Does this scenario sound familiar? You walk into the gym, show the front desk clerk your membership card, throw your gym bag in a locker, jump on the stationary bike for 5 minutes keeping your heart rate in that "fat burning" zone, and then hit the machines for your workout. I've worked out consistently for the past 38 years, and yes, this is how the overwhelming majority of people begin their workouts. Little, if any, thought is given to the importance of flexibility work. Yet a proper warm-up before engaging in an intense training routine is crucial for decreasing your risk of sustaining an acute injury that can sideline you for months.
Every session should begin with some soft tissue therapy. For a more in-depth explanation about soft tissue work, please read our July post on this subject. Here, I'll just mention that taking 10 minutes or so with a foam roller, massage stick and/or tennis ball is imperative to decrease the density of your muscle tissues. You see, our muscles respond to injuries, as well as to intense training, by increasing their thickness. Visualize tying a few small knots in a flat shoelace and you'll get the picture of how your muscles look. Think of the foam roller, massage stick and tennis ball as tools to untie these knots.
Once you've finished your soft tissue work, you're now ready for a little elasticity training. Here it's best to start with some static stretching. Static: slow, non-bouncy movements. Your goal is to take these slightly warmed-up muscles through a progressively fuller range of motion. Doing your stretches when the muscles are more thoroughly warmed up may not change the actual length of the tissue and increase joint flexibility. This time think of a cold rubber band. If you knead the rubber band in your hand for a few minutes (the soft tissue part) and then slowly stretch it, you can permanently change its length. If the band is already very pliable (warmed -up), you can stretch it, but it will return to its previous length.
Take this part of your workout very seriously--don't just go through the motions (guys, I'm talking mainly to you here). Your foam rolling and stretching should both be somewhat uncomfortable; not painful, just uncomfortable. If it's not a little bothersome, slow down, apply a little more pressure, and do it again. Once you get this part of your warm-up routine down, it should take only about 10-12 minutes. Now is the time for that 5 minute stationary bike ride. Or, much better yet, do 3-4 minutes of bodyweight exercises like we did in P.E. Jumping jacks, prisoner squats, lunges, and toes touches come to mind.
So does all this really relate to fat loss. Definitely! The overall goal of your exercise routine is to improve movement quality while reducing your risk of injury. If you do this, you'll move more efficiently and effortlessly, allowing you to work out longer and with increasingly greater intensity. Moving better and moving longer will allow you to incinerate body fat.
Today's action item: Purchase a good foam roller. The molded ones sold by www.performbetter.com are about $20-$25, and will last for several years with normal use. They also come with an instructional DVD. If you purchase one locally, you can call us here at Success Health & Fitness and we'll run you through a 15-minute full body soft tissue routine. Then you'll know where you have tissue restrictions that can hinder your progress, and start ironing them out.
Next Wednesday, we're on to topic 6: strength training. After eating clean, this is the part of the program you MUST do for sustained fat loss. We'll talk with you in a few days!
Move Better. Eat Better. Live Better!
DON
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
THE TRUTH ABOUT FAT LOSS: CARDIO AND CONDITIONING
The early 1970's were a pretty awesome time to be growing up. Television brought us shows like All In The Family, M*A*S*H, and The Rookies. It also gave us the Atari video game Pong, the controversial abortion decision in Roe vs. Wade, and the end of the Vietnam War. Also at that time, we witnessed the start of the jogging craze and the invention of the modern-day running shoe. Coincidentally (?), two years later came a surge in physical therapists specializing in orthopedic surgeries.
For the past 40 years, Americans in all shapes and sizes have been lacing up their tennies several times a week to go out for a long, agonizingly slow run in hopes of losing body fat. But does this really work? Are people losing fat from 60 minutes of jogging 3-4 times a week?
Let's look at some research. I'm going to begin by apologizing to my present and previous clients who are reading this post. They have probably heard me cite these studies ad infinitum and ad nauseum. This first is one of my favorites because it brings home the truth about long, slow running. Pay attention marathoners. In 2009 a team studied the changes in body composition of elite marathon runners in the Sahara Desert. Measurements were taken before and after this week-long event where athletes ran 6 marathons in 7 days. At the end of the race, it was found that the average amount of weight loss was 6.1%. So if you began the week weighing 165 pounds, the scale read 155 at the end of the week. Sounds like a great fat-loss program so far, right? But of this 10-pound loss, only 1.1%, or 1.8 pounds, was body fat. The rest was primarily muscle loss! Remember our previous discussion on metabolism and the role muscle tissue plays in burning fat.
Here's another: In a 12-month study published in 2007, subjects did 6 hours of aerobic training weekly for a year (1 hour, 6 times a week). The average weight loss 12 months later was 3.5 pounds. That's less than 1/3 of a pound a month. And one final study also published in 2007 showed that adding 50 minutes of aerobic exercise 5 days a week while following a diet had "no additional effect on body composition."
