Fad diets.

This is a huge topic that I could spend hours on, using pages and pages of text bashing every single diet there is. But that's boring to read and exhausting to write, so I am going to make this caveman proof (simple).

The word diet is a noun and a verb. I am not quoting anything but it doesn't take a nutritionist to know that the noun just means, what foods you consume, and the verb means a form of regulating the food you consume.

Society, uses the verb form the most. Everyone and there mother has talked about going/being on a diet at some point and with all the fads out there it just gets more and more popular.

I'm listening to music right now and the beat just dropped which is awesome because here's the fiber of this post...

Anything that you "start" has a finish. Every beginning has an "end". That is common sense, you know this. So, this means that every single time you "start" a "diet" you are already planning on "ending" it. Do you get that? You, before you even start you are preparing to end it at some point in the future.

Diets, all diets, not just fad diets, DO NOT WORK.

I am not saying you will never lose weight from a diet. What I am saying is if you want to lose weight, keep the weight off and actually be healthy and fit person; then you don't need a new diet, you need a new lifestyle. Because a new lifestyle, is not something that ends before you do. It is not something that you already plan on quitting before you even start. Diets suck. They aren't even good for you. Your body doesn't like them. Everyone is different so how would one diet work for every single person. stupid.

Don't get sucked into that. See your life, understand your lifestyle and pick the very best one for you. The one that lets your body and mind flourish. Live the lifestyle that makes you awesome.

Be on time. Respond quickly

I don't think many people would associate this title with fitness or working out. And I also think people associate this title with work so much because most people have a boss, and if you aren't on time your boss will notice, and if you don't respond quickly when your boss calls or emails, he/she won't be happy.

So in fitness, you don't have a boss, yea? It doesn't matter if you are on time? Right at first glance sure maybe. Second glance, you couldn't be more wrong.

YOUR BODY IS YOUR BOSS.

The second you think that is not the case, is the same second that you need to re-evaluate your thinking. Because your body is and forever will be your boss. You can never quit from this boss and you will never be promoted over this boss.

So be on time. Eat on time, eat when you should not when you want. Workout on time. Not at random times during random days in a week. Make a schedule and stick to it. That is what your body wants and craves. That is what your body will respond too. Respond, If something hurts fix it, don't be dumb and just try to push through. If you are thirsty then guess what, you should drink some water. Your body tells you things all day long. listen and respond.

You are working for and with your body. If you work intelligently good things will come.

Protein

I have been asked recently what is a good protein powder.

100 Whey Gold Standard Rocky Road - 5 lbs (Google Affiliate Ad)

A great example for a solid protein for a decent price. Should be taken immediately after working out to help muscle growth and recovery. I would not ever suggest taking protein as a meal replacement. Nothing will beat REAL FOOD.

What can you do?

The country is 2/3 overweight. That means 2/3 unhealthy.

What can YOU do to help that? What can you do to stop that number from getting higher?

You

You have the power two change. You have the ability to look into the mirror and feel pride. You can make yourself feel however you want. You can be strong, healthy, fit... happy. You are a person, a human that can do things that no animal before you was capable of doing. Because of this you can control your life in ways that no other animal can. YOU have control over YOU.

Take control. Feel that power of ability and let your pride fuel you.

Become the real you, the you, that only you are capable of being.

Be

Be
Stronger

Be
Better

Be
Smarter

Be
Healthier

Be
Awesome

Be
Greater

Be
Happier

Be
Energized

Be
Proud

Be the best version of yourself that you can be every single day. Do not waste time. Be the you you want to be.

Larger muscle first

A lot of times when getting to the gym you might not have a plan on what kind of lifts you are going to do and in what order you are going to lift. Rule of thumb: Always lift large muscle groups before small muscle groups. 

The reason for this is, when working a large muscle group, generally you need the small muscles in the lift. Lets look at a bench press. In the most basic of uses, the bench press is used to work the chest muscle. So you lay on your back and lower a bar to your chest and push it back up and repeat. So during this exercise you are using two joints in your body, the shoulder joint and the elbow joint. Now the chest muscles (pectorals) are primary responsible for the movement at the shoulder joint, but what about the elbow? The muscles being recruited there are used for straightening the arm and have nothing to do with your chest muscles. Those are your triceps (a small muscle group). In a bench press your Triceps are the secondary movers that help complete the lift. 

Here's where I am going. When working a large muscle group, it is practically inevitable to NOT work a smaller muscle at the same time. Okay? 

