Hi all,

This will be the last blog post on thebootcampeffect.com. For all new eye opening writings on fat loss, motivation, and bootcamp please visit Boot Camp U.

Now let’s get to the good stuff as the results are in…

The Bootcamp Charity Drive has been over now for about a month and I would just like to thank you all for your participation – from referring a friend to jumping right into our kick ass classes, I was very happy to see the turn out and had the pleasure of donating the money the other day. $1000 will be a big help in granting a kid’s wish and I look forward to putting on more events like this in the future. Here’s my receipt to prove to you I wasn’t just making this all up.

What was this all about?….$50 was donated by me to the BC Chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation for every new signup during the month of October. If you would like to read more about this charity drive click here.

Thanks,
Josh Saunders
The Bootcamp Effect
Serving Langley, B.C.

Whether it be her constant quest for knowledge or her relentless motor during exercise, Stacey epitomizes the attitude that equates to fat loss success. Despite having an injury that may relegate some to give up on exercise or never think about joining a bootcamp, Stacey never failed to show commitment, kick ass, and have fun during her workouts. I’ve been a little behind on this article, but it was my pleasure to give Stacey 5 months of bootcamp, as I was hoping she would want to continue with my fitness classes (I didn’t even have to ask her, as she asked me).

Anyways, lets get to some results:

• 17lbs lost – 10.4% of bodyweight
• Bodyfat lost – 7%
• Inches lost – (not including arms and legs) – 7.5 inches
• H2O levels – increased by 4% – water is good, we need to be hydrated!
• Basal Metabolic Rate – increased by 50 calories (even though she weighs 17lbs less, her metabolic rate at rest is sill higher, meaning she could eat that 50cals extra each day and not gain weight!

You may say to me, “I have seen faster weight loss than that Josh!” – What I would say to that is… the slow and gradual fat loss, is the real stuff. It’s not water loss, it’s not dehydration, it’s fat – poof! Do you want to see what 17lbs of fat looks like? Well too bad, here’s a look at 5 pounds instead.

And now that you’ve earned this fat loss, your body is much more capable of …you guessed it creating more fat loss in an easier and more efficient way – and your so fit now, that you don’t get tired as easy, so you can push yourself harder. It’s a law of the universe, there’s no such thing as a free lunch…..well unless you’re this guy.

So get your mind right, we’ll get your body right, and when you enjoy exercise and are doing it among a great group of people , you’ll have tapped into the magic of exercise or let’s say The Bootcamp Effect

You can see view Stacey’s testimonial and more group fitness fat loss here.

Take care and all the best in your fat loss quest,

Josh Saunders
The Bootcamp Effect

Hey it’s your Friendly Neighbourhood Fitness Trainer,

And I have a message for you…

Stay away from shoes that have a pronounced heel lift!

Besides sucking for lifting weights, high heels and shoes with an elevated heel such as Nike Shox are biomechanically unsound and may lead to knee and back problems.

Yes, I’ll admit, I think women look great in heels and can still be worn in moderation, but everyday use is wrecking havoc on your body! And don’t be fooled by any multimillion dollar ad campaigns!

See, an elevated heel shifts your center of gravity forward and puts your pelvis in an anterior tilt. This causes the thigh muscles to overwork leading to strain on the tendons of the knee and the thigh, which leads to tight hip flexors and quads and strain on your tendons. One of the issues you’ll experience with an anteriorly tilted pelvis and tight hip flexors is back pain – it is personal training 101.

Fact: A recent study showed that elevated heels increase pressure inside the knee by 26%, which can lead to osteoarthritis over time.

The human foot was not designed to be elevated while walking. It was designed to walk barefoot and absorb impact across the entire foot on every step taken in a day. Deviating from this natural design causes problems to roll up the kinetic chain – ankles, knees, hips, back.

An elevated heel keeps that calf muscle of yours in a flexed position, which will shorten it. Having tight calves alone can lead to some issues – not to mention you wont be flexible enough to perform the “bread and butter” exercises such as squats and deadlifts that burn tons of calories.

