Get Better Sleep
09/01/13 13:36 Filed in: My experiences | Other
Recovery is Über important for recovery. However, time spent in the bed does not necessarily mean you're getting quality sleep! If you sleep well, your body will recover better, you'll have more energy and your chances of getting heart disease, diabetes and depression also get lowered!
Here are some pointers to improve your sleep and feel more rested in the morning:
- Skip that drink!
Alcoholic beverages might make you feel like you're getting sleepy and yes, you might fall asleep quicker. However, during your sleep it has a reverse effect. About 4-5 hours into your sleep you might wake up and have a hard time falling back asleep. Plus, those late useless calories don't do you much good anyway. Also avoid caffeine and nicotine!
- Calm down your breathing
When you're about to fall asleep, try to calm down your breathing. Some people wake up many times from abnormal breathing. If this happens, go see your doctor!
- If you can, work out earlier!
Working out is great any time of the day but if it effects your sleep, try to make your session a bit earlier. It takes 3-4 hours until your body is fully cooled down and relaxed. Don't skip it though, physical training does wonders for you!
- Make your bedroom look like a sleeping environment
Make your bedroom a silent, dark and peaceful area. Also make sure the temperature is comfortable.
- Fluid intake
Drink enough so you don't wake up thirsty but not too much so you have to run to the bathroom all night.
- Humidity
If you live in a dry climate, use a humidifier. Waking up with a dry mouth isn't too pleasant and also not healthy.
By Sander Vanacker, owner, head instructor and personal trainer .
Define Defense in Boulder, CO
- Mixed Martial Arts
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Self Defense Classes & Workshops
- Personal Training
- TRX / Cross Training Classes
- Kettle Bell
- Warrior Training
1805 11th Street Suite B
Boulder, CO 80302
Sander@DefineDefense.com
Info@DefineDefense.com
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How I Have Prevented Injuries
08/11/12 13:40 Filed in: Other | Fitness | Kettle Bell | TRX / Cross Training | My experiences | Martial Arts | Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Sometimes, I find it easiest to write a blog post about my own experiences. It makes me write about not only the practical side of the topic but also how it effects other things such as your motivation, results and many others.
I have been wanting to write for a while about injury prevention. It’s a topic I have written about before and this will probably not be the last one either.
Injury prevention is something I find extremely important, both as an athlete and as a trainer. Safety is always my number one priority when training clients. Sometimes this gets tricky because a trainer has to push the client to get most out of the session and get the results they want. However, it needs to be done in a safe way. After all, if you get injured, you will be out for days, week, months or in some cases even years! Whatever you were doing at that point in time, was probably not worth this kind of injury.
When I train my clients, whether it’s a private session or group class, I always tell them that form should be their main focus. If they do cheat but it does not affect their safety or risk of injury, I will let them finish and then tell them what to change next time they do the exercise or drill. If it does affect their safety, I will pause the exercise right away and correct immediately.
As for myself from a personal standpoint, I have been very fortunate (and careful) to have a healthy body without any main restrictions or injuries. I have been training hard since I was seven, trained with adults at the age of 12 and did competitive martial arts and bike racing, as well as countless hours of sports in college as a part of my sports education. Anyone who knows me, will tell you I don’t hold back when training either, I give it my all and work my hardest. Through all of this, I have been able to avoid any main injuries that affected me long term (I had a lower back issue at one point but recovered from that). Many and most people I have ever met who trained at my intensity (not clients), have had serious injuries. I believe the main reasons to preventing injuries for myself are:
- I know my body well and know where my limits are.
- Even if I push through my limits, I take calculated risks.
- REST is extremely important, know when to take a break.
- I fuel my body right, nutrition is so vital.
- I take responsible supplements (vitamins, Omegas, and some others such as the following one)
- Glucosamin, Chondroitin and MSM have been very important supplements (comes in one) for me to protect my joints. The difference for me is remarkable.
- I don’t live like a crazy man or do many unhealthy things such as going out, eating or drinking too many bad things.
- I listen to my body.
- Stretch a lot, tight muscles are prone to injuries.
- Personal one: I love massages! They help you recover and stay loose.
- Follow the normal guidelines (warm up well, follow the game rules etc.)
When training clients or groups, I try to share some of these tips with them. It is fully understandable that everyone has their own life and wants to do their own thing. Some things might not even work for someone. However, from my experience, these little and very simple pointers make a huge difference and have kept my joints, ligaments and other parts safe.
Use your common sense and listen to your body. Train HARD but also take care of yourself to prevent injuries!
