HOW TO IMPROVE BREATHING & CORE ACTIVATION DURING RUNNING AND STRENGTH TRAINING

It worries me when I’m out running and I see so many people running with very bad posture and running technique, and I actually ask myself, “Does their inner unit (core) actually function correctly?”

It’s an almost identical situation in the gym when I see people doing squats or dead lifts with weight belts on, with their stomach pressing out hard against their belt?

But what does all this mean? In a nutshell, the transverse abdominas (TVA) shuts down due to injury, poor diet, poor training techniques, stressors, or all of the above. That’s when the rectus abdominas (6 pack abs) and erector (back muscles that get tight) take over. This is what we call a ‘faulty recruitment pattern’. In my experience, 80% of clients I start working with have a faulty recruitment pattern and need to reinstall the motor patterns to get the TVA to function properly again, reducing back, hip, leg and some times neck pain. This is only one part of the inner unit, which consists of TVA, multifidis, pelvic floor and diaphragm, which work together to create intra abdominal pressure.

If one of these muscles is not working with the team (muscle listed) there will be an imbalance through the chain, causing injury/pain and even incontinence.

Changing a faulty recruitment pattern can sometimes take days, weeks, months or years depending on how long the muscle has been inhibited for. I have designed a step-by-step procedure to get the quickest possible way to reinstall the motor patterns to the TVA, to get you running and strength training pain free, and to prevent future injuries.

TVA is the most common muscles of the inner unit, but it is also second to none that the multifidis, pelvic floor and diaphragm are also weak or inhibited. During our initial assessment at CTS, we undertake a full core assessment to identify theses issues.

MOST IMPORTANTLY,  if the digestive system has a disfunction of any sort (e.g.: leaky gut syndrome, extended vicera, bacterial infection, excessive stress or intolerances to food, the TVA will gain no strength or activation, no matter how much you try and strengthen it. To identify and to get yourself on track with nutrition and lifestyle, firstly go through the STEP 1 process (FREE) under the CTS5N tab on this website.

Step 1: Learning how to breath and release the diaphragm.

1) Lying on your back with knees bent up, place one hand on your stomach and one on your chest. As you breath in through your nose, push your stomach out like a big full belly. As you exhale, let your belly sink down in to your spine (for 10 breaths)
To give you a better understanding of why we do this and how, I explain it to clients as this: Imagine your diaphragm as a pump and your stomach as a pond. If the pump stops pumping, then the pond will go stagnant and start storing toxins/fats, and slowing down the digestive system.

2) In between every 10 breaths, we now are going to release the diaphragm. You should be able to get your fingers under your ribs. If not, your diaphragm muscles are tight. To release these, you will put your hands under your ribs and slowly massage in small circles for 3 min.

3). Now repeat 10 breaths and massage the diaphragm in between. This will be started at 3 sets and then progressed up to 10 sets. When comfortable at 10 sets, it’s time to move onto Step 2

Step 2: Reactivating the TVA with progressing to breathing while TVA is active


2): In the horse stance position and with a neutral spine, take a big diaphragmatic breath, pushing the belly out. As you exhale, draw your belly button into the spine (be cautious not to change your spinal position, especially thoracic). Holding for 10 sec in this phase, your breath is held. Imagine a piece of string around your waistline getting pulled tight from your belly button to your lumbar spine L345 vertebras.

2A): After mastering 2 can you progress to 2A, which will seem quite difficult at first. In the horse stance position, take a big diaphragmatic breath in, pushing your belly out, and then exhale drawing your belly into the spine (you should be aware of postural position now). Hold this for 20seconds while keeping TVA tight. Try to breath through diaphragm in the first instance. You will try to push your belly out (which you don’t want to do!) You need to keep the belly drawn in, and get your pump to pump. Obviously you wont be able to belly breathe like step 1 with TVA active, but you will get better the more you practice.

Start with 20 sec contractions x 3 sets, progressing up to 10 sets. When you are comfortable at 10 sets, move onto 2B.

2B): After mastering 2A, in the horse stance position take a big belly breath in, pushing your stomach out. Exhale and draw the belly into the spine, now holding for 60 sec. You should be able to master the TVA contraction and the diaphramic breathing together.
Start with 3 sets progressing up to 10 sets.

Spend approximately 2 weeks on each phase, completing a minimum of 4 days of the week. To get the best results practice every day morning and night.

