There is so much confusion and conflicting advice surrounding health and fitness these days it is no wonder so many people resort to fad diets and extreme measures to get results. In my recent article about obesity I discussed the fact that there is more information available at the touch of a keyboard, more health therapists, specialists, personal trainers, and people to help people with health than there has ever been in history yet the health of many people is continuing to decline. For over 20 years I have specialized in working with people with injury or disease and helping them to restore their health and vitality to enjoy a life of quality. Over this time I have discovered many new and exciting methods, exercises, and strategies to help people, but the one thing that has never changed during this time is the foundation that good health is built upon. Just like building a house, you need a strong foundation before you worry about doing anything else. In this article I will show you that there are 8 pieces to this foundation you need to know in order to have a strong and healthy body.
Modern Medicine Is More Concerned With Treating Symptoms
One thing that has really irritated me over the years is the complete arrogance and ignorance to healthy eating and exercise from modern medicine. They believe everything can be solved by swallowing pills, injections, or using surgery to cut the pain out of you. While there has been some incredible advancement with medical technology that can save many lives, there is also an over-reliance on this to treat conditions that really require healthy eating and exercise.
In recent times the use of Ozempic and similar drugs like Wegovy to help with weight loss has exploded and while there appears to be many people losing weight from these drugs there is a lot we do not know over the long term as to the potential dangers. I don’t know enough about this to really comment but I suggest to read this article by The University of Queensland who explored this question and many others to see more.
What I do know is that even if it does work it still does not address the reason for the weight gain in the first place. This is my big problem with modern medicine and its approach to chronic injury or disease it just tries to fix or cure things without addressing the original source of the problem.
Everybody loves to put modern medicine up on a pedestal as the best of the best, but we must remember their way of treating things is to wait until you are broken and then try to find a cure to fix you. There endless search for a magic pill is evidence of this and the media drools all over this sort of rubbish.
In the book “Surgery the Ultimate Placebo” by Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Ian Harris he says it best on page 56.
“The over representation of good news from medicine is a problem in the scientific literature, but that bias is magnified manifold in the media. I have seen media reports of supposed cures for things as cancer, dementia, and paraplegia. And the more advanced the science seems to be, the more the media love it.”
A few years back I read a detailed report that was released by the Baker Heart & Disease Institute called Dark Shadow of Diabetes.
The report showed in great detail the massive chronic health problems associated with type 2 diabetes and why there needed to be a stronger awareness about treating the disease. As much as all this information in the report was very compelling and painted a very dark picture about the danger of this disease, the most concerning part report was, IT NEVER MENTIONED anything about using EXERCISE or NUTRITION to prevent or treat the condition. I looked all over the report several times as I thought I must have missed it. Instead, their conclusion is that we need more drugs!
You will find this on page 17 of the report.
I am sure the experts at the Baker Institute know their stuff and would appreciate that making nutritional and lifestyle changes are essential, but to leave this out of the report and assume that people know this is in my opinion very reckless and ignorant. Even dangerous.
I am not claiming to know more about diabetes than the Baker Institute or Professor Shaw, however, what I do claim to know is how difficult people find it to change bad lifestyle habits. Even when it is causing them pain and illness. The minute we give people an excuse or an easier path it becomes even harder to help them make the changes their body so desperately needs.
People will have this belief that they can continue doing what they are doing as there is a drug that will “fix them”. The idea of the magic pill sounds much better to most people for it is easier than having to change their bad habits that led to them developing the disease in the first place.
One of the times surgery is essential with regards to weight loss is after losing a lot of weight and having the excess skin removed by a plastic surgeon.
I know a plastic surgeon (Dr Carmen Munteanu) who specializes in this procedure provides her patients with great results that restores not only their health but the self confidence in their body appearance. The mental confidence from a procedure like this is something that cannot be understated as to how important it can be for long term health.
Unlike type 1 diabetes that is a genetic condition, type 2 is a lifestyle disease that most people created and as a result it can be prevented, even reversed in some cases.
