Yesterday we told you what power was so today we’ve got a power workout for you to try…

To get you started with power training we’ve provided you with a ready-made routine. Perform this workout twice a week with around 48-72 hours between sessions. Make sure you warm up thoroughly before training and seek expert advice if you are unsure how to perform any of the exercises listed below. Do 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps of each exercise at maximum speed and rest for about 90-120 seconds between sets…

Workout

1.             Two footed jump for distance and height

                Start with feet just beyond shoulder-width apart
                Bend your knees to a three-quarter squat position
                Swing your arms back and past your hips
                Drive your legs explosively upward to lift your body from the ground and jump forwards and upwards
                Keep your trunk upright during flight
                Extend your legs in front of your body to get you feet out in front of you
                Land on the balls of your feet and spring upward into another jump
                Use your arms to assist your jump power –swing them past your hips as you jump,
                then foward over your head and then back down ready for the next jump

2.            Medicine ball drop chest press throws

                Lie supine on a sturdy exercise bench with arms extended
                Have a partner stand at your head holding a heavy medicine ball or Power Bag
                Your partner will drop the medicine ball from chest height towards your hands
                Catch the medicine ball in both hands and actively resist its downward momentum 
                (eccentric breaking)
                Quickly lower the ball to your chest
                Immediately and dynamically drive the ball off of your chest and into the air
                Your partner catches the ball and repeats the exercise
                To intensify this exercise, your partner can add momentum to the downward phase by carefully
                throwing the ball down towards you or dropping it from above his/her head

3.            Medicine ball slams

                Stand with feet shoulder-width apart
                Hold a medicine ball in both hands
                Dynamically lift the medicine ball above head height
                Rise up onto your toes
                Strongly throw medicine ball at the floor about 24” in front of your feet
                Catch the ball as it rebounds and repeat
                This exercise should be done at speed using the whole body

4.            Push press

               Stand with feet shoulder-width apart
               Grasp a barbell with an overhand grip at shoulder height, hands level with shoulders
               Keeping your torso upright sink into a quarter squat
               Initiating the movement with your lower body, powerfully drive with the legs and
               push barbell over head
               Pause before lowering the barbell back to shoulder level and repeating for the desired
               number of repetitions

5.            Medicine ball rotational throws

                Stand sideways on to a sturdy wall with feet shoulder-width apart
                Grasp a medicine ball in both hands
                Keeping your arms straight and between hip and shoulder height, rotate away from the wall
                Using your core muscles, twist your body as powerfully as possible and throw the ball at the wall
                Catch the ball as it rebounds and repeat for the desired number of repetitions
                Change sides and perform for the other side of the body

6.            Bench burpees

              Stand approximately 12” away from the side of a sturdy exercise bench or plyo box with
              feet shoulder-width apart 
              Squat down and place your hands on the bench with hands outside of your knees
              Jump your feet back and drop into a full press up, chest touching the bench/box top
              Your hips and legs should be fully extended and your core tight
              Immediately jump your feet back in whilst simultaneously extending the arms
              Jump up onto the top of the bench/box landing in a ¾ squat position
              Without pausing jump off the step to land back where you started and repeat
              All of the phases of this exercise should flow without pauses and must be preformed 
              powerfully and at speed

7.            Medicine ball back extension throws

              Using a 45 degree back extension machine or similar, position yourself and hold a medicine 
              ball in your hands
              Have a partner stand approximately 10 feet in front of you
              Bend at the hips and lower yourself towards the floor with your arms extended
              Dynamically extend your hips and spine and simultaneously throw the medicine ball to your partner
              Pause in this most contracted position so that your partner can throw the medicine ball back to you
              Under control, return to the starting position and repeat.

Now you know what power is and how to achieve it so all that’s left is to head to the gym and let rip! Power training is challenging, rewarding and lots of fun and will really improve your performance on the field.

Popularity: 2% [?]

As a result of increased Breast Cancer awareness, as women, we are possibly now more aware of our breast health than ever before. We are told to check ourselves for lumps regularly and to be consciously aware of the changes we experience from month to month. We are more open about health problems and our “women’s troubles” than previous generations ever were.

We know that we need to be taking action to protect our assets on a daily basis. Perhaps the one thing that most of us dread is the inevitable fact that one day our firm friends will no longer sit so proudly adjacent to our armpits, and will, like the birds in winter, head further south as a result of motherhood and growing older. With this in mind, we need to be aware of the damage that we may be doing to our chests whilst we are exercising. Many women, young and old, are guilty of neglecting to take care of their breasts while they are engaged in physical activity. As a female, it is a major concern for me when I see any woman training without appropriate support, whether they be training in my home, or independently at the gym. 

You wouldn’t go out for a run without equipping ourselves with trainers offering cushioning and support. So, why are we so quick to neglect our breasts? Plenty of women take great care over their appearance when they are training, often buying matching sets of tops and leggings and color co-ordinating our socks or trainers. However, too many women are failing to properly attire themselves in the appropriate gym wear necessary for supporting their breasts, as well as offering a comfortable, unrestricted workout. O.K. so let’s face it, from a fashion point of view it is probably easier to color co-ordinate your regular, everyday bras with your tank tops and Nike tick on your trainers. And if you leave your sports bra at home, then you can usually make do by wearing our usual everyday bra. However, when it comes to training, unless you’re doing yoga, or wearing a training top with hidden support, your normal bra just won’t cut it in the support stakes. They simply are not designed for women moving outside the realm of normal posture in the anatomical position. The moment the arms are lifted above the head, the shape of the bra changes and the support offered is compromised.

