Eating

The other day I was having a conversation with an a friend of mine, and somehow we got on the topic of eat right. This friend has been a gym goer for many years and has always been fairly active, but is not entirely happy with his current body fat %.
So.... at some point in the conversation he mentions that he saw a picture of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson eating a huge stack of pancakes and four pizzas in one day. Which he interpreted as, "The Rock eats whatever he wants but is still somehow jacked and ripped and just an enormous guy with no body fat".
Wrong. Well, yes The Rock is that, he is a giant. But, determined to settle what he was saying I did some research and yes, he did eat all of that in one day; he actually ate like 24 peanut butter brownies too. But, the kicker is that was a cheat day. It wasn't just any cheat day either, it was his first cheat day in over 100 days. Let me say that again IT WAS HIS FIRST CHEAT DAY IN OVER 100 DAYS.
So, hah what can we take away from this story?? Well first of The Rock is a beast, super impressive.
But second, you get what you put in, you reap what you sow. If you eat trash everyday you will not be healthy. We don't put dirty fuel into a car and expect it to run.
I'm going to get serious now. If a plane was filled with dirty fuel it would probably fail in the air, crash and people would die. And all of the friends and family of those victims on the plane would be in an uproar, pointing fingers and demanding answers (rightfully so). Now open your mind. What do you think fast food and processed foods are doing to ourselves, our friends and our family. It is killing us. But since it is slow and since it taste good no body seems to give a sh*t.
So enjoy you Happy Meals and Chicken Nuggets people because apparently dying is okay if it taste good...

Rebounds and Resolutions

The time is now! 

Christmas is over :( I know it is sad but it is the truth... Now is the time for the holiday rebound and the New Years resolutions. Everybody has one, even the ones that say they don't really do but maybe they just don't want to talk about it.

Here's the deal, if you are not going to be realistic in making your resolution then maybe don't bother making one. Why? What's the point in setting yourself up for failure? How much good will it do for you to get one week of a healthy lifestyle in and then quitting because you went overboard? Well, there is no point, and it won't do you any good. 

So what to do what to do....

Start small....

Don't try to go out and run 3 miles a day if you have never even run 1.

Don't tell yourself your going to go to the gym everyday if you currently don't even go once a week.

Don't go on a starvation diet (ever) if you eat fast food for lunch everyday.

Being realistic means setting achievable (smart) goals, keeping things "doable", put yourself on a progressive system, meaning start small with the intention of ramping it up every week or two to achieve goals. 

Life is real, fitness is real, fat is real, everything is real, so why bother making goals that are not??

Christmas cookies.

Obviously it's the holidays... food food food. What about the cookies though? Right now I am with friends and family, with probably over 100 cookies within ten feet. I'm begging the fitness Gods for will power right now. 

But that doesn't mean I haven't had a couple. It's the holidays so yes have a cookie, have a couple maybe. Nothing good will come from you, sitting there for a day or even possibly two (if your strong) and then on the third day crumbling like a card house and demolishing an entire cookie tin in hopes to make cookie monster proud,

Moderation. You will not have any success with fitness and wellness if you do not understand and embrace the concept of moderation.

Have a two cookies, don't stand around socializing and chewing them like gum all night. It will DESTROY you.

Try to avoid the sweets as it gets later in the night. Eat them earlier and stick to the coffee and tea at night. Most people are munching on the sweets at night while talking just to have something to do with your mouth and hands. A cup of coffee or tea can fill those same voids while AVOIDING the negatives of sweets.

Common everyone, moderation, be smart, not mindless.

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

Road Trip

Tomorrow I will be driving to WI to visit family and friends for the holidays and a wedding (I LOVE WEDDINGS). So I wanted to share a major part of my preparation with you.

Stretching. I will be in the car for 14 hours and there aren't many things I dislike more. My muscles get so stiff I feel like some one could snap them in half.

The only way to combat this is to stretch. So today I will be doing a light workout (to help current soreness) and after the workout I will do about a 30 minute stretch. Then at least another 30 minutes before I go to bed. I would like to do an hour before bed but knowing me I will put packing off until the last minute and not have the time. Tomorrow I leave about 4 o'clock am, so need to wake up about 20 minutes earlier then I would prefer so I can get a decent stretch in before the drive.