So if your goal is fat loss, don't you think it's time to stop the ineffective torture of aerobic exercise? Aerobic exercise, such as jogging, uses our oxidative phosphorylative energy system. This system kicks in after about 1.5-2 minutes of continuous exercise. The downside is that as our exercise time increases, our intensity has to decrease. And intensity appears to be the key to maximizing fat loss.
A study conducted in 2005 compared the effects of 3.5 minutes of aerobic activity (ie: jogging) to (3) 15-second sprints. When calculating the number of Calories burned using aerobic and anaerobic (the energy systems used for short bursts of high intensity exercise lasting up to about 20 seconds) measures, the aerobic group burned a total of 39 calories during 210 seconds of exercise. The sprinters burned 65 calories--an increase of 67% more calories in less than 25% of the total time exercised!
Hopefully this produces a "duh" moment for those of you wishing to speed up fat loss. Your action plan for today is easy. Simply evaluate what you're presently doing for your "conditioning" exercise. The term "cardio" brings back too many visualizations of Richard Simmons sweatin' to the oldies. If you're out shuffling your feet on the pavement, or worse yet, going (literally) nowhere on the elliptical machine, try some interval training. Start slowly and gradually build up. You'll see those fat pounds and inches start to melt away.
On Saturday, we'll take a look at how stretching and flexibility can enhance fat loss. Have a great rest of the week.
Move Better. Eat Better. Live Better!
Don
For the past 40 years, Americans in all shapes and sizes have been lacing up their tennies several times a week to go out for a long, agonizingly slow run in hopes of losing body fat. But does this really work? Are people losing fat from 60 minutes of jogging 3-4 times a week?
Let's look at some research. I'm going to begin by apologizing to my present and previous clients who are reading this post. They have probably heard me cite these studies ad infinitum and ad nauseum. This first is one of my favorites because it brings home the truth about long, slow running. Pay attention marathoners. In 2009 a team studied the changes in body composition of elite marathon runners in the Sahara Desert. Measurements were taken before and after this week-long event where athletes ran 6 marathons in 7 days. At the end of the race, it was found that the average amount of weight loss was 6.1%. So if you began the week weighing 165 pounds, the scale read 155 at the end of the week. Sounds like a great fat-loss program so far, right? But of this 10-pound loss, only 1.1%, or 1.8 pounds, was body fat. The rest was primarily muscle loss! Remember our previous discussion on metabolism and the role muscle tissue plays in burning fat.
Here's another: In a 12-month study published in 2007, subjects did 6 hours of aerobic training weekly for a year (1 hour, 6 times a week). The average weight loss 12 months later was 3.5 pounds. That's less than 1/3 of a pound a month. And one final study also published in 2007 showed that adding 50 minutes of aerobic exercise 5 days a week while following a diet had "no additional effect on body composition."
So if your goal is fat loss, don't you think it's time to stop the ineffective torture of aerobic exercise? Aerobic exercise, such as jogging, uses our oxidative phosphorylative energy system. This system kicks in after about 1.5-2 minutes of continuous exercise. The downside is that as our exercise time increases, our intensity has to decrease. And intensity appears to be the key to maximizing fat loss.
A study conducted in 2005 compared the effects of 3.5 minutes of aerobic activity (ie: jogging) to (3) 15-second sprints. When calculating the number of Calories burned using aerobic and anaerobic (the energy systems used for short bursts of high intensity exercise lasting up to about 20 seconds) measures, the aerobic group burned a total of 39 calories during 210 seconds of exercise. The sprinters burned 65 calories--an increase of 67% more calories in less than 25% of the total time exercised!
Hopefully this produces a "duh" moment for those of you wishing to speed up fat loss. Your action plan for today is easy. Simply evaluate what you're presently doing for your "conditioning" exercise. The term "cardio" brings back too many visualizations of Richard Simmons sweatin' to the oldies. If you're out shuffling your feet on the pavement, or worse yet, going (literally) nowhere on the elliptical machine, try some interval training. Start slowly and gradually build up. You'll see those fat pounds and inches start to melt away.
On Saturday, we'll take a look at how stretching and flexibility can enhance fat loss. Have a great rest of the week.
Move Better. Eat Better. Live Better!
Don
Saturday, August 23, 2014
THE TRUTH ABOUT FAT LOSS: CLEAN EATING
Welcome back!! Today's post is going to look at what, when, and how much we should be eating for optimum fat loss. If you were to do a search on Amazon.com for diet books, you will get 100,186 results. And there's seemingly a diet for everyone: If you want fast results, try The 4-Day Diet. If you're in it for the long run, then maybe The Lifetime Diet is for you. There's a diet plan for Killing The Fat Guy, and one if you're a Skinny Bitch. You can Eat Like Jesus, or if you're not religiously inclined, see why The Devil Served Tortellini. Lazy people may do well on The Couch Potato Diet, and those of you who are more active may relate to The No-Meat Athlete. With another 100,178 to go, it's no wonder people are confused and frustrated when trying to shed unwanted pounds.
Let's first look at food quality. As much as possible, we should be eating unprocessed foods that are served closely to their natural state. Our proteins should be comprised of lean red meats (these usually contain the word "round" or "loin"), as well as wild sources such as elk and bison. Poultry, fish, eggs, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, beans, legumes, tofu and tempeh are other great sources.