SO if you go into the gym and exhaust your small muscles and then move on to the large muscle groups what is going to happen? Well, your lifts will not be as effective, and on top of that it is dangerous. How about this, you go in and blast your triceps right? Just smoke them and wear them out totally. Then you go hop on the bench to get the same blast with your chest. Mid rep, your chest is fine but since you decided to try to get Hulk triceps earlier, the elbow joint gives out. You drop a fully loaded barbell on your chest. It's not super common, but it does happen. 

The reality is that you when doing large muscle groups you need those small muscle to help stabilize. But if they are to tired then you will end up compensating in some way and that is a perfect way to get hurt.

It's not like I am telling you to learn a new language  just work big groups first and you will be safer and get better results. 

Fruit

I love fruit. It's all great, taste good, refreshing, just awesome. It's good for you too has vitamins, antioxidants, sugars and lots of things your body loves and needs.

Do you want to lose weight? If you don't this probably isn't for you, but you might want to keep reading to get some advice for when you are older and want to lose a few pounds.

IF... you want to lose weight, then don't eat ANY fruit past the halfway point in your day. Okay that might have been hard for you so... If you want to lose weight, do not, eat any fruit, past the halfway point in your day.

Why. Fruit is good for you, yes I agree. But it is sugar and carbs. Calm down, I know they are "good" carbs I get it. But none the less they are still carbs, and carbs that do not get burned up for energy production, end up finding a nice spot to hang out and turn into fat.

Did you catch that? The carbs from the fruit need to be burned for energy, that was it won't turn to fat.

So, let me explain my solution. All day long your metabolism is doing its best to burn up the food that you eat. But it takes time, it isn't like as soon as your done eating the food is gone. really as soon as you are done the process is just beginning. It takes time. So if you eat the carbs and sugar in the beginning of the day, that gives your body enough time to burn it off throughout the entire day. But when you eat it later, that means all those carbs and all that sugar is going to sit in your body all night and pick out camping spots to turn into fat.

Think about not only what you eat, but also when you eat. It can be just as important.
This doesn't just apply for fruit either, in all actuality  it would be better to eat desert in the morning then right before you go to bed.

Cardio before lifting? I don't think so.

SO, I literally just finished a workout at the gym in my current apartment complex. I have been here less than a week so I have only been in the weight room a couple times, and today I noticed this poster on the wall that broke down "the perfect workout".

Over all the poster was pretty solid but they got something confused. The poster said that you should do your cardio before you lift weights. WRONG.

Lets break it down.

Cardiovascular exercise is designed to burn calories at the time of the exercise, which essentially saps your energy. And I mean your entire body's energy not just your legs or arms or whatever machine your using.

Weight lifting requires a tremendous amount of energy because instead of a steady cardio pace of say 30% exertion, during a weight lifting set you are usually closer to 75% or 80% exertion.

So here's the question, does it make sense to do an activity that drains your body of energy, immediately before you are going to do a different activity that requires 3 or 4 times the energy of the first activity? I hope that doesn't make sense to you because it definitely  doesn't make sense to your body. Always always always lift first. It's smarter, safer and more effective.

Here are some promises, if you do cardio first:
You will feel worse after your workout.
You will feel weaker during your workout.
You will decrease the effectiveness of your workout.
You will make slower progress in reaching your goals.
You will be more prone to injury during your workout.
You will experience a decrease in muscle recovery time.

If that doesn't convince you then you are hopeless anyway. Lift first, cardio after.

This poster was in a gym, it wasn't some random person trying to spit knowledge he doesn't have. Main stream exercise advice is usually wrong. Find people that know what they are talking about, that have experience, that get results for themselves first and then for other people as well. Listen to them instead of the stupid magazine that tells you you can get a six pack from six minutes a day and blah blah bs.

Weather

As some of you know I just recently moved from Charlottesville, VA to Tampa Bay, FL. I am extremely  excited to be here and so far I love it. 

So that being said, the obvious topic for today is weather. Currently it is 25 degrees in VA and its 66 degrees here in Tampa (yes for you guys in the cold I had to rub that in a little bit). But before moving here I spoke to many people about how Tampa is considered a very fitness oriented place. I wanted to figure out why, and the main answer I heard was because of the weather. And I have lived in Arizona and been to California many times, and it is the same in those places as well. 

Conclusion: cold makes you fat and heat makes you fit...??