Step 3: TVA activation while weight training and running
Weight training: The best exercise to practice this at first would be dead lift with a light weight (probably just the bar). As you set your dead lift position, draw the belly into the spine. As you lift the weight, breathe out. Holding the TVA as you come to the eccentric phase of the lift, breathe in, pushing the diaphragm out, and then continue desired reps.

As you get in to any max strength training, you will change your breathing pattern to only breathe in on the completion of the concentric and eccentric phase, and exhale through the concentric and eccentric loading of the movements, keeping TVA switched on.

Running: After completing the 3 steps successfully, now it’s time to introduce running and diaphramic breathing while contracting the TVA. You should now have the motor patterns to successfully hold this. The best gauge to see if you’re improving while running, is to time how long you can hold this on for. You will find when you get tired or fatigued; you will switch off and go back to your old recruitment patterns. The goal of this exercise is to hold that TVA and breathe through the diaphragm for the whole run, without switching off…gauge your time and improve on your next run.
Cross Training Systems, Lift bigger and get stronger fast.

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Aaron Buchan

JUICING DETOX

In my previous post I spoke about why we should detox and why it is so important. In today’s blog post I am going to inform you of the perfect detox and why this detox is so beneficial to not only the digestive system, but also to the body to aid in a feeling of wellbeing.

There are many detox remedies all over the internet and it seems everywhere we turn we are given different ideas behind detoxing. In my very own nutrition system CTS5N I teamed with a nutritionist to offer a detox that is proven to be beneficial.

My preferred method of choice for the perfect detox, that gets quick results is juicing. The difference between a solid detox and a liquid detox is massive.

The idea behind detoxing the body is to stop the digestive system from working hard on processing and eliminating solid foods, meaning that it can’t actually get to work on eliminating the toxins effectively and efficiently.

A juicing detox is usually started with a two to three day stint, and then on the second or third detox you are able to push it out for around five days. Juicing is a beneficial way to detox becomes it stops the digestive system from having to break down solid foods, meaning that it can get to work on ridding the digestive and intestinal tract of built up waste.

By taking the pressure off of the digestive system, it then helps the body to start eliminating toxins, the body breaks down stagnation, the liver becomes cleansed, and that extra water weight and stagnation around the belly, legs, thighs and cellulite starts to get broken down. The lymphatic system is then able to start flushing away all of those pesky toxins that make us feel sluggish and tired.

At the beginning of the detox to around day three you will most likely have little energy, you won’t feel good, and you will most likely be moody, a lot of people allow this to deter them away from completing the detox but what is important to understand and remember is your body is eliminating toxins, so you will feel ultimately like crap to begin with, but after day three you start to become more energised and can feel a massive sense of wellbeing come over you, realising just how bad you were actually feeling, only being so used to it, it became normal.

Obviously not just any old juice will do, and you do need a particular juicing diet that is designed to keep you full and well nourished, and to also provide your body with the essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients that it needs in order to stay in an optimal state.

I have developed my very own three to five day juicing detox recipe which has been developed by myself and studied from a certified nutritionist to ensure that you are gaining the very best detox around.

Head over to http://crosstrainingsystems.com.au/subscribe/ to take our step one to optimal health questionnaire where we will provide you with the perfect juicing detox for FREE which is usually valued at $97.

Yours in health and fitness

Aaron Buchan

WHY SHOULD WE DETOX

You may have heard about the new craze of detoxing the body. Just recently studies have shown that detoxing the body has numerous health benefits, from losing weight, feeling rejuvenated, having more energy and many health ailments dissipating.

Why should we detox and why does it have many health benefits is a question that many people have when looking into detoxing.

Over the years the body accumulates many toxins. Toxins come from an array of things such as:

-        Pollution

-        Chemical substances such as alcohol, cigarettes, drugs etc

-        Preservatives in foods

-        Pesticides from non-organic produce

-        Hormones from eating generic store bought meat

-        Eating processed and refined foods

-        Thinking and feeling negative such as negative thoughts

The list is long and almost endless. The body has a natural detox system, which is our liver and lymphatic system, however the liver is only able to process so much toxins before they accumulate and get into the blood stream and present themselves in many health ailments and disorders such as:

-        Feeling bloated and sluggish

-        Weight gain

-        Tiredness

-        No energy

-        Constipation

-        Diseases or better known as dis-eases

When toxins accumulate in the body, the body becomes stagnant and the lymphatic system is impaired. An example of this can be likened to a blocked drain. There is an accumulation of mould, food, crap per se, which means that the water cannot drain properly leading to say a blocked kitchen sink. Often having to use Draino or even having the plumber come out to unblock the drain.