We must never forget that all medications comes with side effects and these can cause new problems that you did not have before. You may solve one problem only to create three more! The more logical solution is to learn how to achieve optimal health by changing destructive lifestyle habits, eating well, and exercising.
How To Build A Solid Foundation Of Health
As I mentioned in the introduction building a healthy body is similar to building a house, you need a strong foundation. Each one is as important as the next as they are all bound to each other to create the perfect environment for the body to thrive.
Something we tend to forget is just how complex the body is. It really is an amazing design and a system of many systems. If one system is not functioning well it compromises the health of the others in order to bring it up to the level it should be. This is why someone who works out all the time but ignores the quality of good nutrition and rest never achieves great results.
It also explains why someone who tries to lose weight by only changing their nutrition and not including exercise will also achieve moderate results and not be as healthy as they think.
The thing to really understand is this – each system is dependent on the other to run optimally and efficiently.
The picture below gives you a great example of this.
We tend to take for granted many of these systems and rarely consider the critical role they perform without ever shutting down, unless something goes wrong with our heart or lungs and then we are very aware. Many of these are part of our autonomic nervous system that regulates a variety of body process that takes place without conscious effort. This system is responsible for regulating involuntary body functions, such as heartbeat, blood flow, breathing, and digestion.
As these systems are designed to never shut down it means we must be extremely disciplined and educated about how to look after them. And this is where the value of eating quality nutrition, regularly exercising and getting enough rest comes in to play. As there is no immediate consequence to poor maintenance of these systems people get a bit lazy and cut corners with their job of looking after the body.
There is no warning signal flashing to tell them they must change their destructive ways. It is only after years of abuse that the signal starts to appear and when you are at this stage it can be a long road back to normal.
To make sure you do not end up like this here is the 8 pillars you need to build your foundation upon.
Let’s start with mental health which includes everything to do with rest and repair.
Mental Health – The Damage Of Too Much Stress To Your Health
This is a massive topic to discuss and of all the health problems to work with it is the most complicated. Without a doubt the biggest saboteur of any health and fitness program is STRESS. It can derail the fittest and strongest person and cause a multitude of health problems. For some people it may result in weight gain, joint pain, headaches and migraines or in my case a skin disorder.
The message is clear that stress will ruin your health very quickly and you must acknowledge the damage it causes.
Stress is needed to prepare us for survival and this is called “Fight of flight” response. In a stressful situation the body secretes stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol to our arms and legs in order to help us either run away fast, or, stay and fight. This is good in life and death situations as these hormones will possibly save your life. But it is not good if this system is turned on all the time.
An unchecked stress response can cause repeated spikes in blood pressure increasing the chances of a stroke. You will begin to stockpile fat around the abdomen due to the high levels of the stress hormone cortisol being activated lowering IGF-1 and maintaining high levels of glucose in the bloodstream.
This endless supply of cortisol greatly weakens the immune system and exposes the body to deadly diseases like diabetes and cancer.
We need certain amount of stress to alert us when there is danger. For not having enough stress can also lead to health problems! I know it sounds crazy doesn’t it. But the person who sits on the couch all day and never exercises will be just as stressed out as the person who is a complete stress head and over-exercises.
The key is to find your stress sweet spot, just enough stress, but not too much, so you can help your body find its optimal health.
Exercise, meditation, Tai-chi, and Yoga are all great forms of controlling stress and improving your overall health. If you do not like meditation that is fine go for a walk or spend time doing something you enjoy to allow your body to relax and unwind.
Exercise is extremely under-rated for combating the damage of stress and there is tons of research proving it to be just as effective as medication for treating mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. It helps us become more socially active, it boosts our confidence and provides an opportunity to meet people. These are all great things in helping us to establish and maintain social connections.
Also make sure you check out the article – What you need to know about exercise for mental health
Meditation is another very popular way to help control our stress response.