During a normal gait (when you’re walking), the leg muscles both contract and relax (stretch), and you’re body was designed to do this perfectly! An elevated heel maintains the knee, hip, and low back in a flexed position and prevents these joints from getting stretched. Over time, this leads to muscle imbalances, which means stiffness, pain, and injury for you. Lower back strain is a major issue. And wearing heels is only making it worse for most women.

Random fact: Women have 4x more foot problems than men – you can probably by now guess a major culprit of this.

Now to the resistance training side of things: Most people want that tight, firm butt. Well, if you are wearing a show with an elevated heel this means you are creating tight hip flexors, and a weak butt because you can’t get a full contraction when walking or running, and when doing exercises such as squats and deadlifts where you need to really drive off the ground thru your heel, well that is not going to work very efficiently now. (And not having a strong butt will further perpetuate the cycle of knee and back pain).

In summary, just do your best to exercise (and play) in shoes that don’t have a pronounced heel lift. A 1 inch heel is much better than a 3 inch heel and great options for athletic shoes include converse all stars, nike frees, reebok travel trainers, or any flat training shoe.

So leave the calf raises for a fitness setting!

Josh Saunders
Founder, The Bootcamp Effect
Serving Langley, White Rock, and Surrey

Here’s Part 3 of our favorite registered dietician’s nutrition series. This installment focusses on protein foods.
Take it away Alana…

You hear a lot about protein with regards to sports and performance, especially when muscle building comes up. Seems like everyone at the gym is doing it: filling up on protein to bulk up those biceps! But it is a misconception as eating extra protein doesn’t do much towards boosting your muscle mass and strength. In fact most Canadians eat too much protein (over 30% of their daily caloric needs) and medical research is showing too much protein could harm your body.

When you eat more protein than your body needs it causes a buildup of toxic ketones in the body. So-called ketogenic diets can thrust your kidneys into overdrive as they work at flushing these ketones out of your body. As your kidneys rid your body of these toxic ketones, you can lose a significant amount of water, which puts you at risk of dehydration, particularly if you exercise heavily.

This water loss often shows up on the scale as weight loss. But along with losing water, you lose muscle mass and bone calcium. The dehydration also strains your kidneys and puts stress on your heart.

So how much protein should you eat? Ideally, you should consume .36 grams of protein for every pound of body weight. So if you weigh 170lbs, you need about 61 grams of protein each day.

What is a protein serving? One protein serving = 7 grams of protein and can be divided in Lean Choices, Medium Fat Choices, and High Fat Choices. All choices can be eaten but just choose the higher fat choices less often.

Lean Choices- 1 serving

Hard Skim Milk Cheese (15% MF) – 1 ounce (30 gm)
Processed Cheese (75% MF) – 1 slice
Cottage Cheese (2% MF or less) – ¼ cup
Lean Beef, Round Steak, Tenderloin, Sirloin, Flank steak-1ounce
Lean Lamb, Veal, Pork, and Skinless Poultry – 1 ounce
Fresh Fish, Crab, Lobster – 1 ounce
Canned and Water packed fish or seafood – ¼ cup
Clams, Mussels, Oysters, Shrimps, Scallops – 3 each
Skim Milk – 250ml
Beans, Peas, and Lentils – ½ cup (125ml)
Tofu

Medium Fat Choices – 1 serving

Regular ground beef, roast, pork chops, and poultry with skin-1 ounce
Processed meats, cold cuts – 1 slice
Weiner – ½
Eggs – poached or boiled – 1 medium
1 -2% milk – 250ml
Peanut and nut butters – 50ml (4 Tbsp)

High Fat Choices

Hard cheeses like our usual cheddar – 1 ounce
Ribs, Corned Beef, Sausage – 1 ounce
** Bacon is more a fat choice than a protein choice!
Whole milk – 250ml

Not a complete list but gives you an idea!

