Your Bank Account

Recently I asked a few people to review their resolutions from this past January as we just passed the halfway point of 2011. As I did this I reviewed my own goals and an interesting analogy struck me:

It seems that with few exceptions, people make resolutions around either fitness or financial goals. And in an odd way, the modus operandi for successful attainment of these resolutions is almost identical in scope.

When doing financial planning, you simply need to understand the concept that your deposits need to be larger than your withdrawals. If you accumulate more money than you spend, your net worth will increase. If you spend more money than you accumulate, your net worth will decrease. Pretty simple stuff: you don’t need to be an economics professor from MIT to understand it. The tough part is however, having the discipline to implement and track it.

It’s almost EXACTLY the same with fitness. Your level of fitness is almost entirely made up of a series of deposits and withdrawals. Just because the denominations are less tangible than money, doesn’t make them any less important or less measureable.

For example, I worked out today. Nothing fancy: just some foam rolling, some lower body strength work and some conditioning circuits involving ropes and sandbags. I view that as a deposit.

Now if I recover well today by drinking plenty of fluids, eating several small portions of high quality foods, and then go to bed early and get a good nights’ sleep, that’s another deposit. If I have 365 days like that, my fitness goals will easily be reached. I will have made a ton of deposits with no withdrawals - my fitness bank account will be in the same condition as my financial bank account would be if I made deposits all year with no withdrawals.

But not making withdrawals is not practical with either finances or fitness. As I’ve said one million times to my clients: there are times life is going to get in the way of your workout plans. As long as you limit it to minor setbacks however, it won’t be a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

For example: Your boss made you stay late at work so you weren’t able to work out as you planned to. That’s a withdrawal. Or your mother makes you a kick ass dessert when you visit and you don’t want to be rude to your mom and not eat her dessert that she slaved over to make you happy – that’s another withdrawal. Or if you meet up with some friends and that salad with low fat oil and vinegar on the side with your glass of tap water just isn’t cutting it. Especially not when they’re having food and drinks that taste good (and they’re having a lot of them!), so you decide to have some nachos and throw back a few with them – another withdrawal. What your common withdrawals are don’t matter, as long as they aren’t constant and consistent. Same as when you splurge occasionally with your money – not a big deal as long as it’s not all the time.

So the issue is this: at the end of the year, will your exercise deposits out number your exercise withdrawals? If the answer is yes, then you’ll be going in the right fitness direction. Just as you would be if your financial deposits outnumbered your financial withdrawals.

Some more examples and a WARNING:

Some deposits and withdrawals are bigger than others, start thinking of them as such. For example:

· A couple of slices of pizza? Small withdrawal.

· A couple of slices of pizza after a plate of buffalo wings and followed by baked ziti washed down with a few beers? BIG withdrawal.

· Some planks, pushups and foam rolling on days in between planned program workouts? Small deposit.

· A planned workout as part of a larger program that includes mobility, core stabilization, strength training and conditioning? BIG deposit. Keep making deposits like this one and your fitness bank account will grow pretty quickly!

Warning: Beware of bad investments!

There are many activities that may appear to be deposits that are actually bad investments. Think of them the same way you would as if you bought stock in company that’s going to go under. For example:

· Not eating often enough. This appears to reap immediate benefits because of the caloric restriction, but your metabolism will lower to compensate pretty quickly, which will worsen your situation. Consider it like investing in Borders.

· Jogging. Jogging is like buying stock in Blockbuster: Feels good when you got up and running, but eventually you’re going to crash. Statistically speaking, you’re going to be injured and you’re not going to lose body fat.

· Starting a crash/restrictive/fad diet. There’s just no way to stick to it if you’re a real person with a job, spouse, kids, etc. This is a waste of your fitness energy and resources - you may as well just toss cash out the window of your moving car.

If you’re interested in improving your fitness levels, my advice is to start looking at your habits as investments, deposits and withdrawals. Eventually, with sound planning and sound implementation you’ll be going in the right direction and you’ll get where you want to go.

