First and foremost, I am not a Doctor or Behavioral Specialist. I just happen to raise two boys who are both on the Autism spectrum, and I work in fitness. I've taken what I know from my experience raising children with Autism and what I know about fitness and combined them to come up with these few exercises that should be beneficial to not just children who are on the spectrum, but people of all ages.
According to Autism Speaks, research has demonstrated that increased exercise can significantly decrease the frequency of negative, self-stimulating behaviors that are common among individuals with autism, while not decreasing other positive behaviors. Behaviors such as body rocking, spinning, head-nodding, hand flapping, object-tapping, and light gazing, that have been shown to interfere with positive social behavior and learning can thus be controlled by the use of exercise.
You may be saying, 'There's no way I will be able to motivate my child who is on the Autism spectrum to do these exercises.' I'm not saying this will be easy, but what is there about dealing with Autism that is?
Set aside a few minutes a day and try in short increments. I think in many cases, these movements will help stimulate something in them that will motivate them to keep going. Do the movements with them, show them, and in some cases if needed, set up some sort of reward system for completing the exercise. Employ the sticker system. Make them a little exercise chart, and when they complete a couple of sets, give them a sticker.
This is not an exact science, but I recommend you give these a try. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
These exercises I have laid out can be tried by children as young as 3 and up to adults of all ages. Be practical of course in regards to a child's age when performing these movements or drills.
*Try some simple runs or jogs.
We all know that kids and with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) love to run and move around. If you look at it as exercise that will eventually calm their minds, it will help you as a parent or guardian go a little less crazy ;-). Take them in the backyard, a park, or even make some room in your home, set up some intervals and run back and forth with them. Try to make them realize that the intervals are the markers are where they stop and turn around. This will help with structure.
Eventually, maybe try to set up the intervals in different markers, have them zig zag, run triangle drills, etc. This is great for agility, and creates a positive outlet for all that energy.
*Planks
Teach your child to have a strong core. The core is the foundation of a strong body, and holding a plank is one of the best exercises for it.
This one can be tricky to stay on top of because it's not movement, it's stillness. However, the still movement and concentration it takes is good for individuals with ASD.
Find some room on the floor, and put your forearms down, then support your body on just your forearms and feet. Keep your body straight, and try not to bend upwards into a "tepee" shape.
This may sound like a tough exercise for them, but once grasped, it can be quite relaxing to their mind. You can teach them to try to hold it for a specified amount of time. Depending on what part of the spectrum your child is on, this may become a way to use that part of their brain that needs the structure.
Try this just for a few seconds. Then try to beat your time on a second try.
I don't recommend very long planks for very young children in general.
*Marine Crawls
Crawl on your stomach with your chest close to the ground. Move your arm forward, then move your opposite leg with that arm, bringing your knee almost to your chest. Try for a smooth and coordinated crawl.
Try a few laps on the floor, up and back a few times.
*Sit and Stands
This is very simple. Find a stable chair, sit down, then stand up. Repeat this as many times as they will do it. Try to make sure your feet are out in front of you and you're using your thighs and glutes to stand up, not your knees. Make sure the knees do not cross the toes at any time. Also, if the chair has armrests, try not to use them to get yourself up. Focus on the lower body doing the work.
Shoot for maybe doing a set of up to ten reps, then if they get into a groove, do a couple of more sets.
Try these few exercises, and if you find they work well for them, I will gladly offer you some more options. It can be hard to explain to an individual with ASD why this is good for them, so don't bother if you don't think it will help. Just make a game out of it, make it fun, and do it with them. Monitor them at all times and if at anytime you find the exercise is getting too strenuous for them, mentally, and physically, stop, and/or move on to another exercise.
The bottom line is that exercise creates endorphins. Endorphins make us happy, no matter who we are or what we have. I find this to be beneficial, especially to individuals with Autism. The happiness may be experienced a different way than you or I experience it, but it's there, somewhere. This should help them channel sometimes negative or repetitive behaviors in a positive direction.
ALSO: Stay tuned to my blog in coming months. When it gets warmer, I am going to hold an outdoor Autism Boot Camp. More info later!
Workout of the Day
Grab a spin bike and a step. Put a good number of risers under that step, depending on your height. Try to make it as tall as at least 2 lengths of your feet, if not taller.
*First, run a mile
*Then grab that spin bike and ride for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, do 10x box jumps on your step. Propel yourself up onto the step, land with two feet, and step back down.
