DBM Strength Training Archives - Grand Rapids Personal Trainer

Think Can You Out-Train Your Diet?

November 18th, 2021 by Debbie Martilotta

People often come to me saying they need to “work out more” to lose weight. And many of them shed plenty of pounds in two half-hour weekly personal training sessions with me. However, the truth is that you CANNOT out-train your diet, no matter how hard you work.

You simply cannot burn enough calories to eat like King Henry. I know this from personal experience and the science behind strength training! Strength training DOES elevate your metabolism, and replacing fat with lean muscle developed through a rigorous strength training program will certainly make you LOOK, and feel, slimmer.

But a good personal trainer will not leave nutrition out of the equation. I coach my clients to remember that “real food” doesn’t have an ingredient label!

Sometimes, even when your caloric intake isn’t the problem, there are other things that interfere with weight management. I help clients determine what’s beating them in the battle of the bulge. Here are a few things to consider:

Allergies – Are you having a difficult time shedding pounds? You may have some food allergies. To find out you can start by removing wheat, grain, and dairy (these are the biggest culprits) from your diet for two to three weeks. Also eliminate corn, soy and consider nixing additives such as food coloring and preservatives.
Bad Breakfast – Another habit that sets you up for failure is eating too many carbs at breakfast, which leads to spikes in insulin levels and sets you up for cravings later in the day. It’s best to have protein and healthy fats in the morning. An omelet (with the yolk), or a smoothie blended with healthy fats such as avocado, almond butter, coconut oil, or MCT oil would be a much better option than cereal or a muffin, even the healthy, whole wheat kinds.
Trans fats have been shown to raise bad cholesterol (LDL) and lower good cholesterol (HDL), factors that contribute to the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and Type 2 diabetes.

Your best bet for avoiding partially hydrogenated oils:

Shop the periphery of the store. Stick to whole food items in the produce, meat, and dairy departments. Bring home foods that are as close to their original state as possible.
Read the label and the ingredient list. Check for the grams of trans fats per serving, avoid anything over 0 grams (if it is within your power to do so), and even if the grams says “0,” ensure that the ingredients do not list any “partially hydrogenated” oils.
Cook your own foods from scratch. The best way to avoid trans fats is to prepare foods the old-fashioned way with natural ingredients like how your grandparents would have done. This is the only way to really control what goes into your body.
Select products with the fewest ingredients. More is not necessarily better.
Avoid processed foods that come in a box, bag, or can.
If it contains ingredients that you can’t pronounce, it’s probably to be avoided.

Looking for a personal strength trainer in the Grand Rapids area to help you navigate nutrition and get you working out in two half-hour sessions a week? Contact me to get started!

3 Health Benefits of Strength Training Exercises

November 16th, 2021 by Debbie Martilotta

Even if you don’t plan on bulking up or competing in weight lifting competitions any time soon, strength training is a crucial part of any exercise regimen.

Here are three great reasons to incorporate weight training into your workouts.

1. It promotes strong bones. Weakening bones is a concern that all people have to face as they age. The stress that strength training puts on your bones increases their density and prevents osteoporosis, keeping you strong and healthy as you age.

2. It helps to control your weight. While you might relate weight loss with intense cardiovascular workouts, strength training is just as important if you want to lose weight. Gaining muscle increases your metabolism and causes your body to burn calories more efficiently.

3. It gives you more energy. Like all workouts, strength training increases your stamina and helps you to stay alert and focused. After a few weeks of regular weight lifting or bodyweight exercises, you’ll notice that you feel more energized throughout the day. Some scientific studies even show that years of regular strength training exercises help to sharpen your focus and keep your mind attentive as you age.

There are many other reasons to begin a strength training regimen, both for physical and mental benefits. To get started, contact us today and I will customize a plan that works for both you and your schedule.

Why Lowering Your Weights Slowly Is Important

October 19th, 2021 by Debbie Martilotta

It is not only about how you LIFT those weights, it’s about how you LOWER them, too! Slow, controlled lowerings help build muscle and strength faster.

I found this article from Self Magazine interesting and you may too. I’ve hit the highlights below.

An eccentric movement is the lowering part of a move. It’s when your muscle works as it’s lengthened like your glutes do when you’re lowering into a squat, or like your biceps do as you’re lowering a dumbbell after a curl. And, it turns out, every muscle fiber in your body is the strongest as it moves eccentrically.

It’s not just because of gravity. When muscles work eccentrically, more of the parts of the muscle used for contracting remain attached to each other at any given time, so together they can produce more force. There may also be increased tightness in some proteins within the muscle fiber during eccentric actions, which make the muscle stronger. This is why lowering into a squat feels a heck of a lot easier than getting back to standing.

