Multiple Layers

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  Today I would like to help you achieve your fitness goals by encouraging you to "hit the weights."  We all know that exercising is good for us, and most people know that the harder you work the more you will get out of it in return.  But even though the majority of people know this, many people do not actually go through with it.  One of the reasons for this is that people are often discouraged, thinking that they will not get enough out of it to make getting to the gym a worthwhile sacrifice.  People commonly do not act upon something unless there is a large enough incentive to do so.  When something comes across your path, the decision process usually involves a debate over the cost-benefits and / or the pros and cons.  And for someone to go through with something, there usually needs to be enough incentive for that person to follow through with it.  Furthermore people typically want to get the most out of something while doing the least amount possible.  So even to just get started, there needs to be a "carrot dangled in front of you.".  But, I am here to tell you that training just a little bit harder, specifically through lifting weights, the rewards and benefits that you get out of exercising become magnified.  You actually can get more out of it than you put in to it.  Just as there are negative spirals that can make one fall into a deeper and deeper whole, on the flip side, there are positive spirals that make your efforts more and more worthwhile.  Lifting weights the correct way will lead to compounded benefits, many of which are the "cherries on top" of what is originally sought after.  So trust me when I tell you that lifting weights is going to give your layers upon layers of benefits.

          I have found that when people decide to start exercising at the gym, they usually have a primary goal.  This goal usually involves achieving a body change.  It is typical for someone who joins the gym to want to either "lose weight" (by lowering their body fat percentage) or "get bigger" (by gaining muscle mass).  People know that in order to achieve the body change that they seek, that there will be a good deal of effort required.  What people don't realize is that the effort they put forth will not only help them reach their primary goal, but also achieve other benefits as well.  Whether trying to lose body fat or gain muscle mass, by choosing to lift weights there will be two and threefold benefits more....sort of like positive side effects.  Even more importantly, the additional benefits achieved will result in an even easier time reaching and maintaining the primary goal.

          Even though personal training involves a specific program shaped around an individual's goals and current abilities, my training philosophy to help anyone achieve a body change always involves lifting weights.  This is because whether someone is trying to lose body fat or gain muscle mass, both body changes call for a healthier body fat percentage which leads to to improved body composition.  However, by lifting weights, the health benefits of exercise becomes multi layered.  And each of these benefits become more helpful to the others creating a positive spiral.

          Without getting into the complexities of the different ways in which the body produces energy, I explain to my clients that it takes a lot more effort and caloric expenditure to build muscle rather than burn fat.  For someone struggling to "lose weight" this might not be so obvious, but it is true.  Even during a resting state, our bodies will be burning fat as a source of energy.  However, when we increase the workload to more moderate to strenuous activities, such as while lifting weights, the body switches to sugar in the blood stream as its source of fuel.  This is what can cause someone to become light-headed while performing very strenuous activity.  So the first layer of benefits of lifting weights and working harder is that you are burning more calories from the get-go.  But here is the first kicker; by training at a higher intensity level, not only are you burning more calories, you are also going to burn fat AFTER the training session as your body converts fat that you have stored to replace the sugar it had just consumed.  In fact, the time that your body remains in the fat burning process after a weight lifting work out in order to replace the spent sugar could be longer than the time you would have spent in a lower intensity fat burning zone. 

          The next layer of benefits comes as you add more lean muscle mass from this muscle building process.  Lean muscle tissue has a higher metabolic rate than does fat tissue.  What this means is that the leaner you become, the faster your metabolism becomes, and therefore the easier it is to remain at a leaner body composition.  This is one of the reasons why you encounter "skinny" people who are able to eat anything they want without ever gaining an ounce.  Again, this isn't meant to discourage you if you aren't at a lean body composition yet; it is meant to encourage you to reach that leaner state, as maintaining it once you attain it will become easier! 

          As I had stated at the beginning of this post, most people who start an exercise routine are doing so in order to attain a body change.  What many people do not realize however is that a body change just doesn't come easy, and that they will have to work plenty hard to achieve that.  But rather than throw in the towel from the start thinking that the reward isn't worth the effort, think about all of the added layers of benefits that I have already mentioned.  And on top of those come many more!  Improving your body composition will not only improve how you look, but your blood chemistry will improve leading to an actual healthier physical body.  Getting leaner requires you to increase your muscle mass, and with increased muscle mass comes increased strength...who wouldn't benefit from being stronger?  Plus, once you start to achieve a body change other people will notice!  I know from my own personal experience, there isn't anything more motivational than someone complimenting you on all of the hard work that you have put in...it makes keeping the hard work up even easier!

