What Is Strength?

Hello, everyone! A while ago I wrote a pretty long treatise on my entire training philosophy. You can read it here if you like: http://mitchrothbardtfitness.com/Philosophy/

In a nutshell the main point I tried to get across was that I feel that many, if not most, people are working on the wrong things when it comes to their fitness, specifically too much cardio and flexibility, and not enough mobility and strength. I don’t want to go into all the reasons why right here (you can read the original article for that) but I made the statement that whatever your goals are (and yes that absolutely includes losing weight) if getting stronger is not part of your program you will most likely fail in the long run.

I don’t think that’s an exaggeration at all and I have lots of clients and many years of experience that have informed that opinion. What I want to talk about today is why I think it’s so important.

1. Mental strength. Many times I see people that have, quite honestly, have had a history of failure when it comes to their goals. Many have tried to lose weight for years with little or no success. Many have started and stopped exercising countless times with nothing to show for the effort. When this happens there is certainly a toll that is taken on the body but it’s nothing like the toll that is taken on the mind.

They feel they can’t do it. Exercise doesn’t work. Diet doesn’t work. They’ve failed and they walk around with that failure all day, every day. I won’t go into the legitimate reasons why they might have failed (thanks Planet Fitness) but they see others getting results and that leads them to feel that it’s not within their power to get the results they want.

When you see someone who is coming from that type of background and watch as they start doing things they never thought they could do, you see a change occur. I can’t tell you how many times a client has seen the word “Squat” on their workout sheet and told me, “I can’t do that.” I just tell them, “Sure you can,” and show them how to do the version they can do. You see, over time a squat to a high box becomes a squat to a lower box and that becomes a squat without a box, etc. What happened there? They got stronger and they realized they can now easily do something they thought they could NEVER do. Now what happens? As this realization hits their mind they start thinking that, “ Maybe I CAN do this”. Let me tell you this. Once the mind starts believing that you can do something, the world opens. You’ve gotten stronger.

I had a client doing deadlifts one day. When she first started a few months prior she was doing a 15 lb. kettlebell. Over time she started doing heavier and heavier weights and soon graduated to the 45 lb. bar. The weight continued to get heavier and one day after her last set she asked me how much was on the bar. (She never wanted to know before her set.) When I told her it was 100 lbs. she nearly cried in shock. She came to me because she wanted to lose some weight and feel better. If I told her that within a few months she’d be lifting 100 pounds or more on a regular basis she would never have believed she could. Is there a price you can put on this?

2. Physical strength. Quite simply, do you want to be able to function in life? Do you want to be able to carry the clothesbasket up the stairs? Do you want to be able to play with your grandkids? I don’t care if you can touch your toes easily, that won’t help you carry the groceries in from the car.

You might respond by saying that strength won’t help you if you’re a runner. Well, you’re wrong about that. When your foot hits the ground you produce force, which allows you to push off and stride forward. What happens when you get stronger? You produce more force, which allows you to cover more distance and RUN FASTER!

What else happens? The stronger you are the more resistant you are to injury and if you know runners like I do, that is a huge issue.

3. Improved movement. Life is really all about movement and strength can help you move better. How many times do you hear about someone who puts out their back picking up a pencil? Well, it wasn’t that pencil that threw their back out. It was a lot of bad movement that put constant strain on the back and the pencil was just the last straw, so to speak.

What proper strength training does is take a basic movement pattern and load it. Let’s take the example of picking a bag of groceries up from the floor. This movement pattern is known as a hip dominant pattern. This means that the hips and the muscles surrounding them drive the movement. Well to put it nicely, many people have pretty poor hip movement. What that means is that each time they pick something up they are putting unnecessary strain on certain muscles. Their back in this case. What we do is teach someone the most basic hip dominant movement. Once they can perform this movement well we make it a little harder, whether by changing the exercise or by adding weight to the movement. The reasons for this are many, but in this case it teaches someone to perform the movement well in adverse circumstances, which will translate to that person performing the movement extremely well in everyday circumstances. Guess what that means when it comes to picking up that pencil or your grandson: No injury!