This is very similar to how the body works, when we have stagnation it cannot drain through the lymphatic system properly. This is why many people who have trouble losing weight even though they are dieting and exercising. There is stagnation in the body that cannot be drained properly.

So the question is, how can we break down stagnation and get the liver doing its job properly again to lead to a better life filled with ease and grace.

A detox is the best way to rid the body of toxins, break up stagnation and have the lymphatic system draining properly while the liver can detox itself and rid the body of toxins naturally.

In my next blog post I will be giving you the perfect detox remedy that will get your metabolism kick started and have you feeling more alive in as little as three days, with my very own three day juicing detox.

Stay tuned.

Yours in health and fitness

Aaron Buchan

 

PERSONAL TRAINER TUITION & MENTORING

Personal Trainer Tuition

I often find myself visiting other gyms to see what they offer and how trainers train their clients. I found that during my studies of becoming a personal trainer, although we learn the basics of training and motivating our clients the one thing that we aren’t taught and what lacks in college is:

-          Business skills

-          Sales skills

-          Prospecting skills

-          Advanced postural assessments

-          Advanced practical skills

-          Nutrition

I started mentoring trainers quite a number of years ago, and developed my very own mentoring program which goes through all the “other” necessary components of becoming a top performing personal trainer, that also knows about the essential business knowledge of not only growing and retaining a client database but building and sustaining a successful business.

I am a firm believer in postural alignment and rehabilitation and believe that it is a necessary component and an added value service to clients that will give them the best results possible. Correcting a client’s posture prior to strength training not only makes them feel more revitalised, and feeling better about themselves, it prevents injury and gives them more of an educational experience in the process of training.

This is an example of an added value service that can be sold as an add on package or incorporated into your personal training packages that will give your clients extra perceived value, build loyalty, and referral systems.

Being an industry leader for over nine years and now growing my own successful brand I have been fortunate enough to learn and grow, and learn from other industry experts. I have recently developed and build the Cross Training System Brand which includes:

-          Cross Training Systems

-          Cross Training Personal Training Tuition

-          Cross Training Systems Nutrition System

-          Cross Training Systems Social Club/Events

-          Cross Training Systems Lifestyle Tours

-          And just recently my very own weight loss and nutrition seminars 6 Steps to Optimal Health

The skills that I give personal trainers through my twelve week mentoring program will give trainers all necessary skills that will advance their careers to a top level personal trainer that will be not only enable them to be proficient in offering their clients with the most advanced services around but also provide trainers will the skills to grow a profitable business and brand.

I am known as the entrepreneur to the fitness industry and am now sharing my secrets to being a successful personal trainer and business person to mentor aspiring personal trainers alike to become the savviest personal trainers and business people around.

To find out more information and to read the testimonials from other personal trainers that I have mentored follow this link www.crosstrainingsystems.com.au/trainer-tuition/

Yours in health and fitness

Aaron Buchan

HOW TO GET MOTIVATED TO LOSE WEIGHT

HOW TO GET MOTIVATED TO LOSE WEIGHT

I often see those motivational quotes floating around social media that talk about becoming motivated to succeed, whether it be in love, career, business, study, exercise, health, weight loss, muscle gain, wellbeing etc. And I have to admit I think that they do a world of good, but it always makes me wonder if the person sharing it, is the person that actually needs the motivation themselves.

I think the biggest challenge I am faced with when it comes to my weight loss clients is motivation. It seems that most people think that they need motivation first before they do something, opposed to doing something and then becoming motivated. It always takes the first big leap of faith before motivation actually kicks in.

Motivation stimulates desire and energy. Sometimes we want something more than anything however we just don’t know how to attain it, as we lack motivation to stick with it. Motivation and weight loss go hand in hand with each other, and I don’t necessarily think that it has to do with the fact that we lack motivation; it is a lack of knowing how to access and attain the motivation to be able to strive forward.

For instance, if you want to lose weight and become fit and healthy, that isn’t just a want, it is a goal. But if you don’t do anything about it – that isn’t necessarily a lack of motivation, because the thought of wanting to achieve weight loss goals is moving towards motivation, it’s just that attaining it seems to be harder than it appears.

In my experience dealing with weight loss, coaching my clients to access their motivation, and helping to motivate them I have found the biggest setback is most people wait for motivation to come knocking on their front door with a big sign that says “Hi my name is motivation and I am here to kick your butt into gear.”

