Goal Setting Secrets

I recently finished a longer, more extensive article on setting goals.  It was geared more toward fitness professionals and how we should be going about goal setting with our clients.  As I was writing though I realized that the take home lessons need to be emphasized with everybody (given it’s resolution season, and all…) who has exercise related goals.

And who among us doesn’t?

So here’s the Cliff’s Notes version of goal setting, TR style:

Goals Do Influence Behavior

The research is overwhelming that setting, breaking down, and tracking goals is more likely to get you to succeed than not having a target at which to shoot.  This is due to the development of good habits.  We all know that bad habits can wreak havoc on our health and fitness programs, but good ones have just as many positive effects if not more.  Having a clear goal keeps you on track and makes the good habits more likely to become permanent habits.

Have Only One Goal at a Time

Focus is important in goal achievement.  Having multiple goals makes it difficult to focus and actually makes it more likely you’ll be pulled in multiple directions and more likely you’ll lose focus on what’s truly important.  Having one goal makes it simple to focus, track and implement the necessary behaviors that you’ll need to reach it.  For example, if your goal is to “get strong and lose body fat”, it’s probably better if you focus on one or the other.  Once you achieve the 1^st, then you can switch your programming accordingly to reach the 2^nd.

Know the Time Frame (success breeds success)

Have and be aware of the time frame to reach your goal.  This allows you to track your progress by setting smaller goals along the way.  One of the benefits of having and reaching smaller goals is that success breeds success.  Getting to one level of your goal sets you in a positive and confident mindset to reach the next incremental level toward your goal.  As an example, if your goal is to lose 5% body fat in 5 weeks, your goal should be to lose 1% each week.  Check at the end of week one – generally that small success of 1% builds confidence like an avalanche that focuses your habits toward subsequent steps.

BE REALISTIC

I put this in bold, italicized caps because it may be the most important bullet point.  Most people don’t succeed in reaching their goals because they fail to honestly assess their personal abilities and situation -this causes them to set a goal that simply is not attainable.  For example, if you have a job that requires long days and long commutes, choosing a goal that requires 10-15 hours per week of exercise probably isn’t feasible.  If you have a history of injuries, a goal of becoming an MMA fighter probably isn’t realistic, either.

Sometimes people undershoot their abilities as well - this can be a problem too.  If a goal is simply too easy to reach, getting to it doesn’t give us that push of adrenaline and the avalanche of success breeding success mentality.  It has to be at least a little bit of a reach for you, or it isn’t really a goal that’s going to change anything.

Be honest with yourself about what you really want, and what you’re truly in a position to change.  That’s the first step in getting what you want.

“Don’t look for the big, quick improvement.  Seek the small improvement one day at a time.  That’s the only way it happens – and when it happens, it lasts.” – John Wooden

Truer words have never been spoken, Coach.

Women Can't Do Pullups My Arse

As a business owner, I understand that sometimes you have to say things in the name of marketing and generating attention.

I get it.

But a headline "Why Women Can't Do Pullups"  which recently appeared in the NY Times, does more harm than good in my mind.  As someone who's worked in the exercise business for over a decade I can tell you that women are generally treated as second class citizens in the industry and it irritates me.  Typically women are judged far more on appearance of both themselves and their outfits, rather than on their abilities.

Think about the last time you were in a commercial gym and think of the implied messages:

“Women shouldn't pick up anything heavy because they'll get big. Stay away from the weights! Instead they should go into the corner room with other women and flail their arms while stepping on and off a box.  And maybe - just maybe - use a pink dumbbell so small it can't even be seen in their hands.  Just be sure to stay away from the hard work girls!  Walking on the treadmill is OK though – as long as you’re staying in the fat burning zone.  Again, make sure you don’t actually exert any effort and/or sweat.  Leave that to the big burly men who are more capable than you are.”

Frankly the whole scene is getting on my nerves just thinking about it.

I’ll try not to be too much of an amateur psychologist, but again, I’ve been doing this a long time and have trained many women in that time and I’ve learned this: 

Women who succeed in fitness do so because they’re OK with hard work.  They're OK with working out SMART.  They’re OK with sweating. They’re OK with being strong and capable. 

They are NOT OK with being shuffled off to the side when it comes to exercise.

Along those lines, here’s Dina – TR trainer and mother of three who I’m proud to call a colleague and friend.  This is her response to the NY Times:

 And here's the silly article to which I referred.  Check it out and let me know what you think:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/25/why-women-cant-do-pull-ups/

Stop Drinking Water. Seriously.

You may be drinking too much water.  Of course the title of this article is tongue in cheek, but I do believe many people are over hydrated, which can be a problem if not monitored.

I’ve noticed a trend in the fitness world where there’s a constant preaching of “drink a lot of water”, “stay hydrated”, etc. almost to the point of implying water is a panacea for all health and fitness related problems.

Thirsty? Have a glass of water.  Broke your leg? Have some water.

Of course I’m being a little sarcastic, but in a society that often has a mindset of if a little is good, more must be great, I’m starting to think water falls into that category.  I’ve seen some water consumption suggestions that are almost comical: 8 glasses per day, half your body weight in oz. of water per day, if you’re an athlete one gallon per day.

