3 Muscle Injury Recovery Secrets From Craig Ballantyne, C.S.C.S.

Here's an article from Craig Ballantyne on treating muscle injuries. Some of it is pretty standard but check out his ideas on the effect of nutrition on an injury.

3 Secrets to Recover From a Muscle Injury Fast
By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

This article on the 3 secrets to faster recovery from muscle injury is another great article to print out and file!

But first, confession time. Despite everything we know, old meatheads like me still end up hurting ourselves in the gym. But I'm lucky, because I heal quickly.

Now when you have a serious injury, you have to go to the doctor. There is nothing that I can do to help you - sorry!

NOTE #1 - I hope you never, ever get hurt!

NOTE #2 - If you do get hurt, the most important thing for you to do is get your injury checked out by a doctor.

Please be conservative!

But when I get a little muscle strain, I just use these 3 simple secrets for fast recovery. These secrets were given to me by my chiropractor.

1) Apply Ice immediately

Start by icing for ten minutes, then take ten minutes off, and then ice again for ten minutes.

(NOTE: Keep a thin moist towel between ice and skin to prevent skin damage.)

Ice the injury 3 times daily for the first 72 hours (morning, noon, and night). Of course, if the injury is severe, go immediately to the hospital.

2) Perform frequent, low-intensity activation of the injured muscle

Chiropractor Dr. Michael Sommers says, "You want to start the healing process by moving the muscle through very low intensity movements, and doing this frequently in the early period after injury."

This low-intensity exercise keeps blood flowing throughout the muscle and prevents over-shortening during recovery.

For example, if you have a sore hamstring, Dr. Sommers suggests, "walking and doing low intensity leg swings will help recovery. But don't do anything that involves too much exertion."

(NOTE: If you aren't sure what to do, ask your therapist...more about their role in secret #3 below.)

Personally, I also add in light, frequent stretching for the sore muscle. I'll do one light 20-second stretch every hour or two, and that seems to help me.

3) See a therapist immediately...preferably someone skilled in A.R.T. (Active Release Techniques)

According to Dr. Sommers, "For most soft-tissue injuries A.R.T. is the best therapy to reduce scar-tissue build-up and to promote ideal muscle length through the healing process."

"While other therapies can provide relief (ultrasound and TENS may have some effect), A.R.T combined with specific stretching and exercise seems to heal the tissue in the shortest to time with the lowest incidence of re-injury," says Dr. Sommers.

In addition to getting A.R.T. treatment, a great therapist will give you a professional advice/assessment to gauge an appropriate time to return to training.

As Dr. Sommers says, "Re-injury is commonplace with weight training. Without the proper guidance it is all to easy to re-aggravate soft tissue injuries and triple the amount of time it will take to heal."

Now I may push too hard in the gym, but I'm at least smart enough to stop pushing once the injury has occurred. And I'm also smart enough to go in for treatment ASAP after the injury has happened.

Dr. Sommers says, "Injuries rarely resolve on their own. Especially if the improper technique continues. Lifting through pain is a recipe for chronic injury and the sooner you are properly diagnosed and treated the more likely you can expect a quicker return to pain-free activity."

So don't try to "avoid" a nagging injury.

It's better that you take 2 days off now rather than being forced to take 2 months off in the future.

Train safe and listen to your health professional!

To find an A.R.T. practitioner in your area, simply google, "Active Release Techniques + Your area"

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Those are the 3 most important secrets for healing fast, however I have a few more tips for you.

Nutrition

I believe that nutrition plays a huge role in recovering from injury.

Dr. Sommers agrees, saying, "Certain foods promote inflammation within the body's various systems while others have an anti-inflammatory effect.

"Avoiding pro-inflammatory foods (nightshade vegetables, white processed flour, and deep fried foods) and eating a diet rich in omega 3 fatty acids can only help speed up the healing process."

(For those who don't know: Potatoes, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, paprika, cayenne, and Tabasco sauce are classified as nightshade foods.)