*Get back on your bike, go another 5 minutes, then get off and do 9x box jumps.
And keep going from there.
This is what the sets look like:
-5 min. bike/10x box jumps
-5 min. bike/9x box jumps
-5 min. bike/8x box jumps
-5 min. bike/7x box jumps
...and go all the way down to one box jump.
During the spin intervals, play with the intensity on your bike, making it high resistance, low, medium, etc. Challenge yourself. The workout will be too easy if you keep the bike on zero intensity the whole time.
I finished off the workout with 20x box jumps before I called it a day, but this is not integral to the workout's effectiveness. It just adds a nice ending to it.
This workout burns a lot of calories and the plyometric jumps are great for cutting your muscles up! The combination makes this a perfect workout for losing weight/cutting.
*Note: If you don't have access to a spin bike and/or a step, you can do this on a recumbent or upright bike, and find something else to jump on. If you can't find something to jump up on, run steps instead. You could also be super hard core and go outside and find a bench to do your jumps and use a real bike to ride around.
Let me know if you have any questions!
###
*First, run a mile
*Then grab that spin bike and ride for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, do 10x box jumps on your step. Propel yourself up onto the step, land with two feet, and step back down.
*Get back on your bike, go another 5 minutes, then get off and do 9x box jumps.
And keep going from there.
This is what the sets look like:
-5 min. bike/10x box jumps
-5 min. bike/9x box jumps
-5 min. bike/8x box jumps
-5 min. bike/7x box jumps
...and go all the way down to one box jump.
During the spin intervals, play with the intensity on your bike, making it high resistance, low, medium, etc. Challenge yourself. The workout will be too easy if you keep the bike on zero intensity the whole time.
I finished off the workout with 20x box jumps before I called it a day, but this is not integral to the workout's effectiveness. It just adds a nice ending to it.
This workout burns a lot of calories and the plyometric jumps are great for cutting your muscles up! The combination makes this a perfect workout for losing weight/cutting.
*Note: If you don't have access to a spin bike and/or a step, you can do this on a recumbent or upright bike, and find something else to jump on. If you can't find something to jump up on, run steps instead. You could also be super hard core and go outside and find a bench to do your jumps and use a real bike to ride around.
Let me know if you have any questions!
###
Hallway/Staircase Boot Camp
No time to get to your gym? Or maybe you just want a change of surroundings for your workout. If you work or live in a building with stairs and hallways (and you're permitted to exercise in them) I have the perfect workout for you to do. Especially a few days before Christmas, where you'll most likely be overindulging in food and drink.
Today, I took my class through these drills, and I know they loved me for it. This is based on having 5 floors in your stairwell. If you have less,or more, you can adjust it accordingly.
50x squats (on the ground floor), run up to the 5th floor
40x squats, run up to the 4th floor,
30x, 3rd floor
20x, 2nd floor
10x, 1st floor
*Let's say you only have one flight of stairs, you can adjust it by doing the 50 squats, then running the stairs 5 times, then do your 40 squats, then run it 4 times, and so on.
Want to make this even more challenging? Reverse it, start with 10 squats and one floor and work your way up.
For your next drill, find a hallway that has low traffic. Try to find a hallway that is a good distance, not too short, but not too long.
Do 10x pushups, run the hallway and back
8x pushups, run the hallway and back
6x pushups, run hallway and back
4x pushups, run hallway and back
2x pushups, run hallway and back
For your final drill you will mix jumping jacks and planks. You don't really need the hallway or stairwell for this, but it's good to finish up with some core work.
20x jumping jacks/1 min. plank
15x jumping jacks/ 45 sec. plank
10x jumping jacks/30 sec. plank
5x jumping jacks/25 second plank
*If you have a partner you guys can switch off holding the plank and doing jumping jacks.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year!
Today, I took my class through these drills, and I know they loved me for it. This is based on having 5 floors in your stairwell. If you have less,or more, you can adjust it accordingly.
50x squats (on the ground floor), run up to the 5th floor
40x squats, run up to the 4th floor,
30x, 3rd floor
20x, 2nd floor
10x, 1st floor
*Let's say you only have one flight of stairs, you can adjust it by doing the 50 squats, then running the stairs 5 times, then do your 40 squats, then run it 4 times, and so on.
Want to make this even more challenging? Reverse it, start with 10 squats and one floor and work your way up.