Through eccentric training, you turn the focus of every rep away from the concentric (contracting) portion to the eccentric (lengthening) portion. Why should you do such a thing? Check out these five body-rocking benefits of eccentric training:

1. Faster muscle gains

Rep per rep, eccentric training is superior to concentric training at building both muscle size and strength. After all, since your muscles are strongest when they move eccentrically if you want to push your limits, you’ve got to work eccentrically. Warning: Eccentric exercises increase delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), that soreness you feel up to 72 hours after a tough workout, in a big way. That’s because, in eccentric actions, the weight is greater than the amount of force produced by the muscle, so it creates more microscopic damage to the muscle.

2. Greater metabolic boosts

To recover from your sweat sessions, especially those that leave you riddled with DOMS for days, your body has to work super hard to recover. Although the studies are small (fewer than 20 subjects), some research shows found that slowing down the eccentric phase of your lifts can significantly increase your resting metabolic rate (RMR)—the number of calories you burn at rest. One study of 16 participants in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that eccentric training boosts RMR for up to 72 hours post-exercise. In the study, subjects performed the concentric phase quickly over one second and slowed down the eccentric over three seconds. Another study of 16 male participants found significant increases in RMR for up to 48 hours after leg presses that stressed the eccentric movement. Even though the research is limited, the mechanisms make sense: Eccentric exercise does more muscle damage, which then requires more energy to repair.

3. More flexibility

Perform eccentric exercises, and you may reduce the need for performing dedicated “flexibility” workouts. In a study of 75 athletes with tight hamstrings, those who performed eccentric hamstring exercises improved their flexibility twice as well as those who stuck with static (bend-and-hold) stretching. The trick is to move through your entire range of motion as you perform the eccentric phase of your exercise. Over time, that range of motion will get bigger and bigger. A research review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine confirmed that eccentric training is an effective way to increase flexibility.

4. Lower risk of injury

Eccentric exercises strengthen not just your muscles, but also your body’s connective tissues, helping to both rehab any aches and pains as well as prevent injuries ranging from tendinitis to ACL strains. Eccentric exercises are vital in sports rehab settings and are great for people sidelined with exercise injuries.

5. Better sports performance

Eccentric actions aren’t just something you do in the weight room. They are a given in any workout—from beach volleyball to 10K races. (Eccentric actions are why your quads feel destroyed after a long run downhill.) So, by performing strength training routines and focusing not just on concentric or isometric, but also eccentric moves, you better prepare your body for any challenges to come.

Why You Aren’t Seeing Results When Strength Training

July 19th, 2021 by Debbie Martilotta

As a trainer, people often ask me how frequently they need to train to achieve results, and there isn’t one perfect answer: Our bodies are all different, which means they can respond differently to the same stimuli. But if you’re lifting and lifting and still not seeing results in your strength training routine, it’s probably because you’re lacking consistency in your workout or diet or both.

The process of getting stronger doesn’t have to be complicated, but keep reading for the three main reasons you may not be reaching your gains goals.

1. You’re mixing too many different modalities

To see measurable results in any fitness routine, you’ll want to stick with one primary training modality. If you’re only strength training one day a week (and spending your other sessions doing cardio), it’s going to be challenging to build muscle. The reason? Your muscle fibers won’t be exposed to the level of stress they need to grow. Muscle stress is imperative to building strength because it causes micro-tears of your muscle fibers, and when your body repairs these tears, they come back stronger. Most of my clients find success in 2 30-minute sessions with me weekly.

If your goal is to build muscle and get stronger, resistance training is your best bet. If you’re a beginner, working with your body weight is a great place to start, and as you begin to build strength, you can add more resistance with weights. And to help maximize your results and save time, your workouts should consist of compound exercises, like squats presses, walking lunges with bicep curls, and deadlifts, that target multiple areas at once and force you to exert more energy than the isolated movements that target a single area.

2. Not sticking to a workout plan

Doing the same activities over and over can feel mundane, but it’s necessary if you want to put on muscle and increase your strength—which is why it’s essential to develop a workout plan. For example, let’s say your goal is to strengthen your legs. Doing four sets of 12 deadlifts once isn’t going to make much difference – but doing that same workout for four to six weeks and progressively increasing the weight will.

In addition to your nutrition, you’ll need to focus on your recovery. Properly warming up and cooling down will better prepare you for your training sessions, and help you prevent injury and burnout. Adding mobility work into your routine can also help maximize your performance as you train, improve your overall movement, and reduce and prevent pain and injury.