For a few years now, we’ve all seen people walking around gyms carrying a gallon sized water container.  Psychological issues aside, (“Look at me! I workout so hard I need a gallon of water!  Look at me! I know water bottles come in more convenient sizes, but I carry around an inconvenient one anyway!  Look at me! I’m really NOT compensating and trying to overcome other shortcomings!”) there is just no way a human being needs a gallon of water per day.  NO WAY.

And because of some of the silly suggestions I’ve seen, again I go back to the “more is better” over simplification.  I heard someone say once that we should look for the “minimum effective dosage” in exercise.  And although he was referring to exercise and making fun of Cross-sh!t, I thought it was funny, so it stuck with me. (“If 5 barbell snatches are good, then 52 in a row must be GREAT!”)

But truthfully, the minimum effective dosage mindset applies to everything: eating, exercise, life – if 2 Tylenol help your headache, that doesn’t mean 24 will be better for you.  If one cup of coffee gives you a boost, that doesn’t mean six will be better.  One grilled chicken breast is great – four will make you fat, 1 hour of exercise helping you doesn't mean six hours will help you more, etc. 

Here’s the problem: if you over hydrate you mess up the sodium to water ratios in your system – water levels go up, sodium levels go down.  Sodium aids not only in muscle function, including your heart, but brain function as well.  Low sodium levels can cause fatigue, nausea, reduced brain function, muscle weakness and cramps.  Hyponatremia is the physical condition that may necessitate medical treatment, but even before it sets in, many of the side effects mentioned above can be present – just from sodium levels dropping due to over hydration.

Spoiler alert: we’re going to discuss bodily functions next.  If that’s a little too “TMI” for you skip the next part and go to the disclaimer and reminders at the bottom. 

A good rule of thumb: if you’re urine is clear, you are over hydrated. If you’re urine is pale, you’re right on the edge. If you’re urine is yellow, you’re good. If you’re urine is dark, have some H2O.

And before we let you go here are a few other reminders:

You’re fluid levels are greatly related to your food intake as well. Fruits and vegetables have a very high water content.

Although some beverages are diuretics, this doesn’t mean you’ll die of dehydration if that’s all you have.  If all you had were non H2O beverages, you may have other health issues, but dehydration isn’t one of them.

I am not a doctor or nutritionist.  But much of what goes on in the fitness industry doesn’t require a degree, only common sense. 

But what was that Ben Franklin said about common sense?

Don't be this guy.

I LOVE Running (Seriously)

I am not against running.  Running is good.

I am against speed limping.  99% of the time, speed limping is what I see when people tell me they’re running.

Speed limping will lead to orthopedic and tissue injuries.  It’s not a matter of “if” it will, it’s a matter of “when” it will.  These injuries may be acute or chronic, both.

Additionally, speed limping is nowhere near the most efficient method of losing body fat.  This has been established so many times over through both research and practical experience it really isn’t even worth discussing further.

Once again, just turn on the Olympics and tell me I’m wrong.  Look at the marathoners and the sprinters.  The sprinters are obviously healthier and more aesthetically pleasing.  If that isn’t obvious to you, then you probably need a mental health professional, not a trainer.  Stop reading this immediately and seek the counsel of a qualified psycho-analyst.   No, seriously.

The only time speed limping should ever be incorporated into a training program is if one is preparing for a competition where it is a necessary part of the competition.  And even then, not as much as most people think.

For example, if I trained a boxer, we would both understand that at some point in his training, he’s going to have to get punched in the face.  This does not mean I would recommend getting punched in the face to a client who wants to be lean and healthy.

Ditto for yogging/speed limping whatever.  If you’re training for a competition that has that aspect of competition, then obviously it will have to make up part of your program (boldface, underline, italicize “PART”.) 

But I wouldn’t recommend it as a training protocol to someone looking to be healthy and lean, just like I wouldn’t recommend getting punched in the face.

To quote Jack Nicholson in “A Few Good Men”:

Are we clear?

Should We Exercise? (part 3!)

OK, we’ve covered whether or not we should be exercising at all in part 1 – the answer was yes, even though the costs of injuries due to exercise and recreational activities is exceeding the associated costs of obesity.  We should exercise, just with better judgment than we currently use.  In part 2, we went over the “dos” of exercising safely, so we can be fit and healthy without becoming one of those injury statistics.

Today, we’re going to cover the “don’ts”.  These are things you should not be doing if improved health and fitness are your goals. (Of course, if your goals are to injure yourself, then by all means, ignore my list here and keep doing what you’re doing…) 

Don't: be a macho asshole.

Exercise is not a contest nor is it a “sport” as jackasses who are trying to sell you sneakers will suggest.  It is a tool to improve your health.  Ego and machismo encourage you to do more than you safely can and therefore lead to injuries.  As discussed, this only leads to lost training time, and lost training time always equals NO RESULTS. “It is always better to stop a little early than a little late.” is written on the wall of the TR.  And always remember, the person who coined the term “no pain no gain” was a learning impaired individual.

Don't: sit all day.

Seriously, if you have a job where you sit all day you’re going to have orthopedic issues.  It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.  If you have a long commute your odds of avoiding musculoskeletal issues are increased exponentially as well.