But what people aren’t realising is the fact that you want to attain something, that is actually motivation, the actual thing that you are lacking is, drum roll please – HABIT.

It’s a natural process we are trained to be robots of comfort and habit. When we don’t know a certain way to be because we have never been that way before, it can be daunting, it pushes the mind out of the comfort zone where it doesn’t feel comfortable, leading to a lot of self-talk doubt such as “I’ll start tomorrow” “who are you to think that you can lose weight” “it’s just genetics, I’ve been like this my whole life” The self-sabotage is coming because you have your set routine, your set habit, meaning that the mind becomes uncomfortable at making change.

It takes 21 days to break an old habit and form a new habit, meaning that most people mistake having a set routine and habit around achieving goals because it isn’t actually a habit yet. The feeling of motivation comes from having a habit and routine in place.

When I first starting working out and focussing on my health and wellbeing, in the beginning it was hard waking up in the mornings to exercise, and I did want to sleep in or eat that cheat meal, but I pushed through and after 3 months I was more motivated than ever to keep focusing on my health and wellbeing because one I was seeing results, two I was reaping the benefits but three I had formed a habit and it was now a part of my lifestyle.

So when you’re waiting for motivation to come knocking at your door remember you already have your goal in place, meaning motivation is already there, your comfort zone, and old habits are fighting you to stay in your regular routine. Mix it up a bit, I dare you to try exercising every day, and eating health every day for 21 days, and you see what happens after that.

Head over to my website www.crosstrainingsystems.com.au to get exercise ideas or visit my Facebook page CTS5N nutrition for loads of nutrition information and healthy meal options to get you moving towards creating habits to succeed at your weight loss goals.

Yours in health and fitness

Aaron Buchan

 

 

HOW TO CORRECT BAD POSTURE

HOW TO CORRECT AND PREVENT BAD POSTURE

Nobody wants to look like the hunchback of Notre Dame but because we have adapted certain patterns when we move the brain and spine remember these patterns and it becomes normal for the body to hold itself in particular positions – resulting in bad posture.

Posture is the position in which you hold your body upright against gravity while standing, sitting or lying down. Good posture is used to put the least amount of strain on muscles, ligaments, the spine and musculoskeletal system as well as during movement and weight bearing activities.

-       Your posture helps prevent the spine from becoming fixed in abnormal positions

-       Prevents strain

-       Prevents backache and muscular pain

-       Decreases strength on ligaments that hold the joints together

-       Keeps bones and joints in the correct alignment

What does bad posture look like and can you relate to any of these pictures?

 

 

It may feel comfortable to stand and sit a certain way even when we are in a “bad” posture position and that is because we have adapted those ways over a period of time making it to appear comfortable, because it has become a habit – so when we try to correct our posture the reason why it feels weird and uncomfortable is because we are not “used” to standing and or sitting in this certain way. A great analogy for this is much like a cigarette smoker – the smoker smokes out of habit, so when the smoker stops smoking it feels uncomfortable and it takes months to break the habit.

Having good posture not only makes you look good but it has many medicinal benefits such as:

-       Protecting the musculoskeletal system

-       Makes you feel good and happy

-       Prevents medical ailments

-       Increases longevity

-       Decreases the chances of injury

-       Decreases the chances of many health ailments

In today’s blog I am going to give you specific postural alignment exercises that are specific to correct these types of bad postures:

 

 

A really good way to really look into your posture and ways to identify and correct your bad posture and movements is through postural alignment therapy. Not only is postural alignment therapy good at realigning the way you stand, sit and even walk, it also cures sciatic pain.

benefits of postural alignment in fixing many ailments are endless and include:

• Relief from, back pain Kyphosis (rounded upper back), Lordosis (excessive lumbar curve), Scoliosis, hip problems, sciatica, neck pain, migraines, sore shoulders, shin splints, tendinitis, bursitis
• Accelerated injury rehabilitation and injury prevention
• Muscle conditioning, core strength and improved flexibility
• Sporting injuries resolved and prevented: knee, elbow, shoulder or back pain relief
• Improved mood and confidence from a healthy body
• Relieve workplace injuries – from deskbound or physical jobs, awkward positions, long driving hours
• Increase sports performance: more power, added speed, greater control and better balance.

Visit my recent blog post on postural alignment and how it can help realign your posture and aid in correcting and alleviating sciatica and the pain associated with it. http://crosstrainingsystems.com.au/miracle-cure-for-sciatic-pain/

Stay tuned for my next blog on my system 6 steps to optimal health which can prevent cancer, increase longevity, aid in weight loss and enhance your overall general wellbeing.

