Mohammed Ali Hobby No Pilates Tryna Keep The Ocean By Me

Mohammed Ali Hobby No Pilates Tryna Keep The Ocean By Me- Nas

Eminem feat Nas- Topless

It’s finally 2011. After all of the lickity liquor laughter, midnight nookie and bangover hangovers, it’s time for no more bullshitting. It’s time to get serious! Or, is it?

Chances are most people, regardless of their resolutions, still feel the same way come January 1st, and well, rightfully so. To their credit, nothing has really changed except the date on their phone. Nonetheless, you do want to lose weight. That’s most definitely up there on the list of resolutions each and every year. But to lose that weight, you must be able to do just that….. WAIT!

What I’m trying to say is losing weight, in general, is not that difficult. Problem is, it isn’t going to happen overnight. That concept is an easy one to understand, but because of the easily marketed terms like “shaped, sculpted and toned” and “lose 20 pounds in 30 days,” terms like “muscle, lean body mass and lifting weights” get the bad apple. What I’m trying to say is achieving a desirable aesthetic appearance takes hard work, patience and an appreciation for appropriate, individualized, and more importantly, realistic goal setting.

It most certainly is, by any means, NO PILATES!

I’m not knocking Pilates at all. In all honesty, pilates doesn’t burn many calories. I guess “in theory” it’s better than nothing, but it still lacks one of the most important factors in any body transformation- intensity. If you want to be lean, look athletic or be able run, jump, swim or beat the shit out of a grizzly bear, you’re going to have to bust your ass, both inside and outside of the gym. Not to mention, Ancient Greeks didn’t have an express line, cardio kickboxing, zumba or 2.5 lb pink dumbbells. If we’re speaking purely from an evolution standpoint, we’ve failed miserably.

 We’ve gone from…..

  To….. 

There’s nothing wrong with an occasional stroll on a bike, elliptical or treadmill. Problem is, this is the only thing most people, particularly females, tend to do. And if gyms didn’t have these machines in them, their membership numbers would severely drop. They need bodies in the door. They need people to sign up and not come. But, truth is, most gyms would create raving fans with guaranteed results with simply an empty space with a few barbells, dumbbells, benches, kettlebells, med balls, various bands and other kinda cool top secret stuff. Once again, back to the Ancient Greeks, they’d laugh at our gyms today.

Now, in order to change the way you look, you need to find out how you’d want to look. There is no right and wrong look. This is where people will start pulling up pictures of celebrities they’d want to look like. This is where people will start fantasizing about changing everything about themselves to look like someone else. Without getting too hallmark, it’s important to realize that there’s only one you for a reason. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, a lot of guys who want to gain considerable amounts of muscle want to look like the dudes on magazine covers. It is disheartening to know how many of those guys are chemically supported.

Not to mention, many of them have chosen the right parents to be able to look like that in the first place. Also, many of those guys have been training for years, and the workout that they’re supporting is 1) not written specifically for them and 2) only part of the long road they’ve gone down to get where they are. In other words, they already have the look that the magazine company wants to push. Hint: Stop cuttin out those magazine workouts and bringin it with you to “weekly bench press Monday.” For women, they usually want to look like the girls on the covers of magazines who simply have flat stomachs. They aren’t looking for a Serena Williams body or a Hilary Swank makeover from Million Dollar Baby. For them, that isn’t attractive. Ironically, you’d be surprised to find out that the girls with the flat stomachs on those magazine covers really don’t work out much at all. Not to mention, attainable and sustainable are two very different aspects of goal achievement. Remember, your resolution is to permanently lose weight. Everyone has a different threshold of body fat maintenance depending on their own physiology. So, if you train hard, you’d look like you train hard.  If you don’t train hard, you won’t look like you train hard. That’s just the laws of physics. 

Trains hella hard eats hella much….. 

 Doesn’t train hard, if much, at all…..

             

       Sorta kinda where you’d wanna be, I guess although pretty disciplined to get here in the first place…..

 

Trains hella hard, has good parents and eats his ass off…..

So what does that mean? Easy! Be You! Find the look you’re going for and understand the road necessary to get there. You don’t go to college to enter in a nursing program to become a nurse yet major in Economics. The same principle applies to training and legitimate fitness goals. Of course, your mind can change, and that’s actually expected, but in order to get somewhere, you need to have direction.

So most guys want to get bigger and more defined with six-pack abs while girls want to be lean with a flat stomach. So how do you get there?

Both men and women simply just want to look good naked!

An important point for both men and women is the role of glycogen (stored carbohydrate) in initial weight and fat loss. Glycogen allows you to jump, sprint, lift heavy shit intensely and pretty much haul ass in the gym. During the initial days of a fat loss phase, particularly in lower carb diets, the scale weight will drop dramatically. This is a result of glycogen depletion not real fat loss. According to research, 3-4 grams of water is needed to store each gram of glycogen. The loss of both the weight of the glycogen and water causes the scale to tip low fast. Ever see a boxing fight where the fighter, on his weigh-in date, weighs anywhere from 8-12 pounds less than his weight on the fight night?

That’s a perfect example of glycogen replenishment. That is why the scale can increase 5-10 pounds overnight once you eat a normal or more than normal amount of food again. This is why body composition is just as important as scale weight.

When you are attempting to lose weight, what you are really doing is attempting to lose fat. While doing so, you will have to counteract the inevitable– muscle loss and increased appetite. Afterall, you need to burn more than you consume, so you aren’t going to exactly feel like you can take over the world, energy wise, all the time.

Food is not 50 percent of your results. It isn’t 75 percent. It isn’t 90 percent. It is 100 percent. You cannot, by any means possible, out-train a bad diet. Period. I don’t have to get further into that.

Now females might not mind losing muscle because the common fear is that once they start lifting weights, ghosts of muscle future are going to start haunting them. It is difficult to pack on muscle, and it becomes more difficult as you get better at lifting. Not to mention, in order to build these “muscles,” you need to eat a lot of food consistently. If you are getting bigger while lifting weights, it isn’t the weight. You are eating more and underestimating how much you’re eating. With any fat loss comes muscle loss. You need to avoid muscle loss at all costs because the more muscle you lose, the lower your basal metabolic rate is, which means the less calories you burn at rest. What makes muscle keeps muscle, so lifting is a must, unless of course your going for that skinny fat, thin with your clothes on but pretty flabby without them on, look.

It is also important not to reduce caloric intake too much at first. If you are serious about long-term progress, it doesn’t matter how long it takes. Just like a college degree has no dates on it, fat loss has no dates as well. If you reduce your intake dramatically, you will binge. I repeat, YOU WILL BINGE. I’d even go as far as saying eat at your maintenance level (the amount of calories you need per day) and start training seriously. You probably already either eat less than you need to, eat more than you need to or eat roughly the amount your supposed to, calorie wise, with the absolute wrong food choices. Replace the bullshit with nutrient dense food, start bustin some ass in the gym, and I’ll pay you if your clothes don’t get looser even without creating a caloric deficit. Muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat. It’s a pound. A pound of cookies weighs the same as a pound of spinach. It’s a pound. Muscle does, however, take up less space hence the reason why your clothes will fit looser. Unfortunately, women don’t get lean enough to see the muscle they have underneath their layers of fat because they don’t attain a low enough body fat percentage. Yes, you already have muscle underneath there. If you create a smart deficit, you will get where you want to be.

Now for guys, you want to build lean muscle. Unfortunately, with lean muscle comes a little fat. If you’re cool with that at first, we can move on. Building muscle is referred to as hypertrophy. In order to build muscle, you can either increase muscle cell volume or remodel the muscle fibers making them bigger than before by increasing contractile protein. Not only does this make your muscles bigger, but it also adds to your strength capacity because the more your muscle can contract, the stronger you are. Now, if you want to increase muscle size, you have to eat. Not twinkies! Not chex mix! Not Chipotle! Not wings and beer! You have to eat nutrient dense food that will help you towards your goals. This will ensure that you are gaining more muscle than fat. You also have to train hard. It’s as simple as that. Now some guys simply want to lose fat, so they would simply follow the same advice I’ve given for the women.

Now for the actual workouts, there are a few important things that you need to keep in mind.

• You need to shake up your metabolism. This is why intensity is important. Shaking up your metabolism is not muscle confusion or any other non-sense marketing ploy. It is simple. Use exercises that target  all of your body’s major muscle groups because not only do these burn the most calories, but they target the muscles that get bigger and stronger.
• Bicep curls, tricep dips, leg extensions, crunches or squats with your eyes closed are as good as putting your head in a guillotine. If you aren’t competing in a show or if you do not play a specific sport with very specific needs, you are wasting preciously valuable calorie burning time. These muscles will get plenty of attention during the compound movements described above.
• Sure you can lose fat with dieting alone. But you will also lose a lot of everything else, and chances are you will not be able to keep it off long-term.
• You don’t have to “focus on cardio” to lose weight first before lifting weights, and smart cardio will not burn muscle for you guys that think a half hour of quality cardio is bad for you. But, tricep pushdowns supersetted with calf raises will get you as close to your goals as lifting weights in space. (Figure that one out)
• You need to be consistent. No more body part split days. No more working out more on the weekends to avoid going during the week. No more after work bar crawls instead of getting your workout in. You don’t have to spend more than an hour in the gym. When you are pressed for time, you can still get a great training effect in a half hour. Nothing in the world will get you where you need to be faster than being consistent.
• Patience! If you want it bad enough, it will come. Same goes for singers, rappers, dancers, actors, lawyers, doctors, etc. Take the appropriate steps, and the outcome is pretty much guaranteed. What isn’t guaranteed is your attitude. Fix that too, and you’re set. But remember to always be able to adapt to change because, sometimes, nothing gold can stay.