When you start learning to meditate one of the key components is breathing, taking controlled slow breaths triggers the parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for calming you down after a stressful experience, the vagus nerve is triggered through taking slow deep breaths which then it slows your heart and breathing rate down returning the flow of blood to all areas of your body and conserve energy among other responses that help your body function properly.
Breathing slowly essentially sends a message to your brain that everything is okay so our brain won’t keep searching for danger and way out.
This brings me to the next pillar being breathing.
Breathing
Breathing feeds oxygen to every cell in the body. Without sufficient oxygen, people are more prone to health problems, including respiratory illnesses, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and even heart disease. We tend to never consider the important role of our heart and lungs until something goes wrong. This is part of our autonomic nervous system that regulates a variety of body process that takes place without conscious effort. This system is responsible for regulating involuntary body functions, such as heartbeat, blood flow, breathing, and digestion.
It is one of those systems that is designed to never shut down meaning it is CRITICAL we know how to look after it.
A normal breath is where your belly will RISE on the breath in.
I cannot tell you how many people I have seen who do the exact opposite of this! If you are breathing the opposite to how the diaphragm is designed you will develop a series of problems so it is vital to get this right before you do anything else. If you are not exercising your breathing should be in and out of the nose.
Some important facts about breathing that you might now know.
•If you stop breathing you will have about 3- 4 minutes before you are dead!
•Breathing maintains your acid-alkaline or pH balance
•Helps in the breakdown of food (metabolism)
•Greatly influences your posture
•Acts as a key component for your stabiliser system to develop strength
•Generates Cerebral Fluid in the spine, necessary for a healthy musculoskeletal system
•Controls emotions
Over breathing and mouth breathing also tend to go hand-in-hand with snoring and/or sleep apnea; conditions that decimate your sleep quality. The same remedy of nose breathing that works for asthma and anxiety sufferers works tremendously well for sleep apnea.
Here is an exercise you can try and is very easy to perform, and you can do it almost anywhere. This is an exercise that can help to keep the airways open for longer to help air flow.
Instructions:
1.Sit up straight. Practice good posture as it can help promote better lung movement.
2.Breathe in deeply through your nose in a slow, controlled fashion.
3.Purse your lips, which is much like making a “kissing” face where your lips are almost, but not quite, touching.
4.Breathe out through your pursed lips, making a goal of breathing out twice as long as breathing in.
Some people may find it beneficial to set a timer, such as focusing on breathing in for 5 seconds and exhaling for 10 seconds. This exercise can be helpful for someone who is not as physically active as some others and may not be using their breathing muscles as frequently.
For more detail on Nose Breathing I suggest to get the book “Close Your Mouth” by Patrick McKewon which is a simple book that explains how the Buteyko Breathing works.
You must understand that because breathing is so important to us being alive, and in a matter of minutes of being without it we could die, the body ranks it above ALL other things. Ordinary, everyday breathing isn’t enough to keep the oxygen flowing through the body at peak levels which is why you MUST exercise. But not all exercise is equal and you must be careful with your choice to ensure your body responds positively to the changes you are trying to make.
These two articles provide you with all the information you require for breathing that include videos and pictures of exercises to use.
•Everything you need to know about breathing
•How to improve your lung capacity
Sleep & Recovery
Most of us spend nearly a third of our life sleeping. Yet for many people they do not get enough quality sleep and their health pays a big price for it. Many people think we shut down at night but it is the exact opposite, the body’s digestive system is in hyper-drive at night as it uses this time to repair damage cells and tissue caused from activities during the day. If our sleep is compromised so is our ability to heal our body and is why people with poor sleep are more likely suffer with serious illness and disease.
Our bodies are designed to follow the movement of the sun, moon and the earth. This is called circadian rhythm. When light stimulates our skin or eyes our hormonal system thinks it is daylight and releases a stress hormone called cortisol which is activated to prepare our body for movement, work and whatever we need to do in daily life. Basically cortisol is needed to wake you up, and is meant to decrease as the sun goes down so your body can prepare for activation of the growth hormones called melatonin to be released to allow the body to repair.
