10 weeks to Memorial Day
March 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Just a quick wake up call… There are 10 weeks until Memorial Day. That is not that long. Is your body ready for the pool and the beach?
If not, get going now. Its not too late, it is never too late, but if you wait too long you will be running uphill, in the snow…meaning, it will be much harder for you to get to where you want to go.
Start your attack NOW.
Set goals NOW
· What do you want to look like?
· How much weight do you want to lose or maybe gain?
· How buff do you want to be?
Imagine yourself
· Buy that bathing suit that you want to wear now. Try it on. Imagine how you want to look in it come Summer time.
Get going
· Join a gym
· Hire a trainer
· Change your diet
· Commit to at least three days a week, to start your transformation. Start this TODAY.
10 weeks, or about 2 and a half months. It will be here before you know it. Will you be ready?
Body Confusion
March 10, 2009 | 1 Comment
Body: “I am feeling pretty good right now, why all of the exercise? I mean, my back does hurt in the morning, but that is normal as you get older. No biggie. Yes, I know…don’t have to say it…I am a bit overweight these days, fat even. I know I can lose it again, but must we do all of this exercise?”
Body: “Its been two weeks!! TWO FREAKIN weeks and I am still the same weight. You have been brutalizing me with deadlifts, squats, push ups, shoulder presses, and not to mention that HIIT stuff, which by the way, almost killed me. Is there a reason why we are coming close to death every 30 seconds, unable to breath? Is that fun or something? I don’t get all of this. I don’t want to change!! I am happy as I am.”
Body: “OK, OK…you have forced my hand, so to speak. I am changing. I don’t want to, but you are forcing me to. This third week of all of this stuff you are doing to me must be the “magic week,” but I still don’t get it. I am finally starting to see changes and feel them too. Those pants are looser, and I see muscle where I haven’t seen it in years. I also don’t hurt as much in the morning. Although I am still very sore from those stupid weights.”
Body: “Now I am really confused. Just when we see changes, you switch everything up on me. Now we are doing different exercises than before, different weights, different sets and reps. I am really confused now. This better work!! I mean it. By the way, I think I am still losing fat and feel stronger than I have in years…This stuff works and I am starting to like it. I am just not sure why we keep doing new stuff all of the time.”
Body: “OK, I get the exercises stuff. It works. I am sold, but do we really have to eat the crap you are feeding me now, all of the time? What happened to my pasta and bread? I love that stuff. Granted, I always felt like a bloated walrus after woofing down a huge plate of spirals with sauce, but man it was good. Also, no more cold cereal in the morning? What’s up with that? I love Raisin Bran and I always thought that was good for you. Do we really have to have Spinach Salad and cottage cheese all of the time now? In addition, could you possible shove MORE protein down my throat? Come on, the 200 grams yesterday wasn’t enough? And you think this is going to help me loose weight?”
Body: “OK, you were right again. I am down another pant size, have more energy than a fifth grader on a pixie stick high, and look incredible, if I do say so myself. I guess you know your stuff. I guess that trainer guy telling you to do all of this really knows what he is doing. I mean it’s only been 5 weeks and look at me. I am nowhere near where I would like to be now, but we need to keep going. I am really starting to like what I see and how I feel. How come we didn’t work out today anyway? Do we really need a “break?” Come on, rest is for wussies. Lets workout anyway.”
Body: “Holy crap. These training sessions keep getting harder and harder. I love them, but do we have to keep turning things up each week? Come on, I thought we were doing well where we were. Why the increase in intensity? I am still making progress…aren’t I? Granted, not as much as I did a few weeks ago, but still feeling great and looking great. Cant we do the same workouts as last week?”
Body: “are you sure I am allowed to eat more? I mean, isn’t the goal to cut calories, and now you want me to add more?? I am confused. But, yea, I know…you know what is best. If you say this will help, I am all for it. After all, so far so good.”
Body: “Now wait a minute here. I started with the weight lifting, hung in there with the eating part, did everything you told me to do, but these new HIIT sessions are brutal. Seriously, I thought I was going to die. How in the hell is pedaling a stationary bike, at the highest resistance, for 20 seconds straight going to help me lose more fat? Aren’t I supposed to walk or jog on the treadmill for 30-40 minutes to burn fat?”
