Clasp of Hollow Hands

Beavis and Butthead giggled their way onto T.V. sets all across America, everyone was dancing to the hip sounds of The Macarena, and droves of SUV’s started roaming the streets all across the country.

It was the 1990s.

In comes Benny.

His was a Ford Explorer or other. It was oversized, commanding, and ornate. All the qualities he desired but lacked.

He parked the alter ego in a handicapped spot and made his way to the gym.

The door swiftly came open and there stood Benny in the threshold. The entrance was somewhat dramatic. Frothy smoke bellying up all around him was the only effect missing for a complete scene.

Benny was dressed to the nines. He was sporting a new urban street track suit. Thoughts of him auditioning for a role in the hit series The Sopranos or just getting back from a hip hop convention crossed our minds.

He was styling.

“Wasup” was voiced by the nylon pimp. We could only exchange welcomes with grunts; squats were taking their toll on us.

Joking, sarcasm, and brotherly love was the atmosphere and the hot topic quickly turned to Benny’s new get-up. It was a boisterous sort of green color with purple stripes parading down the forepart of his jacket. He must have been professionally fitted, for it fit him like a glove.

We on the other hand were fashion wrecks. Our fashion statement was that of mismatched, torn, and chalk-sooted garb.

Versace would have turned over in his grave.

We weren’t there to look good. We were there to lift.

Presses were up next so we huddled around the sacramental bench and began our ritualistic strength ceremony. Numbers were blared out, plates were exchanged, and effort emitted.

Just then a ring filled the air.

Benny dipped a hand inside his jacket pocket and pulled out his new mobile phone. It was the beginning of the (perpetual) contact era and Benny bought into it.

An invitation to join us was almost exuded but…

we quickly realized that curling his jittery phone up to his ear with each call made or received was the only kind of lifting Benny would be performing that day.

Benny had it all wrong.

Like Benny, I believe most people have it all wrong too.

I believe that too many of us spend too much of our time and energy on the superficial aspects of self (having) rather than core substance (being).

In Karl Marx’s view, the problem with having is that
it produces a false path to happiness through “commodity fetishism”
(Marx 1867). In commodity fetishism goods are worshipped by consumers and
believed to have magical powers to bring happiness, provoking a pervasive
expectation that happiness lies in the next purchase, or, “I would be
happy if I could just have …” (Belk).

Here’s an example of the feeling of identity invested in material objects according to Ames. I believe many of us secretly hold these exact feelings-

They knew from experience that purchasing a major
object could be a significant and momentous occasion in itself, a time of
heightened positive emotions and feelings of well-being and importance a major
purchase would transform them in their own eyes and in the eyes of others. They
would become worth more . . . and acquire greater status. By so doing they
would receive more respect and deference from others which would, in turn, make
them feel better about themselves. [pp. 30 -31]

Yet another example of misdirected, better yet false, intentions can be seen in the footage and lyrics Billionaire by Travis McCoy featuring Bruno Mars.

This is the no talent garbage that the music industry is pumping out in order to convince society, especially its vulnerable youth, false aspirations to a happy life.

Money, power, and fame equals happiness right?

Bruno Mars

I wanna be a billionaire so frickin bad

Buy all of the things I never had

I wanna be on the cover of Forbes Magazine

Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen

Oh every time I close my eyes

I see my name in shining lights, yeaaah

A different city every night oh I swear

The world better prepare for when I’m a billionaire

Travie McCoy

Yeah I would have a show like Oprah

I would be the host of

Everyday Christmas give Travie a wish list

I’d probably pull an Angelina and Brad Pitt

and adopt a bunch of babies that ain’t never had sh!t

Give away a few Mercedes like here lady have this

And last but not least grant somebody their last wish

It’s been a couple months since I’ve single so

You can call me Travie Claus minus the ho-ho

Get it, I’d probably visit where Katrina hit

And damn sure do a lot more than FEMA did

Yeah can’t forget about me stupid

Everywhere I go Imma have my own theme music

Bruno Mars

Oh every time I close my eyes

I see my name in shining lights

A different city every night oh I swear

The world better prepare for when I’m a billionaire

(oooh ooh) when I’m a Billionaire

(oooh ooooh)

Travie McCoy

I’ll be playing basketball with the President

Dunking on his delegates

Senator … his political etiquette

Toss a couple milli in the air just for the heck of it

But keep the fives, twenty’s …completely separate

And yeah I’ll be in a whole new tax bracket

We in recession but let me take a crack at it

I’ll probably take whatever left and just split it up

So everybody that I love can have a couple bucks

And not a single tummy around me

Would know what hungry was

Eating good sleeping soundly

I know we all have a similar dream

Go in your pocket pull out your wallet

And put it in the air and sing

Bruno Mars

I wanna be a billionaire so frickin bad (so bad)

Buy all of the things I never had

I wanna be on the cover of Forbes Magazine

Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen

Oh every time I close my eyes

I see my name in shining lights

A different city every night oh I swear

The world better prepare for when I’m a billionaire

(oooh ooh sing it) when I’m a Billionaire

(oooh ooooh)

I wanna be a billionaire so frickin bad

End-

What is the message that “Travie” or more specifically the music industry is trying to convey?