4. Improved conditioning. I’m going to be as plain about this as I can be.

If you do a working set of squats during your workout (by a working set, I mean one that’s not a warm-up) and you’re not breathing heavily afterwards YOU ARE NOT WORKING VERY HARD.  I don’t mean to burst your bubble but that’s the truth. Strength training with intensity is in many ways the best conditioning you can do.

People ask me about cardio all the time. What I like to tell them is that just because you’re not walking on a treadmill doesn’t mean you’re not exercising your heart! Obviously that’s important. The heart is the second most important muscle in the body! (After a set of HUUUUUUGE biceps). As I said before, if you’re lifting weights and not breathing heavy in the slightest after each set, YOU ARE NOT WORKING VERY HARD! In other words, strength training done correctly is ABSOLUTELY exercising your heart. As a bonus you also get stronger, move better and get more confidence from it as well. You can’t say that about 30 minutes on the treadmill.

5. Better appearance.  OK. I can talk all I want about better function and strength, etc. but in the end the thing that most of us want from exercise is to look better. Well, strength can help with that, too. As we build strength, what else do we build? Muscle. Did you know that muscle weighs more than fat? What does that mean? Well, it means that if you gain 5 pounds of muscle and lose 5 pounds of fat, you will get smaller and leaner and look better!

Also, since muscle is more metabolically active your metabolism will go up making it easier and easier for you to continue to lose fat if you choose to do so. Again, all the cardio classes in the world will not help you do this.

What about the thing many women are concerned with: getting too big. Well, the primary hormone that aids in muscle growth is testosterone and women have, on average, less than 10% of the testosterone that men have so in reality it’s just not all that feasible that you are going to get too big.  If you feel that you are, I’d say that the vast majority of the time it’s your diet that is going to be the culprit here, NOT the strength training.

So let’s see. Strength training will improve your mental strength, your physical strength, your movement, your conditioning and your appearance.  That’s a pretty convincing argument to me. I’ve said this before, but my clients that have embraced this philosophy have ALWAYS gotten better results than those that haven’t. It’s that simple.

Let me know what you think and have a great day!

Mitch Rothbardt, CPT, PN Lean Eating Coach, FMS

2861 Grove Way in Castro Valley

510-754-7113

MitchRFitness@gmail.com

MitchRFitness.com

I Help People Discover Their Strength!

Your Head Is Not Your Chest

Your head is not your chest.

I know what you're thinking. Mitch has gone nuts. Of course your head isn't your chest. It's really pretty common knowledge, after all. I learned that all the way back in 7th grade!

Well, if that's the case how come when I tell people to get their chest up I see this

instead of this?

It's a very common thing but it can be a big problem. You see, in our gym the most important thing is ALWAYS posture. I know it's not quite as sexy a topic as weight loss or a huge deadlift, but what's an easy way to look like you've lost 10 pounds in about 2 seconds? Stand tall and in good posture! What is the best way to improve your deadlift or your sports performance in general? Improve your posture!

This is what it comes down to: Our spines function best when in neutral alignment. That looks something like this:

Notice the alignment, ears directly above hips and ankles. We also look best in neutral alignment. Compare the above pictures once again to check that one out.

Now let's get to heart of the article. Your head is not your chest. Very possibly the most crucial aspect of good posture is awareness. (You don't know how many times I hear from people that they don't even realize that they're standing in a bad position.) Having said that, you have to be able to feel a position to be aware of it. Having said that, the position that most people feel on a regular basis is that deadly sitting-in-front-of-a-computer position. Something like this picture below:

Not good posture

When you spend too much time in front of a computer one of the first things to happen is that you develop overstretched and weak upper back and shoulder muscles. What this leads to is an overly hunched posture and tight chest muscles, so when I tell someone to pick their chest up into a good position, the only thing they can feel and do is raise their head. After all they know something is supposed to raise up.