 

Do We Really Want To Know When We Ask?

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I’ve noticed a common theme amongst many people at the gym. There isn’t a week that goes by that I don’t get approached or asked something by someone at the gym. I really don’t mind at all. I’m just always intrigued by the interaction in itself. Whether I’m foam rolling, doing mobility and flexibility work or pushups with a weighted vest, I get people asking me why I’m doing what I’m doing and what it’s good for. For some reason, they ask but they really don’t want to know the answer, which is why I don’t get too in depth with my response. And since many exercises are “good” for many things, I really tend to shy away from pinpointing the importance of emphasizing an exercise for favoring one muscle group. Truth is, you kind of “work a lot” during many exercises. For the most part, people will get curious about things that they haven’t seen because well if it “worked,” it would be as mainstream as the universal bench press usage on a Monday evening during peak hours at the gym. If it “worked,” they would have heard about it in the latest magazine they’re reading or on the news. They would have heard about it on Dr. Oz. They would have seen it because if it was revolutionary, it would have the same buzz as P90X.

Here’s a typical scenario.

Random person: “Hey that’s a pretty intense workout you got going on there. What is that you’re following?”

Me: “Yea (with a smile and laugh). I guess. It’s my own thing really.”

Random person: Oh ok, cool. I’ve never really seen any of that before. So do you do body part splits? I usually do chest and back, shoulders and arms and then legs on three consecutive days.

Me: Yea, I mean it’s really just basic movements. You really shouldn’t follow something that isn’t necessarily for you but whatever gets people moving more than they do is great I guess.

Random person: Yea, but at my age nowadays (33 mind you), I’ve just been finding it so hard to recover from my workouts.

Me: Well you should try and stop that back to back body part split stuff. I don’t think it has much to do with your age because you still are relatively young. If anything, I think it’s probably because you are basically overtraining since you are hitting the same muscles two days in a row twice a week. I’d also look at what you’re eating. Aside from all that, you should try foam rolling also.

Random person: Yea, I mean I’ve been following that body part split since high school because that was the thing back then. That’s what everyone does. I eat well for the most part, but I do party hard on the weekends.

Me: Yea, tell me about it. When I first started, I did the exact same thing. But things keep changing. Who knows what it’ll be 20 years from now. We may not even have to be in here at all. (Trying to add some humor)

What they’re really thinking: “WTF? He isn’t doing any isolation work. If he wanted to “work his chest” why doesn’t he just bench press instead of adding weight to his pushup. Why is he slamming a ball onto the floor repeatedly.

If he wanted to increase his heart rate, why doesn’t he go for a jog on the tredmill. He’s following his own thing? What does that even mean? Noone follows a program made specifically for them anymore. How do I even foam roll. Whatever. I’d have to look all this stuff up anyways, and I’ll just continue whatever I’m doing now. Most people don’t even train consistently like I do so I’m a step ahead of the crowd. I’m not trying to get all fancy anyways. I just want to focus on my upper body.”

Random person continues onto his 1,947th set of chest flies (and does the exact same thing each time I see him at the gym).

What I was really thinking: “If I would have told him I was following something I read somewhere, chances are he would have had more to say. Why did he even ask me anything? He couldn’t have been looking for something different to add to his program because he continued to do the exact opposite of what we spoke about. I’m really not doing anything fancy anyways. And it isn’t even really that intense, is it? I’m doing basic exercises without including a thousand of their variations in the same workout. If there was only some way to get to these people the same way the mainstream media would, we’d have less robots roaming around the gym and more people that actually think for themselves. Didn’t he think partying hard on the weekends could have any effect on his ability to recover appropriately? Damn, why am I being an asshole? But seriously, god forbid you want to actually stand out.”

People ask questions out of curiosity sure. But they also ask blindly. They ask with a sense of emptiness- without really thinking about what they’re saying. Every day, thousands of 15 second interactions go the same way they’ve gone for years.

Man at the coffee shop: Hey Sarah, how are you?

Sarah: I’m good, how are you?

Man at the coffee shop: I’m great, thanks for asking.

Sarah: Great! Well see you tomorrow.

What Sarah really wanted to say.

Man at the coffee shop: Hey Sarah, how are you?

Sarah: I’m actually not that great. I’ve been trying to lose weight for the past 3 months. The first 6 weeks went great, but the drop on the scale has compeltely stalled. I can’t stand how there are always cookies and muffins in the breakroom at my job instead of fruits and vegetables. And how can I possibly keep my personal training sessions if I’m always staying late at work. I’m just really overwhlemed.

Problem is, if Sarah would have truthfully answered, that random person probably would have been confused, turned off or weirded out.

Fact is, we rarely pay attention to the things we do and say. We say things out of habit and we do things either based on what others do or because we think we should. When it comes to training, people love done-for-you programs. It’s actually on the rise throughout the fitness industry. Some of the best trainers and coaches I follow on a daily basis have produced done-for-you programs. Most of them are great because they consider various different fitness levels and real life limitations in their programs.

But a lot of done-for-you programs actually ruin the fitness industry. There’s Insanity, P90X, Wii Fit and the like. I’m not going to try and rip each one apart. I get the idea. People should be exercising regularly. It should be convenient for them. It needs to be somewhat intense, and yes, they need to switch the routine. But many of these done-for-you programs are misleading. Not to mention, there is a “results are not typical” label on each program. A lot of these programs are out to make a quick buck. If I have learned anything in all of the years I’ve been involved in this industry, it’s that you cannot possibly be something to everyone. Never, ever, ever, ever!

People are more involved in their fitness than they’ve ever been. But these people are more messed up, physically, then they’ve ever been. From sedentary desk jockeys and overuse injuries to bad technique and various medical contraindications, people need something that is directly tailored towards them. People need something that’s going to have their long-term success in mind. Personal training or one-on-one coaching may not be affordable for everyone, and that’s understandable. There’s always group training, small group training, online distance coaching, the good old neighborhood bookstore, etc. Alot of people already spend the same amount of money per day on things they really don’t need like an ultra mocha lava java latte from Starbucks with extra whip cream and fat free loaded with refined carbs soy crisps made paper thin.

Eight dollars a day on that or eight dollars a day for a month’s worth of small group training!

Sometimes I feel the approach that we take towards these people should be more pro-education and less done-for-you. If you educate someone to think on their own and understand things on their own, they can take that further than they could with something already done for them, especially in terms of creativity. Even if an injury occurs somewhere down the line of a done-for-you program, most people will give up, but if they knew more about what they were doing and why, they’d still know how to create a great training effect despite the injury. For example, kids use “hooked on phonics” to learn to read. They are educated on the basic fundamental elements of reading, and then they can use that knowledge to read basically any book on their level. They aren’t just given a specific book to use to learn how to read. They are educated first so they can use what they’ve learned and pretty much run with it.

We’re afraid of our own potential. We’re afraid to do new things because we sacrifice our freedom for safety and a risk-free life. This is why people will continue the same exact programs for years although they know the facts and know what works and what doesn’t. Doing something entirely new not only challenges everything we’ve ever done, but it cannot guarantee an outcome so we’d rather live in anticipation of what may happen.

I understand people are busier than ever. But doesn’t anyone have time for themselves anymore? Really! I get the fact that people want things a little easier, but changing your life through fitness isn’t something entirely easy anyways. You have to dig deep. It’s not like having an assistant to take care of the small jobs in your business. It’s not like having a babysitter or dog-walker. I’m not bashing the whole done-for-you idea, but sometimes I think we’re just lazy and not pressed for time. People have far less of an attention span than they ever have, and crappy trainers and coaches make people think that these programs are just as good as having an actual trainer or coach in any form. These programs have very little personal attention and lack one of the biggest factors in any success: accountability.

Which leaves me with a quote: “Song is sound set free from necessity; dance is movement set free from necessity; poetry is words set free from necessity; these arts are an essential element of human freedom.”

Ever wonder what makes music, dance and poetry so special? There’s no right and wrong. There are different genres and styles. There are many ways artists get inspired. There’s no one way to write music, poetry or dance. There’s no emphasis on a pre-determined order of any kind. You can start and stop whenever you want, and each day doesn’t have to be the same as the previous days. This lack of structure, conformity and pressure allows this element of freedom to blossom beyond limits. It allows this freedom to be different things at different times. Always changing and completely free from “things that should be done in certain ways.”

Training is also an element of this human freedom. People don’t view it that way for many reasons. False and swayed marketing, dogmatic truths, misconstrued research, false gurus and supposed rules make the fitness industry less free. They put constraints on those involved, and it creates a sense of anxiety and confusion because instead of filtering through the information to find what’s applicable to the individual, we tend to get consumed by the information by trying to find the “one truth.” We try to prove, disprove, analayze and correct everything so much so that we forget the beauty in playing with programming. We forget the beauty in playing with our food combinations. We forget the beauty of playing in the gym. We forget the freedom we have in taking our time to use information as power and really learn what works best for us. We should have plans. Plans are blueprints. But blueprints aren’t precise down to the last detail and either should training be. You can really find out who you are and test yourself beyond what you’ve ever imagined if you just gave up the idea that when it comes to training, things need to be done certain ways in terms of strength, fat loss, performance enhancement, etc. There are fundamental building blocks that will never change, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be free while getting there.