Personally, I recommend eating a diet of at least 10+ servings of fruits and vegetables per day. This should provide your body with the best healing environment. At worst, at least limit your intake of sugar, western diet, comfort food, etc., that promotes inflammation in the body.

I recommend my Simple Nutrition plan for fat loss & recovery:

Dr. Sommers says, "Each of us has to consider our own particular ability in trying to train safely. Fortunately our bodies are amazing communicators.

They give us warning signs when we're verge of injury. Unusual aches and pains lasting longer than 48 hours should be taken seriously and all training should cease until it is deemed safe to continue."

Be conservative!

Recovery As You Get Older

"Finally," Dr. Sommers says, "Don't forget that older bodies take longer to heal. Older muscle fiber requires longer recovery time, so whether it comes to recovering from heavy workouts or working through nagging tendon problems, age plays an important factor in return to activity planning."

Be conservative!

Please forward this information on recovery from injury to your friends and family.

To your success,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Another Body & Soul Member Hits 1000 Strength Training Workouts

Yesterday morning, Body & Soul member Sandy Yeagley completed her 1000th total body strength training workout. Sandy joined the gym in October 2002 at age 51. It's never too late to start. Sandy had never lifted weights before and she now has the record for reaching the 1000 milestone the fastest.

Sandy says, "I can’t imagine how much I would weigh now or how my health would be if I hadn’t joined Body & Soul."

Congratulations, Sandy!

Collected Fitness Wisdom #22

Muscles cannot get longer by lifting weights, stretching, performing Pilates or yoga or through any other form of exercise. You can’t sculpt muscles – there’s also no such thing as "body sculpting" or "body shaping" – yet many gyms and personal trainers advertise that they offer this kind of training. Infomercials try to sell people products based on the erroneous premise that muscles can be sculpted or lengthened. Doing endless crunches won’t give anyone a six-pack and working on flexibility and balance won’t make muscles look – or be – longer.

~Sal Marinello


Don't make mountains out of molehills – if you build things up in your mind you'll get psyched out. I think this is the number one reason people never achieve their goals. They give up way before they start.

~Bedros Keuilian


Not many people realize this, but every crunch - or sit-up for that matter - you do places 3300 N (roughly 760 lbs) of compressive load on the lumbar spine. To use a great analogy given by Mike Boyle, it’s like taking a credit card and bending it back and forth - over, and over, and over, and over again. Soon, it’s going to break in half. That’s your spine every time you do a crunch or sit-up on a SWISS ball, Bender ball, or any other infomercial you see being advertised at two in the morning.

~Tony Gentlicore


Lately I’ve also noticed a "dark side" to interval training. Too many people think that if "some" interval training is good, then MORE must be better, right? And the answer of course is, "yes and no".

You only need to do 3 sessions of interval training per week, and the sessions just need to be short and focused on quality interval training. That’s how the fat loss interval training research studies are structured.

If you do 45 minutes of interval training, you are sacrificing quality for quantity, and that type of interval training is best left to marathon runners.

~Craig Ballantyne

Why You're Not Getting The Results You Want, Part 3

One of the reasons people get mediocre results from their exercise program is that they don't pay enough attention to their nutrition (or they've been misled about what constitutes good nutrition).

Remember, you can't out-train a bad diet.

Reason #3: Your nutrition is not on track.

Here are some basic fat loss guidelines...

• Eliminate (or at least greatly reduce) liquid calories, including fruit juice.

• Start every day with a nutritious breakfast.

• Eat 5-10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

• Do not skip meals to "save" calories.

• Eat fresh food; eliminate consumption of sugar and as many processed / packaged foods as possible.

• Make sure you drink enough water.

• Eat some lean protein at every meal.

• Dump the "all or nothing" mentality. Don't give up just because you made some poor choices. Just start again with your next meal. You can succeed with 90% adherence to good nutrition.

• Plan your meals and cook in bulk. Don’t put yourself at the mercy of vending machines or fast food joints.

• Exercise regularly. Perform challenging total body workouts, cardio intervals and bodyweight circuits for best fat burning results.

