Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Cheating
I always tell my clients, cheating is allowed. But usually how I mean it is, you should do everything so efficiently it should feel like your cheating. For example a move called the Kettlebell Swing. It's the idea of moving weight, not lifting weight. You have to use inertia and momentum as your allies. When done correctly you should be able to move a lot of weight, quite easily. It should feel like cheating.
Even with eating, once you figure out the right combinations of food and what foods are good and not good, it should also feel like cheating. That you can eat as much as you want and still not gain weight.
This brings me to the idea of having a cheat list. Meaning all the bad stuff you want to eat throughout the week, instead of saying "oh man I can't eat it." Just write it all down. Every craving you have. Then designate one day out of the week where you just binge on all the foods that you wanted on that list. Making sure you also get a good work out in that morning and you drink plenty of water and eat fiber as well. Why this is important is, then you won't feel like a crazy person never getting to eat what you want. Also you are doing controlled binges so your body is still used to that. And there is no way your body can absorb all that food in one day, so the damage is minimal.
I say, you want it? Instead of eating it, write it down. If after a week, you still want it, then have it. You will find though with a lot of things, after a week you realize you never really wanted it that bad. So it also breaks the habit of instant gratification.
Even with eating, once you figure out the right combinations of food and what foods are good and not good, it should also feel like cheating. That you can eat as much as you want and still not gain weight.
This brings me to the idea of having a cheat list. Meaning all the bad stuff you want to eat throughout the week, instead of saying "oh man I can't eat it." Just write it all down. Every craving you have. Then designate one day out of the week where you just binge on all the foods that you wanted on that list. Making sure you also get a good work out in that morning and you drink plenty of water and eat fiber as well. Why this is important is, then you won't feel like a crazy person never getting to eat what you want. Also you are doing controlled binges so your body is still used to that. And there is no way your body can absorb all that food in one day, so the damage is minimal.
I say, you want it? Instead of eating it, write it down. If after a week, you still want it, then have it. You will find though with a lot of things, after a week you realize you never really wanted it that bad. So it also breaks the habit of instant gratification.
Monday, February 21, 2011
What Is Wrong With This Picture?
So what is wrong with this picture? The picture on the left is of a barefoot walker. On the right is someone who wears shoes daily. More often than not, modern people's feet look like the one on the right, not the left. Only in comparison can you see how different our feet look, from the way its supposed to look. And how much our feet look like shoes. I thought it would make more sense if shoes looked like feet. Not feet look like shoes. Sounds painful.
So the rise of all the foot problems, low back pains, knee issues, fallen arches, plantar fasciitis. etc. Not only that orthotics and special shoes. For some, their feet are so dysfunctional, they can no longer walk barefoot without pain. Nor balance without shoes. Now shoes have become their crutch and it will be a pain cycle where their feet just get worse and worse.
Power is generate from the feet up. Less contact with the ground your feet make, less power. Weaker your feet are, weaker you are. It's hard to develop even a strong core without strong ankles and shoulders.
Look at baby's feet. Then think of one day forcing those cute spread toes to look like the picture on the right?
There are options to correct your whole system from the ground up. Proper running and walking form. Walking barefoot around the house. Barefoot on grass and sand. There are even barefoot shoes or minimalist shoes. Now with those, especially if you've barely ever been barefoot except in bed, you need to work your way into them. Maybe an hour every other day. Slowly until your feet start to adapt to it's natural form. Then you can wear them all day.
In martial arts, if I wanted to break your foot or ankle with a lock, I would first force your toes together, make you step heavy on the ball of your feet, then put pressure on your heels. And if I keep going and keep putting pressure, you will never walk without a limp ever again. That is a brutal submission lock everyone is scared of. Now think about shoes! They do it, but in a milder form. Squeeze the toes, make you step heavy on the ball, and pressure on heels. Especially women's heels.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Romanticizing Food
Far too often, people romanticize food. They have this romantic relationship with food and it's considered funny and normal. Well it can be funny and cute but, if you think about it, talking about food as if it was a person or a lover is just not healthy. Last thing I do on earth will be to eat this. Food is my best friend. Man vs food or women vs food. Cupcakes are my boyfriend. Or I looooooove (insert dish name here). And they don't say it in a way, like I love my tennis shoes. It's like, I loooooove it, as if it literally made lover to them. Or they have more pictures on their Facebook or blog of food than themselves or family, or they talk about it more than their own wife or husband or children. On a pedestal higher than most other things in their lives. Does this sound like you or someone you know?
If you talked about anything else like that, whether it was drugs, feet, or chronic hand washing, it would be considered some kind of mental issue or a fetish. Food becomes this strange exception even though obesity and cardiovascular diseases will kill more people than drugs ever will. It always seems like something is lacking, if they need to love something or be loved that much, why from something inanimate? That energy could serve a better purpose. Is it a cry for help? I don't know. People far too often mistake pleasure with happiness. Inanimate things like cars, food, toys can bring you pleasure not happiness. Happiness starts from within.
It's such a loaded and complex idea. This romanticizing and fetishizing of food. It only sounds funny and cute like I said, because it sounds childlike. Because children can fall in love with inanimate things, imaginary things, or escape into something when their world doesn't provide what they need. It's often hard to prevent the cycle of overeating when eating isn't just about surviving, nourishment, or even taste, but about being and feeling loved. We are making it something it's not. Personifying it.
A healthy body often starts with a healthy mind. Food can sometimes just be a symptom of other things. A person who says, all they need is food sounds like a very lonely person.
If you talked about anything else like that, whether it was drugs, feet, or chronic hand washing, it would be considered some kind of mental issue or a fetish. Food becomes this strange exception even though obesity and cardiovascular diseases will kill more people than drugs ever will. It always seems like something is lacking, if they need to love something or be loved that much, why from something inanimate? That energy could serve a better purpose. Is it a cry for help? I don't know. People far too often mistake pleasure with happiness. Inanimate things like cars, food, toys can bring you pleasure not happiness. Happiness starts from within.
It's such a loaded and complex idea. This romanticizing and fetishizing of food. It only sounds funny and cute like I said, because it sounds childlike. Because children can fall in love with inanimate things, imaginary things, or escape into something when their world doesn't provide what they need. It's often hard to prevent the cycle of overeating when eating isn't just about surviving, nourishment, or even taste, but about being and feeling loved. We are making it something it's not. Personifying it.
A healthy body often starts with a healthy mind. Food can sometimes just be a symptom of other things. A person who says, all they need is food sounds like a very lonely person.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
My Oath
I am not your friend. I am not your therapist. I am not your dad. I am not even your biggest fan. I am your trainer. And over time you will find that is something just as important.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Portion Sizes
When you eat, make sure your portion sizes match the physical size you want to be. Meaning if you want to get bigger, eat more. Want to get smaller, eat less. As I mentioned before, gaining weight doesn't happen overnight. It's incremental. So a 300lb person trying to eat portions of a 140lb person would have a high failure rate and may shock your body in a negative way. So eating less also must be incremental. 300lb person wanting to lose weight should eat like a 280lb person. As they get smaller their body needs less food. And keep pecking and working their way down little bites at a time.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The Free Stuff At Restaurants
Before you even get your order, think about how much bread, chips, salsa, fries, sweet potatoes, or whatever they give you at some restaurants. And then think about how much you have just consumed before even getting your order.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Breakfast
It truly is the most important meal of the day. It's the meal that your body will draw most of its energy throughout the day from because it is first. Try to eat within one hour of rising. Try to eat at the same time every day as to not confuse your body. Try to make it full of protein. A lot of people do not eat a balanced breakfast, and just eat carbs.
