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By gary, on January 23rd, 2011
Let’s start with a one-question quiz: What is the primary purpose of a warm-up?
No, this is not a trick question. The answer is: to warm up the muscles, facia, and joints prior to exercising them. So why do so many people still consider stretching to be a “warm-up”? Maybe because it used to be (and sadly, often still is) taught that way.
And that’s unfortunate. Because warming up before working out can be beneficial for a variety of reasons:
- Reduced risk of injury. Warm muscles and fascia are more pliable and therefore resistant to injury, particularly in exercises that require extra range of motion (ROM).
- Gradual increase in metabolic requirements. This is less stressful on the body and heart.
- Prevents premature fatigue. Warming up increases blood flow through the working muscles as blood vessels dilate helping prevent early lactic acid buildup.
- Improved motor skills. Nerve impulses travel faster at higher temperatures.
- Improved efficiency. Warm muscles move faster due to reduced viscosity and increased synovial fluid in the joints helps lubricate and protect them.
- Early detection of physical problems. Some strains or other conditions may not reveal themselves until you begin taxing yourself physically. Gradually increasing effort levels can help prevent aggravation of these problems.
Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of warm-ups: passive and active. In a passive warm-up, the muscles don’t work at it; instead, an outside agent is used to warm the muscles, such as a sauna or heating pads. An active warm-up involves moving vigorously to generate heat internally. Passive techniques are sometimes used to augment an active warm-up; most commonly, wearing warm clothing. (I’ve been known to turn up the car heater on the way to a workout … every little bit helps!)
Active warm-ups can be general or functional. A functional warm-up uses movements related to the upcoming workout; for example, high reps of a light weight prior to lifting heavier weights. A general warm-up uses a basic exercise such as jumping rope or jogging to raise the body temperature. It’s often a good idea to precede a functional warm-up with a general one … warming up for the warm-up.
The duration of a warm-up can vary, but be sure the muscles are warm at the end! A vigorous warm-up, such as jumping rope, can be as short as five minutes while an easier one, such as brisk walking, will likely take longer. The duration will also vary depending on the air temperature and the intensity of the workout. You don’t need as thorough a warm-up for jogging, for example, as for running wind sprints or lifting heavy weights. Another factor is the range of motion (ROM) of the workout. If the activity requires more than normal ROM (kickboxing versus running, for example) then you want to warm up into the full ROM you will be using. In some cases, this may mean stretching, but only after your body is sufficiently warmed up. And be sure to stay warm throughout; don’t allow yourself to cool off during stretching.
There are many activities you can do as part of a general warm-up. Some examples are brisk walking or jogging, jumping rope, jumping jacks, cycling, and rowing. Remember to perform these exercises at a comfortable pace; don’t over-exert yourself or you may injure yourself dung the warm-up! Also, be sure to warm up all the parts of the body you will be engaging in the workout. For example, stationary cycling is not a good choice as a warm-up for activities that will tax your upper body.
Functional warm-up exercises vary depending on the nature of the upcoming workout. Most common are movements that mimic your workout but at a lower intensity. For example, shadowboxing before boxing or light bench presses before heavy ones.
So warm up–literally–before you work out. Next time, we’ll discuss some activity-specific warm-ups.
By gary, on October 24th, 2010
This is Part 5 of a series of posts on setting fitness-related goals.
Part 1 described using composite goals; i.e., short-term goals to reach medium-term goals to reach long-term goals. Part 2 introduced the SMART acronym and covered S&M: Specific and Measurable. Part 3 covered A: Accountable and Part 4 covered R: Realistic. Finally, it’s “T” for “Time”, or time for “T”, whichever you prefer.
Every SMART goal needs a specific target date. That rules out targets like “sometime next year” or “in a few weeks.” This is easy if you’re training for an event such as a race. Otherwise, it’s up to you (or your trainer) to determine the target date, being sure to keep it Realistic. Without an end date, the goal can languish for eternity.
Once you have a target date, how do you tell if you’re on track to meet it? One way is by using a timeline. This is a simple graph plotting time against progress toward your goal. A straight line shows linear progress from your starting point to your target. At regular intervals along the way, you plot your current progress to see if you’re on, above, or below the line to show how you’re doing. Below the line is good if your goal is reduce, for example, your weight or your 5k time. Above the line is good if your goal is to increase, for example, your bench press work (reps times weight) or your number of consecutive pushups.
 
There are a couple potential problems with the timeline approach. One is that progress is rarely linear. In fact, when starting a new training program or diet plan, progress is often front-loaded. That is, you see your best gains (or losses) early before leveling out and possibly seeing diminished progress, but progress nonetheless. Thus, early indications might be overly encouraging and later progress relatively discouraging.
Some people don’t respond well to the timeline approach. Instead of being motivated by being on the wrong side of the line, they become discouraged and may give up. If this sounds like you, skip the timeline tool.
An excellent way to reach your SMART goal on time is with timely intermediate goals. Use short-term goals to drive your progress toward medium and long-term goals. Blitzes can be a great help here.
