Muscle Activation Techniques™ for Sport

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Last week we posted the segment CBS Minnesota did on MAT.  Here is another great blog post on what Muscle Activation Techniques™ is and some of the thought process behind it.

Muscle Activation Techniques™ For Sport via Integra-Training.net

Interested in finding out more? Check out the “About Muscle Activation Techniques™” page.

Interested in setting up an assessment time or discussing this subject further? E-mail Charlie at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

Your Body.  Your Training.

Diaphragmatic Breathing (Part 1)

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As living creatures, breathing is arguably our most basic function, but most humans breathe inefficiently.  Possibly due in part to the faster-pace, higher-stress lifestyles that are common-place today, many people can be found breathing such that their upper chest expands and their abdomen caves in during inhalation.  There are many potential issues with this type of breathing pattern.

According to Diaphragmatic-Breathing.org, chest breathing tends to lead to the majority of the oxygen inhaled only filling up about half of the total volume of the lungs (Diphragmatic-Breathing.org/Diaphragmatic-Breathing-Benefits/).  If someone is only filling half the space in their lungs every time they inhale, they are potentially breathing twice as frequently as if they were to fill their lungs to capacity with every inhale.  This increased respiratory rate has many potential effects on many different levels, ranging from altering the frequency of muscular participation during respiration to shifting which subsystem of the autonomic nervous system is dominant in an individual to a decreased ability to deliver oxygen-rich blood to the organs and other tissues of the body.

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Compare this to diaphragmatic breathing, during which an individual expands their abdomen outward as they inhale, with very little motion occurring in the chest.  As the name implies, this puts a greater emphasis on using the diaphragm muscle throughout the respiration process.  The diaphragm pulls downwards into the abdomen during inhalation, creating a pressure disequilibrium, which forces oxygen down into the lungs.  According to Diaphragmatic-Breathing.org, the lower portion of the lungs is where the greatest amount of blood flow is within the lungs.  With chest breathing, oxygen is rarely ever able to reach this lower portion of the lungs, leaving less oxygen-rich blood within circulating within the body.  With diaphragmatic breathing, however, oxygen is easily able to reach this blood, potentially allowing for greater health of the tissues and organs.

Personally, I have found diaphragmatic breathing to be a great method of relaxation during stressful times.  When I feel myself starting to get stressed, I stop and check my breathing.  More times than not I have been chest breathing, so I take a moment to refocus my breath to diaphragmatic breathing and usually begin to feel better after a few moments breathing into my belly.  I have also noticed that it is has been a great tool if I need help falling asleep.  I don't sleep much by choice, so when I do finally get to bed I am usually able to crash right away, but every once and a while I have difficulty sleeping because my mind won't stop running through ideas and to-do lists, at which point refocusing my breath towards diaphragmatic breathing helps tremendously.

Now that you've been introduced to diaphragmatic breathing, I will expand on this subject in future posts to cover both how this applies to training and how I incorporate in mine and my clients' training as well as a basic progression to improve somebody's ability to diaphragmatically breathe.

Your Body.  Your Training.

Charlie Cates, MATs, CSCS

Self Made_®, Owner and Founder

Charlie Cates is a Muscle Activation Techniques™ specialist and a certified strength and conditioning specialist.  He is the owner and founder of Self Made_® (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL.  He has worked with competitive athletes and everyday people of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP’s to 85-year-old retirees.  He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

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Mineral Mining for a Better Body

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Think protein, fats, and carbs are the only part of your nutrition to be concerned with?  Think again.  Check out this article by Michael Roussell, PhD for more info on the roles certain minerals play in achieving peak performance.

Mineral Mining for a Better Body by Michael Roussell, PhD

Your Body.  Your Training.

Overtraining Part 1: The Intended Adaptation & Intro to Overtraining

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This series of blog posts will address the concepts of overtraining.

What exactly is a “great workout”?  It could mean something very different for everyone. Whether you are looking for sweat and a feeling of fatigue, getting a great pump, or just feeling more alive than when you started, everyone has a different idea of what they are looking for in a workout.

The individual’s goals and perceived adaptations from the workout will likely play a large part in their satisfaction with the workout as a whole. However, will the anticipated adaptation of the exercises always be the resulting adaptation? In other words, are the results you think you will get (burn fat, tone and sculpt, build muscle, increase energy, prevent injury) the same as the results you will actually get?

Note: The manipulation of training variables in order to achieve a specific desired adaption will be discussed in a later post. At this moment, I am addressing the issue of overtraining.

Will a “great workout” always lead to great results? Simply put, no.

1)   Not everyone has the same idea of what makes a “great workout”.

2)   A “great workout” may not provide the appropriate stimulus for your desired results.

Understanding the specific adaptation caused by the manipulation of training variables will allow you to align your anticipated adaptation with the results you are striving to achieve. In other words, if you know what the exercise is doing to your body you can make sure that is what you want to have happen. If you feel like you are having great workouts but are not getting the results you want check to make sure you are providing the correct stimulus. If your first reaction is that you need to start working harder, well… read on.

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Will working harder always lead to better results? Once again, no.

1)   Working harder could put you beyond your ability to recovery from the workout.

2)   The stimulus may not be what is needed to create the desired adaptation.

Overtraining is essentially training beyond one’s mean to recovery. If this is continued for a long enough period of time, progress will stop and you will likely start taking steps backwards!

