MYTH BUSTING!

There are two very common myths that people have been led to believe and I have them come up repeatedly in my work, I'd like to draw attention to them and ask that you please please please think before taking these myths on board.

Number 1 Myth:  "I need to do situps to strengthen my core"

What I would say to this:  No offence to anyone who has ever used this phrase but it is Balderdash!  

Number 2 Myth:  "I need to use a weightbelt to support my lower back"

What I would say to this:  Please see Balderdash comment above!

Now these are extremely common and easy mistakes to make as these days there is so much access to information out there that it is hard to sieve through the crap and find the honest truth. And I hate to say it but there are a lot of trainers out there who have very basic knowledge and either haven't been exposed to or sought out the truths as yet or don't have the understanding.

There are also issues of jumping onboard the "things that are cool" train and accessorising the crap out of yourself in order to look the part.  Last time I checked, all I needed to train was myself, just a body, maybe some clothes, leave the shoes at home though! 

Maybe a mate of yours trains in a belt and raves on about how "secure & strong" his back feels when he's lifting.  So you're like "cool dude, mind if I try?", then you're like "wow, I can lift more with this belt on and everything feels so tight".  Or maybe your trainer encourages you to wear one as they think it will protect your back.  If any of these scenarios ring true please please please stop and ask yourself WHY???!!!  

This important little 3 letter word has somehow become lost in society.  No one seems to turn around anymore and challenge what they are being told.  Everyone just accepts, particularly if it is coming from someone in authority or if it is someone you should be seen to trust.  Go out there and find the truth for yourself and then challenge it!

The thing with the situps is that your Rectus Abdominus (six pack muscle) is not your core! It does not protect your lower back and if anything can actually make things worse if you overuse your Abs and cause dysfunction in your system.  You can also do harm if you already have core dysfunction (which is highly likely if you have or have had lower back pain) and are doing multiple situps as your back will not be protected throughout the movement.

Your deep core muscles comprise of your Diaphragm (hence why I put so much emphasis on breathing when it comes to core function); Pelvic floor; Transversus Abdominus (TvA); Multifidus & to a degree your Internal Obliques as well.  Your Rectus Abdominus is a global muscle and is not designed to be a stabiliser.  The above mentioned muscles have to work in synergy (when you have a functional inner unit) to control Intra Abdominal Pressure (IAP) on lifting.  If any of them are out of sync and being lazy or even being overkeen and have become overactive then it blows out the whole system.

Weightbelts prevent you from being able to access your breath properly (creating dysfunction) and last time I checked you were born with a weightbelt, it's called your TvA ;-)...try using it!

If you'd like to know the secret to a stable lower back and a better functioning unit, let me tell you...FUNCTIONAL BREATHING! :-)  It's that simple, well initially anyway, that is where you start...no point in trying all these fancy core exercises or thinking 100 situps a day will save your back.  Start with breathing please!  Once again, please check my stability exercises library for the intro to breathing, My Youtube Channel has my video on it as well and you can refer to my facebook page for an awesome interview link on breathing and pelvic floor.

For further reading on why I hate the weight belt and how it is making your back WEAKER & DYSFUNCTIONAL, yes, I said WEAKER, please look back through my blogs for my blog post on the weight belt and all will be revealed in more detail!

Please feel free to leave a comment below if you can tell me the benefits of wearing a weightbelt. Same goes for the situps.  I'm very interested to know what people's views are or what they have been told.

PLASTIC FREE JULY: DAY 31

Day Thirty One:

Do you often grab take-out meals & coffee? Have you thought about the impact all that packaging can have on the environment?

The 31st and final blog on Plastic Free July. I hope you have all taken something from our efforts of sharing ways to lead a less plastic life. I'd like to thank everyone who shared; commented or liked the posts and hope that there have been a few "AHA" moments as I know there were for me along my journey of discovering a less plastic existence. It is never easy to change and it does take time but very small changes slowly turn into habits and before you know it you look back and see how far you have come. You are not always going to get it 100% but even if everyone made a 2% effort to reduce their use of plastic it would have a massive impact on our earth!

Next time you need to grab some breakfast or lunch and you are not in a pressurised rush to get to where you're going then why not just take a breather, slow down, and dine-in. This way you will save on the take-out packaging and your sanity. Slowing down is something our society does not do comfortably and it is adding to stress-related illnesses. Alternatively, of course, if taking out is a must then don't be caught without your re-usable coffee mug; re-usable water bottle; re-usable cutlery and depending on the kitchen, you could even try and take your own container with you to put your food in, leaving zero footprint ;-). Now that's making a difference!

Make a change...
Re-think your thinking...

PLASTIC FREE JULY: DAY 30

Day Thirty:

Do you often grab breakfast or lunch on the go? Have you thought about the impact all that plastic cutlery can have on the environment?

Why not always carry a set of cutlery with you for those days you grab something "to go". Keep it in your handbag or in the glove compartment of the car. That way you are never caught without it and don't have to rely on plastic.

Make a change...
Re-think your thinking...

PLASTIC FREE JULY: DAY 29

Day Twenty Nine:

Do you love sushi? Have you thought about the impact all those plastic take-away containers can have on the environment?

Next time you plan to have take-out sushi, why not take in a tupperware/steel/glass container with you to put your sushi in and save on all that plastic being manufactured.