No matter how you try to manage reaching your goal on time, things may not work out the way you planned. The original allotted time might have been unrealistic (not “R” enough), or life might get in the way in the form of an injury, illness, unexpected travel, and so on. It’s important to keep your goals fluid enough to handle these situations. Simply adjust the target times of your goals to accommodate your situation. This won’t work when training for a scheduled event such as a race, of course. In that case, where the target time is fixed, you would need to adjust your goal instead. For example, you might have to scale running a marathon down to a half-marathon. Or reschedule for the next marathon. Or both!
Assigning a time to your goal is a critical step that is often overlooked. Make your goals SMART by including a specific target date.
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That wraps up this series on SMART goals. To recap, a SMART goal is Specific, Measurable, Accountable, Realistic, and time-bound. Use blitzometer.com to announce your goals (via your blog), maintain momentum (using Blitzes to drive short-term goals), and track your progress (with reports).
By gary, on August 14th, 2010
This is Part 4 of a series of posts on setting fitness-related goals.
Part 1 described using composite goals; i.e., short-term goals to reach medium-term goals to reach long-term goals. Part 2 introduced the SMART acronym and covered S&M: Specific and Measurable. Part 3 covered A: Accountable. Now it’s time for R which stands for “Realistic” or, more colloquially, “Really?” The surest way to guarantee you won’t reach a goal is to set one that is unrealistic.
A goal can be unrealistic in scope or time or both. For example, setting a goal to do a vertical leap of ten feet is unrealistic, regardless of how much time you give yourself. A goal to lose twenty pounds in one week is unrealistic due to the short time frame, no matter what you’ve seen on TV.
So to set a realistic goal, you need to be sure it’s something you can reasonably accomplish in the allotted time. It’s easiest to get this wrong with a short-term goal due to the short time-frame. But if you’re using unrealistic short-term goals to reach a medium- or long-term goal, it’s quite likely those are unrealistic as well.
While an aggressive short-term goal can spur you to dramatic and determined action, failing to meet the goal (and subsequent goals) can discourage you from continuing to pursue your long-term goal. Another potential pitfall is feeling the need to use any means necessary to reach the unrealistic goal, including unhealthy options such as starvation or drugs.
Weight loss goals are particularly troublesome due to unrealistic claims and portrayals from a huge variety of equipment manufacturers, diet books, nutritional supplements, supposed fitness experts, and more. Besides the questions of whether and how the weight loss was actually achieved, the percentage weight loss must also be considered. Losing 20 pounds is very different for a 400 pound person than for a 200 pound person.
Another realism pitfall is the notion of linear progress, or expecting to be able to progress the same amount consistently over a period of time. For example, to reach a goal of doing 100 pushups you could start with 10 and add one per day so that in 90 days you are doing 100. If only it was that simple! Instead, once you reach your maximum performance level, you will plateau and even temporarily regress. Your body will need more than one day to recover properly and will not respond to one set of pushups as a strength-gaining mechanism. The same linear trap applies to most any fitness goal, including strength, cardio, and flexibility. And, of course, weight loss!
There is no magic formula to creating realistic goals. Unless you are very experienced and know your physical capabilities and limitations well, your best option is to consult a fitness professional such as a personal trainer or nutritionist. Alternatively, learn what’s realistic for you through trial and error. You may set goals that you find are too easy or too hard, but that will help you set or modify your next goal. Remember that not reaching a goal is not failure as long as you keep making progress. If your goal is to lose 20 pounds and you only lose 15, is that so terrible? Just celebrate your progress, set your next goal (realistically!) and move on.
SMAR goals are Specific, Measurable, Accountable, and Realistic. Next time, we’ll add the T and make them truly SMART.
By gary, on July 10th, 2010
This is Part 3 of a series of posts on setting fitness-related goals.
Part 1 described using composite goals; i.e., short-term goals to reach medium-term goals to reach long-term goals. Part 2 introduced the SMART acronym and covered S&M: Specific and Measurable. This post covers “A” which normally stands for “Attainable” (or “Achievable” or “Actionable”) but here, A is for Accountable.
The biggest problem with goals is following through; i.e., completing them. It can be all to easy to simply quit when the going gets tough. And that’s where accountability comes into play.
In order to be accountable, a goal needs to be shared with one or more people who can assess some penalty if you fail and/or offer some reward if you succeed. Here are some suggestions:
- Make it public. Share your goals with others on your blitzometer blog, your own blog, via facebook (blitzometer can crosspost your blog entry to facebook) or twitter, post it on your office wall at work or your refrigerator at home–anywhere others can see it. Encourage the people who know about it to hold you accountable, and be sure to update them with your progress. The more people you share with, the better. Or share with people closest to you, whose opinions mean a lot to you, and who will encourage you in your efforts.
