The Gym Dallas Back Exercises with Randy Mox

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Back Exercises: at The Gym Dallas with Randy Mox

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Richie Jaynes, former owner of "The Gym":Fitness Tips 1996

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Total Body Magazine episode 2

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Randy Mox Workout Video Ys and Ts, get your scapula and shoulders ready for workout

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Bijai Fitness Made Easy Video

http://www.vimeo.com/24358208

Healthy cooking with Randy Edwards

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Total Body Magazine "Pilot Episode"

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On a "diet"? Take pictures each week

 I try to teach my clients not use the word diet and to stay off the scales. The word diet should be associated with your daily food intake at any given time. Americans tend to associate the word diet with just losing weight. Many of the diet plans out in the market today will lead to “yoyo” dieting. That is when someone loses weight only to gain it back later often gaining more than they lost. If a person wishes to lose weight and keep it off they will need to make a lifestyle change to their "nutrition plan". Most diet programs restrict calories too much. If you are not getting enough calories your body thinks it is being starved. It goes into starvation mode and starts holding on to body fat. The body starts feeding on lean body mass like muscle. This is why people wonder why they don't look the same at a given weight as they did when they were younger. They have dieted away lean body mass and not body fat. (refer to my "How many calories do you need" blog for your calorie needs)  This is why the scale is a bad way to judge your progress. A scale can only tell a person how much weight they have lost rather than how much body fat has been lost. I have had clients tell me they don't care what they lose they just want to lose weight. Here is the problem with that- muscle weighs more than fat. Compare your muscle to a ten pound weight in a gym made out of iron. Now think of fat as styrofoam. How much styrofoam would it take to equal the ten pounds the iron weight weighs? So do you want to lose that big pile of styrofoam, i.e.: fat or the ten pounds of iron, i.e.: muscle? Dieting away muscle leaves you with a soft look because you have not lost the body fat you wanted to. Most people think it is age related but it comes down to not enough calories. When you don't get enough calories you slow your body’s furnace down otherwise known as your metabolism. When a person stops the caloric restriction they usually gain more body fat back because they have slowed down their metabolism. Hence "yoyo dieting". Once you get your caloric needs figured out how can you check your progress if you don't weigh yourself on the scale? The very best way is to have a body fat measurement done. If you belong to a gym there should be someone on staff that can do the measurement for you. I also realize that some people just don't have access to someone who can do this. An easy solution is to take a picture once a week. Take the photo on the same day of the week as close to the same time of day as you can. I suggest when you first wake up in the morning. Take a photo wearing shorts and no shirt. Women can take one in a bikini, bra and panties, panties and no bra or shorts and tight shirt. The pictures are for you only so the lack of clothing isn't an issue. Losing body fat is a slower process than a crash diet. You see yourself everyday and it may not seem like you are losing body fat. By taking a photo you can compare photos and determine if you are losing fat or not. When you have lost the body fat you want to lose just go back to the calorie calculator in my "how many calories do you need" blog and figure out how many calories you need to maintain. Losing body fat instead of your lean body mass will leave you leaner, harder and happier. If you need any help figuring your calories out or designing a nutrition plan that will work for you email me at randy30_1999@yahoo.com or on Facebook. I want to give a shout out to Amy Ballard. Congratulations on your success so far. Keep it up. You are doing a great job! 

The Foam Roller Might Just Get Rid of Your Pain

Before I tell you the benefits of a foam roller I should probably explain what a foam roller is for those of you who have no idea what I am talking about.  A foam roller is exactly what it sounds like- a roller made out foam. Some pain can be alleviated by laying a part of the body (usually the legs) on top of the foam roller and allowing the body weight to gently add pressure and roll up and down or side to side. It's the same principle as a self massage.  Rolling the muscles will make then more pliable and stretch them better than any massage can. It may be uncomfortable in the beginning but over time the the muscles will begin to release more and more. It takes very little time but it does require a lot of consistency. Eventually there will be less over all tension in the muscles if you continue to use the roller. Releasing tension in the muscles reduces scar tissue and in certain situations can help rid you of back pain, knee pain and much more. There are many places you can purchase a foam roller. I get mine from www.performbetter.com. Some local sporting goods stores and physical therapy offices offer the foam rollers for sale. If you have been living with pain and it's not a joint, bone, disk, connective tissue,etc...issue, the foam roller just might help you. It is my opinion the foam roller should be a part of everyone's exercise program. Just a few minutes four or five times a week will increase flexibility and decrease tension in the muscles leading to a better quality of life.