So be free! Train. Live. Grow.

Leave Your Thoughts Or Comments!

P.S. – I love people that aren’t afraid to refute and argue against things that they do themsevles. It’s great to see people with an open mind. Check out this low carb follower who, even though she follows a low carb diet, disproves the myths in favor of the very thing she follows. In other words, she doesn’t promote her own lifestyle “by any means necessary.”

Broke Backs, Gym Pollution and New Year’s Resolutions

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Since gyms across the world are gonna see a spike in their membership numbers and overall membership adherence within the next month, I thought I’d shed some light on an issue that 80% of people have or have experienced (the ones that end up reporting it, that is). Back Pain! At one point or another, almost everyone will have an encounter with this issue. Whether it’s from working out, suddenly moving the wrong way or sitting too much, back pain can be both debilitating and annoying. Basically, there’s a lot of stupid shit that can cause an episode.

For anyone who’s decided to chase the pain, many will become easily frustrated and may have even decided that it’s something they need to live with consistently. Aside from the most effective home remedies that will most definitely save your life in every way possible, it can be hard to get to the bottom of the source. Many people visit several medical professionals, end up with half a dozen or more prescriptions, no definitive reason for their pain, and no long term relief. Some things don’t show up on X-Rays, Cat-Scans or MRI’s. Actually, most injuries don’t show up, and the ones that do really don’t say much about what’s going on anyways. Merely observing a leak under your kitchen sink does absolutely nothing in terms of fixing it, or better yet, understanding where it’s coming from and how to prevent it from continuing and happening again. Many medical professionals are supposed to know everything, right? WRONG!

The real issue can be a number of things including soft tissue restrictions. Pull on the right side of your shirt! The right side becomes looser because you are pulling towards the right side! But the left side becomes more snug! You’re pulling on the right side, but you’re feeling it on the left. That’s called a referred feeling, and there are many restrictions in our bodies that will refer pain to the back. If the foundation of a building is tilted, the top floor cannot possibly be straight. Today’s lifestyles, in particular, create a myriad of restrictions in our bodies. When muscle length, strength and integrity are alterted and manipulated, tight overactive muscles or weak underactive muscles impede optimal movement, and this creates pain.

Unfortunately, many medical professionals write back pain off as something entirely mental. Everything has a psychological component. Everything!!! But if you have pain in your back, something should be done about it. Simply adjusting the spine, stretching or even the best freudian psychotherapy will not fix the problem, if, there is a problem. The key is to find the affected muscles responsbile for the pattern of tightness and/or weakness- often times trigger points- and relieving the stress placed upon them.

Stretching a muscle that has knots with not make you feel better. I forget where I got this analogy from, but the important thing is I got it from someone ten times smarter than I am.  Tie a knot in a rubber band and stretch it. The knot will stay put even though the rubber band is being stretched, so optimal muscle length is not possible because the knot still exists.

Everyday habits that can contribute to the onset of back pain include: leaning forward (from the head and/or neck) on a desk looking at a computer, crossing your legs, carrying a bag on the same one side, sitting for extended periods of time, unnatural sleeping positions, bad exercise technique (there are either people that wouldn’t benefit from certain exercises or people butchering the correct technique), or pointless exercises that win the grammy in the “waste of life” category.

Speaking of exercises that make me want to put my hands through fire, there is plenty of time-wasting that goes on at the gym. I actually want to commend these people that do these exercises because their efforts and dedication to at least something should be recognized. Unfortunately, people come up short in reaching their fitness goals because yes, something is better than nothing, but the somethings that they’re doing aren’t really anything productive.

First and foremost, you need a plan. It doesn’t have to be broken down and meticulously detailed, but you should have a blueprint to ensure that you reach your goals. You should also beware of fads. With constant information being dished out left and right, you have to either invest in your health with products, books, programs or coaching or some sort, or you have to begin understanding that you require your own program for your own goals and overall needs. Let’s face it, life is hectic, and you actually don’t have to spend more than one hour in the gym. Wasting time doing crunches in the stretching area and taking up space for me to foam roll will not get you an inch closer to your goals.

Besides the fact that you need to challenge yourself to get results, bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, hamstring curls, any form of kicking or swinging your leg to target your glutes, situps, crunches, chest press machines or assisted squatting machines are a waste of time.

Not everyone’s time. But if you are trying to optimize the hour or a little over an hour you spend at the gym, you are wasting your time doing exercises that target a specific body part. I’m not going to say that these exercises aren’t “functional” nor am I going to say that you aren’t burning as many calories as you think you are. Both are, in fact, true, but that isn’t why I wholeheartedly hate them. Yes, total body workouts that emphasize compound exercises are more “functional” becuase they “mimic everyday life.” Yes, compound exercises are better because you train the stabalizer muscles, neuromuscular coordination and overall motor control. Yes, you may burn 75-100 more calories per workout if you ditch the machines and circus tricks. But, with as many as four workouts per week, that averages out to only 3500-3600 calories more burned over a two to three month span, so it’s not like you’re getting to your results as fast as many claim.

I don’t like these exercises because they aren’t time effecient. Besides the fact that they don’t make much sense to begin with and are pretty much as hazardous as a faulty smoke detector, everyone wants what’s best. You don’t go into a store to buy three sweatshirts and a light jacket to simultaenously wear them all in order to stay warm for the winter. You go to buy the jacket that will do the best job at keeping you warm. If you had the ability to buy the best gas for your car, why would you spend money on a cheaper brand that is proven to make your car worse. Gas is gas so it isn’t necesarily cheap, and you’d end up saving not as much as you think. Compound exercises are challenging. These compound exercises work more than one joint angle at a time thus involving multiple muscle groups, and gets you in and out of the gym faster.

Compound Exercises = Most Bang For Your Buck 

Also, including these exercises allow you to ditch the body part training and focus on something that is going to give you results faster than where you’re going now. We know compound exercises will develop strength, power, agility, balance and coordination, but they will also allow you to stimulate your muscles more times per month than body part training. Three total body workouts on non-consecutive days allow you to train each muscle group 12 times per month. We’re busy and the days of spending hours in a gym are both pointless and obsolete. If you’re moving furniture to storage, you wouldn’t rent a smaller car that would make you have to take two trips even if it’s 30 dollars cheaper. Not only is that inconvenient, but it’s a waste of time. Of course, you’d still get the furniture where you need it to be, but it isn’t the most time-effective. Any form of exercise will probably produce results if you eat accordingly, but wasting your time should not be a part of any goal oriented program.

Most people will embark on this journey of aesthetic appeal as of January 1st. I’m not a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions at all. I’m glad I’m not alone. In fact, it’s safe to say that I borderline hate them. Now, I’m not against anything make helps people jumpstart a new and healthier life. By all means, anything that can get people to invest in their health is a step in the right direction. But the whole idea behind a specific man-made day that symbolizes a drastic change is why we often set ourselves up for failure. Everyone makes these resolutions because most people live in an “anticipation stage of life.” They live their whole lives in a state of hope but no action. A life where the “thoughts and wishes of better days” are better than working to actually make them happen. Merely thinking is a whole lot easier anyways, right?

In any kind of program, gradual change is paramount. Noone suggests someone change everything over night. Yet with resolutions, people think this magic day will give them the subconcious power to capitalize on the year’s new beginning. God forbid they slip up, and then “there’s always next year.” This mentality leaves no room for inevitable mistakes. I honestly believe that if someone wants to change, they can change that moment. That very instant. People always quantify how long it’s taken to change things in their lives. “It took me five years to break up with him/her.” “It took me three months to get used to waking up at 6AM for my new job.” “I’ve eaten unhealthy for as long as I can remember. I battled for years to change my eating habits before I actually did.” Truth is, it didn’t take more than one minute for anyone in any of those situations. It was one moment that clicked, and that one moment inspired you enough to change. The “years struggling” were periods of procrastination, hesitation, irresponsibility and every other distraction awaiting us today. If you were to start “your resolution” today, you’d be 13 days closer to your dream on January 1st. To me, that’s bringin in the new year with a bang. “Oh well, I want to enjoy myself until then. It’s the holidays.” Um, it’s been the holidays for your whole life. Reality is, the average lifespan is 67 years. Besides the fact that that makes me cringe because I want to live to 116, that means someone can change their lives in .0037%  of their life span (3 months). If that isn’t a favorable statistic, I don’t know what is. Yet, instead of realizing the potential in that, most will look for more statistics to validate their fears of success. They’d rather look for statistics that prove the odds are just too great to surpass.

These New Year’s Resolutions lead people to the circus in the gym. They are what causes people to follow piss-poor exercise advice. They make people bring poorly written magazine article workouts to the gym with them. They make people, who have trouble even balancing on both feet while walking. stand on an unstable surface to burn .0196 more calories let alone “to train the core.” You actually get more core activation standing on your own two feet on the actual floor. It’s what drives people to kick like a mule trying to get or get rid of their badonka donk.

