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Can You Really "Tone" Your Muscles With Specific Exercises?

2012-05-16T01:52:25Z

Client A points to flab dangling from lower arm and asks, "how do I tone this?". Client B points to upper legs and asks , "how do I tone up my thighs?". Anybody who has ever worked in the fitness industry knows what I'm talking about. There are some in the fitness industry who perpetuate the myth of "toning". Remember the Thigh Master? It was a cheap hip abductor contraption that was supposed to "tone up" your inner thighs. The makers of the Thigh Master knew what they were doing since many women look at that area as a "problem" area where they don't like to see flab. I remember seeing one woman at gym back in the 90's who would spend 10 minutes on a weighted hip abductor machine hoping to "tone up" those muscles. Women are more likely to say they want to "tone up" more than men. Men want to build muscle. It kind of reminds me of perspiring and sweat. The most abuse of the term "toning" is see is when it is associated with spot reduction. For instance you have the thigh master scenario, or the hip abductor machine. I can't count how many times I have heard people tell me they don't want to do legs but they want to "tone up" their triceps. Which leads to the "there is no thing as spot reduction 101" lesson. Most fitness pros will remind their clients that they cannot "spot reduce" but I have seen one infomercial for an ab workout video (product was backed by a celebrity trainer - think "used to be on popular network TV show) that was going to help reduce that fat in the midsection and "tone up" the abs. Slightly misleading. Even Beachbody, who produced P90X and Insanity videos, have late night infomercials showing people going from fat to fit while doing all kinds of rigorous exercise. However, if you actually buy these products, you will see that following their nutrition plan is a big part of getting "the look".

Here's what I think "toning" or "toned" means to your average person who falls for the sales pitch. "Toning" means you can see the lines of the muscle and that when you poke at it there is nothing jiggling around. This is what most people want their bodies to look and feel like. No problem with that. However, no exercise in and of itself is going to tone the muscle. Exercise, mainly resistance training, builds up muscle along with protein intake. Cadio burns a fair amount of calories but cannot fend off too much overeating. If there is a layer of fat around the muscle, you will not see much "tone". So if you spend an hour a day with a thigh master or a shake weight, you aren't going to get the results you want if there is still that layer of fat.

Truth be told, clients love to hear that exercises are going to "firm up" problem areas. I get many request to do "more abs", or something for the "triceps. Men and some women tend to collect fat on the former area, while some women are predisposed to collect fat on the latter area. However, doing crunches, or triceps kick backs in different variations for a half hour doesn't really do much to get rid of the "flab". Neither exercise burns a lot of "calories" so they aren't necessarily going to eat away at the body fat. Also, everybody has a six pack and everybody has defined arms. You just can't see them if they are behind fat. There are many "rock stars" who achieved six pack abs because they were mall nourished. There is no time between shooting up junk, sleeping with groupies and getting on stage, to eat. Do you think these guys do crunches? Now I don't advocate the "rock star" life, and in fairness some of these guys actually do workout to achieve that look, but the truth is that your muscles show when there isn't enough body fat to impede its visibility.

Most people who are fitness literate know that you cannot "spot reduce" so the fitness marketers have snuck in "toning" to insinuate the same thing. What they do is take a picture of a guy with 6% body fat and have him in any kind of exercise contraption and the more vulnerable of us will think that the fitness model got that look by using the contraption. Now suppose the fitness contraption is "the string", or "the stick", or "The Shake Weight" and on the box you see something that says "tone up your muscles", and you will see what I'm getting at.

If you want the "toned" look, you have to stay lean. For men this means getting into the mid teens in body fat %. Women will look their best in the around 20 % body fat and shouldn't go lower than 16 % unless they are getting a gold medal in the Olympics. I have seen many people who are "fitness junkies" and go from workout to workout, running, lifting, Pilates, etc in an effort to pull off some stubborn flab with no luck. This is because they don't get serious enough about their nutrition. You can drink 3 glasses of wine and eat desert everyday and look okay if you exercise your ass off, but you will never have "the look" until you change your ways. So the program didn't fail you if you were negligent about what you had to cut out food wise. Your average woman will be in the high 20's in body fat. If you are in the high 20's, nobody will mistake you for the woman in the electric wheelchair at Wal-Mart, but you will have some visible problem areas. So if you are looking to get into "bikini shape" listen to what the trainer or the program says about proper nutrition. Keep your sweets, and liquors under 200 calories a day, or if you are disposed to carrying body fat, cut them out. Otherwise, except yourself at the weight you are and make sure that you stay average and don't ride the slippery slope to obesity. Put it this way, one donut, one coke, or one can of beer equals a mile of running. It is easier to limit the stuff that makes you fat then to constantly add more exercise to fight off the inevitable. So next time you see a product that is supposed to "tone" your problem areas see it for what it is, a marketing scam. Work out hard and eat clean and you will get results. You might even end up looking "toned".

Tom Pollard

Forget about BMI. Better Methods for Evaluating if You Are Out of Shape or Overweight.

2012-05-08T11:39:58Z

Body Mass Index is a fairly common tool for health professionals to determine if someone is overweight. It is also used by insurance companies, governments, even the World Health Organization. BMI is a chart that indicates how overweight/underweight you are relative to your height. Although these weights compute to some sort of average, the numbers and the system are antiquated. BMI is a throwback to the days when people didn't eat as much but they didn't exercise as much. For instance, Joe Blow in 1970 graduated school at 5'9 150, got a desk job and put on 30 lbs. Joe Blow, now 5'9 and 180 in 1972 (when BMI came into use), is told by his physician that he is overweight and that he needs to calm down at the table. Most likely in 1972, a 5'9 180 lb man was overweight but something since then has happened along the way.

Weight training started to take off in the 1970's and 1980's. Of course you had Arnold and Sylvester Stallone movies, but you also had sports coaches encouraging their athletes to train with weights when a few years earlier they shunned weight training because they mistakenly believed that weights would make their athletes slow. Now there was the factor of steroids in sports, that's another story, but in general athletes started getting bigger and stronger and their BMI's went up. The general public soon followed. No longer was muscle building a Venice beach freak sideshow but something many mainstream Americans engaged in across the nation.

With all these changes you'd think that BMI would have been thrown in the trash with the TV antenna and the eight track. However, I still see it on personal trainer's websites, and in general health articles. So if Lebron James, needs to know that he's overweight (hahaha), all he needs to do is plug his height and weight into a BMI calculator. At 6'8, 250 lbs, Lebron James is overweight according to the Body Mass Index. "Nice dunk fatso", isn't something you hear opposing fans scream at Miami Heat road games., I suspect BMI, might be used because it is a simple tool. If you're a trainer, there is money to be made in having every other person think they are overweight. BMI is also kinder to women than men. A 5'5 150 lb person is classified the same whether they are a woman or a man but the reality is that women should carry more body fat than men as a percentage of weight. BMI's inefficiency can work the other way. In truth, if I start training a 5'4, 140 lb woman with no history of exercise, I would guess that she is probably carrying a few lbs of fat on her. The term "skinny fat" is a popular expression for those who aren't relatively heavy, but have low muscle development. Back in the old days before obesity rates skyrocketed you had a lot of "skinny fat". People didn't have as much food on the table but they weren't exercising much either.