P.S. Now let’s hope I don’t fall down tomorrow and get injured!
By Sander Vanacker, owner, head instructor and personal trainer .
Define Defense in Boulder, CO
- Mixed Martial Arts
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Self Defense Classes & Workshops
- Personal Training
- TRX / Cross Training Classes
- Kettle Bell
1805 11th Street Suite B
Boulder, CO 80302
(720) 340 6254
Info@DefineDefense.com
Recovery as Indicator
As a child and teenager, my focus was all too often on how hard I could go and how much I could do during training. It was all about weight, speed, intensity, duration etc.
One thing I realized when growing older (and throughout college education, training etc.) is that I needed to pay more attention to my recovery heart rate. After doing a set, an interval, a workout, see how long it takes for your heart rate to drop to (or close to) normal levels. If it continues to race for minutes, you might need to switch up your training routines or in extreme cases, go see a doctor.
If you heart rate drops pretty quickly, then you know your body is able to recover quicker and it is also acting more efficiently compared to someone’s heart rate who stays higher for a much longer time period. It is a great indicator of your current physical condition. If you recover faster, it enables you to do more repetition, keep your intensity high and outwork an opponent. If your body fails to recover, you will be forced to stop or slow down.
The easiest way to check is to count your heart rate during 15 seconds and multiply this number by 4, right after you finished working out or doing your last exercise and again after 1 or 2 minutes. If you continue to do this over a certain time period, you will see if there are any changes. Remember, every individual has a different level, different maximum heart rates, heart rate zones and recovery time. Compare to your own data over time, not others!
Now how do you improve your recovery time? Easy: by training! If are new to training, you will notice a significant difference quickly. If you have been training for a while and don’t notice any difference anymore, you can switch up your training and focus on different ways of working out. You can focus more on endurance (which plays a huge factor in improving recovery times), intervals, tempo training etc. Do things you are not used of doing to keep your body guessing. That is why cross training is so great! It shocks your body and makes it stronger in every single way. This new and improved body will be able to make more progress in the sport you want get better at.
Next time you are working out, don’t only focus on the workout itself, also measure up your heart rate after some sets and after your workout and take notes. These notes will be helpful down the road! It’s not all about training, but also about recovery, rest, nutrition etc.
By Sander Vanacker, owner, head instructor and personal trainer of Define Defense Martial Arts & Personal Training.
Define Defense in Boulder, CO
- Mixed Martial Arts
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Self Defense Classes & Workshops
- Personal Training
- Cross Training / TRX Classes
1805 11th Street Suite B
Boulder, CO 80302
(720) 340 6254
Info@DefineDefense.com
One thing I realized when growing older (and throughout college education, training etc.) is that I needed to pay more attention to my recovery heart rate. After doing a set, an interval, a workout, see how long it takes for your heart rate to drop to (or close to) normal levels. If it continues to race for minutes, you might need to switch up your training routines or in extreme cases, go see a doctor.
If you heart rate drops pretty quickly, then you know your body is able to recover quicker and it is also acting more efficiently compared to someone’s heart rate who stays higher for a much longer time period. It is a great indicator of your current physical condition. If you recover faster, it enables you to do more repetition, keep your intensity high and outwork an opponent. If your body fails to recover, you will be forced to stop or slow down.
The easiest way to check is to count your heart rate during 15 seconds and multiply this number by 4, right after you finished working out or doing your last exercise and again after 1 or 2 minutes. If you continue to do this over a certain time period, you will see if there are any changes. Remember, every individual has a different level, different maximum heart rates, heart rate zones and recovery time. Compare to your own data over time, not others!
Now how do you improve your recovery time? Easy: by training! If are new to training, you will notice a significant difference quickly. If you have been training for a while and don’t notice any difference anymore, you can switch up your training and focus on different ways of working out. You can focus more on endurance (which plays a huge factor in improving recovery times), intervals, tempo training etc. Do things you are not used of doing to keep your body guessing. That is why cross training is so great! It shocks your body and makes it stronger in every single way. This new and improved body will be able to make more progress in the sport you want get better at.
Next time you are working out, don’t only focus on the workout itself, also measure up your heart rate after some sets and after your workout and take notes. These notes will be helpful down the road! It’s not all about training, but also about recovery, rest, nutrition etc.
By Sander Vanacker, owner, head instructor and personal trainer of Define Defense Martial Arts & Personal Training.