Don’t spend precious time fixating on one area of the body or exercise. 1)Use compound movements that are time efficient and train your body in a natural way. 2)Drink lots of water and eat clean most of the time. 3)Have a good attitude. 4)Get adequate rest. Follow these four simple steps, and you will see visual progress, guaranteed.

Notice, I didn’t say tone, sculpted, shaped or any other bogus word thrown around to get you to think you can look like anyone other than yourself.

So for New Year’s, celebrate the day knowing that the day itself means nothing unless you are ready to make that change.

What do you guys think?

Odds Are, The Odds Don’t Matter

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No matter what you do, the odds are always stacked against you.

 Despite what you may think, if you were to write down and assess every daily interaction, you’d quickly notice that things have more of an opportunity of going wrong than right. I’m not trying to be negative, but since I like to compare shit to other shit, of course I’m gonna ask you to let me elaborate.

Every time you drive to work in the morning, either yourself or some other form of transportation, you increase the odds of not making it to work. How? Well, easy! The more time you’re on the road, the more of a chance of an accident of any kind. Same goes for any other activity. Every time you go to the movies, you risk the chance of it being sold out, sitting too close to the screen or sitting next to someone who hogs all of the elbow room.

 Every time you go out to eat, you risk the chance of having horrible food, bad service or even worse, an impatient and condescending waiter/waitress. Nonetheless, these “maybes” don’t hold enough “weight” to stop you from carrying out these everday tasks. You may have never even thought about these “maybes” in the way I’m describing them. You see, we may or may not know the risks associated with certain things, but some things are so engrained in our psyche, that we simply just run through the motions.

Where am I going with this? Well, for starters, “statistically speaking,” you have a better chance at changing your body and your life than you do making it to work in the morning (based on the analogy described above). The more days you stick to your goals, the better the chances of your success (even if you have occasional bad days). But, on the way to work, you have major intersections with a lot of traffic, overcrowded and dangerous train tracks, irresponsible people or any other “potential” emergency waiting to get in your way. If you miss one day of work, you may not get paid. If you are late for one meeting, you may have to deal with crap or deal with being labeled as unreliable. If you miss one business call, you can screw up your month’s expected revenue. But what happens if you miss one workout? What happens if you miss one meal? What happens if you eat like total shit one day?

Guess what? You just charge it to the game and keep moving. You keep moving because the “day” itself has no “weight” on how well you do in the long-run. With fat loss or performance enhancement, you are either “reaching your goal” or “not reaching your goal.” The details don’t matter as much as they do in your everyday life.

Treadmills are all taken on a Saturday morning? So what! Burpees, Squat Jumps, Mountain Climbers, High Knees, Fast Feet. 45 seconds on, 15 seconds rest. Four total rounds for 20 minutes. You want cardio? There it is!

Gym floor crowded during peak hours? Grab a pair of challenging dumbbells. Pick a corner. Push Presses, Alternating Backwards Lunges, RDL’s, Renegade Rows, Pushup Iso Hold. 45 seconds on, 15 seconds rest. Four total rounds for 20 minutes. There’s your total body workout.

If you rely on the Long Island Railroad for work, and its out of service, you’re options are pretty  limited for getting to work on time. Fortunately, when it comes to fitness, there’s more than one road that leads to Rome, if you will.

If you do things necessary to change your body, it will change. It may not be exactly like someone else’s transformation, but it will change. The odds are against you because your body does everything it can to maintain homeostasis. Nonetheless, you dig a little deeper, and it will change. The odds here are less dangerous than the odds of everyday life yet we make it seem so difficult to change. You have more of a chance at not making it to work tomorrow than you do not changing the way you look. “How” it happens depends on a number of issues beyond your control (example: mom and dad). “If” it happens depends on whether or not you’re creating an environment conducive to change.

With that being said, everyone knows they need to eat clean to lose weight and enhance performance. We know which foods to eat and which ones to avoid. Everyone knows intensity in an exercise program is a very large part of succeeding. Everyone knows which exercises, for the most part, provide the body with enough of a stimulus to change. People know crunches aren’t the greatest. People know they have to lift weights not the pink dumbbells. Rep schemes can be debated. Set numbers can be debated. Periodization schemes, progressive overload strategies and every other fancy programming technique all work if followed appropriately. But, if people know what works, why can’t they follow it? Why are we all so energetic during the first few days, and by week’s end, we’re already convincing ourselves that its just too hard, not worth trying or just “not meant to be for us.”

As an industry, we’ve made huge advancements towards understanding injury. Anatomy is still anatomy, and that will never change. But we have learned that injuries are multifaceted. We have learned that “referred pain” is not the same as “cause of pain.” We have learned that stability is required in the knees, lumbar spine and scapulae. We have learned that mobility is required in the ankles, hips, thoracic spine and glenohumeral joint. We know back pain can be the result of tight hamstrings or tight hip flexors pulling on the pelvis. We know adhesions in the lateral rotators of the hip create an inability to move, so the lower back moves to compensate. We have learned that pain in any one of these joint areas can be a result of things brewing above or below. So if we’ve come so far in understanding the “deeper” issues of injury, why are we so content with merely telling people they “simply just need to eat less and move more.”

I completely agree, and most of the trainers and coaches I follow on a daily basis say that same thing. But, if it were that simple, I’m sure people would do it more often. What causes it to be so hard for some people? We have already realized that there are a number of training variables and methods that work. Evidence is there. You just have to think about something and prove it. But how do we get people to adhere to, at least, something for long enough to make it work?

People have trouble with perceived boundaries. Just look at everyday life. In baseball, there’s a fair and foul territory. In basketball, there’s out of bounds. Football has unplayable sidelines. On the road, there’s lanes, stop signs, roadmaps. On the trains, there’s no riding between cars. We are mostly always told what to do. There are limitations on everything else in life so of course we’d all think we’re limited also! We’re wrong. But our approach to changing ourselves is so different than how we change everything else. If a baseball player keeps fouling off most of the pitches thrown to him, he may be swinging too early. His feet position may be off. His hips may not be squared properly. He may not be generating enough force through his core to transfer enough power. Whatever the reason may be, it’s fair to say that we don’t just write him off as “a player who just needs to pay more attention and practice.” There are certain issues, deeper than the eye can see and deeper than we may be able to understand, that can contribute to his lack of progress.

First, we need to understand those boundaries and why we consistently fail to follow what we already know. People have an emotional connection to food. Hell, sugar even creates the same brain activity as cocaine and alcohol. (Cocaine made from cocoa leaves. Opium made from poppy seeds. Sugar made from sugar cane. Three “natural” things creating “unnatural” situations.) It’s no coincidence that people can’t kick their sugar habits the same way addicts can’t kick their addictions. But we always treat the addiction and not the person. Little do many people know, serial burgulars make the best runners! Am I serious? Yes! Why? Well, burgularly doesn’t just happen because people like to steal. There is an adrenaline rush. The heart is beating fast. There is an immense endorphin release and a sense of accomplishment and achievement. Of course their actions can, in no way, be justified. But, understanding “why” can be the breakthrough we all need to finally dig deep enough to know who we really are.

There are many systems in place that cause the body to gain weight. Leptin resistance. Thyroid imbalances. Low serotonin (due to eating highly refined sugars). Insulin resistance. You name it, and it’s a symtpom. But it isn’t a cause. Your body doesn’t know that it’s eating a snickers bar or cotton candy. It just knows it’s sugar.

We stick to the same things because we are scared of the unknown. We either want it all or nothing at all. Testing the waters and gradual progress are too slow because we’re used to wanting what we want, when we want it.

But why do we eat these things? Are we lonely? Sad? Anxious? Happy? Too sedentary? The list can go on for days, but these are questions that need to be answered before anyone does anything. Overweight people decide not to exercise, and it isn’t always because they are lazy. They may feel they are too overweight to exercise. They may be so deep in their negative self-esteem that they just can’t help but not do anything at all. This feeds the never ending cycle and creates a dead end.

Fact is, people need to be inspired. Adolescents don’t drop out of high school or act out in class because they don’t want to succeed. They’re uninspired. They need to be inspired. People don’t order big macs while staring at the 1,500 calorie description right next to it because they think it isn’t bad for them. It’s easy, convenient and they quite frankly aren’t inspired to eat something more healthy. People don’t quit training because it isn’t good for them. They’re uninspired. Nothing, whatsover, will work if we do not inspire people first. And that, is where the focus should be.

Time Is As Man-Made As Your Breakfast Bars

Time is quite an elaborate system that measures the sequence of events, compares the durations of and intervals between these events, and helps determine the motion of things, beings and/or concepts.

But time was created. We gave it existence, meaning, substance and importance. If it weren’t for the hours in a day, the days in a month and the months in a year, life would just merely exist with periods of lightness, darkness, cold and warmth. “Later” would be used instead of tomorrow. “Before” would be used instead of yesterday. Sometimes I think things would be a lot simpler with ten times less comparison. Needless to say, time has complicated many things, including nutrition. When to eat, how often, in what ratios at what times, pre-workout, post-workout, before bed, in between lunch and dinner, and the ever so important upon awakening….. aka….. breakfast.

For as long as I can remember, it’s been said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. There have been a countless number of reasons supporting the idea that breakfast starts your day off on the right foot. Well what about lefties?