Another factor to focus on is getting quality sleep; it’s recommended adults get at least seven hours of sleep each night. A good night’s rest is essential for muscle repair and growth. As you sleep, your body secretes a muscle growth hormone, which works to repair the micro-tears that occur from strength training and make your muscles stronger.

And if you’re someone who likes to mix things up, schedule activities where you can do other modalities like yoga, cycling, biking, or running.

3. Not focusing on your recovery and nutrition

Lifestyle variables—like nutrition, recovery, and sleep—also impact your ability to get stronger. You’ll want to make sure you’re eating enough to support your energy needs when you’re training and in your everyday life. Your caloric needs will vary based on your lifestyle and goals, so you will want to work with your trainer on an individualized nutrition plan for you.

Because training is nuanced and individualized, use these tips as a starting point. If you have the access and means, consider working with a certified personal trainer who can provide you with more specific tips and tools to help you reach your fitness goals.

In part from our friends at Well+ Good

How to Do a Lateral Band Walk

January 19th, 2021 by Debbie Martilotta

My personal training clients have noticed a new warm-up exercise – lateral band walks, and yes, they warm you up fast!

Bands allow you to apply resistance to your body where weights might otherwise be awkward. Each time you step your feet together, your glutes have to eccentrically control the motion of your knee, which can help correct knee valgus (inward collapse of the knees).

How to Do the Banded Lateral Walk With Perfect Form

Fit a looped resistance band around your legs just above both knees, and stand with your feet together.
Keeping your back flat and abs engaged, push your hips back, bend your knees, and lower your body into a squat, shifting your weight toward your heels.
Maintain the squat as you simultaneously raise your hips several inches and step your right foot out to the right, then lower your hips fully.
Again raise your hips several inches as you bring your left foot together with your right, and lower again fully, maintaining tension in the band so that your knees don’t cave inward.
Repeat to the opposite side, alternating sides for reps. Perform equal reps on each side.

Benefits of the Lateral Band Walk

The lateral band walk strengthens the glute medius, which is an important stabilizing muscle that often gets overlooked and underutilized. By targeting this muscle (you’ll feel it fire after just a few steps), band walks can help improve your gait and promote better motor control, while helping to correct some injury-causing imbalances and movement dysfunction, including knee valgus, a.k.a. “knock knees.”

This simple yet challenging movement also gets bonus points for its booty-boosting capabilities. The lateral band walk is also a great way to build a fuller, firmer butt. As a warm-up, it targets the largest muscles in your body. This gets clients breathing deeper and their blood moving within minutes, and ready for our 30-minute strength training session!

Read more on OpenFit.com or watch their band walk video here. Contact me at DBM Strength Training in Cascade, MI, I’ll get you stronger!

Take Control Of Your Metabolism!

October 20th, 2020 by Debbie Martilotta

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO keep the lights on in the human body? How does the body power everything from blinking and cell repair to washing dishes and running a marathon?

In the simplest terms, all of these activities are powered by calories, which come from the food we eat. This is your metabolism at work.

To support a healthy metabolism, consider making the following eight dietary and activity changes:

Take control
Eat enough
Boost protein intake
Eat breakfast
Limit sweets and processed foods
Stay hydrated
Increase or maintain muscle mass
Get enough rest

Moving more and eating well can help ensure your metabolism is running as best it can. Your resting metabolic rate is largely determined by three factors:

Body size and composition. People who are larger and have more muscle mass tend to have a higher metabolism.
Sex. Males tend to have less body fat and ore muscle mass, leading to a higher metabolism.
Age. As you age, you lose muscle mass and your metabolism slows.

For example, a sedentary 55-year-old woman who’s 5′ 4″ tall and weighs 175 pounds only needs about 1,400 calories per day to keep the body going. By contrast, a 55-year-old male who’s 6′ tall and weighs 200 pounds needs nearly 1,800 calories a day to service the basic needs of maintaining the body at rest. When you add in exercise or physical activity, those needs increase no matter who you are.

Weight gain is more likely a product of a calorie surplus from eating and a decline in activity as we get older. That said, you do have control over what and how much you eat and how much you move.

Make a plan and keep track of how much you’re eating, how much you’re moving, and get a sense of how many calories your body needs and burns each day. I advise my clients to keep a food journal if necessary and to eat a “clean” diet. I also schedule 2 30-minute personal training sessions with them weekly and encourage them to enjoy their new strength by staying active between sessions.

Move more, eat often, hydrate, and sleep. Great advice for all of us! Read the entire article from US News here.

Gyms Are Back In Business – But We Are Not All The Same

September 21st, 2020 by Debbie Martilotta

Like me, you might be soooo happy that your gym has reopened with COVID precautions in place – or maybe not. Not all gyms are the same and if you had been a member of a large gym, maybe you are not ready to return.