Body: “Once again, right you were. I have never looked so good. It’s been 6 long months, but I have lost all of the fat and some that I thought I would, totally changed the way I eat, and I have put on some great muscle. I hate HIIT, but know how well it works. I love to lift weights and train each day. I have more energy than ever, and will never go back to who I was before! That trainer guy should get a raise!! I have reached all of my goals, but doing so has only made me set new ones!”
Body: “Wow, I finally look good naked and feel 10 years younger!”
Person or Ape?
March 4, 2009 | 3 Comments
I wonder if we are people capable of thinking and making decisions based on information, or if we really are monkeys, or lesser animals that “react” to instinct and don’t think and don’t evaluate based in anything.
Why the deep thought into our being? Simple…I deal with people every day that want to lose weight, have a better body and swear that they would do anything to achieve this. You have probably heard the same from people or maybe you have said it yourself from time to time. These people, although having good intentions, do not follow through with their promises or do not do “anything” to achieve their goals. Bottom line, they fail.
Go to a party, see a desert, or some other kind of food that they “must” have, they lose all control and they grub out. This scenario happens repeatedly, but why? Are we really monkeys or animals that have no self-control. Put any kind of food in front of your dog and chances are they will eat it. Not because they love what you put in front of them, rather it is because their instincts kick in and they cannot control the urge to just eat.
It frightens me how many people are the SAME EXACT WAY. Put a pizza in front of a bunch of people that are trying to lose weight, and even through they KNOW they should not have any, some, or maybe even all of them will eat the pizza. Why? They will come up with almost every reason or excuse in the world, but it all boils down to the fact that they lose control, they have none. Or do they? Again, monkeys or people? People, as far as I know have the capability to make rational decisions. Is that 4 minutes of satisfaction that much more powerful than your goals? I guess to many it is.
I have heard people most of my life say to me, “Keith, I don’t understand how you do it, how do you go through life so disciplined? How can you go to a party and NOT eat pizza, and all of the other great stuff?”………… Huh? How? Are you serious? BECAUSE I AM A HUMAN BEING, WITH A CEREBRAL CORTEX, THAT’S HOW. I have the ability to make a decision. I have the ability to say no. I have the ability to realize that although that pizza will probably taste pretty darn good, those 3 minutes of pleasure is not as important as my goals. Apes and most other animals will eat because there is food in front of them. Its instinct, they really cannot control it. People however, do have the ability to control their urges, but somehow cannot say no to a slice of pizza or a handful of M –n- M’s. It baffles me.
Person or Ape? I really don’t know sometimes. Have I ever been that Ape, that animal that just loses control and eats whatever to satisfy a quick need, while ignoring all of my goals? Sure I have, we all have. I am not innocent of being that Ape, but I am human enough to know it and human enough to learn from it and finally smart enough to take measures to combat those “weak” moments, when my brain becomes numb and my instincts to just lose control kick in. 90% of the time I THINK. And during those moments I choose the right path for me and that usually coincides with my goals.
So what are you, Person or Ape? That is for you to decide. The next time that “urge” to pig out, or eat that bowl of ice cream comes up, ask yourself that question. Person or Ape? Human or Dog? Ask yourself, WWMDD (What would my Dog Do?) Chances are your dog would go at it and just eat. Are you that dog?
Time to smarten up and be who you are. Person or Ape?
What’s in your plan?
February 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment
You want to start a workout program? You want to get into shape? Lose some weight? Get buff? Feel good?
Time to get physical. But before you do, make sure that your workout plan as everything that it needs to get you where you want to be.
How do you like your salad? Just lettuce? No dressing, no croutons, no cheese, no carrots, etc…. That would be a really boring salad and wouldn’t get you anywhere nutritionally. You need to build up your salad and make sure you have a little bit of everything. Add as much as you can, without overdoing it. At the very least, it needs the important components. Proteins, veggies, fats, and maybe some sweet fruit.
Workout plans should be developed in the same kind of way. Throw on what you need, leave off the rest…but make sure you have the musts.
Workout plan checklist: MUSTS
- Strength Training – Does your plan have some kind of resistance training included? This could be with free weights, bands, machines, body weight, etc… Some kind of resistance on a consistent basis. If your plan doesn’t include resistance training, then you are missing a prime ingredient that needs to be added. Full body – upper and lower as well as the core needs to be included.
