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Do you ever find yourself unmotivated to exercise? Are you struggling with your daily routine at the gym? Well I have the perfect solution: Go for a hike!

Instead of staring endlessly at the treadmill TV, look forward to what is around the next bend in the trail. Studies show that people who hike have less stress and more energy overall. And we all need that. You might have heard that hiking is good for you, but do you know how good it is? Here are just a few of the many benefits:

1. Fuel in the form of oxygen: Aerobic activities, such as hiking, provide oxygen and fuel to your muscles and other body tissues. This extra fuel helps strengthen your muscles and lungs and increases your alertness, and energy and endurance levels, too.
3. Lower risk of high cholesterol: Hiking helps increase your HDL levels, the good cholesterol, and lowers your triglyceride and LDL cholesterol levels. This decreases the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. 
5. Improved mood: A walk through densely wooded forests or along a rushing river not only calms your nerves but improves mood. Just being in nature releases you from the pressures of our everyday lives.
7. Reach a goal: Have you ever had a goal that you were trying to reach? Starting out on a trail and making it all the way to the end is such a rewarding experience. Not only because you have pushed yourself up a mountain, but also because the end goal is spectacular.

So take my advice: Take a hike! 

And it just so happens, that I’m leading a hike to Bridal Veil Falls on June 18th.  Learn more here.

written by Flow Personal Trainer, Suz Weston

The Deadlift and YOU!

While there are multiple versions of a deadlift, today we will be focusing on standard, traditional, feet-under-hips, hamstring-loading, chalk-dust-flying, hand-callous-forming, butt-building deadlifts. If this doesn’t bring up a vivid image in your mind, here you go:

   

Today, I’ll have you concentrate positioning of your feet, hips, knees, shoulders, lats, hands and neck while lifting. 

This little tidbit of information isn’t being written to tell you the “right” way to do a deadlift. Because in all seriousness, lifts like the deadlift should be done in a way that is most comfortable and safe for you to perform. So the majority of the time today will be spent telling you the things that EVERYONE agrees is WRONG in a deadlift instead of some form-differences that half the world agrees on, while the other half is undecided.

The “no-nos”

1. The rounded back
2. Feet too wide or narrow causing internal rotation of knees
3. Neck under tension

The fixes or “cues”

1. The rounded back: 

This is Stephanie the Stegosaurus…. poor Stephanie. I’m sure you can see that Stephanie’s back is all sorts of rounded. When we deadlift, we want what is known as a “neutral spine.” Here is a great example of neutral spine: 

Notice how Handsome Harry has a wonderful straight line drawn from his hips to the base of his neck.  This is “neutral spine.” Handsome Harry’s friend, Neutral Nick also has a neutral spine, but you can see one major difference: the height of their hips. One last thing about how they are both positioned: The bar is very, very close to their shins. The farther out the bar is from you when you pull up, the more your back will round, trying to compensate for bad positioning. Here is where we dive into some of the things to fix your neutral spine issues:

1. Hand placement: Here is the hang-up: “Do I hold the bar overhand with both my hands? Do I switch one hand overhand and one underhand?” When you pull with a deadlift, the direction of your hands say a lot of how it will pull on your body. Two hands overhand will cause both of your shoulders to pull forward automatically, but it will be even. When you pull with one hand over and the other under you will have conflicting pulls on your shoulders, traps and back.
   
   Here’s the answer: whatever is comfortable. However, comfortable pertains to form. So if you try to lift and your shoulders pull forward and cause your back to “round,” it’s time to bail. If you lift with both hands overhand, you would be actively working on your grip strength and endurance while deadlifting. If you flip your two hands, it would be easier to grip as the bar wouldn’t have a direction to escape your fingers. Remember, the way your hands are placed allows you to keep your shoulders pinned back and your spine straight.
2. Shoulder placement: You should feel as if you are trying to pinch a pencil between your shoulder blades. If you feel as though you’re hunched over and your back is rounded, you should allow your traps to relax. Another way to help keep your shoulders pinned back is to activate your lats, (Latissimus dorsi) — those muscles in your back under your armpits that you use when you’re doing pull-ups.
   
