Fuel Metabolism

Fuel metabolism can be a confusing subject.  There is a lot of misinformation in popular culture, gym equipment, and gym myths about the "Fat Burn" zone.  The fuel source used at different workout intensities is not as important than the number calories burned.

Fuel Metabolism presentation

Muscle Mass

The following study proves that body composition and not body mass index (BMI) is the a more important factor in determining mortality, or death.  BMI has for decades been the simple measurement used by life insurance companies and doctors to determine a person's expected health outcomes.  This study, however, found that relative muscle mass was a better predictor of how long the subjects lived.  The subjects with greater relative muscle mass lived longer than those with less muscle mass.

This is why measuring body composition (body fat:muscle mass ratio) is an important part of being involved in an exercise program.  If you're trying to lose weight, make sure your body fat percentage is going down along with your weight so that you don't lose too much muscle mass.  If you're trying to gain weight, make sure you're gaining predominantly muscle, and not fat.

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DiscoverSD's Top 10 Trainers

I'm excited to announce that I've been named one of DiscoverSD magazine's Top 10 Trainers.  It's an honor to represent Fit in this citywide publication.

Insulin Sensitivity

In the past, I posted an article about cardiovascular exercise and insulin sensitivity.  Research now shows that resistance training as well as cardiovascular exercise increases insulin sensitivity.  Increasing insulin sensitivity reverses the disease process of Type 2 diabetes.  This article explains now exercise increases insulin sensitivity, prevents Type 2 diabetes, as well as which types of exercise are most beneficial.  Note that these benefits of exercise were seen even without any weight loss.  Increasing insulin sensitivity, and preventing Type 2 diabetes, is one of the many benefits of exercise that don't have anything to do with weight loss.  However, weight loss together with exercise does offer greater benefits.

Brazil's Innovative Approach to Dietary Guidelines

Brazil recently revamped their dietary guidelines to focus more on sensible, mindful preparation and consumption of food.  Some are saying these guidelines are better than the nutrient-based American guidelines.  Others are saying more definitive structure, like in the American guidelines, is necessary.

Brazil's Dietary Guidelines

Eight Most Popular Diets Today

I recently found an article describing the eight most popular diets today.  The best diet is made up of mostly whole foods with processed foods kept to a minimum.  As long as you're eating a large amount and variety of fruits and vegetables while also receiving adequate animal protein, you're on the right track.  Of the 8 diets outlined, the Mediterranean has been shown to have the best health outcomes in research studies.  Which diets have you or others had success with.

Know Your Alphabet for Stronger Shoulders

The repetitive nature of tennis puts your body under severe stresses, which can result in overuse injuries.  The most common sites for these injuries are the knees, ankles, lower back, elbows, and shoulders.  A tennis strength and conditioning program focuses on decreasing the possibility of injuries in these areas and improving and perfecting tennis biomechanics.

Shoulder injuries are especially common because the muscles surrounding the shoulder are relatively small and under constant repetitive stresses.  Due to the large range of motion in the shoulder, the ligaments alone cannot provide enough stability through all planes of movement.  In a healthy shoulder, stabilization is provided by the rotator cuff muscles.  In tennis, and most of our daily lives, the internal rotators are overused and therefore very tight.  The external rotators are often underused and very weak.  Strengthening the external rotators will help decrease shoulder injuries and improve your tennis game.

Because the external rotators are very small muscles, I recommend using no weight or very little weight for these shoulder exercises.  These three exercises are progressions of the same exercise. Start by only working on the Ts.  After those become easy, work on the Ys, and later, on the Is.  All three exercises are done lying face down on a bench or on the floor. 

Ts: Lying face down, position your arms at a 90-degree angle to your body, so that you look like a T when viewed from above.  Rotate your shoulders so that thumbs are pointing up towards the ceiling.  Squeeze your shoulder blades in towards your spine, and, while keeping your arms straight, raise your arms up towards the ceiling.  Let your arms drop, and then repeat.  Perform 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps.

Ys:  Lying face down, position your arms so that you look like a Y when viewed from above.  Rotate your shoulders so that your thumbs are pointing up towards the ceiling.  Squeeze your shoulder blades in and downward towards your mid back spine, and, while keeping your arms straight, raise your arms up towards the ceiling.  Let your arms drop, and then repeat.  Perform 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps.

Is:  Lying face down, position your arms so that you look like an I when viewed from above.  Rotate your shoulders so that your thumbs are pointing up towards the ceiling.  Squeeze your shoulder blades in and downward towards your mid back spine, and, while keeping your arms straight, raise your arms up towards the ceiling.  Let your arms drop, and then repeat.  Perform 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps.

Incorporating these exercises two to three times weekly is the first step to improving your tennis game.  Developing and implementing a strength and conditioning program 2-3 times weekly is tantamount to continuing to play tennis as you get older with less interruptions for injuries.

           Viktoria Brautigam MS, CSCS is a personal trainer with 12 years of experience preventing and post-rehabing injuries, improving performance on and off the court, and weight management.  Contact viktoria@fitathletic.com for more information.