Yours in health and fitness

Aaron Buchan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PREVENTING CANCER & DISEASE THROUGH NUTRITION

 

Disease also known as dis-ease is becoming more common these days presenting itself in many different forms. Cancer being one of them is presenting itself in more cases than ever and in many individuals from young to old.

 

Cancer prevention and preservation of life should be a key priority when looking into maintaining longevity of life and becoming more of a wellness centred society that will give us clarity in our well-being and overall lifestyle.

 

It’s not a lucky pick of the straw and no it isn’t because someone got the short end of the straw – living in denial and making life a gamble with the wondering game of” I wonder how death will get me” is not a way of life nor a way to live. Yes certainly there are a number of factors to take into consideration and god bless due to the formidable circumstances in some cases but those are circumstances that although cannot be prevented as accidents happen – others can.

Preventing dis-ease and other health ailments is a mandatory must, and in order to prevent such illnesses it isn’t a factor of living a way of life that is not cherishing and protecting our temple – being us as individual beings.

Science and research shows that having a healthy diet and maintaining an active lifestyle is a must to decrease the chances of such dis-eases to increase longevity of life and to preserve our youth.

 But what is a “healthy life style” we are told over and over again that in order to prevent such ailments that we should live healthy and active lifestyles, but what is it? How do we achieve this? How do I know what eating healthy is, and how do I know what an active life style is?

Being a nutrition and fitness professional I am constantly asked these questions and it is fantastic because I am able to help many lives by answering these questions to offer a solution in preventing cancer, increasing longevity of life, decreasing depression and aiding in weight loss.

Maintaining a healthy diet is all about eating fresh, organic and non-processed produce. We are constantly hearing about the organic hype, but why organic is so important is because non-organic produce such as vegetable and even meat are corrupted with herbicides, pesticides, chemicals, hormones the list is long and virtually endless. But why are these chemicals so bad and why do they play a pivotal role in dis-eases such as cancer and even obesity.

Chemicals that are sprayed onto soil and plantation are filled with carcinogenic’s – cancer causing chemicals. Not only are they cancer causing but the body can only deal with so many toxins. When the body is over polluted with toxins it can cause things like obesity, depression, health ailments, tiredness, sluggishness, no motivation and has even been linked with the increasing rate of child hood cancer and childhood behavioural problems.

So what makes organic produce different? Organic produce is grown in soil that does not contain any chemicals, and no chemicals are used on the produce, meaning that you get all essential vitamins and minerals that the body needs in order to sustain itself without any harm such as cancer causing agents.

Farm bread animals that we eat are fed the organic produce, and not pumped with hormones, leading to them living a happy and healthy life, so when they reach our plate we can receive all necessary nutrients from the animal. The animal meat tastes better, and is also more tender, leaner and healthier for us.

Staying away from processed food is paramount. Processed food is filled with flavour enhancers, preservatives, added and unnecessary product and all goodness completely stripped out of the process of processing it.

My metabolic typing method allows you to be able to identify what metabolic type you are which will aid in you being able to eat what is right for your body type. Head over to www.crosstrainingsystems.com.au/subscribe/ to become a member of the Cross Training Systems and get your very own Metabolic Typing which will give you the correct information in being able to make a formative decision as to what diet plan will suit you.    

To find out more about my CTS5N nutrition program like my Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/pages/CTS5N/140186089485918 for amazing recipe ideas and nutritional facts. You can also follow my nutrition system on Instagram CTS5N.

Daily exercise plays a very important role in improving your life and enhancing longevity and preventing cancer. Exercising for at least a minimum of half an hour a day should be on top of your priorities list. Depending on your current circumstances whether you have injuries, are young, old, overweight or underweight will depend on what exercise is best suited to you.

Posture plays a very important role when exercising, and you will find more information about the correct exercise techniques and posture correction in my upcoming blog “Good Posture VS Bad Posture”

Increasing longevity, enhancing your life, preventing cancer and other ailments and becoming the best version of yourself is a very long process if you are not fully educated. I have created my very own 6 Secret Steps To Optimal Health & Confidence which is designed to give you 6 simple steps to follow and implement into your daily routine to insure that you maintain the healthiest life possible.

I have started offering my “6 Secret Steps To Optimal Health & Confidence” as an information seminar soon to be held across Australia, but soon will also be available to be purchased as an E-Book. So stay tuned and until then happy reading and health lifestyles.

Yours in health and fitness,

Aaron Buchan