FunctionWorks Fitness

Monday, January 3, 2011

Going Cold Turkey

It is the third day of the new year how are you doing with your resolutions so far? Hopefully all of you are still going strong! Going cold turkey is one way of attacking a bad habit and going all out on a new and better habit.

Depending on the person this may or may not work. I am here to help you reach your goals and not set you back. So going cold turkey will work for some, while others may just end up shooting themselves in the foot in a couple of days.

A easier way to drop the weight/fat is to systematically take out one junk food out of your diet. Example, Week One replace chips for almonds and other healthy nuts. Week Two Instead of two servings of carbohydrates only have one per meal and increase the protein intake.

By systematically taking out the "bad things" it makes reaching your goals much easier.

Healthy Regards,
Charles Trinh, MS, PES, CSCS, ACSM-cPT
FunctionWorks Fitness
808-779-1604

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Getting Fit for 2011

For those of you who have a fitness resolution I have some advice that may make it a bit easier to achieve. First pick your goal, develop a plan for it and go for it.

Example
Goal
Drop 20 lbs of bodyfat by June 1, 2011 with 120 workouts

Plan
Develop a workout plan

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Romanian Deadlifts, Push Ups, Squats, Shoulder Press

Tuesday, Thursday
Intervals

Implement it!
Get a calender, mark your end date, and your short term goal is to cross off the next 120 workouts.

Due to the complexity of exercise program design the above is just an example. The development of an exercise program for your goals is more than just picking a bunch of exercises and doing them. Yes you will get results. But what is missing are the amount of repetitions that are needed, the rest time, the tempo, the intensity and the variations in the exercise routine, recovery and nutrition factors should also be addressed.

The main point that I am trying to make is that if you are a coach potato, and you commit yourself to 120 workouts in any period of time (not one workout a year). You will see change and you will be a different person.

So go out there and and do it!

Charles Trinh, MS, PES, CSCS, ACSM-cPT
FunctionWorks Fitness
808-779-1604

Friday, December 31, 2010

The End of the Year

In a few hours 2010 will pass us by and a new year will begin. How will you reach your goals for 2011? For many people, their new years resolution may be to lose weight, save more money, spend more time with friends and family, pick up a hobby, just to name a few.

How will you fully accomplish your resolution? Write it down, develop a plan, set goals, and act on it. Some people may not achieve their resolutions for various reasons, and one very large obstacle in my opinion are the people around you. Are you in an environment that will encourage you to be better and help you reach your goals? Or are you in an environment that will sabotage you?

What do I mean by this? If you got all the right steps in place (planning, setting goals, and doing) the one thing that can stop you are the people that you associate with. Have you ever wanted to do something and got criticized? "You can never do it!" "don't waste your time its very unlikely to work". Whenever you set your mind and heart on a particular task, you need to be surrounded by people that will support you and encourage you to achieve. Being around negative people will only bring you down.

Set your heart to what you want to do, it will be tough, but remember character is not built when you are up high. It is when you are down low, and how you ultimately decide to handle the situation at hand.

Good Luck!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

First Yelp Review

My very first Yelp review, this is why I love what I do and I will never let any of my clients down. Thank you Jaynie!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/functionworks-fitness-honolulu

Stretching and Force Generation

by.

Charles Trinh, MS, PES, CSCS, ACSM-cPT

In our last article about flexibility training we covered the role that the central nervous system plays in the extensibility and elasticity of muscle tissue. This next article will cover stretching and force generation of the muscles.

Stretching before exercise can decrease the amount of force generation of the muscle being stretched. For example, if a person overly stretched their chest out right before doing a bench press with a significant amount of weight. Chances are they will have a much harder time lifting that weight vs. not stretching at all. A stretched out muscle will decrease force production because the actin and myosin cross bridges do not have enough overlap to generate higher amounts of force.