If you have both a long commute and a sedentary job, you’re screwed.

Seriously, there is no way to avoid the premature aging and discomfort that are coming your way if you’re seated for 10, 12, 14 hours per day.  It’s just not possible to have your spine in the shape of a letter “C” for an elongated period of time and not think that’s going to screw up the surrounding tissue and joints. If this is the case, you're going to have to make some changes to your routine. 

Don't: stretch incorrectly.

"Loose" knees and lower backs are NOT good - they are injuries waiting to happen.  Some areas of your body require a lot of mobility – ankles, hips, and thoracic spine for example.  But other areas need to be restrictive and stiff so you can remain upright when moving.

The knee for example is a hinge.  It is supposed to move in ONE direction – forward and back.  Stretching it so it can move laterally or worse – so it can rotate - is asking for trouble.  

In fact there’s a term for a rotating knee: AN ACL TEAR.  Loosening your knee is like loosening the hinges on a door – it’s only supposed to move in one direction, by allowing it to move in others, you’re creating a safety issue.

Ditto for the lumbar spine (lower back).  Have you ever heard the term “spineless”, or have someone say “get a backbone”?  There’s a reason for the implication that said person is weak or a pushover: because people who have soft, pliable, lumbar spines ARE WEAK and ARE PUSHOVERS, LITERALLY.

Because of this, your lumbar spine has almost no movement capabilities – only a few degrees in each direction and as defense mechanism only (similar to the way skyscrapers can move very slightly in the event of high winds).  But just because they can move, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea, and your body will tell you so one way or another.  Remember this the next time someone tells you to doing crunches or flipping truck tires in a parking lot is a good idea.

Needless to say, there are plenty of other bad ideas, but these seem to be the most common.  If you can check the ego at the door, if you can spend the day upright, and if you avoid stretching incorrectly you can greatly increase your chances of staying injury free.

Stay healthy my friends…

Interested in Fat Loss? Read this:

I know you’re interested in losing body fat.  Do you know how I know? Because I’ve yet to meet anybody on the planet who did not want to lose body fat.  That, and in the decade plus I’ve been in the business, the topic of fat loss outnumbers all other discussions combined about 1,000 to 1.  Ultimately, as our lives go on, we realize how big our biceps are, or how good our 100 meter dash is are irrelevant discussions.  Even the thickest of the thick eventually figure out that we all just want to be lean, strong and healthy.

Because I know these things about you, I’m writing to tell you about two studies I recently re-read that I’m sure you’ll find interesting:

Study # 1:

During “The Marathon of the Sands”, weight and body composition were measured before and after the competition.  What is “The Marathon of the Sands” you ask?  It’s a 156 mile run (6 MARATHONS) spread out over 7 days.  Oh, by the way, it takes place in southern Morocco, i.e., the Sahara desert.

Study #2:

5 people – 3women, 2 men – each completed 10,000 kettlebell swings over 10 days.  Body composition measurements were taken both before and after the 10 days.

Results:

Group 1 (the marathoners), on average, lost 1.1% body fat.  (Man, if you told me I would have to run 6 marathons in a week to lose ONE PERCENT BODY FAT, my head would explode. In fact, I’m getting fired up just typing the words!)  Interestingly enough, and more importantly perhaps, they lost 5 times more lean muscle mass than body fat.

Group 2 (kettlebell group) lost 2% body fat on average, or twice as much as the marathoners.  Additionally, they increased lean muscle mass. 

Yes – not only did the “kettlebellers” lose twice as much body fat as the marathoners, but they got stronger as they did it!

Side note:

These studies, like ALL studies, have variables that cannot be accounted for.  And I’ll be the 1^st to say that both methods are extreme and I wouldn’t recommend them as training modalities to anybody. But the take home points are irrefutable.  And these take home points are ones that any Training Rim member could have told you before reading the studies:

Picking up and projecting heavy weight requires an extremely high energy demand.

 

Trudging along at 1mph does not require a high energy demand.

Extremely high energy demands burn more fat.

High energy expenditure is better for fat loss than low energy expenditure.

Strong people burn more calories than weak people.  So if losing body fat is your goal, you need to get stronger.

Strength training is NOT tricep pushdowns and smith machine squats.  It is total body functional movement with resistance.

Slow, steady state training is not an efficient method of fat loss.

·         
            

Here are the articles/studies if you want to check them out yourself:

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/ten_thousand_swings_to_fat_loss

http://www.iutasport.com/files/articles/Athletic%20Performance%20and%20Weight.pdf

And if you prefer visuals:

One of the kettlebell participants:

And a winner of the marathon of the sands:

Should We Be Exercising? Pt 2...

Our last post had to do with the overwhelming number of injuries that occur during exercise and recreational activity.  What initiated the thought were the following two articles, which suggest that the associated costs of these injuries may exceed the associated costs of obesity.  And following the next logical sequence, maybe we’re better off if we just stay fat.

I posted the two articles we mentioned below - check them out when you're done here.

Of particular note, I noticed that in one of the tables that football, soccer and combat sports had lower injury rates than regular exercise. Huh?!?

