You Gotta Be Fittin Me

There is quite a bit wrong with the fitness industry. In my opinion, any putz with a couple hundred bucks to spare and too much time can set out on a weekend and obtain his "Nationally Accredited" certification. Now, not to discredit myself, because that is just what I did. The difference? ...I actually want to see people succeed, I dont want people to see me succeed.
I am currently working on my second certification online and plan on getting my CrossFit certification after my deployment. All this, not to decorate my wall, but to obtain knowledge and apply it to what I do in and out of the gym.

Alot of the problems arise with too much information being spread around. I often see "trainers" prescribing these exotic and mystical exercises to clients when, frankly, they serve no purpose but to confuse and potentially embarass the client. It's like the whole "pat you're head and rub your're stomach" Why struggle for a minute or two and finally get it when you can pat you're head, and THEN rub your're stomach, therby accomplishing the same task with minimal confusion. Instead you see clients told to balance on a Bosu ball, while squatting and holding a 5lb medicine ball in one hand. Pointless. Just squat, the benefits you'll see from doing that type of movement is VERY miniscule. Hell, in some cases, there are no benefits. Just do the jumping jacks, squats and pushups! Don't overcomplicate you're workouts. Remember, K.I.S.S, or the oft used, Keep It Simple Stupid.

I'm not all negative. The ease of getting certified has it's benefits. More personal trainers means more people in the gym, which of course, is great. But, on the other hand, I could go to church all day, but if I ain't praying, I ain't making progress. I love the well intentions of the people going to the gym, it's sad that they have to put up with inadequate trainers. Don't get me wrong, Some trainers are great. They have inspired countless numbers of people to get in tip top shape and change their lives for the better, but what I see day in and day out in the gyms I visit are jokers, people not worthy enough to bear the certificate they half heartedly earned. People out of shape, talking on phones during sessions, and in some cases NOT USING EQUIPMENT PROPERLY. That's day one material!

Training should be challenging, not because you neurologically cannot make your muslces work in tandem to accomplish a task given my a trainers, but because you physically have to push yourself harder than you may have thought possible.If you're trainer has you doing exercises that seem next to impossible or just awkward in general, pose a simple question, Why? Why am I doing this when I could do a (insert simple exercise here)? What's the point? If he stumbles around for an answer or comes up with an obvious bullshit answer, leave him. Keep it simple.

Wake Up on the Right Side of the Bed

Something that alot of people neglect is sleep. Sleep is important, right up there with diet and exercise. A terrible nights sleep can cause a domino effect that lasts all day. Too avoid this and have an awesome day, you can follow a few simple rules.

1.A Good day starts the night before. Make sure your sleeping environment is free for social distractions (cell phone, computer, TV etc). Try to make the room useful for one, well, two purposes. The darker the better. Don't eat a large meal right before bed either. Make sure you get approximately 7-9 hours of sleep, 8 being ideal. This may vary for some people, experiment to find your perfect time.

2. Wake up on time, do not hit the snooze button. That 15 minutes of extra sleep can throw your day off completely. That's 15 minutes you dont have to make a quality breakfast, thats 15 minutes you have to make up for in traffic. Thats 15 minutes you are late for work. See what I mean, the classic snowball effect.

3. When you wake up, start your day off with something invigorating. A warm or cold shower can really get the blood flowing. A nice little workout can release endorphins and get your heart rate up. Follow that up with a nice stretch and your good to go.

4. EAT BREAKFAST. I cannot stress this enough. Eating a good high quality breakfast can do alot of things for you. It keeps you from grabbing those pop-tarts at the gas station, it keeps you full until lunch and eat actually can help you lose weight. Studies suggest that when people skip breakfast, they tend to eat more calories in the day. Start out with some bacon, eggs, an avocado and half a grapefruit. What about cholesterol? Well life is too damn shirt to not eat bacon. So enjoy.

5. Appreciate the day. Go outside, take in a deep breath of fresh air. Sip your coffee, realize how amazing life is.

6. Don't start the day with news. Write down any ideas you have while your mind is fresh and fully recharged. Starting out with the news of some earthquake in some third world country is depressing, and that may carry with you all day.

And Finally, number 7. Attack the day. Don't just sit around and wait for things to happen. You have to set out with the goal to obtain something of value from each and every one of your days. Be a motivation for others.

Following these guidelines for the rest of your life will improve your outlook just about as much as diet and exercise.