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How to recognize overtraining:

1)   Increase in resting heart rate

2)   Lower motivation and energy than normal

3)   Decreased performance

4)   Feeling “out of it”

5)   Trouble sleeping

6)   Soreness lasting for days

7)   Loss of appetite

8)   Decrease in body temperature / metabolism

Hard work will not get you the results you are looking for if you are doing the wrong work. If you are unsure how to manipulate training variables to achieve your desired adaptation be sure to ask for help, research on your own, or check back for my future post on this topic. Start doing the work that is appropriate for your body and goals and start seeing results like never before.

Watch for Overtraining Part 2: Understanding Overtraining, Coming Soon!

Remember: Exercise creates an environment for change in the body; nutrition and lifestyle allow that change to take place. You cannot out-exercise a bad diet, and you cannot out-eat a bad lifestyle.

Tony Cates is a business management major at Edgewood College in Madison, WI.  He is a certified personal trainer, performance enhancement specialist, and the S&C Coach for Edgewood College Men’s Basketball.  He can be reached at catestony@gmail.com or (608) 852-7433.

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A Very Basic Overview of MAT via CBS Minnesota

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Check out this segment CBS Minnesota did on MAT!

Muscle Activation Techniques™ Targets Weak Muscles by CBS Minnesota

Interested in finding out more? Check out the "About Muscle Activation Techniques™" page.

Interested in setting up an assessment time or discussing this subject further? E-mail Charlie at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

Your Body.  Your Training.

Metabolic Typing: A Brief Introduction

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If you have ever wondered why one particular fad diet works great for some people while making others feel miserable, metabolic typing may be the answer.

Metabolic typing is a means by which to make nutritional recommendations based off of an individual's biochemistry. Through a self-prescribed quiz, which requires you to describe how you feel after you eat certain foods, in addition to other how your body tolerates other environmental factors, individuals are categorized into one of three types:  Protein Type, Carbohydrate Type, or Mixed Type.

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There are different version of the quiz, ranging from just a handful of questions to upwards of 65.  A 50-question online version can be found here.  The beauty of this one is it makes dietary recommendations immediately after you finish the quiz.  A 65-question pdf version can be found here.  This is the same test that is found in the book, "The Metabolic Typing Diet" by William Wolcott.  In order to find dietary recommendations, though, you will need to purchase the book, take the online quiz, or contact a certified metabolic typing practitioner.  For the latter quiz, you tally up how many A's, B's, and C's you had.  If your total number of A's was 5 or more higher than both the B's and C's, you are considered a Carbohydrate Type.  Likewise, if your total number of C's was 5 or more higher than both the A's and B's, you are considered a Protein Type.  Finally, if B was your predominant answer or if you did not have a letter that netted 5 or more answers than the other two, you are considered a Mixed Type.

While these two quizzes offer the basics of metabolic typing, the book describes that there are more categories an individual can fall into than just the three listed.  A trained practitioner will be able to detect which subsystem of the autonomic nervous system is dominant in an individual as well as the rate as which they oxidize macronutrients.  This will, in turn, alter both the specific dietary recommendations in addition to the exact percentages of each macronutrient the individual should consume throughout the day.  Additionally, the book offers sample menus, foods to avoid for your type, and even touches on subjects such as circadian rhythm and blood type.

In short, the theory behind metaboic typing is that our ancestors had to survive on only the foods that were found in their habitat, which would differ as you moved from one geographical location to the next.  An example given in the book is a comparison between the Eskimos and the Mayan Indians.  While Eskimos would eat a diet that was mostly fat and protein, the Mayan Indians would eat most carbohydrates.  Both groups, however, had immense health as a population, despite their drastically different diets.  Both groups were able to efficiently metabolize the food that was found in their respective environments, which allowed for an abundance of well-being.

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Calories are not even part of the picture with metabolic typing.  Because you are eating a diet that is right for your body, you will be able to actually utilize the food you eat for energy instead of storing it as fat.  You will also not have to worry about over-eating because you will eating foods that are satiating you and satisfying your body's nutritional needs.  Likewise, if you are trying to bulk up or build muscle, your body will finally have the nutritional means to do so because its needs are being met.

A critical point that is brought up by the book is that your metabolic type is not set in stone.  In fact, it will likely shift based on the internal environment that is created within you, so it is important to retake the quiz every few months to see if you are still eating appropriately.

Personally, I function very well on a high-fat, high-protein diet.  When I eat bread, pizza, pasta, or anything along those lines, I feel incredibly lethargic and it skyrockets my blood glucose level.  Even sweeter fruits such as berries and pineapple mess me up.  Give me some bacon, butter, beef, and cheese, however, and I am a very happy camper.

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If you are sick feeling lousy after you eat, of one-size-fits-all dietary recommendations, or of not getting the results you desire from your diets, I would highly suggest giving metabolic typing a shot.  Metabolic typing is not your traditional diet.  It is a way of eating for life.

**Additional resources for metabolic typing:

Underground Wellness Podcasts (1/13/09 and 9/30/09)

Your Body.  Your Training.

Charlie Cates, MATs, CSCS

Self Made_®, Owner and Founder

Charlie Cates is a Muscle Activation Techniques™ specialist and a certified strength and conditioning specialist.  He is the owner and founder of Self Made_® (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL.  He has worked with competitive athletes and everyday people of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP’s to 85-year-old retirees.  He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

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