty when paired with an Italian-themed salad laden with fresh mozzarella and ripe tomatoes.

Ingredients:
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp chopped fresh basil (it’s very important here to use fresh – it’s not nearly as good with dried leaves!)
2 cloves garlic, minced

Method:
In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, basil, and garlic. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

6. Parsley Dressing

Try this flavorful dressing on a salad of mixed greens or other mild-flavored salad combination.

Ingredients:
3 tsp olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp onion powder
2 tsp chopped parsley

Method:
In a bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice and onion powder. Once combined, add in the chopped parsley, mix thoroughly with a whisk and serve.

7. Lemon Caesar Dressing

Try this citrus-infused spin on this popular salad dressing option.

Ingredients:
1 tsp lemon peel (finely grated)
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp anchovy paste
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
In a bowl, whisk all ingredients except oil and sour cream. Once combined, slowly add oil, whisking constantly until smooth (if you stop, the dressing could break). Once combined, whisk in sour cream until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

8. Asian Dressing

Add a taste of the orient (without the sugar) with this tangy Asian-inspired dressing.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup orange juice (about 2 large oranges)
1/3 cup white vinegar
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp Asian mustard (should be easily found in the ethnic food aisle of your local grocery store)
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 medium garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp sesame oil

Method:
In a bowl, whisk together orange juice, vinegar, sesame seeds, mustard, sugar, salt, and garlic. Once combined, slowly whisk in sesame oil.

9. Ginger-Asian Dressing

A second spin on the Asian dressing theme, this dressing is delicious on salads as well as steamed or grilled veggies.

Ingredients:
1 carrot, fresh, small, peeled and shredded
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp minced onion
1 tbsp hot mustard
1 tbsp fresh ginger root, grated

Method:
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.

10. French Style Dressing

Looking for a way to get the kids to eat their greens? This tasty recipe is sure to wow ‘em!

Ingredients:
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp white pepper, ground
1 tsp unsalted tomato paste
7 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup red or white wine vinegar
2 tsp water
1/2 tsp fresh chopped onion

Method:
In a large mason jar or other container with a tight lid, combine all ingredients, shake it up and serve.