          We all know that for one reason or another that we should exercise.  There is no one person that wouldn't benefit from having a healthier body composition and a better proportion of lean muscle mass.  And even though it will not be easy to get there, the benefits to working towards that far out weigh the discomfort along the way.  Training at a moderate to high intensity level can be grueling, but the amount that you will reap in rewards is worth it!  So stop dwelling on all of the reasons you rather loaf about, and think about all that you have to gain...there is probably more for the taking that you realize!  Let the many layers of benefits to increasing your muscle mass and improving your body composition be a rewarding reminder to achieve a fit new you!

Just Do One Thing

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  Today I would like to help motivate you to reach your goals, by taking some of the pressure you might feel off when thinking about all of the things you need to do along the way towards achieving them.  Quite often, when we start to think about something, such as our fitness goals, we tend to start to over think the situation.  Our thoughts can then spiral away while we worry about everything involved.  It is at times like these when we need to think about the K.I.S.S. acronym..."Keep It Simple Stupid."  Rather than thinking about everything that needs to be done and becoming overwhelmed by it all, keep it simple and focus on just one aspect of what you need to do.  This is particularly effective and important when you are focusing on the one thing that you can actually do.  Focusing on something that you can do is crucial to you achieving your goals, because even if you can do one thousand things, spending your time and thoughts worrying about the only one that you cannot accomplish can derail you just as fast as focusing on too many things.  The easiest and simplest way to both start, and advance further down the road towards achieving your fitness goals is to start with the one thing that you can do.  Doing so will not only actually get you started, but it will also give you a sense of accomplishment, which will give you the drive to continue forward!   

          Being a teacher, during this time of year I start to plan ahead for the upcoming school year and set a list of goals that I would like to achieve by the end of that school year.  For a teacher, this is very similar to what many of us do at New Year's with goals for our health and fitness.  And goals are great when they are set up properly, as they lead us to somewhere that we want to eventually be.  But no matter what time of year it is when we set them up, one surefire way to never meet them is to become overwhelmed by them.  Sometimes people become so consumed with what they need to get done that they teeter out before ever getting on their way.  Have you ever gone on a vacation and tried to stick to an overly detailed and ambitious itinerary only to find that at the end of the trip you have become more tired than when you arrived?  If you were the one who made the list of all the "To do's" maybe the most important part of the vacation like "Relax" and / or "Have fun" was forgotten from the list.  With teaching, I know I have had project goals that I was so focused on achieving that I didn't get to enjoy my students' development as much as I should have during the process. Be careful with your fitness goals because the same can be very true.  Whether you are just trying to start out, or you are trying to get to the next level, there may be in fact a good number of things that you need to do, to ultimately achieve the goal.  But don't become so focused on EVERYTHING that has to be done when you can start better by starting with just one thing.

          Even on a day to day basis, in the gym, focusing on getting just one thing done will be helpful.  You most likely go into the gym with a plan for what you want to accomplish for that particular session.  Maybe your goal is to do an entire leg routine, or you are going to do Bi's Tri's and Abs.  That one exercise can become more complicated by pairing it with another exercise in a super set, or you plan on doing a number of sets.  And of course don't forget how many repetitions for any one set.  However you have to start with just one, and you will get the most out of any exercise simply by focusing on each individual repetition as it comes.  For example , this past summer I was training a college student who was home in between semesters.  While performing a set, he would ask me if we were going to be making a drop set, as I would incorporate them frequently into his work outs.  I asked him if it made a difference and he said it did as he wanted to "save some in the tank" for the drop portion of the set.  I tried explaining to him that he wasn't working to his full potential if he was trying to hold back for something later.  He would have been best off if he put 100% effort into the one thing he was doing right there.

         Another time focusing on doing just one thing is efficacious at the gym is when you are either trying something completely new, and / or you are coming back from an injury.  The fear of failure, whether you think you will not be able to do something because you have never done it before, and the fright you have when thinking that you might re-injure yourself often holds many people back from doing their best.  In fact, many people who have a relatively minor ache or pain, and not a significant injury, often don't go through with a workout because they are afraid of failing.  The classic joke "Patient: Doctor it hurts when I do this. Doctor: Then don't do that." rings in my head when I hear and / or see someone in the gym who is hesitant to train because of something ailing them.  Here is a perfect time when simply doing just one thing would be better than doing nothing.  If your back hurts when you dead lift or squat, then do a leg extension instead.  You feel a shoulder strain when doing an over head press?  Doing a lateral raise instead for your shoulders.  The body is very resilient!  I'm sure you can find just one thing to do while at the gym that is comfortable enough.