The main problem with this head raised position is that is sets off a chain reaction of bad posture. Check out the pictures below. The first one is me with a good head position in good posture. The second is with my head raised. Let's compare the two.

Notice the three points of contact: butt, upper back and back of head.

Notice the lack of contact at the upper back and the overall tense posture.

In the first notice how my butt, upper back and the back of my head are in a straight line. I've actually placed a stick on my back so you can see this easily. In the second, notice the chain reaction that's happened. My raised head has actually raised my shoulder blades up towards my neck. It's also caused me to go into an overly extended position in my low back which will shut down my core to some extent and, for some people, will cause low back pain. (Another example of low back pain being caused by something other than the low back.) None of that is good.

Again, I know that this isn't necesarily the most entertaining topic, but think of it this way:

There's nothing you can do that will help you look better, be more athletic, feel better and get you out of pain better than improving your posture!

If you need any help or have any questions, drop me a line and let me know.

Have a great and neutrally positioned day!

Mitch Rothbardt, CPT, PN Lean Eating Coach, FMS

2861 Grove Way in Castro Valley

510-754-7113

MitchRFitness@gmail.com

MitchRFitness.com

I Help People Discover Their Strength!

What Is Hip?

I've been listening to a lot of Tower of Power lately. Man! What a smoking hot band! Anyway, if you're not too familiar with them you might not know one of their most popular songs, "What is Hip?"





If you don't know this song, do yourself a favor, take 5 minutes and enjoy.

Anyway, as many of you know I'm pretty big on hips. I hear from and see a lot of people with a variety of issues and goals, but each day I am becoming more and more convinced that no matter what anyone’s goals may be, the key to feeling better overall lies in your hips. I know what you’re thinking, but this is a family publication so let me explain. Think of a door and its frame. What connects the two parts? The door hinge. Think about how nice it feels to open a door when the hinge is nicely set and oiled. Now think about how it feels to try and open a door with a creaky hinge. Not so smooth. You have to yank on the doorknob and put stress on the frame. Well, your hips are just like a door hinge. They lie right in the middle of our body, connecting the two parts and allowing them to move smoothly back and forth into flexion (hips in a sitting position) and extension (hips fully forward).

If your hips move well it takes stress off our shoulders, back and knees. Unfortunately, the fact that most of us sit all day tightens our hips and that forces our back to move more than it should. It also puts pressure on our knees and all of that tension moves up to our shoulders and messes them up, too.

This also brings up another crucial point. One of the biggest problems people have is that they can’t differentiate between hip movement and lower back movement. The problem there is that our hips are meant for movement and our lower backs are meant for stability. When our hips don’t move well our lower backs have to, and that creates problems This is also exacerbated by the fact that many people have weak glutes and they are a very important muscle when it comes to good hip movement.

How do you know if your hips move well? Here's a simple test: Stand with your back against a wall. Take two steps forward. Try to touch your butt to the wall. Did your knees bend more than just a few degrees? If so, then your hips probably don't move all that well. Sorry.

Please drop me a line if you have any questions and don’t forget to contact your doctor before beginning any exercise program.

Mitch Rothbardt, CPT, PN Lean Eating Coach, FMS

2861 Grove Way in Castro Valley

510-754-7113

MitchRFitness@gmail.com

MitchRFitness.com

I Help People Discover Their Strength!

How to Get Better Workouts With No Extra Effort! Guaranteed!

Hi! I hope you’re having a great day. What I want to talk about today is how you can improve the quality of your workouts and results without lifting any more weight, doing any more cardio or eating any differently!

That sounds pretty good, huh? Like one of those infomercials that promise results that are too good to be true, right? Well, unlike those Shake Weight commercials I know that what I’m going to tell you absolutely works! I’ve seen it happen over and over again.

He didn't get this body from that Shake Weight.