This, in itself, is leading to weakening of the Cooper’s ligament, the “connective tissue in the breast that helps maintain structural integrity” [1] of the breasts. The Cooper’s ligament provides an elastic band-like attachment from the clavicle, the large bone between the shoulder and the chest, which gives the female breast its characteristic shape and form. Just like other connective tissue within the body, the Cooper’s ligament is prone wear and tear and can lose strength as a woman matures. 

Certain factors impact just how strong the Cooper’s ligament will be for each individual female. For example, if you have small breasts, are wearing the correct bra size, have never engaged in any strenuous exercise, and haven’t had any children, then your Cooper’s ligament should be fairly strong and your breasts should sit quite high on your chest, even when you take your bra off. If, however, you are a woman with a very large bust, a mother, or someone who exercises at a high intensity without wearing appropriate support, you might find that your breasts aren’t where they used to be. 

Relaxin, a peptide hormone, which is released during pregnancy also impacts the elasticity of the Cooper’s ligament. 

So breasts are more likely to appear saggy after child-birth. It also “stimulates the growth of the glands in the breasts that are responsible for milk production”.[2] Which is why the breasts get bigger during the pregnancy, and heavier, placing the ligament under even more stress.

If you have ever been very overweight, and have lost a significant amount of weight over a short space of time, perhaps with the help of a very low calorie diet, then it is also possible that your breasts are saggy as a result of going from one weight extreme to another, as this also weakens the Cooper’s ligament. Safe weight loss at a rate of 1-2 lbs per week is recommended for keeping the weight off in the long term as your hormonal response to weight loss can be very confusing for the body. It also allows the skin to shrink slowly as your muscles become tighter and more toned. It gives your breasts a chance of appearing more lifted, rather than resembling the ears of man’s best friend! However, even if you are smaller in the chest, do not be fooled into thinking that gravity will not have its way with you. Everyone is at risk.

Different types of training and exercise have different effects on the body and have different consequences for your breasts. Yoga and Pilates, for example, are a more focused on core stability and balance and are therefore not so demanding on the Cooper’s ligament as there is little bouncing or jumping around during a class. However, things like a circuit class, running, Body Attack and Tae-bo can really impact our breasts as they tend to be high-impact cardio classes focusing on increasing the heart rate, meaning we move a lot more and, therefore, put more stress upon the Cooper’s ligament. 

If you’re unsure of how much your regular workout is impacting your breasts, just monitor the movement of the hair on your head. If you tie your hair back when you train this will be much easier to assess. Depending on what you may be doing, your hair could be swinging around like crazy. Just imagine what is happening to your breasts.

So, the important question is what can we do to preserve the elasticity of our Cooper’s ligament and stay abreast of the situation? The good news is that sagging can be delayed with the use of properly fitting bras, more specifically, sports bras. Make sure that you wear a bra designed especially for exercise that fits you properly and matches your exercise intensity. Sports bras are made of sturdier material than our regular, everyday bras and should make up an essential part of our sports kit for the gym. They have come along way in the past 30 years and with the styles, colors, shapes and sizes available, there really is no excuse not to be wearing one. Sports bras are generally designed to compress or to provide a protective capsule for each breast. Some sports bra can even do both.  

Compression sports bras are the most popular as they are considered to be the most stylish option. They reduce breast movement by flattening the breasts against the chest. They are best suited for women with small or medium breasts, for any type of training, but offer little support for women with a C cup or above. 

Encapsulation sports bras look more like our everyday bras and certain types actually have an underwire to offer additional support. They work by supporting each breast by surrounding them and offering support the whole way around, rather than pinning the breasts down and forcing the shoulders to carry the weight. These are great for women with large breasts, (DD or bigger), as they minimize bounce whilst distributing the weight of the chest between the bra and the shoulders.

Compression/Encapsulation sports bras work by both flattening the breasts and surrounding each breast to provide optimal support for the wearer. These are best for women who wear a C or D cup.

Before you buy one, remember to get yourself properly fitted by someone who knows what they are doing, and don’t be afraid to go elsewhere for a second opinion. Our bra size will change during the year as a result of fluctuations in our body weight, so it’s a good idea to get measured once a year. Most bra retailers have staff fully trained in measuring your bust to help you buy the best fitting bra to support your bosom buddies. The majority of women out there are wearing the wrong bra size. If you’ve got a sports bra it should fit you without chafing the skin or rubbing painfully under the arms.

Make good use of this facility to get yourself properly kitted out. A good quality, well-fitting sports bra can enhance the quality of your workout by eliminating the bounce you experience during a walk or run. We all know how irritating and distracting a bouncing chest can be when we are focusing on trying to get the most from our training. Especially if we are “gifted” in that area. So get the most out of your workouts by getting the most from your kit. It’ll be a worthy investment in your health and fitness, guaranteed to have “the girls” sitting pretty for years to come.

Resources

Women’s Strength Training and Anatomy by Fredric Delavier

[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper’s_ligaments

[2]medicalcenter.osu.edu/patientcare/…/breast…breast…/index.aspx

For more from Donna, visit her website at http://www.personaltrainerinbelfast.co.uk/

Popularity: 3% [?]