Source:
Fitlink.com

How do you know as a parent if your child is being trained right?

I began working out back in 1976 at the age of 12. There wasn't a lot of information available on working out at that time but luckily my good friend Dan Lewis had his big brother's weight training book written by Franco Columbo. Franco is not only a former world record holder in the bench press but he is also a former Mr. Olympia and Arnold Schwarzenegger's close friend and biggest rival in bodybuilding. So at the age of 12, armed only with Franco's book and what little bit of knowledge Dan's 17 year old brother had passed down to us, we began weight training. The Internet has now changed all that for kids  who are looking to begin weight training. I don't think one person could read every article on weight training that comes up in a Google search if they started at birth and read until they were 100 years old. The problem with too much information is there are far too many conflicting views. It is so easy for a child (or even a parent) to get bad information from the Internet when it come to fitness. If you are not in the fitness business you don't have any philosophies established to know good information from bad. You may think your kid is in good hands because you have hired a trainer but just like any other profession in the world there are good trainers and bad trainers. Is every mechanic you have been to in your life good? Of course not. Just because the trainer your kids are working with has fancy letters after their name like PHD, MD, MS, or ME doesn't necessarily make them a good trainer. I have a masters in kinesiology and that qualifies me to train and coach kids in weight training and performance training as much as it would qualify me to perform surgery on someone. What does qualify me is years of experience and education specifically geared towards young people. I have seen trainers with REALLY fancy letters at the end of their name do exercises with young teenagers that could cause problems in their development and could have caused serious injury. Kids' bodies are constantly developing and due to this their spines and joints are not ready for some exercises and movements. I realize that if a trainer is certified or has fancy degrees you should be able to trust them working with your kids but please don't make that mistake. Not all certifications are equal in what they really teach. Getting certified as a trainer is not hard as one might think. I wish I had a formula I could give to parents that would tell you how to determine if a trainer or performance coach is good or bad, but I don't. I know this causes a dilemma for those of you who are parents because you want to do what's best for your kids. While I don't have that magic formula I do have a couple of suggestions that will make it a little bit easier for you to make good decisions. Organizations like the National Strength and Conditioning Association, or NSCA have seminars all over the country. Many of these types of organizations also offer webinars. Webinars are more cost effective than the traditional seminar and don't require investing the same amount of time.You can watch from the comfort of your home and there are webinars offered regularly that deal just with training young people. I will give a couple of examples of these organizations at the end of this article. I would like to note that I have no affiliation with either group other than some continuing education hours I have received. It will only take a few hours of your time to contact one of these organizations and /or participate in a seminar or webinar. Doing this type of research will not only give you a better understanding of performance training and weight training but it just might prevent an injury from happening that could affect your child  for the rest of their life .Using the information these organizations have to offer will aid you in making better choices for your children when it comes to trainers and training. The NSCA and www.performbetter.com are just two reputable organizations that I would recommend but there are many more out there. These are the two I have had personal experience with and have found their information helpful. I encourage you to learn as much as possible, but remember that even a little bit of knowledge can go a long way when choosing the right trainer/coach for your child.