This is Leigh: She's made PLENTY of withdrawals into her anti-extension account.

The Weight Is NOT Too Heavy!

Today we have a quick observation of a mistake made way too often that I haven’t seen anyone else jump on yet. I notice this mistake A LOT, and like most things, I don’t really understand the logic behind it.

That is the automatic assumption that if and exercise cannot be performed, that the weight must be too heavy. And this leads to the larger issue: the exerciser simply choosing a lighter weight instead of correcting the manner in which the exercise was being performed.

Now, I ask you, my educated fitness friends, what has this accomplished? Ding! Ding! Ding! You got it: It’s made the exercise MORE dangerous because now it can actually be performed incorrectly! The exercise couldn’t be executed with the heavy weight because the form sucked, not because the weight was too heavy (which is the message that typically goes unnoticed…)

Now of course there are instances where the weight may be too heavy, but I think they are in the minority – I think it’s more likely you have to check your form 1st. If your form is perfect and the weight can’t be moved, then go down in weight. But check yourself 1st, as it’s most likely not a weight problem, it’s more likely an operator problem as we like to say here at the TR.

Check out this video: I go into a little more specificity and give you the always helpful visual aid!

http://www.youtube.com/user/thetrainingrim#p/a/u/0/uv4_1oYDrXw

You think his problem is the weight is too heavy? Try again...

The Cure For Joint Pain

Of course there is no cure for joint pain, but there are preventative measures that we can take to greatly reduce the chances of getting shoulder/knee/back discomfort. Last I heard 4 out of 5 of us will suffer from shoulder/back/knee issues at some point while exercising, so pay attention:

It seems, in my experience anyway; in the overwhelming majority of cases of joint pain, preventative measures were not taken. Pretty much anytime someone tells me they have knee, back, or shoulder pain, the “cause” comes directly from one of two very preventable issues:

1. The exerciser is doing something wrong.
2. The exerciser is doing too much.


The good news is that both of those issues are easy to address.

First, if you’re doing something wrong:

Double and triple check if you are moving in the correct manner. Are you squatting correctly? I.e., are your toes forward, are your knees in line with your toes, are you flexing at the hips instead of the lower back? When you push or pull are your shoulders staying retracted instead of rolling forward? Is your mid-section stabilized as opposed to flexing and extending?

In many cases, exercisers think they are using correct form when they are not, either due to ignorance, inattentiveness, or poor previous instruction. This is why it’s crucial to both learn correct movement, and pay attention to your movement as you exercise.

Secondly, joint pain can come from doing too much.

“Too much” can mean a few different things from an exercise standpoint: Too many workouts, too many reps, too much weight, too difficult of an exercise, etc. Essentially, you’ve given your body a greater workload than it can handle and joint pain is its way of telling you that you need to back off a little.

In these cases, joint pain prevention is simple – use common sense. Know your limits and understand the phrase “no pain, no gain” was uttered by a learning impaired individual.

In the non-exercise world of real life, "too much" can mean numerous things: too much driving, too much working, too much gardening, landscaping, shoveling, etc.

Of course, I need to add the caveat that people doing too much in the exercise world seems to be the exception. Too much more commonly means too much sitting, too much eating, etc. So explore the option you may be doing too much in your workouts only if you actually work out a lot. If you don’t work out a lot, give it a shot.

Don't be this A-Hole.

Get Results With Simple Gym Math

Don’t worry, I hate math too. I live with a high school math teacher and I just don’t get it. But unlike those dopey kids who we went to school with who used to always moan “When are we ever going to need to do this stuff?!?!” I, at least, despite my distaste for it, recognize that math is not only useful, but necessary in day to day life.

How does this relate to you getting strong and lean? Very easily, my friend.

If you’ve followed us at all over the last few years, you know that we’re always screaming about what a waste of times gyms are. Statistically speaking, if you want to get in good shape, gyms are one of the last places you should go because it’s been proven you probably won’t get stronger or leaner there.