We’ve all heard breakfast implies “breaking the fast.” Without it, we’ve been led to believe that we are doing our bodies more harm than good. But is it okay to “skip” this particular meal? Does breakfast absolutely have to be eaten within an hour of you waking up in the morning? Has anyone ever even experimented with this idea with enough of an open mind?

I’m in no way trying to be a Debbie Downer. I’m just trying to provide some insight and play a little Devil’s Advocate. Why? There’s two reasons. First, research is just that- research. When studying people, real people are used. Someone thinks about something and either tries to prove or disprove it. But the people they use aren’t from a bank of perfection wiped with a clean slate at life. Just because certain outcomes may or may not favor certain hypothesis’ doesn’t mean that much is known about the whole person being used. How do they live? What do they eat? What do they do for a living? Are they in debt? Are they married? What’s their stress level? What is their exercise history? Who were their parents? These things have an impact on how well they respond to the research. Yes, we need research, but it isn’t an end-all-be-all  truth to every story or situation. And you can always find information to prove or disprove anything. That’s called freedom of speech and expression. Secondly, it all boils down to what I always say- people are way smarter than they give themselves credit for. People are always looking for answers from everyone else, and often times their own instincts and necessary efforts are neglected and avoided in favor of following someone else. “Breaking the fast” seems right. It seems 100% logical. But we all know that not everything that seems logical is logical and vice versa.

Before I get down to the nitty gritty, those with a specific diagnosis, particularly diabetes, may need breakfast for a number of medical reasons.

 Contrary to what many people believe, breakfast does not “jumpstart your metabolism.” Our metabolism does not have an “on and off” button. Our metabolism doesn’t suddenly slow itself down because we haven’t eaten breakfast or any one meal for that matter (assuming you eat enough and according to your needs). Strength isn’t sacrificed, and glycogen stores don’t become further depleted if we merely skip this one meal. It takes a lot more for that to happen, especially if you’re eating enough throughout the day. If our metabolism had this “slowing effect” when not supplied food, it would seem logical that when exercising, our metabolisms slowed also because we don’t all eat in the middle of a workout. We’re causing damage to our muscles, especially during weight training, yet our metabolisms do not come to a sudden hault. Sure, there are certain athletes that do supplement with carbohydrate drinks during a workout, but not only are those prolonged workouts, but that’s for another post entirely.

We are either in a catabolic state (muscle breakdown) or anabolic state (muscle growth). That’s it! With or without breakfast! We may be more catabolic upon wakening- due to lower blood sugar levels and because we’ve been fasting. We may be more anabolic while sleeping- due to the body’s repair systems. Nonethless, if we are in an anabolic state more than we’re in a catabolic state, we’ve won. If you sleep 5 hours per night but eat breakfast, guess what? You’re still not entirely healthy. You see during a nascar race, some cars are winning more than losing. Some are losing more than they are winning. Some come from behind and win the whole thing. Some lead the whole way and end up losing last minute. What matters is the outcome of the total race. If a car is consistent enough, it can pull through, make up for whatever it has missed (missing breakfast) and still win- that’s it!

Logically speaking, those who partake in Ramadan, the religious fasting, would seem to be less healthy than those who didn’t based on the idea that breakfast is the holy grail. Interestingly enough, those partaking in this religious fast had favorable effects on several health-related outcomes, including blood pressure, blood lipids, insulin sensitivity and biomarkers of oxidative stress. Now these favorable effects can be said to come from the fact that these people refrain from using refined carbohydrates, food additives, preservatives, sweeteners, etc (things that aren’t entirely healthy anyways. So, looking deeper into Ramadan, it was interesting to find out that the effects of Ramadan-style fasting on exercise performance are generally small. So, it is safe to assume that because fasting takes place over an 8-10 hour period, some of these people exercise without eating breakfast. But in order to be able to do so consistently, they have to eat enough throughout the rest of the day. This example is a little extreme, but I’m merely trying to prove a point. I’m not now favoring a no breakfast rule. I’m simply trying to convey that there are no absolutes. 

Many nutritionists say that breakfast should be the largest meal of the day. Say that to the wrong person, and they’re left in a food coma for the rest of the day feeling sluggish and hazy because of eating too much food, particularly in the form of carbohydrates. For someone who doesn’t eat breakfast at all or prefers a smaller one, this idea can make them feel like they’re doing something wrong. When it comes to this “world of absolutes,” if someone who’s trying to lose weight skips breakfast, they may feel like they have to start over the next day. Or, they may feel like they ruined their day, and they may end up eating crap for the rest of the day. For someone who’s a performance athlete, they may feel that if they don’t eat breakfast or don’t eat enough, their performance will be out of wack and negatively affected. Play into these mindsets, and it doesn’t matter how well or poorly you’ve eaten because thinking negatively will hinder performance even if you were superman or were able to walk on fire. Some people think this way which is why there cannot be a world of cookie-cutter absolutes. This reason is more psychological than anything else, but a healthy mindset is half the battle anyways.

Breakfast does not have a substantial physiological benefit. Breakfast, itself, does not make you lose more weight. If you skip breakfast, you will not suddenly begin storing excess fat from every other meal. Yes, breakfast can surely help you get enough calories in for the day, especially if you have time constraints, have a hard time eating often or have a hard time holding down a lot of food. Sure, breakfast can help you get in your daily recommended vitamins and minerals. Breakfast, for some, can also help you feel less hungry, and it can help you avoid over-eating later on because of the foolish decisions ravenous hunger sometimes causes.

Nonetheless, these are subjective reasons why brekafast may be beneficial, once again depending on the person. Hell, skipping breakfast can even enhance alertness, attention and performance, particularly in kids. Total caloric intake as well as micronutrient denisty is what will determine your performance, looks, mental status, first-pumping abilities.

Now, if you do like breakfast, the only thing special about this is your unfortunately clueless inability to see how that green paper you work your ass off to have myseriously creeps out of your wallet to support the finer things in life that general mills likes to have.

The “Special K” diet was designed to get you to eat it twice a day, not because it leads to long-term health and weight gain. It makes you buy more boxes to supply your new twice-a-day useful as slamming a door shut on your fingers habit. For an even added bonus, eat Special K in the morning, and you can easily restrict your recommended caloric intake so much so that you can be ready to destroy your cabinets when you get home. Famished anyone? Special K products, along with many other cereals and instant breakfast options are highly processed. Don’t get me started on the low-quality meat and sodium content in lean cuisine. With Special K and the like, any fiber content is stripped from the grain (refined grains). Any natural nutrients have been replaced with added (non naturally occurring) vitamins and minerals. All in all, these products are loaded with preservatives, simple sugars and ingredients that you wouldn’t dare pronounce. Because they’re so refined and contain very little fiber, they have a high glycemic load. So, the carbohydrates (with little to no protein) in Special K and other similar pre-packaged products are rapidly digested by the body and spike insulin levels, which can leave you hungry, moody and lethargic later in the day. The reason that these products “work,” are because they simply help with caloric reduction (obviously not in the best ways). If you want to prevent yo-yo dieting before it starts, STOP EATING BULLSHIT AND START QUESTIONING CLAIMS THAT SEEM TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. If someone told you that working less makes you more money, you’d instantly question that. (Although its possible, it is not how most people make it through life.) Yet, someone tells you eat less to lose more, and all of a sudden, everyone believes it without a shadow of doubt. Recipe for disaster!

Eat Smarter!

If You Only Knew How Simple Losing Fat Really Is

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We live in a crazy society. The industry I’ve decided to dedicate my life to happens to be SO unregulated. Of course I’m an advocate for freedom of speech, but it sometimes kills me to know that even the most uninformed can give fitness advice and manage to create a wide-scale audience. Sure, for them it’s great! More people = more money. But, at what cost?

Kareem Abdul Jabar and Joe Montana support shape-ups! Shape-ups!!! The same athletes who busted their asses one day at a time to become two of the greatest players in their game had decided to become spokespeople for a shoe that for 1) is foolish, 2) can actually cause more harm than good, and 3) paints aesthetic appeal as something that can be acquired overnight with minimal effort. Gweneth Paltrow told Chealsea Handler that she can’t get away from drinking, which is why she loves Tracy Anderson’s long and lean bullshit workout program because it allows her to stay fit! Um, if you drink consistently, especially if you’re aging, you won’t look anywhere near long and lean unless you have long and lean parents. By the way, your body uses less fat for energy while alcohol is in your system because it can’t be stored. Victoria Secret models are being trained by someone who says he doesn’t have them lift heavy with their legs because he knows they’re afraid of bulking. In the same article, he said the girls are naturally skinny. Ironically, guys who are naturally skinny can be lucky to gain and maintain 5 pounds of muscle in a year. A WHOLE YEAR! I can’t blame some of these people because you really don’t know what you don’t know. But as a fitness professional who’s always trying to be better than the day before, it’s frustrating to see some of the advice given on a daily basis. Obviously, there is a huge disconnect between what works and what doesn’t in 2010 if we can send some thing, let alone, someone to space yet can’t keep this from happening.

Losing weight, fat, half your face, two quarters of your arm, a slither of meat off your ass or anything that moves around more than you do on your body is not rocket science. Let me repeat: IT.. IS.. NOT.. ROCKET.. SCIENCE. Take it from someone who’s been there before.