I know many people are not hungry when they rise. Still eat something. There have been plenty of times you have eaten when you were already full. Eating when you aren't really hungry is a lot easier. Fullness and hunger should be eliminated. Just graze and feel satisfied all day.
I know many people are not hungry when they rise. Still eat something. There have been plenty of times you have eaten when you were already full. Eating when you aren't really hungry is a lot easier. Fullness and hunger should be eliminated. Just graze and feel satisfied all day.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Juicing Craze
Before you dive head in, into the juicing craze...juicing is a form of processing as well. Especially when it eliminates so much of the pulp and skin.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Sumo Wrestlers
There is a reason why sumo wrestlers drink a special soup all the time to gain weight. They don't have to chew and it goes straight into fat.
Chew your food.
Chew your food.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Lemon and Cinnamon
Are great additions to your diet. Not only do they regulate your blood sugar, they are great for digestive health, fight blood clotting, blood pressure, and cholesterol.
Monday, February 7, 2011
The Price Of Being Feeble
I have a cautionary tale to share. One of my good buddies recently lost his job. (You will soon see how the guys I grew up with turned me towards personal training.)
The reason for his firing? Too many sick days. You didn't know you could get fired for suck a thing did you? He's been at this job for years. Finally the total accumulation of his sick hours was too much, and the company was actually losing money keeping him on. So they decided to cut their losses.
He would be sick literally about twice a month. Not really sick. Just the sniffles. And sometimes he would get a real sickness, like the flu, and would be out for a week or so. Now imagine this consistently for years, after so many warnings they have to take action.
Before you feel sorry for the guy, you need to know his lifestyle. His main source of pleasure was an online game called World of Warcraft. He would play from the moment he got home from work, 'til 4AM and beyond. He needed to eat things that were convenient and that gave him energy. So he would drink Mountain Dew or some other soda, and gobble bowl after bowl of some sugary cereal.
The next day he would be so exhausted he would call in sick. And of course after a while his immune system would just fail. I don't know if he was actually sick with a cold, or his symptoms were just that of poor health and exhaustion, poor diet, lack of nutrition, and activity.
He was in a word feeble. And I guess in this new generation of adults in the work force, you actually can be too feeble to hold a job. In the last year he's also gained 100lbs.
Now going to a doctor, they would just tell him to watch what he's eating but overall he's okay. OKAY? Well there definition of health is basically this, if there is no sign of imminent death and you have no diseases, you are fine.
Their definition of health is based on mortality not on quality of life. Well my friend is proof that, that kind of criterion is sorely lacking. In a real health continuum, the levels would be: dying, sickly, well, fit. He would be sickly AKA feeble. The price of feebleness? High.
Will he change? Probably not. He's been this way ever since I've known him. But you can learn from his mistakes.
The reason for his firing? Too many sick days. You didn't know you could get fired for suck a thing did you? He's been at this job for years. Finally the total accumulation of his sick hours was too much, and the company was actually losing money keeping him on. So they decided to cut their losses.
He would be sick literally about twice a month. Not really sick. Just the sniffles. And sometimes he would get a real sickness, like the flu, and would be out for a week or so. Now imagine this consistently for years, after so many warnings they have to take action.
Before you feel sorry for the guy, you need to know his lifestyle. His main source of pleasure was an online game called World of Warcraft. He would play from the moment he got home from work, 'til 4AM and beyond. He needed to eat things that were convenient and that gave him energy. So he would drink Mountain Dew or some other soda, and gobble bowl after bowl of some sugary cereal.
The next day he would be so exhausted he would call in sick. And of course after a while his immune system would just fail. I don't know if he was actually sick with a cold, or his symptoms were just that of poor health and exhaustion, poor diet, lack of nutrition, and activity.
He was in a word feeble. And I guess in this new generation of adults in the work force, you actually can be too feeble to hold a job. In the last year he's also gained 100lbs.
Now going to a doctor, they would just tell him to watch what he's eating but overall he's okay. OKAY? Well there definition of health is basically this, if there is no sign of imminent death and you have no diseases, you are fine.
Their definition of health is based on mortality not on quality of life. Well my friend is proof that, that kind of criterion is sorely lacking. In a real health continuum, the levels would be: dying, sickly, well, fit. He would be sickly AKA feeble. The price of feebleness? High.
Will he change? Probably not. He's been this way ever since I've known him. But you can learn from his mistakes.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
A Funny Conversation With A Non-Client
Over the weekend I had a very funny conversation with a friend of a friend. Now when I'm not training, I don't try to be everyone's trainer or Bible thump about fitness believe it or not. When I'm not working, I'm just me and I leave all that rhetoric for my blog or for the gym. And even if I am at the gym, I won't go over and correct someone's form unless they ask me to. I'm not one who is a Personal Trainer 24 hours a day. I just live my lifestyle. So with that said I had this conversation with this girl who had no idea I was a trainer nor did I ever bring it up.
GIRL
(proud of herself)
I ate so healthy today.
ME
Oh yeah? What did you have?
GIRL
I ate vegetables.
ME
Vegetables? I thought eating vegetables was just normal. Don't most people eat vegetables? It's like our most abundant food source.
GIRL
No. And this was raw. We had Soup Plantation.
ME
Soup Plantation is healthy?
GIRL
Of course.
ME
So you had salad?
GIRL
Yes. And I never eat vegetables.
ME
So what do you eat?
GIRL
I eat carbs a lot. I love carbs.
ME
But vegetables ARE a carb.
GIRL
No it's not. I eat stuff like pasta and potatoes.
ME
Potatoes are a vegetable.
GIRL
No it's not. People think that but it's not. It's something else.
ME
Well it's either a vegetable, fruit, fungus, or meat.
GIRL
It's none of those.
ME
Well it is a root vegetable. A tuber. A very starchy vegetable but still a vegetable.
GIRL
It's not. I'm gonna Google it and prove you wrong.
ME
Unless you discover a whole new type of food, I don't see what else it could be.
GIRL
Woah you are like trying to be an encyclopedia. Let me look online and prove you wrong.
I never told her what I did and dropped it at that. I was pretty amused and shocked at the same time, people's ideas of food and the lack of education on it. The scariest part is she knows a little, and there are others who know even less.
I know some people who refuse to eat any vegetable or fruit. They think they are highly picky and have a refined palette and vegetation just does not taste good. I tell them they are eating at a 1st grade eating level and have a gutter palette. If it was converted to reading, they would barely be literate.