Think of a rubber band if you pull it apart and let go it will snap back to its resting length. Our muscles are like rubber bands in many ways. Imagine pulling the rubber band and now holding it for a longer period of time. The longer you hold it the less forceful it will snap back into resting length.

Why would anyone care about force generation? Put it this way, if you want to jump higher stretching before may reduce your jump height. Stretching your ankles out before your run will lead to a higher chance of ankle inversion sprains if you step on uneven ground. These are just a couple of examples of why you may not want to stretch before exercise.

So far we have learned that just purely stretching may not lead to the increases in flexibility because of the role of the central nervous system. Secondly stretching a muscle out before physical activity may increase risk of injury and decrease performance. Our last article will focus on stretching before exercise from a corrective exercise point of view.

About the Founder
Charles Trinh, MS, PES, CSCS, ACSM-cPT is the founder of FunctionWorks Fitness and former State Director for the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He has over 10 years of formal education and practical experience in the health and fitness field. Charles has earned his undergraduate degree in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine and his Masters of Science degree in Exercise Science and Performance Enhancement. He also holds the highest level certifications by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

Trainer, Consultant and Educator
Charles is a consultant and educator in health and fitness. His in depth knowledge about the function of the musculoskeletal system and how it relates to exercise performance makes him a sought after speaker locally and nationally. He currently is a lecturer for the American College of Sports Medicine. Some of the private and public organizations that he has worked with are:

University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine
University of Hawaii Department of Health and Exercise Science
Kapiolani Community College Exercise Sport Science Program
Westfield State College
National Strength and Conditioning Association
American College of Sports Medicine
McDonalds Restaurants of Hawaii
Chaminade University
Fitness Resource Associates
Fitness Education Network
YMCA of Honolulu
University Health Alliance

For more information contact:
Charles Trinh, MS, PES, CSCS, ACSM-cPT
808-779-1604
functionworksfitness@gmail.com

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Congrats Irene

I want to congratulate Irene H. for a very successful first month. Results from first month are as follows:

Loss 6 lbs
4.38% body fat dropped
dropped 11 lbs of body fat
gained 5.01 lbs of muscle

Awesome job Irene keep up the great work!

When to Stretch

By. Charles Trinh, MS, PES, CSCS, ACSM-cPT

Most people have done some kind of stretching routine at least once in their lives. Growing up we have been taught to stretch our muscles before we workout or do any type of physical activity. As exercise science research advances stretching before exercise may be a thing of the past for certain individuals.

From physical education classes in school, coaches and even experts in the field have constantly told their participants to stretch before exercise to prevent injury. It is so ingrained in the general population that any mention of not stretching before exercise will lead to doubt of the persons fitness judgment.

First off, there is no scientific evidence that stretching before a workout will prevent injuries. A lot of this misinformation comes from individuals playing sports or their coaches. For example the logic is that if a person strains their hamstring (back of the leg) muscle when running. The person must have pulled it because it was tight and stretching before will elongate the muscle and prevent future injuries from happening.

This logic is faulty and leads to inferior training programs as well as increases the risk for injuries. When running, as the leg is put in front of the body the knee extends and the quadriceps femoris muscle contracts (front of thigh). This muscle extends the knee, and through a process called reciprocal inhibition the hamstrings (back of leg) must decelerate the knee extension. If there is faulty muscle recruitment and bad timing of knee extension (hamstrings are still contracting as quadriceps femoris extends knee). The hamstring muscle will tear. If there are two muscles pulling against the same body part in two different directions the smaller muscle will tear.

The problem is not tight muscles, the problem is faulty motor programming from the central nervous system. An athlete or yoga enthusiast can stretch all they want, but ultimately it is your central nervous system that controls the tone of the muscle. So the key is fixing these faulty programs to enhance movement and prevent injury.

It is beyond the scope of this article to cover every facet of the science. Stretching may seem simple but there is a lot more than just holding a stretch for 30 seconds at a time. Something to think about if your workout partner suggests to stretch before exercise.