- Bet with a friend. The friend may or may not be pursuing the goal with you, but if may be better if he or she is not; otherwise, you may both agree to call the whole thing off with no penalty. The simplest wager results in you paying a penalty if you quit. The penalty is most often cash, but could also involve providing some service (e.g., washing car for a month) or having to perform some embarrassing task (e.g., singing a song for everyone on the bus). There are plenty of possibilities in both cases. If your friend’s a good sport, he or she might agree to providing a service to you, or performing the embarrassing task, if you succeed. Another possibility is to give your friend money that is returned only if you succeed. Make sure this is a good friend though; you don’t want someone discouraging you in the hopes of winning the bet!
- Join a club. Being with people who have similar goals can help you with yours. Most common are running, cycling, and weight loss clubs. But depending on where you live, you may find clubs dedicated to triathlons, mixed martial arts, weight training, hiking, and so on. Note that this is different than joining a gym or other fitness facility. You might feel some incentive to train to get your money’s worth, but there’s no one else to hold you accountable. They may, however, help you with the next suggestion.
- Get a trainer. If you can afford it, nothing beats having a qualified (and high-quality) professional trainer to help you meet your fitness goals. A good personal trainer can help you plan your goals by assessing your current state of fitness and learning more about what you want to do; e.g., better sports performance, weight loss, more endurance, etc. You’ll need a trainer who can work with your personality and capabilities to help you meet your goals. Maybe you want an in-your-face drill sergeant, or maybe you need more coaxing and cajoling. The best trainer isn’t just (or even necessarily) someone you like personally, but someone who helps you meet your goals. This is accountability with a price tag, but if you can find and afford the right trainer, it’s goal-reaching gold.
- Commit to an event. Can’t run a 5k? Sign up for one a few months in advance. Want to build a great physique? Enter a bodybuilding competition. Events like these will put you into a competitive situation in front of an audience. Your goal may be to win or maybe just to finish, but in any case it’s an external factor providing you accountability. Some other ideas: triathlon (anywhere from a novice to an Iron Man); bike race; strenuous hike (like the top of Half Dome in Yosemite); tennis tournament; walk, run, or ride for a cause; box at a gym; enter a kickboxing tournament. Depending on your goals and interests, you can surely find an event to hold you accountable. And while it’s not really an event, if you want to look great in a steamy bathing suit, buy a nice one and schedule a beach vacation where you’ll be seen (and photographed) wearing it. Use your imagination!
- Blitz! When you sign up for a Blitz, you agree to a “contract” to do your best to complete it. If you’re a coach and made the Blitz yourself, that may not mean much. But if you’re in a Blitz with others, especially people you know, the level of accountability increases. Completing one Blitz may be only one tiny step on the path to your goal, but tiny steps add up, and not just to an awesome blitzitude.
A SMART fitness goal is Specific and Measurable, and adding Accountability will help make sure you follow through.
By gary, on June 6th, 2010
This is Part 2 of a series of posts on setting fitness-related goals. This one introduces the SMART acronym. There are a number of different definitions of the acronym, but here’s what we’ll be using:
Specific
Measurable
Accountable
Realistic
Time-bound
Part 1 described using composite goals; i.e., short-term goals to reach medium-term goals to reach long-term goals. The SMART points apply to all of these.
This post covers S&M: Specific and Measurable. These two points are so closely related they’re almost redundant. But they’re also absolutely crucial.
Goals that are not specific include:
I want to lose weight.
I want to be stronger.
I want bigger arms.
I want a slimmer waist.
I want to run faster.
So how do you make them specific? Easy. Make them measurable.
I want to lose 10 pounds.
I want to bench press 200 pounds.
I want 18-inch arms.
I want a 22-inch waist.
I want to run a 6-minute mile on a treadmill.
Simply put, a specific, measurable goal needs at least one number associated with it. (There could be more than one; e.g., bench press 200 pounds for 10 reps.)
Without S&M, how do you know when you reach the goal? If your goal is “to lose weight,” are you done if you lose a pound? Because technically, that does meet the goal’s criteria. Another important benefit is the ability to set interim goals; i.e., short- and medium-term goals on the way to your long-term goal. Losing 10 pounds can seem unreachable, but if you set a short-term goal of 2 pounds on the way to a medium-term goal of 5 pounds and so on, suddenly the end seems much more manageable. And you get to celebrate successes along the way to build confidence and momentum.
There are different kinds of measurable goals.
A performance goal involves a single performance at (or before) the end of the goal’s target date, such as a 6 minute mile or bench press 200 pounds for 10 reps.
A total goal is cumulative from the goal’s start date to its target date, such as a total of 1000 pullups in three months or lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks.
A physical goal involves a physical change such as a 22-inch waist or 18-inch arms.
All three types of goals need to be specific and measurable, of course. The type(s) you choose depend on what you want to achieve and what works best for you.
One of the key benefits to having a measurable goal is that you can track your progress towards achieving it. More about this in the section on “T”.
So be sure to set fitness goals that are specific and measurable. It’s (part of) the SMART thing to do.
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