Victoria Wellness Professionals

Overtraining manifests itself in several evil ways, but none is quite as evil as muscular atrophy. You work hard and eat right so that you can gain muscle. Because you didn’t pay careful attention to your training program you suddenly find yourself sleepy and irritable and it dawns on you that you are in a state of overtraining. You then begin to notice that while your bodyfat percentage is not decreasing, your scale weight continues to go down. You are experiencing muscular atrophy. You are losing lean body mass.

Overtraining will do the opposite of training when it comes to muscle mass. Instead of seeing larger muscles, your muscles will actually lose size and strength. You will be going in reverse as far as your progress. It is a scary thing for most trainees.

This is one symptom of overtraining that is difficult to detect. Unless you are like me and you measure yourself weekly, this one is likely to fly under the radar for many weeks before being discovered and that just means a longer recovery time in the end.

You can recover from this symptom of overtraining by getting more rest and taking time off from the gym. Give your body adequate time to fully recover from the pounding it has been taking. When you get back in the gym you will soon see your hard work paying off once again with increases in muscle size and strength. Once you discover this symptom, do not delay. Get the rest your body requires so that you will see the gains you deserve.

Mike Mahony
http://thefatburningmachineblog.com(where he chronicles his own training adventures) and http://fitnessexpose.com (where he exposes fitness misinformation overload).

Uncategorized exercise, muscles, overtraining, strength, strength training, weight lifting, workouts

Today’s blog post is from guest contributor, Kinesiologist Rick Kaselj. For more information on Rick and his articles please see the Contributor page.

There is a lot that you can do if you have knee pain or knee stress when exercising. Here are four way to get rid of knee pain and knee stress when exercising.

#1 – Lunge Backwards

Most often we step forward when we do a lunge. When we do this, it puts a lot of strain on the knee. If we step back and perform a lunge, we decrease the stress on the knee but still work the legs and glutes.

#2 – Squat Halfway

It is common to do squats to 90 degrees but when you pass 45 degrees you increase the stress on your knees. If you only squat from standing to 45 degrees, you still work your legs but decrease the stress on your knees.

#3 – Stretch Out Those Hamstrings

I know you are thinking, how can the back of my thigh have an effect on knee pain but it does. When the hamstrings are tight, they pull the lower part of the leg against the upper part of the leg. This leads to greater stress and pain on the knee. Make sure you spend some time at the end of you workout to stretch out your hamstrings and this will help with knee pain.

#4 – Knee Behind the Toes

When you are performing a leg exercise and you let your knees pass your toes, this leads to greater stress on the knee. The knees passing the toes is a common mistake people make when performing lunges, squats and leg press exercises. Keeping the knees back and not letting the toes pass your toes; decrease the stress on your knees.

Sum Up the 4 Ways

During your next workout remember to step back, squat halfway, stretch those hamstrings and don’t let the knees pass the toes. I am sure if you do these four tips on getting rid of knee pain when exercising, your knees will be happier.

Rick Kaselj
To learn more about Rick Kaselj you can check out his exercise and injury blog at http://www.ExercisesForInjuries.com

Uncategorized exercise, gym workouts, hamstrings, lunges, muscles, squats, strength training, stretches, weight training

Most of you know that in order to recover your body needs rest. You do not grow in the gym, you grow while getting rest. Overtraining throws a wrench into the process.

In a previous article I spoke about mood swings from overtraining. Another symptom of overtraining is sleepiness. You work your body to the point that it cannot recover. It starts to use energy that it normally wouldn’t use. This makes you feel sleepy.

This symptom is no different than how your body reacts to a cold or flu bug. It instinctively knows that rest is the only cure and it sets out to get the rest it needs.

If you’ve been training hard and notice yourself feeling tired alot of the time examine the possibility that you are overtraining. Look at everything objectively. Make the right moves before you dig a huge ditch for yourself.

One sure fire cure is to take a week off from training. This will enable your body to fully recover and you will come back stronger. Give your body the rest it craves and you will be rewarded with great increases later.

Mike Mahony

Michael Mahony is a fitness guru wannabe, computer specialist, huge hockey fan, loving husband, proud father and motivated speaker. He encourages everyone to work hard and work with intensity. His philosphy is that you never work hard enough because you can always work harder than you just did. Michael’s other sites include http://thefatburningmachineblog.com (where he chronicles his own training adventures) and http://fitnessexpose.com (where he exposes fitness misinformation overload). You can connect with Michael on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/michaelmahony and on Twitter @MikeMahony.

Uncategorized exercise, fitness, muscles, overtraining, weight training

The Gluteus Medius

Origin: Outer surface of the Ilium “pelvis”.

Insertion: Lateral surface of the Head of the Femur “greater Trochanter”.

Function: This muscle serves to stabilize the Lumbo-Pelvis-Hip Complex. In other words this muscle supports the body on one leg. So, if this muscle were to be weak for example, one may have difficulty balancing. As well, gait patterns with quick directional changes may be more difficult. This muscle also assists the Spine Musculature with supporting the pelvis during single leg activities. From walking to Step-up Balance Press, the Gluteus Medius is a key player. “Blasted Tube Walking”! Believe it or not but Tube Walking before our session serves to “activate/cue” this particular muscle in a dynamic fashion to progressively condition this muscle to support our vital spine, thus preventing injury. Not to mention improve balance & coordination.