Our carbohydrates might include fiber-rich vegetables like spinach, kale, carrots, and broccoli, as well as fruits like berries, oranges, and melons. Whole-grain, unrefined starches (breads, rices, pastas), and simple sugars like fruit juices, bagels, muffins, and breakfast cereals should be eaten in limited quantities, and only at certain times.
And we should be eating some healthy fats daily. Dietary fats fall into 1 of 3 categories: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Saturated fats are those found in meats, eggs, dairy, butter, and cheeses. Monounsaturated fats include cashews, olives, olive oil, and avocados. The polyunsaturateds are in fish oil, sunflower seeds, walnuts and flax seeds among other foods.
Now let's turn to the amount of food we should be eating to promote fat loss. And we're going to make this simple: no weighing your food or using cumbersome measuring cups. Fortunately, the good Lord blessed us with a great pair of measuring devices: our hands. They're portable, so you can used them as a guide when dining out. With our goal of fat loss, and general health, we should be eating 4-5 smaller meals/snacks a day. For our protein, a woman's-sized portion is the size (length, width, and thickness) of the palm of your hand. Men, your portion size is 2 palms.
A serving of carbohydrates is 1 medium piece of fruit for men and women. For vegetables, a serving size is equal to 1 fist for women, 2 for men. And when we're talking about the starchy carbs, a serving equals 1 cupped handful for women, double that for the guys.
Our healthy fats should be fairly equally divided (1/3 of each) among saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats. Here a portion is equal to the size of your thumb...1 thumb for women, 2 for men. Since most Americans eat plenty of saturated fats, our focus should be on adding in the mono and polyunsaturated foods.
Let's finish today's post with a few healthy habits:
1. Eat slowly and stop eating when you're 80% full (or no longer hungry). It takes about 20 minutes
for our brain to receive the signal from our stomach that we're full, so slow down and take at
least 20 minutes to eat your meal;
2. Eat fruits and vegetables in a 1:5 ratio for fat loss--5 servings of veggies for every 1 portion of
fruit. Women, strive for 5 servings of veggies; men, go for 8-10;
3. Eat starchy carbs ONLY within 90 minutes after a fairly vigorous exercise session. This is when
our body best processes these foods;
4. Eat those simple sugars rarely (if ever). Ideally, 2-3 servings a week is plenty.
5. Drink plenty of water and other zero-Calorie beverages--about 1/2 your body weight in ounces
of water (a 200 pound man should drink around 100 ounces of water daily, more if outdoors in
the heat or exercising intensely).
Remember, these are general guidelines that may not produce the same results for everyone. But these guidelines are a good starting point for those of you who are new to implementing a healthy nutrition program. Your call for action TODAY is to go through your refrigerator and kitchen cupboards and start getting rid of the processed (boxed, bagged, etc.) foods. Replace these with the items we've mentioned in this article.
On Wednesday, we'll look into the best forms of cardio exercise for burning fat, and debunk some long-standing myths.
Move Better. Eat Better. Live Better!
Let's first look at food quality. As much as possible, we should be eating unprocessed foods that are served closely to their natural state. Our proteins should be comprised of lean red meats (these usually contain the word "round" or "loin"), as well as wild sources such as elk and bison. Poultry, fish, eggs, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, beans, legumes, tofu and tempeh are other great sources.
Our carbohydrates might include fiber-rich vegetables like spinach, kale, carrots, and broccoli, as well as fruits like berries, oranges, and melons. Whole-grain, unrefined starches (breads, rices, pastas), and simple sugars like fruit juices, bagels, muffins, and breakfast cereals should be eaten in limited quantities, and only at certain times.
And we should be eating some healthy fats daily. Dietary fats fall into 1 of 3 categories: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Saturated fats are those found in meats, eggs, dairy, butter, and cheeses. Monounsaturated fats include cashews, olives, olive oil, and avocados. The polyunsaturateds are in fish oil, sunflower seeds, walnuts and flax seeds among other foods.
Now let's turn to the amount of food we should be eating to promote fat loss. And we're going to make this simple: no weighing your food or using cumbersome measuring cups. Fortunately, the good Lord blessed us with a great pair of measuring devices: our hands. They're portable, so you can used them as a guide when dining out. With our goal of fat loss, and general health, we should be eating 4-5 smaller meals/snacks a day. For our protein, a woman's-sized portion is the size (length, width, and thickness) of the palm of your hand. Men, your portion size is 2 palms.
A serving of carbohydrates is 1 medium piece of fruit for men and women. For vegetables, a serving size is equal to 1 fist for women, 2 for men. And when we're talking about the starchy carbs, a serving equals 1 cupped handful for women, double that for the guys.
Our healthy fats should be fairly equally divided (1/3 of each) among saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats. Here a portion is equal to the size of your thumb...1 thumb for women, 2 for men. Since most Americans eat plenty of saturated fats, our focus should be on adding in the mono and polyunsaturated foods.