3. Foot placement: Have you ever seen people pull a deadlift and their arms were touching their legs? Or they were extremely wide? Or any other kind of pull you’ve seen on “CrossFit Fails” videos where their legs looked to be doing something strange? Well because we are talking about traditional deadlift right now, there is only one answer to the question, “Where do my feet go?” UNDER YOUR HIPS! or just a little wider. The reason is so that we can create a proper form of tension throughout our knees when we are driving through our heels and pulling up. When pulling a deadlift, If your knees look like the ones on the left of the photo, you’re probably on your toes due to weight being too far forward, rounding your back because you’re off balance and generally questioning all of your life decisions up to the point where your spine snaps. FEAR NOT!
   
   Quick fix: While you are standing with your feet under your hips, try keeping your toes pointed forward and rotating your knees outward, but don’t let your feet slide. Feel that? Your heels driving into the floor, your butt muscles turning on — what a beautiful sensation.

• Neck tension: Quite simply put, neck tension is what I’m talking about when you see someone try to pull a deadlift from the ground and you can see their face straight-on making a screaming facial expression at you while you’re on the elliptical. Or this…
  When it comes to your neck and face, relax it. When you are at the bottom of your lift, you should be staring at the floor. And as you stand up, your neck should stay in that neutral position so that at the top of your lift, you are now looking forward. Also, another neck issue is trying to “check your form” by looking sideways into a mirror. STOP! It’s awful for you, your neck and your form. If you want input on your form, ask a trainer, someone who you’ve seen deadlift correctly or just ask someone to check on the cues you’ve learned here today and you will be fine.

Wrap it up:

So you now know that a correct deadlift starts from the ground up, making sure that your feet are spaced properly allowing your knees to track out and not inwards. You understand that a neutral spine is a happy spine and that your hand placement (underhand or overhand) has different consequences for how you are lifting. And you always need to be able to keep your shoulders pinched together from the beginning to the end of the movement. AND, no one wants to be screamed at while you are lifting, so keep your neck calm and ask a stranger for help with form. Who knows, maybe you’ll make a deadlifting buddy. So now that you know the pieces to a standard deadlift let’s put them into action.

First off, you’re standing facing the middle of the bar. You space your feet out to just outside of your hip width. Next, you’re going to bend your knees slightly, remember just enough to help lower you down — but we are NOT going into squat depth. After your knees are bent, you are going to hinge at your hips, letting your upper body position itself over the bar almost parallel to the floor while you push your butt back, creating tension in your hamstrings. Once you’re in your correct bent-over position, grasp the bar, hands outside shoulder width and remember to pinch your shoulder blades back and allow your lats to turn on.

Now the tricky part: You’re going to stand up. When you lift, we always make sure to be driving through our heels of our feet, not our toes. Driving through our heels ensures that we’re using our glutes and hamstrings. Once you begin to rise, the weight will want to pull you forward. Remember to keep those shoulders back with a “big chest” while you continue to pull that bar up along the front of your legs, keeping it as close to you as possible.  Last thing to remember as you are standing up is to make sure you are extending your KNEES and your HIPS at the same time. We aren’t doing straight leg deadlifts. 

Wow! Way to go! You made it to the top. Now what? Well, you can either drop it like a mic at a rap battle OR you can continue to deadlift by running through the motion backwards. Allowing the bar to slide down the front of your legs while you bend your knees slightly and push your butt back until the weight is all the way back onto the floor. Never stop short of the floor in standard deadlift.

Congratulations, you are no longer a Stephanie Stegosaurus. Oh, and also try to remember to check your ego before you do things like squats, deadlifts or bench press — any lifts for that matter. The most important thing in the gym: Lifting free weights has and always will be about safety. So lift to better yourself, not to impress a bunch of strangers. In time, your weights will become heavier — as long as you maintain proper lifting form.

https://www.dieselcrew.com/how-to-deadlift-deadlifting-techniques

With the summer right around the corner, many of you are trying to figure out the game plan to drop those last several pounds or to add much-needed muscle to a less-than-stellar frame. From personal trainers and gym memberships, to P90x and Whole 30 diets, the options are limitless when it comes to fine tuning your body.