For your next drill, find a hallway that has low traffic. Try to find a hallway that is a good distance, not too short, but not too long.
Do 10x pushups, run the hallway and back
8x pushups, run the hallway and back
6x pushups, run hallway and back
4x pushups, run hallway and back
2x pushups, run hallway and back
For your final drill you will mix jumping jacks and planks. You don't really need the hallway or stairwell for this, but it's good to finish up with some core work.
20x jumping jacks/1 min. plank
15x jumping jacks/ 45 sec. plank
10x jumping jacks/30 sec. plank
5x jumping jacks/25 second plank
*If you have a partner you guys can switch off holding the plank and doing jumping jacks.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year!
Holiday Eating Tips
It's hard to stay on a regimen over the holidays and let's face it; we are all going to splurge a little bit during the holidays. With that in mind let's all remember these tips for making it through the holidays without reversing any of your great progress:
1. Keep working out every day.
2. On a day when you anticipate eating a lot, do a high impact cardio workout beforehand to counter some of the effects of overindulging.
For example, perform a sprint workout. Yes you have to bundle up and go outside.
Do 8-10 sprints (meaning as hard as you possibly can run) about half the length of a soccer field. Sprint on the lap up, and jog back. Repeat this 8-10 times. If you must rest in between, take a short rest. Remember to breathe through your nose when exercising outside.
3. At a big dinner, just have a little bit of everything. Only put a small amount of each course on your plate. Of course make sure you have your veggies and watch those simple carbohydrates! Here’s a hint, serve your food with the opposite hand of which you usually use. For instance if you are right handed, serve your food with your left. This sounds crazy, but you actually wind up serving yourself less food this way.
4. Chew your food at least 10 times before swallowing.
5. Use the 10 minute rule, meaning if you think you must have seconds, wait about 10 minutes and see if you feel the same way. That so called hunger for seconds goes away after waiting 10 minutes. Often people grab more food on impulse when they are not really hungry. The 10 minute rule is a huge help on this.
6. Limit alcohol consumption. (especially on New Year's Eve! )
7. Last but not least, don't deny yourself a Christmas cookie or two, but leave it at that. You don't want to sit there and eat the whole tin of cookies. I guarantee you will regret it. If you think you can't have one without having 15, it's best to stay away and opt for a healthier holiday snack.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!
1. Keep working out every day.
2. On a day when you anticipate eating a lot, do a high impact cardio workout beforehand to counter some of the effects of overindulging.
For example, perform a sprint workout. Yes you have to bundle up and go outside.
Do 8-10 sprints (meaning as hard as you possibly can run) about half the length of a soccer field. Sprint on the lap up, and jog back. Repeat this 8-10 times. If you must rest in between, take a short rest. Remember to breathe through your nose when exercising outside.
3. At a big dinner, just have a little bit of everything. Only put a small amount of each course on your plate. Of course make sure you have your veggies and watch those simple carbohydrates! Here’s a hint, serve your food with the opposite hand of which you usually use. For instance if you are right handed, serve your food with your left. This sounds crazy, but you actually wind up serving yourself less food this way.
4. Chew your food at least 10 times before swallowing.
5. Use the 10 minute rule, meaning if you think you must have seconds, wait about 10 minutes and see if you feel the same way. That so called hunger for seconds goes away after waiting 10 minutes. Often people grab more food on impulse when they are not really hungry. The 10 minute rule is a huge help on this.
6. Limit alcohol consumption. (especially on New Year's Eve! )
7. Last but not least, don't deny yourself a Christmas cookie or two, but leave it at that. You don't want to sit there and eat the whole tin of cookies. I guarantee you will regret it. If you think you can't have one without having 15, it's best to stay away and opt for a healthier holiday snack.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!
Vanity Muscles
What muscles did you work today? Let me guess, if you’re a male you worked your chest and biceps and if you’re a female you worked your legs, thighs, and glutes? It seems to me that in general most men and most women seem to concentrate more on these respective areas.
Why? Because these are the vanity muscles. These are the muscles you see when you look in the mirror. And let’s face it; men are conditioned to think their chest and biceps should be big and developed from childhood and women are bombarded with magazine covers and pop culture suggesting their lower half is what needs to be sculpted But if these are the only muscles you train, your workout is seriously flawed.
