Mom's Fitness Tips for Women

Good balance isn’t just for surfers and skiers. As an MMA fighter, you need good balance to prevent injury, build strength, and control your opponent. Ask your average fitness professional how to train for balance, and he or she will probably recommend you hop aboard a wobble board, balance ball trainer or the like — all unstable-surface training (UST) devices.

But recent research suggests that the practical applications for UST are more limited than wobble-boarders would have us believe.  Doing UST can actually de-power healthy MMA athletes because it’s not functional. (In its truest sense, functional training prepares individuals for the demands of work, daily life and competitive athletics.)  The floor of a typical MMA ring or cage doesn’t move so, unless you’re preparing to surf, skateboard or snowboard, wobble exercises may detract from your goal: performing well on solid ground.

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Stable Surface vs. Instability Recent studies put a group of athletes on a standard stable-surface training program and another group on an unstable-surface program. This research showed that replacing as little as 2 to 3 percent of overall training with unstable-surface training in healthy, trained athletes impaired the development of sprinting speed and vertical jump height.

Why the drop in power? It could be because UST causes you to pronate more quickly and for longer periods of time than does stable ground, putting you constantly in “deceleration mode.” Over time, this could limit how well you can store and release elastic energy in lower-body muscles during running and jumping. Or, UST might simply train you to react tentatively, even when an explosive movement is required.

While the specific reasons UST interferes with power improvements warrant further investigation; our training needs to reflect the demands of our sports. We can’t train slowly on an unstable surface and expect to be fast and powerful on a stable surface. The study that trained on stable surfaces showed significant gains in power tests such as the vertical jump and sprinting speed. It’s no leap of logic, then, to presume it’s beneficial to use that kind of surface during training if we want to jump higher and run faster. Or for MMA: hit hard, sprawl faster, kick higher, or shoot with more speed.

So what can you do to improve your balance? Simply put, you need to challenge your stability while your lower body remains in contact with solid ground. This includes training techniques ranging from single-leg work and asymmetrical loading to applying destabilizing forces while attempting to remain stable.

Train on One Leg. You can incorporate unilateral (single-leg) training into what, for most of us, is a bilateral training world. In other words, keep one foot planted firmly on the ground. Besides strengthening the small stabilizing muscles around your spine, unilateral training helps you build strength equally in both legs (it doesn’t allow for unhealthy compensation patterns the way bilateral training does), strengthening any weak points in the chain. You’ll also reinforce knee-stabilizing muscles, thus preventing knee injury.

Alter Gravity. You can also improve your balance by moving your center of gravity upward or forward. The higher your center of gravity, the less stable you are, which forces those core and intrinsic spinal muscles to work harder to compensate. An object with a lower center of gravity is more stable because more work is required to topple it. To challenge yourself, raise your center of gravity by performing moves with one or both arms above your head or in front of you, he suggests. You challenge yourself more by standing with both feet planted, bringing a barbell to chest level and then raising it overhead. The higher you go, the tougher it is to stabilize.

Close Your Eyes. Closing your eyes during certain exercises can improve your proprioception, which in turn can help prevent injury by increasing your agility and reaction times. By shutting off your sense of sight, you force your neuromuscular system to do all the reacting. Closing your eyes works best when you’re performing the most basic of exercises. Start by closing one eye while you stand still with both feet on the ground, then progress to standing with both eyes closed, standing on one foot with one eye closed, and finally standing on one foot with both eyes closed.

When Is Unstable-Surface Training a Good Idea? There are times when unstable-surface training (UST) is not only helpful, but necessary. Lower-body UST has a ton of merit in those returning from ankle sprains. UST has proven effective time and again when addressing the chronic functional ankle instability found with sprains. This is because UST helps to retrain the peroneals — the muscles on the outsides of your lower legs — to react quickly and prevent future sprains.

UST is great for training your upper body, too. While in sport and life, the lower body is in contact with a stable surface most of the time; the torso and arms are constantly engaged in motion without being anchored to the floor. So it’s appropriate to work the upper body and torso by making them unstable, as long as your feet are solidly planted on the ground. If it’s at or above the hips, you’re in good shape. So, go ahead and do pushups on a BOSU or dumbbell presses using a stability ball as your “bench.”

Very frequently I hear women at the gym state that they are not trying to build muscle, but that they are just trying to “get toned.” Then I watch as they proceed to pick up two pencils and work their biceps like crazy.

I’m actually joking about the two pencils, but what I’m trying to convey is that most women work out with very light weights. By very light I mean weights that are under 10 pounds. I frequently see women working out with only 2 pound dumbbells.

So What Is Wrong With Using Light Weights To Enhance Muscle Tone?

First of all, let me state that working out, even with very light weights, will provide some health benefits, will improve your appearance, and your muscle tone to some degree. However, if you really want to tone up your muscles you should use heavier weights. If you are just beginning to workout then you should use light weights and then slowly progress to using heavier weights to avoid injuries. Keep in mind that toning up your muscles involves building muscle.

The reason you should eventually progress to using heavier weights is because to really tone up your muscles they need to be worked hard. If you pick up two 5 pound weights and work out with these without ever increasing the amount of weight you are using, within a very short time you will cease to continue to see improvements in your muscles. By gradually increasing the amount of weight you use you will gain more muscle, which will enhance what most women think of as muscle tone, and you’ll get stronger. Maybe even strong enough to finally open that jar of pickles all by yourself.

In addition, having more muscle will help you to burn more calories even when you are not exercising and so you will be able to eat more food without gaining fat. Also, keep in mind that muscle weighs more than fat and so you may actually weigh more, but you will look better than before and your clothes will fit better.

Why Most Women Are Reluctant To Work Out With Heavy Weights:

The reason that most women are reluctant to use heavy weights when working out is because they are afraid that they will gain huge amounts of muscle and will no longer look feminine.

Now, I happen to think that women with a lot of muscles look very attractive, however, if the fear

of gaining too much muscle is stopping you from using heavy weights then don’t let this stop you.

Most women are not going to build more muscle than they want from lifting weights. They will build some muscle and be stronger than they were before, but it is very difficult for women to build huge, bulky, muscles. In fact, most men find this difficult. The bodybuilding supplement industry makes millions of dollars each year because building a lot of muscle is so difficult.

Although it is possible for women to build big muscles, it is very difficult and you would

need to work out with VERY HEAVY WEIGHTS on a regular basis. I add this because I certainly don’t want to perpetuate the myth that it absolutely isn’t possible for women to build large amounts of muscle. The reason that most bodybuilding information for women states that it isn’t possible is so that women who are afraid of building too much muscle by working out with weights will finally pick some up and work out. It is possible to build big muscles if you are a woman, however, in order to attain them it would be your goal to do so. It won’t just happen by accident, you would purposely build them.

There are also health benefits to being stronger and having more muscle:

1. Increased metabolic rate – I’ve already mentioned this, but you are much less likely to be fat if you have a lot of muscle.

2. Decreased risk of osteoporosis – This is because your bones need to be strong enough to support the increased amount of muscle. Bone tissue is dynamic and your bones will respond to the increased demand placed on them by becoming stronger.

3. Being physically weak isn’t safe – The stronger you are the more likely that you will be able to defend yourself if you ever need to. Plus you will find certain tasks easier, such as carrying in the groceries.

If you don’t believe me, then try gradually increasing the amount of weight you use when you work out and you will see big improvements in your muscle tone and overall appearance, but you will not see the development of huge bulky muscles.

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