Define Defense in Boulder, CO
- Mixed Martial Arts
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Self Defense Classes & Workshops
- Personal Training
- Cross Training / TRX Classes
1805 11th Street Suite B
Boulder, CO 80302
(720) 340 6254
Info@DefineDefense.com
Periodization Workshop
Wednesday January 18th, we will have a periodization workshop from 6.15-7.15pm.
During this workshop, you’ll learn more about:
You can sign up at this link:
http://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ws.asp?studioid=14713&stype=-8
During this workshop, you’ll learn more about:
- How to lay a good basis for your training
- Principles of training
- How to lay out your training program (training cycles)
- When to take rest and recover
- Peaking for competitions
You can sign up at this link:
http://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ws.asp?studioid=14713&stype=-8
Cross Training: Our New Strength & Conditioning Program
30/11/11 15:33 Filed in: Other | Fitness | My experiences | Strength & Conditioning | Personal Training
Cross training is one of the best ways to get in shape while working pretty much all of your muscle groups. If done right, you can accomplish different goals by training in different ways. You will get stronger, faster and your cardio will improve. By fine tuning your cross training workout, you can also lose weight or gain muscle (or both).
The way we do cross training at Define Defense in our strength and conditioning classes is by working all muscle groups with short rests between different stations. By working all muscle groups, we end up burning many calories and we challenge all muscles, which makes them adapt and improve. We have different formulas we use in different classes but we always make sure our training methods have clear reasoning behind them and these are backed by our knowledge in physiology, anatomy etc. In our strength and conditioning classes, we also make sure everyone is working at their own level and they are training to reach the goal they want. That is why we like to call it personal training in a small group. After all, the same exercises and training will NEVER work the same for different people.
Our classes are a full hour training session, 6 times/week starting in January 2012 (depending on a membership or punch card, you choose whenever and how many times you want to attend!) As for now, we have 3 classes/week.
Cross training can be done in several ways as mentioned, however there are many brands that do it in a very irresponsible and dangerous manner. Safety always comes first but unfortunately some brands do not make this a priority.
A few experiences I have had (outside of Define Defense):
- 15 minute workouts that make you breathe hard, sweat and make you feel like passing out. These workouts may feel hard (and they are), but they will NOT do anything for you, except to deteriorate your body. You do not get any rest, you do too many exercises in a small time frame, something that occasionally can be beneficial for a trained athlete but not for the average person wanting to improve or live healthier. Since there is no rest, your muscles will not grow, ever... For cardio purposes it is not long enough either and pushing yourself that hard every workout is unhealthy, period. If a 15 minute workout would do what they claim it does, everybody would be a professional athlete. But it doesn't! Any trainer can push you that hard for 15 minutes but it's not a good thing.
- Making the clients do compound exercises without warmup and for too many reps. Compound exercises are fantastic for anabolic growth, burning calories and general strength and health. However, if you become fatigued, your form and technique will deteriorate, especially with technically challenging exercises. These need perfect form as they can be hazardous for your body. I have seen studios that made their clients do tens of these compound exercises at a time (with horrible form).
- Dirty, dirty and dirty to a point my lungs burned and my hands were black. OK this one is place determined but it's a big no-no!
- Having to sign a waiver that states they are not liable if you get hospitalized with Rhabdo. Really??? Sounds shady to me and with responsible training (even pushing limits), you should never experience this!
- Unqualified trainers: some brands are franchised which means that if you do a one day workshop, you are allowed to open a branch. Great isn't it? Not really... It takes years to master training others and being certified after one day is simply dangerous.
You would be surprised how much these kinds of situations happen or how many cross training studios build their businesses on these irresponsible strategies.
At Define Defense, we strive towards quality and responsible training for optimal results and the safety of our clients. That is why we are expanding our strength & conditioning program to 6 classes/week starting January, 2012!
All our martial arts clients have free access. Non members can also enjoy these great cross training classes by purchasing a punch card or getting a strength & conditioning membership. Our classes are 60 minute workouts with a lot of personal attention and cutting edge gym equipment (see our facility). We utilize back to basic exercises as well as the latest proven methods in the fitness world. We will push you and make you better, that's a promise. Besides your training, we also educate you about the reasons behind the training.
Our pricing structure:
- A 10 class punch card for $200
- A 12 month membership for $85/month (unlimited classes)
- A 6 month membership for $95/month (unlimited classes)
- A 3 month membership for $110/month (unlimited classes)
Stay tuned for our new schedule (starting January 2nd, 2012) and take advantage of the strength & conditioning classes!
By Sander Vanacker, owner of Define Defense Martial Arts & Training in Boulder, Colorado