You are not going to develop that physique you may be picturing if those are the only muscles you train. If anything you are overtraining them, and you are going to make your body asymmetric, thus leaving you open to more injury and an oddly shaped body. First off, overtraining is not going to help you make gains, it’s counter productive to making gains. Overworked muscles do not grow or develop. Also, any development in those vanity muscles will also seriously be stalled if you do not workout the rest of your body. You will get leaner faster if you work every muscle in the body (yes guys, that includes legs too) at least one time per week.
Doing the same routine over and over is another gym no-no. The body thrives on variety. You will either get bored or your body will plateau and you may stop seeing development altogether. If you did bench press and dumbbell curls last week, this week do an incline dumbbell press and cable curls. If you did squats last week, do lunges this week. There are hundreds of different ways to mix it up.
I know it’s tempting to go into the gym and plop right down to work on those vanity muscles, and this is fine, it just means that you are working those muscles that day, which, in turn means the next day that you go into the gym, you need to work other muscles.
Why? Because these are the vanity muscles. These are the muscles you see when you look in the mirror. And let’s face it; men are conditioned to think their chest and biceps should be big and developed from childhood and women are bombarded with magazine covers and pop culture suggesting their lower half is what needs to be sculpted But if these are the only muscles you train, your workout is seriously flawed.
You are not going to develop that physique you may be picturing if those are the only muscles you train. If anything you are overtraining them, and you are going to make your body asymmetric, thus leaving you open to more injury and an oddly shaped body. First off, overtraining is not going to help you make gains, it’s counter productive to making gains. Overworked muscles do not grow or develop. Also, any development in those vanity muscles will also seriously be stalled if you do not workout the rest of your body. You will get leaner faster if you work every muscle in the body (yes guys, that includes legs too) at least one time per week.
Doing the same routine over and over is another gym no-no. The body thrives on variety. You will either get bored or your body will plateau and you may stop seeing development altogether. If you did bench press and dumbbell curls last week, this week do an incline dumbbell press and cable curls. If you did squats last week, do lunges this week. There are hundreds of different ways to mix it up.
I know it’s tempting to go into the gym and plop right down to work on those vanity muscles, and this is fine, it just means that you are working those muscles that day, which, in turn means the next day that you go into the gym, you need to work other muscles.
Impromptu Boot Camp this Saturday
I've decided to hold an impromptu outdoor Boot Camp class this Saturday, October 22,2011 to get one more in before it gets too cold out. The forecast is calling for about 61 degrees this Saturday, but sunny.
If you're interested in a great workout outside, come by Gilston Park in Catonsville this Saturday at 10:30am. You don't have to bring anything except maybe some water, a towel, and of course, as many friends as you'd like. The cost is only $5 per person(cash, please) for a 45 minute class. At 10:30am it may be a little chilly so dress accordingly.
It's not going to be anything too fancy, we're just going to get in the grass and get to work! All skill levels are welcome.
Here's the directions:
Take 695 to exit 15B to route 40 by HH Gregg (the old Circuit City), veer right off of 40 onto North Rolling Road--pass mcdonalds, subway, 7-11 on your right down to the light at Chesworth Rd.--make a right at the light onto Chesworth, Gilston park is right after the first stop sign.
Not that you'd be at work on Saturday, but...
**SSA or CMS people: this park is located about 5-8 minutes from your buildings.
If you were coming from SSA, make a left off of Crosby road at the Crosby Crossing swim club onto Chesworth road, take this up to a stop sign and the park is on your left a little ways after.
If you were coming from CMS you'd veer right at the 5 Guys and take Rolling Road all the way up to the stop light at Chesworth and make a left. The park will be right after the first stop sign on your right.
Feel free to just show up, but an e-mail or a text to let me know you were planning on coming would be appreciated so I can plan better.
Thanks! Hope to see you Saturday!
If you're interested in a great workout outside, come by Gilston Park in Catonsville this Saturday at 10:30am. You don't have to bring anything except maybe some water, a towel, and of course, as many friends as you'd like. The cost is only $5 per person(cash, please) for a 45 minute class. At 10:30am it may be a little chilly so dress accordingly.
It's not going to be anything too fancy, we're just going to get in the grass and get to work! All skill levels are welcome.
Here's the directions:
Take 695 to exit 15B to route 40 by HH Gregg (the old Circuit City), veer right off of 40 onto North Rolling Road--pass mcdonalds, subway, 7-11 on your right down to the light at Chesworth Rd.--make a right at the light onto Chesworth, Gilston park is right after the first stop sign.