What I’m talking about is what you say to yourself. I see people who approach their workouts with a sense of dread and those who approach them with enthusiasm and I absolutely see the difference in what happens during and after the workout. In most, if not all cases, what people tell themselves before the workout even begins determines not only the quality of that workout, but all the results that follow.

Let’s get into specifics.

What people say: “This is going to hurt."

Let’s face it, when you squat it doesn’t feel good. I’ve said before that if I was just standing around and suddenly felt like I do when I’m doing a heavy squat I’d start screaming my head off in shock and pain. So why do I do them? It makes me better. I don’t concentrate on how I feel during the set. I concentrate on how much better I will be and feel when the set is done.

What people should say: “This is going to make me better and I need and want to get better."

What people say as I’m putting more weight on the bar: “Oh no!!!”

I’m going to put this simply: The people who embrace lifting heavy ALWAYS get better results than the ones that complain about every 5 pounds. I don’t even care what their goal is.

Do I need to repeat that? If I do then go back and read it again. You see, lifting heavy is not only about what is on the bar at that moment. It’s about how far you’re willing to push yourself in general. Now understand this. Heavy is relative. What’s heavy to one person isn’t necessarily heavy to someone else and vice versa. I certainly don’t endorse lifting heavier than your form dictates but the body needs to be forced to get better. It needs to be forced to lose weight, gain weight, get stronger, get faster, get more explosive or anything else and if you’re not willing to force it to do anything different than what you’re already comfortable doing, then I hope you’re happy staying exactly where you are.

In other words, if you’re using the same weights and doing the same things you’ve been doing for months, don’t expect any results. Sorry, but that’s reality. More weight is a promotion not a punishment.

What people should say: “Awesome. Let’s get it going!”

What people say when asked if they’re ready to workout: “Not really, but I guess I have to.”

Wow. How inspiring is that? Just writing it bores me. Imagine if you said that to yourself all the time. No wonder your workouts are pure drudgery. I’ll bet your results are pretty crummy as well.

If this is what you say to yourself, let me just say something real quick. It is a privilege to able to exercise. An honest-to-god gift.

OK, I admit it. I love lifting weights. I love it a lot. It is one of my favorite things to do in life. It doesn’t have to be yours, but if you don’t appreciate how fortunate you are to be able to exercise just take a quick look at someone who can’t. Not because they don’t have time or because they don’t want to step outside their comfort zone. I’m talking about someone who physically can’t. Someone who has had their physical health stolen from them whether from neglect or through no fault or their own. They would do anything to be able to exercise. I’ll leave it at that.

What people should say: “Yeah! Let’s go!”

Now, I understand that not every day is your best.  There are some days when you might not feel up to a strenuous workout and that’s OK sometimes. What’s not OK is taking a less than good attitude to your workouts in general and then expecting to get results.

Try this, the next time someone asks how you’re doing say, “I’m great!” and mean it. Even if you don’t. Give yourself over to it. I guarantee that if even for that moment alone, you will feel better. Now if you do that with your workouts I know that you will get better results and enjoy the journey much more and you won’t even have to eat more vegetables.

I'm great!

Let me know what you think.

Mitch Rothbardt, CPT, PN Lean Eating Coach, FMS

2861 Grove Way in Castro Valley

510-754-7113

MitchRFitness@gmail.com

MitchRFitness.com

I Help People Discover Their Strength!

Are You Engaged?

"I know what to do, but I just can't seem to do it!" This is one of the things I hear most when I talk to people about their nutrition. I hear about emotional eating, busy schedules, preparing food for kids and spouses, and many other reasons that unhealthy food knowingly gets eaten by people who swear that they want to lose weight and be healthier.

Why is that? How is it that someone can absolutely understand that eating McDonalds for dinner is going to hurt them, yet they do it anyway? If you ask 20 different people you'll probably get 20 different answers, but really it all comes down to one thing:

Engagement. 

No, I don't mean getting married. I mean thinking about the things you say you want and taking action towards making those things happen!