          I hope that everyone who reads this one day sets the World on fire by reaching their own unique fitness goals.  No matter what your goals are, there will be some sort of plan to get you there.  And whether you're required to do a lot or a little, everyone has to start somewhere.  Make your starting point simple; just do one thing.  Make that one thing the thing you enjoy most.  Make that one thing the thing you CAN do if you are just starting out and / or are limited in some way.  Start small.  The cliche goes, a journey of one thousand miles starts with one step.  Doing just one thing is the simple, yet effective way, you reach a fit new you!

Morning People Do Exist

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  It has been a busy but fun summer so far for me, and it has involved some significant changes to my daily and weekly schedule.  These changes have caused a bunch of road blocks to me getting to sit and write. But set backs always have something to be gained from them if you look hard enough.  And the positive take I received from not being able to write as much as I would like due to my schedule changes leads me to this post's topic.  You see, my new schedule has provided me with the ability to sleep a little bit later into the morning.  But what I have found out, is that sleeping in isn't the best thing for me...I actually wake up more tired, and I have difficulty even wanting to get out of bed.  Part of the difficulty comes from probably staying up too late the night before knowing that I can sleep a little later, but the other part of it is well, bed is just so dang comfortable.  Yes, I know that there are "morning people" out there who can hop right out of bed and get on with their day as soon as the alarm clock goes off; I know because I am usually one of them during the school year.  But even those morning people cant argue with the fact that most alarm clocks come with a snooze alarm because a good number of people have a hard time rolling out of bed as soon as they wake up.  And here is where I see the analogy with getting to the gym to work on reaching your fitness goals.  There are some people who find getting to the gym to train as easy as morning people find getting out of bed to start their day is.  These people do exist.  But, a good number of people don't want to get out of bed right away, and a good number of people need the same additional prodding to get to the gym.  However, the positive take is that no matter how easy or difficult you find it to hop out of bed after that alarm clock goes off is, the vast majority of us eventually do get out of bed and get on with our day...everyday.  So the same needs to be true with getting to the gym.  Knowing you have to go is like hearing the alarm clock go off in the morning telling you its time to start the day.  Now you just need to find that same drive to get you to the gym that got you out of your bed this morning.

          Let's first look at that situation that happens to almost all of us the majority of our days  It's nice and quiet.  You are blissfully asleep.  Plenty comfortable for the last several hours.  Possibly in the middle of an exquisite dream when all of a sudden...BRAP, BRAP, BRAP, BRAP!  Apparently it is time to get up.  As already discussed, not that many of us are quick to heed the alarm.  Some will hit that snooze alarm once, or a couple of times.  Our reaction to having to get up is a bit funny in that it was ourselves (usually) who set that annoying alarm in the first place.  In fact, I know many of us will put a good amount of thought into what time that alarm needed to be set.  I myself will spend a good amount of time back tracking my morning trying to figure out the latest I could send that alarm for but will still give me enough time to do all I need to do to get to where I need to be for the day.  So why then the struggle to get up?  Because it isn't easy to start something that requires a good amount of energy while we are tired, or while we aren't feeling so good, or even because it will remove us from an uncomfortable situation.  It is harder to get out of bed if we haven't gotten enough sleep, and we are still tired.  It is harder to get out of bed if we aren't feeling good (particularly when not feeling well thanks to our own doings).  And it isn't easy to get out of bed when we feel so good being there.  I'm sure you will agree, but I hope you can see that this is where many people find the same hardships, which become excuses, to go to the gym.  Its harder to find the effort to get to the gym when you're tired, or when you're not feeling well, or you are simply comfortable staying put.  Fortunately the take home here is that as I said earlier, even though its sometimes not that easy to get out of bed, even for the reasons I mentioned, you do eventually get out and start your day.  Everyday.  The same way you eventually got yourself out of bed, is the same way that you can get yourself to the gym.

          The most noble way of answering the question of why does one eventually get up out of bed to face the day is to do something productive.  I was recently very motivated by my son's Tae Kwon Do instructor when he said we should all wake up anxious and opportunistic, looking forward to helping someone that day.  Very honorable!  But not the case for most of us.  I believe the majority of us start our day because we know that we have something to do.  We get up to feed the kids, let the dog out, go to school, go to work, tend to business, to simply do something.  But that something is something that we feel valuable and know is beneficial in the long run.  We also all know that laying in bed all day will not do much for us in the long run.  Yes, if you are sick and ill and need the rest then you should get it....just like if you have a significant injury you could take some time off of the gym.  But the reason we all get started and do it day in and day out is that we know it is much more needed, beneficial and profound than doing absolutely nothing.  So again, treat getting to the gym the same way.  Getting to the gym to exercise will be beneficial to you in the long run as well.  The same way you get a long term benefit of facing each day by not staying in bed, you will also similarly see results over time by getting to the gym over and over again.