What most fitness professionals and astute healthcare professionals are looking for nowadays is body composition. Body composition is what percentage of your weight is body fat. If you go by body fat percentage, Lebron James is now a lean dunking machine and not some average Joe who needs to lose some flab. Why is this important for people to understand? Take Susie Skinnyfat, she feels winded and tired climbing up a flight of stairs, she just quit smoking, and doesn't like the flab on her arms, so she hires a personal trainer. She starts off with the trainer at 5'4, 120 lbs and six months later she is 5'4, 125. Now she's gone up a few lbs and if she doesn't have an idea of how lean body mass works, she might even be disappointed and discouraged. Now if here trainer measures her body fat on her first and last session there will be a different story to tell. It is not unconceivable for Susie Skinnyfat to gain 12 lbs of muscle and bone density as a result of weight training while shedding 7 lbs of flab. Now say she started at 30 % bodyfat, borderline overweight for most premenopausal women, the 12 llb of lean mass and the loss of flab will result in a more swimsuit friendly body composition of 23 %. The 5 lb weight gain is irrelevant if not beneficial. So the scale isn't the best tool in this scenario for measuring progress. Body Mass Index for Susie still keeps her in the normal range and doesn't take any progress into account. Now if we start with a 5'10 200 lb man at 30% bodyfat, who puts on 20 lbs of muscle while maintaining the same bodyweight, he will still be considered obese according to the Body Mass Index even though six months later he is a healthier 20% bodyfat.

So what tools can we use to measure body comp, while we discard BMI and quit stressing about the scale?

Underwater Weighing - This is supposedly the best way to test for body comp, but it is expensive and generally available at major universities. So, unless you're an Olympic hopeful, or an astronaut, I would forget about this procedure.

Body Calipers - I have used these in the past, but they can be tricky. it's easier to grab a loose skin then marbleized fat. Also, you have to take measurement in a bunch of different places because fat stores differently for different people, and if you have a client who is generally uncomfortable with a stranger pinching adipose tissue all over their body, - body calipers could be unreliable.

Body Monitors - Brands like Tanita, and Omron sell scales and hand held devices that shoot pulses through your body that if impeded will read in a higher body fat. These devices are fairly useful for tracking progress, but some of them use algorithms like age and weight to estimate what your body fat percentage should be in relation to the pulse. Since older people generally collect more body fat, it might actually tell a a lean, ripped, 50 lb man he's 15 % body fat when he's probably single digits. Although there is some variance, and I have measured husky people who measure a lower body fat than less robust people at the same weight. So the pulse accounts for something. Some of the newer devices have an option for "athletes" so the body fat calculation is less for them, but it is kind of hard to determine who is an athlete. What I really like to use these devices for is to track progress. So I might disregard the meaning of whatever body fat percentage the device says a person is, but I will regard progress over time. So progress is indicated if the first day of training it reads 30 %, and the next month it reads 25 %, and the client has pulled off several lbs. Maybe the client is actually 23 or 27 % body fat, but the important thing is that we are seeing progress.

Body Measurements - I like these in general. If people lose flab, they will lose fat around the midsection. Measuring the hips of a woman can sometimes be unproductive because women come in different shapes and sizes. Some store more fat than others under the belt while others have a weak posteriors that would benefit aesthetically and anatomically from an inch or two of muscle development in the hips. High waist to hip ratios (beer belly skinny legs) on men, should send a red flag to most health professionals. The "apple shape" is associated more with heart attack than the pear shape.

Bodyweight Exercises - If men are lean they can do pull ups, if women are lean they can do strict pushups. An obese man could add 5- lbs to his bench-press but still struggle to do pushups. After training for a period of time with a client who has changed body comp, I might have them try a wall supported handstand, dips, pull ups, or any exercise that was impossible a few months earlier at a different body composition. Obese people are more likely to complete marathons than they would be adept at holding a handstand against a wall for 10 seconds. There is a tendency for people who need to lose fat to pursue long bouts of cardio when strength training and a nutritional makeover would get better results. In the fitness industry we call these people "cardio jockeys". The "cardio jockey" is convinced that excessive bouts on the treadmill is all they need to get fit. If you are at a good bodyweight and body composition, you will be able to handle your body. For those of you who are skinny but you can't do the bodyweight exercises it might be a matter of improving your overall fitness.

The Mirror - If you go from a no pack to a two pack, if you have to buy new pants, if you can see your jaw line more clearly, - then you are making progress. Fat takes up more space than muscle and you will notice it in the mirror. The mirror doesn't lie. Often people get in good shape for a reunion, wedding, etc . only to rest on their laurels, stop exercising and start eating like crap. The first place they notice it is the mirror. Of course it is important to maintain some body fat. Women especially, should be at least 16- 18 % body fat. Body fat does serve a function and although the mirror is a good tool be aware of the overall results and don't be too hypercritical.

Over the last two years I have used the last three tools to help clients get in better shape. If clients seriously engage in proper nutrition and exercise they will get results. BMI is outdated. People come in different shapes and sizes. It's about being relatively lean and robust. You can track your progress by using a variety of tools, and by monitoring your overall health. So if your doc is telling you that you are overweight according to BMI see if you can get a consultation from a trainer, nutritionist, therapist, etc. Somebody who can give you an idea of where you are. I've seen some weekend warriors who have been told they are obese when in truth they are overweight due to BMI. Of course it only takes short period of time to go from overweight to obese. People need to know where they are at on the body fat scale. Just comparing yourself to the "really fat" person you saw on the electric wheelchair at Walmart, isn't an indicator of YOUR FITNESS. For most of us, there is a fitter person who's being suppressed by a vicious circle of poor nutrition, lack of will power, discipline, bad habits, etc. Some of us are aware, and others go through life thinking french fries are veggies and a bottle of wine a day must be good because it contains antioxidants. This is where a fitness professional can help.

Dr Plankenstein Fitness Training.

TRX Workout

2012-03-16T16:36:30Z

Workout With Dumbells and Bodyweight.

2012-03-16T16:34:26Z

Correcting Poor Posture With Exercise

2012-03-16T16:32:48Z

Common Excuses and Reality!

2012-03-08T01:42:19Z

Too busy to exercise = exercising is not enough of a priority.

Too injured = sore muscles.

I want to weight to lose weight before I workout = I'm never going to work out until I lose fat, and I have no clue as how to lose fat.

I don't want to deprive myself = I like to eat sweets all the time and drink copious amounts of booze and I kind of ignore the repercussions.

I need to find a workout partner = all my friends are couch potatoes too.

Hyperthyroidism = 1 out of 300 have hyperthyroidism, 1 out of 3 people are obese. 1 out of 3 obese people will tell you they have hyperthyroidism.