It's real easy to let our lives get in the way. Raise your hand if you have an easy, care-free life with no stress and all the time in the world to do whatever you like.

OK, I'm looking out there and I don't see anyone's hand up.

I know how it is. There's work, kids, school, household chores, and family just for starters. The holidays sure don't make anything easier. It's incredibly easy to do nothing all day but put out proverbial fires both at work and at home.

There is a way to do this, though. The great thing about it is that in the long run it really doesn't take any extra time. In fact, once you get the hang of it it becomes just like any other part of your day. All I ask is that you take a little time at the beginning to get some things sorted out. Just an hour or two, that's all. Is that really too much to ask of yourself for your long term health and life fulfillment? If it is too much, you have some priorities to re-evaluate.

1. Write down a 3 and a 12 month goal. When you do this you need to be specific. "I want to get in shape" is not specific. "I want to lose weight" is not specific. You lose weight every time you go to the bathroom.

"I want to lose 15 pounds" is specific. "I want to be able to add 25lbs to my squat" is specific. The more specific you are, the more you engage (there's that word again) with what you really want.

2. Write down why. As far as I'm concerned, this is just as important, if not more so, than knowing what your goals are in the first place. I'm not kidding. No one wants to lose 10 pounds just because. There is something behind it. Maybe you want a boyfriend/girlfriend. Maybe you see your parents or a friend getting more out of shape and you don't want to go down that road. Maybe you have an event coming up and you want to fit into a special dress.

Think about it. I mean really think about it. Get deep. If you want to lose 10 pounds and you want to do it to fit into a dress think about why it's so important for you to fit into that dress. Get uncomfortable but realize that there are no wrong answers here. You feel how you feel and you need to know that it's OK and own it. No one else needs to know why as long as you do.

Once you do that, you really are engaged with this and you have a much better chance of getting over the hurdles that are always out there.

3. Write down your goals on a several pieces of paper and put them where you will see them on a regular basis. This is where that engagement starts to become a habit. Take just a second to read them when you see them. This helps keep these things top of mind. Now when you usually would absent-mindedly reach for that handful of chips you have something in your head that tells you "Stop!" You've got something more important that you're working on.

4. Repeat your goals to yourself WITH EMOTION at least two or three times a day. OK, a couple of things here. First, did you notice that I capitalized WITH EMOTION? That's not a typo. We are emotional creatures and emotion is the thing that takes something from something you'd like to do to something you ARE DOING. Also, repeat your goals to yourself in the present tense, including the things that are driving you to reach those goals.

"I am losing 15 pounds so I can fit into those jeans for that party and I will my ex so damn jealous!"

Doesn't that get you more emotionally engaged than, "I want to lose 15 pounds"?

5. Lastly, repeat your goals to yourself each time you engage in an activity that potentially effect your results. In other words, if you want to lose weight, repeat your goals each time you eat or drink anything. This will help you stay on track. It's a lot easier to say no to those french fries when you've just talked to yourself about your goals and your reasons why.

I know this sounds like it might be a lot, but if you do this consistently for just a few weeks it becomes second nature and soon your goals will be more a part of you then ever before. You know what happens then, don't you?

Let me know if you have any questions.

P.S. We're going to be going over this and many other aspects of goal setting and fat loss on January 18th at 1pm at my gym at 2861 Grove Way in Castro Valley. It's going to get even deeper, and I guarantee you'll come away with some tools you'll be able to use right away, no matter what your goals may be. You can go here to sign up. 

Fat Loss Workshop Registration

Have a great day!

Mitch Rothbardt, CPT, PN Lean Eating Coach, FMS

2861 Grove Way In Castro Valley

510-754-7113

MitchRFitness@gmail.com

MitchRFitness.com

I Help People Discover Their Strength!

Happy 2015!!

Hello. I hope you're having a great holiday season! We only have about two weeks to go in the year. Christmas is coming next week and there's lots to do. What do you have planned for next year? I'm sure you want to be further ahead 12 months from now, right? I'm sure there are things you want to do. Things you want to have accomplished. Well, I really think that 2015 is going to be great!! Think of everything we got done in 2014, there's no reason we can't keep it going, right?