          For morning people,. getting up and at 'em is an easy, or at least, needed thing to do everyday.  That type of person is like the gym goer who can simply go everyday because its what we all should be doing.  However a good percentage of people aren't morning people...again, alarm clocks are made with snooze alarms, and the drive through lines are pretty busy at coffee joints early in the morning for good reason.  But take heart and knowing that no matter how difficult you find it to get started in the morning, you eventually do, and you do it regularly.  Why you do it is different for everyone, but it usually comes with some understanding that you are much better for doing something rather than nothing.  Look at getting to the gym to work on your fitness goals just like getting up in the morning.  You might struggle with it, but once you do it, you will feel more accomplished and better about yourself about for doing so.  And doing it day in and day out will come with some long term, tangible benefit.  Tackling your fitness goals head on by getting to the gym everyday, the same way you overcome the lack of desire to get out of bed in the morning is a fresh start way to achieving a fit new you!

Not a Vacation

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  Now that June has begun, and the school year has ended for most college students and is just about finished for most others, many people start to talk about vacation plans.  I'm always interested to hear my students tell me where they are traveling to over the summer...usually somewhere much more exotic than I will be at.  Some people prefer to travel to places that they are more or less familiar with, while others then to be more adventurous, seeking destinations that are truly "getting away from it all" experiences.  I am also very curious when I go away to see how other people handle their fitness regiments; do they continue as normal, or do they take a break from their routines.  As I have discussed in previous posts, I personally use the time to completely rest, and recharge.  Similarly, its also interesting to note how people's eating habits change while on vacation.  It is debatable how unfortunate it is, but many people will binge while on vacation having felt that they already earned the break and achieved the body they wanted for the trip.  I also find it very remarkable how much people are willing to change their diets, particularly those on more adventurous vacations, for the seven to ten days that they are away while trying the "local fare."  And this brings me to what I wanted to speak about today.  The same way that people change their diets for this short period of time, while on vacation, and then go back to their normal habits when they return is very reminiscent of what people do while on fad diets.  There is this temporary change that is relatively short lived.  Someone who travels to a very foreign land and eats the local food while trying to be immersed in the culture of the people they are visiting is not able to eat that same way when they get home.  They may have tried something new that they liked so much that they may start to incorporate it into their diets, but they most often do not maintain that way of eating.  So if you really want to eat healthier to be healthier for the long haul, you can't make a temporary change.  Instead, you need to make changes that you can maintain not for the short term, but instead for the long term.

          Going on a vacation to somewhere new is often exciting as you get to learn about new things and experience things that are not part of your regular routine.  The escape from it all mentality is often a time to recharge our batteries and get us geared up for the next bout of work until that next time off.  From the tremendous fun we have riding roller coasters and going down water slides my daughter has asked me numerous times while at Walt Disney World why we couldn't stay and live there.  Although she might not quite appreciate my answer, it is very easily understood otherwise that for so many practical reasons, staying on vacation just isn't feasible.  This is primarily so because it is just too different from what is the normal routine.  I mean it is absolutely amazing while on vacation, but it is too unrealistic to do it day in and day out for a long period of time.  The same is true with dieting.  People who go on "diets" may enjoy some short term results because they drastically change their day to day routines.  However, once they return to doing what is "normal" those payoffs are quickly lost.

          Vacations are most always welcomed and very much needed.  Whether it is traveling to somewhere completely new or even revisiting a familiar place, the time off gives our minds and bodies the chance to not only relax, but experience new things.  If you are one of the many trying to improve your body composition, as I said in my last post, something new, a change is needed.  We can learn from doing something new what we enjoy and even what we are capable of.  Just as you may try a new food that you learn to find you thoroughly enjoy, or impress yourself while on a challenging excursion, we can learn a lot about what we can do.  In the same way, if you have gotten to a body composition by doing what you have been, its time to try something new.  But it cannot be something so dramatic and so short lived as being on vacation.  On the other hand, it needs to be something that you are capable of incorporating into your regular routine.

