Heredity Is Not Destiny: Do Health and Weight Problems Run in Your Family? It May Be Habits, Not GeneticsWritten by Janiss Garza
I grew up as an unathletic kid. My mother was unathletic, so she just assumed I was too. You see, our family has weak ankles and no coordination. It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized that all this was a lie. I wasn't unathletic - I just hated team sports. I discovered I actually had a flair for dance, which takes quite a bit of athleticism and coordination. Weak ankles? Of course they're weak if you don't do anything to build up their strength. A lot of physical deficiencies that I thought I'd inherited were really born out of laziness and blind acceptance - those were real deficiencies. Once I worked on overcoming those, my body got stronger and I started enjoying physical activities.On positive side, we don't have weight problems in our family. As a matter of fact, my dad's weight is within 10 pounds of what he weighed in high school. Is that due to genetics? Not really. We're just very moderate in our eating habits. More than once I've visited friends whose relatives were on plus side and found that their meals were also plus sized. What am I trying to say here? Maybe you won't like this, but I'm trying to pull security blanket called "blame" out of your grasp. It's necessary if you ever want to make any changes in your life. You have to let go so your hands are open to receive new ideas, information and attitudes. It's a favorite family game to blame genetics for a lot of problems. Weight issues, weak knees, heart disease, fallen arches - if you've got it, chances are so does someone else in your family. People often assume that means it - whatever "it" happens to be - is hereditary. And yes, certain conditions are hereditary. Heart disease and obesity do run in families and doctors do find genetic links. But not always. And there are also times when a family's lifestyle choices can make a genetic condition worse. So before assuming you are destined to suffer from any particular physical affliction just because your father or grandmother did, examine family habits. They're just as telling as genetics. One of easiest habits to dissect is eating habits. Every family has its own approach to food, and it is often handed down from generation to generation. What types of meals run in your family? How big are portions? Does your family serve up hefty amounts of meat and potatoes? Are comfort foods like macaroni and cheese frequent visitors to dining table? Are there a lot of chips or homemade cookies available all time for snacking, and do most meals end with a rich dessert? Then it's no surprise if many of your family members might have a weight or cholesterol problem. While nothing can match taste of your mother's home cooking, you may have inherited some poor eating habits along with heirloom recipes. Consider creating light versions of those rich recipes, cutting down on those huge portions of mashed potatoes and adding more vegetables to dinner plate (and to lunch too, for that matter). There are many ways to lean down your menu without completely forsaking family fare.
| | Programming Brief: Exercise OrderWritten by Chad Anderson, CSCS
Programming Brief: Exercise Order By Chad Anderson, CSCSOne of fundamental principles of exercise prescription, specifically resistance training, is principle of exercise order. Which exercises do I do first? Which do I do last? Does exercise order really matter? From personal observations in weight room, it would seem to many it doesn’t matter. However, if you want an effective exercise program you must consider order of exercises. Multi-joint Exercises As a general rule you should perform complex multi-joint exercises first in your exercise routine while you are fresh. Typically, multi-joint movements require more skill and energy to perform. Such exercises include squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and pull-ups. Nothing annoys me more than seeing someone perform bicep curls until their head explodes, then go right into lat pulldowns (notice, lat pulldowns, not pull-ups…anyone who does pull-ups knows better than to work their biceps beforehand).
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