Don't read or eat at a elementary school level.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Water
It's free. It has almost no downside (unless you drink to the point of vomiting). You can't get fat from it (though you can gain weight from it but those are 2 different concepts). Not only that, water is a natural way to flush your system, most of your body is made of water anyway, and it helps to move glucose through your body quickly. Not only that it helps manager stress, manage pain, and it keeps you alive. Water is life.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Cleanse And Detoxes
I understand the concept of the cleanses and detoxes and what people want to accomplish with it. But just because that's what they want to do doesn't mean that's what's going to happen. Cleanses and detoxes and extended periods of fasting is dangerous, it's not natural, and your body will not react well. There are no short cuts to weight loss or to a long life.
Ultimately if you want to cleanse your system out or detox it, you have to clean all the toxins out of your blood and organs. Not to try to flush water through your digestive tract. And really there is no way to clean your blood, you can't rinse it out. Unless you want to try to completely pull all the blood out of your body and replace it with new blood, which would probably kill you in the process. You are probably better off donating blood to get rid of high amounts of toxins in your body more than anything else. All the hype about cleanses and detox is just that, hype. All the gunk you see come out of you is the gunk you drank in the first place.
But to clean your system out, takes gradual change. There is no quick way to do it unless like I said you drain your whole body of blood and replace it with new blood. So the safe and long lasting way is through lifestyle changes, eating habit changes, drinking more water, stress management, different product choices, limiting harmful chemicals, knowing the sources of your food, etc. You are working to change a small percentage of yourself at a time.
I won't throw the whole baby out with the wash though. There has been health benefits to intermittent fasting. Meaning not for extended periods and very infrequent. It's also the same benefits you get from a small portioned diet as well.
Ultimately if you want to cleanse your system out or detox it, you have to clean all the toxins out of your blood and organs. Not to try to flush water through your digestive tract. And really there is no way to clean your blood, you can't rinse it out. Unless you want to try to completely pull all the blood out of your body and replace it with new blood, which would probably kill you in the process. You are probably better off donating blood to get rid of high amounts of toxins in your body more than anything else. All the hype about cleanses and detox is just that, hype. All the gunk you see come out of you is the gunk you drank in the first place.
But to clean your system out, takes gradual change. There is no quick way to do it unless like I said you drain your whole body of blood and replace it with new blood. So the safe and long lasting way is through lifestyle changes, eating habit changes, drinking more water, stress management, different product choices, limiting harmful chemicals, knowing the sources of your food, etc. You are working to change a small percentage of yourself at a time.
I won't throw the whole baby out with the wash though. There has been health benefits to intermittent fasting. Meaning not for extended periods and very infrequent. It's also the same benefits you get from a small portioned diet as well.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
You Are...
You are not getting fat because you are eating more. You are eating more because you are getting fat.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Chewing
Try not to drink your calories, try to make sure all your calories come in the form of foods you can chew, not foods that have been pre-chewed for you (processed foods).
Monday, January 31, 2011
Obesity Is A Symptom
People who have struggled with obesity issues have often said they gained weight due to stress or emotion. Or some stressful emotional period caused an increase in unhealthy weight gain.
A lot of times weight and obesity is a symptom of some greater underlying issue. Even if you get skinny, if that root cause is not dealt with, either the weight will come back or the issue will manifest itself in some other way.
It's all about lifestyle change. If your lifestyle doesn't change, your body can change all it wants but it will either revert back or come back in the form of some other compulsion. Managing your life, how you deal with your life, will manage your body, and your mind.
A lot of times weight and obesity is a symptom of some greater underlying issue. Even if you get skinny, if that root cause is not dealt with, either the weight will come back or the issue will manifest itself in some other way.
It's all about lifestyle change. If your lifestyle doesn't change, your body can change all it wants but it will either revert back or come back in the form of some other compulsion. Managing your life, how you deal with your life, will manage your body, and your mind.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
A Pound Of Fat
Let's dispel some myths here and do some proper measuring. 1 pound of muscle is not heavier than 1 pound of fat. A pound is a pound is a pound. 1 pound of muscle is just less mass than 1 pound of fat, we are measuring mass here not weight. Using the wrong terms for the wrong things.
When people who are working out and they happen to gain weight, someone will always says, well you gained muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat. If 1 pound of fat turns into 1 pound of muscle, it's a wash and there should be no weight change. Their science makes no sense. If they gained weight, it has nothing to do with conversion of fat to muscle, and everything to do with what they have been eating and drinking and what they did the previous week. We already covered what happens with weight based on diet. Let me go over another issue.
Some people put on weight typically after some initial weight loss, and so as to not get discouraged someone will say, "oh but muscle weighs more than fat." If they can't even measure weight of fat and muscle, how will they measure your weight? Even on The Biggest Loser, they always lose the most weight the first week and have far lower numbers the next. They say it's because their bodies adapted to the work out and is not burning weight. No. Their bodies do not adapt that quickly.
A pound of fat has 3,500 calories. Most people won't even burn that running a full marathon. Waitaminute, most people don't even eat that much in a day. How are you supposed to burn that much off? How can someone lose a pound a day? A big key is the difference between losing a pound and burning a pound. If someone were able to burn 3,500 a day, not only would they probably die of malnutrition (because basically none of the food they ate was ever stored but all used and then some), but if that didn't get them exhaustion would. So what happens? The only way you will drop weight that fast, as any professional boxer, or wrestler knows, is through water weight. They sweated all that weight off. So there will be some real fat that has been burned off, but a majority of the weight will be from water loss. So they may still have the same amount of fat and muscle, but just less water in their body. Now what?
So let's say they lost 5lbs in one week. Second week they either didn't lose any weight or they gained a pound or two. What happened? Homeostasis happened. Meaning their body has to go back to their natural state. The water you lost has to be put back, you're body is in debt. You may look thinner but it's not that you lost fat, you are just more drawn in and water will fill you back in. So it's not muscle weighs more than fat, it's that you lost a lot of water weight initially, and naturally your body has to get it back. Losing weight and changing how you look are two different things. You can lose 10lbs and look exactly if just losing weight is what you are after. I mean you can get an enema and easily lose that much. But it is not real weight loss, you still have the same amount of fat, and you will look the same, and your measurements will be the same (except for around your intestines). If it was just about weight, you could chop off a limb and be much lighter. But that's not what they mean, when people say they want to lose weight, they mean they want to lose fat. It can't be any kind of weight, like loss in organs, blood, muscle, limbs, and even water. Real weight, real loss of fat happens slowly and is more long lasting. Quick weight loss is not real weight loss and easy to put back on (and has a lot more sagging skin).