         We all need a break from time to time, a chance to recharge our bodies and get away from it all.  A short break here allows us to focus on what we need to do the rest of the time...the majority of the time.  Taking a vacation allows us this escape from our normal routines.  But living healthy and making choices that will improve your fitness are not things to be done once or twice a year; rather they need to be done on a regular basis.  Being immersed in a foreign culture can help you gain an appreciation for both how others live, and what is good about your own quality of life.  However, the immersion is usually short lived and not a full integration into your normal routine.  So as you make plans for your summer vacation, choose something fun and exciting to do.  But also realize that what you do on that trip is very short compared to your regular routine.  Think about what you need to do on a regular basis and what small changes you can make as permanent changes to a healthier lifestyle.  Focusing on what needs to be done during the day to day is the life stylistic way to a fit new you!

Embrace Change

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  This week I want to encourage you to do something that many of us have a hard time doing...and I'm not talking specifically about getting to the gym and eating better; although what I am going to suggest is certainly related.  This week I want to encourage you to embrace change.  While there are a good number of people who love change, I think the large majority of people have a hard time accepting change, and some are even afraid of it.  I believe this is because we are creatures of habit and there are a thousand and one cliches to support the idea that we would rather continue with something that we know we should change, but do not simply because we don't like change.  One example is "The devil that we know."  I don't have a background in psychology to really explain why we tend to avoid change when we know it would be healthier to embrace it.  But I do have enough experience, particularly in the fitness realm where I can see people having a hard time making the changes that they need to do in order to live a healthier life.  While I do agree that many of us would be happier, healthier and benefit from changes with our jobs, careers, relationships, etc., let me focus on what I know more of, and that is changing behaviors that benefit our fitness.  I'm sure almost everyone of us wish to be leaner, stronger, faster or something of the like...so that means we are in fact looking for some change in our lives.  Now you just have to embrace the change to make the change.

          Pretty much every person I know is working out and / or eating healthier in order to see some sort of change in their life.  They want their blood work to improve, quality of living to go up, body to become leaner, gain muscle mass, improve strength.  People focus on their fitness to reach some goal that is down the proverbial line.  While this seems rather obvious, what is inherent behind that thought is that they are looking to experience a change from where they are now; there is this desire for change.  In a post I had written previously, I asked you to fill in the blank, " I train so I could ______."  That blank was often filled in by something that would require the person to have change in their life.  Again, seems common sense.  But if so many people are looking for change, why is it so hard for us to embrace change?  That isn't such a simple question to answer, but as I said earlier, it primarily comes down to the fact that we are creatures of habit and most of us find it hard to make changes that we need.  But the good news is that if you make and embrace needed changes into your life, those changes can be your new norm...and that is how you start a healthy lifestyle.

          Often my advice to someone who wants to have the most dramatic impact on their health and fitness, is to make small changes, not large ones, that can be adhered to and maintained for the long haul.  Because in my experience I know how hard it is for people to embrace needed changes, I know it is more prudent to make simple, incremental adaptations to your lifestyle so that they can become regular behaviors.  I often go back to the example of brushing your teeth.  We are not born with the instinct to brush and floss our teeth.  We have to learn that behavior.  My young children still have to be reminded to brush their teeth because it has not become that second nature behavior yet.  But brushing regularly becomes such an easy way to maintain our health for two reasons.  First, as we get older and get smarter we learn the importance of doing so to preserve our health.  Second, brushing regularly becomes part of our regular routine.  Where at one time, albeit it at a very young age, we found it to be a nuisance thing to do, overtime, it becomes both valued and a regular part of our lifestyle.  You would probably think a lot less of someone who didn't brush their teeth regularly.  And the same should be thought about other changes in your life that affect your health.  Joining and getting to the gym, and shopping for and making healthy food choices might seem like a nuisance thing to do now, but if you make those changes, and embrace and value them, you will eventually do them as part of your regular lifestyle.

          To reach your fitness goals, and live a healthier life, you need to embrace the changes that you know you need to make to get you there.  It is obvious that doing the same thing all of the time will not get your where you want to be if it hasn't done so already...it is the "definition of insanity" and it will simply be you "spinning your wheels" trying to get there.  We all know this, so instead, do what you need to do, make the changes that are required, and even more than that..embrace those changes.  The more value you put on them, the greater the likelihood that you will adapt them into your normal routines.  Change should not be feared.  Change is good.  Sometimes even change for the sake of change is good.  But in it's simplest form, change is needed to get you to a place that you want to be if you haven't gotten there already by doing what you have been all along.  Embrace change.  Make the adaptations to your life that you need to get you to where you want to be.  Embracing change is the new direction you need to reach a fit new you!