Maybe I am a little biased, but out of all the options out there (except maybe personal training), I am the biggest fan of group training, and I would be remiss if I didn’t give credit to CrossFit in making it socially acceptable to do things in a group setting, which is normally reserved for one-on-one training or for sports teams.  Though our Flow Functional Team Training Program (shameless plug) is not CrossFit, I think the CrossFit concept has made programs like Flow Functional extremely popular and a growing part of the Flow Fitness business model. Below are 5 reasons CrossFit has made group training the norm, and not the exception:

1. Not Everyone Needs Customization: Sure we all come in different shapes, sizes and abilities, but at the end of the day, we generally have similar goals and limitations. We usually want to feel better, lose some body fat, put on some muscle and become educated about fitness. Further, we usually have a weak core, poor mobility and endurance, can barely do a push up or a pull up, and have no clue how to work out.  Except for those with serious health and orthopedic concerns, the above pretty much sums it up for most people.  Thanks to CrossFit, they have taken this into consideration and have designed training parameters that will most likely meet the goals of the masses. Call it cookie cutter; I call it brilliance. We have taken a very similar approach with our Flow Functional Program by designing modules that address the most important aspects of fitness: strength, stability, performance and endurance. (“What about flexibility” you ask? We provide at least 10 to 15 minutes of mobility and flexibility training in each workout.)
2. Death to ALL machines: Thanks to our friends at CrossFit, most machines have been deemed as completely worthless for fitness training. In response, many facilities across the country are now trading in their leg-extension and leg-curl machines for kettle bells, slam balls, jump boxes, prowler sleds and agility ladders. These allow a larger number of people to get off their asses and train with more functional and dynamic movements, which translate into activities of daily living. Further, with the amount of open space gained with fewer machines, you can run, skip, crawl and climb your way to a much better version of yourself. Look no further than our Flow Functional training area, which is well equipped with some of the best “toys” on the market, as well as some bad-ass turf that allows for exercise variety and the freedom to move in every plane of motion possible.
3. Picking up heavy shit and putting it down: Probably one of the things I appreciate most about CrossFit is that it has made lifting weights cool and not something reserved for bodybuilders or meatheads. Thanks to CrossFit, you will see business executives, soccer moms and former endurance athletes (who were told NEVER to lift weights) in tears because they PR’d (personal record) their deadlift and/or completed their first muscle up.  Now people come to gyms looking for squat racks, bumper plates and chalk so they can see how much weight they can safely lift. Now people are becoming more concerned about how strong they are and less worried about the scale because, guess what: Those who strength train can drastically change their body composition. Go Figure!
4. A little competition isn’t that bad: In a generation where people get medals for coming in 1,200^th place, friendly competition is something we don’t see as much anymore. This is primarily due to hurting somebody’s feelings because he or she may not have done as well as the person next to him or her. Enter CrossFit, where you are not only competing against the person next to you, you are competing against the clock, a specific amount of weight, a WOD (workout of the day), an RX (successful completion of a WOD as prescribed by the coach) and your previous best. And surprise, surprise, that little bit of extra push needed to keep up with the person next to you, makes you run a bit faster, lift a little more weight, squeeze out one more rep and think twice about taking a rest, which inevitably lead to much better results.
5. We are family: The fifth, final and most important influence CrossFit has had on the fitness world is the sense of community, wherein everyone truly pushes each other to be their absolute physical best. They enthusiastically share war stories about their last WOD or favorite exercise. They spend time after their workout to just hang out with people they legitimately call their friends. It’s about the closest thing to being part of a grown-up fraternity or sorority outside of the military or fire department. Each person is there to lift you up, inspire you, push you and pick you up when you fall.  And most important, CrossFit is a place where members look forward to coming to work out each and every day.