If you create a caloric deficit (burn more calories than you take in), you will lost weight. Period! At this initial stage and understanding, your genes, body type, blood type, thyroid, insulin levels and every other regulatory hormone does not matter. This caloric deficit is the big picture. I’m not even going to touch on the psychological aspect of this whole thing. Everyone likes to get caught up on specifics, but become vague with the big picture, and your progress will stall before it starts.

Once you understand this, then we can talk about food. Complex carbs are better than simple carbs. Carbs don’t matter. Don’t eat fruit because they have a lot of sugar. Fat is bad for you. I don’t need a lot of protein because I’m not trying to get huge. Low carb/high fat. High fat/low carb. Protein only. All this is pretty much blah blah blah blah blah. It has a purpose, but people take it way too overboard. I’m not going to go into such detail, but all I do want to say is your body can pretty much run on anything. It is incredibly adaptable and can make macronutrients out of each other when it needs to. The difference between pure “weight” loss and “fat loss with minimal lean body mass loss” can be the result of diet and exercise combined. How you look during and after a caloric deficit can depend on what exactly you eat and what exactly you do. But, if you are in a deficit, your body will not turn anything into fat or make you store anything anywhere because you are in a deficit. Whether its fructose , glucose, polyunsaturated fat, whey protein or kryptonite, you cannot possibly gain any weight, fat, extra jigglies on your arms or legs while in a caloric defecit. (Remember, right now, we’re not talking about how eating processed foods may or may not cause various diseases and other physical ailments. Ironically, you can still lose weight eating garbage although you probably won’t look lean and mean.) So, rule 1: In order to lose anything, you have burn more calories than you consume.

Now we can talk about metabolism. For starters, your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the minimum amount of calories your body needs to basically be alive and continue to be that way. This is heavily influenced by how much lean body mass someone has. The more lean body mass you have, the higher your basal metabolic rate because muscle is more metabolically active than fat. Reasearch states that your BMR makes up roughly 60% of your body’s total calories burned each day.

Then there is Exercise Associated Thermogenesis (EAT) which is the total amount of calories burned through exercise. Research states that 10-30% of your body’s total calories burned come from EAT. This percentage is heavily influenced by the intensity of your exercise program.

Next, there is Diet Induced Thermogenesis (DIT). Basically, this is the amount of calories your body uses to eat, digest, process and store the food you eat. Research states this only makes up about 10% of your total calories burned. Depsite what you hear about negative calorie foods (foods that require your body to spend more calories burning them than they actually have), this percentage is so small and can’t possibly make a profound difference on your health or appearance, so stop eating celery sticks to burn more calories.

Arguably, the most important aspect of metabolism is Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT). This consists of the 150+ hours a week spent outside of the gym. Are you mostly sedentary or active? These activities include walking to the grocery store, gardening, walking up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, pacing, carrying groceries when you can instead of using a wagon, SEX, etc. Why is this important? Well, when trying to maintain a caloric deficit, the calories burned during NEAT can add to that deficit. But, in no way should it ever (unless you have extreme physical limitations) take the place of an exercise program.

Metabolism can get pretty complicated, but I’m going to keep it simple. Although calories are important and should be properly accounted for, I am not advocating precisely scaled measurements for each meal. That is borderline neurotic and can be extremely detrimental to any attempt at long-term progress. We aren’t lab rats, so we shouldn’t necessarily subject ourselves to such precise measurements- for most, it simply isn’t entirely realistic and probably can’t be upheld beyond the initial first few weeks. Meal frequency is also worth mentioning. Despite what you may have heard or read, 5-6 small meals do not substantially increase your metabolism. It may, however, for some people help satiety from meals and help people from over-eating in general. You can still get great results from three, four, five or six sound meals per day. Like everything else, it depends on who you are and what you’re trying to accomplish.

Many people who are stuck in a weight-loss plateau simply overestimate how much they move and underestimate how much they eat. Since that is not all people, plateaus happen for a reason. When your weight decreases, especially your skeletal muscle mass, the calories required to keep you alive (your BMR) decreases as well. This becomes problematic because energy consumption either may not match the new needs of the body (you don’t lose weight on the same restrictions anymore), or can also surpass what’s needed causing an increase in weight again (which also leads to the yo-yo effect). Basically, the lighter you get, the more calories you have to drop in order to keep losing weight. Go too long in a caloric deficit, and you are more likely to succomb to those irresistible hunger pangs. You suddenly eat way more than your body needs, and days like those completely negate your deficits. Even more important is the effect such a low calorie diet has on your ability to exercise let alone exercise intensely. Your body does not like to bargain with anything.  Your body doesn’t want you to lose anything, and it will do everything in its power to prevent that and maintain homeostasis.

These are the reasons why diet, alone, is not the greatest way to achieve and maintain  long-term weight loss. Even if you somehow manage to keep losing weight, there will be fat loss without a doubt, but there will also be precious skeletal muscle loss. As you age, this becomes an even bigger problem in itself, especially for post-menopausal women and older men who are continuously losing testosterone.

The idea here is to adopt a very conservative caloric deficit. If you’re in it for the long run, it doesn’t matter how long it takes because you’re going to get there eventually. Fat loss isn’t a weekend vacation where you have to speed along the highway to maximize your limited time spent at the beach. When you do this, you avoid the inevitable temptations to overeat. Now remember, your BMR is highly dependent on skeletal muscle. When losing weight in a caloric deficit, you will lose both fat and muscle. But, you want to be able to burn as many calories as possible while preserving lean body mass. This is where weight training comes in. Weight training will save any precious muscle you have. A combination of weight training and cardio (yes, cardio- especially if you are not naturally lean) will allow you to preserve the most lean body mass during the caloric deficit. Cardio will add insurance to this deficit (you don’t necessarily have to do a lot and shouldn’t be done instead of weight training, ever). You need to preserve lean body mass, so cardio, alone, is as beneficial as swimming with alligators.

Combining these two into a solid exercise program also allows you to eat more food and keep your sanity yet still maintain a caloric deficit because you’re combining the energy consuming effects of exercise and diet (diet, here, meaning the way you are eating).

Like I said, the way you look during this deficit depends on what you eat and whether or not you are exercising. Remember weight loss, in itself, doesn’t necessarily mean healthy. Weight loss means weight loss (in muscle and fat). Assuming you want to improve the way you look, exercise and food selection is important. Keep the exercise intense with total body movements, and the results are even more astounding. Keep the foods high in nutritional density, and it will help you get through to your next meal without headaches, fatigue, indigestion, etc that comes from poor food choices.

Hormones such as leptin, cortisol, ghelrin, thyroid hormones (T3 and T4), insulin, epinephrine, etc are heavily involved in any weight loss/fat loss situation. Because the body is a network of so many interdependent variables and overlapping systems of feedback, it’s both hard to fight your basic biology and hard to blame one thing as a primary cause or hinderance of weight loss/fat loss. But I do acknowledge that their role is very influential.

I promised to keep this simple, and I really tried to do so. I didn’t go into great detail about which foods to eat during a caloric deficit and which exercises to include in an (intense) exercise program the same way I do with my long-distance and face-to-face clients, but I hope I got a strong message across.

If you’ve been diagnosed with a disease or mutation, such as a thyroid issue, it still doesn’t make the situation any more complicated. It may be harder to achieve your goals, but your attitude determines your results because everyone has physical, mental and physiological setbacks in one way or another.

Refeeds and 1 week breaks also add to fat loss like rapid fire, but that is for another post. Stay tuned.

Your Approach Is Broke

We all know the saying , “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”  Basically, it means if something is working well enough, don’t try and change it for the sake of changing it. This is a “word from the wise” for people who struggle with many things. For the purpose of this post, let’s use patience.

The reverse must also be true. “If it is broken, then fix it.” Say your light bulb goes out in your dining room. You go to home depot, and you ask for another light bulb that would replace the broken one. The salesperson on the floor suggests a series of different light bulbs for you to choose from. One is really bright, but it lasts only half the amount of time as the one you had. Another one is the exact same brand as the one you had, but it’s a little bigger because it’s meant for the recetly upgraded light fixture, so it won’t fit without purchasing an additional backing for the bulb. The last of the three he shows you is the exact same light bulb. But, because it’s an older light bulb, it would not work in your light fixture unless you wanted to pull the string to turn it on each time. In other words, it doesn’t respond to the light switch.

All three of these bulbs work perfectly, but they obviously aren’t the right fit for your light fixture. Although the man suggests great options, you would never in your right mind buy something that you know won’t fit. You’d also realize that if you did, you’d be wasting your time and your money. Chances are you would continue to search for a bulb that fits exactly what you need. You’d go from store to store even if the first or second store didn’t work out the way you planned. Interestingly enough, when dealing with ourselves (something definitely more important than light bulbs) we are so quick to listen to the information about fat loss, weight loss, muscle gain, strength gain, etc. suggested by other people about what would work for us. Because there is so much information out there that we pay attention to at the same time, we never truly find out what works for us. We try everything, fail to stick to one thing, and by the nature of how things just work, we don’t get anywhere because we become frustrated when something doesn’t work fast enough when we didn’t even give it enough of a chance to work.