My friend is doing P90X, insanity, cross fit, etc. = I'm not going to do your program but I probably won't do theirs either - but I like to talk about it while I put off getting serious about my fitness.

I can't do the things at 35 that I could when I was 20 = Because when you were 25 you stopped doing the things you did at 20.

Kids = I tire around the kids because I don't have enough energy to keep up with them, so I plop them down in front of the TV with some candy.

More to come...

Wrestle Nation

2012-02-21T00:47:38Z

For the last six weeks my 5 and 7 year old boys have participated in a youth wrestling clinic in Tampa Palms called Wrestle Nation. It is run by Rich Helm who brings 20 years experience coaching thousands of youth wrestlers. There is an emphasis on sportsmanship, technique and conditioning.
Besides conditioning, wrestling helps develop strength, body awareness and personal discipline. Along with wrestling technique, the kids participate in conditioning drills, relays, pushup contests, etc. As a fitness pro, if I were going to put together a group training session for youths it would have a similar feel to the conditioning aspects of Wrestle Nation. On top of that, wrestling is a great form of self defense and an affordable alternative or compliment to other martial arts.
For any parents who sign their kids up for Wrestle Nation I will offer a 10 % discount on my bootcamp sessions in New Tampa. In my opinion fit parents plant the seeds for fit kids and this is a good opportunity for both parents and kids to improve their fitness. Ask a strength and conditioning coaches what athlete is the best conditioned and I gaurantee you "wrestler" will be the most consistent answer. The skills your child will learn in this sport will carry over to all the other sports.
Tom Pollard

When is Boot Camp Really Boot Camp?

2012-02-10T17:22:43Z

When Is Boot Camp Really Boot Camp?

Over the last several years there has been a movement towards boot camp like training in the fitness industry. "Boot Camp" is a great marketing term, and it sounds like a great adventure when you here a "stay at home" mom or "insurance" salesman tell you they are doing a boot camp. I run a "boot camp" myself and we have a lot of fun, we work out hard and I have seen many people transform their level of conditioning in a few months time. But just how real is "boot camp" in comparison to military "boot camp" training?

First off, I have never been in the military and I cringe to a certain extent when I tell people that I'm running a "boot camp". In my opinion, "boot camp" in terms of the fitness industry is a "marketing term" used by trainers to get people outside, running, doing pushups, partner exercises, etc. Maybe the term "outdoor fitness" or "group fitness" might be more appropriate, but from a business perspective most people are Googling "boot camp" when looking for such a program. So, I run a boot camp.

It is safe to assume that no drill instructor would tolerate "no shows", "whining", and the less than mediocre exercise form that comes along with fitness industry boot camps. To the drill instructors advantage, when you sign up for the armed forces, being fat or out of shape is a liability. Sharing fox holes with those prone to pass out in situations of physical exertion isn't good for moral. From what my military friends have told me, the out of shape, overweight, or underweight recruit are segregated and put in a separate group. Their food is rationed and they are put on a training regimen that will bring them up to speed with the other recruits. For these people, there is nobody who is going to tell them that it is "okay", and that they "will get in shape with time". Nobody is going to give them a seminar on "emotional eating" or "motivation". The bottom line is they aren't up to the cut, and they will have to get their stuff in order eating the quantities of food that the military provides for them, and exercising on the militaries watch.

Honestly, if I had as much control over my clients eating and schedule as the armed forces does, my success rate would skyrocket. I wish I had a dime for every time I heard somebody tell me that they had some chocolate cake, ice cream, desert coffee , six pack of beer, because they felt they earned it after doing a few "boot camp" workouts. I doubt many overweight recruits in the military get rewarded "treats" for doing 10 pushups, and losing a lb of water weight. But left to their own devices, most of us "treat" ourselves to things we don't need. This is a weakness. It would be fun to go into people's houses and burn all their doritos, and oreos cookies. I'd love to watch them have to deal with a plate of broccoli and some lean meat for their daily ration. This would help them develop some real will power.

As far as exercise goes, I think everybody should be able to run a few miles, and do at least 20 pushups but depending on the group that signs up for "boot camp" it's hard to get everybody up to this standard. Some trainers have had success running "harsher" boot camps that cater to the fit, and let the unfit fall by the wayside. A lot of this depends on the demand. If you have a decent size group of fit and committed people, you can let the slackers get in line, or go back to their TV sets, facebook pages and Ben and Jerry's. Then you will have a boot camp that can wave it's flag high. On the other hand, from a trainers perspective, you have to make a living. So if you have a group of semi committed people you give it your best shot, knowing that some of them may drop out, or skip a few workouts if the last one was too intense. You also know that a few of them will exercise intensely but never really get their nutrition house in order. You can let them know that their sore knees, or their inability to plank for a good period of time has to do more with their nutritional habits, and less to do with their natural ability but a lot of times that falls on deaf ears.

The bottom line is if you want a "real experience" with boot camp, join the military or make it a point to push yourself harder. Do yourself a favor, next time you see your Navy Seal cousin at the family reunion, tell them you are doing a "boot camp" style training.

Tom Pollard

Dr Plankenstein's Fitness Training.

Getting Some Skin in the Game

2012-01-13T18:34:09Z

Having some "skin in the game" is an expression used in the finance world implying that if one is to advise a financial client to buy stock XYZ, then the advisor in turn should own a little XYZ to give his recommendation credibility. Often times in the financial world, or in the world in general, people will tell anybody anything in an attempt to make a buck. If a stockbroker is shortsighted he might tell his client to buy "risky" XYZ because it is a "hot" stock and one that is getting all kinds of press. The stockbroker will make a commission regardless of what stock XYZ does for the customer. If the stockbroker doesn't own XYZ he doesn't suffer the loss only the commission. So a good question to ask a stockbroker who recommends that you buy a stock is "how many shares do you have?". You want to see that your broker has some "skin in the game" before you take his advice. This is true outside the world of finance and the broader world of sales as well. The fitness world is full of trends that are pushed by us fitness people that are credible or not so credible.

Take the toning shoe craze that Skechers pushed a few years ago. Wearing these shoes was supposed to help "tone" your legs. However, wearers of the shoe ended up having similar injuries and discomforts that perpetual wearers of high heels have. Eventually Skechers parent company Reebok faced lawsuits. Maybe Reebok should have had some of their employees walking around in toners for awhile before they were brought to the market. Having their employees, or better, the CEO and board walking around in the toners might have shown more "skin in the game".

I have seen a few personal trainers who spend too much time on up selling their clients on supplements. These supplements can be expensive and I doubt that many of the trainers who sell them consume them on a regular basis. Personally, I wouldn't have a problem selling a multivitamin, b12 complex, or protein powder because these are all things that have worked for me. I have "skin in the game" with these nutrition aids. On the other hand, if I were to push a client to buy "white bean extract" because it's the latest and greatest in weight loss supplements, I'd be full of it. I've never used the stuff, so I have no clue if this stuff works or not. However, I have managed to keep decent body fat level, eating well most of the time, controlling portions, and exercising, so that is what I preach. There's 1000's of supposed weight loss products at the health food stores and I get emails every day from supplement companies who recommend that I push their product on my clients. Now, other trainers might look at these supplements as opportunities to up sell their clients and create bigger "revenue streams".

