My Langley and White Rock Bootcamps are designed for fat loss, but everyone’s different and brings different abilities to the table. Making modifications at bootcamp is essential to letting your body move in a safe environment void of injury. I always want my members to push through their barriers, but when those barriers are pain from that old soccer injury or car accident, we know we’ve pushed a little too hard!

Modifications, even the simple ones, will keep you injury free and get you to where you want with your body and beyond. There are many sights in the body that tend to get worn down by exercise and living. Among these, the shoulders, knees, wrists, and ankles, are primary culprits and sites of injury. Here are some quick bootcamp modification pointers so you can prevent your injuries from getting worse and still exercise like a pro:

Shoulders, once you get any pain, your number 1 priority is getting them back to a functional level. Many of the pushes and presses may present quite the challenge for you at this point. It is important that you keep this joint known for its mobility stable or you may find even the most rudimentary tasks a walk through painville! For example, if you feel a painful sensation when performing a shoulder raise, then stick with a smaller range of motion and keep your hands below your shoulders at all time during the exercise. Another shoulder modification is doing wall pushups instead of floor pushups. Once again, we have decreased the stress at the shoulder joint, but are still working the chest, triceps, and deltoids. Wall pushups function the same as the original, but you are lifting a smaller portion of your bodyweight. (Think back to your old highschool trigonometry lessons!)

Seems complicated, but the concept is simple, the more vertical your body is the less amount of your bodyweight you must lift!

If your knees have been aching, but you still want to participate in bootcamp or another fitness class, I am here to tell you that this is a possibility. If you’re not quite ready for deep squats, then simply decrease your range of motion and don’t go below a 90 degree flexion at your knee. 

155 Degrees will be painful on tender knees!

Your quads may be imbalanced as well, so putting a ball between your legs and squeezing will ensure your patella (kneecap) is tracking properly and getting your quadriceps balanced during the movement.

Forget the chair though!

Carpal tunnel syndrome is rampant these days as many of us are on computers all the time! A modification for your wrists would be to do KNUCKLE PUSHUPS instead of the traditional flexed wrist ones. Knuckle pushups keep your wrists in a nice neutral position and will strengthen your wrists so you can fly by this problem in the future (plus it looks cool).

Not just for men!

Shins hurting or you have a minor ankle sprain? You’ll need to add toe raises to your bootcamp regiment amd strengthen your anterior tibialis. If the rest of the group is engaged in a running exercise, you can do exercises such as squats, which wont make you feel that uncomfortable pain in the front of your shins.  A little relative rest, stretching, and you’ll be back on the fast track in no time.

Cheers,

Josh Saunders
White Rock Bootcamp Personal Trainer

Yes You Can – begin living a healthy life with a few simple exercises.

Whether you inherited your weight problem, suffered a life-altering injury that caused you to be immobile for a long period or time, or have just made bad dietary choices, there is no time for self-pity if you’re going to overcome a weight issue. What can you do when your weight prevents you from fitting on an exercise machine; causes knee, joint or heart problems; or makes you feel too embarrassed to wear a bathing suit? Swallow your pride and get to work. And it is very hard work.

If you think you’ve got the resolve to do what it takes to shave some pounds off, read on to find out how you can get started.

The place to start is your doctor’s office. Have your physician check on any current health conditions that are affecting you. Also, going to the doctor will allow you to get a baseline on your heart rate and overall health, which will make it easier to work with your physician to monitor your progress along the way. The key to any weight-loss routine is to find an exercise you can enjoy doing and to start out slowly. Ask your physician for recommendations of good exercises, and give them a shot. If you find them too repetitive and boring or a little more difficult than you expected, try something different. Gradually, smartly increase the time you spend at it as well as the intensity of your exercise.

For those who may be severely obese, the exercises to get you on your way would be simple leg lifts, arm raises, or bending and leaning over, which can be done while sitting. These movements provide the muscle strength necessary for future exercises and will minimize your risk of injury. As you go through each day, look for ways to add more movement and exercise. Make it a part of your daily life.

A great form of exercise for anyone is walking. The more steps you take, the better you’ll feel. Even walking from one end of the house to the other is helpful. When walking, start off slow and only go short distances. Each day try to go a little farther but do not overdo it. If needed, take frequent breaks and don’t walk so far that it will be hard to make it back to your starting point. No matter where you’re walking, be sure to wear good walking shoes and drink enough water along the way. Doing these easy steps will keep your body ready for the next walk around the block.

For those who are able to wear a bathing suit and have access to a body of water, swimming is a wonderful form of exercise if you’re obese. As the water supports your body and therefore does not put the usual strain on your bones and joints, swimming makes it possible to move your body with greater ease, which increases your strength, stamina, flexibility, and range of motion. With these improvements in tact, performing other exercises on the ground will become easier as well.

No matter how much you weigh, what you may need most is accountability and encouragement along the way. If possible, a personal trainer is a great way to stay on track and stay safe along the way. A close friend can also help keep you accountable or tag along for your regular workouts. Joining a support group may be a good option for some. With any exercise program, remember that the gym isn’t the only step to losing weight. You should also eat a healthy diet. Not only will healthy, low fat foods help you lose weight, but they will also give you the energy you need to do the exercises that do the body good.

Understanding Obesity

As the weight of the average Canadian has been increasing during the past decades, health professionals have claimed North America to be suffering an “obesity epidemic.” How do you know if you’re overweight or obese? First, you have to calculate your body mass index (BMI).

To do this, multiply your weight in pounds times 703. Next, figure out how tall you are in inches, and square this number. Finally, divide the first number by the second. The answer is your BMI.

A BMI below 18.5 means you’re underweight, between 18.5 and 24.9 is a healthy weight, 25-29.9 is overweight, and 30 and above is obese.

Josh Saunders is a fitness and fat loss expert in Langley, British Columbia.

He is the owner of The Bootcamp Effect and a Personal Trainer with The Township of Langley

Click here to visit his Langley personal training bootcamp website.