The best plan is the simplest because it needs to become a lifestyle rather than a diet. However, if you’re already following the above guidelines and still having problems...

• Keep a food log and record your calories for a week or two. Most people severely underestimate their caloric intake. A food diary will help you see exactly how much you are consuming; studies have demonstrated that using a food log can double your weight loss. Do it old school with a notebook or go high tech and use one of the many free online food journals.

• Consider limiting starchy carbs (potatoes, rice, bread, etc. – even whole grain versions). Concentrate on fibrous veggies and fruits along with raw nuts for your carbs.

If you missed any of the previous parts of Why You're Not Getting The Results You Want, you can find them here...

Part 1
Part 2

Check out this video from Scott Colby. He addresses some of the misinformation about "healthy" choices.



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Happy Father's Day!

I posted this last year but a reminder is always good.



Three 3 tips to help dads get healthier...

1. Forget about how you worked out in the past. You're not on the high school football team anymore. You're not a professional bodybuilder- steroid infused or not.




You're a busy dad. You've probably got at least a few pounds to lose and you don't have hours to waste at the gym. Forget "chest day" or "leg day" (if you even worked your legs :-) ). Train your entire body 2-3 times a week. Drop the isolation work. Concentrate on compound exercises - Presses, Deadlifts, Pushups, Squats, Rows, Lunges, etc.

2. Clean up your diet. You're not a teenager with a metabolism that allows you to eat and drink all kinds of garbage and never gain unwanted flab.

Good nutrition does not have to be complicated. Eat as much fresh, unprocessed food as possible. Focus on fruits, vegetables and lean meats. Keep your carb intake lower (especially refined carbs - candy, pretzels, baked goods, white bread and rice, pasta, snack foods, etc.). Ditch the liquid calories including booze, soda and fruit juice.

3. Turn off the TV and computer and spend that time with your family. Be a role model for an active lifestyle. Your kids look up to you. I'm sure you don't want them to end up as overweight, unfit, coach potatoes. Go for a bike ride, play some ball, go hiking. There may be some whining at first (probably from you :-) ) but your family will become closer and you'll all benefit physically.


Don't hesitate to get professional advice on your workouts. In the end, getting a properly designed program and making sure your technique is solid will save you time and aggravation and get you better results. Why waste time wading through all the online B.S. trying to figure out what type of workout will work best for you?

You don't need to spend hours exercising to lose weight and get fit; you just need to know how to optimize your workouts. If you're in the Lancaster PA area, call me at (717) 509-7777. I work with both men and women, including busy business owners and husbands of Body & Soul members. If you prefer a group atmosphere, my co-ed "No Pink Dumbbells" boot camp is a great option. You can get more info on that at No Pink Dumbbells Fitness Boot Camp

If you're not in Lancaster I highly recommend Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training. Craig specializes in challenging total body workouts that will help you get strong and lean in 45 minutes (or less) 3 times a week. Check it out here ==> www.TurbulenceTraining.com.

Happy 94th Birthday, Annie!

Body & Soul member, Annie Belstra, turns 94 tomorrow. She has been a member since 2003 and has completed over 800 total body strength training workouts. Annie's dedication and positive attitude are an inspiration to her fellow members.

Craig Ballantyne's Top 5 Fat Loss Myths

I posted this article a few years ago. Unfortunately there are still way too many people spinning their wheels because of all the inaccurate B.S. floating around.

The Top 5 Fat Loss Myths
By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Turbulence Training

There are so many fat loss myths out there in "exercise-land" that I was hired by Men's Fitness magazine to write about one myth each month.

After all, by now you've probably heard that if you don't do 60-minutes of cardio in your fat burning zone on an empty stomach while Venus is in line with Jupiter, you'll never burn fat.

The problem with myths is that not only are they wrong and give false hope to millions of people trying to lose weight, but they also waste your time and mental effort.

I have also seen these myths used as justification for cheating on a diet, watching countless men and women justify their "treats" because they believe they are on some type of magical exercise program or nutrition plan.