No, I don't think so. The body doesn't work like that. Here's the deal. It's an excuse. People use the weather as just another one of the billions of excuses to not get on the path to fitness. Sure it is warmer here, so it might be easier to get outside and go for a run. But if you aren't running in the summer anyway, what makes you think you would run in a place that feels like summer all the time?? You wouldn't. Not to mention I am pretty sure they make indoor gyms these days (sarcasm) and most of the time those gyms have heat. And most of the time you sweat when you work out (or at least you better be) so that means even if its snowing you could still be inside dripping sweat all over those dumbells or treadmills getting them nice and ready for the next person. 

No excuses people. Get fit. Get healthy. The body is built to be a machine of progress and motion. Don't deny it of that.

Pride

What about pride?

I feel like the word pride/proud has such negative connotations in society. Just the mention of it brings images of boasting and obnoxious self flattery. Why? Why not take it for the real meaning. Pride; to be proud about something.

Pride is powerful. Many things happen because of pride I believe. But where is the pride when we look in the mirror? Is it there?
Where is the pride in your life?
Is it in your car?
Your clothes?
Your job?
Your significant other?
Your jewelry?
Your house?
You degrees?
Are those things you?
Sure those are things that you have, and possessions may very well be a part of you and say something about you. But possessions are not who you are. They are not what you. You are who you are and that is it.

When you look in the mirror, that is you and only you. That person looking back at you defines you, it defines you because it is you. So where is the pride? If it is in your possessions and not in the mirror and not in yourself... Then what are you doing with your life?

Find your pride. If it is not where it should be then fix it. Start now. Get your pride back. Only you can do it.

Some facts.

Exercise boost brain power.

Listening to music can improve performance by as much as 15% while exercising.

You have to burn 3500 calories to = 1 pound of fat.

There is no such thing as target fat lose, your body decides where the fat comes off.

80% of people who begin an exercise routine will quite. Don't be included in that.

Dehydrating a muscle by 3% can cause a 10% strength loss. Drink more water.

Ladies

Ladies... you will not get "buff" from weight training. Let me say again, you will not get "buff" from weight training.

Warning, If woman weight train the following will most likely happen:
You will lose fat.
You will become stronger.
You will become healthier.
You will become more capable.
You will feel better.
You will be more confident.
You will sleep better.
You will be less stressed.
You will be more proud of your body.
You will have more energy throughout the day.
You will achieve more of your goals.
You will like how you look more.
You will become a stronger person.

You are not men, your bodies do not respond to weight training the same way that a males body does. A man's chemical makeup enables him to get "buff" when doing the right kind of weight training (some more then others). A woman is different, different chemicals in the body that do not cause your muscles to grow like a male's.

Try it. Live the difference.

And guys, I shouldn't even have to tell you.

Score and diet

Someone recently sent me an email regarding some of the scoring systems on Gymshout.com.
One of the comments they had was something like "It's not all about losing weight... people don't need to be skinny to be healthy..."

I couldn't agree more.
I don't consider "skinny" to be healthy.
I believe "fit" is healthy, not "skinny".

But this ladies point (at least my interpretation of it) was that dieting is not what is important. And that is part of the reason that Gymshout was designed the way it was. Because on Gymshout you we don't tell you not to eat specific foods. We don't tell you not to eat anything. Our system works on a "you reap what you sow" mentality. It you have a rough nutrition day, in our system you can counter that by having a good workout and erasing that bad score. Fitness is about exercise and nutrition, that is why we put the scores on the same plane. They are interconnected and that should never be ignored.
Our system says if you want to eat then do it! Eat what you want, but if you want a good score just make sure you get a good workout in too so you can balance out the bad eating.

I don't believe in diets, diets are something you start and stop, diets are temporary. I don't want you to diet. I want you to understand that if you going to over indulge with food then you have to make up for it with workouts.
Do not work on a "good diet".
What you should work on is a healthy lifestyle.

Just starting

I understand that every one doesn't work out. I also understand that not every one eats really well too. And every one has different reason, different excuses and different ways of talking themselves into grabbing some McDonalds on the way home or some Taco Bell. Or a reason they can't make it to the gym, or can't stick to the push-ups in the morning resolution.

Having been in the fitness/training world for years I think that the most common excuse is time. "I don't have time to go to the gym." "I don't have time to cook my meals every day." "I don't have time in the morning before work." And I get that, I honestly do. Time is the most precious resource and there never seems to be enough of it.