We already talked about eating fish twice a week – now try and incorporate more beans into your meals. Add garbonzo beans to your lunch salad make up some hummus (so easy) for a snack with veggies; make a vegetarian chili, or Cuban black bean soup.

Although limiting your protein is important, it is essential for our bodies’ normal functions…….maintaining fluid balance, building antibodies against infection, blood clotting, synthesizing enzymes and hormones. Protein is the building blocks of our muscles, bones, skin, hair, and blood.

Protein is also important post-workout. Josh’s famous chocolate milk is the perfect combo of protein and carbs for post workout nourishment……………add a lean turkey sandwich on whole grain bread within an hour after a workout and your muscles are getting the raw materials they need to recuperate.

Before a workout as Josh has mentioned you want to stick to carbohydrates to provide energy as big meals with too much protein and fat can make you feel sluggish, nauseated, and give you muscle cramps.

So pre workout, try to not eat two hours before your scheduled workout – but of course sometimes schedules do not work, so if you need to eat something try fruit, low fat yogurt and berries-or make a smoothie, ½ whole wheat bagel with light cream cheese, or a small bowl of whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce.

** eating a high protein energy bar before working out is a bad idea. Protein takes longer than carbohydrates to break down in the body so your body will be processing the protein and trying to give you energy to workout at the same time – result will be not a great workout as you won’t have the energy you need.

“So didn’t know it couldn’t be done, so she went ahead and did it.”
Bridget O’Donnell

The Bootcamp Effect is the only bootcamp that has a complimentary dietary analysis by a registered dietician.

Part 2 of 3 of our nutrition series by Alana is on carbohydrates. Take it away Alana…

Carbohydrates are necessary to your health, because every cell in your body uses them for energy. In fact, your brain can only use carbohydrates for energy. Unfortunately, over-consumption of sugars and other highly refined carbohydrates has been associated with higher incidence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. And eating refined carbs can, over time, result in almost uncontrollable sugar cravings. According to the World Health Organization sugars and other simple carbs are a leading factor in the worldwide obesity epidemic.

With the popularity of low-carb diets, many people are afraid to eat any carbohydrates, but is important to distinguish between the health-robbing effects of simple sugars and other carbs and the health-giving properties of complex carbohydrates.
Complex carbohydrates are high-fiber foods, which improve your digestion. They help stabilize blood sugar, keep your energy at an even level, and help you feel satisfied longer after your meal.

In contrast, sugar and other simple carbs can alter your mood, lead to cravings and compulsive eating, cause wide swings in your blood-sugar levels, and cause weight gain in most people. In addition, a high consumption of sugar can lead to uncomfortable symptoms when you finally decide to improve your health and forget the sweets. Note here that new research shows that low-calorie diets can cause food obsessions and make sugar addiction worse – no wonder most people end up fatter than they started when they try to lose weight by dieting and not eating.

To get the picture lets talk about what happens to carbs in your body. The body breaks them down in to simple sugars, which are absorbed into the bloodstream. As the sugar level rises in your body, the pancreas releases a hormone called insulin. Insulin is needed to move sugar from the blood into the cells, where the sugar can be used as a source of energy.

When this process goes fast – as with simple sugars- you’re more likely to feel hungry again soon. When it occurs more slowly, as with whole-grain food, you’ll be satisfied longer. These types of complex carbohydrates give you energy over a longer period of time.

The carbs in some foods (mostly those that contain a lot of simple sugars) cause the blood sugar level to rise more quickly than others. Scientists have been studying whether eating foods that cause big jumps in blood sugar may be related to health problems like diabetes and heart disease. You are already on the right track if you are limiting simple sugars and eating more complex carbohydrates.

Your diet should consist of 45-60 grams of carbohydrates – mostly complex carbs.

1 carbohydrate serving = 15 grams of carbohydrate = 3 tsp. sugar:

A few examples are 1 slice of bread, ½ cup cereal, 1 small fruit, ½ cup of juice, 1 cup plain yogurt, ½ cup of pop, and 3 tsp. sugar.

