Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Wvuafm, tuscaloosa.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: You're listening to Fit to Be tie with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 the Capstone. And guys, it's actually just me today. Sheena is out for this Halloween weekend, hopefully doing some fun trunk or treats or trick or treats or whatever the kids are doing these days. But I'm not really alone. I have a guest with me. And really, this guest isn't just some. Some random guest. This is someone that's been on our show multiple times. So without further ado, Charles Burrows, welcome back to our show.
[00:00:37] Speaker A: Hey, thanks for having me back once again.
[00:00:39] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, this is kind of weird. Sheena texted me and was like, hey, I'm not gonna be here. And I was like, oh my gosh, what do I do? And then I was like, well, why not just bring Charles on for the whole show? Cause you've been doing this with us for a while. I mean, I think the first time you were ever on the radio show was a few years ago, maybe three years ago.
[00:00:56] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, it would have been 2019.
[00:00:58] Speaker B: 2019. Okay. Yeah. So you're kind of like step in fitness guru. And so we always have, like very specific questions to ask you about health and wellness topics and things like that. But just to kind of fill you guys in, if you're just now listening to our show and you're like, what the heck are they talking about? We do a fitness and wellness and nutrition radio show for the university, and we like to talk about all things health related. And so we thought before we get going, you know, Charles, I think just a quick little reminder to our listeners about who you are, because some of them have no idea who you are. So quick, give us a little recap of Charles Burroughs and how you're affiliated with ua.
[00:01:36] Speaker A: Yes, yes. So I'm the fitness services coordinator. So I oversee personal training over at University Recreation and also oversee some of the personal training related programs that we do. So, you know, every semester we try to do something, you know, we've got this, I guess, umbrella now called Tidestrong.
[00:01:54] Speaker B: Right.
[00:01:55] Speaker A: And so under Tidestrong, we do a personal training prep course. We have a program called Summer Heat, which is like a six week introduction to fitness.
[00:02:04] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:02:04] Speaker A: But yeah, every semest we do stuff like that. So pretty much all things fitness over at the rec. That's definitely my wheelhouse and what I focus on.
[00:02:11] Speaker B: Yeah, and you do a lot of presentations, webinars, things like that with Willabama. So if you recognize his voice, he's definitely been On.
On the screen. On the little screen. I'd say the big screen. Like a movie star, but a local celebrity, if you will. But, you know, before we get into our show, it is the day before Halloween. And so I started thinking. I was like, you know, I used to love Halloween as a kid because I would always do, like, costume changes. I had all dance costumes. So, like, I would hit the neighborhood once, and then I'd go do a costume change and then hit the neighborhood again. And that's, like, a very distinct memory I have of Halloween.
[00:02:48] Speaker A: That's brilliant. I've never heard of it.
[00:02:49] Speaker B: It's a really great idea because I get a pillowcase or whatever, and I'd go, like, fill it up with all the candy, and then I'd do a quick costume change and do it again. But, Charles, do you have any distant memories of Halloween or maybe something that you like to do now that just kind of gets you in the mood for the holiday spirit or anything along those lines?
[00:03:07] Speaker A: You know, that's tough because it was probably my secret favorite holiday as a kid. And I say secret because my parents did not like Halloween, so I was not allowed to dress up. I was not allowed to go trick or treating. So instead, I would just get really hyped to hand out candy. So I wouldn't say Halloween was probably the best as a kid, but I did like it. Just secretly. Yeah, it was a weird situation.
[00:03:30] Speaker B: So, like, y' all would still hand out candy?
[00:03:32] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, we would still do that.
[00:03:33] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:03:34] Speaker A: Just for whatever, you know, I think back, you know, in the early 90s or even late 80s, some article came out that said Halloween was evil.
[00:03:40] Speaker B: Oh, sure.
[00:03:41] Speaker A: So I didn't get a chance to really participate fully, unfortunately.
[00:03:44] Speaker B: I can see that. Well, speaking of Halloween, you know, what's your favorite candy or Halloween candy?
I know. That's tough.
[00:03:53] Speaker A: Are Reese's considered Halloween candy? Probably not. See, I don't really know for sure.
[00:03:57] Speaker B: Well, here's the. Well, that's true.
I will say this. The worst thing when you're trick or treating as a kid is when somebody gives you a pencil. So that used to happen. I would, like, go around to the houses, and I would trick or treat, and then all of a sudden, they'd be like, oh, here's a pencil. And I'm thinking, first of all, I don't want to think about.
Second of all, it's a Halloween pencil. And the holidays, a day in a day. It's over, you know, so what's the point? But, you know, I Think Reese's would count? So Reese's are probably your favorite.
[00:04:22] Speaker A: Yes, definitely.
[00:04:23] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:23] Speaker A: All things Reese's.
[00:04:24] Speaker B: Yeah. There was some kind of candy growing up. I just remember every time I'd go around to the different houses, I would have so much different candy in there that there were things that I don't even think we have now. One thing I used to love to eat, and this isn't something that I think you got around Halloween, but I used to love candy cigarettes.