Happy Tubing

The Humble Potato Boat

The Humble Potato Boat is a family classic. Growing up, there was never any fuss about potato boat night in the Pelan Household… Something I’m sure we’ve all seen in some fashion, I’m going to revisit the Humble Potato in a way that hopefully inspires a bang up dish everyone will enjoy! Simply roast your squash & potatoes. Place a halved spaghetti squash in a roasting pan with water covering the bottom (1.5”) at 375 until a fork can penetrate both the potatoes & the squash. Gently Spoon the Squash & Potatoes from their skins. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl & spoon back into the potato skins. Back they go into the oven to broil for 5-10 minutes until lightly browned. Serve with a side Salad & perhaps some fish or Chicken. Happy Days!

Serves 4 –
4 Great big Russet potatoes
1 Large Spaghetti Squash
1 Long Sprig of Fresh Rosemary diced
Fresh Cracked Black Pepper to taste & Sea Salt
Half a Cup of Plain Yogurt or Sour Cream
2-4 Cloves of Garlic Minced

Salad –( Dressing: Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Garlic, Salt + Pepper, Soy Sauce to taste, Basil, Sundried Tomato)
Fresh Spinach Bunch
2 + Tomatoes of choice
Finely Chopped Red Onion, as much as desired
1-2 Cloves of Garlic Finely minced
Green Onions Diced

Till next time,
Todd Pelan

Uncategorized exercise, fitness, gym workouts, nutrition, strength training, workouts

I can’t believe they’re doing this – seriously.

As you know, I’m a proud Prograde Nutrition partner, so when something like this comes across my desk, well, I share it with you immediately.

Prograde is having a heck of a Holiday Blow Out. It’s pretty obvious they don’t want you “shutting it down” the last couple weeks of December.

Believe it or not they are putting all of their awesome products on sale this week for 15% off! I don’t think they’ve ever done this before, and they probably won’t do it ever again. Their products are so good and the company is growing so fast they just don’t have to.

So my recommendation to you is to get on over to http://victoriawellness.getprograde.com/specials.html right NOW and stock up.

This deal expires this Friday, December 11th at 11:59pm EST. But don’t wait until later to order. You might get busy, you might forget…and trust me you WILL regret missing out on this if you do.

Till Next Time,
Narina

PS – Everything you need, including the coupon code to save 15% on all Prograde Nutrition products is right here: http://victoraiwellness.getprograde.com/specials.html

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It’s recommended that we eat 6-10 fruits and vegetables a day. In the States it is reported the actual average of fruits and veggies eaten each day is just 2.

Yup, just 2.

Now, I don’t know where you stand on this, but overall, it really is a sad state of nutritional affairs.

But do not despair! It’s not that tough to get more fruits and veggies in each day.

Here are some super simple tips to get you started:

1) Buy ‘em pre-chopped

Look, I can be lazy, too There’s nothing wrong with not wanting to go through the hassle of having to chop up fruits and veggies. If you want to buy them pre-chopped go ahead. It’s much better for you than not eating them.

2) Carry ‘em with you

Load up a plastic baggie with your pre-chopped veggies and bring them to work. Seriously, see how easy this can be!

3) Add real fruit to your yogurt

Have some yogurt for breakfast and add some fresh blueberries, raspberries or blackberries. It’s that simple!

Bonus tip: A great way to provide your body with the nutritional foundation you need each day is a Whole Foods based multi-vitamin. I’m a proud Prograde Nutrition partner and they have a terrific product called VGF 25+ that is made from 25 veggies, greens and fruits.

The best part is you can try Prograde’s VGF 25+ for FREE! (There’s just a small S & H charge)
http://victoriawellness.getprograde.com/vgf25-free-trial.html

I hope you have an awesome weekend. Be sure to use these tips and let me know how they help you out. Or send me some of your own!

Yours in health,

Narina
PS – You can see all the natural ingredients they use to make VGF 25+ at http://victoriawellness.getprograde.com/vgf25-free-trial.html

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With the holidays fast approaching people everywhere are either starting a new workout lifestyle or rededicating themselves to an existing one. This is when my caution flag goes up. The exact mindset that leads these folks to train is the mindset that will lead them down the path to overtraining. In my next 4 articles I will discuss overtraining. I will touch on mood swings, sleepiness, muscular atrophy, and loss of interest in training caused by overtraining.

When we overload our central nervous system through overtraining it causes a major change in our mood. We suddenly become irritable. Everything bothers us. People around us begin to ask if something is wrong.

At first it doesn’t strike us as overtraining. We come up with every excuse in the book because we don’t want to believe we are overtraining. As this situation progresses we soon have to admit that we are overtraining.

Once we have identified that an overtrained situation exists we must back off. Taking a week off is the prescription for am overtrained body. Get alot of rest so your body will have time to recover.

Contrary to what most people think, you won’t lose strength. In fact it is very likely that you will see strength increases after your break. Just take the time off for recovery. You will not be sorry.

Michael J. Mahony, Consultant
Mahony Technology Solutions
www.mahonyconsulting.com

Michael Mahony is a fitness guru wannabe, computer specialist, huge hockey fan, loving husband, proud father and motivated speaker. He encourages everyone to work hard and work with intensity. His philosphy is that you never work hard enough because you can always work harder than you just did. Michael’s other sites include http://thefatburningmachineblog.com (where he chronicles his own training adventures) and http://fitnessexpose.com (where he exposes fitness misinformation overload). You can connect with Michael on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/michaelmahony and on Twitter @MikeMahony.

Uncategorized exercise, fat loss, gym workouts, motivation, strength training, weightlifting, workout