The health and wellness world is full of people pushing you something. I had a chiropractor propose a $1600 plan for each of my kids that addressed every health issue that we addressed on the waiting room forms. Do they do $500 adjustments on each other for runny noses, attention problems, etc?

How about the constant pharmaceutical ads that show you some sad face turn into a happy face, and that you should ask your doctor about their drug.

Another area where people in my profession should have some skin in the game is in prescribing exercises. If a trainer is going to charge you $70 an hour to improve your golf swing, they should know the actual mechanics of hitting a golf ball. I don't golf much but I know there is a lucrative market for trainers who work on exercises that improve the golf swing. I could prescribe a couple rotational exercises that might help somebody get "torque" on their swing, but I don't think it would help my credibility if I worked with a golf pro and after a couple of months the golfer saw no real difference in their game. So anybody, charging a customer $70 a workout to improve their golf game, should know the mechanics of the different swings, know where to see the imbalances in the swing, and where weaknesses can be improved. Charging somebody $70 an hour to do a couple sets of woodchoppers isn't legit.

Also, if I were to make my clients do 1000s of pushups and burpees until they puked while walking around with a beer belly and bull horn, I'd have a credibility problem. Sure some clients will get progress in this environment, and they might not question the trainers girth. However, at some point they might question the trainer if every workout they are so drained, or hardly drained at all, and they might look elsewhere. If you don't know what a workout "feels like" yourself you could run your client into the ground. Running 50 yard dashers in a 15 minute period might not sound like much on paper but if you done it before you know that you can be exhausted at the end of the workout. Watch out for the trainer with no "skin in the game". The trainer who runs you into the ground while the text to their buddies about what night club to meet up at night. So, iIs the trainer able to do the workout they prescribe? Or has the trainer lost all interest in health and is just going through the motions throwing routines at clients to pass the hours?

I have seen some popular fitness programs that utilize the Olympic lifts, but after watching some of the videos on you tube you'd question if any of these programs spent any time going over proper form with a client. Telling a 45 year old woman, to power clean 95 lbs as many times as possible in a minute because it's intense and will build up explosiveness isn't smart training. I love the Olympic lifts but I wouldn't spend too much time doing them with novice clients who are just looking to get in shape. If you're going to teach the lifts, you should know how to do them right, otherwise your clients will end up with degenerative injuries over time.

The most important thing I can do as a trainer is to show observable progress with every client. If I wanted to just sell whatever to make money, I'd sign up with Amway. I love seeing people push their limits, turn back the clock, and get in tune with healthier way of living. I try and follow this myself, when I'm not training I'm working out, trying new exercises to see what works and what doesn't. I look forward to training more clients down the road.

Tom Pollard

Dr Plankenstein

How to Lose 50 lbs in a half year.

2011-10-18T17:45:36Z

All one needs to do is walk around Wal-Mart, or eat at a fast food restaurant, to see that obese people are everywhere. The citizens of the USA spend about $40 billion a year on diet products. That is about $130 a citizen. Judging by the muffin tops and crammed airplanes, these diet products aren't doing the job. Adding confusion to the issue is the fat acceptance movement which wants obese people accepted as if they're a minorities with rights who have no choice in their body make up. This is a flawed movement because it doesn't address the health problems that accompany obesity, i.e., type II diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, arthritis, poor posture, heart disease, etc. It is accepted that some people have higher amounts of fat cells than others, and that they might be more inclined to put on weight, but few people get obese eating a healthy diet and exercising. The truth is too many people are fat, and a lot of these people aren't doing enough in terms of nutrition and exercise to make a big change. You can watch all the Dr Phil shows, read all the books, sign up for every exercise group and nutrition seminar, start a "pat yourself on the back" support group, but if you're not burning more calories than you're consuming you will continue to be fat, or worse - get fatter.

What is obese?

The National Strength and Conditioning Association defines obese for a male at 30 percent BMI(body mass index) and 35 percent BMI for women. However, BMI is not the best indicator of body composition given that muscle weighs more than fat. A Football player could be classified as obese by his BMI and actually have a low percentage of body fat. A body composition analysis is the most effective way to measure body fat. This can be done with a variety of methods as simple as a body fat measuring hand held device, or as complex as being weighed underwater on an expensive scale. All body composition measurements have their limitations but if you use the same devices to track body fat percentage over time you will be able to track fat loss.

I've tried many things but have not had results.

So you have the total gym in the garage, the p90X dvd's in the closet, a juicer in the cabinet, and a shelf full of trendy or once trendy diet books. You are making the fitness industry rich but not having any success. Most neighborhood fitness facilities survive on having about 3000 plus members but about half or more rarely workout. These people who slip through the cracks of fitness are a huge part of the fitness industries financial success. A lot of these people are dipping their toes in the water of fitness but never diving in. A lot of times they are looking for "fast food" fitness. At worse, they end up with "shake weights" or other meaningless contraptions. There are some great workout videos, books, and exercise classes available to everyone but if you have a history of dropping out or "just putting your foot in the water" you will never have any success if you don't change the pattern. If you have gotten to this point, I recommend sitting down with a fitness professional for a consultation. A good consultation consists of going over exercise and nutrition habits. The consulted should also be weighed and measured for body fat composition. Finally, if the consulted wishes to hire the trainer, they should set some mutual goals. The client and the trainer both accept that being in the obese category is a problem that needs to be solved. You agree to track weight loss and the trainer will make it a point to inquire about daily food consumption. This is why one on one training is more successful than group training in helping a client get off the obese list. Often in a group setting, everybody is made to feel accepted in order to keep the group working out together. Trainees are more likely to skip group workouts, and be less committed to maintaining a good nutrition plan. From a trainers perspective, it is easier to spend 5 to 10 minutes with one client going over what they should and shouldn't be eating, or how they might have strayed from the plan, than it is to discuss those topics in a group setting. One on One training is going to cost more than group training but the success rate is higher which might make it more cost effective in the long run.

So if I'm obese, what is the first step in losing 50 lbs?

So if you need to lose 50 lbs, and you've tried many different things with no success, hire a personal trainer.

You Need to Get the Nutritional Plan in Order.

Someone who is 50 lbs overweight needs to cut out sugar (alcohol included) and flour consumption. Initially, They need to get their calorie consumption under 2000 a day and more depending on their target weight. They need to learn how to measure their food. If a serving is one cup, then they need to make one cup. They need to start looking at the labels on the food. The need to go into a restaurant prepared. The trainer can help them with this. If a new client gets their calorie consumption down, and drops the flour and sugar, within a week they will start losing weight. It's not uncommon for a client to lose a few lbs between the consultation and the first workout on diet change alone.