I don't know why, but, like, the chalky, like, texture of it, I used to love it. Now I don't even know if you can buy candied cigarettes.
[00:04:49] Speaker A: I think there might be some, like, specialty websites you can get from. But, yeah, they're not common anymore. I remember those. They weren't even that good.
[00:04:56] Speaker B: No, but they were just fun.
Something like fun about it. And then, of course, you pretend you're smoking. Terrible habit to even start as a kid. But anyway, yeah, it's kind of hilarious. But anyway, we have a great show. Some scary little things we're going to talk about related to fitness. So you're listening to Fit to Be Tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 the Capstone. And we'll catch you after the break.
[00:05:20] Speaker A: Wvuafm tuscaloosa.
[00:05:29] Speaker B: Welcome back, everybody. You're listening to Fit to Be Tied, the scary Halloween edition. And Sheena is out. So I'm really scared because that girl keeps me on my toes. So now I'm in charge of the show, so anything could happen. But I do have Charles Burrows on with me.
If you've ever listened to our show before, you've heard him. I talk about fitness and Mythbusters and just all the things, and he's got a pretty big wealth of knowledge. But I think the most important thing is we were talking about Halloween candy. And Charles, during the break, it was pretty interesting. You were like, what's that candy called? And there's one that used to eat as a kid, right?
[00:06:03] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was called sixlets, apparently.
[00:06:06] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:06:06] Speaker A: I'd forgotten that. But these little chocolate balls, and they were lined up in a straight line and packaged, and, man, I just have such good memories of that.
[00:06:14] Speaker B: They're really good.
Well, you know, it's funny, the sixlets, I wonder if. And looking back, are there six of them in a package?
[00:06:21] Speaker A: That's actually a great question. I'm not sure, because why else would
[00:06:24] Speaker B: they be called six licks?
[00:06:25] Speaker A: Maybe they started, though.
[00:06:26] Speaker B: I don't know. So, basically, if you're like what the heck are they talking about? We're talking about Halloween candy for a second because it is Halloween weekend. But yeah, six licks were very good. They're the sweeter, cheaper version of M&Ms. In my opinion.
[00:06:38] Speaker A: Somehow they tasted better, in my opinion.
[00:06:39] Speaker B: I think so. It's all that good high fructose corn syrup that we love to hate. But anyway, so for the Halloween edition, we kind of thought it would be fun to take the show in a different direction. And we always give you guys tips on wellness and how to be active, but I think sometimes we just need to talk about the scary things related to fitness. And when I was doing a little research and thinking about what I wanted to talk about on the show, I came across this one site and it was talking about the eight creepy things people do in the gym. And Charles, in your experience, you've been working out for a long time. You train people. Would you say that there's scary things that you see happen in the gym? Oh, yeah, definitely.
[00:07:20] Speaker A: Especially you think about it, there's so many gyms that are 24 hours.
[00:07:23] Speaker B: Oh, that's.
[00:07:23] Speaker A: That in itself can lead to some creepy things. You know, people are going, working out 3am and they're not totally coherent.
[00:07:29] Speaker B: How do you feel about 24 hour gyms now that we're bringing this topic up?
[00:07:33] Speaker A: Like, oh, that's tough.
[00:07:35] Speaker B: It's a catch. Me too.
[00:07:36] Speaker A: I feel like, I think it's nice because it does offer accessibility a lot of people don't have. But I do not want to be person working at a 24 hour gym.
[00:07:45] Speaker B: No, no.
[00:07:46] Speaker A: There's just things that go on I don't want to be a part of.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: Yes.
I am 100% on that with you. And also most 24 gyms, I feel like have tanning beds and I feel like anytime you're going anywhere where there's a tanning bed, that might be a red flag.
But no, no. And I was reading about, you know, these eight creepy things people do in the gym. The first one on the list was staring. Constantly, like staring at people in the gym. Have you ever noticed that when you're in the gym, people staring?
[00:08:15] Speaker A: I have, yeah.
I feel like every gym that I worked at or just had a membership, there's always like one or two people who spend 10% working out. Ye 90% just staring at everyone else.
[00:08:28] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, and then there's the other side of it, of them staring at themselves.
[00:08:31] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:32] Speaker B: Do you know what I mean? So it's like, I don't know what you do, because, like, for me, if I'm not really an avid gym goer and I'm deciding to go in there, which. We'll talk about this a little bit later. We'll. We'll shed some light on some of the creepy things we're going to talk about. But, you know, I kind of want to, like, know what's going on. So I may watch somebody do an exercise, but you don't want to be a creepy person about it. You know what I mean? Especially with, like, I'm going to sound like a little old lady, but when you're a mixed company with males and females, you just want to make sure that you're not creeping people out. And it can go both ways.
[00:09:02] Speaker A: Yeah, no, I completely agree. It's. There's definitely, like, an appropriate level of looking at someone, making eye contact, whatever, but you don't need just to be, you know, creeping on people the entire workout. It's just not appropriate.