WOD:

Rest Day

Showdown: 3 Meals Vs. 6 Meals

Eating six meals a day can become monotonous. We fall into a trap of Tupperware, 12 almonds and an apple. Wash rinse repeat. That is conventional wisdom for some. We see it in magazines. "Eat small meals every 2-3 hours to boost metabolism". We do. It's a painstaking process if you're an American working class citizen. Can we really break away from life to eat every three hours. Maybe I'm being dramatic, but it sure is boring and feels too calculated, but its what the research tells us, isn't it?

Not really.

Other professionals agree. There just isn't hard and fast data that has been done to declare this as true. Losing weight ultimately comes down to how many calories you take in and how many you expend, and you can increase your metabolism significantly more just by exercising.

Now, eating six meals a day wont ruin your diet and their are a couple benefits. You stay full throughout the day instead of getting the afternoon hunger pangs. Another benefit is if your a little guy trying to bulk up you may find it easier to take in the 3500-4000 calories a day he needs to get big, same with the competitive athlete. 4000 calories is a lot to squeeze into just three meals.

One thing that may help is to remember to only eat when your hungry. Its obvious, but some people miss it. We tend to fall in this cycle where every meal is scheduled and we eat just because its habit. Ask yourself, "Am I really hungry?" If your not sure, wait 20 minutes and ask again. If your not hungry, don't eat. Simple enough.

Keeping healthy snacks around your office, in your car or at your house can help for those times you are hungry in between meals. Healthy snacks include a piece of fruit or veggies, lean meat or other quality protein source and a healthy fat source such as almonds, avocados, cashew or walnuts. Avoid peanuts, as they are legumes. Keeping these within reach will reduce the likelihood of reaching for a crappy processed snack you'll regret later.


The Winner: 3 Meals a day (with snacks on hand, just in case)

This is a personal choice, but I find it much more convenient to eat just three slightly larger meals a day then six small ones at precise times. Less dishes too, so thats a huge part of this decision. I hate dishes.

WOD:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of this triplet

Burpees

Pull-ups

toes to bar

So..First set is 10 Burpees 10 Pullups 10 toes to bar, Second set is 9 of each then 8 of each. So on and so forth.

Sub for pull-ups is jumping pullups and sub for toes to bar are situps.

Playin' the Blame Game: Obesity

This is probably a topic that has been beat to death, but It still bothers me. In this world of finger pointing, who the hell do we blame for obesity? The question brings people to screaming, jumping to the defensive position and hiring lawyers, yet the problem, in my mind has yet to be resolved. Fixing school lunches isn't going to make america skinny again just like Drew Carey isn't going to make "The Price is Right" cool again.

I feel that we have honestly entered a well established way of doing thing and have backed ourselves into a corner. Fast food is a revenue generating, job supplying and economy stimulating powerhouse, to close the thousands of fast food joints would surely mean economical collapse. Like a stone in a pond the ripple effect will be far reaching, effecting the meat, farming, construction and many other industries. So that's out the window.

Culture. As time goes one, we become less apt to make real meals with real foods. Instead we substitute the meats and veggies with preservative laced bi-products that are ready in 4-7 minutes. Thats the conveniance factor! We live fast paced lives, there is NO time to make a full meal, wash the kids, take the dog out, do laundry AND clean the dishes. So the moms of today cook frozen dinners and eat fast food, the daughters grow up and do the same thing to their kids and so on and so forth. You can see where this leads. Another way to look at the culture aspect is the fact that everything is Instant. People know what they want and they want it now, completely forgetting what it feels like to work for something. Then there's video games and computers. I refuse to own a video game system because I have seen the worst it can do. Pale, obese people that are completly removed from the real world. So instead of going outside and enjoying life, they live vicariously through a whimsical character in a fantasy realm.

Fat has also become socially acceptable is some ways. Reuters recently did a story on the fact that as our population gets bigger and heavier, the "normal" weight for average people will also increase. It's scary shit.

The government could also be one of the guilty parties. I pose this question. Have they done enough to inform our society of what an actual healthy diet is? Or have they established false nutritional guidelines to garner the most profit? Money runs the world right?

Genetics? This is a bullshit excuse. Obesity is a modern day problem caused by modern day behavior.