But to answer the original question of whether or not exercise is “worth it” given injury rates, obviously I think it’s worth it.  The reason I began to exercise is so I would look better and feel better both physically and mentally.  I went so far as to choose a career helping people look better, feel better and be healthier. 

However, the articles do not underestimate the severity of the issue: we as a society need to have better judgment when exercising and participating in recreational activities.  Because to me, the overwhelming majority of both chronic and acute injuries are avoidable.  And as I’ve said many times, if you’re injured, you can’t exercise.  And if you can’t exercise, you can’t be healthy and fit. 

This seems so simple, but many people just don’t get it:

We should NOT exercise until we are injured then try to fix it.

We should exercise so we DON’T get injured.

Having said that, I’ve observed some commonalities over the years among both people who are injured and people who tend to stay healthy during their exercise and recreational activities.  With that, I’ve compiled a quick list of “dos” and “don’ts” for you that, if followed, will help you stay fit, healthy and injury free:

1^st the “DO!”s…

·        

      DO: have a movement screen and/or assessment done by a fitness professional

Go to a training facility where you are either screened and/or assessed for movement limitations and asymmetries before working out.  There are particular movement patterns, limitations and asymmetries that often lead to musculoskeletal issues.  Many of these problems can be identified and either improved or worked around so you can exercise safely.  But not if someone doesn’t do a screen 1^st – randomly jumping into a program without doing so is asking for a problem.

At The Training Rim we perform a modified assessment created by the National Academy of Sports Medicine and every member receives a Functional Movement Screen (FMS).  The FMS has statistically been shown to identify areas of risk for exercisers and allows us to train each member as hard as he/she can safely handle.

·         DO: pay attention to what YOU are doing

Here’s a news flash for you: you are not a special and unique snowflake.  There are some things you can’t do.  I know this sounds obvious, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked someone why are they doing a particular exercise only to have them tell me that they saw someone else do it.  (Huh?!?!)

Choose exercises that allow you to succeed and offer the chance to improve so you can do more advanced things at some point.  Someone else who has more exercise experience, more mobility, more time to work out, etc than you do can obviously do more.  This doesn’t make you a bad person – it just means to need to focus on what’s going to get you to improve, not what your neighbor’s sister in law told you to do because that’s what she does.

·         DO: know when to progress and regress

Be honest with yourself.  There are times you can do more.  This may mean more of the same exercises, or more advanced versions of the same exercises.  Conversely, more is not better.  “Do not do a more advanced version of an exercise unless you do the basic version perfectly” is a mantra I’m sure TR members are tired of hearing from me.  Additionally, if 10 reps of a particular exercise are making you stronger, that doesn’t mean doing 13 reps will make you 30% stronger.  It more likely means you’re doing 3 extra shitty reps that are causing stress on your joints.

OK, go ahead and start those 3 “dos”.  Next time I’ll give you the things to avoid – the “don’ts”.  And boy are they some doozies…

Here are the referenced articles:

http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/9/2/99.full

http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/9/2/117.full.pdf+html

Please Don't Hurt Yourself

“You need to find the most intense exercise that you can do without injuring yourself.”  I gave this advice to someone recently and it occurred to me that even though it was a private conversation, it really is applicable to everyone on the planet.

The number of injuries due to poor exercise choices, poor exercise technique and/or poor exercise programs is staggering.  Don’t think so?  I just read a few articles that suggested that the cost of musculoskeletal injuries due to recreational activities will soon surpass the associated costs of obesity.  And therefore, it’s a reasonable question to ask: Since we obviously can’t keep from injuring ourselves, are we better off just being fat? It’s a pretty interesting question: If what we think makes us healthy – exercise and recreational activities -  actually is unhealthy, why would we be active?  (I’ll post the articles for you to read next time.)

But as someone who has heard “I can’t do (blank) because my (blank) hurts/bothers me/ is messed up, yadda yadda yadda” about 1 billion times, I can tell you it’s not a stretch to say that we as a society, when it comes to trying to be fit and healthy, have no clue what we’re doing.

The United States department of Labor lists the job growth of orthopedists and chiropractors as “higher than average” and the job growth of physical therapists and athletic trainers as “MUCH higher than average”.  Think about it – these are careers devoted to fixing people after they’ve messed themselves up and it’s a BOOMING industry.  If you look closer at the numbers, you’ll see the growth of the physical therapy profession is staggering.  A few decades back, the job barely existed – basically if you were in a car wreck, you went to physical therapy.  Now, you’ll never go broke if your customers are people who injure themselves in the name of health attempts.

Needless to say I’ll never be as rich as an orthpopedist.  He/she would rather just fix your disc herniation after you’ve done 1 million crunches, or operate on your knee after all your tough mudder competitions and marathons as opposed to just telling you to not do those things.  (Hey…who would tell you that?!?  Cough…cough…me…cough…)

But although my income will never be as high as the “put a bucket under the leaky ceiling” industry, it is my job nonetheless to get people more fit and healthy.  It’s my job to get them looking and feeling better.  And the best way to do this is through sound exercise practices.

My advice: If you’re injured, you can’t exercise well.  So if you want to look and feel better, don’t injure yourself.

I know: I’m a genius. 