[00:09:14] Speaker B: And it can be a little bit of an uncomfortable situation depending on the type of exercise you're doing. And so, yeah, people just. Our advice is, when you're in the weight room, don't stare, you know, or if you see somebody staring at you, maybe go do a different exercise. So my second one that I found, and this one freaks me out just because I am such a germaphobe, but the second one was people not cleaning up after themselves.
[00:09:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:09:37] Speaker B: Have you witnessed that?
[00:09:38] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah. It is a problem. I mean, you think about. You see people walking around just covered in sweat, and then they sweat all over the machine, literally dripping on it, like, literally. And then they just walk up and go to something else and they just leave it.
[00:09:51] Speaker B: I literally cannot. I mean, you would think that after being in a pandemic for like a year and a half and having to shut everything down, that people would learn to take better care of themselves. And there are a lot of people that do. But we also see that there's a lot of people that just don't think about cleaning up their own mess. And we're talking about, like, not just wiping it with a towel, but, like, I know at the rec center we have some killer spray, like, literally killer, that will kill staff, mrsa, all the things, and you spray it on there, wipe it off. It's super easy. But I wonder, like, what the thought process is. Like, are people just not aware?
[00:10:24] Speaker A: I have to imagine they're just in their own little world. I have to. But there's nothing scarier than walking up to a bench where you didn't even see someone there.
[00:10:31] Speaker B: Right.
[00:10:31] Speaker A: But you just see the outlines and the smudge. Is that word there? And you have no idea where it came from.
[00:10:37] Speaker B: You know, that might be why I don't step foot in the gym. I mean, I mean, I mean, guys, remember I teach yoga and Pilates. It's a very different world. But, like, I don't typically love to go into the weight room because I feel like it's nasty. And I will say at the rec center, just a shout out here to our custodial staff. They're amazing because they're constantly cleaning up. We have such a great staff that watches out for people.
And I just, just. I don't know if it's that way everywhere else.
[00:11:04] Speaker A: It's not. It's not. Yeah. In fact, I. I used to have a membership at one of those 24 hour gyms. I'll throw out the name there, but it was one of the dirtiest places. I swear, they never clean that place. That's so gross. Yeah.
[00:11:17] Speaker B: Scary stuff, guys. I mean, if you're still listening to us, I mean, power to you, because this is really scary. Okay, this is another one, I think that kind of goes along the lines of being a creep and like staring, but like getting hit on during your workout. And I know, like, we're on a college campus, I'm not gonna lie, every time I walk by the weight room, I feel like that happens a lot. But also, I've noticed that people are kind of more absorbed with themselves sometimes. So maybe it doesn't happen as much. But I mean, getting hit on during a workout, it can go both ways. I mean, guys hit on girls, girls hit on guys. You're just going in there to do your workout. Have you noticed that?
[00:11:50] Speaker A: Yeah, you know, I think in general, just like, when you're there to work out, you're there to work out. And there is nothing worse than someone coming up to you and stopping you during your workout. It's rude, really, to talk anyways, but especially to hit on you. It's like, come on.
[00:12:04] Speaker B: Well, and it's rude in my opinion, maybe because I'm just like a fitness person where I'm like, when you're there, you're there to do your work, and people do have time schedules and maybe people do it and it's a thing and that's fine. And I'm just speaking from a little old grandmother's standpoint, but I don't know, it kind of goes along with the second or the. I guess we're on the Fifth thing now, respecting personal space.
I think that this is a really big one these days. Yeah, just, just in general of making sure that you're not getting in someone's way when they're working out or. But also being courteous with the equipment that you're using.
[00:12:43] Speaker A: Yeah. You know, I feel like some people really struggle with like spatial awareness. You know, like you'll be sitting there at a machine using it, and then someone will. Of all the open spaces in the gym, Right. They come right next to you to do their arm curls or right next to you to do their calf raises
[00:12:57] Speaker B: when there's so much calf raises and
[00:13:00] Speaker A: they're right there next to you. Yeah, no, that one gets me.
[00:13:02] Speaker B: Yeah, that one's kind of, of weird. And, and I think sometimes it's just people don't have a lot of spatial awareness or they could be trying to hit on the person and then maybe that's their angle.
So, yeah, everybody just be a little bit more mindful in the gym and find some space that, you know, isn't close to your neighbor. Okay. The next one I thought was pretty funny. And this is kind of coming from us, you know, I mean, we're fitness professionals. I feel like we have a keen eye on movement and things like that. But on the list for the eight creepy things people do in the gym, giving unwanted advice, that's tough. It is a tough one. Have you experienced that?
[00:13:40] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, no, I do see it quite a bit.
I'm ashamed to admit that as the fitness professional, I'm the one who wants to give probably unwanted advice when I see something that's bothersome. But yeah, no, I definitely see that. Something that can be a little bit creepy.
[00:13:56] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. I feel like for us, and this is something that, you know, as a vigilant, I, I feel like as a fitness professional, you know, we're walking by the weight room so badly. We just want to walk over in a very non discreet way and be like, hey.