At Flow Fitness, we are continuing to innovate our services and programming to become the absolute best training facility in Seattle. While we have no desire to be considered a CrossFit Box, nor are we advertising for that brand, we do have the presence of mind to acknowledge and replicate some of the great things CrossFit has done for our industry and to utilize these trends to separate us from the competition. Based on our growing membership, positive reviews on Yelp and other social-media outlets, as well as a member-usage rate well above the industry average, I’d argue to say we are on the right path.  That being said, we have taken an extra-special interest in the community aspect, which we believe will help each and every member surpass their goals in a fun and motivating environment, and serve as a place where members feel welcomed and look forward to visiting each and every day.

Barre classes and studios have been popping up all over town.  Barre3, Pure Barre, The Bar Method, online classes, and each gym has its own rendition of this new way to exercise.  Visit any barre studio’s website and you’ll find plenty of appealing promises: “Develop long, lean muscles.” “Sculpt a ballerina’s body.” “Improve balance and enhance flexibility.” “Reshape your body and lose weight.”

While you may not achieve all of the above, here are five benefits to adding a barre class or two to your exercise routine.    

1)  Anyone can do it: Everyone has different starting points, strengths and challenges, and a good instructor will recognize that.  Modifications for any exercise are readily available. If you are worried about not having any ballet or dance training, rest assured that you don’t need it. Plus, each person can be challenged at his or her own level in class without affecting anyone else’s workout.

2)  Barre’s tiny movements can help you get stronger: Tiny motions, many reps, intentional squeezes and pulses (otherwise known as isometric contractions) are designed to fatigue muscles to failure. If taught and done correctly, this is a good thing. Embrace the shaking if you can, as it’s totally natural for your muscles to quiver uncontrollably – it means you are exhausting that muscle. 

3)  You’ll improve your mind-body connection: The smaller movements in a barre class can bring about new levels of awareness to the body that you don’t get in other classes and workouts.  As you move through class, pay attention to the muscle(s) you are working. 

4)  It’s a full-body workout: Each class is designed to work your entire body in an efficient way.  You’ll find you are often doing two to four movements at a time — holding, pulsing, stretching, for example —in each move.  Every class works with both the upper and lower body, as well as specific focus on the core. 

5)  Barre is kind on the joints: The small, super-controlled movements that take place in barre classes, with mostly body-weight-only exercises, are kind on your joints, and are a little more difficult on your muscles!

In short, barre classes are a great addition to any workout.  If you find them fun and motivational, add a class or two to your weekly mix. These classes, in addition to regular cardio and strength training, do a body good. 

Check out Flow’s Barre Schedule here.

Flow members, we have some great news!!
We have added landmine attachments to the free weight area.
What is a landmine attachment you ask?
Well, the landmine is an amazing resistance training tool that allows for a wide variety of exercises to increase strength and coordination. All you do is place the end of a traditional barbell into the cylinder tube of the landmine and just like that, you have created a multi functional muscle building machine.
We have two types of landmines at Flow, two stationary units found in the squat rigs, as well as, a portable attachment that we keep at the front desk (pictured below).

The landmine can literally train all muscle groups an d movements including pressing, pulling, quad dominant (squats and lunges), hip dominant (deadlifts), explosive power (clean and press), and core. Further you can perform a variety of exercises utilizing different stances and positions such as standing, supine (lying on your back), single leg, kneeling, or half kneeling. Finally, because of the mechanics of the landmine, your are able to move the barbell in pretty much any direction you choose in a smooth and controlled fashion.

Below we have Natalie demonstrating one of the more basic movements on the landmine which is a bent over back row. Most gym rats are used to shoving a barbell into the corner wall of their gym to do this exercise. This not only ruins the wall and angers gym owners, but it also ruins the barbell which really angers gym owners as well as members… Fortunately at FLOW, those days are gone.

Landmine- Bent over Row Start Position

Landmine- Bent over Row Finish Position

Stay tuned and follow us on Facebook and Instagram as we will post videos and pictures  demonstrating the versatility of the landmine. Also, feel free to ask one of our personal trainers to help assist you on the proper use of the landmine during your next visit to Flow Fitness Seattle.