NSCA Youth Training Symposium 
http://www.nsca-lift.org/Youth2011/
www.performbetter.com

HCG Diet

Before the reader goes any further I want it to be known that the following article is based upon my observations, and  experiences the past 26 years. I have not done any kind of scientific research to back my opinions. I find it amusing that something bodybuilders have been using for years to give their body's natural testoterone production a boost after a cycle of anabolic steroids is suddenly a weight loss miracle. HCG is clinically used to induce ovulation and treat ovarian disorders in women.  Being in the gym business for 26 years I have seen fads come and go. I couldn't tell you how many fad diets and supplements I have see over that period but I can tell you the HCG diet is a fad. The fact that a person on the HCG diet has to start taking in only 500 calories a day the first week or two is enough for me to raise an eyebrow, but being in the gym business I will usually keep an open mind. I have yet to see anyone on the HCG diet take off weight because they are taking HCG. There will be some initial body fat loss until the body thinks it is being starved, and then the lean body mass will start coming off. This is just an observation but the only people I have seen harden up on HCG are people I knew for a fact were on a proper nutrition plan and never did the 500 calorie a day part of the program. This leads me to believe it was their exercise and nutrition program and not the HCG. I think Cher put it best way back in the late 80's and early 90's when she coined the phrase, "If it came in a bottle, everybody would have a great body". Does it not make sense if there was a miracle diet, nobody would be over weight? The best way to lose body fat and get the body you want is proper nutrition and a good exercise program. Don't be taken in by fad diets. I can help you with a good nutrition plan, you just have to put the exercise time in.

Do Your Forearms Or Elbows Hurt When You Lift Weights?

Do you sometimes have pain in your forearms or elbows during or after an upper body workout? The forearm pain feels similar to a shin splint except it's in the forearm. More often than not this pain is caused when a person lifting weights moves their wrists while lifting. The most common exercises that cause this type of pain are bicep curls and back rowing movements. When most people do curls they tend to curl their wrists up when they curl the weight and bend their wrist down on the negative movement. When rowing the problem usually occurs when the person tries to row the weight to far back and and bend their wrist just before the negative movement. The can easily be corrected by either making sure your wrists stay in a neutral position or on curls you can actually keep your wrists turned up when you curl the weight and during the negative movement. Moving your wrists during weight training will wear your forearms and elbows out and can eventually cause severe pain. If you are already having pain make sure to correct your form and ice your arms down 15-20 minutes right after your workout. The length of time it takes to feel better can vary depending on the wear and tear. If you are moving your wrists during your workouts correct it now before you have a problem. If you are already hurting and the problem persists, please consult a physician.

Source:
ME 

400 pound Sumo Champion Finishes LA Marathon

Kelly Gneiting is a three time " U.S. National Sumo Champion", who placed fifth at the 2006 world championships in Japan. He is now the world record holder as heaviest person to ever run a marathon and finish. In fact at 400 pounds he blew the former record holder of 275 pounds away. Gneiting who never doubted his ability to finish said, "I honestly think I'm one of the best athletes in the world," according to the LA Times. Gneiting had run a marathon in 2008 and finished in a time of 11 hours 52 seconds. He managed to beat that time by more than 2 hours running a time of 9 hours 48 minutes in the L.A. marathon. Gneiting said he became delirious from about the 10 mile marker on and had decided he would crawl to the finish if he had to.

Sources
LA Times

I Work Out For Hours But My Body Doesn't Change!

Maybe this sounds like you or maybe you know someone who works out all the time yet their body never seems to change. While it can be a problem with hormones, thyroid or other physical issues, more times than not it is a nutrition problem. That does not always mean you are overeating. Most everyone knows if you are taking in more calories than your body is expending you will gain body fat. What most people do not understand is if you are not taking in enough calories you can gain body fat. Every function in the body requires calories including burning calories. If you are not getting enough calories your body will store fat because it thinks it is being starved and will not burn calories as efficiently as a person taking in enough calories. One of the first thing I tell my clients is "diet is 90% of the puzzle to looking the way you want". You can try and do hours and hours of exercise but more than likely you will end up injured long before you look the way you want. This is because "every" function in your body needs calories. If the body isn't getting enough calories it will not function properly, which in turn leads to injuries. Are you one of these people who just cannot get rid of that last little bit of fat no matter how few calories you take in? That is probably the problem. Your body has gone into starvation mode slowing the metabolism down and storing fat. Everybody is different when it comes to calorie needs. Factors such as age, weight, sex, activity level, and more play a part in how many calories you need. This may sound complicated but I have made it easy for you to figure out your caloric needs with a link to a calorie calculator at the bottom of the page. Make sure your diet consists of lean protein, fiberous vegetables, and complex carbohydrates. Junk food is still junk food and is usually filled with empty calories like sugar. Your total caloric intake still needs to be filled with nutritious food. Try to cut your complex carbohydrates back after 6pm because they are not digested as easy and are more likely stored during sleep when your metabolism slows down. Egg whites and protein shakes are a good choice later in the evening when you are looking for a good snack.  Try to eat healthy six days a week and take one cheat day. If you make eating healthy part of your daily routine your body will adapt to it. By taking a cheat day it shocks your metabolism, and speeds it up using the food you put into your body more effectively.  Don't sabotage your workout program with not enough calories. You will feel better and look better when your nutrition plan includes the number of calories you need.