Start Walking

The average person burns about 100 calories a mile. If you walk briskly you can burn up to 400 calories in an hour. For an obese person, walking to burn calories is a low impact no brainer. To lose a lb of fat you need to burn 3500 calories. So you've removed the junk from your diet and that amounts to about 500 calories a day or 3500 calories (1 lb of fat) a week, now throw in four hours of walking a week minimum to burn another 1600 calories. Now you're burning about 1.5 lbs of fat a week.

Working out with the trainer.

For an obese client, I recommend working out three times a week. If the intensity level is right, the client will burn about 600 calories or more a workout. You do this by mixing different exercises with small rest intervals. Weights and bodyweight exercises are all done with good form. (Another reason why people fail with the videos is form). A good trainer enables the client to execute the exercises with good form without killing the intensity of the workout.

Muscle

An untrained individual can add 10 lbs of muscle in a half year of resistance training if the intensity is right. Why would an obese individual want to add 10 lbs, even if it is muscle? Well, a lb of muscle needs to be fed with calories. Resting muscles increase your metabolism. A more muscular person needs to burn about 200 calories more a day. These are two hundred calories that won't be stored as fat. A 260 lb man who is 40 % bodyfat has a lean body mass weight of 160 lbs. A 190 lb man with 10 % bodyfat has a lean body mass of 170 lbs. This is the difference between the couch potato and the athlete. Turning the former into the ladder can be done by increasing muscle mass, and metabolism, while decreasing caloric consumption. The new muscle is burning fat, the increased burning of calories is burning fat, and you're consuming lean proteins, fruits and veggies that aren't going to waste or your waist. A healthy realistic goal is 2 to 3 lbs a week of weight loss. Over a six month period you're looking at a potential 50 lb weight loss and a new body.

How the trainer will help you with the process?

The trainer is going to help you with your workouts by making sure that you maintain good form, intensity, and focus. The trainer should also see signs of when the body might need a break from the intensity and modify the workout as needed. These are all aspects of training that are harder to do with exercise dvd's and group training classes. The trainer needs to get you to confide in your daily caloric intake. It does the trainer and the client no good for the client to lie about what they don't eat. Often times confiding in someone else helps a client avoid eating crap food and gets them to realize just how much junk makes up their daily caloric consumption. The client needs to be held accountable if they are not sticking with the plan. You cannot out workout bad nutrition.

As the client progresses, the trainer will increase resistance and intensity during the training sessions. The trainer might also prescribe more intense cardio exercise for the client to do on their own time. The healthier the client gets the more likely he or she is to pursue more productive hobbies. Choosing to do a home project over sitting on the couch gets a lot easier when you're fit. The trainer should measure the clients success, through body comp analysis, and the clients own greater satisfaction with body image and general health. The client needs to be reminded of how they felt and looked then and how much better they feel now.

What is the Bottom Line?

If you have every exercise gadget, tried all the dvd's, purchased all the fad diet books and you still need to lose 50 lbs, something needs to change. How much would you spend if your roof had a leak, or the tires needed to be replaced on your car? How much do you spend at fast food restaurants when you could be making healthier meals for half the price. What do you need to change in your life? What if hiring a personal trainer, and working out hard for a half year to burn 50 lbs of unhealthy body fat makes you less risk averse to colon cancer, type II diabetes, heart diseases, arthritis, etc. The risks definitely outweigh the costs.
Tom Pollard

Your Job and Your Metabolism

2011-10-07T13:35:23Z

Two totally different images here. One image is the mumbling guy in Office Space, the other was taken by Lewis Hines during the construction of the Empire State building. You might think the latter group had a higher risk occupation. Surprisingly, only five people died during the construction of the Empire State Building. Of course we're talking about 1930's statistics so there could have been more.
Anyhow, modern cubicle guy, if he doesn't exercise and eat right, is at a high risk for colon cancer, diabetes, heart failure, etc. The construction workers might have had an Italiam combo, but they burnt calories and more by the end of the workday. Cubicle guy is burning 70 calories an hour tops sitting in his chair. It would take him two to three times as long to burn off those calories. Due to the lack of excitement, cubicle guy might seek out a couple donuts, or cookies that one of his coworkers left in the kitchen. The construction workers got enough excitement from their job to keep stimulated. So we wonder why so many modern workers suffer from obesity, depression, and in the case of males, dwindling testosterone.
The bottom line is that if you have a desk job, you better have a solid workout routined and nutrition plan before your desk job turns into a "high risk" job.
Tom Pollard

Workout Ideas To Change Up a Stale Routine

2011-10-04T00:55:11Z

Twenty Minute Squat Workout

Take a weight that you can handle (60 - 70 % of your one rep max if you're doing weights) and see how many reps you can get in a twenty minute sessions. Repeat this workout every couple of weeks and always aim to beat your previous max. I do this with squats, and pull ups. The squat workout will boost your metabolism like crazy.

Sprints

This one is affordable but not easy. Pick a distance, it could be 50 yards or 100 yard. You want to jog the first one, run the second a little faster and by the third or fourth sprint you should be hitting a good stride. You want about 1 minute or 2 of rest between each sprint. Maybe a bit longer for the 100. Keep the sprints going as long as you feel you have a chance of topping your best time.

Drop Sets

I'm not a HIT guy but I like to throw in a drop set here and there. One set and go for broke. Do a heavy weight 4 - 6 reps, and then take 20 -30% of the bar and rep out. This is a good way to get in another exercise without using up to much time.

Bodyweight

Get outside, do some lunges, pushups, etc. Do a handstand against a tree, run some stairs, whatever comes to mind. This will keep you from being tight and a good way to motivate yourself to stay lean. The leaner you are the more bodyweight exercises you can do.

Compete at Something

Find an event and enter it. It could be as diverse as a bike race, 5k, 10k, weightlifting/power lifting contest, or team sport. Golf and bowling don't count. Make your workouts compliment something tangible and athletic. If working out is just something you do because your doctor told you, or you think it will make you look better, you're not really "getting it". Put yourself out there in an environment where you are having fun, but pushing yourself harder. That isn't going to happen if workout dvd's are the pinnacle of your athletic existence.

Just a few ideas to start with, more to come....
Tom Pollard

Why Many Fail With Video Training DVD's.

2011-09-16T01:13:26Z

P90x and Insanity have been successful in home video fitness training programs. Both products are made by Beach Body and chances are if you haven't done the workout, you've seen the infomercials late night during an insomnia attack. Many people have had success using these two programs. I have done all of the workouts in the P90x series and I will try Insanity sometime in the near future. I like a lot of the ideas on P90X. The basic formula of taking two or three resistance exercises and doing several sets with limited downtime is proven winner as far as building lean muscle and burning fat. The ideal P90x trainee is someone who is enough condition to do keep up with the exercises but maybe needs to lose a little body fat to get "the look''. What I mean by the look, is the after photo in the before and after shot you see on all their advertisements. For women "the look" is 18 - 20 % bodyfat, with lean muscle and good posture. A woman at 18 - 20% bodyfat is what you need if you are a leading lady in Hollywood or want to look like one. For men, we're talking around 10 % or less bodyfat. This is where you see the six pack abs. A lot of guys had this look when they were in high school playing all kinds of sports before the onslaught of beer, fast food, and desk jobs. One of the draws with P90x is "the look". Even one of the male trainees in the p 90x infomercial says "don't you want this" after taking off his shirt for the camera.