Make a change...
Re-think your thinking...

PLASTIC FREE JULY: DAY 28

Day Twenty Eight:

Do you own a credit card? Or several? If so, have you thought about the impact all those plastic cards are having on your wealth as well as the environment?

These little suckers have a large negative impact on the environment in a round about way...not so much about the physical plastic of the cards but more so how they enable us to spend; spend; spend...mostly on unnecessary items that we don't really "need" but do really WANT! Feeding consumerism at its best and creating a large amount of waste (not to mention financial stress) at the end of the day.  We should be spending our money more wisely, or rather, not spending our money as much...which is really wiser! Next time you reach for your credit card to purchase an item, ask yourself this:

• Do you really NEED that item?
• Is it going to positively impact your life in the long term and in a healthy way?
• Is it in line with your long term goals?
• Is it the most environmentally friendly option or are there better options you could be looking at?

If you're interested in saving yourself financially when it comes to credit cards and loans etc then a friend of mine introduced me to "Barefoot Investor", this guy will tell it like it is and cut through the BS that you get fed from banks and large corporations. He may sound offensive at times but it's probably what we all need to hear. Listening to his wise words will save you money in the short term and long term. It is worth sitting down and looking at all your accounts/credit cards/loans and seeing if there is a way to reduce the amount they are costing you. That is what I did last night and I was able to cut up the credit card that was costing me the most simply by paying it off using another account of mine with a lower interest rate. And I will be cutting up a second one today! Even though I haven't technically paid it off yet, it felt great to do and I know I have saved myself in the long run. I also stopped using any of my credit cards about 6 months ago in order to pay them off quicker. There are many ways to reduce the impact of debt: consolidate your credit cards on the lowest interest rate possible; apply for a balance transfer and make SURE you pay it off in the timeframe given; STOP spending on your cards! You will never pay them off if you keep using them. Make sure you put on more than the minimum amount each month. A lot of you are probably already on top of this but my emphasis is on all the spending we do as a society that is just not necessary. There is a very small amount of people rubbing their hands together and just getting richer whilst the poor get poorer. Don't sell your soul to consumerism...as the Barefoot Investor says: "Tread your own path!"

Make a change...
Re-think your thinking...

PLASTIC FREE JULY: DAY 27

Day Twenty Seven:

Are you a peanut butter fan? Does your peanut butter come in a plastic jar? If so, have you thought about the impact all those plastic jars could have on the environment?

I am more of an almond butter fan myself and am lucky enough to have a couple of health food stores in my city that sell freshly created peanut or almond butter. You take along your glass jar, or purchase one at the store, and get to watch the freshest peanut or almond butter you have ever bought ooze out of the end of the grinder straight into your jar. THE BEST! And the even better thing is, you only ever have to use one glass jar (that you keep returning with) for all the many jars of peanut or almond butter you plan to eat. No more plastic waste on peanut butter containers.

Make a change...
Re-think your thinking...

Look out for these machines at any health food store...

PLASTIC FREE JULY: DAY 26

Have you ever stopped to think about what your clothes are made out of and the impact they could have on the environment and yourself?

I know I hadn't up until recently and to be honest, doing some research on it has left me feeling just a little depressed. So many fabrics these days are harmful for the environment, either by way of cultivation (using up large supplies of water, pesticides, forests); by manufacturing (a lot of fabrics are created using all sorts of chemicals and acids); by our daily usage (many synthetic microfibres that are released during a load of washing land up in the ocean and ingested by sealife).

To find out more about which fabrics to avoid and why, click here.

Because clothing materials go through such huge processes before they land up on the shelves, they can even be quite toxic to the human body in some cases. Here is an article that is worth reading regarding the lack of regulations in Australia of chemically harmful clothing.

It doesn't even seem like there are many 100% safe options to choose out there but it does seem that the best options are organic and listed below:

• Cotton
• Silk
• Linen
• Hemp
• Wool
• Cashmere

Make a change...
Re-think your thinking...

PLASTIC FREE JULY: DAY 25

Day Twenty Five:

What do you use to wash your dishes? If it is a sponge; a "disposable" cloth; a long handle sponge or anything similar, it probably contains some amount of plastic and is not a sustainable product.

The best option is a 100% cotton cloth, once these have come to the end of their life (which will be many years if looked after well) they can be cut up into small pieces and put into your compost bin, leaving no negative trace behind once broken down. All these other "convenient", "disposable" options are not at all convenient and definitely not disposable as they will hang around for hundreds of years before ever breaking down.

Next time you run out of dishcloths or sponges please think about purchasing cotton ones as replacements. These can be found on many eco-stores online or most likely at your local markets, even some supermarkets may stock them.

Make a change...
Re-think your thinking...

PLASTIC FREE JULY: DAY 24

Day Twenty Four:

Are you often thirsty on the run and need to grab a bottle of water? All those many plastic bottles either land up in landfill or, more than not, the ocean. Plastic bottles and lids are one of the most frequent rubbish ocean dwellers we have these days.

Make sure you purchase a steel or glass water bottle so you can keep it with you wherever you go and stay hydrated on the move, not at the expense of our environment. Sure, there are going to be times when we will be caught out and need to purchase a water bottle, but make that the rare occasion and not the norm and you're winning!

Make a change...
Re-think your thinking..