I could go on for days about fitness myths, but I cut my list from 30 down to the Top 5 Fat Loss Workout Myths today. I'll save the other 25 for future newsletters.

Myth #1: You have to do cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.

Relax. You don't have to hop on the treadmill at 4:30am every morning. Let's allow common sense to dictate when and how you exercise.

If you want to work out first thing in the morning, and I know that is the best time for many TT readers, by all means, go ahead and do it. There's nothing magical about this time - although it is often the only time many of day many people have to themselves.

We need to think "outside of the hour" of exercise and realize that calorie burning and fat burning goes on for 24-hours. Forget about the theories and look at the big picture.

It doesn't matter when you exercise - as long as you exercise intensely and consistently. Focus on relatively high-intensity workouts to increase your metabolism for as many hours after exercise as possible. That is best done with interval training and resistance training.

Myth #2: You have to do your cardio in your "fat burning zone".

Again, nonsense.

While you might burn a larger proportion of total calories as fat when you exercise in your fat burning zone, you burn fewer calories overall by exercising at such a low intensity.

When you increase your workout intensity and get out of your so-called "fat burning zone", you burn more total calories, and as a result, more fat.

In addition, the "fat burning zone" training doesn't put "turbulence" on your muscles...so you don't burn many calories in the post-exercise time period. But with interval training, you burn a significant amount of calories for hours after training, and that leads to more fat loss.

I've worked with hundreds of people that have avoided the fat burning zone while still managing to lose dozens of pounds of fat. The "fat burning zone" is one of the biggest fitness myths of all time.

Myth #3: You have to do cardio for 20 minutes before you burn fat.

When I hear this, I picture a fat-burning switch in my body that turns on only after I've been doing "cardio" for 20 minutes. But what if I only exercise for 19 minutes and 59 seconds? Are you telling me that I won't have burned any fat? That's ridiculous.

What if I did it on an empty stomach in the morning and in my target heart rate zone? (read that one sarcastically!)

I'll say it one last time. We need to be more concerned with our 24-hour metabolism, not how much fat or even how many calories are burned during the workout.

Myth 4: Drinking ice cold water will help you burn calories and lose fat.

Standing in line at the grocery store is a great place to pick up the latest fat loss myths. You'll also find this one all over the Internet.

This myth often comes along with some calculations showing that by drinking 8 glasses of ice-cold water you can burn 70 calories per day. I don't believe that actually holds true in real life. Regardless, drinking cold water is not going to burn any more fat off your body than drinking room temperature water.

Don't get me wrong, I strongly believe you should drink 12 glasses of water per day, but the temperature of your water won't have any effect on your overall fat loss success.

Myth #5: Adding one pound of muscle will burn 50 extra calories each day.

Uh-oh, now I'm cutting down a myth that supports my use of strength training in a fat loss program. But I have an obligation to set the record straight about this extremely prevalent myth (even though I just saw a big name fitness expert perpetuate this myth in a recent article!).

This myth sounds so good. Add a pound of muscle, boost your metabolism 50 calories. That doesn't seem out of line at all.

But do the math for a guy that puts on 30 pounds of muscle. Does his metabolism really increase by 1500 calories? Absolutely not. For an average guy, that would require his resting metabolism to increase from 2500 calories to 4000 calories per day. How would he be able to keep any of that muscle with a metabolism like that? He'd have to eat like a pig forever.

So when you look at the big picture, you can see this little myth start to fall apart.

That's not to say you should stop your strength training, but just don't use this myth as an excuse to cheat on your diet.

Bonus Myth: Negative Calorie Foods Cause You to Lose Weight

According to the "experts", a negative calorie food requires more energy to digest than it provides you when you eat it. And included in the negative calorie food list are apples and bananas.

So by this logic, I would actually starve to death if I had nothing to eat but apples (because I would have a net energy loss from eating a so-called "negative calorie" food).

There is no such thing as a negative calorie food.

It's a shame that people are out there promoting this stuff, and it's too bad that so many people fall for it.