I have heard of a few success stories from people who knew somebody who lost a lot of fat with p90x, I have also come across a few people who are "doing" the p90x videos but they hardly look like the people you see in the infomercials. I think there are a few reasons for this which I will go over.

No Accountability

P90x suggests that you train an hour a day for six days a week. So what happens if you start skipping a few workouts here and there because you overslept, had errands to do, etc. No different than some of the excuses that come up in bootcamp, or other less expensive training systems. Tony Horton isn't going to call you up personally and tell you to get out of the Dunkin Donuts drive thru and get back to working out. With a trainer or training partner at least you have some guilt if you start missing sessions. Guilt is a powerful tool. If you are out of shape, have time to work out, and skip workouts YOU SHOULD FEEL GUILTY BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO EXCUSES. So the P90x trainee who gets their before and after pictures on the website is the one who did the workouts religiously 6 days a week with no excuses.

No Form Check

Partial, lazy squats, barely lunging lunges, half pushups, falling and collapsing on the floor and waiting it out for the time to expire are all things that can happen on the other side of the screen. Many people do the home exercise videos with poor form. I have a client that tweaked something in her back doing a Jillian Michaels home dvd because she felt like she wasn't doing it right. If she slips into bad form now working out with me, we take the time to correct the form. NOBODY SHOULD GET INJURED DOING EXERCISES. INJURIES FROM EXERCISE FOR THE MOST PART ARE DEGENERATIVE. DOING THINGS THE WRONG WAY OVER AND OVER AGAIN WITH NO CORRECTION WILL GET YOU INJURED. I would also suggest watching the home exercises before doing them. Twisting your neck around to watch what the trainer is doing is not great for exercise form.

Nutrition

If somebody tells me they're doing P90x I will always ask them what they think of the nutrition plan. Many times people tell me they just do the workouts. The workouts are great but when these people also talk about wanting to be lean or ripped they look a bit glum when I tell them that the nutrition plan is what is going to get you in the after photo. Only someone with a really great metabolism, and working construction job, can do an exercise program on the Cracker Barrel diet and get lean. The P90x nutrition plan is the basic eat good foods, lower the calories, program that is basic sensible nutrition. So don't expect to get "the look" by just struggling through the videos. Nutrition is key if you want to get leaner. YOU CANNOT OUT TRAIN BAD EATING HABITS.

Workouts Might Be Too Hard For Some.

I take issue that on some of the before and after shoots you see people who are obviously obese in the before photo because the P90X fit test suggests that obese people might not be ready for the program. One of the workouts calls for a lot of plyometrics where the heart rate is high and there is a lot of impact placed on the body. Whether it is too hard or not is up to the trainees judgment, but my guess is that a lot of these people who had success going from obese to lean did so using the modified versions of exercises and maybe had to go through the program a few times. I would not suggest P90 x for anybody who is obese and has little recent history of exercise. Walking an hour a day along with basic resistance exercises and a "shock the body" with low calorie diet is way to get an obese person in the right direction. Doing split squat jumps with Tony and his crew might be overwhelming and discouraging for the obese client. Sure you can hit the pause button but how much do you want to be hitting the pause button while you're working out?

Here's who I think might have success with the P90 x plan, single, or empty nesters who have the 6 hours a week to do the workouts. . Maybe they are slightly overweight but have some athletic ability. Maybe you're the guy who played sports in college, and now you have been out for a year with a desk job eating Panera Bread take out two times a day. You now have a little roll around your belly. However, you can run a couple miles, do some pull ups and pushups.

Overall, I think the home videos have been good for fitness. They have taught people that you don't need a ton of gadgets to get in shape but once you start missing a few workouts, doing the exercises half assed, eating lots of junk, and lying on the floor half of the workout, don't be surprised if your results are compromised too.

Tom Pollard

Garage Exercises. This one will get you booted out of the big box gym. Especially if you grunt.

2011-09-02T18:28:26Z

More Random Ideas on Fitness.

2011-09-01T13:14:59Z

1. Run like an enemy is chasing you.

2. Make things that you could only pick or kill the backbone your diet. (No one ever shot or picked a donut).

3. Get away from the TV and the internet when you find yourself doing nothing.

4. Enjoy physical labor.

5. Avoid whining at all costs.

6. Listen to music that gets you energized.

7. Play sports even if you are no good at them.

8. Do free weight and body weight exercises.

9. Workout with people who push you harder.

10. Look at challenges as both mental as well as physical. The mind tells the body when to quit.

11. If you're exercising with a group and there is nobody in the group who can push you harder. It is up to you to push them harder and in turn you will still get a good workout.

12. Avoid exercise facilities with tanning beds.

13. Don't get too lost in nutrition. Everything is going to kill you at some point. Basketball, tennis, volleyball, etc for an hour and a Big Mac is better than organic noodles and American Idol.

14. Aches and pains are part of life. Stretch sore muscles. You will do more damage over time looking at a computer all day than you will working out.

15. Get rid of crap in your homestead that serves no purpose. You can always find a hoarder on craigslist who will give you cash for your crap. Better yet, drop your stuff off at the good will if it could actually be worth something to somebody.

16. Sprint.

17. If your job sucks, take it out on your workout. I had some of my best workouts when I had lame jobs. A heavy bag or a squat rack can always be a substitute for your frustrations.

18. Avoid working out with groups of people that talk about how great working out is but don't actually work out any harder than you would if you were on your own. Make sure you have tried tip # 11 first.

Tom Pollard

Outdoor Workout at the Community Center.

2011-08-15T23:12:30Z

My latest video. Just goofing around showing you how to get a workout without going to the gym.

Dr Plankenstein

Cortisol, Stress, and Metabolism

2011-07-08T13:18:56Z

Cortisol is the fight of flight hormone. It is an important hormone secreted by the adrenal glands that gives you a boost of energy in moments of stress. Unfortunately, too much cortisol without enough time to relax is not good for the body. Cortisol tells your body to eat more and store fat. Basically, it slows your metabolism down. This was an important adaptation when rival tribes were on the war path, or a saber tooth tiger was licking its chops and your ancestors were on the menu. However, in our modern world the cortisol response is crippling because your body wants to do one thing, - beat your boss over the head with a club - , while your conscience has to deal with the matter in a more civilized way. When your boss emails you a ton of things to do over the weekend your body will produce cortisol. This is the kind of stress that comes with life. You get the work done and maybe your boss will appreciate your efforts. A good exercise routine can be a break from work stress, especially “white collar” work stress. It can also be an opportunity to burn some fat and expend some “fight or flight” energy. The long end of it is that stress, or more importantly how you deal with it, can result in a big roll of fat. If you want to lower the level of stress in your life, you have to get rid of the things that produce stress that aren’t conditional on your survival. Here are three ways we can get rid of stress.

