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Innocent Choga : Fitness
I hope you had a fit Easter break where you exercised your spirit and body. This week, I deal with a question from a lady into uphill running who would like to know what else she can do to lose weight and shape the lower body besides running uphill. From what I can tell the reader is very much into fitness and I assume her cardiovascular endurance is in shape. Running uphill is a good exercise for legs and endurance, but there is need for variety. This can be in the form of the gym climber, cycling and squats.
There is an interesting fact about squats: The free weight squat is the king of exercises at the moment. Squats are said to be a very popular exercise among body conscious women locally and internationally.
It is said some women are using them to shape and some to build their gluteus maxims. I hear women are squatting hard, while those who can’t stand the hard work and have cash are going for plastic surgery.
For some the intention is to have gluteus maxims that match those of Serena Williams and Nicki Minaj. And I always thought squats are tough.
And to think most men are scared of this tough exercise. To confirm this fact just look around at the majority of young men walking around town who train with weights locally.
Most are going for the lion look; very conditioned upper bodies and seriously unconditioned lower body development. I have noticed with worry that most young weight trainers these days are so unbalanced. Hardcore leg work requires effort, it is difficult but it is a welcome challenge to those with guts. I know I will get a lot of criticism for saying this but it is the truth.
The body functions as a unit. If one is lucky to have full use of all the limbs why should they exclude other limbs?
Total functionality is the key where possible. To quote Aristotle who taught over 2500 years ago “To function well is to live well”.
I had the privilege and honour of talking to Helen Costa Sinclair, my guest for the week. Helen is a body-builder and she is the current Sports Woman and Sports Person of the Year.
Helen is also a trainer at a popular Harare gym owned by a woman. In my personal opinion, as an athlete Helen’s most outstanding attributes are her femininity and yet muscular look, her balance and proportions.
She spots a tiny waist and eight pack abdominals which she says are a result of good dietary habits. Helen trains five days a week apart from the fitness classes she takes.
Helen confirmed that the squats is very popular among women who go to the gym as most of them are now aware of the benefits that comes with squatting.
“Most women are now aware of what works for them. They are wary of some of the non-existent magical benefits that are promised by the ingesting of different concoctions that are sold around. It takes hard work and I think Serena Williams would be a proper role model to talk about since her physique has been attained through hard work, dedication and commitment.
“Certainly we cannot be talking about fake physical attributes obtained through surgery because we are talking about health and fitness,” Sinclair said.
Helen said most African women are accepting what they are and they are going for the true African look; a small waist and a round figure built in a good way. But there are individuals who also aim for different body shapes as their ideals. Some want to look thin and frail while others want to be lean with a bit of muscle.
According to Helen diet plays a major role in this quest to look the way one wants: “Diet plays eighty percent of the part. You are what you eat. You can eat to become big or eat to become thin or whatever you want. The rule is also to eat as much as you expend to avoid gaining extra weight.”
For a well toned posterior Helen advises that the work outs should involve training the lower back, gluteus maxims, hamstrings and calves to give a complete shape to the whole posterior rather than concentrating on gluteus maxims only.
She also advises working the opposite muscles equally for a balanced workout in order to avoid exposing the other area to injuries.
For the posterior she recommends the following exercises; wide leg squats, kneeling glute squeeze, abductor and adductor machine, lying hamstring curls and lunges.
Below is an analysis of the exercises advocated by Helen for leg exercises:
Kneeling glute squeeze is a direct exercise that works the glutes in isolation conditioning the three muscles that make up the whole gluteus maxim (the gluteus maximus, the medius and the minimus).
The Kneeling gulte squeeze is a tie in exercise that works on two neighbouring muscles the glutes and hamstrings blending them, although the hamstrings play a minor role .
The abductor/adductor machine works the inner thigh muscles (abductors) and the outer thighs and hip muscles (adductors) by bringing the legs in close the centre and moving them outward from the centre. The machine specifically isolates these areas thereby providing a more intense workout on the areas.
The lying hamstring curl machine isolates hamstring muscles, the biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus). These isolation exercises can be applied according to the wishes of an individual to tone or strengthen a particular weak area.
Lunges are a compound exercise just like squats that works the glutes, hip muscles, hamstrings, and front thighs. This is also a tough exercise that, depending on the intensity, can produce such painful after effects that one can have a difficult time sitting the next day. So most people might need to select days which they have no serious commitments otherwise they will have a hard time during meetings. I also think lunges can be hard on the knees of the elderly. But this all depends on the intensity and poundages used.
I should also add that for calves women should stick to calf raises and toe presses on the leg press machines as these shape the calves nicely. They should avoid seated calf machines as they work on the soleus which makes the calves look more pronounced and I know most women do not like this look.
Helen’s husband Orjan is not into gym exercising but he prefers walking. Their son Bradley who is sixteen is a hardcore weight trainer and is destined to be a body-builder.
Eric who is thirteen is a swimmer. Helen advises that sheer hard work is the only way to achieve the physical attributes that one desires. To quote Aristotle who taught over 2 500 years ago “To function well is to live well”.
Email: [email protected] Innocent Choga is a six time National Bodybuilding Champion with international experience. He is studying for a science degree in Physical Education and Sport.
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