What are simple carbs:

Table sugar, corn syrup, fruit juice, candy, cake, bread made with white flour, pop, some packaged cereals, many coffee specialty drinks.

What are complex carbs:

Whole barley, grapefruit, lentils, potatoes, soy milk, wild or brown rice, tomatoes, onions, spinach, oatmeal to name a few.

Your fiber intake should be around 30 grams a day – usually double of what average Canadians eat right now.

Fiber is the ingredient that slows down the process of carbs turning to simple sugars. It will help you fill fuller longer.

So instead of fruit juice –eat the fruit, which contains fiber.

Read labels and avoid when possible – sugar, sucrose, fructose, corn syrup, white flours. If these ingredients are at the top of the list, the food item will contain mostly simple carbs and not much else.

Even whole wheat is still over-processed so your bread should read

“Whole grains” as the first ingredient.

Look for foods that are not processed – usually high in fat, simple carbs (as processed food contains a lot of fillers), and sodium.

Those snack paks that are so popular right now – containing only 100 calories a bag are great! You should make your own to save the environment and your pocketbook. Take some healthy choice

snack foods and fill little baggies – when you need a snack instead of grabbing a big bag and eating more than you should, you can just grab your already calorie-wise portion paks!

“Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says “Oh Crap, She’s Up!

Stay tuned tommorow for the final post in the nutrition series: Protein Foods.

The Bootcamp Effect is coming to White Rock October 1st. Learn more here about this white rock bootcamp here.

Hey guys,

I need your help!
I’ve always wanted to donate a nice sum of money to charity and am now in a position to be able to do that.

So I’ve decided to TAKE ACTION.
Here’s the plan…
From (October 1st – October 31st) I’m going to donate $50 for
every new sign up to our boot camp.

100% of this money will go towards helping children battling cancer and other life threathening illnesses. I have first hand experience of the amazing things this charity does for children in BC, and how it lifts their spirits and helps them get through the days (my brother is a cancer survivor and former patient of BC Children’s hospital).

I’m calling it the “Every Kid Deserves A Wish” and the goal is to raise at least $2000 for the BC chapter of The Make A Wish Foundation and help kids, so they can lead happy, healthy, and productive lives. So over the next 30+ days, I’m going to need your help. Not only will you get half off your next month (as usual), but for a little added incentive, I’m going to give a free 2 months of bootcamp to whoever brings in the most referrals (minimum 3 referrals).

So feel good about working out, feel good about saving money, and helping out a fantastic cause!

I will be updating this thermometer through October.

I am just finalizing the total for the month. I will be donating the money at the end of the week.

If you would like to register for the bootcamp click here.

Thanks,
Josh Saunders, BSC, CSCS
thebootcampeffect@gmail.com

Here is the bootcamp schedule for October:

Langley – Newlands Fitness Centre 20125 48th avenue
Tuesday, Thursday 9:30-10:30am
Tuesday, Thursday 7:30-8:30pm
Saturday 10-11am

White Rock – Champion Cheerleading #103-2255 King George Highway
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 6-7am
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:30-10:30am

Hey Guys,

Today’s post is the first in a 3 part series on nutrition by our lovely dietician Alana. Below is all the information you will need to know about fats, so you can gain a greater understanding of how you can eat healthy for life when you receive your food diary report from her.

Fat is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be! Our bodies need fat to function, it is all about choosing the best fats to do the job. You want to limit the amounts of saturated fat in your diet. In my opinion you should eradicate trans-fats from your diet all together. You want to keep your intake of fat to about 25% of your total calories for the day. So if you’re determined, you should be eating 1600 calories a day, and your total fat intake should not be more than 400 calories.

1 gram of fat = 9 calories. This means you need to eat no more than 44 gm of fat a day.