Or what if you lose all this weight, but you can never see your abs? Yet other people your weight can see their abs. What gives??? So it's not about calories, it's not about weight. There is a critical difference between weighing less and being lean. One is about numbers on a scale. The other is about how you look. Two reasons people want to work out, for looks or performance and weight is a bi-product of that. Not the other way around. I've seen so many people who've lost so much weight who not only look terrible (though somehow if you lose a lot of weight people are obligated to say you look great even if you do not) they are also not athletic at all. Being lighter, looking good, performing, 3 different things. You can have a combination of all three but it's a gradient with being lighter at the bottom. People seem to assume if you are lighter, you will look good, and perform well. That is actually an upside down pyramid. If you perform well, you will look good, and be lighter. It trickles down that way (with some exceptions).
You can easily be light and fat and nonathletic. The goal is always the same. Be as lean and strong as possible. And remember to measure the right things with the right tools.
When people who are working out and they happen to gain weight, someone will always says, well you gained muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat. If 1 pound of fat turns into 1 pound of muscle, it's a wash and there should be no weight change. Their science makes no sense. If they gained weight, it has nothing to do with conversion of fat to muscle, and everything to do with what they have been eating and drinking and what they did the previous week. We already covered what happens with weight based on diet. Let me go over another issue.
Some people put on weight typically after some initial weight loss, and so as to not get discouraged someone will say, "oh but muscle weighs more than fat." If they can't even measure weight of fat and muscle, how will they measure your weight? Even on The Biggest Loser, they always lose the most weight the first week and have far lower numbers the next. They say it's because their bodies adapted to the work out and is not burning weight. No. Their bodies do not adapt that quickly.
A pound of fat has 3,500 calories. Most people won't even burn that running a full marathon. Waitaminute, most people don't even eat that much in a day. How are you supposed to burn that much off? How can someone lose a pound a day? A big key is the difference between losing a pound and burning a pound. If someone were able to burn 3,500 a day, not only would they probably die of malnutrition (because basically none of the food they ate was ever stored but all used and then some), but if that didn't get them exhaustion would. So what happens? The only way you will drop weight that fast, as any professional boxer, or wrestler knows, is through water weight. They sweated all that weight off. So there will be some real fat that has been burned off, but a majority of the weight will be from water loss. So they may still have the same amount of fat and muscle, but just less water in their body. Now what?
So let's say they lost 5lbs in one week. Second week they either didn't lose any weight or they gained a pound or two. What happened? Homeostasis happened. Meaning their body has to go back to their natural state. The water you lost has to be put back, you're body is in debt. You may look thinner but it's not that you lost fat, you are just more drawn in and water will fill you back in. So it's not muscle weighs more than fat, it's that you lost a lot of water weight initially, and naturally your body has to get it back. Losing weight and changing how you look are two different things. You can lose 10lbs and look exactly if just losing weight is what you are after. I mean you can get an enema and easily lose that much. But it is not real weight loss, you still have the same amount of fat, and you will look the same, and your measurements will be the same (except for around your intestines). If it was just about weight, you could chop off a limb and be much lighter. But that's not what they mean, when people say they want to lose weight, they mean they want to lose fat. It can't be any kind of weight, like loss in organs, blood, muscle, limbs, and even water. Real weight, real loss of fat happens slowly and is more long lasting. Quick weight loss is not real weight loss and easy to put back on (and has a lot more sagging skin).
Or what if you lose all this weight, but you can never see your abs? Yet other people your weight can see their abs. What gives??? So it's not about calories, it's not about weight. There is a critical difference between weighing less and being lean. One is about numbers on a scale. The other is about how you look. Two reasons people want to work out, for looks or performance and weight is a bi-product of that. Not the other way around. I've seen so many people who've lost so much weight who not only look terrible (though somehow if you lose a lot of weight people are obligated to say you look great even if you do not) they are also not athletic at all. Being lighter, looking good, performing, 3 different things. You can have a combination of all three but it's a gradient with being lighter at the bottom. People seem to assume if you are lighter, you will look good, and perform well. That is actually an upside down pyramid. If you perform well, you will look good, and be lighter. It trickles down that way (with some exceptions).
You can easily be light and fat and nonathletic. The goal is always the same. Be as lean and strong as possible. And remember to measure the right things with the right tools.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Why We Get Fat
So I think this is a good moment to go over why we get fat. Now this is not the absolute law as their are conditions and other factors, but this is generally how it happens.
Our blood sugar rises when we intake food. More food, more blood sugar. Which isn't always a bad thing as long as the body has enough time to deal with the blood sugar. You see high blood sugar is toxic to the body and it will kill you (being too low is also dangerous). It's what diabetics fear. But not to worry, our bodies are so perfectly engineered. We release insulin to bring down the blood sugar and bring balance to our bodies. Now insulin can only handle so much at a time. So as to not be overwhelmed it will start to store the excess blood sugar into fat. Over time with high blood sugar, our cells become resistant to insulin. Which then forces our body to produce more, more sugar gets stored into fat, and it becomes a vicious cycle and we get fat.
It's all about how much and how fast. So foods that are processed, foods with high glycemic index will cause a rapid insulin response. Now having said all that, like I've said before nothing in our body is bad, it's only when things get out of balance its bad. Having fat is not a bad thing, it's the overabundance of it that is bad.
Our blood sugar rises when we intake food. More food, more blood sugar. Which isn't always a bad thing as long as the body has enough time to deal with the blood sugar. You see high blood sugar is toxic to the body and it will kill you (being too low is also dangerous). It's what diabetics fear. But not to worry, our bodies are so perfectly engineered. We release insulin to bring down the blood sugar and bring balance to our bodies. Now insulin can only handle so much at a time. So as to not be overwhelmed it will start to store the excess blood sugar into fat. Over time with high blood sugar, our cells become resistant to insulin. Which then forces our body to produce more, more sugar gets stored into fat, and it becomes a vicious cycle and we get fat.
It's all about how much and how fast. So foods that are processed, foods with high glycemic index will cause a rapid insulin response. Now having said all that, like I've said before nothing in our body is bad, it's only when things get out of balance its bad. Having fat is not a bad thing, it's the overabundance of it that is bad.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
The Idea Of A Calorie
As I've mentioned before in previous posts, when dealing with your body and fitness, you have to treat yourself as a student scientist. If you have ever taken chemistry class before (or almost any science class) you would know that calorie is a scientific term, not a fitness, "health," or marketing term.
It was first defined by Nicolas Clément in the 1800s. It is a way to measure heat energy. Meaning calories needed to increase the temperature of water. For our purposes we don't need to know more than that. Somehow though, it is now most often referred in a nonscientific way, but in a fitness marketing way. When people say calories, they don't mean units of energy needed to increase water temperature by 1 °C. They mean the idea of a calorie. Not what it really is, what they think it is. It's now a way to measure weight gain and loss, it's changed from a unit of energy, to a unit of human mass. When trainers, or people on TV, or your friend says calories, they no longer are using it in a scientific way but mean it in some pseudo scientific way.
Anything that burns has calories. Grass has calories, cardboard has calories, wood has calories, etc. How will that help us in an attempt to modify our bodies? Calories does not paint a clear picture at all. For example, how can one person eat a double burger 3 times a day and not gain weight, while his friend can just look at a double burger and put on 2lbs? Another example is how can two people who are the same height, both be training for a marathon in the same way, yet one person starts to look like the classic lean long distance runner, while the other is still relatively chubby? Even if their run times are the same? The claim you the other person is lucky, or they have great genes, or it's some form of magic. So the idea of calorie is more based on magic than science?
