4 Questions That Bug People to Ask Their Fitness Coach

Q1:What’s the best way to do a situp?

A: The best way to do a situp is not to do a situp at all but to do a crunch. Traditional situps call the muscles of the back and hips into play, which puts you at risk for injury and gives you minimal benefit. Besides, they’re really silly looking. Now here are 3 things you do during classic crunch:
*1. Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and arms folded across your chest. Press your lower back against the floor.
*2. Slowly curl your torso, one vertebra at a time, toward your knees, bringing your shoulders 4 to 6 inches off the floor. Reminder: Keep your lower back pressed to the floor, and be careful not to “hinge” up from your hips.
*3. Hold this position for a few seconds; then reverse the maneuver, slowly and one vertebra at a time, until you’re back in the starting position. Repeat 15 to 20 times, slowly; the more slowly you execute this movement, the more effective it will be. You’ll get an even stronger, better-looking midsection by doing a series of core-building exercises.
PS: If you want more instructions for barbell twists, bicycles, side bends, and other core builders, you can check out at BestLifeOnline.com/belly

Q2: How should I treat a pulled muscle?

A: Most people make the mistake of stretching it (overextending). That’s how you got injured in the first place. Don’t do it. To encourage healing, you need to increase blood flow to the injury by moving it with very easy, slow contractions, using whatever exercise suits the muscle best. For example, if you’ve pulled your hamstring, do leg curls on a machine fitted with very light weight-just a few pounds. Don’t let the pain reach more than about 3 on a scale of 1 to 10. Perform three sets of 15 reps everyday, increasing the load gradually as long as that doesn’t increase the pain. After each workout, ice the affected area for 10 to 15 minutes. The pain should begin to subside within 3 days. If it doesn’t, see your doctor.

Q3: I’ve heard that you should avoid eating fruit while trainig. Is this true?

A: Nonsense! No. High-fiber, vitamin-rich fruits, like apples, strawberries, and blueberries, provide the nutrients your body needs to maintain and repair muscle tissue. Fruit juice, however, is a different story. Fruit juice is what’s known as high-glycemic food, meaning that it’s high in simple sugars, which boost blood levels of insulin and trigger your body to store fat. Fiber-rich fruit, by contrast, burns more slowly than the juice, preventing spikes in blood sugar and keeping your body energized.

Q4: My back hurts whenever I play golf. What can I do to avoid this?

A: Schedule an afternoon tee time. In the morning, the disks in your spine are engorged with fluid, making them less pliable and less able to handle the rotational stress of swinging a club. By the afternoon, however, the fluid has moved out of your disks, and your spinal column will be more flexible and less prone to injury.