If we disrupt this rhythm we expose the body to all types of problems as you can see in the picture below.
These topics are massive as I am sure you would agree and this article could be another 10,000 words long if we wanted to go into detail of what to do if you have issues with stress or sleep. If you are struggling with either of these areas I suggest to see a qualified therapist for assistance.
Mental health is a serious issue and I hope this article provides you with some great information to both treating and managing your health issues with exercise. However, if you feel that you may be affected by depression or anxiety remember they are treatable conditions and effective treatments are available. The earlier you seek support, the better.
Healthy Nutrition
We need our food to provide these essential vitamins and nutrients. We must look at our food as more than just fuel or energy to do exercise as it is so much more than that. Our bodies have genetically-based requirements for specific kinds of foods and balances of nutrients in order to produce optimal energy and function in a state of optimal health. If we meet these “design requirements,” we can expect to be healthy, energetic, fit and trim.
By spending the time to prepare and plan your week ahead you can ensure your body gets these essential foods.
The old saying you are what you eat is so true. Eating fresh foods and avoiding processed foods is often a great start towards improving your overall health. Without even discussing the break-up of proteins, fats, and carbs most people will meet their vitamin and nutrient needs easily by just eating fresh meats and vegetables.
Quality protein is essential for a healthy body and many people do not get anywhere near enough in their diet. It is that important that without it, we die or become seriously malnourished. All your enzymes and cell transporters; all your blood transporters; all your cells’ scaffolding and structures; 100 percent of your hair and fingernails; much of your muscle, bone, and internal organs; and many hormones are made of mostly protein.
This means that protein enables most of our bodies’ functions to work correctly and without it we would not exist.
Read this article to see more – How much protein do you need?
You must be careful of eating too many grain type foods like breads, pastas, pizza, and cereals as this increases your chances of disrupting your insulin and leptin hormones, that eventually create type 2 diabetes. If your job is very sedentary you will not need the massive energy and sugar blast that these type of foods provide. While they are okay in small portions, many people eat far too many of that only serves to sabotage all their other health efforts and creating problems for their heart.
Vegetables are a much better choice of carbohydrates and I would focus your attention on these food groups. Green vegetables are a great food to include into your diet as they contain an array of anti-inflammatory properties you cannot find in any other food.
Studies have repeatedly shown that people with higher vegetable intake have:
•Lower risks of stroke & type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease
•Lower risks of certain types of cancer, eye diseases and digestive problems
•Reduced risk of kidney stones and bone loss
•Higher scores on cognitive tests
•Higher antioxidant levels
•Lower biomarkers for oxidative stress
When we fail to take in enough antioxidants our body undergoes a greater degree of damaging oxidative stress. When we live in a constant state of oxidative stress it can lead to chronic inflammation and eventually disease. Green vegetables are useful in reducing the risk of cancer and heart disease since they are high in dietary fiber, and rich in folic acid, vitamin C, potassium and magnesium, as well as containing a host of other phytochemicals.
The chart below gives you a great visual of foods to eat more or less of.
I would suggest to seek guidance with a qualified nutritionist or a person who understands this eating instead of making it up yourself. But if you can begin by eliminating processed foods and sugar from your diet you will be halfway there.
Get a copy of the special report at the bottom of this page that explains how to put together all the pieces of nutrition just right for you.
Gut Health
Even though I just discussed nutrition and much of what we eat will influence gut health I have made this a separate factor for it has a massive influence on the health of the body that many people are not aware of.
One of the most important systems to our health, and especially when we talk about viruses, colds and infections is what happens in our DIGESTIVE TRACT. The health of our digestive system plays a big role in how well you’re able to fight off these nasty germs. And what you eat or don’t eat can have a direct impact on how quickly you recover from an infection and whether you catch the bug in the first place.