There are tons of experts within the fitness industry. It’s honestly quite amazing how much these experts really know. The crazy thing is, although they are experts, they all have their own philosphy. They also all have their own specialty. Some experts favor interval training, and some favor low-intensity, long duration cardio. Some hate cardio altogether. Some other experts rely heavily on “metabolic conditioning,” circuit training  or strictly power movements to achieve results. Some rely on heavy resistance training. Other experts combine everything into one solid program. Some know shoulders, hips, knees or ankles. The thing that connects them all is their greatness. Greatness doesn’t “dibble dabble” in different methods. They’ve chosen an area that they truly believe in and they make it work for them, their clients, their overall training philosophy and their business. Truth is though, any of these methods will change anyone if they eat according to their program’s demands. They don’t work because one is better than the other (we already know everyone experiences things differently), but they work because of their consistency. They work because those involved in the program have made a commitment to that program.

Point is….. Anything that is a sound program will work if you follow it the way it’s supposed to be followed.

Let’s go back to “If it’s broken, fix it.” Let’s say you go to home depot, and the salesperson on the floor gives you the exact same light bulb. You get home and immediately put it in your light fixture. Next week, the light blows again. You go back to home depot, and you repeat this process three times. You later find out, you have a short, malfunctioning fuse. Even though the bulb is the right match, you forgot to find out “why it’s broken.” You want to change your body. You’ve found the right plan. But, what’s your inspiration? Why are you deciding to change? Are you doing it for you or for superficial reasons. If you don’t know that answer, you will not succeed long-term, guaranteed.

Things go wrong when you change your body. Sometimes you plateua. Sometimes you have to reassess your goals and change the focus of the program. Sometimes you get injured and have to modify the exercises. But, you can’t choose a program based on what may happen. If you really want to change, those “maybes” or “potential setbacks” are just part of the “bad that inevitably comes with every good.” Noone chooses a career based on what may happen, and those that do tend to be miserable. Every career has negative aspects, but your love for what you do outweights that inevitable bad.

Truth is, we’re spoiled. We want instant satisfaction. We want the perfect program. That’s why we search for even more information when we’re overwhelmed somehow thinking that getting more will solve the bundle we’re already trying to sort through. We hate responsbility. I’m talking about responsibility for our lives. We  hire people to do everything for us. This is fine and dandy if you can live that life, but what happens with the things that we can’t outsource. You can’t outsource your health. You can hire a trainer, coach, nutrition, physical therapist, etc. to provide you with a plan and a roadmap, but guess who needs to do the work? YOU!

 This is the reason why we buy into bullshit informercials. We love the promise of something new giving us something we never had. The more complicated it looks, the more we want it because for some reason, we think we can’t do it ourselves. Basic push-ups, push presses, rows, pull-ups, lunges, hip thrusts, romanian deadlifts, planks don’t do it for us. We want what looks cool. We want to squat on a bosu ball while throwing a medicine ball. We want to stand on one leg and do bi-cep curls. We also want what’s easy. That’s why we settle in our careers, relationships, friendships and health. We want pills, powders and magic vitamins. God forbid we question the medical system. We want to do the minmum required to get maximum results. We want nifty sneakers that tone our “hips, thighs and buns.” We want video games that give us a generic workout. If it’s simple and basic, we think something is wrong with it, but when we’re overwhlemed, we wish things were simpler. We live in this anticipation phase where people love to live in this sort of “what if, magic wonderland,” which is the idea behind many gambling and loterry issues. The odds are stacked against you, and people like to take a chance on something that “may” change their lives. The “waiting for the outcome” phase is so addictive because it’s out of our control while we wait for something to determine our own outcome. But, we can have a front seat view while reaching our own fitness goals, yet we want someone or something to do it for us. Sounds ass-backwards if you ask me.

I don’t know about you, but life is too short to focus on potential losses. When you focus on fat loss, you focus on anything to avoid being fat, heavy, overwight, etc. Binge eating, throwing up, over-exercising and not eating become “okay” because those things will avoid being fat, heavy, overweight, etc. Those are irrational things. Because your focus isn’t on making your life better, positive things automatically don’t come to mind and don’t ever seem logical. But, when you focus on better quality of life, you will eat any array of healthy food. You will exercise at healthy levels. You will sleep more. You will do positive things to live better. The former focuses on avoiding a loss and the latter focuses on achieveable gains. Which one sounds more reasonable to you?

My message….. Today is the day to be thankful for what you have and who you have around you. But everyone forgets to be thankful for themselves. Give yourself credit and be thankful for the chance to be alive. With all of the negative that surrounds us everyday, be thankful that you are capable of doing whatever you want to do as long as you’re willing to work for it. Realize your potential!

Six Exercises For Running Sober (Part 2)

I personally think that the upper body is the fun part. Many people who run would rather walk on fire than train their lower body, especially heavy. Some hate being sore or experiencing delayed onset muscle soreness. Some people find it really difficult. Some people think that they don’t have to because “they already have strong legs from running.” YOU DONT, BY THE WAY! Some are even afraid that they’ll slow down with stronger legs. It’s actually the other way around because the stronger your legs are, the better you can decelerate with good landing skills, and you can’t accelerate if you can’t decelerate. If you’re not training your lower body, you won’t be running forever- I PROMISE.

Most running injuries and most movement compensations are a result of poor braking systems. A strong and stable system between the lower body and the pelvis is essential throughout the run. “Running upward” where you propel yourself into a bounce upward increases the landing forces, puts greater stress on the joints and creates more muscle force to control. It is important to be able to “run along” with quick, light steps. Correct movement patterns of the ankle, knee and hip along with correct activation and strength throughout the lower body (glutes, hamstrings, quads and calf muscles) will help minimize landing forces. Strength in these areas also allows the runner’s efficient slight forward lean.

On to the last three of 6 exercises for running sober…..

Unilateral exercises are great because runners are never on both feet at the same time during the gait cycle.

4. Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat (RFESS)

The RFESS will develop will develop overall strength, balance and hip flexibility. The unilateral (one-legged) nature of this exercise increases the stabalizer activty of the glutes, lower back and adductor complex between the hip and knee. This helps groove proper movement patterns, enhances communication between the muscles of the lower body and addresses any asymmetries or imbalances between the left and right legs. This exercises also provides a nice dynamic hip-flexor stretch for the leg on the bench.

5. Single Leg RDL

Most hamstring injuries occur during the eccentric (lengthening) phase of the gait cycle. By increasing strength in this phase, a runner can properly extend the hip during their stride. In order to drive forward, a runner needs good hip extension. Single Leg RDL’s are a great exercise because it trains the hamstrings in this eccentric phase which allows runners the necessary hip extension they need to run faster, stronger and injury free.

6. Specific Glute Work

Most runners have glutes that are as inactive as most volcanoes throughout the world. When this happens, the hamstrings pick up the slack, and the whole lower body suffers from a variety of issues, including  improper length-tension relationships (relationship between the length of the fiber and the force that the fiber produces at that length), improper force-couple relationships (the ability of muscles’ to work together to produce proper movement), labral tears, adductor strains, etc.

I’d go as far as saying that a runner’s glutes are the most important muscles in their lower body. I don’t even want to talk about the adhesions must runners have in their glutes preventing them to fire correctly in the first place. HELLO MASSAGE! 

These muscles create forward/upward propulsion and lateral/side-ways mobility. The gluteus maximus is a bad-ass muscle that controls flexion of the trunk and hip on the stance-side or the running gait while decelerating and extending the the leg swing of the opposite leg. The gluteus medius provides lateral stability for the pelvis by preventing the hip from rotating downward when the opposing side is lifted or not supported with the other leg.

Mini-band walks for glute medius activation/strength are important because runner tend to be very quad dominant. Since they aren’t involved in much change of direction, their glute medius, in particular, suffers on both sides. Weak glute medius muscles can also lead to excessive internal rotation and can feed “knocked knees” syndrome.  The hip thrust is a powerful exercise for the gluteeus maximus. Strength and power there can translate into huge running gains all around.

So, there you have it! These 6 exercises are by no means the “end all be all” for improving your running skills. The variations to each exercise are limitless. However, these exercises will undoubtedly change the way you run forever.

Like I mentioned in Part 1, everyone’s “look” or “mechanics” may be different. Every runner has their own tolerance level for the stressors of running, and it takes a combination of  unique factors, according to each person’s own body, to cause injury, overuse or lack of progress.

I’m not a fan of switching a runner’s natural gait. If the person does not have pain or discomfort in the ways they run, I generally find it necessary to merely strengthen the areas that will keep them that way. Sometimes it’s better to never fix what’s not broken.

Before I let you go, pay attention to the feet of each of these three runners!

Regular running enthusiasts usually have similar ankle and foot mechanics just as the picture above. Everyone lands differently. Some may or may not pronate. Some may or may not supinate. But, because everyday runners tend to lack the strength that these athletes have, they injure themselves much quicker.

These guys are, without a doubt, elite runners. Each of the three have their own “foot mechanics.” However, the strength ahd neuromuscular coordination they’ve developed throughout their entire body is what really matters because those are the things that help them tolerate “less than ideal” landing forces.

Six Exercises For Running Sober (Part 1)

I know what you’re probably thinking. “Aren’t people supposed to run sober?” The problem is, when a lot of people run, whether it’s at the gym or outside, they look as if they’ve been drinking. I’m only joking. A little. I think.