But we know in our culture nowadays people really don't want to be told these things. But I will say on the flip side of that, when I have given advice to somebody that might be not an avid gym goer or like an older person, that this is something that they're not giving. Used to doing. They're very appreciative. And, and I think that for us it's always in the delivery, but I think in this, in this specific list, it's talking about the know it alls in the gym.
[00:14:37] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:14:38] Speaker B: Which they don't usually know it all, so.
But yeah, the last couple of ones, and. And we'll just kind of go through these quickly because we're going to go on to a break. But I thought this one was funny. Muttering to oneself, like, talking to oneself. But then also the next one was grunting. So I want to talk about the grunting part of it because that is a big deal in the weight room, the obnoxious noises. And I'm just gonna be honest. Like, sometimes your body will want to make these noises because you're exerting a lot of force and energy, and so your body will react. But what's the difference between, like, unnecessary grunting?
[00:15:15] Speaker A: That's a tough one. You know, I feel like context really does matter.
[00:15:18] Speaker B: Right, Right.
[00:15:19] Speaker A: If you're doing something, you know, if you're doing a PR on a squat or something, like, there might be a little grunting, and that's okay. I think it's really hard, though, to say where the line goes from being
[00:15:30] Speaker B: appropriate to being creepy or, like, being too loud. Like, look at me. Look at me. Like, that's always where I kind of, you know, just. Just from my experience, I've had some people come to my yoga classes, some gentlemen, and they will make more noises. And the first time I ever heard it, I was like, oh, my. But then I realized they're a little older. Things feel differently in their bodies when they do these movements. And so it definitely is the context, I think.
[00:15:54] Speaker A: Yeah. You know, if you're doing arm curls, you probably don't need to be screaming at the top of your lungs.
[00:15:58] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:15:59] Speaker A: But, you know, there's definitely a time and place.
[00:16:01] Speaker B: That's right. That's right. Well, I think we need to go on a little quick break, so hopefully we didn't scare you guys too much with our creepy things people do in a gym. You're listening to Fit to Be Tied with Sheena Whitney on 90.7 the Capstone. And again, we'll catch you right after the break.
[00:16:19] Speaker A: Wvuafm tuscaloosa.
[00:16:27] Speaker B: Welcome back, everybody. You're listening to Fit to be Tied with Sheena and Whitney. And today I have Charles on the show filling in for Sheena. And, man, that last segment we just did, we're talking about some crazy things that happen in the gym. And one thing we didn't really go into was the muttering to oneself, because we have this debate during the break of, you know, are there they singing a song? Are they talking to themselves? I'm not gonna lie. I talk to myself all the time. And even walking through the rec center, I'll constantly repeat things that I know that I have to do to kind of, like, say it or I voice text. I know people think I'm crazy, but. Yeah, it's like that weird balance.
[00:17:01] Speaker A: I think there's a little bit more wiggle room to give if they have headphones on.
[00:17:05] Speaker B: Right.
[00:17:06] Speaker A: Because then you can just hope that they're, you know, singing a song or something and they're not just, you know, hearing voices.
[00:17:11] Speaker B: Yeah, hearing voices. That would definitely be the scary addition of fit to be tied then. But. Okay, so we're gonna shift gears a little bit and kind of some more physical fitness things and things, you know, that Charles and I can talk about from our backgrounds. You know, just. Just again, I teach yoga and Pilates, and I've been a personal trainer for a while. Charles, you do all the same similar things.
Very in tune with body alignment and awareness. So I found this.
This other link I was looking at, and it was talking about, like, things that we see in the weight room. That you could physically hurt yourself.
[00:17:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:17:43] Speaker B: You know.
[00:17:44] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
Poor form. And, you know, this is interesting, because this is a conversation I have a lot with our trainers is what is the difference between form that's not good versus dangerous form?
[00:17:56] Speaker B: Right.
[00:17:56] Speaker A: Like, what is the kind of form that's gonna hurt yourself?
[00:17:58] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:17:59] Speaker A: And I think when we're talking about, like, creepy form, something that's scary we see in the gym, it's when I see something doing something that they're inevitably gonna hurt themselves if they keep doing it.
[00:18:07] Speaker B: Yeah. And, Charles, you know, you have such a good awareness of body alignment, and one thing that you've mentioned before on the show is how gravity plays an interesting and very prominent role in our bodies. Do you want to kind of let people explain kind of the theory of gravity and your bones in relation to your muscles in alignment and how it could be super dangerous if you don't have good alignment.
[00:18:30] Speaker A: Yeah. You know, I think one of the basic ways to think about it is that. Well, one, we stand in an upright position. Right. Which basically means we have to distribute gravity throughout our body equally. And anytime we don't distribute that well, that can cause a lot of pain and discomfort and too much force on any given joint.
[00:18:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:18:49] Speaker A: And really what I think is probably the most prone to get hurt or deal with this issue is gonna be the spine, the back. So most of the things that I see in the gym that scare me are gonna be related to people's back and their posture with their Back.