Let's take that further. A 150lb person will likely burn 2,600 calories running a marathon. A pound of fat is 3,500. So after all that work you maybe burn 3/4 of a pound? Most intense gym work outs will burn 300 calories. That's not enough to even keep up with a normal appetite. So whats the alternative? Starve? That's what happens when you play this irrational game. You either work yourself out to death, or you starve yourself, or you do both. Then they make it more confusing and tell you no, don't starve yourself that's bad for you. But too many calories are also bad. So how does anyone succeed? Of course this will have a high failure rate, what human can do this? Maybe a few, those few will come out with products to say you can be like them? But come on, there's a reason there's only a select few who do it, otherwise we would all be writing books. Because they did something outside of the norm, outside of our nature. Otherwise these products would no longer be needed because we would all get skinny. But high failure rate is on their side, and it becomes very profitable.
Calories is great to measure heat. Terrible in determining weight gain or loss. How many times have you killed yourself all week not to lose weight? Or inversely not gain weight if you are looking to bulk up? How many times have you seen on TV on some fat loss show, someone who is being starved, worked out 8 hours a day, monitored 24/7 still put on weight? People still must be in the dark ages it seems. There's probably nothing wrong with you or the people on the show. Most likely everyone is putting in a great effort, there is something wrong with the system, the institution of calories. You can eat some of the most processed, unnatural, chemically treated food, as long as its low calories. Somehow the chemicals in cigarettes are bad, but the chemicals in some food are good because they are low in calories? It seems the idea of calories is doing us more harm than good and making it a harder uphill battle. There is more and more marketing and education on health based on calories yet we as a population are not getting slimmer.
So first of all not all calories are equal. 500 calories of potato chips and 500 calories of carrots and 500 calories of cardboard will all affect you differently. They all contain different things, some things with calories may even kill you. Why? Because it's about what goes into your bloodstream. You want good things to go into your bloodstream, natural things, naturally occurring things, things that are already in your body. Another issue is net calories. How much of the calories will you absorb. Some people can consume a lot, but will net very little. So meaning how much of it will end up in your blood stream and how much in the toilet? You will find people who hardly put on weight use the bathroom a lot. Because they consume or gross a lot of calories, but net very little, and all the rest will pass through their bodies. Now that it's in your bloodstream, how quickly is it entering your bloodstream? 500 calories of potato chips will enter much quicker than carrots. This will ultimately determine how much is stored as fat, and how much is stored as fuel. This is determined by what kinds of food you eat, the portions of each food, and the combination of foods. So types of food is more important than calories in the food. How our bodies react to food more important than how many calories our body takes in.
Here is the other side: exercise. You never will burn enough calories in exercise to keep up with a healthy and sane diet. So how does that work? It depends on your musculature, more muscles, more energy demand on your body. Your digestive ability is also critical, how efficient it is at absorbing food. Nowadays someone who absorbs food very poorly and stays skinny is considered a superior. In actuality someone who absorbs food very well should be considered superior, it's why our species has survived this long (and its why there are more people who absorb food well than those who do not). To be efficient at absorbing energy and food for later use. But now the portions and dynamics of the things we eat have changed. Beyond just burning energy, which may sometimes be nominal, what's important is what changes it causes in your body. Trying to exercise just to burn calories is a loser's game. Remember the goal of exercise is about change: making your body less prone to injury and redefining how it works. Exercising not so much to try to sweat and burn calories (because if you lack a lot of musculature what are you going to use to burn calories in the first place? Your organs and fat? Better to invest in change first so your body is better equipped in burning calories later) but to exercise to force your body to make adaptations, recruit more muscles, move energy, and most importantly hormonal changes. Your body will stimulate hormones to cause changes, hormones is what will ultimately signal change in the first place. The whole point of hormone therapy is to cause a body change right? In women changes to hormones affect weight once a month.
A side note - a lot of people who just train cardio, their bodies will adapt by not making their bodies shrink, but by enlargement of their heart to keep up with the activity, along with inflammation and clotting factors. Which will increase their stroke volume, a long with other heart attack factors. With all things you need to be balanced, because all good things have a diminishing return.
Exercise can burn calories yes. But it can also make your hormones more efficient for weight loss or gain, build more muscles, and muscles that are engaged will move (not burn) more energy quickly through your body. Muscles not only burns calories, it acts as a energy transport. Which gives more incentive just to be active, so our bodies can transport that energy around. Trying to burn just calories through exercise is short term and an uphill battle, investing in change will create the greater dividends.
Trying to count and burn calories is trying to bend your body to this rigid system. Exercising to create change and eating more naturally, bends the system to your body. Work with your body not against it.
It was first defined by Nicolas Clément in the 1800s. It is a way to measure heat energy. Meaning calories needed to increase the temperature of water. For our purposes we don't need to know more than that. Somehow though, it is now most often referred in a nonscientific way, but in a fitness marketing way. When people say calories, they don't mean units of energy needed to increase water temperature by 1 °C. They mean the idea of a calorie. Not what it really is, what they think it is. It's now a way to measure weight gain and loss, it's changed from a unit of energy, to a unit of human mass. When trainers, or people on TV, or your friend says calories, they no longer are using it in a scientific way but mean it in some pseudo scientific way.
Anything that burns has calories. Grass has calories, cardboard has calories, wood has calories, etc. How will that help us in an attempt to modify our bodies? Calories does not paint a clear picture at all. For example, how can one person eat a double burger 3 times a day and not gain weight, while his friend can just look at a double burger and put on 2lbs? Another example is how can two people who are the same height, both be training for a marathon in the same way, yet one person starts to look like the classic lean long distance runner, while the other is still relatively chubby? Even if their run times are the same? The claim you the other person is lucky, or they have great genes, or it's some form of magic. So the idea of calorie is more based on magic than science?
Let's take that further. A 150lb person will likely burn 2,600 calories running a marathon. A pound of fat is 3,500. So after all that work you maybe burn 3/4 of a pound? Most intense gym work outs will burn 300 calories. That's not enough to even keep up with a normal appetite. So whats the alternative? Starve? That's what happens when you play this irrational game. You either work yourself out to death, or you starve yourself, or you do both. Then they make it more confusing and tell you no, don't starve yourself that's bad for you. But too many calories are also bad. So how does anyone succeed? Of course this will have a high failure rate, what human can do this? Maybe a few, those few will come out with products to say you can be like them? But come on, there's a reason there's only a select few who do it, otherwise we would all be writing books. Because they did something outside of the norm, outside of our nature. Otherwise these products would no longer be needed because we would all get skinny. But high failure rate is on their side, and it becomes very profitable.