You see what I did there? No, I didn't make a mistake. I just wanted to make a point.

The point is this:

The next 12 months are coming. What are you going to do about it?

Do you want to look back at 2014 a year from now and be proud of what you've accomplished or do you want to look back at all the excuses you made to yourself and wonder where you could have been. Yes, it's easier to sit on the couch. Yes, it's easier to surf the internet. Yes, it's easier to say that you just don't have time. We know the truth, though. The funny thing is that you knew the truth at the time, too. You know whether you really did what you could to reach your goals in 2013 and if you didn't, then it's time to step up and really make the decision that 2014 WILL BE DIFFERENT!!

I'm not going to say much more about that but I do have just thing to ask. Please don't say that you have goals if you're not willing to do anything to meet them. If that's the case, then your real goal is to stay just where you are. You might not like where you are, but if the thought of going outside your comfort zone just a little bit is too terrifying to even contemplate, then I submit to you that you'd rather maintain your current position then do anything about it. Therefore your actual goal isn't change.

What are your real goals and, more importantly, what are you willing to do to meet them?

My Annual Fitness Enthusiast Shopping List

Happy holidays, everyone!! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are getting ready for a great Christmas and New Years.

We've had a fantastic season so far and Kristi and I are really looking forward to our Christmas present to each other. We're seeing The Book of Mormon this Saturday!

We're both very excited. 

Well, each year I like to give you ideas for gifts you can give your favorite fitness enthusiast and this year is no different! I have some good suggestions so let's get started.

Resistance Bands: How would you like to be able to carry an entire gym in your backpack? How would like to have one tool that lets you work on strength, flexibility, cardio, and mobility that you can carry in your backpack? Well, resistance bands are your ticket! We use bands a ton in our gym and you can absolutely give yourself one heck of a workout with just one or two. You can pick up all sorts of packages and accessories here. There's even some packages that come with a workout you can do at home, a playground or anywhere else. 

The Gymboss: For any of those home workouts it really helps to have a reliable and durable timer. Who wants to exercise while staring at a clock? I've had a bunch of these. They're cheap, they last forever, and they come in all sorts of cool colors! 

Foam Roller and a Lacrosse Ball: Not everyone needs a foam roller and a lacrosse ball. You just do if you workout or don't workout. Really, though these tools help you if you're sore, hurt, tight, inflexible, or if you just want to put yourself in the best position to get a great workout! Every one of my clients starts their session with some kind of work with these tools.

Converse All-Stars: I don't care what color. These are still the best shoes to lift in. I don't have time to get into too much detail but here's a few reasons why:

• they keep you low to the ground
• they help your balance
• they allow the muscles in your feet to work
• they give you better stability

Your feet are responsible for sending a ton of signals to the brain to tell your body what to do. When you wear those big fluffy shoes with all that padding, you're in effect muffling those signals. It would be like trying to feel something with your hands hile wearing mittens. Please don't buy into the hype! 

A Personal Trainer: One time I turned a broken toilet seat into the needs for a new toilet. I once had a VCR that wouldn't record so I decided to try to fix it. By the time I was done it wouldn't even turn on. What I'm trying to say is this: I don't know how to do certain things so I call people that do. If you need to lose weight, feel better, etc. Why wouldn't you call someone who can tell you exactly how to reach those goals? Just saying. 

If you need any more help with some suggestions for the fitness enthusiast on your list, don't hesitate to let me know.

P.S. You could also get them my free Holiday Survival Guide! It has workouts, nutrition tips, recipes and lots more. Did I mention it's free? 

Happy holidays!

Mitch Rothbardt, CPT, PN Lean Eating Coach, FMS

2861 Grove Way In Castro Valley

510-754-7113

MitchRFitness@gmail.com

MitchRFitness.com

I Help People Discover Their Strength!