Before I get to addressing what I just said above, let’s look at driving. Not anyone, at any time, can simply get in a car and drive it. You have to have a license. To get that license, you have to pass a road test. To pass that road test, you have to practice your driving skills- turns, parking, reversing, etc. Even when you do all of that and finally get your license, you still have to renew it every few years. “On the road,” you have to adhere to certain rules and regulations. Everyone’s driving “mechanics” may be different, but successful drivers fall into the same catergory- “generally profocient at driving.” Every car isn’t a ferrari. Some cars look like they’ve been purchased at a toy store. Some are old and appear to have been through many repairs. But, every functioning car, regardless or how it looks, needs an engine, regular oil changes, gas, brakes and tires.

Basically, driving isn’t just driving. Same goes for running. You shouldn’t be running only to lose weight. You should be running because you enjoy it– not because you know someone who changed their body by running. There are plenty of ways to change your body, which is a whole other post in itself. Running is a sub-culture. It is not only a means to an end. You most definitely can make great aesthetic progress while running, but there’s a risk vs reward aspect involved in that entire idea. Overall structural integrity is what’s often sacrificed by running. If someone already has faulty joint mechanics, flexibility and/or mobility issues, several movement impairments, soft tissue restrictions and horrible posture, they’d be better off banging their heads against a wall than attempting to run as a means of general fitness.

I can’t tell you how many times I hear people stomping and pounding on the pavement and tredmills while they’re running. It’s as if they’re trying to break the surface below them with a sledge hammer. Worst of all, these people aren’t even the heaviest. That, for example, is knee dominant running. YOU HAVE NO HIPS! Those problems need to be addressed before starting any program, let alone running- something that requires a ton of impact and repetitions per mile. With that said, there are runners who have built a great running threshold. They’re great runners (because they like running), but they’re either always getting hurt, or they’re not improving in speed and endurance.  These people, too, can share some of the same issues as those who’ve never ran. My advice? Simple!

STOP RUNNING.

I know what you crackheads, I mean, runners are thinking. “Stop running? No phuckin way! Over my dead body.” Ok, well keep running that way. Soon enough, you’ll be as good as dead, and I’ll come and stand over you and read everything I’m about to tell you anyways.

Now, noone runs with perfection. I’ve already kicked ideals in the head.

I understand everyone is different, much like every car is different. But, there are certain areas every runner should be addressing in order to be able to do what they like to do. These areas are the engines, gase, oil, brakes and tires of a runner’s body.

Surprisingly, I’m not on the whole “running is the dumbest form of activity out there” bandwagon. If you’re doing it for the right reasons, and if it works for you, that’s what matters. I know the whole comparison between marathoner bodies and sprinter bodies. Who cares? Maybe sprinters look the way they do because they lift their asses off. Maybe marathoners or everyday running enthusiasts should lift their asses off too. Middle distance runners can even carry more bulk, so it isn’t that running is bad, but too much running is bad and borderline pointless. You don’t have to “just focus on running” to complete a marathon. You most definitely “won’t get bulky” while running as much as a hyenia. If you’re running a marathon so you can eat your ass off, then in all seriousness, that’s an issue that needs to be addressed, like, last week. Dr. Phil? Truth is, if you get stronger and stop running so much, you’ll run better. There are many ways to progress your running ability by doing other forms of conditioning and strength work.

On to the first three of 6 exercises for running sober…..

Strength in the upper body helps provides balance and reduces rotation forces through the body during the whole gait cycle.

1. Push-Up (and push-up isometric holds)

Push-ups are a great exercise to strengthen your chest, shoulders and triceps (the mirror muscles). More importantly, push-ups are a great upper-body and core training tool for pelvic stability. They enhance communication between the two halves of the body because in order to perform them correctly, you must maintain sturdiness throughout the whole body. The scapula also moves freely with good push-ups. Shoulder stress is kept to a minimum, and good push-ups help create good thoracic mobility, which is essential for runners who especially tend to lean forward.

2. Horizontal Row

Horizontal rowing strengthens the lats, traps and rhomboids (the muscles you can’t see by directly looking in the mirror). Proper postural alignment is extremely important in the upper body, especially for runners. Many runners, while fatigued, tend to start rounding their shoulders forward. This creates unnecessay energy demands from the rest of the body. On top of that, rounded shoulders can create difficulty in breathing, and overall running technique is sacrificed down the rest of the body. Healthy shoulders are heavily influenced by strong scapular retractors and depressors.

3. Rotator Cuff Work

Many runners have weak external rotators of the shoulder. Even if they are “strong” in their upper body, weak external rotators can still prevent proper throacic extension or scapular retraction while running. Weak external rotators can also cause “wild arms” while running. This can be a result of many things, and while push-ups and rows will help strengthen a runner’s upper body, direct rotator cuff work will minimize any muscle imbalances and create symmetry between the anterior (front) and posterior (back) of the shoulder.



Stay tuned for Part 2 with the Lower Body…..

A Play On Words

Aside from all the other interdependent variables involved in any body transformation, there are always three words that come to mind: attainable, sustainable and maintable.

Without getting sidetracked by starting a genetic debate, I’m going to keep it simple by saying that everyone has the ability to lose weight, to lose fat and to, in some way or another, enhance performance, strength, power, speed, posture or what-have-you. But, the degree of that change, the road there and how long it can last, in one way or another, are connected to YOUR OVERALL BODY.

While trying to establish what is attainable, one must properly assess their own goals. Not everyone wants to be “freaky lean.” However, there are some people that do want that, but for a variety of reasons, can’t get there. Although those people are rare, for all intents and purposes, they must be acknowledged. For those who want to drop down into single digit body fat percentages, the next concern is whether or not that goal is sustainable. Remember, in order to lose fat, regardless of the training stimulus chosen to get there, one must create a caloric deficit. Assuming that they can reach that single digit area, a body fat percentage that low, for some people, can wreak havok on many areas of the body, particularly immune system function, endocrine system function, adrenal function and other issues relating to mood and horomonal imbalances. Not to mention, the repetitve structural stress placed on the body after so long can lead to injury, extreme fatigue and even loss of interest. These are the reasons why realistic goal setting is an important first step. Many people reach this stage of the game, and unfortunately, end up further back than where they started.

Taking a step back, once a person establishes an attainable goal, their next best option is to discover the route that will lead them to what’s maintainable without impairing their body. It is here where people truly come to terms with what works for them. This process is nothing short of trial-and-error. It can take some people 12 weeks; it can take others 6 months; it can take someone years of battling back and forth to truly discover what works best for their own bodies under varying real-life circumstances. There is a place, however, for unsustainable goals. Bodybuilders, in particular, acquire very low body fat percentages leading up to a show or competition. These men and women are experts at what they do and what works for them, but even they know the detrimental effects of being “competition-ready” for a prolonged period of time. Now that we’re done with that play on words, let’s move on to what’s really important.

Now, being that I’ve overcome my own personal struggle with weight, I have a bias towards a few things. I don’t like when personal trainers make fat loss easier than it is. I must admit that it is easy to an extent- but it’s only very easy after you’ve truly realized how hard it is. For someone who’s been there before, I get frustrated when people simply prescribe general advice for fat loss. For someone who is already at a normal bodyweight, it can be easier to see dramatic results from simply cutting out sugar, increasing protein intake, getting more sleep or paying more attention to pre and post-workout nutrition. There is a whole psychological process (soemtimes struggle) that one goes through when changing their body and dealing with plateaus. The hardest part is staying there once you get there. It’s easy for someone to recommend advice when they’d be lean by simply sneezing, but that’s really a whole other blog post.

Moving on, I really like analogies. For some reason, I always compare shit to other shit. On my train ride home from a client this morning, I rode in the very first cart, which means I was able to see the tunnel ahead as the train drove through the tracks.

As I’d look down when the train rode underground, I’d see sparks from the friction between the steel wheels and the tracks. I started to think about electricity and how it relates to the effects of positive thinking. “Here he goes again with this 17th century philosophical nonsense.”

Nonetheless, you can’t see electricity at work. We can see the light, though, turn on after we turn the switch. Although I saw the effects of the electrical current, I could not see the friction created below the train much like you cannot actually see your thoughts on yourself. However, these thoughts, much like the effects of electricity, undeniably manifest themsevles in many ways through visual progess, emotional well-being, self-esteem and behavior.

As I continue with this thought process, I also realized that if we were as commited as trains were to their destinations, we’d continuously surpass all of our fitness goals and expectations. Trains travel underground, through periods of darkness, but they stay on track. Of course, there are rare accidents that can even de-rail the strongest trains, but for the most part, they keep on going. They encounter people (traveling passengers beyond their control) from all different walks of life, professions and socioeconomic statuses, but they don’t let anything stop their “tunnel vision.” Our own fitness struggles are often dark and dreary. They are sometimes lonely and self-limiting. They are affected by different circumstances and events that are beyond our control. But it’s that commitment, that mindset, that has already made a decision, which allows us to adjust when we have to but never lose sight of the direction ahead.

It’s no wonder why coaches use half-time as their stage for motivational speaking. You don’t see athletes bench pressing or squatting in the locker room. Hell, most of them can already run a 40 yard dash in single digit seconds. They are already strong, fast and powerful. These coaches talk to their players to remind them of the commitment they made to their game. When a losing team comes back to crush their opponent after half-time, it may just be that they were stronger, mentally, to stick to their championship goals.