Come'on Get Appy!

Just like most Americans, I am practically surgically attached to my smart phone.  I rarely have it out of immediate reach;  it's my alarm clock, entertainment, calendar, camera, GPS, flashlight, iPod and most recently, my fitness sidekick. 

According to a 2011 article in The New York Times, about 1,288 applications for iPhone and Android devices combined are released every day.  Also, as of last summer, there were a total of over 13,000 health related apps available to consumers.  If these numbers tell us anything, it's that health and fitness smart phone applications are not only here to stay but definitely worth taking advantage of!

Personally, I have six health and fitness related apps on my phone: 
       - Nike Training Club
       - MyFitnessPal
       - SELF Workouts
       - Gold's Gym Spotter
       - Workout Trainer
       - Interval Timer

These apps (mostly free, but I can't exactly remember which ones were and weren't...) fall basically into 4 categories: calorie counter, workout guides, goal trackers, and timer.  Here are my favorites...

MyFitnessPal - Calorie Counter/Goal Tracker
                                                            

       MyFitnessPal is seriously one of my favorite tools!  Basically, you input your height, weight, your weight goal (such as loose/maintain/gain ____ lbs per week), your activity level and exercise goals (workouts/week and minutes/workout).  Based on this information, MyFitnessPal will calculate what your daily caloric intake goal should be.  Then, once you have your caloric goal, you simply input your meals and workouts each day.  To do this, you tap the "add" button then type in the food item.  The MyFitnessPal database consists of thousands of different items, brands, servings, ect.  And my absolute favorite feature, you can add foods to your diary using the built-in barcode scanner! Simply scan the barcode of the food product and automatically the item information will pop up! Super easy!   Additionally, for you cooks out there, you can also create and save your favorite recipes.  Just input the ingredients/quantities and servings, and it will calculate the nutritional facts for your creation, as well as save it for later use under "MyRecipes".  The "MyFoods" tool can be used to save foods you frequently eat for quick adding.

Nike Training Club - Workout guide/Goal Tracker

       LOVE this app! It is so easy to use and efficient. You open the app, and it brings you to a screen where you choose what your goal is for the day: get lean, get toned, get strong, or get focused.  Then, you pick your level: beginner, intermediate or advanced.  From there, it gives you a list of various workouts that fits your level and goal.  Once you've selected which workout you want to complete, the workout components will load in a list format.  Click on each component for pictures and videos on how to properly perform the move. Once you've finished the workout, it will save it to your account, so you can keep track your progress.  You also earn points for each workout completed that can be used to unlock exclusive features. You can even set your workout to albums/playlists from your own music library! Super cool guys!

Interval Timer - Just what the name implies...

       This app is pretty straight-forward, but in my opinion, that's a plus.  I hate it when programs that are so full of frills you can't make heads or tails of it!  Anyhow, you can input the name of whatever workout routine you will be doing interval training for that day, for instance, "Sunday Mornings Jog".  The program is pre-set for a 30 minute, 10 set interval routine, including a warm-up.  However, you can adjust the lengths of each interval as well as the number of interval sets.  What I love about this, is you don't have to worry about fumbling with a stop watch while you're sweating it out to keep track of intervals - not fun. An additional feature I like is that you can set the routine to music from your own library, just like in the Nike Training Club app.  This is my most recent addition to my fitness apps, and so I know for a fact this app is free!

Do you use any fitness apps to keep track of your goals and progress?  If so, leave a comment below about which one(s), and why you either like or dislike it.  Also, I encourage you to download any of the above mentioned apps and let me know how you like them!

Giving Side Plank A Second Thought

Hello Everyone!  Have I been a busy girl! Lately, I have had my hands tied-up (a) studying for my Smart Fitness National Council for Certified Personal Trainers exam and (b) both of my lovely kitty cats decided to get sick...at the same time. But, here I am, a week later, a few hundred dollars poorer (thank you vet bills) but having passed my NCCA personal training exam with flying colors! Yay me!

 So in lieu of my new accreditation, I wanted to share one of the more interesting things I learned during my training regarding the widely popular side plank (see right).  Now I have been doing this move for years, have seen countless other gym-goers performing this,  and have seen it incorporated into almost every group fitness class I've ever attended.  Point is, side plank seems to be one of the more widely used moves to target core musculature. Although the benefits of side plank are in fact numerous (improves balance & support, strengthens shoulder/upper body and improves lateral core control)
there are just as many risks associated with this "waist widdler".

Many of these risks stem from poor form.  Three of the most common postural faults include:
       - Sagging downward into the supporting shoulder, this places increased pressure on the shoulder joint.  You want your shoulder to be depressed away from the ear, and be sure you are squeezing your shoulder blades together.
       -  Flexing of the hips, or sticking your butt outward, throwing the spine out of alignment. Squeeze the glutes together to combat this tendency.
       - Allowing the hips to sag towards the ground.  You want to keep the body in a straight line. The only exception here is if you are pulsing the hips up and down (in a controlled motion of course).

Traditional side plank on forearms to protect the wrist

Poor form aside, side plank can cause pain and injury to some individuals, specifically in the wrists and knees.  This is because regardless of perfect posture, when done with the supportive arm extended, excessive pressure is put on the wrist, and load is placed on the knee at an unnatural angle.
To correct the concern regarding the wrist, try moving down onto your forearm (see the picture above).  Now let's think about the dilemma of the knee. 

Our knee joint is designed to move in a hinge motion through one, and one plane only, the sagittal plane.  However, in side plank position, the load is placed on the knee in the frontal plane.  Think about it, when standing upright with your knees straight, you wouldn't want someone to hit you on the side of the knee would you? That would hurt and could potentially cause a pretty nasty injury!  But in side plank, that is exactly where you are placing pressure, on the side of your knee. To make side plank easier on the knee, try modifying the pose by using your top leg as a stabilizer, or better yet, coming down onto the knees(see below picture).

Modified side plank to protect the knees

When using these modifications, just be mindful to not use the extra support/stabilization as a crutch, you don't want to risk compromising the effectiveness of the move for your core.

As I said before, I am not in any way discrediting the benefits of side plank, this is a killer move!  It can just be done very wrong and if the performer isn't familiar with the risks that could be associated with the pose, they could be putting themselves at risk of injury.  So next time your work-out regimen calls for some good 'ol side planks, just take a moment to reconsider the positioning of your shoulder, wrist, hips and knees so you can modify the pose to what feels right for you and your exercise goals.