We are all unique individuals and have our own comfort levels with handling this pandemic. If you are looking for a great, guided workout without the masses, maybe DBM Strength Training is right for you.

My training model has always been based on very personal training. My semi-private sessions consist of 2-3 clients at a time, for 30 minutes of intensely focused training. I direct the exercise plan, the weight used, form, and progress of each of my clients, typically twice per week. It is rare that there is ever more than 6 people in my studio at any given time, and typically fewer.

I do offer group classes twice per week for those clients that like to mix a class with a session weekly, but again and by design, those classes consist of less than 10 students in the studio (I do offer a Zoom link for clients who prefer to be at home).

If you are ready for a different training program and really miss working out, maybe not yet ready to re-enter your larger gym, let’s connect. I’d be happy to show you my studio and discuss your personal training plan!

Inside Outside Egg Rolls

May 27th, 2020 by Debbie Martilotta

Ingredients:

1 cup cabbage or tri-color coleslaw mix, shredded
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup scallions, chopped
6.5 oz lean grass-fed ground beef – you will need 4.3 oz cooked
2 farm-fresh eggs, whisked
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp Chinese five-spice blend
1 tbsp lite soy sauce or Braggs amino

Directions:

Combine shredded cabbage, celery, and scallions. Toss together. Set aside.
Brown ground beef. Throw the veggies in with the meat.
Sprinkle stir-fry mixture with ginger, garlic, and five-spice blend.
Add soy sauce and whisked eggs into the skillet.
Continue to stir-fry until vegetables are tender, but firm. (No pieces of egg should be visible.)
Remove skillet from heat and serve.

from Sandy’s Kitchen Adventures

How Exercise Supports Your Mental Fitness

May 18th, 2020 by Debbie Martilotta

A healthy body is home to a healthy mind. However, there are numerous different types of sports and a wide range of exercise and training. Which type and how much exercise will keep your mind in top shape?

This is the question that has been explored by researchers at the University of Basel and their colleagues at the University of Tsukuba in Japan through large-scale analysis of the scientific literature. They have used this analysis to derive recommendations that they recently published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.

Coordinated sports are particularly effective

The research group evaluated 80 individual studies to identify a few key characteristics. Endurance training, strength training, or a mix of these components seem to improve cognitive performance.

Heavy lifting during strength training also strengthens bone density, which can reduce the risk of breaks and fractures as you age. If you lift heavy, you test your mental strength as well.

Lifting heavy increases production of a brain-derived neurotrophic factor, the neurotransmitter related to producing new brain cells and improves cognitive function.

However, coordinated and challenging sports that require complex movement patterns and interaction with fellow players are significantly more effective. “To coordinate during a sport seems to be even more important than the total volume of sporting activity,” explains Ludyga.

A higher total extent of activity does not necessarily lead to a correspondingly higher level of effectiveness for mental fitness. Longer duration per exercise unit promises a greater improvement in cognitive performance only over a longer period of time.

All age groups benefit

Just like our physical condition, cognitive performance changes over the course of our lives. It is great for the potential for improvement during childhood (cognitive development phase) and during old age (cognitive degradation phase). However, the research group of the Department of Sport, Exercise, and Health (DSBG) at the University of Basel was unable to find an indicator of different levels of effectiveness of sporting activities within the varying age groups.

Furthermore, sporting activities from primary school age to later age do not have to be fundamentally different in order to improve cognitive performance. Different age groups can thus be combined for a common goal during sports. “This is already being implemented selectively with joint exercise programs for children and their grandparents,” says Pühse. Such programs could thus be further expanded.

Intense sports sessions for boys and men

The same volume of sports activity has a different effect on physical fitness for men and women, as we are already aware. However, the research group has now been able to verify this for mental fitness. Men accordingly benefit more from sporting activity.

Differences between the sexes are particularly evident in the intensity of movement, but not in the type of sport. A hard workout seems to be particularly worthwhile for boys and men. Paired with a gradual increase in intensity, this leads to a significantly greater improvement in cognitive performance over a longer period of time.

In contrast, the positive effect on women and girls disappears if the intensity is increased too quickly. The results of the research suggest that they should choose low to medium intensity sporting activities if they want to increase their cognitive fitness.

Science Daily

Food Logging For Real

April 15th, 2020 by Debbie Martilotta

When it comes to healthy eating for a fit and active lifestyle, certain facts are undeniable: Water is crucial, you can eat as many veggies as you want, and weight loss/maintenance is more a result of diet than exercise. Having said that, I recommend my clients log their food, especially when they are not seeing the results they are training for.