All in all road trips (and plane rides) can be a little tough (especially for taller people) but the best way to make them a little more bearable is to stay as limber as possible.

Who has enough time in a day??

"I just can't find the time to exercise during the day"
"I'm to busy to workout."

Did you know that working out for 30 minutes every other day can significantly increase muscle composition/strength, boost metabolism, decrease body fat, reduce risk of heart disease , etc etc etc... the list goes on. We are talking about 90 minutes a week. That is 1 1/2 hours out of your entire week. Most people spend 3 times that amount of time reading their smart phone on the toilet.

Get of the toilet, get up 30 minutes earlier, don't watch that extra episode, do what you have to do to find that time and change your life.

Core Work

So the other day in "What can babies teach us about exercise" I said the Squat, Push up and Pull up were the three best exercises. Yes, don't worry I am still standing by that. But I want to talk a little bit about why I believe in those three.

It all comes down to the core of the body. The core is... well it is exactly what it sounds like, it's the core. What is anything without a core, a tree without a trunk is not a tree anymore, it cannot stand, it cannot grow, it just dies. Okay you might not die if you don't do enough core work but you get my point... it's important; very important.

So, my point is these three exercises are the best because not only are they the most basic and natural of movements, but they work your core! In just three exercises you can work almost every muscle in your body. That means core.

To do a squat you need a tight torso to keep an upright posture.
To do a push up you need to use to core to keep your body straight.
To do a pull up you control your lower body during the move by using your CORE.

CORE CORE CORE

Water

My last post I ended with a question about excuses.
It got me thinking about other things we make excuses for and water came to mind.
Why do people have a problem drinking enough water???
What I want everybody to do right now, is think of how many things we do throughout the day that we could do while drinking water at the same time.....ready GO.
You should be able to to think of ten things without even trying, reading this should be the first one because I am drinking water as I am writing this.

I used to have a client that had a very busy office job. She once told me that she brought a water bottle to work everyday but it was only a 16oz bottle so she usually finished it by mid morning. I asked her way she didn't go and fill it up and she said she was to busy. I almost choked on my gum (cinnamon always). But she was serious. So our next session I showed up with a 1 gallon jug of water and said "here is your new water bottle, enjoy".

The point is don't make excuses, it's just water, it won't bite you, just drink it.

Drink ten glasses a day.

Fountain of Youth

Stretch.
That is it.
The more you stretch the more mobile you become/stay.
Stay young by staying flexible.

This is something you should do every day.
How often are you sitting down, watching TV, on your phone/tablet, reading a book (not sure people have those anymore), talking on the phone ect ect ect... all those things can be done while you are stretching.

Instead of hitting snooze three times in the morning why don't you only hit it once and use the other ten minutes to stretch? You only need to be half awake to stretch anyway, it isn't hard. Not to mention stretching in the morning increases blood flow; which will help you wake up and help your body to wake up which in turn makes you healthier.

I get that excuses are easier to find then a cab in New York City, but stretching isn't hard and it literally feels good, so why would you even want to make an excuse???

What can babies teach us about exercise?

Sometimes the best way to achieve something is to go back to the basics, figure out definite facts and then put them to use. Your sitting there like "what the heck does facts and babies have to do with exercise??"
Fine I'll tell you...
When a baby is finally only enough to be put on the floor and it wants to start moving what does it do? Well usually the first thing it does is try to push its chest of the ground.
The next thing a baby will do is find something that it can hold onto so it can use it to stand up.
 Still wonder?
Okay, to push its chest of the ground, the baby does a PUSHUP.
To stand up, the baby will PULLUP with its arms and push with its legs(SQUAT).

Push-up Pull-up Squat. Babies do it, do you?

There are many exercises that are good for many different things, but don't ever forget the basics.

So to answer the questions... Babies teach us the three best exercises in the world; thanks kids

My three paths to fitness

These three paths to fitness are something that I go over with every client in the first few sessions so that I can have a better understanding of what my clients need to achieve their goals.
The most important part when deciding your path, is to be entirely honest and realistic with yourself. If you are not willing to do that then you should take a step back and maybe reevaluate some other aspects of your life.