- Cardiovascular Component – Now, don’t jump to conclusions here. This does not mean you have to run, or ride the bike for an hour each day. If you read my article on HIIT, you know that there are other ways to get the heart healthy. However, some people like to run and like to ride the bike, and that is OK and good too. Whatever your method, make sure you have some kind of cardiovascular component to your training. It can even be hidden in your weight training routine if done correctly.
- Mobility and Flexibility – Even though joint mobility and muscular flexibility are not the same, I include them at the same time, because many people can put them in the same routine and work on them together. Just for clarification, mobility is the range of motion around a given joint. All of the muscles are involved in this motion and some muscles need to be turned on to pull, and some need to be relaxed to allow the pulling. Activation and relaxation help to develop proper mobility. Flexibility is the range of motion that a specific muscle or muscle tendon has. It’s applicable to one muscle.
- Nutritional Counseling – If you aren’t putting the right stuff in your mouth, you are not going to get where you want to go. If you are putting the wrong stuff in your mouth, you are not going to get where you want to go. Bottom line is that you need to know what, how and when to eat. Any program or plan is incomplete without the basics of nutrition.
- Recovery Plan – Part of your plan must include a recovery plan. Sounds redundant, but it actually needs to be scheduled into your routine. Whether that is taking a week or a few days off, or if it is toning down the program, recovery time is a must for programs or plans.
- Corrective Exercise – When things are broken they need to be fixed. I feel that this aspect is one of the most neglected of all of the components in plans. You can’t and wont get very far unless things in your physical body is balanced, and in correct form both while working out and doing daily aspects of life. The two areas that jump out and need to be focused on the most are the hips and shoulder girdle.
- Pre-workout Evaluation – In reference to getting corrective exercise in your program, you need to find out what you need to work on first. Where are your weaknesses, strengths…where are you tight, and where are you too loose? You need to know what needs work. Don’t start a program with guess work. This is why generic programs don’t work. Cookie cutter programs are worthless in the long run.
The next time you want to start a program or someone makes you a workout plan, make sure the plan has the above components included. If it doesn’t, question the person that made the plan. If he/she doesn’t know about those components or worse, doesn’t think any of the above are important, dump that guy/girl and find someone with a clue!!
The Battle of the Scale vs. Size
February 20, 2009 | 3 Comments
There is a battle going on in most people’s minds when it comes to their weight loss. Actually, there are many battles being fought everyday. I am convinced that true success in the weight loss war can only happen when people have the right frame of mind…and this is not easy.
One of the constant battles that I fight with my weight loss clients is the battle of weight loss vs. size loss. So many people are fixated on the scale and the scale only. Fixating only on what the scale does is not a very good way to fight the weight loss war.
I have a client right now that has lost size. She is down a dress size and has made considerable improvements in her body composition. She is right on track for what we are trying to do…which is lose fat. The problem in her mind is that the scale has not moved much. She has become so fixated on the numbers of the scale that she cannot see the significance of the fat loss that has occurred.
Explaining that muscle is being developed and that this said muscle is going to add to her weight does not matter in her mind. Again, the scale is her focus.
Telling her that scale weight will fluctuate each day depending on water retention (for various reasons) doesn’t matter…even though she has dropped a dress size.
It is a mental battle. I know and she knows that she is losing fat. Getting past the number on the scale is becoming her biggest issue. My advice is to get rid of your scale from the beginning. Hide it, or at the least, only weigh yourself once a month. Use measurements as your guide.
Alwyn Cosgrove once used a great example to illustrate this “battle.” Cosgrove said something to the fact that if we had two “magic” machines, one machine would cause you to weigh 20 pounds less, with no change in body composition, and the other machine would keep your weight exactly the same, but you would be 4 sizes smaller, which would you rather have?
I ask many of my clients this question using the same scenario and I am surprised at the hesitation that goes on with some people. Although all of them say they would take the reduction in size, so many of them take a minute or two to really think about it, and they are not totally sold on their own answer. To me, this should be an automatic answer. The fact that it is not, illustrates my point about the major battle that goes on in the minds of many people that are trying to loss weight/fat.
The fat loss war is not an easy one. For many, it is a lifetime war that has its ups and downs. However, to be really successful, you need to have as many things on your side as possible. The biggest, in my opinion is your own mind.
Give up the scale fixation and learn to “see” your fat loss accomplishments in other ways.
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