http://calorieneedscalculator.com/

Why Women Wont Bulk Up From Weight Training

One of the many myths of weight training is that women will bulk up like a man if they weight train. There are numerous reasons this cannot happen but today I'm going to focus on the most obvious reason. Women simply do not have enough testosterone to bulk up and build huge muscles. Think about how hard it is for some men to build muscle. Those men have much more testosterone than a woman. So what about all those muscled up woman you have seen at the gym, or in the magazines? A woman can build muscle by increasing their caloric intake, primarily by increasing the amount of protein in their diet.  This is because amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Amino acids are needed to repair and build new cells. Muscles are just a bunch of cells so that makes protein important in building muscle. Increasing protein and calories do not build those freakish physiques you are scared of looking like. Have no fear because unless you have plans to do your first cycle of anabolic steroids you are not going to build anywhere near the muscle mass they have. I have been in gyms since 1978 and have worked in the gym business since 1986. Over that period of time I have trained with quite a few women. I have trained with women who never had any intention of competing.  I have also trained with woman who competed in amateur bodybuilding as well as a top 5 woman professional body builder. Some of the amateurs who could have been fitness competitors if they had that category in the early 90's, trained just as hard as any professional. The major difference was testosterone. If a woman or a man for that matter looks freakishly big they are on anabolic steroids. Please remember the word "freakishly". I know quite a few woman body builders and fitness competitors who don't use anabolic steroids. The weight and number of repetitions during weight training do not have as much bearing as the number of calories when building muscle. Women should not worry about bulking up. Weight training combined with cardio, and a good nutrition program will give you the lean hard look you are looking for.

Suurce:Me

Don't forget to follow my sports blog

http://randyedwardssportsblog.blogspot.com/

Speed Your Metabolism Up With Diet And Exercise : Exercise, Part 2 of a 2 Part Series

Most adults know exercise will speed up their metabolism but most adults don't exercise. If you are one of the "don't" exercise people who would like to start an exercise program, but have no idea where to start, may I suggest walking. You can start with a short walk and then build up. Just get your body moving and by doing so it will speed up that metabolism. For those of you who are a little more advanced, cardiovascular training (cardio) and weight training are excellent ways to exercise that will increase your metabolism. After you have been exercising  for a while I would suggest that you begin interval training. When you do cardio at the same pace all the time your body will begin to adapt. When the body adapts to the exercise the metabolism will stabilize. This is often one of the reasons a person stops losing body fat even though they exercise just as much. Interval training will spark the metabolism. Interval training is done by starting slow, interspersed with little bursts of going really fast. An example of interval training on an elliptical would be starting at your normal pace for three minutes, changing to an all out sprint pace for thirty seconds, and then slowing back down to your normal pace. Keep repeating the process for the length of time you have decided to engage in that exercise. Weight training is also an excellent way to speed up your metabolism. It takes more calories for the metabolism to maintain muscle than fat. Building new muscle will cause the metabolism to speed up to maintain it. Most people think your metabolism slows down because you are getting older. It would make sense because most people have a slower metabolism when they get older than they did when they were younger. The truth is most people's metabolism slows down as they get older because their muscle to fat ratio has changed. It is possible for most people to get that metabolism burning like it did in their 20's and 30's by incorporating a good exercise program with sound nutrition. Over time your fat to muscle ratios will improve and your metabolism will speed up.