Now that I have your attention, do you want to know how to stay healthy while participating in exercise and recreational activities?  Stay tuned until next time – I’ll give you things to watch for, both good and bad, that will keep you working out.

This guy CAN'T WAIT for you to exercise again!

Long Term Contracts Got a Bad Rap!

Today’s tip isn’t so much a tip as it is an explanation and hopefully with it some clarity and guidance toward the correct exercise path.  Like most things I write about, I never really thought it was a big enough issue to address, but also like most things, I notice it’s something that comes up A LOT and therefore is a topic on which we should expand, perhaps.

Today’s topic is long term gym contracts.  What does a long term gym membership have to do with your results?  Glad you asked…

Over the last few years long term gym memberships and contracts have taken a bad rap.  This is due (once again) to corporate Globo-Gyms and their inability to deliver results.  Yet, as dumb as they are when it comes to fitness, the owners and operators of Globo-Gyms pay close attention to the numbers that dictate their bottom line. 

One of the things they noticed, is that a typical gym member lasted about six weeks on average.  We all know why – the member liked the look of the place, signed up and started going.  Then somewhere along the line, they noticed that they weren’t getting results and the truth was the gym sucked despite it’s good 1^st impression.  So they would stop going – and stop paying.

Corporate Globo-Gym’s response was to offer only long term contracts.  This way, when the member says “This place sucks – I’mma bounce, yo’”, the gym’s answer would be “Sorry, you signed a contract and you’re going to pay us anyway, even if it’s our fault you aren’t getting results.”

Consumers then became very leery of long term gym memberships and rightfully so – they wouldn’t get results and would have to pay for it anyway.

As a result of the backlash against long term contracts, another business minded response became prevalent: that’s the “No Long Term Contracts” advertisements from fitness facilities – both large and small.  It was announced as a badge of honor that they would never take your money if you didn’t come in and train.  The member could go month to month on the agreement, or in the case of personal training, could buy sessions and pick and choose when to use them, etc.

Guess what that led to?  Members never came in and trained.  And members that don’t train don’t get results either.

If you’re a fitness and exercise consumer, I hope you don’t this as a personal attack, but if I’ve learned anything in my decade plus in this business, it’s this:

As a fitness facility, letting the member decide when, where, and how they will be working out is a prime example of letting the inmates run the asylum.  If the consumer could do this on their own and succeed then they (sit down for this one),  would do it on their own and succeed – they wouldn’t need you in the 1^st place! (Duh…)

More specifically, here’s what we’ve learned at The Training Rim:

Awhile ago, we switched to long term memberships only (we have a 3 month option and a 12 month option – 1 month trials are only for people who are new and aren’t sure if it’s for them or not).  And yes, because I’m a business owner as well, I track the numbers that drive my business too.

Here’s what we found: Members’ training frequency almost doubled when we switched to 3 and 12 month memberships only.  No, that’s not a misprint.  Members were almost TWICE as likely to train on a consistent basis than they were prior to the switch.

The reasons for this of course, are multi-factorial.  There’s obviously a psychological and financial aspect to it among other things.  But the reality is we don’t care about the “why”.  The ONLY thing we care about at The Training Rim is getting people results.  And here is what statistics have told us:

1. People who make commitments are more likely to train consistently.

2. People who train consistently are more likely to get results.

3. People who get results are happier and healthier.

So guess what?  We’re going with this “We’re going to need you to make a commitment, thing”!

Unlike the long term model offered by Globo-gyms, you’re going to like coming here and you’re going to get results.  Our training is backed by years of evidence that it works, and when surveyed about why TR members liked coming to the TR, “It’s fun!” was the overwhelming number 1 answer.

And unlike the “train whenever you want” reactionary trainers who let the inmates run the asylum, we’re going to ask you to make a commitment to us.  Not because we have some overactive ego, but because we know if you make a commitment to us you’re going to get results.  We’re going to hold up our end of the bargain, and we’re going to ask you to do the same.

So when you see a fitness facility that only offers long term contracts, don’t offended by that aspect of their business.  Instead, get offended that they suck at their job.

And when you see the short term, come when you want facility, don’t jump all over it just because there’s no commitment.  Because as we’ve all learned: no commitment = no results.

Instead, find a place that expects you to make a commitment and will hold you to it, assuming their team will hold up its end of the bargain, as we do.

No need to be afraid of this guy - as long as he has a TR logo somewhere on him...

Bruce Lee and The TR!

The longer I’m in the business of figuring out how to get results for people from exercise, the more I notice there are lessons to be learned from all walks of life, not just ones inside the gym.  If you’ve followed my stuff before, you may remember I’ve made correlations to the financial world and the animal kingdom before that contain lessons that will help you improve your level of fitness.  Of course I should note that they were two separate articles: the jokes about correlating the financial world to the animal kingdom would be too easy.

Today I’m going to tell you what Bruce Lee can teach you about how you should approach exercise.

Bruce Lee’s impact on exercise was enormous: reciprocal inhibition was a cutting edge topic in the late 90’s and early 2000’s – Bruce wrote about it in the 1960’s.  Back when the bodybuilding/nautilus machine/Schwarzenegger at Gold’s Gym culture was just taking off, Bruce was the one who called “BS”, and said, if you want to be truly strong – functionally strong – you needed to get off the machines and do total body training.