1.Media

Whatever your politics, getting flustered about something you see on the news is a waste of energy. So you’re not happy with the Casey Anthony trial and your blood is beginning to boil. What can you do about it? What your body is going to do is produce cortisol, and your best case scenario is bitching and moaning to someone over a bag of cheetos. Don’t get me wrong, Read enough to be generally informed but you don’t want to spend your whole day fired up about something you heard on the radio or saw on TV. The news media preys on old, and soon to get old, couch potatoes. That’s their bread and butter: Inactive people who are perpetually watching TV, browsing the internet, or listening to the radio while waiting in the Arby’s line.

2.People

Do not waste your time on social engagements with people who rub you the wrong way unless you have too, and if you do, minimize the time you spend at these engagements and always have a reason to leave. Do not waste mental energy on people who cannot contribute positively to your life. Get over your college ex from 19 whatever. It’s old news move on. Things happen for a reason. Flustered people always have a few trigger people in their social network, family, and or past who push their coritisol buttons. Don’t be one of them.

3.Debt

Life is so enjoyable when you have a motorcycle, sports car, 6000 square ft home, masseuse, time share, and air conditioning on 65. $30 bottles of wine, dinner out most nights and fast food when you want to eat at home is all fine if you afford them but if you’re just making enough for the mortgage and the other so called necessities you could be putting yourself under stress. Credit card bills that cannot be paid for every month will produce stress. Especially as you hit middle age. Take the time to reevaluate your life and discard of what is unnecessary. The examples above are extreme, but no doubt a problem for many Americans. For others it might be a matter of getting rid of unnecessary cable, and phone services, learning to eat at home more often, and frivolous shopping. Frivolous shopping and emotional eating are two sides of the same coins.

The bottom line with cortisol is that modern living provides many situations where our blood can be brought to a boil. However, you do not have to be owned by the things that bring you down to a level of stress. You do not have to sit on your ass at a computer during your recreational hours so you can be informed. You do not have to go the mall for retail therapy if your finances are in a shambles. You do not have to run with the pack. Who gives a rat’s ass if you’re not at some party networking with influential people. I’d rather be at the beach or by the pool or catching up on some sleep myself.

Tom Pollard

What is Fit?

2011-06-13T14:37:13Z

What is Fit?

If someone woke you up at midnight and told you to run a mile in 10 minutes or less, could you? If you’re a man can you do 20 pushups or more anytime? If you are a woman, can you do 5 regular pushups? Can you hold a plank for 1 minute? Do you have fun when you play with your kids? If you’re special someone asked you to go for a bike ride, would you be excited or feel anxious?

For some fitness nuts, this all seems easy. On the other hand, you have people that can run 6 – 10 miles a day but have a hard time doing a set of pushups and there’s the guy at the gym that can bench a ton, but gets winded when he goes for a jog. What about the lady who holds all the tough positions in yoga class but runs like a turtle? What might be fit to one person, is impossible for another. I like the challenge of being good at everything and better at those things you're apt to be better in.

Now for some people, the running and the pushups might be a matter of getting down to a healthier bodyweight. For the person, who’s lean, maybe just skinny, being unable to do regular pushups could be a sign that you need to improve upper body strength. This is true for women and men.

My challenge for my clients is to get them in all around condition. I want to take a sedentary person and get them on the move. I want to take a fit person and introduce them to more than their one track fitness. Especially, the cardio jockeys. How good is that 20 mile run doing you, when you can’t move a 20 inch TV from downstairs to upstairs? Real fitness should have real life implications. Let me put it this way, would you be on a short list for all your friends to help them load a U-Haul? Or would you be on the short list for going out for beer and nachos?

You have the macho man who likes his bench press, his curls, but looks like he had 10 shots of Cuervo when he tries to do a lunge. If I’m training this guy, he’s doing lunges, and a lot of exercises out side of his comfort zone. You want to move like an athlete, not Frankenstein’s monster.

You have these people who get set in their routine. They work out their three trouble spots in an attempt to spot reduce (once again, there is no such thing as spot reduction) and then they walk on a treadmill at about 3 miles an hour while reading a magazine. Does this sound familiar? Have you been doing this for a year with no improvement? If this is all you can do, I say baloney (BS). You aren’t competing with yourself. You aren’t aiming for improvement, you are just looking to do what you thought was good after your first couple of weeks of training because it made you feel “special” at the time. In the fitness world you’re like the 30 year old who lives in a room above your parents garage and you “feel happy with yourself” when you clean your room. Do not rest on your laurels. Compete with yourself. I have seen a 50 something couple make great improvements in their cardio by doing tag team intervals on the treadmill. At first it was a chore but once they started trying to beat their time from their previous workout the adrenaline started taking over. Now they are running hardcore interval sprints and can’t the push the button fast enough.

How much do you need? I think you need about two hours at least of “push it” workouts a week, you need to get your heart rate up in the target zone six days a week, and you need plenty of active rest. The workouts can be bootcamps, or gym workouts, and they have to involve resistance training. You need to make progress, more reps, heavier weights, etc. Not every workout has to be an improvement over the last but you need to push it every couple of weeks so your body will need to change. Getting your heart rate up doesn’t necessarily involve running a 5k every day. It could be 10 minutes of jumping rope, swimming some laps, running, etc. Active rest will come easier the fitter you are. Active rest is jumping in the pool with the kids instead of lounging on the side. Walk to the movies, store instead of driving a quarter mile. Next time you need something at the drug store, get on your bike.

Some of this advice is more about attitude. You need to workout to be fit. Live fit. Race your kids to the front door. Walk and talk with your spouse more and parallel facebook on the couch with laptops less. If you’re single join groups that emphasize fitness and try to hang out with positive people. Train for something, 5k, bike race, etc even if you’re a novice. Put yourself in situations where you demand progress of yourself.
Tom Pollard

Building a Home Gym

2011-05-02T17:39:00Z

In my first year of personal training I have been asked a few times by clients what type of home equipment is right for an at home gym. In general, I steer people towards free weights. I have no qualms about training people on machines if that is what they have, but if they are still in the process of making a decision my recommendation would be to start off with a set of dumbbells. If the client has room and has moderate ability I would throw in a barbell, squat rack, etc.