To help explain this I am going to display some of the great info-graphics I found on the Precision Nutrition website that jump out at me when I talk about the immune system. I love their info-graphics as they really simplify what can be very confusing and complex topics to explain. This first one gives a very clear example of how important our digestive system is to our health and providing us with the ability to fight off bugs.
During COVID-19 lock-downs there was widespread reports around the world showing a large percentage of the population gained weight.
When we’re worried or frightened, we’re more likely to seek out sugars, fats, and carbs for a quick energy boost. Comfort eating helps to calm us down when we are stressed, but if left unchecked it can escalate into a bigger problem in the long run. This is exactly the type of things that will ruin your digestive system, and as a result ruin your health.
To see more about gut health read this article – How to improve gut health
So far we have covered the mental and nutrition pillars of good health, now we can take a look at the physical factors associated with movement and exercise.
Functional Movement & Exercise
When people look to get in shape they believe that moving well will just happen automatically. All they have to do is get out there and get it done, and the body will fix any problems it encounters along the way by itself. Unfortunately, it does not work like this at all, and any stability or movement problems you currently have will be exacerbated once the volume of training is increased.
Our understanding of exercise has become very confused in recent years as most people believe that the key to exercise is doing long slow cardio sessions or any activity that burns a lot of calories. If you don’t get a sweat then it is not a good workout! Unfortunately this mentality is the foundation for a series of future problems. Especially if you are new to exercise or you have any existing injury or health concern like heart disease.
The amount of people who end up injured from their own exercise efforts is astounding, and the most frustrating part is this could have very easily been avoided if they had spent time learning good technique in the beginning, and gradually building up to more intense training.
You must “earn the right” to use fitness methods.
The best type of exercise for people to focus on in the beginning is strength training that emphasizes technique and movement quality. Once you can prove that you are able to move well and your body has gained some strength it will be able to handle the stress that comes with fitness based activities.
What Type Of Exercise Is Best?
We need exercise to constantly maintain our skills of balance, mobility, and strength to ensure life’s demands do not exceed our physical ability. This is where the use of “functional strength methods” are often used as they seek to improve our strength for activities we use in daily life.
Our training capacity must exceed our requirement for life for when it falls below this line is when we are faced with massive life changes. For example, if you find the step-up exercise in the gym is hard to do, you will find walking up a flight of stairs in a shopping center very difficult. This is where many of the traditional exercise methods fail to address this requirement that eventually come back to bite you.
Watch the video below that explains how this works.
The older you are the more important functional strength becomes. For once you lose too much strength you are now on the road to disability! And the speed at which you can lose muscle from inactivity is much faster than many people realize.
There are 7 fundamental movement patterns you need to learn and they are.
1.Squat
2.Bend
3.Lunge
4.Push
5.Pull
6.Rotation
7.Gait
The biggest problem in trying to learn and develop these movements is lack of mobility which brings us to the next pillar.
Mobility
One of the biggest mistakes people make with exercise is neglecting to correct areas of the body lacking mobility. Aggressive physical training cannot change fundamental mobility and stability problems at an effective rate without also introducing a degree of compensation and increased risk of injury. It is impossible to develop strength to your full potential if poor mobility of joints is present.
Every time you improve flexibility and mobility new opportunities are created to alter and change movement patterns, and increase strength in weak and lazy muscles. For if there is a tight muscle, there is also an opposite, a weak lazy muscle.
The big mistake people make in rehab is trying to strengthen the weak muscles first. Sure they need to be strengthened, but they can never achieve their potential while they lack range of motion, timing and freedom of movement that can only be restored using flexibility and mobility methods. Tight and dominating muscles, also known as Tonic muscles inhibit weak lazy muscles, known as Phasic muscles from firing. This is called muscle inhibition and is a massive problem to contend with for many rehabilitation programs.
How do you do this?
Once again this is not a simple process of stretching every muscle. You need to be more calculated and strategic with what muscles you try to improve flexibility with. The best way to do this is to complete an assessment.