How about looking in the mirror? I mean, we are the ones putting the food in our mouths, we are the ones choosing to stay at home instead of hitting the gym. Well, with about 40 million people in the US living below the poverty line, it's much cheaper to purchase a burger and fries instead of steak and broccoli. It does take motivation to follow a diet and workout program, but there are so many out there that it can be hard to know where to begin. As americans, we tend to give up when the results are anything short of instantaneous so Id say a good percentage of the total reason why we are obese lies here. Self control and self motivation.

So the question remains, who is responsible? The answer is D. all of the above. We cannot pin point it on one certain factor, but must combine alittle bit of everything. Now, A new question arises. How can we fix it?

WOD:

Weighted Pullups

5-5-5-3-3-3

You Don't Know Squat

Down the road, in a gym far away
A young man was heard to say,
"No matter what I do, my legs won't grow!"
He tried leg extensions, leg curls, leg presses too.
Trying to cheat, these sissy workouts he'd do!
From the corner of the gym where the big guys train,
Through a cloud of chalk and the midst of pain,
Where the big iron rides high, and threatin' lives,
Where the noise is made with big forty-fives,
A deep voice bellowed as he wrapped his knees,
A very big man with legs like trees,
Laughing as he snatched another plate from the stack,
Chalked his hands and monstrous back,
Said, "Boy, stop lying and don't say you've forgotten!
Trouble with you is you aint been SQUATIN'!!"

I wish I could take the credit for this. Jeff MADDOG, a strength coach from
UNC paints a "man only" picture of squatting with this poem, but that's just
one of the many myths that squatting has surrounding it. I'll break it down
and show that the squat is not only the most basic of human movements, but
also the a safe and effective key to any workout program.

Myth 1: Squatting is bad for the knees.

Truth: Done properly, the squat can actually strengthen the ligaments
and muscles that surround the knee which improve stability. The only time a
squat would be bad for your knees is if you knees extended out over the
toes. This creates a shearing force as the Tibia is forced up into the
patella. Toes should also be angled outward at 30-45 degrees so the knees
can properly track over the toes. Visualize driving a stake through your
knee. It should go right through the knee and into your toes/foot.

Myth 2: Squats are bad for your back.

Truth: Yea, if you do them like an jack ass. The squat can be
dangerous because of the shearing forces it can place on your back. But
there is a way to avoid that: DO THEM PROPERLY! If preformed with a
relatively straight back, the shearing force is minimized because the weight
is placed directly over the spinal column. Also, stay away from belts,
unless you squat 800 pounds. So, again I say, stay away from belts.

Myth 3: Squats will make my butt big.

Truth: No, genetics and doughnuts make your butt big. Lots of
people squat without getting broad asses. If this were the case, people
everywhere would be walking around with big butts from sitting down and
standing up all day. Afghanis squat and stand all day to eat, socialize and
play. I don't see a problem with any of their asses, not that I'm looking.
So, put down the doughnut and "squat with what you got". I'm going to
copyright that quote, so, to avoid lawsuit, don't copy it.

Myth 4: Squats are only for men or athletes.

Truth: Squats are for everyone. From the grandma down the street
to the pro-football player. It's for the mom squatting down to pick up the
grocery bags and the powerlifter squatting 800 pounds. Now, technique plays
a huge role in squatting, and you should follow these guidelines when
squatting.

1. Foot position: Slightly wider than shoulder width. Toes pointed outward
30-45 degrees.
2. Stand up tall, emulate perfect posture, engage core.
3. Keeping the weight on your heels, slowly move butt DOWN and BACK.
Maintain that nice, natural lumbar curve, don't slouch over. Keep your
chest up and out.
4. Make sure your knees are tracking with your toes, but not over the toes.
5. TRY to make your hip crease drop below your knees. Raise your arms as a
counter-balance.

Now, a good squat comes with hard work, patience and dedication. Practice
this facing a wall with your toes 4-8 inches away. The depth will eventually
come with improved flexibility and range of motion in the joints and muscles
critical to a good squat (ankle, knees, hamstrings, quad etc) If you
experience any knee pain, stop. Don't go so far that it hurts. Fitness is
a progression.

There are countless other myths out there about squat, but I don't want to
bore you with anymore. Besides, I'll just offer up some evidence as to why squats
are one of the best exercises anyone can do. Bottom line: Now that you
know, SQUAT!

WOD: "Chelsea" Every minute on the minute perform 5 Pullups, 10 Pushups, 15 Squats for 30 Minutues