Remember the old phrase, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

Instead, let the common sense fat loss principles apply. It's going to take consistent effort, working hard at your workouts and with your nutrition to get the results you want.

I guarantee you that Turbulence Training will successfully guide you to the fat loss you deserve and desire.

Sincerely,
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit Turbulence Training.com.

Body & Soul Member Hits 1000 Workouts!

Yesterday, Janet Burns, became the first Body & Soul member to complete 1000 strength training workouts. Janet is 79 years old and has been a member since 2001.

This accomplishment shows what you can achieve with consistency and dedication and that you're never too old to exercise.

Way to go, Janet!

Janet in action...

It's Not Just Semantics

Do you want to trim down? Notice that I didn't say, "Do you want to lose weight?"

First of all, no one's goal should be to lose weight. You can lose weight by cutting off an arm or a leg. Even though the scale would register lower, that's not what you want. (At least I assume that's not want you want.)

If you want to get slimmer, what you should be focusing on is reducing the amount of fat in your body.

O.K., so you're probably thinking you should say, "I want to lose body fat" instead of "I want to lose weight" but that's almost as bad.

It might sound trivial but the words we use impact our goals.

Our subconscious mind listens to everything we say and it's human nature that we don't like to lose things. Whether it's a game, our keys, sunglasses, etc. What do we do when we lose something? We try to find it or replace it.

Not something you want to do with excess pounds.

So, what should you say instead of "lose" fat?

* Shed
* Burn
* Dump
* Release
* Incinerate
* Discard (I got that one from Jon Benson. It may sound awkward at first but I think it's good because we discard things we don't want - like trash.)

Change your thoughts and you can change your life.

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Why You're Not Getting The Results You Want, Part 2

In Why You're Not Getting The Results You Want, Part 1, I wrote about many people's over-reliance on cardio for fat loss.

Today I'm going to address strength training. Remember, these reasons are not in any particular order since what might be relevant to you may not apply to someone else.

Reason #2: You are strength training incorrectly.

The best workouts for fat loss are total body routines that emphasize compound exercises.

Compound exercises are movements that involve multiple muscles and joints. Examples would be Squats, Deadlifts, Rows, and Presses- Chest, Shoulder, etc. Compound exercises are more functional (they more closely simulate real-life activities) and they also burn more calories.

Most resistance training circuits are filled with machines that isolate muscles- Leg Extension, Leg Curl, Pec Flye, Lateral Raise, Bicep Curl, Tricep Extension, etc. These machines work one muscle (or muscle group) at a time.


For example, the Leg Extension, shown here ===============>
works the front thigh (quadriceps) muscles and the Leg Curl works the back of the thigh (hamstrings). Compare that to a Squat which works both those muscle groups and more.



Which exercise do you think is more useful? A Squat or a Leg Extension? How often do you have the need to sit on a chair and lift your legs in front of you? Now, how often do you need to squat down to pick something up?

So, a Squat is more functional, uses more muscles, and burns more calories. Then, why are so many people in gyms using the Leg Extension and Leg Curl machines instead of doing Squats?

If you want to get optimum results from your strength training efforts, the most effective exercise program would involve...

* Total body routines performed on non-consecutive days

* Primarily compound exercises using bodyweight and free weight exercises

* Functional core training (Plank, Hip Bridge, Pushups, Side Plank, etc.)



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Get The Most From Your Cardio Training

If fat loss is your goal, steady state cardio should not be your primary form of exercise. Below is a link to an excellent free report from Craig Ballantyne about the benefits of interval training, how to do it correctly, and 5 unique methods.

You can get it at Free Interval Training Report

Collected Fitness Wisdom #21

Personal trainers and other fitness pretenders who promote the idea of toning muscles through the use of low-weight/high-repetition training have little – if any – understanding of basic physiology. With muscles only two things can happen – they get bigger and stronger or the get smaller and weaker. That’s it. Diet, exercise and genetics are responsible for what your muscles look like.