Well it wasn’t until I sat down and did some simple math that I realized the extent to which gyms are useless.

Play along with me: Think of people you know or have seen at the gym that are in really good shape. People that you look at and say “Wow, I wouldn’t mind being like him/her!” Using the gym I used to be in as a reference, I’m thinking maybe 25 people fall into that category. I would say I knew about 25 people in gym “X” that I would say were in really good shape.

And using my former gym “X” as a reference, there were approximately 9,000 members. I know this because they couldn’t stop telling everybody how great they were because they had so many members.

Now the plot thickens, and it’s time to put that math to use:

Approximately 25 people out of approximately 9,000 members = approximately .002778% of people who have memberships actually are in good shape.

That’s less than one percent. In fact, it’s not even close to ONE percent.

OK, let’s say my memory is off. There were actually twice as many people in gym “X” in really good shape as I remember.

That’s still less than one percent.

OK, let’s be even more of a skeptic: there are three times as many people in really good shape at big box gym than I remember.

That’s STILL LESS THAN ONE PERCENT OF ITS MEMBERS THAT ARE IN REALLY GOOD SHAPE.

I know what some of you smart alecks are saying: “Well, Jon, a lot of those members you’re counting don’t actually go to the gym, which is why they don’t get in shape. They shouldn’t be counted.”

I’m going to disagree with you my friend because you have it backwards: They don’t go to the gym BECAUSE THE GYM DOESN’T GET THEM IN SHAPE!!! Their gym sucks. It’s not fun, it’s ineffectual and it’s filled with assholes. Of course people are going to stop showing up!

Nobody ever joined a gym with the intention of not going. They joined, they tried it, then they said “This sucks,” then they stopped going – not the other way around.

Now I’m not sure of the statistics off the top of my head, but at The Training Rim people who have fun outnumber those who don’t. Members who attend and train regularly outnumber those who don’t. And people who are in great shape are the general rule, not the exception.

Remember: if you go to the gym and don’t get results, it’s not your fault. If your friend is always whining about going to the gym and not getting results, it’s not his or her fault.

The lack of results is the gym’s fault. Gyms don't work. Here endeth the lesson.

Muscle Confusion?

Muscle Confusion? I’m confused.

Recently the term “muscle confusion” has become popular. I’m not really sure who to blame for this.

First of all, muscles do not have brains therefore they do not get confused. Muscles receive messages from your brain then react. That’s it. There’s no higher order deductive reasoning going on in the sarcomeres of your muscle tissue.

People who use the term muscle confusion act is if they saw a muscle reading a philosophy book once and were able to mentally outmaneuver it.

This is what I hear when someone says they use muscle confusion:

“Hey – my bicep thought I was going to make it contract by doing a barbell curl. But I fooled it – I made it contract by doing a dumbbell curl! Ha ha ha! I sure outwitted my bicep! Woo Hoo!”

And back to reading the latest muscle magazine with the big pictures you go my friend.

I’m not really sure what is meant by muscle confusion, but I know ultimately it just means doing random crap. Do one thing, then do another, then another with no rhyme or reason. Don’t have a plan, neither short nor long term by which to go. Mix your strength training with your corrective exercise, your corrective exercise with your conditioning, your conditioning with your core work, your core work with your flexibility, your flexibility with whatever – it’ll all work out. As long as it looks cool and has a cool name.

I’ve learned many things in my career, and one of the most important things I’ve ever learned is this:

When it comes to exercise and conditioning, randomness should be avoided at all costs.

Understand that your plan will probably need to be tweaked – but have a plan.

There are no important gains in exercise that don’t take tons of practice and diligence. Nobody anywhere in life made significant progress on something either important or difficult without practicing their arses off. Don’t believe me? Read “Outliers” by Malcom Gladwell.