But it’s not his thoughts on exercise that we’re going to use today – again, that would be too easy.  It’s his philosophy – specifically his philosophy on the martial arts.

Bruce was a huge reader of philosophy, and he used his education to see mistakes others had made in the past, and to formulate new ideologies that would lead to greater success, both in martial arts and in life.

One of these philosophies was the need to stop naming particular martial arts, or calling each art a particular “style”.   He thought it clouded things when we call Kung-Fu, Kung-Fu, and call karate, karate, etc.  He felt it limited the practitioners of each particular style to the strengths of that style only, and in doing so opened up vulnerabilities and weaknesses when outside the realm of that style.

To him, each particular style only worked if you used it against someone who operated within the rules of your style.  Karate, for example lost its effectiveness when a good wrestler didn’t want to play by karate rules and just took the karate fighter down with a wrestling takedown.  Judo lost some effectiveness when someone trained in Muay Thai said: “No, I’m not just going to let you grab me and throw me.”

So Bruce Lee’s point was that you need to know EVERYTHING in order to be a good fighter.  If you painted yourself into a corner by naming your art and insisting it was the best art, ultimately your short sightedness would work against you and limit your progress, both in competition and in life.

It occurred to me one could say this holds true with exercise programming as well.  If you insist on labeling your workout, and limit yourself to the confines thereof, you ultimately will limit your own progress, both in the exercise world and life.

Core training, flexibility, strength training and conditioning are pretty much useless in and of themselves – unless you do all of them.

You need to do everything.  Core training, flexibility training, strength training and cardiovascular conditioning - when combined - present a totality far greater than the sum of the parts.

Mixed Martial Arts and the UFC taught us that Bruce Lee’s theory about fighting was correct: karate, BJJ, Judo, boxing were pretty much useless in and of themselves.  Only the fighters who combine all of them are truly effective.

Similarly, my experience and observations in and of the exercise world have taught me these things:

People who only “do cardio”, generally speaking, are weak as shit.

People who only work on flexibility are slow as sloths AND weak as shit.

People who only strength train can’t even look at a kettlebell without getting winded.

People who only do macho bullshit interval conditioning are orthopedists dreams they’re so injury prone.

Don’t even get me started on workouts with actual names like we discussed earlier: “Zumba”, “P90X”, and that insult to brain cells, the “Bar Method”…uugghhh…If it has a name, generally speaking, it’s replaced common sense with marketing, and is absolutely useless.

You see where I’m going with this.  If you truly want lead a life of looking and feeling great, you need to be proficient at everything.  And I can hear your voice already:

“But I don’t have time!”

Most people don’t.  That’s why most people who exercise fall into one or more of the categories above that I mentioned, despite their well meaning intentions.

The issue is can you combine it all?  We do.  We get all of it done in a few hours per week.  Anyone who tells you it takes longer doesn’t know how to do it very well.  Frankly, I’ve always maintained that if you exercise more than 5-6 hours per week and you DON’T look like Ryan Reynolds or Jessica Biel, you really need to re-evaluate how effective your training is, because it probably sucks.

Every single session we address mobility, core training, strength training and conditioning.  We emphasize certain aspects as we de-emphasize others on a rotating basis (undulating periodization) to provide active recovery for those that aren’t being emphasized and to reduce the monotony found in the other “named” workouts.

This is why TR members get results – they get everything done in a few hours per week.

Does that make me the Bruce Lee of training?  No, of course not, it just makes me someone who’s seen thousands of people try and thousands of people fail.  And quite often, it’s because they trap themselves into a style: “I have to do yoga,”  “I have to do cardio”, “I have to bench press”, etc.  And end up becoming proficient at those particular disciplines without recognizing that’s only a small percentage of their overall health and fitness levels.  And unfortunately, this ignorance leads to the exact opposite of the desired goal: frustration, weight gain, joint pain, etc.

That being said, I still try to crack my knuckles just by making a fist the way Bruce Lee did…

Train Raw!

Remember the scene from “Major League” when Charlie Sheen’s character put on his horn rimmed glasses for the 1^st time?  Well if you don’t, you missed a great scene from a great movie.  After realizing that his character had eyesight problems that were keeping him from being a successful big league pitcher, his manager rushed out and got him a ridiculously hideous set of horn rimmed glasses.  One teammate responded “Don’t worry about it kid, seeing is the most important thing.”  Another teammate, looking at the glasses says, “It ain’t that important…”

That was how I felt the 1^st time I saw minimalist training sneakers.  I didn’t care if or how they worked – they just looked too stupid to wear.

Lately, the proliferation of barefoot training or training wearing “minimalist” sneakers has become increasingly popular.  We’re here today so I can give you the basic rationale behind minimalist footwear, and to tell you I was 100% wrong about it.  I made a mistake that I criticize other people for making all the time: judging something, or someone, simply based on how it looks.

Yes, you heard me, I was 100% wrong.  Stop smirking, I actually admit being wrong quite often, smarty pants.

