Fundamental Movement: Squat

Fundamental Movement: Bend

Fundamental Movement: Lunge

Fundamental Movement: Twist

Pull

Pulling exercises don't really need an explanation, do they?

I break down upper body pulling exercises into:

- Horizontal Pulls (Rows)
- Vertical Pulls (Pullups)
- Arm Pulls (Curls)

Body Row With Feet On Bench

Fundamental Movement: Push

Pushing exercises are those where you, well, push.

Push ups, shoulder presses, bench press, dips, and so on are all pushing exercises.

Feet Elevated Pushup

Fundamental Movement: Gait

Gait movements are locomotive exercises such as walking, running, skipping, crawling, etc.

One of my favorite ways to train gait is to use a sled.

You can pull a sled forwards, backwards, sideways, light and fast, or slow and heavy. Or even my personal favorite, which is heavy and fast.

Forward Sled Dragging

How You Move

There are 7 fundamental human movements.

These are:

1) Squat
2) Bend
3) Lunge
4) Push
5) Pull
6) Twist
7) Gait

A comprehensive training program will address each of these movements.

Following the order above, a weight-training athlete might have these exercises in her program:

1) Barbell Front Squat
2) Hex Bar Rack Pull with Chains
3) Dumbbell Bulgarian Squat
4) Incline Cable Press
5) Body Row
6) Reverse Woodchopper
7) Forward Sled Pulling

Now, it’s important to remember that there is much more to developing an exercise program than exercise selection. There are sets, reps, progressions, loading, and all sorts of other things to keep in mind.

When it comes to upper body pushing and pulling, we’ve got vertical and horizontal movements, and the arms.

So, if we’re focusing on improving upper body strength, we might have an overhead barbell press (vertical push) and a flat bench dumbbell press (horizontal push). This takes care of pushing in both the frontal and sagittal planes.

In a program that is aimed at maintaining upper body strength, we might have only the incline press, which combines the horizontal and vertical pushing. This way we can address both the frontal and sagittal plane pushing movements without excessive volume or time away from our main focus.

An example of horizontal pulling is the bodyweight row. Vertical pulling is displayed in the classic pull-up exercise.

A hybrid vertical and horizontal pull would be the bent forward rope row.

The next few posts will be an example of each of the seven fundamental human movements, so make sure to check back for the next seven days!

Want more, do more, BE more,

~Lucas Wold

Protein

Here is an email I recently wrote to a friend of mine, in response to her question "How much protein does your body really need?"


Very interesting word choice, to use "need."

The question of "how much protein does your body need" is very different from "How much protein should I consume to optimize body composition and athletic performance."

You're a researcher. You know that the word "need" is in no way associated with optimization. Researchers look to the minimum necessary to prevent death.

So when someone asks me how much protein they need, they're actually asking me "What's the minimum amount of protein I can get away with to prevent wasting away and eventual death?"

Now, 90% of people I consult with are eating less protein than I'd recommend. So I can stimulate results by simply increasing protein intake while making a few concomitant (Is that the word I want?) changes to fats and carbs.

Here's the short list of why we need more protein to optimize body composition and performance:

1. Increased auxiliary nutrients
2. Increased nitrogen state
3. Increased protein turnover - (I'm writing a manual on how the greater your body's turnover, the better your body composition)
4. Greatly improved weight loss profile - (This could be a list by itself, everything under this heading)
5. Reduced cardiovascular risk - (You can also reduce heart disease risk by replacing carbohydrate calories with fat calories)
6. Increased IGF-1 - (You spare muscle when restricting calories)
7. Increased TEF - (It takes more calories to digest protein)
8. Increased glucagon - (greater fat loss during dieting)

I'd prefer not to have any dairy products in my weight loss clients' diets, with the exception of whey protein. Milk greatly increases the inflammation in the body, which is one of the biggest health problems in America. (Wheat sucks too)

In my actual classes, I make an exception for whey protein supplements, because if you tried to get all of your protein from meat alone, you'd probably have a gut like a hippo and a butcher bill that looks like a ransom note.

(Figure competitors trimming down for competition or models for a shoot, they get almost all whole food protein. They are eating so little that I want their diets to be as satisfying as possible. If your entire breakfast consists of one piece of turkey bacon, a dice-sized piece of havarti, and a half cup of spinach, you want to savor every nibble.)

I'm working on a plan that will allow lighter clients (mostly women) to eat only four times a day, like I do for figure competitors. If your diet calls for 1300 kcals/day, and you're supposed to eat 7 times, each "meal" is less than 200kcals. boo to that!

But if you can break it into four chunks, that's something like 325kcals each, which is doable.

Ah well, enough from me.

Buck Buck To The Bang,

~Luke

Dieters Warned: Halloween Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

Carson City, NV – October 17, 2008 – Local fitness expert Lucas Wold has information every dieter needs to know: Halloween is when the holiday weight gain really starts. While December is usually the month blamed for holiday weight gain, Wold warns those wanting to lose weight that thanks to Halloween the pounds actually start to get packed on in late October.

“The amount of candy that people consume is alarming”, Wold was quoted as saying. “One of the main problems is the smaller ‘snack sizes’ that the candy manufacturers have made available. Eating several ‘mini’ chocolate bars is something people see as ‘ok’ because of their smaller size.”

But this fitness expert reminds dieters that just because something is smaller doesn’t mean it’s ok to consume as many as they want. “For men and women trying to lose weight it’s imperative that they follow a plan and goals. They can’t just have bags and bags of Halloween candy laying around for ‘Trick or Treaters’ and not expect to have their fair share – if they don’t have a plan.”

Wold recommends these 4 tips for keeping the pounds off while still allowing for a Halloween treat:

1) Allow yourself just one piece of candy in the morning and then one at night. Skip any desserts that you would normally eat after dinner.

2) Only buy enough candy so that you expect to run out before the evening is over. It’s crucial to weight loss success to not have “trigger” foods lying around – the temptation is often too great.

3) Increase your exercise activity by thirty minutes on every day that you eat your two pieces of candy. This will counteract the increase in calories that you are consuming.

4) If people indulge a bit too much it’s important to forgive themselves and move on. Dwelling on the past will not help their success.

Lucas Wold is the owner of High Sierra Bootcamps and has been a fitness professional for over 7 years. Wold is available for interviews or to discuss other story ideas related to weight loss and fitness. He can be reached at 509-945-3856 or via email at LDWold@Gmail.com. For even more information please visit www.CarsonCityFitnessSystems.com