[00:19:04] Speaker B: It's pretty scary to think about. And just to go on a whole opposite side of that, I work with a lot of older participants that have osteoporosis.
And so for that particular population, one of the scary things is if you're diagnosed with osteoporosis or if you have osteopenia, which is right before osteoporosis, there's a lot of exercises and movements that you cannot do based on the position of your spine, like forward flexion with a load. And so a lot of the stuff that we're talking about here is you literally could break a bone if you are in that category and you're not doing it correctly. So I think that's worth acknowledging. I know we kind of have fun the first segment, but, like, fitness is a risk. When you start exercising, we always tell people you need to get clearance from your doctor if you have any diseases that are prevalent in your life right now, any injuries, things like that, and it's for good reason. We want to make sure we're not hurting anybody. So kind of going into this next little segment, these are some things that we see in the weight room, and maybe we don't see them because one of them we kind of had a debate about. We're like, what does that even mean? So we can talk about that. But the first one on this list is lifting weight weights with hyper extended backs, rounded shoulders, or anything but a stable back, which. Charles, that goes exactly into what you were just talking about.
[00:20:20] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. It's. It's so, I mean, if you think about it, you know, I just talked about the importance of keeping the spine stable and stacked. Anytime we're doing an exercise where our back is bending and we're dealing with weight, that's dangerous.
[00:20:35] Speaker B: Yeah, right.
[00:20:35] Speaker A: Anytime. And I think that's one very simple tip you can take away from. From this instantly is if your back is having to round while you're holding any kind of heavy weight, that's an issue.
[00:20:45] Speaker B: Yeah. And just from like a physiological, biomechanic standpoint, like you can bulge a disc. I mean, you need to do things that push the disc inward and not outward. And so I think that, you know, that's what happens a lot of times is people get super. I mean, they get hurt because they're not having proper form. The second one on the list was working the same muscle groups every time, which I feel like this needs a little clarification because, you know, I know a lot of guys will go into the gym and they'll do all the same muscle groups in one day. Can you explain what that is?
[00:21:19] Speaker A: Yeah. So I think what they mean here when they're saying working the same muscles every time, it's to the point of neglecting other muscles. Right. So like, you know, it's. They're talking about the gym bro who goes to the gym three days a week and he does check chest and shoulders every workout. That's all he does. And that is scary because you will develop muscle imbalances that way. And that's where we start to see a lot of entries happen.
[00:21:40] Speaker B: Yeah, it was funny. I was literally just had this like this episode of King of the Hill that I was watching one day. And this really shows my humor.
And it was. When I forget the character, it was the kind of slightly bald headed guy he has on the wife beater all the time. When he started taking supplements and stuff.
[00:21:58] Speaker A: Was it Bill?
[00:21:59] Speaker B: It was Bill. And he was like roiding out and working out with the buff dudes and he cut so big or something that he hurt himself. I don't know. That's really what goes through my head. So basically you need to balance out your workouts.
[00:22:12] Speaker A: Yes, exactly. You need to balance and you also need rest. I think that's probably another part of it.
[00:22:16] Speaker B: Yeah. And kind of going into that, the third one on the list, which we don't really have to talk about a lot, but people that do cycling a lot.
Cycling is great cardiovascular, great for cardiovascular health because you're using large muscle groups of your body, you're challenging your cardiorespiratory system. But one issue I have with cycling and people that won't step away and do other things is the posture of your back. Again, it's that same idea of you're in a rounded position that can put pressure on your vertebrae and it also tightens your hip flexors and then overextend your upper back muscles too, and stretches them out.
[00:22:55] Speaker A: Yeah. You know, we just talked about doing any kind of heavy exercise with the rounded back. It's also true. Doing any kind of long repeated activity with the rounded back. You know, we just talked about the other day when I saw someone on that stair stepper.
[00:23:08] Speaker B: Oh my.
[00:23:08] Speaker A: And they had horrible posture. I mean, their back was almost. It was like a C shape. It was wild.
She was on the very top step of the. The stair stepper.
[00:23:19] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:19] Speaker A: And she was bent so far over that the mid part of her back was higher than her head. I mean, it was just. It was wild.
[00:23:25] Speaker B: You know, I wonder what the purpose of her doing that was because in a cycling class, we'll do things called hovers where your tailbone is lifted over the seat so you're putting more of the work into your glutes. You're, like trying to shift it more in your glutes. I guess that's what she was doing. But I don't know. Your body's designed to move a certain way and sometimes you don't have to. To accentuate it. But anyway, yeah, that was a really scary thing. Okay. The next one that we were talking about, because you actually, when I gave you the list to kind of look over, like, what we're gonna talk about on the show, you saw this. You're like, I don't understand what this is. So the ponytail sign.
So basically, like, when someone is, you know, running or walking super fast, mostly running, if you have a ponytail on and guys have a ponytail too, and it's like bouncing or like kind of swaying side to side that it shouldn't do that. But then you kind of disagreed. You're like, but wait a minute, aren't you supposed to shift your weight like that?