First, the rationale behind minimalist footwear:

A quick lesson on bio-mechanics: remember that song in kindergarten? Your shin bone is connected to your thigh bone, etc etc?  Well it’s 100% accurate.  And since our feet are what’s in contact with the ground when we’re moving the positioning of our foot is crucial.  If our foot is not in an optimal position, our ankle will not be in the correct position.  If our ankle is not in the correct position, our knee won’t be in the correct position, and so on and so on.  Therefore, the correct bio-mechanical positioning of the foot is crucial to the rest of our body being in the correct position.  If joints such as the knees, hips, spine and shoulders are out of position, this is deleterious to both our joint health and our performance in the gym.

The problem with traditional sneakers is that they automatically put your foot in the wrong anatomical position. Your heel is instantly placed higher than your toes and your toes are squished together.  To optimize function, your heel needs to be on the ground (not on a 1” high wedge) and your toes need to be separated and spread out, as opposed to being in the perpetual vice grip of your cross trainers.

Problem #2: Every single thing about the way you move is reliant on sensory information from your feet.  Doesn’t make sense to you?  OK, here’s the short version then: we’re going to revisit 6^th grade science class.

When you are walking, or doing anything for that matter, when your foot hits the ground nerves in your foot send messages to your brain.  Your brain then interprets these messages and quickly sends messages to every muscle in your body, telling them how to respond so you can stay upright and keep moving.  For example, during normal walking, your brain would get one set of messages, if you slipped on a banana peel, it would get a different set, if you saw a car coming right at you, a different set, and so on and so on.  The rest of your body would move differently in each one of these situations depending on what messages the nerves in your feet gave to your brain, and then the subsequent messages your brain gave to every other muscle in your body.

It is impossible for your brain to receive accurate information about your movement and therefore impossible for it to respond optimally if your feet are on pillows with your toes squished together.

Your movement, and therefore your exercise program, is solely reliant on good information reaching your central nervous system.  If it receives shitty information, it doesn’t really matter what kinds of muscles are running the show and making you move.  This is why there are people who look fantastic, but may be the most uncoordinated injury prone people on the planet.  Conversely, there are people who don’t “look” athletic, but actually are pretty coordinated and catch on to workouts quickly.  It’s simply because their brains work better when it comes to movement.

It’s like 2 people driving the same model car: both cars have the same engine, the same brakes, handling, etc.  But one is driven by Jeff Gordon and the other by a little old lady.  Which one is going to get better more accurate information about starting, stopping, turning, accelerating, etc.?

And more importantly, from practical, personal experience and observations, I can see a difference since switching to minimalist footwear.  I’ve done it and a good chunk of the TR membership has as well with great results.  Not one of us who has switched to minimalist or barefoot training has returned to wearing regular sneakers when exercising.

Since trying out the Adidas Adipure, I can tell you I will never exercise in regular sneakers ever again.  Frankly, I wouldn’t limit it to exercise: if it weren’t winter in the northeast I’d be wearing them 24/7.

And before I go on, I must be clear I receive no compensation to endorse Adidas or the Adipure.  (Although for the record, I must admit I like the fact that Adidas DOES NOT give $100 million to quarterbacks who torture dogs, like some other brand name sneaker company.  Sorry, had to get that in…)

Does working out barefoot work? Sure.  You may have a problem with traction and stepping on things can be uncomfortable, but it’ll work.  The Adipure have a thin rubber sole so if you do step on something like a pebble or tack you won’t be injured.

And for those of you who still say “Well, don’t your feet need some support?” My response is this:  Following your logic, you should be wearing knee braces, back braces, shoulder braces and neck braces too when you work out because those areas need support as well.  

But I know you won’t do that because THAT would be stupid. J

Jon

Have Muscle, Burn Fat!

You’ve heard me say countless times by now that long duration cardio is one of the LEAST effective ways to lose body fat.

One thing that perhaps I haven’t emphasized enough however, is this: one of the BEST ways to lose body fat is to increase or maintain muscle tissue.

Let’s be clear about this: I did NOT say go get big muscles.  I said increase or maintain your muscle tissue and strength.  Subtle, yet very important difference.

Far too often, people associate strength and muscle increases with big, inflated biceps, deltoids, pecs, etc.  (like this guy…who doesn’t do drugs…really…)

Because most women have a phobia about increasing size and getting “bulky”, and because most men figure out in their early 20’s that big muscles are useless as a general rule, they de-prioritize or avoid strength training.

This is where some confusion comes in because this may seem like a conundrum to many: increase lean muscle tissue without getting “big muscles”?   Let me address some common questions/areas of confusion as to how increasing muscle tissue sheds fat and how increasing muscle doesn’t mean “big muscles”:

·        

          Strength training is NOT what people think it is

People get confused as to what strength training is.  Let me clear up what it is NOT:  Strength training is NOT sitting on benches.  It is NOT sitting on machines.  Strength training is NOT training one muscle at a time.

Those training methodologies were born from people trying to sell you gym memberships and from people trying to convince themselves, and you, that they actually work hard.  (Yeah, that last set of reverse grip tricep pushdowns looked pretty grueling.  Definitely justified the noise you made and the “tough guy” look you shot into the mirror…)

Real strength training, that is to say strength training that actually improves strength and quality of muscle tissue, involves total body movements, not the one muscle at a time approach.  Real strength training involves you supporting your own body weight, not a machine or bench supporting all the weight while you use leverage to move it.