Let's finish today's post with a few healthy habits:
1. Eat slowly and stop eating when you're 80% full (or no longer hungry). It takes about 20 minutes
for our brain to receive the signal from our stomach that we're full, so slow down and take at
least 20 minutes to eat your meal;
2. Eat fruits and vegetables in a 1:5 ratio for fat loss--5 servings of veggies for every 1 portion of
fruit. Women, strive for 5 servings of veggies; men, go for 8-10;
3. Eat starchy carbs ONLY within 90 minutes after a fairly vigorous exercise session. This is when
our body best processes these foods;
4. Eat those simple sugars rarely (if ever). Ideally, 2-3 servings a week is plenty.
5. Drink plenty of water and other zero-Calorie beverages--about 1/2 your body weight in ounces
of water (a 200 pound man should drink around 100 ounces of water daily, more if outdoors in
the heat or exercising intensely).
Remember, these are general guidelines that may not produce the same results for everyone. But these guidelines are a good starting point for those of you who are new to implementing a healthy nutrition program. Your call for action TODAY is to go through your refrigerator and kitchen cupboards and start getting rid of the processed (boxed, bagged, etc.) foods. Replace these with the items we've mentioned in this article.
On Wednesday, we'll look into the best forms of cardio exercise for burning fat, and debunk some long-standing myths.
Move Better. Eat Better. Live Better!
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
THE TRUTH ABOUT FAT LOSS: UNDERSTANDING OUR METABOLISM
The average 150-pound adult body has approximately 100 trillion cells that must function together properly for optimum health, body composition, and performance. Nutrient excesses or deficiencies can disrupt this delicate balance. The sum of all these cellular and sub-cellular reactions that build up and break down our body is known as our metabolism.
When we take in nutrients through our food and drink, our metabolism transfers the energy stored in the macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) into the formation of a compound called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. ATP is required for almost every action in our body. For the sake of our discussion, think of ATP as the chemical that allows us to exercise. ATP is also necessary to make more ATP as our body's stores become depleted.
The macronutrients we eat are measured in Calories. A Calorie is the amount of energy or heat needed to raise 1 gram of water by 1 degree centigrade. Each macronutrient contains a certain number of Calories: proteins and carbohydrates have approximately 4 Calories per gram, while fats contain about 9 Calories per gram. And if you're curious, alcohol has around 7 Calories per gram.
So let's take a brief look at how our body uses the Calories we consume. Far and away, the majority of Calories we eat goes toward keeping us alive. Think of what's known as our Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) as the number of Calories we need to wake up in the morning, lay in bed all day, and then fall asleep at night. NO movement at all--just maintaining vital functions such as breathing, keeping our heart beating, hair growing, swallowing, etc. And our RMR accounts for almost 70% of our total energy needs.
Approximately 20% of the Calories we take in are used for moving: walking, working, playing, and exercising. If you are a very sedentary person, this percentage can be closer to 10%, and up to 30% for highly active individuals. We'll round it off to 20%.
And the remaining 10%ish is used to digest the food we eat. This is known as the Thermic Effect of Feeding, or TEF. That's right' of all the Calories we eat, about 1/10 is used in the digestion process. Fats have the lowest TEF at around 3-5%. So if you ate 100 grams of dietary fats, your body would use about 4 Calories to digest them. Carbs have a little higher TEF at approximately 12-15%, while proteins require the most energy at roughly 25-28%. When our goal is fat loss, every bit (or bite) counts. Hopefully you can see where a diet that's higher in protein can give you a fat-torching edge.
Your action item for today is to calculate your RMR. Here are the formulas:
For Men: [10 x your weight in kilograms (pounds divided by 2.2)] + [6.25 x your height in centimeters (inches multiplied by 2.55)] - [5 x your age in years] + 5
For Women: [10 x your weight in kilograms] + [6.25 x your height in centimeters] - [5 x your age in years] - 161
Here are a couple of sample calculations:
For a 40 year-old male who weighs 170 pounds and is 5'10" tall:
[10 x (170/2.2)] + [6.25 x (70 x 2.55)] - [5 x 40] + 5
[10 x 77] + [6.25 x 179] - 200 + 5
770 + 1,119 - 200 + 5 = 1,694 Calories per day
And for a 50 year old female who weighs 145 pounds at 5'6":
[10 x (145/2.2)] + [6.25 x (66 x 2.55)] - [5 x 50] - 161
[10 x 66] + [6.25 x 168] - 250 - 161
660 + 1,050 - 250 -161 = 1,299 Calories per day
Now this exercise is just to give you a basic idea of the amount of energy your body needs to sustain itself at rest. Obviously any movement at all requires more energy. At this point I don't want you to focus on counting Calories just yet. Quality before Quantity. On Saturday we will look at the importance of clean eating, and how the macronutrients we eat affect our weight and body composition. See you then!
When we take in nutrients through our food and drink, our metabolism transfers the energy stored in the macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) into the formation of a compound called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. ATP is required for almost every action in our body. For the sake of our discussion, think of ATP as the chemical that allows us to exercise. ATP is also necessary to make more ATP as our body's stores become depleted.