This isn't going to be a lecture on time management or a "make time" talk or anything like that. I just want you to do a few things. Right now take a second and think about how much free time you have in a week.............

Did you do it??

Okay....

Now think about all the time you spend doing things that you don't need to do.

Is there any changes you could make??

Sleep

How much sleep do you get??
Is it close to eight hours? Do you have any stints of at least four hours straight through during the night? Did you know the average sleep cycle takes about four hours? So if you can't even get that you are not getting the benefits of sleep that you typically should be getting.

You need sleep. Being tired has the same effect on you as alcohol does. It breaks down you body mentally and physically. It ruins your judgment, it dampens your mood and hurts your immune system. It gives you food cravings, convinces your body that you are starving when you aren't; which leads to weight gain. Strains your body (because it is not recovering properly) which increase the amount of stress on you body. Which is directly related to insulin production, which puts fat right on your stomach.

I could go on all night, but I think you get the point and I need some sleep!  

Active

Yesterday I went snowboarding. And that got me thinking about activity in general. Now I know everyone lives in different places, and that means not everyone has access to snowboarding or outdoor activity. But that doesn't mean you can't go outside. It doesn't mean you can't be ACTIVE.

Sometimes I think that people can get into this mindset of either NEEDING to go to the gym or they use the excuse of NOT being able to get to a gym. But that isn't an excuse, just because you can't get to a gym is not an excuse. Or even if you do go all the time, sometimes it's good to skip the gym. Yup, I said it, sometimes you should maybe skip the gym. 

Go outside. Take a run, ride a bike, go hiking. Get outside and be active. 

It's not that I have any problem with the gym, I love the gym I love the feel and the vibes and the whole nine yards of a gym. All I am saying is that being active in other ways, is a great way to switch it up and have fun.

And yea, in case you were wondering I pretty much dominated the mountain yesterday!

The body changes

Tonight I had a conversation about the way the body changes. It's kind of late so I'll keep this one pretty short.

Here it is. Everything in life changes. Time is motion. Always moving, always changing. The body is no different. It is always in a state of change. It is either getting better or getting worse. There is no pauses, no in between, no maintaining one state.

Also with these changes comes different reactions. You can not treat a 45 year old body like you can treat a 25 year old one. The biggest thing is generally food. I always hear "well when I was in my 20's I could eat anything..." Well guess what, you can't act like nothing changes when your age changes, because that is just dumb and doesn't make sense. You must always adjust and make changes to counter your body's.

Your body is in a constant state of change. Again, your body is in a constant state of change. What are you doing, what are you going to do today or tomorrow to make that a change for the better and not for the worse?? Think about.

Re-think: Your fitness

Last night I saw an add from a magazine and on one side of the page it had this long paragraph saying blah blah blah about what ever the add was for. On the other side of the page it just said "Re-think" in big colorful letters on a black page. This immediately sparked something. America has more overweight people in it's population then it has healthy people. More then half of the people in our country are overweight. More then half the people are not healthy due to weight problems. Mcdonald's claims to serve 75 hamburgers per second. Yea they said that, not me.
So basically my question is this: Why don't we "Re-think" that? Why don't we "Re-think" what we eat and do?? Why don't we as a country "Re-think" the fact that our population is overweight??

 Why don't we "Re-think" our fitness??

Time, intensity > Miles, reps

Just the other day I was asked by a Gymshout.com user, "why isn't there an option to input how many miles I ran or how many reps I do?" That made me realize that in a world that works out almost entirely according to miles, reps and weight, this new input system that Gymshout uses may be somewhere confusing.

Here's the deal, your body does not understand miles. Your body does not understand that you did 15 reps. Your body does not understand that you lifted 50 pounds. It understands two things, time and intensity, that's it. Time is the duration of a set or a run. Intensity is the amount of weight used in a lift or the speed during a run.

So in developing Gymshout, we decided that if the body only understands time and intensity, why would we create an input system that uses miles, reps and weight? It didn't make sense. So the input system is designed to work off of your honesty about how long you did something and how hard it felt while you were doing it. And if you are honest about it, you will get accurate feedback, scores and results.

If you are true in self you will be true in life.

Personal Training.