With my assessment I like to start from the head and move my way down for most upper body and lower back problems, and the exact opposite for lower limb problems by starting at the feet and working my way up the kinetic chain. It is up to you how you prefer to do the assessment, just remember to complete all the tests and never assume anything.
The GOLDEN RULE of Stretching is this: Any muscle that appears tight, or hard to do, will benefit from a stretching exercise or method. If it is not hard to stretch DO NOT STRETCH IT. If you stretch a weakened muscle you will make it weaker.
ONLY STRETCH TIGHT MUSCLES!
Also look for variance between left and right and anything that is lacking range of motion needs to be improved to match the other side. You must strive to be symmetrical across all joints otherwise compensation takes over and faulty patterns emerge.
Read this article to see exactly how to do this – How to complete a mobility assessment by yourself
Once you have begun to work on your mobility the next thing you need to do is work on core stability.
Core Stability
Stability training is one of those terms thrown around that is often completely misunderstood, abused, or not given enough respect.
Being able to react with perfect reflexes to be able to maintain joint alignment ready for efficient and smooth movement is what core stability really means. And it not just limited to the legs or the trunk.
All joints require stability!
What people fail to understand is that your abs are unable to move you, other than making you wiggle or flop around like a fish out of water. You need your arms and legs to move you for your abdominal muscles are not capable of doing much. Basically the abdominal muscles have very little influence over how you move, for this is not their true purpose. This is very important to understand and will explain why I believe many core exercises are incorrectly implemented.
The CORE is really a combination of both small stabilizing muscles known as the Inner Unit, combined with large prime mover muscles that operate like a series of complex chains and systems to provide stiffness on a greater scale. This known as the Outer Unit. True core strength requires the use of both.
The inner unit is incorporated in almost every movement of the human body. These muscles can act as an isometric or dynamic stabilizer for movement, transfer force from one extremity to another, or initiate movement itself. The role of the inner unit is to stabilize the spine. That’s it.
This is where the information to achieve great core strength is to focus on exercises that isolate this function and find ways to make you stiffer and stronger, such as a plank. It all seems to make sense but the problem is that every step, every arm swing, and every turn of the head our body needs to release this stiffness in order to move.
Watch the video below for a detailed explanation of this.
For example consider the need for abdominal tension during a throwing action or a golf swing, but when you start breaking down what is involved you’ll see just how complex the “core” really is. As you throw the ball, everything that prevents you from twisting or turning can be considered a core muscle.
The lower leg needs to be braced and strong to prevent the foot rolling in, which will cause the knee to cave in upstream. Likewise the hips need to be strong to prevent the exact same thing. The muscles that surround the spine – from the small stabilizers right up to the powerful back muscles such as the lats – all act to stiffen and stabilize the spine during such actions. There is definitely abdominal involvement but it is not powerful enough to move, as it requires the legs to the bulk of the workload. In summary the core can then be thought of as all the muscles below your head.
What exercises should you use?
There are no set of exercises that everyone should use, only the ones that your body needs and work for you. What they should include however is a combination of inner unit stabilizers working with outer unit prime movers to preserve good postural alignment and control.
You will find many great ideas of how to do this in this articles – Core strength using myofascial slings
We are now ready for the final pillar and that is strengthening.
The Importance Of Adding Muscle
This final pillar really is the thing that holds everything together. Not only is muscle important to the health of our bones and musculoskeletal system, it plays a very important role in controlling hormones.
Once you can prove that you are able to move well and you have good mobility combined with good stability it is important to challenge the body with resistance. This is not for the purpose of looking good in a mirror, although that is a nice side effect, it is more to do with your health.
Muscle changes so much more than just how you look.
The muscles of people who regularly lift weights absorb blood sugar in response to insulin much more effectively helping the pancreas to secrete lower amounts of this hormone. This is very important to the health of the entire body and maintaining homeostasis.