~Sal Marinello



Fitness isn't just how much you exercise. Fitness comes from consistently making healthy choices and integrating those healthy choices into your life every day: getting regular exercise, eating well, getting the proper amount of sleep, and choosing activities that increase flexibility, coordination, endurance, and strength. Fitness is an ongoing, lifetime process—there are no shortcuts.

~Susan Kalish



Stop kidding yourself. Your workout routine is a joke. You’ve been sleep-walking from machine to machine at your health club for years with little or nothing to show for your investment. Or worse yet, you’ve cooked up a million excuses as to why you can’t work out. Your back is stiff, you’re too busy, and you’re too old—Come on now, are we that pathetic?

~Michael Rutherford



Treat your body like a temple, not a woodshed. The mind and body work together. Your body needs to be a good support system for the mind and spirit. If you take good care of it, your body can take you wherever you want to go, with the power and strength and energy and vitality you will need to get there.

~Jim Rohn



Watermelon has one of the highest measured GI's of all foods (much higher than even cake and ice cream). However, a normal serving of cake and ice cream may give you a whopping 700 or 800 calories, whereas a typical serving of watermelon may give you 50 or 60 calories max!

Trust me... watermelon isn't making anyone fat!

The lesson... GI is almost useless when you're not considering "Glycemic Load", which also factors in the quantity of carbohydrates ingested in a typical serving.

~Mike Geary

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Why You're Not Getting The Results You Want, Part 1

Rather than create one super long blog post, I'm going to address one factor per post of why people don't get the results they want.

These are not in any particular order since what might be relevant to one person may not apply to another.

Reason #1: You spend all (or most) of your time doing cardio.

I'm not one of those trainers who tells clients not to do cardio or that it's bad, etc. If someone really likes jogging, I'm not going to tell them to stop. However, if their primary goal is fat loss and their exercise time is limited, I will tell them that steady state cardio is definitely not the most efficient way to trim down.

With all the information out there, it surprises me that so many people still believe that cardio is the most important type of exercise for fat loss.

Research conducted by Jeff Volek, Ph.D., R.D., an exercise and nutrition scientist at the University of Connecticut, has shown that aerobic exercise is not king when it comes to fat loss.

Volek's team took overweight study participants, put them on a reduced calorie diet and placed them in one of 3 groups.

* One group did no exercise.

* One group performed aerobic exercise 3 days a week.

* One group performed aerobic exercise and strength training 3 days a week.

The second and third groups exercised for the same amount of time. In other words, the aerobic plus strength training group did not spend twice as much time working out as the aerobic only group.

The results? In 12 weeks, all 3 groups lost about the same amount of weight, approximately 21 pounds per person. (See why I always say good nutrition is the most important component?)

The more important result? The group that incorporated weight training into their exercise dumped 5 more pounds of fat than those who didn't lift weights. Almost the entire 21 pounds they shed was pure fat! The other two groups discarded 15 pounds of fat but also lost more than 5 pounds of muscle.

Says Jeff Volek, "Think about that. For the same amount of exercise time, with diets being equal, the participants who lifted lost almost 40 percent more fat."

Various other studies have shown that weight lost by low-calorie dieters who don’t strength train is, on average, 25% muscle and 75% from fat.

That may not mean much to those of you who obsess over the number on the scale but it should.



This photo above compares the space taken up in the body by 5 pounds of fat versus 5 pounds of muscle. Because fat is bulky and lumpy, it takes up more space in the body. A 145 pound woman with a body fat of 18% will look better and be smaller than a 145 pound woman with 30% body fat, even though they weigh exactly the same amount.

Can you see how slimmer you'd be if you shed 20 pounds of fat compared to 10 pounds of fat and 10 pounds of muscle? The scale would register the same but you'd definitely be smaller if all the lost weight came from fat.

And isn't that the point?

So, if you're trying to slim down, make sure you include strength training in your exercise program.

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Workout for St. Jude Videos

I just realized that I hadn't uploaded the videos from our recent Workout for St. Jude on the blog. Enjoy!

Not sure why no images are showing up but the videos will definitely play if you click on the button.