Considering that a piece of pizza can be anywhere from 9-30 grams of fat, a Big Mac is 29 grams of fat, and 1 Tablespoon of butter is 11.52 grams of fat – it can add up fast.

So you want to get most of your fat intake from mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats. There are two families of polyunsaturated fats your body needs in balanced quantities:

Omega-3 fatty acids and Omega-6 fatty acids.

These fats reduce the risk of Coronary Artery Disease and our often called “Brain Foods” for reducing memory problems and typical signs of aging and helping prevent dementia.

Mono-unsaturated fats come from nuts, nut butters, canola, and olive oil.

Poly-unsaturated fats come from seeds such as flax, sunflower, and sesame. Safflower, sunflower, corn and soybean oils and non-hydrogenated soft margarine made from these oils.

Oily fish such as herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines or trout should be eaten 2 times a week in place of meat ** salmon (wild), sardines and herring are low omega-3 sources that are low in Mercury as well.

Hydrogenation is the chemical method that adds hydrogen to liquid oils to form a stable and solid fat. Many food companies love hydrogenated fats as they are cheap to make and improves shelf life of food products immensely (anything that does not go bad should not be put into the body – my motto!).

These fats are the worst out there. They raise LDL (bad cholesterol) and lower HDL (good cholesterol).

They have shown to increase Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) and cancer risks. Do not eat any foods labeled Hydrogenated – common culprits are fried foods, baked goods, shortening, salty snack foods.

Saturated Fats should be limited but not totally eliminated from the diet.

Saturated fats are solid at room temperature without any chemical modification.

Butter, hard margarine, lard, and shortening are obvious saturated fats. Creamy dressings and sauces, coconut milk, many deli meats, and a lot of crackers and baked goods also contain saturated fats.

Fat is needed by the body and also helps us feel satisfied and filled up. Many folks try to totally wipe out all fats in their diet in the hopes of losing weight. They end up being very cranky and feeling more hungry then if they would of just chosen healthy fats and eaten them in moderation.

There are always questions surrounding eggs and butter vs. margarine.

Eggs yolks do contain cholesterol as any animal product does. So egg yolks should not be eaten more than 4 per week for a person with healthy cholesterol levels. If you have high cholesterol than only 2 egg yolks should be eaten weekly. Egg whites are not high in cholesterol and can be eaten without restriction.

Butter vs margarine – both of these items should be limited. I never use either on sandwiches, corn on the cob, vegetables, or for cooking. So when I want butter on something I have it!

If you have high cholesterol you should be using a non-hydrogenated soft margarine instead of butter.

If you have healthy cholesterol and are limiting your total fat intake feel free to use butter sometimes as both butter and margarine have the same amount of calories per gram.

So when you go to Starbucks get an iced coffee no creamy topping instead of that Coconut Crème Frappuccino that will set you back for 32 grams of fat and 19gm of saturated fat – heart attack in a cup!

Keep on exercising as exercise increases HDL levels – your good cholesterol! Start reading those nutrition labels when you go shopping and mentally add up how much fat you are putting in your basket.

Also pay attention as items claiming to be “Low in Sugar” are often higher in fat.. Items claiming to be “Low in Fat” are often higher in sugar and simple carbohydrates.

Stay tuned tommorow for the next post in the series….CARBS – friend or foe?

Serving Langley and White Rock, British Columbia, The Bootcamp Effect is the indoor bootcamp that will never ask you to bring a set of weights to workout with.

Some individuals think Chiropractry is quack work. I disagree with that opinion. The practice of aligning the spine is of paramount importance to the efficiency in which signals are transduced from our minds to our muscles. Our spine has 3 curves naturally, and any deviance from this optimal structure will interrupt the flow of information and cause other muscles to overcompensate because of this.

There was good reason your mom told you to sit up straight even if she didn’t understand the principles of spinal anatomy. A crooked spine backs up optimal functioning in our bodies. That signal from your medulla oblongotta to your lungs to take that breath is now ever so slightly slower, and all that slouching and crouching is definitely not enablong room for your organs to function – think about all that oxygen you’re not getting into your lungs on this one. So stop suffocating yourself and sit up straight!