Bone Density, Sarcopenia, Osteoporosis & Osteoarthritis
Many younger people will think this is not relevant to them, but if you are someone who is overweight, does not do any form of resistance training, have a sedentary job and would rate their life as fairly stressful, then there is a good chance you will be developing early signs of arthritis and bone density problems. It is no longer just an old person’s disease.
Peak bone mass is reached at around 25 years of age and normally remains relatively stable until around the age of 50. After the age of 50, progressive losses of of bone mineral density begins to occur.
As bones lose their density they become weaker and the risk of fracture during regular activities increases.
If this person were to fall they would likely break a hip, wrist or vertebrae in their spine! If bones become brittle enough (severe osteoporosis) they can break during even normal weight-bearing activities. In older populations broken bones are potentially lethal. The seriousness of this cannot be underestimated. Hip fractures are the number one cause of nursing home admission and approximately 50% of those who suffer a hip fracture never fully regain their mobility and independence and 50% of those die within the first year!
You can read more about this in the article – How to prevent falls with older adults
What we are seeing more often these days is symptoms of Osteoporosis in people aged in their early 40’s and some even in their 30’s!
Osteoporosis is now so common I am working with many clients with severe postural problems causing severe injuries like disc bulges in the lower back and neck due to their bones becoming so weak and brittle.
Osteoporosis is causes the gradual loss of bone density and strength and when the thoracic vertebrae are affected like in the picture above, there can be a gradual collapse of the vertebrae. This results in kyphosis, an excessive curvature of the thoracic region. This causes what is known as a Dowagers Hump! Not very attractive, but even worse than how it looks is the damage it creates to rest of the body. Multiple injuries begin to surface when this poor posture is left untreated.
It is a very long slow process to correct this condition, it is so much easier to prevent it from happening.
Now that you know how to move well it is time to strengthen the muscles and more importantly the bones.
Tissue adapts when it is faced with a challenge that is beyond what it encounters in everyday life. This is the beauty of strength training as it can be easily manipulated or altered to create new challenges. The overload produced from the exercise challenge is the stimulus for tissue change. Constantly changing exercises, intensity, tempo and methods are just some of the variables you can use to promote this overload. One big secret is to use exercises that challenge the body in multi directional angles and directions.
Research has found that multi directional exercises with load improve bone density and bone strength faster due to the fact that they incorporate so many of the structural lines needed for everyday life moving. By forcing challenges with these exercises with either load or speed these lines adapt and create a structural change to the bones. This is one reason why machine training provides little to no effect.
Even exercises like bicep curls will produce little change to the body in terms of muscle development.
It is not always about lifting heavier weights, sometimes completing more repetitions, performing the exercise for a longer period of time doing the exercise faster or slower can be all you need to enforce change. The key is to use a lot of various methods to continually overload the body’s systems so that you continue to make improvements.
You can read more about this in this article – How to prevent osteoporosis and improve bone density
Do You Need More Help?
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Summary
That concludes our detailed look at the 8 foundation pillars of health. I hope this gives you a clearer understanding of what it takes to improve your overall health and fitness and exactly where you may need to work on. Always remember it is much easier to maintain good health than it is to restore it once you have lost it. The old saying prevention is much better than a cure is oh so true.
About The Author
Nick Jack is owner of No Regrets Personal Training and has over 20 years’ experience as a qualified Personal Trainer, Level 2 Rehabilitation trainer, CHEK practitioner, and Level 2 Sports conditioning Coach. Based in Melbourne Australia he specializes in providing solutions to injury and health problems for people of all ages using the latest methods of assessing movement and corrective exercise.
References
•Movement – By Gray Cook
•Obesity Paradox – By Carl Levie MD
•Corrective Exercise Solutions – by Evan Osar
•Eat Real Food by David Gillespie
•Diagnosis & Treatment Of Movement Impairment Syndromes – By Shirley Sahrman
•Back Pain Mechanic – by Stuart McGill
•Precision Nutrition
•How To Eat, Move & Be Healthy by Paul Chek