Here's there deal.
I am a personal trainer. I have been for awhile. I have been a regular in many gyms for even longer. So I am more then familiar with trainers/training etc. etc. etc.
Trainers wear many hats. They are motivators, educators, friends, support systems, listeners, coaches and  interpreters. As a trainer it is our job to lead our clients first and foremost by example. We preach health, wellness, fitness, diet, nutrition all of these things. We should be living it. If we are not living how does that work for our credibility? How does an overweight trainer look at a client and tell them how to get in better shape? Better question, how does a client look at an overweight trainer and listen to what they are telling them. And yes I get it, just because they are overweight doesn't mean that they don't know what they are talking about when it come to exercise. But clearly they don't believe it or they don't care. And why would you want to take advise from someone like that. why would you want to spend your time and money on someone that doesn't even take care of themselves??

Another thing I have a problem with: Clients do not ask enough questions. They don't, if their trainer tells them to do something they do it with blind faith. And yes the trainer should be accurate in what he/she says, but ya know what that's not always the case. Because there are trainers out there that paid fifty bucks to get a bs certification and have zero clue what they are doing. I know it sucks but it is real. So if you have a question ASK. I'm not saying be a tough person to deal with and argue about everything. I am just saying make your trainer be that teacher and be that educator and have them explain what you are doing and why you are doing it. I love being a trainer I really do, and as a trainer I jump at the chance to explain what is going on because that shows me that my client is really into to, and that they really care about themselves instead of just half heartily going through the motions. Now I am not saying I am the perfect trainer, because there is no such things as one perfect trainer for every type of person. But I believe in what I do and I practice what I preach. It is a shame that there are so many crappy trainers out there that don't. It brings a bad name to the good one and it takes away from our profession.

What is life without passion? Find passion in what you do an in who you are with and your life will be full.

Heat things up a bit...

Lets make things a little hotter, maybe walk on the wild side to spice things up a bit, lets step in the SAUNA to see a bunch of our own gender with small towels (if any), red faces dripping with sweat. Haha yeah I know, maybe that doesn't sound like the most fun thing in the world right now but lets take a look.

Sauna's are old, like really really old. Steam rooms with hot rocks and "bath houses" have been in use for thousands of years. The reason for that should be pretty obvious... they work. How? Heat. Heat. Heat.

Heat has an amazing affect on your body, it works as a sort of accelerator. For example, if you put a hot towel on your arm what happens? Your arm turns red, this is because that heat has caused waaaaaay more blood to be pumped to that one area where the towel was. So, you step in a sauna, BAM your whole body is blasted with heat (and shock from the towel-less ones) and your body immediately gives the command to pump blood fast, your insides start working like coal workers in the bowels of a giant steam ship! Internal blood flow increases speed within seconds and ALAS you have joined the league of the red faced sweat drippers!

Okay, but seriously here's the bottom line, blood is life, everything in your body happens because of blood. From your oxygen to your nutrients, your blood is responsible for it all. When your body has a problem it sends more blood to the problem area to accelerate the healing process. That is why say you sprain an ankle, well that means you over extended a ligament. Blood is sent to that ligament to give it the proper nutrients and chemicals to heal it, causing the swelling. Bottom line, increased blood flow means increased healing in whatever area has that extra blood.

SO, back to the sauna, heat hits you everywhere (don't worry this doesn't mean your entire body is going to swell up like a sprained ankle) blood flow is accelerated throughout your entire body as your heart rate increases. Now your body is getting extra blood everywhere, promoting the healing and at the same time sweating out toxins. Extra oxygen and nutrients get to cruise though your body. It's like a million tiny handymen running around your blood vessels on the mission to fix EVERYTHING.

Why not just stay in the sauna for hours until all my problems are gone??? No that is not what I am suggesting at all. what happens if you drive your car all day redlining the RPMs? The car will probably blow up! No body wants to blow up their car. In the sauna your body is working hard, a lot harder then it would be under normal conditions. So staying in that state of increased work load will actually start to have a negative affect. No don't worry, I'm not talking about major stuff, usually it just means you are a little more fatigued and tired that's all. The point is, don't get crazy, go in for 20 minutes or so, get a good sweat in and walk out feeling refreshed not exhausted. And do us all a favor, keep that towel tight. :)

The last thing I have to say about the sauna.
DRINK PLENTY OF WATER I'll say again, DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. When your body works harder it needs more water to perform. Also when you sweat you need to replenish the water you are loosing. DRINK WATER THE WHOLE TIME YOU ARE IN THE SAUNA OR DON'T BOTHER GOING IN. Okay, I feel better.

All good things come in moderation.