Proper posture is standing as tall and as straight as gravity will let you, while you are keeping your core tight and not letting your belly stick out. That’s the easy part, now let’s talk about sitting properly.

A large portion of the population has issues with sitting up straight. We have gotten our bodies so familiar with what bad posture feels like that we have to actively think to put our bodies into proper posture, and when we are there, our muscles tire, because they are not used to it. We begin to suffer from forward head posture, as we are always leaning in looking at computers or tvs and causing excessive flexion through the cervical portion of the spine.

What we are looking for is the straight line! I am talking ears, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles all in a nice line. THINK ABOUT THIS LINE, BE THE LINE (you never thought you’d be told to be a line when you woke up this morning, but here we are…)

We are so accustomed to hunching over on computers and sitting for very long periods that I feel that we are devolving as a species! 1 million years from now, we will have hunch backs, small legs, and big brains (I guess it’s not all bad..)

A huge point to make about proper posture is the position of the scapula (shoulder blades). You always want them where they are supposed to be (retracted and depressed) and unfortunately they are not.

Always keep in mind how you are sitting, and get up, move around, and re-adjust from time to time. This is the perfect excuse to get out of some work at your desk…

Many people suffer from kyphosis or hunch back from tight chest muscles and weak back muscles. Often associated with this is tight hip flexors, weak hamstrings, and weak abs, and a tight lower back.

This is purely a byproduct of how we live our lives. Most of this can be attributed to all the sitting we do. They should start teaching school in a more dynamic environment where children are standing and able to move around and express their ideas on a giant white board that encompasses the room (it’s my blog, i’ll talk about what I want!) This way, we could help prevent bad habits from forming at an early age. (I was the biggest sloucher in school – I thought it was cool – i’m shaking my head disapprovingly).

Our ancestors, let’s say 10,000 years ago never suffered from this. They were strong from all the manual labor (i’m thinking farming), and riding horses with their abs braced and sitting up straight.

I’ll leave you with one more horrifying image…

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns or would like to experience a white rock bootcamp like no other, then feel free to leave a comment below.

Thanks
Josh Saunders
The Bootcamp Effect
Serving Langley, White Rock, and Surrey

You all know I am not a fan of long, slow, boring, cardio! However, I will admit that running is an easy way to get your 30 minutes of daily exercise in (and you don’t have to kill yourself either!) Infact it may even save your life!

You can go wherever your 2 feet take you – but make sure you’re running right! What may you ask could I possibly mean by this…..well, here’s how you’ll be running till you’re higher, stronger, faster, and safer!

Warm Up
Don’t be a fool and think you can avoid this! You may have in the past, but why not err on the safe side. Before setting the trails ablaze, why don’t you start off nice and slow by walking for a minute then getting into a nice light jog and repeating this for 5 mintues. Don’t forget you can always do a dynamic warmup like what we do at bootcamp. I’m talking straight leg raises, bodyweight squats, inchworms, and cross crawl, and when you’re done your run grab your H2O and walk it off – don’t just stop cold turkey. Moving around after exercise will prevent venous pooling in your legs and your other muscles will contribute in breaking down lactic acid in your predominant jogging muscles.

Run Relaxed
When you’re pushing as hard as you can, muscles all over your body are contracting in an effort to propel yourself across your personal finish line. But you got to relax, and let air get into those lungs. Focus on nice slow breathing. Breathe in through the nose and mouth – don’t limit yourself to breathing in through the nose as you wont get enough oxygen into your body. Avoid quick shallow breaths, and breathe from the abdomen. Most runners are mouth breathers, as this allows them to get more oxygen in the body, which brings me to my next point:

Relax your shoulders – shake them out if you need to, have your chest out with proper alignment of the body- this allows oxygen to move through the body efficiently, when you are all tense and nervous about running, your muscles are contracting and needing even more oxygen. If you ever watch marathoners or triathletes they always look so comfortable when running. So if you find breathing difficult at a certain pace, slow down and get comfortable and work up to it.
Doing short intervals like we do at bootcamp will improve your breathing and cardiovascular system for longer distance running (if that’s your sort of thing).