The main reason I like free weights over machines is that with the machine the stabilizing is done for you. You are essentially working the muscle without doing the stabilizing. Here’s an example. You have two trainees who can back squat 100 lbs max. Trainee number one trains his legs for the next 3 months on a leg press, and trainee number 2 only does the back squat. Now 3 months later you have both trainees max out on the leg press and the back squat (free weights). The guy who exclusively trained the leg press won’t come near what trainee # 2 does on the back squat. On the other hand, Mr. Back squat will have no problem keeping up with Mr. Leg press on the leg press machine. See the back squat works the stabilizers, muscles and tendons get stronger having to keep perfect form on the back squat and of course the proponents of machines will always bring up the safety issue. Sure, in a basic sense machines are safer (if they are designed right). On the other hand, if form is good, free weights will provide an advantage over the long haul. If are unsure about how to do basic free weight/dumbell exercises it is worth the time and money to get a trainer for a few sessions to get you pointed in the right direction. The only machine that can really add something to a home gym is a lat pull down, especially if a client has a hard time doing pull-ups. I’ll have clients doing dumbbell rows, assisted pull-ups, and cable pull downs for their back muscles, but a lat pull down, even if it is attached to a an old squat rack and needs plates, has it’s advantages. Especially for people who have a lot of back strength but due to weight issues struggle with pull ups.

So here’s a set up for a novice client who has an 8 x 10 space to workout in. I’d purchase either adjustable dumbbells, or a multiple sets of dumbbells ideally with a dumbbell rack. Option one is a bit cheaper. You can find a set of adjustable dumbbells that go up to 50 lbs for about $300. It’s nice to have some kind of padded floor; you can get rubber mats that are made out of recycled rubber for about $50 dollars for a four by six. You can also buy the interlocking mats for fairly cheap at Home Depot. You can buy a bench, or even use a stability ball for chest press. Believe it or not, I truly believe that with just these few tools most people can get a pretty intense workout get leaner and build muscle. Now if you’re already fairly strong and looking to get a lot stronger, you might want to think about finding room for a barbell, and or some kind of squat rack. There are other great tools you can add as you go like medicine balls, cables, etc, and maybe a TRX suspension kit that you can throw in the mix. Kettle bells are better for certain exercises compared to dumbbells but you are paying a lot more per lb. For someone on a limited budget dumbbells will be more versatile.

In terms of cardio, treadmills are a great novelty if you have the money, but you can get your heart rate up walking outside, jumping rope, mountain climbers, jumping jacks, etc. Try a circuit half minute of jump rope, half minute of mountain climbers, and a half minute of jumping jacks. Nobody will have a low heart rate after doing this circuit. This is intense cardio that maybe cost you $10 for the jump rope tops.

So there you have it. For the same price as a one year gym membership, you can go out and get some stuff that will get you buff. How many of you have $20 - $30 taken out of your account each month for some gym that’s 15 miles away? Sure, gyms are loaded with state of the art equipment but do you really need it for what you are trying to accomplish. Of course you have the camaraderie at the gym but that can backfire if going to the gym is more about socializing and less about working out. And before you shovel out $100 on a deposit for the next greatest exercise gadget, ask yourself if there is something on this machine that I can’t do with dumbbells. I’ll admit it, I am probably the only trainer that would fess up to owning an old Total gym. I can get a little workout on the thing, get a little pumped, but for the most part it sits around while I hit the free weights. The bottom line for the price of a year’s gym membership, most people can get some workout equipment and starting working out optimally dumbbells and free weights before money is spent on gadgets. I didn’t even touch on bodyweight exercises but that’s another blog. If you are inexperienced, hire a trainer for awhile to get you where you need to go, even better, save some money and train with a friend.

Tom Pollard

Things I Try to Eat Every Day

2011-03-28T00:45:00Z

Best advice I ever read regarding mountain biking was focus on the path you want to go down and not on the obstacles and diversions. This was not only good advice for riding down winding steep trails, but also life in general. Apply it to nutrition, often times we say to ourselves don't eat too much candy, salt, liquor, flour, etc, when the better idea would be to focus on the foods we should be eating.
Here's some things I try to eat every day. If I eat enough of the right things, the junk doesn't make the cut.
1. Three plus serving of green veggies - spinach, broccoli, collard greens, turnips, zucchini. I'll eat my onions, tomatoes, too but I make it a point to get the green ones. All these veggies are high in fiber and nutrients, with virtually no fat. A serving of spinach has 30 - 40 calories and 4 grams of protein. Three servings and you have 2. 12 grams of vegetable protein. Double the portions and you have a lot of fiber and more protein. It is hard to eat too many green vegetables. You never hear anybody say "stop me from the broccoli". In an ideal world I'd have six servings of vegetables.
3. Fruits - I eat fruits every time I need a quick fix. An apple before a workout, an orange or banana, afterward. I think of fruits as "healthy candy".
4. 110 plus grams of protein. For me lean bodyweight * .8 to get the amount of protein I need in a day. I weigh about 160 at 12 percent bodyweight. So my lean bodyweight is 140. 80% of 140 110. If my muscles are sore after a workout I might up my protein uptake. If most people are eating some lean meats they are probably getting enough protein. Vegetarians have to make sure they mix the right foods so they get all the amino acids. Peanut butter and wheat bread, and brown rice and beans give you the essential amino acids. All meat/fish sources will get you 20 - 30 grams of protein per serving. An egg has about 8 grams. A glass of milk/slice of cheese has about 5. Greek Yogurt has 18 grams. Oatmeal, bread, rice, veggies, all have various amounts of protein. The more I workout, I will try to eat more protein. Protein is the building blocks of muscle.
5. 30 plus grams of fiber. You get fiber in veggies, fruits, nuts, whole wheat bread, oatmeal. Fiber slows digestion and keeps your blood sugar in check by slowly releasing sugar into the blood stream giving you steady energy. An example of a blood sugar spike and crash would be a couple donuts first thing in the morning.You'd feel a spike first thing and then feel listless even hungry an hour later. How could you be hungry after eating 600 calories of donuts? That's what low fiber, high sugar intake does to your system. That's why people who eat donuts consistently end up with flab on their butts and bellies.
5. Good fats - olive oil, nuts, fish eggs, etc. These help you with the good cholesterol which in turn helps your heart. A handful of nuts might have a lot of fat relative to calorie intake but it's the good fat and it can be paired with a salad, or piece of fruit to make up a healthy snack.
These are the things I'm looking for in my food. Potato chips, and pizza, occasionally on the weekend but they don't help me much with the things I want so I they aren't the backbone of my daily eating. If you want to be lean and mean you have to put the nutrition together with the exercise.
It comes down to the this, those real fit people you see on the late night infomercials, the women who had 3 kids but still looks good in a bikini, the ripped 40 year old, all have impeccable nutrition. The model you see on the total gym isn't downing a six pack and some chicken wings every other night. On the flip side, I have met a few people who are doing p90x workouts but don't bother with the nutrition plan. These people might be in good cardio shape, and have developed some muscular endurance, but they aren't looking like the people in the "after" photos. That's why beach body and everybody in the fitness business is packaging nutrition with exercise. Exercise alone and you end up looking like the weekend warrior. However, if every year you're adding a percentage point of bodyfat and 30 % is around the corner, eating right becomes a matter of importance not just aesthetics.