[00:24:19] Speaker A: Yeah. You know, this is interesting because typically when you run, right, you're shifting from leg to leg. Even as you're doing that, your weight shifts through to the outside of your foot and then to the inside. So part of me was thinking, like, well, shouldn't there be a little bit of side to side?
I don't know.
[00:24:36] Speaker B: I don't know. I. I think maybe we could take that one off the list because I think it kind of depends. Like, you would want pretty good side to side movement because that's how your body moves. So I don't know. I think about Jan Brady from the Brady Bunch movie, how she would walk with her hair side to side, and that's like very stiff movement of the upper body. So that's the only thing I could think about is not allowing the body to kind of move through that range. I don't know. It's kind of weird. The next one, which I totally.
I think this is a big one, is called the thunder sign, meaning you're landing with a heavy foot and you're not. Like, if someone's running on the treadmill and you hear somebody just pow, pow, pow, bam, bam, bam. They're landing heavy and they're not controlling the movement.
[00:25:16] Speaker A: See, that is scary because, you know, I just mentioned you shift your weight when you're walking or running. And so if you're hearing that loud clap, that loud sound, that means you're not landing with your heel and shifting through your foot. You're not rolling through your foot or you're not running on the pads of your feet, which also leads to some shock absorption. So if you're just hearing that loud banging every time you run, then that is a problem.
[00:25:42] Speaker B: That is. Yeah, yeah, that's. That. That can definitely shift things, shift the bones. I mean, just. Just very interesting things to think about when you are running. And if you tend to run heavy footed and it doesn't feel good to your body, walking stick great too. You don't always have to run. I know. That's kind of the age old thing. It's like, oh, you gotta run. Running does build cardiorespiratory endurance. It's great for bone density, it's great for muscle strengthening. But it doesn't settle well with everybody's bodies. So. Something to think about, everyone.
Yeah, it's kind of spooky. All right, we're gonna take a break. So you guys, as Sheena would say, go grab a sip of water. I'm gonna say, go grab some candy or sixlets, some M&M's, and we will catch you on the other side. Drill a sink. Go. Fit to be Tied with Sheen and Whitney.
[00:26:26] Speaker A: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa.
[00:26:35] Speaker B: Welcome back. You're listening to Fit to be Tied. And it's a spooky edition of our show because it's Halloween and people do really scary things to their bodies in the gym. And as fitness professionals, we like to shed light on it sometimes in a comical way because I think comedy is fun and it makes things light hearted. But sometimes we have to be super serious about it. And so we kind of been having that conversation of, you know, why you need to move your body in a certain way, why landing heavy in your feet would be detrimental. So we've just been going down this fun list I found online and the next one that we saw, well, on the list, the sixth little thing that people do in the gym that can be super scary to their bodies is relying on the elliptical handles too much. And we can broaden that to the stairmaster that you were talking about. The girl was doing the arc trainer.
[00:27:24] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:27:25] Speaker B: The treadmill. When you see people, like put it up to like a level 10 incline and they're going like four miles an hour, you know, and they're walking super fast and they're hanging on for dear life.
I mean, you wouldn't recommend that to your clients?
[00:27:39] Speaker A: No, I don't think so.
[00:27:40] Speaker B: Yeah, it's A little scary because you could just fly off the handles. But from my opinion, Charles, you could have a different opinion. But for my opinion, number one, it's unsafe because you could definitely hurt yourself.
Number two, you're not in control of the machine, again, making it unsafe. And number three, you're not engaging the right muscles.
[00:28:01] Speaker A: Yeah, I think one of the reasons they find this scary is it can put a lot of stress on the shoulders if you're doing that. So that could definitely, definitely be a problem if you're just sitting there basically pumping with your arms. I mean, at that point, we're not really doing the exercise like it was meant to.
[00:28:13] Speaker B: Yeah. And, you know, we do want increased speed and incline and things like that because we always want to push ourselves to be stronger and better and faster and all those good things that we're training for. But we also need to remember that we don't want to hurt ourselves and then have to go, you know, to the physical therapist, and then we're off for a while.
The next one that kind of goes into this is leaning obnoxiously forward over iPhones, magazines, and.
Okay, I just want to take a time out.
I love listening to music when I'm doing cardio, when I'm walking, things like that.
But I don't really like the whole iPad, watching movies and tv because I feel like coming from my perspective of mind body connection, I feel like you're not fully aware and connected to what you're doing.
[00:29:01] Speaker A: Yeah, that's actually a really interesting point. You know, something that we try to teach a lot in personal training is building body awareness, thinking about the muscles that are being used, thinking about what your body is doing. And so I feel like hyper focusing on a screen can honestly be a little bit detrimental to the work you're actually doing.
[00:29:21] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And I also feel like it does take your mind off of the actual exercises that you're doing. Again, I'm gonna go back to safety. Going to the elliptical handrails. It could be super unsafe. But if that is your motivation to get. Get on a bike and ride, and that's something that you feel comfortable doing, we're not telling you not to just be careful, be aware, be vigilant, make sure you're not.