Does keeping a food journal help you lose weight?
Yes. Tracking what you eat at each meal or snack can help you improve your health and lose weight for two major reasons.

First, you’re accountable to an observant yet nonjudgmental party (the trusty food log). Consistently logging your food helps you consider why and when you’re eating and how hungry or satisfied you feel. This record-keeping can help you have a more positive relationship with food in general. It draws your attention to food-related pitfalls that may have previously thrown you off-track and gives you the information you need to move forward from a place of honesty.

The second reason why it works is that it provides you with a wealth of information. You’ll learn more about both the foods you enjoy and the places and situations that you find yourself eating. It can help you notice any negative feelings related to food and identify why you might be eating for reasons that have nothing to do with how hungry you actually felt. Part of being specific is being emotional. You don’t want to simply write about what you ate, you want to write about how it made you feel.

The power of the food journal is that it keeps you accountable and makes you more aware. You are less likely to grab that piece of chocolate cake if you know you have to write down later and face the ultimate critic (AKA you). Plus, you become more aware of the emotions tied to your food or the habits you’ve fallen into. Perhaps you find that you crave fatty snacks around 4 p.m. When you sit down and ask yourself the simple question “why” in your journal, you realize that 4 p.m. is peak stress time at work. The following day, you come prepared with a healthy snack to munch on at 4 p.m.; maybe you even excercise before work to prevent your stress.

How do you write a food journal?

Try to stay as consistent as possible and be patient with yourself while you adjust. If you miss a day, don’t sweat it. Just pick it back up the next. And keep in mind that it’s not forever. Food logs can tell you a lot whether you do it for a week or a month.

Pen and paper are a tried and trusty way to do it, but it may not be realistic for you. Try writing in a note on your phone, taking pictures, or using an app. MyFitnessPal and LoseIt — both free — are two of the most popular ones. Fitbit also has a food tracker built into its app.

To start:

You should include several pieces of information in your daily food diary. These are:

How much: List the amount of the food/drink item. This might be measured in volume (1/2 cup), weight (2 ounces), or the number of items (12 chips).
What kind: Write down the type of food/drink. Be as specific as you can. Don’t forget to write down extras, such as toppings, sauces, or condiments. For example, butter, ketchup, or sugar.
When: Keep track of the time of day you eat.
Where: Make note of where you eat. Keeping a physical or electronic record of where you eat will help you become aware of your current habits and the scenarios that impact them. If you are at home, write down the room. If you are out, write down the name of the restaurant or if you are in the car.
Who with: If you eat by yourself, write “alone.” If you are with friends or family members, list them.
Activity: List any activities you do while eating, such as working, watching TV, or playing a game.
Mood: You also should include how you feel when you eat. Are you happy, sad, or bored? Your mood can relate to your eating habits and help you change them.

Log foods as soon as you can. The key to nailing the whole food journaling thing is to actually record what you’re having at the exact moment you’re having it. But since that’s not always realistic, don’t fret. You can take a quick pic of your meal before you eat it and fill in the details after-the-fact, that’s okay too.

Note what you may have “missed” at any meal. Did you order a bunless burger at lunch today and ultimately down the contents of a cereal box while watching TV after dinner? Could you try adding extra protein to your lunch and see how you feel tomorrow? If you skip meals or skip satisfying components at a meal, you’re likely to overeat later on.

Use your food log as a library. It’s a go-to list of your favorite items to order, the restaurants where you picked salad when what you really wanted was a pizza, great recipes you enjoyed, and which options or modifications left you feeling satisfied, not deprived.

Be honest. If you’re using a food log but not being totally truthful in your entries, then it’s no longer working as a tool for you. The only person who has to see it is you. Start from a realistic place and make gradual changes. Habits are a result of the choices you make consistently.

You’ve kept a food diary. Now what?
After completing a week’s worth of food journaling, step back and look at what you’ve recorded. Search for any trends, patterns, or habits. For example, you might consider:

How healthy is my diet?
Am I eating vegetables and fruit every day? If so, how many servings?
Am I eating enough protein each day?
Am I eating foods or beverages with added sugar? If so, how frequently?
Do my moods affect my eating habits? Do I reach for unhealthy snacks when I’m tired or stressed?
How often do I eat on the run?

Are food diaries effective?
A food journal holds you accountable and creates a personal reference guide that can inform your future choices and, ultimately, your habits. However, it’s not for everyone. Keeping track of what you eat is supposed to help you stay mindful and accountable — not bad about yourself.

If a food log helps you make positive lifestyle changes, then that’s 15 minutes of your day well-spent!