Back In Town

I've been off the radar this past week and a half because I was on tour with my band "Caught In Motion." We traveled south to California, and made stops in Chico, San Francisco, LA, Santa Barbara, Long Beach, Santa Cruz, and others. It was a ton of fun, but I'm glad to be home again. I'm amazed at how much changes in diet and sleeping habits can have on performance at the gym in such a short period of time. After just a few days of touring, I had to tap out on Barbara (20 Pull-ups, 30 Push-ups, 40 Sit-ups, 50 Squats, 5 rounds for time) after 30 minutes. I never tap out! On the bright side, it returns quickly, as well. I've been back in town just a couple of days and already I feel twice as strong. I hope I have it in my to complete my advanced cert at CrossFit HEL before January.... Wish me luck!

Sex At The Gym

A famous fitness author once said "Women are not a special population. They are half the population." While they may respond differently to heavy physical stress than men do, the quality of the movement required to produce the stress that causes adaptation is the same. In other words, if a guy wants the body of an elite athlete, he has to train like one, and the same goes for women. The only exceptions to this rule are the rare genetically gifted individuals who look amazing no matter what they do. They account for a minuscule percentage of the population, so don't bother using them as a form of reasoning or excuse for not working hard. Mark Rippetoe made some awesome statements in a recent CrossFit Journal article about women and training. Here are a few of my favorites...

"There is no such thing as 'firming and toning.' There is only stronger and weaker."

"Women who claim to be afraid to train hard because they 'always bulk up too much' are often already pretty bulky, or 'skinny fat' (thin but weak and deconditioned) and have found another excuse to continue life sitting on their butts."

"Women who look like men have taken some rather drastic steps in that direction that have little to do with their exercise program."

The main difference between the sexes with regards to our response to training comes from our hormones - specifically testosterone. Men have lots of it, women don't. That is why men build big muscles, and women can't (without chemical or hormonal help). Testosterone also affects neuromuscular efficiency, motor unit recruitment, central nervous system excitation, and other neuromuscular factors. Evidence of this can be seen in tests of absolute strength. Women's motor recruitment at a 1 rep max intensity isn't as efficient, therefor their 5 rep max and 1 rep max weights will be much closer together than men's. Women also demonstrate higher eccentric stamina after concentric failure.

What does this mean for you? Most likely not a whole lot. I think it's really cool stuff, and something to take into consideration when programing for my female and male clients. I hope you enjoyed hearing about it!