The reason why I broke fitness into three paths, is because everybody is different. Some people perfer math while others perfer history, you get what I mean and it's not rocket science, it's common knowledge. So why not look at exercise and nutrition like we look at math and history. Wouldn't it make sense that some people have an easier time working out while other people have an easier time eating clean? to me it makes perfect sense, that is why I have the three paths.

Path 1: (The Gym Rat)

The Gym Rat has one mission: workout as much and as hard as possible like your life depends on it (because it does). Down this path is not very much healthy food and there aren't many diets. But that doesn't matter, the Gym Rat works out often and hard enough to make up for the poor eating. You may find this person at a Jewish Community Center on Christmas because every other gym is closed; besides all they want for Christmas is another callus.

Path 2: (The Camery)

Yea like the car. The path of the Camery is just like the car: nothing crazy or extreme just well balanced and reliable. The Camery isn't at the Jewish Community Center on Christmas, but he/she probably didn't drink eggnog like it was from the Gardens of Eden either. The Camery is a great example of moderation. He/she hits the gym a few times a week and makes sure to stick with salad some nights too. A perfect balance that keeps the body running smoothly. You'll notice The Camery does a little bit of everything at the gym and always has on a smile.

Path 3: (The Gardener)
The Gardener is essentially polar opposite to The Gym Rat. When the Gym Rat has a double stuffed burrito, the Gardener has the veggie wrap. This path is all about eating clean, clean and cleaner. Just the idea of fast food to The Gardener is probably enough to induce nausea. exercise wise, in general it is some sort of cardio. The Gardener isn't often seen in the weight room, check out the ab/stretching section to find them, but make sure you don't smell like pizza; you wouldn't want anyone to get sick.

If you are a member of Gymshout.com you will see that the site follows these principles. No matter what type you are it is always possible to get a positive score.
Also these types are not exact, I know people that are combinations between two or (depending on the mood) all of them. They are simple generalizations to help people figure out what will work the bets for them.
If you like the gym take advantage of it and kick ass in there. Or if you don't then maybe don't worry as much about that but focus on eat better, it might be easier for you.
Find out what works for you and take advantage of it.

Gymshout, the origins.

 
I have been a personal trainer for years now. I have been deeply involved in fitness for even longer. But as a personal trainer, the biggest challange you are faced with everyday is finding new and affective ways to motivate your clients to work hard and commit to a fit and  healthy lifestyle.

Basically you have to figure out what makes people tick.

But everyone is different so you have to find connections and commonalities that will work across the board. So eventually I found one, ACCOUNTABILITY.

I relized that accountability was actually the most common reason people even hire a personal trainer to begin with. Sure, there are peope that do it for other reason, but mostly it's to have someone there that they are commited to. They pay money and lock themselves into a contract so that they have to do it. A lot of people pay for a person(trainer) to tell them to do things that they already know how to do. Because once you have to be accountable for those session and appointments, it goes from "I should do this" to "I have to do this".

So how does this apply?

Gymshout, is the new platform for accountability.

I was in the gym one day helping my parents with a workout (yea they were pumpin iron). While listening to them talk throughout the workout, I realized that there can be more sources of accountability then the trainer. Each and every person has an unlimited number of sources, family, friends, why not the entire world? But obvioulsy all these people cannot see each and every workout that you do, and they aren't going to sit there and watch you throughout the day to yell at you when you are about to take that second piece of cake. So how??? The internet duh! 

But another thought accoured to me... some people don't like to broadcast exactly what they are doing and eating everyday due to a little bit of self consciousness and small insecurities. So what is the solution? I'll tell you by explaining Gymshout at the same time. 
When you input a workout or a meal into Gymshout, you immediately get positive or negative points for whatever you inputted. Then that score is posted to you "Board" for all of your "Buddies" to see. But the good part is that only the score is posted, not what you did to get that score. This is how the accountability comes back into the game: your "Buddies" (friends, family ect ect.) can see if you are doing good or bad based off of your score. That way you don't have to share exactly what you are doing alllllllll daaaaaaayyy looooooooong. :)
And then you can give that accountability right back and throw some competeitiveness in at the same time, (my little sister told me this the other day "hey Matt i saw you get 4 points yesterday, I bet I'm gonna beat ya today" (she did).

The point is Gymshout gives you accountability to put in the effort everyday, the competitivness to start some battles with friends and the social ability to share your health and fitness.