Not flying off the handles. Okay, so I was only going to pick one more from this list, and then we'll get into some other things, but plank form. And I'm just going to broaden this more into push up form.
This one thing on the list, it says that plants look more like downward facing dogs. So if you've ever taken yoga, you know, a downward facing dog is your butt is up in the air because you're providing a stretch for your body and strengthen your shoulders.
So, Charles, when you think about planks in the gym and the ways that people do different types of planks, I mean, like, what have you seen out there?
[00:30:23] Speaker A: You know, I've seen a lot of variations. One of them is, you know, your rear end's way up in the air.
[00:30:28] Speaker B: Right.
[00:30:28] Speaker A: Trying to mimic a downward dog.
And that's definitely problematic. Right. Because at that point, you're not really working your core very well. Although, really, one that I think I see more often, at least more often in people that are, you know, they consider themselves regular gym goers is almost the exact opposite, where they're forward rotating their spine excessively, and they're almost creating this, like, U shape with their back. That happens a lot.
[00:30:54] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:55] Speaker A: Because they feel like, oh, well, I can't send my rear end way up, so I'm going to do the opposite and drop my hips to the ground. At that point, we're not even really using our abs anymore.
[00:31:02] Speaker B: No. It's interesting with a plank because there's a lot of factors. You know, it's a full body hold. I mean, every muscle is engaged. It creates this isometric balance in your body. And so one thing, just a quick little tip that I would tell our listeners is hip alignment. And, like, where your pelvis is in space and making sure if your hips are in a neutral position, you'll feel your abs kick on. It's like, instantly. Once you shift your hips into the right position, your abdominals kick on, and it takes the load off of your low back. The other thing I always think about is the chest muscles. And I always notice when people don't have a strong chest or strong awareness of their upper back, they'll have a valley in their shoulder blades. Like, it'll dip down. Have you seen that before?
[00:31:44] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I think it goes with that U shape. Definitely. I feel like that happened a lot.
[00:31:48] Speaker B: Yeah. So y' all just watch your form on some of your things. And if you happen to see us in the weight room or walking by and we want to give you our advice on things, just know it's in, it's in. It's coming from a good place.
Okay. So all that can be super intimidating. I think, just if you're listening to us and you want to get in the gym, but unfortunately, we've scared you to death. I Do think that gym anxiety is a real thing?
I know I deal with it. I would rather be in a yoga studio than in the gym.
And Charles, specifically for you, working with personal trainers, have you noticed that with our clients?
[00:32:25] Speaker A: Absolutely. And I do think it's a problem, not just because when it's real, but also I think a lot of fitness professionals don't realize it. They're so used to the gym atmosphere that they forget that it is a thing, and they have a hard time empathizing with that. And I think that's a problem as well.
[00:32:42] Speaker B: I think it's that way. Even for our instructors that teach classes, the gym is intimidating. But also going to a group exercise studio with all these people facing a mirror, you know, that that can be intimidating. I thought this was interesting. I found some. Some fun little info on Pure Gym, and it said that 25% of non gym goers would rather be in a room with a spider than go to the gym alone. Which I'm cool with spiders, you know, whatever. But it's kind of interesting that somebody would say they would rather be in a room with a spider than go to the gym.
[00:33:16] Speaker A: Yeah. You know, it's got to make us as fitness people, it's got to make us question what we're doing to try to make the gym more inviting.
[00:33:22] Speaker B: Right.
[00:33:23] Speaker A: Because that's kind of scary to think about. Right. Is like, if, you know, what are we doing, what kind of environment are we promoting that's causing those kind of fears.
[00:33:31] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, that's very true. And I think, you know, some gyms are very bro centered. Like, I have that mindset of, like, again, going back to king of the hill with the guys getting jacked up on the supplement. And if that's your thing, go for it. You know, it is what it is. But I do think nowadays we're trying to. To increase the culture to be more welcoming to everybody. And I will say I have seen more females in the gym lifting weights than I've ever seen in my entire life.
[00:34:00] Speaker A: That's great. That's good to see.
[00:34:02] Speaker B: Definitely been a culture with that. I thought this was kind of interesting.
People are afraid of going to a gym because they might look stupid in front of other people. I think that's all of us. Nobody really wants to. To look stupid. But one bit of advice I would give you guys is most of the time when people are working out, they're kind of only focused on themselves.
[00:34:22] Speaker A: You know, we joked about the person who is staring.
I would say most of the time that's not happening. I would say most of the time, people are so caught up in their own little world that they're not actually paying attention to what's going on around them. And so I think a lot of times I'll say myself, you know, I've been working out, and then I lock eyes with someone and I realized I was.
I was staring, but I had no idea.
[00:34:44] Speaker B: Right, right.
[00:34:44] Speaker A: I was in my own little world and had no idea. So I think most of the time, you know, we worry about people looking at us, but I think most people are locked up in their own world. They're not actually paying attention to it.