Diligence and practice should not be confused with repetitiveness, monotony, and tedium, however. It only means something should be mastered before moving on. Trust me: there are dozens of ways to make a push up tougher if you think you’re good at them.

And remember as far as exercise goes, if it comes easy, you’re probably wasting your time. Stick with what you’re doing as long as you’re progressing. If you’re getting results, don’t change anything.

For example, the program I had written for my small group clients was supposed to change on the first of the month. The problem with that was that everyone was still progressing on that program, so why change it - because we want our muscles to be confused? That sounds like something that someone who sells DVD’s for a living would tell you. A professional trainer – you know someone who actually trains people for a living – would say ‘let’s stick with what’s working’.

This is why you need experienced, educated exercise professionals. Not people who watched DVD’s as their educational resource and not people who think beating the crap out of you a different way today than they did the last workout is exercise programming. Any moron can do those things for you. Find somebody who’s read a book. Find someone who’s read articles on programming individuals and groups.

Or, even better, find someone who’s written those books and articles and train at their facility.

Fat Burning? Really?

First off, two apologies:


I apologize if you’re already aware that the “Fat Burning Zone” is a myth. I, like you, thought it hadn’t been taken seriously since the 1980’s. Unfortunately due to more than one recent discussion, I’ve learned this fallacy is alive and well in the exercise community.

I apologize if you believe this nonsense and feel my anger is directed towards you. It’s directed at the knucklehead fitness pro who communicated it to you whose job it is to know better.


The “Fat Burning Zone”, according to its proponents, is a heart rate of between 60-65% of your maximum heart rate. (This presumably is following the guide that your maximum heart rate can be calculated by subtracting your age from 220. The BS that is THAT calculation will be covered some other time.) The proponents and followers of the fat burning zone argue that a relatively low heart rate such as 60-65%, causes your body to burn a greater percentage of calories from fat, thereby increasing fat loss and weight loss.


Problem #1: Following that logic, sitting on the couch watching football is better for me than a circuit of kettlebell swings. Watching football will elevate my heart rate slightly above normal, thereby burning a high percentage of fat calories. An intense circuit of kettlebell swings may get my heart rate up to 180 beats per minute, or pretty close to my maximum. According to the fat burning zone, the kettlebell circuit won’t cause me to lose as much fat as watching football. Uh…OK…


Problem #2: You know how people who are trying to conserve energy always tell you to drive your car more slowly because you’ll save gas? Well you’re body works the same way: if you move slowly, you use less energy. The problem is this: saving gas in your car is a good thing. Saving and storing energy in your body is a bad thing. There is a name for stored energy in your body: it’s called FAT. Drive your car slowly, but move your body quickly – when your body runs out of gas, you’re doing pretty well with your workout.


Problem #3: The concept is short sighted. Let’s assume for the sake of discussion that your body will use more fat for energy when your heart rate is low. You’re still burning way fewer total calories by keeping the intensity down. For example, workout A is trying to get you to burn more calories from fat. Workout A is walking for 30 minutes. Workout A says you’ll burn 100 calories and 50% will be from fat for a grand total of 50 calories burned using fat as an energy source. Workout B is an interval circuit alternating between kettlebell swings and rope slams for 10 minutes. It burns a total of 200 calories and only 40% are from fat for a total of 80 calories burned using fat as an energy source.


Workout B burned 100 more total calories, with 30 more of them coming from stored energy sources (fat), and took 20 minutes less incidentally. But of course, a higher percentage of the minute number of calories came from fat in workout A. Whoop de damn doo – the person doing workout B burned more total calories, more calories from fat, and had an extra 20 minutes in their day.


Now tell me again why the intensity needs to be kept low?


Truthfully, I don’t know the answer to this. I think it still stems from our society’s way for looking for the expedient route instead of the correct route. Walking is easy. Slamming ropes is hard. Let’s look for an excuse to walk. A seated chest press machine is easy. Pushups are not. Let’s sell memberships by showing people our “machines” with soft seats.