The macronutrients we eat are measured in Calories. A Calorie is the amount of energy or heat needed to raise 1 gram of water by 1 degree centigrade. Each macronutrient contains a certain number of Calories: proteins and carbohydrates have approximately 4 Calories per gram, while fats contain about 9 Calories per gram. And if you're curious, alcohol has around 7 Calories per gram.
So let's take a brief look at how our body uses the Calories we consume. Far and away, the majority of Calories we eat goes toward keeping us alive. Think of what's known as our Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) as the number of Calories we need to wake up in the morning, lay in bed all day, and then fall asleep at night. NO movement at all--just maintaining vital functions such as breathing, keeping our heart beating, hair growing, swallowing, etc. And our RMR accounts for almost 70% of our total energy needs.
Approximately 20% of the Calories we take in are used for moving: walking, working, playing, and exercising. If you are a very sedentary person, this percentage can be closer to 10%, and up to 30% for highly active individuals. We'll round it off to 20%.
And the remaining 10%ish is used to digest the food we eat. This is known as the Thermic Effect of Feeding, or TEF. That's right' of all the Calories we eat, about 1/10 is used in the digestion process. Fats have the lowest TEF at around 3-5%. So if you ate 100 grams of dietary fats, your body would use about 4 Calories to digest them. Carbs have a little higher TEF at approximately 12-15%, while proteins require the most energy at roughly 25-28%. When our goal is fat loss, every bit (or bite) counts. Hopefully you can see where a diet that's higher in protein can give you a fat-torching edge.
Your action item for today is to calculate your RMR. Here are the formulas:
For Men: [10 x your weight in kilograms (pounds divided by 2.2)] + [6.25 x your height in centimeters (inches multiplied by 2.55)] - [5 x your age in years] + 5
For Women: [10 x your weight in kilograms] + [6.25 x your height in centimeters] - [5 x your age in years] - 161
Here are a couple of sample calculations:
For a 40 year-old male who weighs 170 pounds and is 5'10" tall:
[10 x (170/2.2)] + [6.25 x (70 x 2.55)] - [5 x 40] + 5
[10 x 77] + [6.25 x 179] - 200 + 5
770 + 1,119 - 200 + 5 = 1,694 Calories per day
And for a 50 year old female who weighs 145 pounds at 5'6":
[10 x (145/2.2)] + [6.25 x (66 x 2.55)] - [5 x 50] - 161
[10 x 66] + [6.25 x 168] - 250 - 161
660 + 1,050 - 250 -161 = 1,299 Calories per day
Now this exercise is just to give you a basic idea of the amount of energy your body needs to sustain itself at rest. Obviously any movement at all requires more energy. At this point I don't want you to focus on counting Calories just yet. Quality before Quantity. On Saturday we will look at the importance of clean eating, and how the macronutrients we eat affect our weight and body composition. See you then!
Saturday, August 16, 2014
THE TRUTH ABOUT FAT LOSS: SETTING GOALS
Good Saturday Morning!!
I am really glad you're here and ready to get started, so let's jump right into Step 1: Setting Goals.
If you want to achieve your big fitness goals and start living the active life you've been dreaming of lately, you MUST start by setting goals. While this sounds simple enough (all I have to do is get a piece of paper and write some words on it), for some reason this is often the most difficult task for many people. Why? First, people frequently have a tendency to come up with 4-5 goals, or more. Maybe you want to lose 30 pounds, be able to fit into that size 6 black dress, run a marathon, and look good for your 30-year high school reunion in 6 weeks.
Second, and more importantly, we want to start with defining "what" our goals are. So to make this process simpler for you, let's focus first on your "why". If your "why" is significant enough, your "what" and "hows" will fall into place. But if your "why" doesn't have a deeply-rooted meaning, any obstacle, no matter how small or temporary, can defeat you.
Here's an example: Let's say I placed a 20-foot long by 6-inch wide steel plank on the ground and bet you $50 to walk across it. No brainer--it's an easy $50 for you. But what if that same steel plank was placed between two hotels, 16 feet apart and 15 stories, or about 175 feet, above the ground. Chances are there's no way you would walk across that for $50. But what if your 4-year old granddaughter was on the roof of the other hotel, which was on fire? You'd probably be there and back before I could get the money out of my pocket.
Nothing physically changed--it's the same steel plank that was on the ground. But in the last scenario, your "why" changed. You didn't walk across the plank for $50, you did it to save a life. So if your "why" is big enough, the how becomes possible.
When you come up with your "why", I want you to focus on that deeply-rooted reason. Keep asking yourself "why?" until your answer speaks to you on an emotional level. Think back to, or re-read, our previous blog post on Success vs. Significance. Make your why significant, meaning that you want to make these changes for others as well as yourself.