[00:34:55] Speaker B: I think so, too. I think so, too. And, Charles, I'm kind of curious, like, what advice would you give somebody that wants to start working out and is kind of scared to do it, is scared to go into the gym? I mean, where do they start? What do they do?
[00:35:08] Speaker A: Yeah. So I. First off, I would try to find unconventional times to go to the gym, if you can.
[00:35:13] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:35:13] Speaker A: You know, usually the busiest times are going to be right after work from, you know, the rec center is a little bit different because we have students, but generally from 4pm to 8pm Those are prime hours. And so if you got a little bit anxiety going to the gym, I really wouldn't recommend going at that time. Or if you do, try to find something off to the side that maybe isn't being used as much or try a class where it's a bit more structured and you're doing the same thing as everyone else.
[00:35:41] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:35:42] Speaker A: So that'd be one tip. Right there is try to avoid those peak periods where it's just super packed.
[00:35:47] Speaker B: I think that's a really good point. And I didn't even think about that because in my mind, I was kind of thinking about, like, you know, kind of set your goals, like the typical things. But that's right, because I think the most intimidating thing is when there's lots of people in the gym.
Some people may not mind that because maybe it kind of camouflages you a little bit. And so maybe that would work better for you.
I think just knowing that you're not the only person that's scared to go into a gym.
I will speak for myself. I've been doing this for a very long time, and I am not 100% comfortable in a weight room. Not only because of the germs, but also because the strength equipment can sometimes be a little daunting to. To adjust for yourself. And it changes. And there's different types and Knowing, like, what your adjustment needs to be for your body and your alignment, that can be a little intimidating as well.
[00:36:37] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's a good point. I think one thing that you can can do is do it. Do a little research before you go. You know, look up common machines. One thing that you're going to find listeners is that almost every gym has a lot of the same exact machines. And if you can learn to identify those machines, that's gonna make it a lot easier. All of a sudden, you're just trying to identify something. You've done your research and you go up and then you just do it.
And when in doubt, always choose a lower weight. Don't be scared of not doing enough.
Choose a low weight, crush it, and then worry about changing.
[00:37:09] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that's great advice.
I think that's awesome. So we're gonna take a quick break, and then we'll finish it up on the other side. You're listening to Fitzbetai with Sheena Whitney on 90.7 the Capstone.
[00:37:25] Speaker A: Wvuafm tuscaloosa.
[00:37:34] Speaker B: Welcome back. You're listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Whitney. And Charles has been an amazing guest on the show. Actually co host on the show, I would say. Hey, yay. Yeah.
And we've just been trying to lighten the mood a little bit about the gym. I know we went into it talking about all the scary things, and they're of kind. Could be some scary things like staff and mrsa, but really it comes down to we want the gym to be a place that you feel welcomed, you understand the equipment. And some of the advice that we would give you if you're nervous about going into the gym is do your research. Pick a good time of day that works for you, and just know that you're probably not the only one going in there working out for the very first time. Yeah, you know, Exactly. All right, Charles. So closing out the show, Sheena and I always ask our guests us a question.
We've already asked you this question when you were on about a month ago, but I'm gonna ask you again because I'm curious if anything has changed. What gets you hyped or pumped?
Do you remember your answer from last time?
[00:38:32] Speaker A: I feel like I gave, like, a song.
[00:38:36] Speaker B: Does that sound right? I actually remember this because me and China thought it was hilarious.
You actually said that despacito was like. You're like, I love this song or whatever. We're like, really very interesting. But I feel like you said something else. But I Just remember, Despacito, you were like, that song, like, is my jam.
[00:38:52] Speaker A: Yes, that was my hype song. So that is still a song that gets me hyped. You know, I think more so in, like, a broader sense, what gets me hyped going to the gym is gonna be like my own clients, as we're as cheesy as that might be to say. But that really does help, because I think I realized that if I'm not able to. To walk the walk, it's a lot harder to talk the talk. And so when I'm working with clients on a regular basis, and I know that I need to be doing stuff that's going to help improve their health, I know that I need to be doing that for myself. And so that's kind of a cheat way to be hyped. But, like, when this is my job and there's definitely a certain level of, I guess, hype that comes with that, knowing that I've got to do this or I can't really expect them to do it.
[00:39:35] Speaker B: I agree with that. I mean, that's a. I mean, that's just a great way. You know, we get into this field because there's something that draws us to it. It makes us feel good. We can help other people. But then the education, the knowledge that you get from other professionals and learning about the body, because we're always learning new things to make ourselves better. But, yeah, you have to walk the walk. And I think I would put myself in the same category. I love to go in the studio. I love to hop on a reformer, watch a video, and try to figure out how my body's moving that day. So that can transform, transfer those skills over to my clients. So I think that that's legit. So six slits for candy, despacito, and training clients get you hyped. That's right. That's right.
All those things. Well, guys, thanks for listening to our show today. Fit to be tied on 9.7, the capstone. We hope that you guys have a wonderful Halloween and you eat lots of candy, and we will see you all next week.
[00:40:30] Speaker A: Wvuafm, tuscaloosa.