Real strength training that involves your entire body without the aid of benches and machines and is done with limited rest periods burns a boat load of calories and kicks your metabolism in the ass.

·         The intensity of a total body strength workout in and of itself will raise your metabolism:

A workout that increases muscle tissue requires enough intensity within the workout that your resting metabolic rate will be raised as a result.  This is a good thing: this means you will be burning more calories the other 23 hours of the day after a strength workout than from something lower in intensity like traditional cardio training.  This is the biggest problem with cardio training – it simply isn’t as intense as strength training and therefore can’t impact your metabolism positively.

·        

Maintaining the muscle requires an increase in RMR

Your body has to work pretty hard just to maintain muscle.  The processing of calories becomes more efficient as you body goes into overdrive to be sure that any calories you do ingest go directly to muscle repair or energy replacement.  And if calories and energy are being used to be sure that muscles are maintained and energy is being replaced, then guess where calories AREN’T going…

·         There are 700 muscles in the body.

The reality is this:  If you utilize total body strength training – NOT isolated muscle strength training – you will have a small increase in muscle size, if there is any increase at all.  This is due to the fact that the weight you’re lifting, which should be pretty substantial if you’re using your whole body, is spread out evenly over every muscle in your body.  Because you’re never isolating and/or overloading one muscle, there will never be any substantial increase in any one muscle.  If you know me, Dina, or any of the regulars at the TR, you know two things: 1. we’ve been doing total body strength training with the heaviest things we can find for a long time, and 2. “Bulky” is the LAST thing that people would call us.

Here’s the issue that most people overlook:  There are about 700 muscles in the human body.  If each one increases in size .001% from total body strength training, that’s negligible from a visual standpoint.  (As opposed to if you only trained your arms with curls and extensions, your arms would get noticeably bigger.  And you’d look like an ass because nothing else on your body would.)  However, that minor increase adds up as far as your metabolism is concerned.  .001% times 700 is enough of an increase to put your metabolism to work as mentioned above.

Bottom line: if you do intense total body strength training, you will increase and/or maintain your strength and muscle tissue.  You will positively impact your RMR.  You will lose body fat.  You will feel better and look better.

Think about the people at Globo gym right now: most do what they think is strength training followed by low intensity cardio.  In other words, two things that a) are time consuming and b) do not burn a significant number of calories, and c) have little impact on the metabolism, so there’s very little calorie burning, if any, when the workout is over.

And even though you may not get big muscles in the traditional sense doing total body strength training, you will be able to see your muscles because the body fat will be reduced.  And who among us doesn’t want that?

Be strong, have some muscle, have very little fat.  Sounds like a plan.

Time To Make A Choice:

Want to lose weight?

That’s simple: change your eating habits.  You need to eat fewer calories than you burn.  If you do this, you will lose weight.  Generally, this is where people try to make things far more complicated than they need to be because no one likes to accept the fact that it could be that simple, but it is.  You don’t even need to exercise.  Frankly, exercise may harm your chances of losing weight because if you do it right, you’ll raise your metabolic rate.  If you raise your metabolic rate, you will most likely consume more to compensate for the caloric expenditure, with the final result being your weight staying more or less the same.

Think I’m crazy or being purposefully dismissive?  Well guess what: I just gave the same advice to my mother when she told me she wanted to lose weight.  She had exercise questions and I said if weight loss is the goal, don’t even worry about exercising, just reduce the number of overall calories.  I’m giving the same advice to you that I give to my own family members.

However, ask yourself if you really want to lose weight.  I’ve found that’s not what most people really want.  Most people want to look better, feel better, and be healthy.  THOSE GOALS ARE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE FROM LOSING WEIGHT.  

This is something on which I cannot be more clear: your weight has nothing to do with how you look, how you feel, or how healthy you are.  It measures your gravitational pull to the earth – nothing else.  Frankly, I believe doctors who use body weight as a barometer of health should have their medical licenses taken away for perpetuating myths and reinforcing absolute bullshit.

But if losing weight is really what you want, just eat less – you’ll lose weight.

Want to feel better, look better and be healthier?

This is where exercise comes into play.  If done correctly (i.e., stay away from the Globo Gym atmosphere and the mental midgets who reside there) exercise will raise your metabolism which will burn more calories for you 24/7/365 – even when you aren’t working out.  If done correctly exercise will improve your joint health.  If done correctly, exercise will reduce your body fat % making you a much sexier version of yourself.  If done correctly exercise can improve your heart health, lung health, sleeping patterns, emotional health, reduce the chance of injuries and countless other benefits.  If done correctly, exercise will make you look better, feel better and be healthier.

So here’s the choice: Once again, I ask do you want to a) lose weight, or b) look better, feel better and be healthier?

If you chose option a, that’s fine, just eat less and you’ll get what you wished for.  And frankly, you may need the help of a mental health professional, not an exercise professional.

If you chose option b, then let’s talk exercise.

Do it right, get it done.  Be healthier, feel better and be a dead sexy mother effer.