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strength training

My 5 “no-no” Cues

January 24, 2017 by gracefulfitness Leave a Comment

I have been taking group exercise classes for 20 years and teaching them for eleven (seventeen if you include teaching dance!).  Teaching exercise is a beautiful marriage of my love of language and my love of movement.

Yes, language is so important to movement.

A class I took recently reminded me of this, as the instructor said several things that I found not helpful and perhaps even harmful.  It got me thinking about cues that I have eradicated from my teaching script.  Here are five of them.

5 Cues I Never Say When Teaching Exercise

“Work off your weekend!”

Guilt talk about food makes my heart ache. In my book, guilty feelings about food are the least productive, most harmful approach to “diet and exercise”.

“Straighten your back”

A strong, healthy, beautiful back has two strong, healthy, beautiful curves (three if you are speaking of the whole spine).  What you will hear me saying (a lot!):

“Lengthen your spine”

“Support your back by engaging your abdominal in towards your center like a corset”.

“Pin your shoulders back and down”

Ugh, do people really still think this is good for them?

Pulling your shoulder blades “back and down” overengages your upper and mid-back muscles while overstretching your chest, in other words, puts you in a position that is not neutral, functional, or balanced.

The correct neutral alignment for the shoulders (especially with any type of load baring activity, like push ups, planks, and all weight lifting) is a broad upper back with the shoulder blades wrapping wide around the ribs.  In general, the shoulder musculature is most stable* and working most effectively when the scapula are “flush” to the ribs, no winging, poking, or protruding of any of the scapula bones.

*Mobility in shoulder blades and joint is also crucial for a healthy ‘girdle but this cue is specifically addressing stability for exercises.

“Do (fill in the the blank) for me!/Give Me More…”

It’s your workout my friend, it’s really not about me.  Do it for yourself! Give yourself five more! 🙂  Or, rest if it’s time for a rest (see my next “no-no” cue).

“Don’t give up”

I am all for pushing yourself past the point of “comfortable” but please stop before you push past your limits.  When your form starts to fail you it is time to rest or perhaps modify. This is not giving up, this is working your edge but not going past it.  This is respecting your body and recognizing that your experience is wholly unique; it’s not the same experience of the instructor or the dude next to you.  A good trainer/instructor can correct form, offer advice and suggestions for modifications and progressions, and encourage you to work hard, they cannot feel what’s going on in your body.

 

What cues do you love and which do you loathe from exercise instructors? I’d love to hear your thoughts, it will help me improve my workouts and my teaching!

Whether you’re working out in the woods, in the living room in your pj’s, or in a group class I encourage you to listen to focus on form, listen to your body, and enjoy the process! Happy moving!

Posted in: body image, interval training, Pilates, running, strength training, walking, workouts, yoga Tagged: group exercise, teaching

Full Body Fall Workout

October 7, 2014 by gracefulfitness 2 Comments

I’m a year round trotter but fall is my favorite season to run.

photo (22)

Fall slows me down in general, I often get a mild cold that sticks around for about a month and the decrease in daylight combined with dropping temperatures makes me ready to go into hibernation. Running in the fresh fall air energizes me and refreshes my spirit.

I love the simplicity of running; lace up and go. Today I was craving something a bit more full body though so I combined running with high intensity intervals.

This workout is great; it works your entire body in 10 minutes or can easily be repeated 2 or more times to cover more miles. It’s so simple, just three exercises, so no need to even write it down.

Alternate 2 minutes of running with 30 seconds of burpees/mountain climbers.

The burpee/mountain climber intervals provide strength work for your core and upper body while keeping your heart rate elevated (or maybe increasing it depending on the intensity of your running!  Burpees…!!!).

Here’s what my workout looked like:
0-2 run
2-2:30 burpees
2:30-4:30 run
4:30-5 burpees
5-7 run
7-7:30 mountain climbers
7:30-9:30 run
9:30-10 mountain climbers

I repeated the whole thing once for a full body, heart pounding 20 minute workout followed by about 5 minutes of walking then stretching.  My body felt well worked but not worn out, just what I was looking for!

photo (18)

Posted in: interval training, running, strength training, workouts Tagged: burpees, fall, interval training, mountiain climbers, running, workouts
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Hi, I'm Faith!
New? Check out I Am for my story, I Cook for recipes, and I Move for some motivation to get moving!
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gracefulfitness@live.com

Header photo: Meredith Coe

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Hi, I'm Faith! New? Check out I Am for my story, I Cook for recipes, and I Move for some motivation to get moving! I'd love to hear from you, e-mail me gracefulfitness@live.com
Header photo: Meredith Coe

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