Calories is great to measure heat. Terrible in determining weight gain or loss. How many times have you killed yourself all week not to lose weight? Or inversely not gain weight if you are looking to bulk up? How many times have you seen on TV on some fat loss show, someone who is being starved, worked out 8 hours a day, monitored 24/7 still put on weight? People still must be in the dark ages it seems. There's probably nothing wrong with you or the people on the show. Most likely everyone is putting in a great effort, there is something wrong with the system, the institution of calories. You can eat some of the most processed, unnatural, chemically treated food, as long as its low calories. Somehow the chemicals in cigarettes are bad, but the chemicals in some food are good because they are low in calories? It seems the idea of calories is doing us more harm than good and making it a harder uphill battle. There is more and more marketing and education on health based on calories yet we as a population are not getting slimmer.
So first of all not all calories are equal. 500 calories of potato chips and 500 calories of carrots and 500 calories of cardboard will all affect you differently. They all contain different things, some things with calories may even kill you. Why? Because it's about what goes into your bloodstream. You want good things to go into your bloodstream, natural things, naturally occurring things, things that are already in your body. Another issue is net calories. How much of the calories will you absorb. Some people can consume a lot, but will net very little. So meaning how much of it will end up in your blood stream and how much in the toilet? You will find people who hardly put on weight use the bathroom a lot. Because they consume or gross a lot of calories, but net very little, and all the rest will pass through their bodies. Now that it's in your bloodstream, how quickly is it entering your bloodstream? 500 calories of potato chips will enter much quicker than carrots. This will ultimately determine how much is stored as fat, and how much is stored as fuel. This is determined by what kinds of food you eat, the portions of each food, and the combination of foods. So types of food is more important than calories in the food. How our bodies react to food more important than how many calories our body takes in.
Here is the other side: exercise. You never will burn enough calories in exercise to keep up with a healthy and sane diet. So how does that work? It depends on your musculature, more muscles, more energy demand on your body. Your digestive ability is also critical, how efficient it is at absorbing food. Nowadays someone who absorbs food very poorly and stays skinny is considered a superior. In actuality someone who absorbs food very well should be considered superior, it's why our species has survived this long (and its why there are more people who absorb food well than those who do not). To be efficient at absorbing energy and food for later use. But now the portions and dynamics of the things we eat have changed. Beyond just burning energy, which may sometimes be nominal, what's important is what changes it causes in your body. Trying to exercise just to burn calories is a loser's game. Remember the goal of exercise is about change: making your body less prone to injury and redefining how it works. Exercising not so much to try to sweat and burn calories (because if you lack a lot of musculature what are you going to use to burn calories in the first place? Your organs and fat? Better to invest in change first so your body is better equipped in burning calories later) but to exercise to force your body to make adaptations, recruit more muscles, move energy, and most importantly hormonal changes. Your body will stimulate hormones to cause changes, hormones is what will ultimately signal change in the first place. The whole point of hormone therapy is to cause a body change right? In women changes to hormones affect weight once a month.
A side note - a lot of people who just train cardio, their bodies will adapt by not making their bodies shrink, but by enlargement of their heart to keep up with the activity, along with inflammation and clotting factors. Which will increase their stroke volume, a long with other heart attack factors. With all things you need to be balanced, because all good things have a diminishing return.
Exercise can burn calories yes. But it can also make your hormones more efficient for weight loss or gain, build more muscles, and muscles that are engaged will move (not burn) more energy quickly through your body. Muscles not only burns calories, it acts as a energy transport. Which gives more incentive just to be active, so our bodies can transport that energy around. Trying to burn just calories through exercise is short term and an uphill battle, investing in change will create the greater dividends.
Trying to count and burn calories is trying to bend your body to this rigid system. Exercising to create change and eating more naturally, bends the system to your body. Work with your body not against it.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Accounting In Fat Loss
In accounting there are terms called FILO and LIFO. What they mean in is First In Last Out and Last In First Out. Typically meaning the inventory or money that first came in is the last thing to go out. The last thing that came in will be the first thing to go out.
This is true with fat loss. People make a lot of money and sell all sorts of things to make you believe you can burn fat off of a specific area, or as its often called spot burn. It's a myth, you can't do it. Our bodies aren't built like that nor would you want it to be like that. It would be inefficient, and if we did have bodies like that we would die off very quickly.
FILO. So in our bodies, wherever we gain inches, weight, fat first is the last area to lose weight. And the last area you gain weight will be the first area you lose weight. Imagine an oil drum, the first area to be filled would be the bottom, so if you drop a hose into the barrel to siphon the oil out, the last area to have oil removed would be the bottom, first being the top.
You can spot grow muscles in an area, but that is different from spot burning but people treat it the same. You can't pick and choose where you burn fat. You can't just burn fat off your arms without burning fat off the rest of your body. Just like you can't burn fat off of one leg without the other. If anything your attempt to try to burn fat off of one leg over the other would make it actually larger than the other leg because you have grown muscle in that area. Hence right handed people have larger right arms and legs because the muscles are bigger.
So spot burning would be equivalent of taking a hose, putting it in the middle of the barrel and siphoning oil out, hoping to just empty the middle. It won't work that way, it's all or nothing and it's always in a specific order.
Fat is just stored energy. If you work only a specific area, your body doesn't care what area is being worked nor should it. It will pull the energy from it's whole body the way it first received it. It would be inefficient if it only tried to draw energy from the area that is being worked. Imagine then areas that people use all the time being completely drained of fat, how would our ancestors ever survived? And if energy is used based on area, some areas would have too much energy, other areas would be completely emptied. Then what would happen? Would that area just die off? You just spot burn all the fat off of your arm until what? You can't use your arm anymore? Or your arm just drains of blood, the nerves die, and your arm falls off? That would be an evolutionary disaster. You are more likely to control fat in your arms through diet than arm exercises. And if you do rely on exercises, working out your legs would burn more fat in your arms than working out your arms.
We don't, we can't spot burn. If a human being could it would be a genetic disorder and would be a nightmare to try to keep them alive. We do grow muscles in overused areas by form of adaptation, to lessen our energy consumption and make that activity more efficient and less taxing. That's what's amazing about our bodies. We often eat and work out in ways though that are counter-intuitive to our evolution and prolonged survival.
This is true with fat loss. People make a lot of money and sell all sorts of things to make you believe you can burn fat off of a specific area, or as its often called spot burn. It's a myth, you can't do it. Our bodies aren't built like that nor would you want it to be like that. It would be inefficient, and if we did have bodies like that we would die off very quickly.
FILO. So in our bodies, wherever we gain inches, weight, fat first is the last area to lose weight. And the last area you gain weight will be the first area you lose weight. Imagine an oil drum, the first area to be filled would be the bottom, so if you drop a hose into the barrel to siphon the oil out, the last area to have oil removed would be the bottom, first being the top.
You can spot grow muscles in an area, but that is different from spot burning but people treat it the same. You can't pick and choose where you burn fat. You can't just burn fat off your arms without burning fat off the rest of your body. Just like you can't burn fat off of one leg without the other. If anything your attempt to try to burn fat off of one leg over the other would make it actually larger than the other leg because you have grown muscle in that area. Hence right handed people have larger right arms and legs because the muscles are bigger.