Once you have your "why" figured out, write down one, and only one, specific goal. You MUST write it down! Make sure your goal is specific (I want to lose 30 pounds of fat), measureable (take before and after caliper and/or girth measurements), attainable (it must fit into your present lifestyle), realistic (can you lose this body fat while working 2 jobs and getting 4 hours of sleep every night?), and time-sensitive (losing 30 pounds of fat in 6 weeks isn't going to happen).
You also have to know where you are right now. Record your height, weight*, circumference measurements and body fat percentage. The reason I placed an asterisk after weight is because I don't want you to get hung up on what the scale reads. I have seen numerous people lose 2 dress sizes while losing 5-6 pounds of scale weight. I want your focus to be on health measures: body circumferences and body fat levels. If you need help with these, give us a call here at Success Health & Fitness, and we'll gladly schedule an appointment to take these for you, FREE.
Now that you know where you are, where you want to go, and why it's important for you to get there, you're almost ready to get started. But first, here are your action items for today:
1. Write down your 1 specific health / fitness goal on a 3x5 index card and place it somewhere you will see it every day;
2. On that same card, write down "why" achieving this goal is important to you; and
3. Take your starting measurements and write them on that same card.
We'll see you on Wednesday, where you will get a short lesson in how your metabolism works and why it's important to you.
Move Better. eat Better. Live Better!
I am really glad you're here and ready to get started, so let's jump right into Step 1: Setting Goals.
If you want to achieve your big fitness goals and start living the active life you've been dreaming of lately, you MUST start by setting goals. While this sounds simple enough (all I have to do is get a piece of paper and write some words on it), for some reason this is often the most difficult task for many people. Why? First, people frequently have a tendency to come up with 4-5 goals, or more. Maybe you want to lose 30 pounds, be able to fit into that size 6 black dress, run a marathon, and look good for your 30-year high school reunion in 6 weeks.
Second, and more importantly, we want to start with defining "what" our goals are. So to make this process simpler for you, let's focus first on your "why". If your "why" is significant enough, your "what" and "hows" will fall into place. But if your "why" doesn't have a deeply-rooted meaning, any obstacle, no matter how small or temporary, can defeat you.
Here's an example: Let's say I placed a 20-foot long by 6-inch wide steel plank on the ground and bet you $50 to walk across it. No brainer--it's an easy $50 for you. But what if that same steel plank was placed between two hotels, 16 feet apart and 15 stories, or about 175 feet, above the ground. Chances are there's no way you would walk across that for $50. But what if your 4-year old granddaughter was on the roof of the other hotel, which was on fire? You'd probably be there and back before I could get the money out of my pocket.
Nothing physically changed--it's the same steel plank that was on the ground. But in the last scenario, your "why" changed. You didn't walk across the plank for $50, you did it to save a life. So if your "why" is big enough, the how becomes possible.
When you come up with your "why", I want you to focus on that deeply-rooted reason. Keep asking yourself "why?" until your answer speaks to you on an emotional level. Think back to, or re-read, our previous blog post on Success vs. Significance. Make your why significant, meaning that you want to make these changes for others as well as yourself.
Once you have your "why" figured out, write down one, and only one, specific goal. You MUST write it down! Make sure your goal is specific (I want to lose 30 pounds of fat), measureable (take before and after caliper and/or girth measurements), attainable (it must fit into your present lifestyle), realistic (can you lose this body fat while working 2 jobs and getting 4 hours of sleep every night?), and time-sensitive (losing 30 pounds of fat in 6 weeks isn't going to happen).
You also have to know where you are right now. Record your height, weight*, circumference measurements and body fat percentage. The reason I placed an asterisk after weight is because I don't want you to get hung up on what the scale reads. I have seen numerous people lose 2 dress sizes while losing 5-6 pounds of scale weight. I want your focus to be on health measures: body circumferences and body fat levels. If you need help with these, give us a call here at Success Health & Fitness, and we'll gladly schedule an appointment to take these for you, FREE.
Now that you know where you are, where you want to go, and why it's important for you to get there, you're almost ready to get started. But first, here are your action items for today:
1. Write down your 1 specific health / fitness goal on a 3x5 index card and place it somewhere you will see it every day;
2. On that same card, write down "why" achieving this goal is important to you; and
3. Take your starting measurements and write them on that same card.
We'll see you on Wednesday, where you will get a short lesson in how your metabolism works and why it's important to you.
Move Better. eat Better. Live Better!
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
SUCCESS OR SIGNIFICANCE?
I have spent a considerable amount of time the past few days preparing to hire a very compassionate, bright, and energetic lady to help our members reach their health and fitness goals. Part of this hiring process has been making sure I have the proper policies and procedures in place. Making sure our Core Values and team culture are prominent and understood. It's crucial that our team members understand that it's not about what we do here, it's about why we do it.
As I was reviewing the opening paragraphs, I remembered something I read several years ago by John Maxwell, a motivational speaker, author, and pastor whose writings and talks I continue to follow. It was about the difference of being successful and being significant. And while I don't recall his exact words, it went something like this: People who want to be successful add value to themselves; a person of significance adds value to others.