Staying loose while running will help prevent you from encountering nagging injuries that are more common when you’re tense. So check yourself out in the mirror and look at what your face looks like relaxed and remember to keep it that way!

Ya he's relaxed

Your Body Knows
Listen to it! Don’t push till collapse. Stop running, when your body tells you! Increase distance gradually. You’ll be able to increase your distance by about 50% every 40 weeks if you take it slow!

Your 10K Goal
Whether it be the Sun Run, The Times Colonist 10k, or The Boston Marathon, you have to train specifically for the race. If your running 8k for a 10k, you’re gonna gas on the last 2 clicks. If you plan on running shorter distances for longer races, you need to pick up your pace and train at a higher threshold. Try increasing your speed and gauging it by how many times your right foot touches the ground in 1 minute. 80 touches is a solid, challenging, and attainable goal.

When running, drive off that big toe, this will help prevent your heels from getting worn out from overtraining, and don’t forget to keep those arms moving in the direction you’re going- don’t have a sway – that’s wasted energy!

Injuries Happen
Bumps in the road happen whether you’re a seasoned vet or a newbie trying to lose 10lbs. So listen to your body if you are feeling the effects of a lingering or chronic pain in the knee and get it sorted out before it stops your running entirely.

In this article I’ll cover one of the most common knee pain injuries: Runner’s Knee

Attention: I am not a physician! The info in this article should not take the place of your qualified medical professional. If you are experiencing pain in your knees (either chronic or acute), visit your doctor before beginning a corrective exercise program.

Runner’s Knee
Can best be described by a pain directly surrounding or under the knee cap – not above the knee cap! Also known as patellofemoral pain syndrome, runner’s knee occurs when the patella (kneecap) tracks improperly and grinds against the femur (thighbone). The strength and flexibility of the muscles attached to the knee greatly influence the way the kneecap moves during flexion and extension (bending and straightening). When these muscles are imbalanced, patella tracking may occur. The muscles of interest are the quadriceps on the front of your thigh, the hamstrings on the back of your thigh, the IT band, which are fibers on the outside of your leg, and the calves. Runner’s knee is generally attributed with individuals having tight hamstrings, IT band, and calves with weaker quads. This combo causes a twisting of the knee joint during any activity that creates a load at the joint (ie. everytime you run) and this causes the rubbing that is the uncomfortable pain.

How Runner’s Knee Happens

• Overuse – rapid increase in training intensity (overdoing exercise as a beginner)
• Improper footwear – wearing flat shoes or running on hard surfaces
• Tight muscles in the posterior chain – hamstrings, calves
• Imbalances in the quadriceps – weak Vastus medialis (think front of your leg on the inside)
• Running downhill – ouch!
• Long periods of sitting with your knees bent – it happened to me as a student!

Treat Runner’s Knee

1. Rest - I know it is hard to accept, but you need to take a break. High impact exercises, such as running and jumping need to be reduced so that the inflammation in the kneecap can subside. You can maintain your endurance by doing low impact exercise such as swimming or elliptical – the only time I would condone using an elliptical (although you may even find these exercises bothersome).
2. Ice – After exercise –  ice, when you feel discomfort – ice. You can put a bare icepack on your skin for a short time (less than 10 minutes to avoid frost bite). Do 10 minutes on 10 minutes off for an hour if you can spare the time.
3. Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatories- Meds such as Advil will also help with pain and swelling. Take as directed, but don’t use them for the sake of it. Let the body heal itself. Reiki is a great alternative that you can try, along with physiotherapy.
4. Fortify - As stated above, weak quadriceps are a contributing cause to runner’s knee. Typically an imbalance in the vastus medialis and vastus lateralis is the cause. Seated straight leg lifts are a nice, low impact exercise you can do. Try 10 sets of 10 second holds with your foot 6-10 inches off the ground.
5. Stretch – All the time! Our bodies are becoming so tight, and preventing us from doing even the most basic functions properly like bending over and breathing. If your watching tv-stretch, on the computer-stretch, always sit up straigh, stretch at work too. Tight calves? Stretch those! Tight hamstrings? Stretch those! Tight IT bands? Stretch those!
   