So spot burning would be equivalent of taking a hose, putting it in the middle of the barrel and siphoning oil out, hoping to just empty the middle. It won't work that way, it's all or nothing and it's always in a specific order.
Fat is just stored energy. If you work only a specific area, your body doesn't care what area is being worked nor should it. It will pull the energy from it's whole body the way it first received it. It would be inefficient if it only tried to draw energy from the area that is being worked. Imagine then areas that people use all the time being completely drained of fat, how would our ancestors ever survived? And if energy is used based on area, some areas would have too much energy, other areas would be completely emptied. Then what would happen? Would that area just die off? You just spot burn all the fat off of your arm until what? You can't use your arm anymore? Or your arm just drains of blood, the nerves die, and your arm falls off? That would be an evolutionary disaster. You are more likely to control fat in your arms through diet than arm exercises. And if you do rely on exercises, working out your legs would burn more fat in your arms than working out your arms.
We don't, we can't spot burn. If a human being could it would be a genetic disorder and would be a nightmare to try to keep them alive. We do grow muscles in overused areas by form of adaptation, to lessen our energy consumption and make that activity more efficient and less taxing. That's what's amazing about our bodies. We often eat and work out in ways though that are counter-intuitive to our evolution and prolonged survival.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Effects of Cold
Cold has always been used in athletics for many purposes. It keeps down swelling, helps with pain, soreness, injury, feeling refreshed, lowering body temperature, etc. It has so many uses. Cold has another affect on our body.
It's the reason why people in cold climates are constantly eating lard, butter, milk, blubber, etc. They need to fatten up because they are constantly burning off their fat reserves to stay warm. Just how it's done with mammals in hibernation. Now imagine someone who lives in a tropical climate eating butter, lard, milk, etc, and you will get a very big person. There are two kinds of fat, brown fat and yellow/white fat. Brown fat is sometimes referred to as good fat and white fat as bad fat. There is no good and bad though if it exists in our body naturally (just like with cholesterol). When they mean it's bad, what they really mean is there is an overabundance of it.
Brown fat's main purpose is to generate body heat. White fat's purpose is to store energy for later use. We all know a fatter person will do better in the cold, the reason why is not simply insulation but also because they have more fat to burn. Brown fat (baby fat) is high in babies, and brown fat naturally goes up when the whether begins to get colder. This is true for all mammals including humans. Check obesity rates for people in cold climates compared to warm climates and you will see a similar trend.
So back to cold. Athletes eat legendary amounts of calories sometimes so much there is no way they will ever burn off all the calories they ate. Yet they stay lean. Michael Phelps is a good example. Which is also a big reason why calories consumed or burned really tells you very little about what you will look like but I will save that for another post.
Athletes use cold a lot. Phelps for example spends extended periods in cold water. Athletes often use ice baths, cold showers, cold drinks, ice packs, etc. People often use heat to lose weight. All heat will do is make you sweat and lose precious water out of your body. Cold is what will force your body to try to increase it's temperature and metabolism. Ever worked out or trained in the cold? Or even gone skiing or snowboarding and get a good sweat going? Notice how that body heat feels different than training in normal conditions or warm conditions?
In the cold, though it takes longer for your body to warm up, your body will burn brown fat to generate heat, and use stored fat as energy to maintain activity to stay warm.
With this all being said, if you try to sit in a meat locker and wait to turn thin, you may freeze to death before this happens. There is also more risk of injury training in cold temperatures. There is no one answer. Everything is a small piece of a bigger picture. You are always going to be dealing with small percentages. Each thing does a little, combine enough things together and you not only have a lifestyle change but a body change.
It's the reason why people in cold climates are constantly eating lard, butter, milk, blubber, etc. They need to fatten up because they are constantly burning off their fat reserves to stay warm. Just how it's done with mammals in hibernation. Now imagine someone who lives in a tropical climate eating butter, lard, milk, etc, and you will get a very big person. There are two kinds of fat, brown fat and yellow/white fat. Brown fat is sometimes referred to as good fat and white fat as bad fat. There is no good and bad though if it exists in our body naturally (just like with cholesterol). When they mean it's bad, what they really mean is there is an overabundance of it.
Brown fat's main purpose is to generate body heat. White fat's purpose is to store energy for later use. We all know a fatter person will do better in the cold, the reason why is not simply insulation but also because they have more fat to burn. Brown fat (baby fat) is high in babies, and brown fat naturally goes up when the whether begins to get colder. This is true for all mammals including humans. Check obesity rates for people in cold climates compared to warm climates and you will see a similar trend.
So back to cold. Athletes eat legendary amounts of calories sometimes so much there is no way they will ever burn off all the calories they ate. Yet they stay lean. Michael Phelps is a good example. Which is also a big reason why calories consumed or burned really tells you very little about what you will look like but I will save that for another post.
Athletes use cold a lot. Phelps for example spends extended periods in cold water. Athletes often use ice baths, cold showers, cold drinks, ice packs, etc. People often use heat to lose weight. All heat will do is make you sweat and lose precious water out of your body. Cold is what will force your body to try to increase it's temperature and metabolism. Ever worked out or trained in the cold? Or even gone skiing or snowboarding and get a good sweat going? Notice how that body heat feels different than training in normal conditions or warm conditions?
In the cold, though it takes longer for your body to warm up, your body will burn brown fat to generate heat, and use stored fat as energy to maintain activity to stay warm.
With this all being said, if you try to sit in a meat locker and wait to turn thin, you may freeze to death before this happens. There is also more risk of injury training in cold temperatures. There is no one answer. Everything is a small piece of a bigger picture. You are always going to be dealing with small percentages. Each thing does a little, combine enough things together and you not only have a lifestyle change but a body change.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Self Experimentation
Do not be afraid to experiment, but use good judgment, be prudent, use common sense. Whether you realize it or not, every time you change your work out, sleep at odd hours, work late, wake up early, drink alcohol, smoke, eat a lot of fruit, get sick, go hike, be in love, just about anything, it affects you, and you are doing an an experiment on yourself. What I am encouraging is to log and control your experiments. That's the birth of everything we know about the body.
In the end no one knows you as well as you know yourself because no one spends as much time with you as yourself. A doctor can only tell you so much off of your symptoms but they are also not following you around all day to see what you are doing to yourself. Not only that but there is a big difference between doctors and scientists. Scientists do experiments to figure something out then teach it to doctors, doctors go apply this new information.
For instance if you have problems sleeping, look at days when you did sleep well. What was different? Did you eat something different? Eat later? Earlier? Different mind set? Did not nap? Took a bath? Etc. Or how eating breakfast or skipping breakfast affects your weight. How cardio affects your body as opposed to weight training? If you believe weight training alone will make you bigger, how will you know unless you try it?
The same is true for trainers. Everyone is different, every time they do something with a client they should log and see what happens and make adjustments based on their findings. If workouts and routines and changed randomly, how will you track anything? Any trainer needs to be more scientist and less a cheerleader.