Not that you'd be at work on Saturday, but...
**SSA or CMS people: this park is located about 5-8 minutes from your buildings.
If you were coming from SSA, make a left off of Crosby road at the Crosby Crossing swim club onto Chesworth road, take this up to a stop sign and the park is on your left a little ways after.
If you were coming from CMS you'd veer right at the 5 Guys and take Rolling Road all the way up to the stop light at Chesworth and make a left. The park will be right after the first stop sign on your right.
Feel free to just show up, but an e-mail or a text to let me know you were planning on coming would be appreciated so I can plan better.
Thanks! Hope to see you Saturday!
The Problem With Some Push-ups
The push-up, along with a pull-up, in my opinion, is one of the most beneficial upper body movements one can do. The combination of upper body and core muscles this movement hits in one shot is hard to top.
A push-up should be a staple in any serious exercise routine for men and women.
However, to get the full benefit of it, you really need to do a full range of motion. The problem I see with a lot of push-ups, and this is mostly done by men, is that they sacrifice a full range of motion in order to crank out more reps, or to finish more quickly.
Specifically, when one does a regular push-up, they should lower their chest almost to the ground, but not actually touch the ground, then push themselves all the way back up. I see too many men doing short, choppy push-ups, barely pushing themselves back up at all. These are called 'pulses' and they have their place in certain routines, but a pulse is more of a vibration. A full, regular push-up is with the full range of motion, and it should be done this way to get the full benefit. One should be pushing up at least until their tricep muscle (the "horseshoe muscle") is fully flexed.
I've seen several push-up "contests", where the object is to crank out as many push-ups as one can in a certain amount of time, and the push-ups in these contests are often done as pulses, ie-the guy is not pushing himself all the way back up. I've always had a slight problem with these contests because the guy is not doing a full push-up. He's more or less vibrating, and barely going back up at all. You can spot these push-ups because they become hard to count or keep track of, because they blend into each other and the range of motion is so small.
One should be pushing themselves up almost all the way into a hand plank position. If you want to test this for yourself, your eye level in the 'down' position should be pretty different than your eye level in the 'up' position. If you find your eye level is not moving so much, or only inches, you need to push back up further.
You will get more bang for your buck doing it the proper way. And your "rep count" may suffer, but so what? It's better to do a less, full reps the correct way, then crank out more "pulse" reps the "almost correct way".
Once I see a contest where the range of motion is full, I will take that contest a little more seriously.:-)
But more importantly, fixing your form will be more beneficial to your fitness goals. And this really should be what it's all about.
A push-up should be a staple in any serious exercise routine for men and women.
However, to get the full benefit of it, you really need to do a full range of motion. The problem I see with a lot of push-ups, and this is mostly done by men, is that they sacrifice a full range of motion in order to crank out more reps, or to finish more quickly.
Specifically, when one does a regular push-up, they should lower their chest almost to the ground, but not actually touch the ground, then push themselves all the way back up. I see too many men doing short, choppy push-ups, barely pushing themselves back up at all. These are called 'pulses' and they have their place in certain routines, but a pulse is more of a vibration. A full, regular push-up is with the full range of motion, and it should be done this way to get the full benefit. One should be pushing up at least until their tricep muscle (the "horseshoe muscle") is fully flexed.
I've seen several push-up "contests", where the object is to crank out as many push-ups as one can in a certain amount of time, and the push-ups in these contests are often done as pulses, ie-the guy is not pushing himself all the way back up. I've always had a slight problem with these contests because the guy is not doing a full push-up. He's more or less vibrating, and barely going back up at all. You can spot these push-ups because they become hard to count or keep track of, because they blend into each other and the range of motion is so small.
One should be pushing themselves up almost all the way into a hand plank position. If you want to test this for yourself, your eye level in the 'down' position should be pretty different than your eye level in the 'up' position. If you find your eye level is not moving so much, or only inches, you need to push back up further.
You will get more bang for your buck doing it the proper way. And your "rep count" may suffer, but so what? It's better to do a less, full reps the correct way, then crank out more "pulse" reps the "almost correct way".
Once I see a contest where the range of motion is full, I will take that contest a little more seriously.:-)
But more importantly, fixing your form will be more beneficial to your fitness goals. And this really should be what it's all about.
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