   IT band stretch - push right leg away from head with hand to increase stretch

6. Papa’s Got A Brand New Shoe - Sometimes it’s the smallest and most forgotten things like the shoes you wear that are the problem. Check the bottoms of your soles. Is there excessive wear on one side or the other? This could indicate over pronation or supination – a simple pair of orthotics could solve this problem. Check with your physiotherapist or health consultant about this.

Want to feel like you’re running on air? The Bootcamp Effect is coming to White Rock. Our new White Rock bootcamp will be opening October 1st, 2010, and will feature a spring loaded floor to help absorb the impact on your knees when your working out your hardest!

Josh Saunders, BSC, CSCS
The Bootcamp Effect
Serving Langley and White Rock

Women need to do resistance training! Here are 13 reasons why:

1. It burns more fat! When you lift weights or take part in a resistance training program, your metabolism will stay elevated and will continue to burn fat for you several hours after your workout. During regular cardio exercise, you may burn more calories in the hour or so that you are working out, but you will stop burning fat shortly after that workout.

2. It changes your body’s shape. You just don’t want to shrink your body size, you want to rid yourself of excess fat and get those lean sexy curves. Resistance training is your ticket to this, as it can slim you down, and create new curves.

3. It boosts your metabolism. The less muscle you have, the slower your metabolism will be. As women age, they lose muscle at increasing rates, especially after the age of 40. When you diet without doing resistance training, up to 25% of the weight loss may be muscle loss (and that is bad in the long term). Resistance training while dieting can help you preserve and even rebuild muscle fibers. The more lean mass you have, the higher your metabolism will be and the more calories you’ll burn all day long.

At bootcamp, I measure your basal metabolic rate and your metabolic age. The slower your metabolism, the older your metabolic age. In effect, the more calories, your body needs to maintain your body weight is one of the factors that determines your metabolic age!

Muscle is 25x more metabolically active than fat, which means it burns 25x more the amount of calories when you are at rest lying by the pool with your pool boy named Javier (inside joke).

4. It increases strength and confidence. Your functional fitness is improved, which makes it way easier to do everyday tasks. Not to mention, knowing and being strong is the best, and this fortifies your emotional strength by boosting self-esteem and confidence.

5. It builds strong bones. Weight bearing exercise helps build and maintain bone mass, and prevents osteoporosis.

6. It fights depression. Endorphins are released during and after your workouts and will leave you high on the work you achieved and leave depression in the dust.

7. It improves sports fitness. The stronger you are, the easier you move. Thus resistance training will equate to better sports performance whether that be a day on the links or a weekend on the slopes.

8. It reduces injuries and arthritis. Joint stability is key to reducing the chance of injury. Keeping joints strong and mobile is always beneficial, as it makes daily movements easier. But don’t step in any potholes!!!! (another inside joke).

9. It helps your heart by lowering blood pressure. Resistance training also benefits the heart by increasing your “good” (HDL) cholesterol and decreasing your “bad” (LDL) cholesterol.

10. It guards against type 2 diabetes. The more lean mass you have, the more efficient your body is at removing glucose from the blood.

11. You can’t build muscle from cardio, so skip those long, slow, boring cardio days.

12. Muscle is denser than fat, and remember 1lb of muscle does not weigh more than 1lb of fat (because they are both 1lb). But that 1lb of muscle will take up less space and give you that leaner sexier look.

Keep Rocking,
Josh Saunders
White Rock Bootcamp Solution