AUS Health Info

We have a show here in Australia called The Biggest Loser, This show is based on a world wide format, a lot of different countries run their own versions of the show, so a lot of people will know the way it works.

For those who don’t, here is a very basic summary. A group of contestants, all very overweight, are split into groups which each get their own personal trainer. Through the week, they train every day and learn how to eat properly. They are given challenges and temptations, but basically their goal is to lose the most amount of weight on a weekly basis which is measured on a very large scale every Sunday night.

Now, the interesting thing about this program this year (It is in it’s third Australian Season) is that one of the contestants has a heart condition and cannot train with the same intensity as the others. Therefore, his training consists of 3 x 40 minute walks at a moderate pace each day.

The others, however, are doing high intensity aerobic work and weight training sessions each day. Including free weights, machine weights, stationary cycling and treadmill routines.

At the first weigh in, the contestant that had the biggest weight loss was the one doing the walking. The others also had an impressive weight loss for the week, but I thought it was quite ironic for those that were doing the hard training that the results they got could also have been achieved by regular walking.

My understanding of losing weight over the years has always been that steady and consistant exercise, that elevates your heart rate to around 60 - 70 % of your maximum, is the best method for actually encouraging your body to use energy from the fat cells rather than protein cells, ie: muscles.

Weight training is  very important part of any training program, but if you are after weight loss, as measured by a scale, then you must remember that any form of weight training will increase your muscle mass, and therefore your body weight, in comparison to doing medium intensity walking.

Muscle weighs more than fat. So for every inch of muscle you put on, you have to lose a lot more fat by volume to weigh less. These contestants are following training tips fom personal trainers who encourage them the do the full weight workouts and the high intensity training  as this is the way they have been taught. If you were in the competition and had to do your own training, the way to win would be to follow a good eating plan, drink plenty of water and follow the walking plan that was given to the first weeks biggest loser!

So weight training or walking. I am a firm believer that starting out with your weight loss goals, walking consistantly will give you more value than weight training in the short term. The longer term goal would always be to include some form of resistance training into your lifestyle as an increased muscle mass will help you look and feel toned and tight.

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There are two exercises that I think should be avoided when training.

Good Mornings and Lat Pulldowns behind the neck.

I consider both of these exercises to be high risk and thier benefits are far outweighed by the chance of injury.

Good Mornings:

I know that when I was growing up there were plenty of pictures of how this move should be done, although I can’t say I’ve seen these moves done in quite some time.

I wish that somebody would go find every every website, training manual and poster with this exercise and cross it out with a thick black pen.

That’s a lot of weight. Then, one day, your back will go POP! Forward you will go, with the 225 lbs still on the bar. You will be lucky not to break your neck, but you will create more damage than you wish.

As with any exercise, people will continue to push themselves to new limits. But sometimes exercises just don’t produce the results worth the inherent risks associated them. Good morning exercises are one of these. There are many other options for compound movements that do the same thing but with much less of a risk.

So skip the good mornings and try some dead-lifts or stiff-legged dead-lifts (please remember to keep your legs slightly bent on both those exercises). You won’t be missing out on anything by skipping the good mornings except for possibly weeks of recovery at the least.

Lat Pull-downs Behind the Neck:

No ancedote to go with this one, but have a good think about it. Eventually you’ll be doing some heavy weight, in a very unnatural position. This is a recipe for injury.

This movement rotates your shoulder and puts a lot of pressure on the rotator cuff. Believe me when I say that you do not want to damage this, as it can remain a weak point for years, if not for life.

It’s much more natural and safe to do the same movement to the front. Either way your lats are still getting worked. But doing this excercise at the front takes pressure off the shoulders which isn’t the muscle group you are trying work.

The same advice goes for pull-ups. They should be done to the front as well. If you do pull-downs, try doing it to the front. Don’t even think about behind the neck as they won’t do any more for you except cause you a very painful injury and possibly give you an excuse not to do any more pull-downs of any type.

This is not to knock those who have advocated either of these exercises in the past, rather it is like anything that is ongoing in the fact that it is now shown to be an incorrect and indeed dangerous practice, and trainers need to be educated to unsafe movements.

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