And significance is what we strive for every day at our small fitness facility by helping others live better lives. It's the reason we don't have personal trainers like other gyms. We have Success Coaches. Coaches collaborate with their clients, and provide technical help, social support, and individual challenges. It's not just about helping you lose 30 pounds or increasing your strength to do a pull-up. Those are the "whats". Those "whats" let others know what we are.
It is about being able to teach and play with your kids and grandkids without becoming exhausted. It's about taking a hiking excursion to Tibet and Nepal with your 88 year old best friend. It's about helping others discover they have the skills and confidence to achieve anything they want. These are the "whys". These "whys" define who we are.
People of significance come from all walks of life. You don't need to be wealthy or hold a high-titled position within your company to have an impact on others. Heck, you don't even have to be an adult. I am very blessed to have an amazing daughter. Emily is very intelligent, and consistently wins awards for her scholastic accomplishments. But one of my proudest memories happened about 3 years ago when she was recognized by her teachers for taking time almost every day to help a challenged student with her assignments and maximize her potential. Emily added value to that other girl's life!
Let's remember: we are only on this Earth for a limited amount of time. And our success dies when we do. But the impact we can have on others will live far beyond our mortality. Every day, every one of us should strive to move beyond making ourselves successful and create significance for others.
As I was reviewing the opening paragraphs, I remembered something I read several years ago by John Maxwell, a motivational speaker, author, and pastor whose writings and talks I continue to follow. It was about the difference of being successful and being significant. And while I don't recall his exact words, it went something like this: People who want to be successful add value to themselves; a person of significance adds value to others.
And significance is what we strive for every day at our small fitness facility by helping others live better lives. It's the reason we don't have personal trainers like other gyms. We have Success Coaches. Coaches collaborate with their clients, and provide technical help, social support, and individual challenges. It's not just about helping you lose 30 pounds or increasing your strength to do a pull-up. Those are the "whats". Those "whats" let others know what we are.
It is about being able to teach and play with your kids and grandkids without becoming exhausted. It's about taking a hiking excursion to Tibet and Nepal with your 88 year old best friend. It's about helping others discover they have the skills and confidence to achieve anything they want. These are the "whys". These "whys" define who we are.
People of significance come from all walks of life. You don't need to be wealthy or hold a high-titled position within your company to have an impact on others. Heck, you don't even have to be an adult. I am very blessed to have an amazing daughter. Emily is very intelligent, and consistently wins awards for her scholastic accomplishments. But one of my proudest memories happened about 3 years ago when she was recognized by her teachers for taking time almost every day to help a challenged student with her assignments and maximize her potential. Emily added value to that other girl's life!
Let's remember: we are only on this Earth for a limited amount of time. And our success dies when we do. But the impact we can have on others will live far beyond our mortality. Every day, every one of us should strive to move beyond making ourselves successful and create significance for others.
Friday, August 1, 2014
WHAT HAPPENS ON DAY 91?
I've pretty much always been an early riser. I remember when I was in high school, I would wake up at 5:30 in the morning to shoot hoops at the local elementary school down the street for an hour or so before heading off to class. While working in the gaming industry, my day often started at 3:30 so I could get to the gym by 4:30 to get my workout in before hitting the office around 6:00. And when I was working in a gym across town, I would be up at 3AM in order to be ready for my 5:00 training session with a client.
At 3 in the morning, I would eat my Clif Bar and a yogurt, and surf the TV channels. There isn't much on at that time of the day. Except infomercials. Lots of them. And it seemed like one out of every three was about a new, high-tech exercise program. And they prey on our need for instant gratification by touting the benefits you can achieve in only 90 days, or fewer. Yup, no matter how you look today, by exercising for an hour a day for less than 13 weeks, you will have the body you've always dreamed of.
So I started thinking: What if this were true of everything we do? How awesome would that be?? Let's take a look at school. Just imagine...I can study my butt off for the next 13 weeks, and then never have to read another book again, ever, because I would know everything I needed to know. What about my faith? I'm still working on improving that daily, but it's nice to know that in 90 days I can back off and cruise to the pearly gates! And let's not forget about work. Yeah. I can show up at 6AM, work hard until 8PM, and retire on November 1st. That's the ticket!
Of course, none of these examples are realistic. And neither are these "get slim quick" exercise videos for 3 easy payments of $39.99. Regardless of your goals...losing weight, finishing that triathlon, or landing the big promotion at work, it takes years of focus and dedication to reach and maintain world class levels. And that's true in EVERY part of our lives. Education is (or should be) a lifelong endeavor, not something that stops at age 18 or 22. We need to practice our faith every day for the rest of our lives. And if we want our business to thrive, we have to consistently strive to make better products, provide better services, and enrich more lives.
So let's stop thinking about quick fixes and shortcuts to success. For the overwhelming majority of us, there is no such thing as the 4-Hour Work Week. Lasting rewards will come only by pushing past obstacles every day for the rest of our lives. As humans, we are the ONLY species that can change the direction of our lives. If a bird wants to fly west for the winter, it can't. It is programmed in its' genetics to go south. Day in and day out, we need to take the actions necessary to change those things about us that we are not satisfied with. And on day 91, you'll see how far you've come, and realize there is still more to do.