Whatever the case may be, you’ll have a tough time convincing me, or any of my clients that doing less work is better for fat loss.

Research?!? C'mon...

“Men of experience succeed even better than those who have theory without experience.” - Aristotle

The longer I’m in my field, the more I realize the above statement is true. Theoretical research comes out every day in the world of health and exercise that makes me go “huh?!?” This isn’t the problem to me but rather the likelihood that someone who doesn’t do what I do for a living will see the news report about the research and go running with it, assuming it’s valid and/or applicable to their personal situation, when it probably isn’t.

Recently I saw a news report about a study suggesting that eating breakfast isn’t that important as it relates to weight loss and health issues as people previously believed. The study mentioned that people that skip breakfast don’t necessarily eat more throughout the rest of the day, and therefore don’t take in more calories on a whole.

I’ll preface my reaction to this report with this: All research can be called into question. Typically research is performed to validate an opinion. Generally speaking, if the opinion isn’t proven correct, people don’t run around yelling “Look! I was wrong! I was wrong!” More often, they design the study to prove their point and run to the news with it if they’re opinion was validated. And of course, if it’s even a little bit controversial the media will scream it from the rafters in order to get us to watch. This is magnified exponentially if the research is funded by a company that has a financial interest in the outcome of the research.

In this particular case, the researchers had a theory that people who don’t eat breakfast don’t eat more through the day and wanted to show they are correct. What was not mentioned in the news report is countless other research, both subjective and objective, that suggests that even if that is true, it doesn’t take into account other very important factors to your health.

Even if you are not eating more by skipping breakfast, you surely are burning fewer calories by skipping breakfast. You’re body is already in a form of fasting mode 1st thing in the morning because you haven’t eaten since the night before at best. This brings your metabolism to a screeching halt – when your body doesn’t get food, it doesn’t burn food because it thinks it’s starving – it does this as a defense mechanism. Skipping breakfast only exacerbates this situation, and forces your body to lower the number of calories you’ll burn.

Am I saying discount all research and theoretical studies? Of course not. Many great societal progressions have come from studies like this.

I am saying however that research studies are simply a tool and should be treated as such. Take what is said with a grain of salt, especially if it’s reported through the media.

Far more reliable than theoretical research is real world experience. This is something that many people I trust in my industry have told me, but it becomes more evident and grows more valid every time I think about it.

There is a misconception that working experience is not research. It is. It’s subjective however, so therefore some would have you believe it’s not as valid as “scientific studies”. But as we’ve discussed, they can be pretty subjective as well.

So when push comes to shove, who is more credible? The person in a lab measuring and quantifying statistics with a very small number of people over the course of a few weeks, or, the person who has seen and worked with real people day after day, year after year for decades? I’ll take that 2nd person’s opinion 99 times out of 100. Their observations are priceless because they aren’t theories about what MAY work, the observations are knowledge about what HAS worked in real situations.

It reminds me of the early days of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Two martial artists who believe their fighting style to be superior to all others disagree with each other: Would you believe the guy whose system was never actually used in a real fight, or the guy who actually got in the ring and showed his fighting style worked better than others? Uh, when I’m in a dark alley, I’d rather have the 2nd guy watching my back.

I mention this warning about research because we’ve always believed at The Training Rim that results speak for themselves, whether it coincides with popular ideas and research or not. When there’s a new training methodology out that claims to be superior to all other previous modalities, our response is usually “OK, prove it. And not with mice in a lab – with real people with real jobs, families, homes, social lives etc. If it doesn’t work in that setting then it’s useless information.”

This attitude has worked well for us. We use training methodologies that we know to be effective. We know they’re effective because we’ve been using them for over a decade now and we’ve seen our clients continually get great results.

That beats the hell out of any research study any day of the week to us. If you want to debate the latest ideas and studies go right ahead: by the time you’re done we’ll be wrapping up another workout that’s already been proven to make us stronger and leaner.

In the words of Ron Burgundy, “It’s science.”