Sources
E-How
Randy's Brain

**Please consult a doctor before beginning an exercise program**

Speed your Metabolism Up with Diet and Exercise :, Part 1 of a 2 part series : Diet and Nutrition

If I had a dime for every time I have heard someone say I have a "slow metabolism" I would be kicking it right now on a beach or a mountain enjoying my retirement. Instead I am going to give you a few simple tips to speed your "slow metabolism" up. Most people are sabotaging their metabolism by eating incorrectly and in doing so they are losing their ability to maximize their ability to lose body fat. The first mistake is usually made at the beginning of each day by skipping breakfast. When you sleep the body slows the metabolism down in an effort to conserve energy. By skipping breakfast your metabolism takes much longer to speed up. Eating a healthy breakfast will give your metabolism a kick start. Breakfast should include lean proteins like egg whites, complex carbohydrates like oatmeal and cream of rice, and fresh fruit. Another common mistake is not eating enough times throughout the day. Try to eat 5-6 times a day in order to help your metabolism do its job. This may or may not mean that you need to increase your total caloric intake. An example of this is that you might be eating the correct amount of total calories for the day but if the caloric intake is not spread out via smaller more frequent meals your body will be unable to use those calories properly. If you take in more than the body can digest at one time such as eating a large meal it will store the food as fat for later. So, instead of eating 3 times a day (or less as many of us tend to do) try to eat 5-6 small meals instead. By eating more frequently your brain will get the message that the body's energy source is frequent and burn more calories instead of storing them. Remember it takes calories to burn calories, but your body can only burn so many at a time. Try to stay away from foods that are high in sugar. These foods cause your blood sugar to spike which will force the body to store the food as fat. Your diet should include lean proteins like egg whites and lean meat, complex carbohydrates like whole grains and potatoes, fresh fruit such as bananas, and of course lots of green vegetables. Many studies have shown green tea helps speed up the metabolism. Try to stick to fresh brewed.  Be careful of prepackaged green teas as they can be low on green tea and high on fillers like sugar. Many of the other fillers in prepackaged green tea can also be counterproductive to weight loss so remember that fresh is the best. If you are trying to speed your metabolism up and lose weight it's important to remember to start with a healthy breakfast every morning. Don't forget to eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day which should include lean protein, complex carbohydrates, green vegetables and fresh fruit. If you make these easy steps a part of your daily nutrition you will see the results you are looking for in no time.


Questions?
Randy@thegymdallas.com

Sources
www.ehow.com
Randys Brain

How Many Calories do you Need?

Americans have been conditioned to think they just need to restrict calories to lose weight. Sometimes I hear people say "I used to look much better at this weight". What most people do not realize is it takes calories to burn calories. If you reduce the your calories below what your body needs it will think it is being starved, and will start holding on to fat. The end result you lose lean body mass such as muscle. That is the reason a person can weigh the same as they did earlier in their life but carry more body fat. There are many factors that go into figuring out how many calories each person needs. Sex, age, weight, activity level are just a few of the things taken into consideration when figuring daily caloric needs. I have made it easy for you. Follow the link below. Just enter in your information in the boxes provided and the calorie calculator will give you the calories you need to maintain your current weight. If you want to gain weight add five hundred calories. If you want to lose weight take five hundred calories off the total given. This is not a crash diet. You will lose the weight slowly but you will lose body fat.  The end result is you may look better at a much higher weight than before because muscle weighs more than fat, and is much smaller than fat. Just think of fat as a sponge and muscle as iron. How big is ten pounds of sponge and how big is ten pounds of iron. If you lose ten pounds of sponge (fat) you are losing quite a bit in inches. Iron (muscle), not so much. If you have any questions feel free to leave your info.



http://calorieneedscalculator.com/

Randy Edwards


Masters in Kinesiology
Personal Trainer 1989-present
Co-Owner "The Gym" 1997-Present






Sources: Randy's Brain