Move Better. Move Stronger. Move Longer.
At 3 in the morning, I would eat my Clif Bar and a yogurt, and surf the TV channels. There isn't much on at that time of the day. Except infomercials. Lots of them. And it seemed like one out of every three was about a new, high-tech exercise program. And they prey on our need for instant gratification by touting the benefits you can achieve in only 90 days, or fewer. Yup, no matter how you look today, by exercising for an hour a day for less than 13 weeks, you will have the body you've always dreamed of.
So I started thinking: What if this were true of everything we do? How awesome would that be?? Let's take a look at school. Just imagine...I can study my butt off for the next 13 weeks, and then never have to read another book again, ever, because I would know everything I needed to know. What about my faith? I'm still working on improving that daily, but it's nice to know that in 90 days I can back off and cruise to the pearly gates! And let's not forget about work. Yeah. I can show up at 6AM, work hard until 8PM, and retire on November 1st. That's the ticket!
Of course, none of these examples are realistic. And neither are these "get slim quick" exercise videos for 3 easy payments of $39.99. Regardless of your goals...losing weight, finishing that triathlon, or landing the big promotion at work, it takes years of focus and dedication to reach and maintain world class levels. And that's true in EVERY part of our lives. Education is (or should be) a lifelong endeavor, not something that stops at age 18 or 22. We need to practice our faith every day for the rest of our lives. And if we want our business to thrive, we have to consistently strive to make better products, provide better services, and enrich more lives.
So let's stop thinking about quick fixes and shortcuts to success. For the overwhelming majority of us, there is no such thing as the 4-Hour Work Week. Lasting rewards will come only by pushing past obstacles every day for the rest of our lives. As humans, we are the ONLY species that can change the direction of our lives. If a bird wants to fly west for the winter, it can't. It is programmed in its' genetics to go south. Day in and day out, we need to take the actions necessary to change those things about us that we are not satisfied with. And on day 91, you'll see how far you've come, and realize there is still more to do.
Move Better. Move Stronger. Move Longer.
FOOD COLORING
I mentioned in a previous post how physical therapist Gray Cook always tries to find a way to simplify things. When I'm researching things that have to do with nutrition, my go-to guy is John Berardi of PRECISION NUTRITION (www.precisionnutrition.com). John recently sent out an email about the benefits of phytonutrients (plant-based nutrients), and how to get enough of these nutrients by eating a variety of colored fruits and vegetables. John's post also included a down-loadable cheat sheet that can be printed out and placed on the refrigerator or bulletin board, which I think may be a fun way to help kids (and probably most adults too) eat enough fruits and veggies.
Here, though, is a brief summary of John's post:
Green fruits and vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, and kale contain lutein and zeaxanthin, two antioxidants that are important for eye health. And quality green teas contain EGCG, which some studies show may help reduce abdominal fat.
The red color of this group includes tomatoes, raspberries, and cherries. Lycopene is an antioxidant that some research shows may reduce certain cancer risks such as prostate and lung, as well as decrease the risk of heart disease.
Yellow/orange fruits and veggies such as cantaloupe, carrots, and pineapple may contain alpha- and beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is converted to Vitamin A in the body, and may help prevent certain cancers, and Parkinson's disease, as well as enhance eye health.
White foods in this group include garlic, onions, and coconut. Benefits derived from these foods include a reduction of harmful bacteria in the intestines, as well as helping the body get rid of certain toxins due to allicin, a sulfur compound found in these foods.
Last, we have the blue and purple foods including blueberries, eggplant, and grapes. The nutrients that come from these foods include resveratrol, an antioxidant known to help protect against a range of illnesses such as dementias, certain cancers, and heart disease.
John's post recommends adults aim for (2) 1/2 cup servings of each color group daily to attain the optimal health benefits they can provide.
Here, though, is a brief summary of John's post:
Green fruits and vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, and kale contain lutein and zeaxanthin, two antioxidants that are important for eye health. And quality green teas contain EGCG, which some studies show may help reduce abdominal fat.
The red color of this group includes tomatoes, raspberries, and cherries. Lycopene is an antioxidant that some research shows may reduce certain cancer risks such as prostate and lung, as well as decrease the risk of heart disease.
Yellow/orange fruits and veggies such as cantaloupe, carrots, and pineapple may contain alpha- and beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is converted to Vitamin A in the body, and may help prevent certain cancers, and Parkinson's disease, as well as enhance eye health.
White foods in this group include garlic, onions, and coconut. Benefits derived from these foods include a reduction of harmful bacteria in the intestines, as well as helping the body get rid of certain toxins due to allicin, a sulfur compound found in these foods.
Last, we have the blue and purple foods including blueberries, eggplant, and grapes. The nutrients that come from these foods include resveratrol, an antioxidant known to help protect against a range of illnesses such as dementias, certain cancers, and heart disease.
John's post recommends adults aim for (2) 1/2 cup servings of each color group daily to attain the optimal health benefits they can provide.
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