In the end no one knows you as well as you know yourself because no one spends as much time with you as yourself. A doctor can only tell you so much off of your symptoms but they are also not following you around all day to see what you are doing to yourself. Not only that but there is a big difference between doctors and scientists. Scientists do experiments to figure something out then teach it to doctors, doctors go apply this new information.
For instance if you have problems sleeping, look at days when you did sleep well. What was different? Did you eat something different? Eat later? Earlier? Different mind set? Did not nap? Took a bath? Etc. Or how eating breakfast or skipping breakfast affects your weight. How cardio affects your body as opposed to weight training? If you believe weight training alone will make you bigger, how will you know unless you try it?
The same is true for trainers. Everyone is different, every time they do something with a client they should log and see what happens and make adjustments based on their findings. If workouts and routines and changed randomly, how will you track anything? Any trainer needs to be more scientist and less a cheerleader.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Taking Classes
Taking classes at the gym is not a bad thing especially if your other option is doing nothing or you have a hard time with motivation, or you just want to sweat and have fun. I feel classes as a tool though is only effective and useful in a few settings.
In skill building, for example: classes in Olympic Lifts, Kettlebells, Pilates, Yoga, Martial Arts and sport fighting. The smaller the class the more affective they become, and of course if you work one on one it's even better, except for possibly martial arts and sport fighting where you will need sparring partners. What is unique is martial arts and sport fighting needs sparring partners the most, but martial artists and sport fighters like boxers appreciate one on one training more than anyone else. Whether paying for one on one time with a boxing coach or taking private lessons from a black belt.
Classes in general are not designed for max results, but to maximize use of space and available equipment. This is not just true for classes but also for boot camps. At one time I did a lot of boot camps but after a while I stopped doing them. I realized it was not efficient and scientific enough. I had to spend too much time on the most deconditioned, and could not focus completely on the rest of the class. If it's not just nonstop running around the class will lose focus. Form starts to go out the window, the most common problem is overextending. And really the members getting results did not truly come from the boot camps but everything they did outside of boot camps. It was easy to see the people who would do well. They were always the people who would do well regardless, had found some motivation, set a plan, and began to do it. The good thing about the boot camp though was making friends, sense of camaraderie, and the social aspect. A lot of times the members went to eat right after, hell so did I.
Classes are cheap to do and highly profitable. They aren't about maximizing results, it's about maximizing space and time for profit. Basically even if you are paying 10 bucks a class. Economically it's renting a 2x2 sq. ft of space for $10 for one hour. As many of those spots they can sell, and as much sweat induced in that hour, the better. Also the students are interchangeable, and can be easily replaced, and so do not need to be monitored, nor is it possible to monitor their progress. Like I told you the goal of training is always is injury prevention and rehabilitation. Those are hard goals to keep in a large class. The teacher also has no idea about who is injured, the safety of the attendees are is in their own hands. If that is the case they might as well work out on their own.
To get into any shape, you need lots of space, the right equipment (don't believe the hype that you can get in shape with any equipment or even no equipment, all scientists need tools and equipment), logging and data tracking, a plan, and a coach/guide. No one does it alone. No one. Either their guide in the form of a real person working with them one on one, a teacher in a class, a teacher in the past, a DVD, a book, a magazine article or series of magazine articles, or an amalgam of advice from different people. All of those are guides but not all equal in value. The hard part is finding the right guide, as all of them want your money.
I have no definitive way to find a good guide. The approach I have always taken is the scientific one. Meaning I try them all out and make notes for comparison. I am an expert on all the work outs that don't work, diets that don't work, forms of rehabilitation that don't work because I've already tried them. Once I was speaking to one of my friends about a certain piece of modern equipment, because he heard it was the next big thing. I told him a lot about it and in the end told him it was crap. He said how do I know so much about it then (because most people form negative opinions about things they know nothing about)? Because I went out and tried it, studied it, and got certified in it just to be sure it was crap and taught him how to make it at home with stuff from home depot.
DO NOT BE AFRAID TO EXPERIMENT. Whether you know it or not, you are always doing experiments on your body, you are just not logging any of the results.
In skill building, for example: classes in Olympic Lifts, Kettlebells, Pilates, Yoga, Martial Arts and sport fighting. The smaller the class the more affective they become, and of course if you work one on one it's even better, except for possibly martial arts and sport fighting where you will need sparring partners. What is unique is martial arts and sport fighting needs sparring partners the most, but martial artists and sport fighters like boxers appreciate one on one training more than anyone else. Whether paying for one on one time with a boxing coach or taking private lessons from a black belt.
Classes in general are not designed for max results, but to maximize use of space and available equipment. This is not just true for classes but also for boot camps. At one time I did a lot of boot camps but after a while I stopped doing them. I realized it was not efficient and scientific enough. I had to spend too much time on the most deconditioned, and could not focus completely on the rest of the class. If it's not just nonstop running around the class will lose focus. Form starts to go out the window, the most common problem is overextending. And really the members getting results did not truly come from the boot camps but everything they did outside of boot camps. It was easy to see the people who would do well. They were always the people who would do well regardless, had found some motivation, set a plan, and began to do it. The good thing about the boot camp though was making friends, sense of camaraderie, and the social aspect. A lot of times the members went to eat right after, hell so did I.
Classes are cheap to do and highly profitable. They aren't about maximizing results, it's about maximizing space and time for profit. Basically even if you are paying 10 bucks a class. Economically it's renting a 2x2 sq. ft of space for $10 for one hour. As many of those spots they can sell, and as much sweat induced in that hour, the better. Also the students are interchangeable, and can be easily replaced, and so do not need to be monitored, nor is it possible to monitor their progress. Like I told you the goal of training is always is injury prevention and rehabilitation. Those are hard goals to keep in a large class. The teacher also has no idea about who is injured, the safety of the attendees are is in their own hands. If that is the case they might as well work out on their own.
To get into any shape, you need lots of space, the right equipment (don't believe the hype that you can get in shape with any equipment or even no equipment, all scientists need tools and equipment), logging and data tracking, a plan, and a coach/guide. No one does it alone. No one. Either their guide in the form of a real person working with them one on one, a teacher in a class, a teacher in the past, a DVD, a book, a magazine article or series of magazine articles, or an amalgam of advice from different people. All of those are guides but not all equal in value. The hard part is finding the right guide, as all of them want your money.
I have no definitive way to find a good guide. The approach I have always taken is the scientific one. Meaning I try them all out and make notes for comparison. I am an expert on all the work outs that don't work, diets that don't work, forms of rehabilitation that don't work because I've already tried them. Once I was speaking to one of my friends about a certain piece of modern equipment, because he heard it was the next big thing. I told him a lot about it and in the end told him it was crap. He said how do I know so much about it then (because most people form negative opinions about things they know nothing about)? Because I went out and tried it, studied it, and got certified in it just to be sure it was crap and taught him how to make it at home with stuff from home depot.
DO NOT BE AFRAID TO EXPERIMENT. Whether you know it or not, you are always doing experiments on your body, you are just not logging any of the results.
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