That happiness is only attainable if you have a boatload of money.

Come on!

Substance, according to my beliefs, is the true makeup of who we are and is where applied effort should be focused.

Working on bettering our integrity, authenticity, civility, generosity, sensitivity, and a host of other personal traits should be what concerns us.

We should be doing the complete OPPOSITE of what is expected of us from western civilization.

An over excess of possessions, material, can foster greed, self-indulgence, selfishness, etc.

Remember-

The greater the tendency for the person to rely on material possessions to
constitute self, usually the greater the emptiness in sense of self is likely
felt (Belk).

References

Ames, K. L. (1984). Material culture as nonverbal communication: a historical case study. In American Material Culture: The Shape of Things Around Us, ed. Edith Mayo, pp. 25-47. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green University Popular Press.

Belk, Russell. “Are We What We Own?” Web.
http://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/tingle/courses/W2ACE/AREWE2.pdf.

Belk, Russell. (1988). Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research  15 (2):139-168.

The Real Deal

Want to see what weightlifting REAL-ly is all about?

Check out the footage below of Conan Gym in Douala, Cameroon (West Africa).

Back to basics, hard and heavy, and comradeship.

I love it!

Boxing Hardcore

I received this link from a newsletter sent to me by Brooks Kubik, Physical Culture historian, powerlifting champion, and author.

Below you can see some of photojournalist Nacho Doce’s work.

Talk about hardcore.

This is really some great stuff.

Enjoy!

Boxing their own worst enemy

Nacho Doce

http://blogs.reuters.com/photo/2011/04/07/boxing-their-own-worst-enemy/

On some of my first trips around Sao Paulo after moving here, I caught
glimpses of life under the city’s many highway viaducts, whether it was of
people storing recyclable waste or even living under the bridges. I refer to my
roaming excursions in this city as “trips,” because this massive city of nearly
20 million inhabitants is a world in itself.

One day, as I gradually widened my geographic range and knowledge of my new
city, I spotted people practicing sports under one bridge. It was a brief view
but long enough to register in my mind. So when I read soon after about a boxing
school under a viaduct and went to search it out, I realized immediately it was
the same one I had spotted that day.

Under the bridge I met former pro boxer Nilson Garrido, the founder and owner
of the school. Six years ago Garrido started a project in which he created
several boxing academies under the viaducts of Sao Paulo. His goal was to take
the sport to the poor and marginalized population. In the meantime the project
attracted other people who started to contribute a small monthly fee for the use
of the gym.

The Boxing Academies of Garrido adopt primitive training equipment that he
developed himself during his years as a coach; plastic containers turned into
punching bags, heavy rocks used for weightlifting and abdominal workouts,
vehicle motor shafts for exercise bars, truck tires as weights for resistance
training.

Today Garrido manages and lives in the academy under the Alcantara Machado
viaduct, part of which receives donations of more modern sports equipment, and
where they are developing other activities besides boxing, such as gymnastics,
skating and biking. The ring is located under a section of the overpass that
doubles as a parking lot.

One day, as I sat ringside waiting for the arrival of present and future
athletes, Gorilla and Talent appeared. Those are the nicknames of two normal,
simple people who practically live there with their enormous desire to grow into
boxers. As we got to talking they asked me if I knew of anyone who could treat
them to “vitaminas,” a word that means vitamins but that they use to refer to
the protein drinks commonly used by boxers and weight-lifters. I thought they
were talking about fruit and vegetable juices, so I took them out to a nearby
stand to drink one. That one juice quickly turned into a daily habit during
their breaks from training. That was the perfect time for them to tell me about
their personal lives, their children and the child support they were paying from
their meager incomes.

The effort these athletes put in with the primitive training methods is
fascinating. I could feel the fatigue resulting from their incredible effort,
their sweating bodies, and their jolts of adrenaline. As the days passed it
dawned on me that economically, these people were truly needy, and that they
were lucky to have this place to practice sports and to be able to dream of
becoming boxers.

Others whose situation touched me were a student named Laercio and his
trainer Mauricio. Laercio almost never spoke, but when Mauricio arrived they had
long conversations before and during the session.

One day I put my camera down ringside and spent the time listening to them
carefully. Laercio arrived to train and Mauricio fired a question at him. “What
is the greatest conquest?”

Laercio looked at him without responding, so Mauricio answered his own
question. “The control of your emotions,” he said.

Laercio never stopped looking at his mentor, who continued the questions.

“Who is your greatest adversary?”

More silence.

“We, ourselves,” responded Mauricio. “Training is our best medicine. This is
the present. The future is in our imagination.”

Silence again, and Mauricio said, “Start with the mirror and confront
yourself first.” That’s when I realized that Mauricio’s phrases weren’t only
about sport, but rather about training for life itself.

I looked at my camera lying on the side of the ring, and began to compare it
to Mauricio’s mirror. I asked myself, “Do I use my camera to present my
subjects, or to represent them?”

Reduction Adduction What’s Your Function

Benny seemed naively content in the obstetrician like chair doing the now you see it now you don’t with his lower limbs. I was profoundly perplexed.

I had my music muffs on pacing back and forth between the squat rack and the bench press with Zack de la Rocha from Rage Against the Machine screaming in my ears.

I was set on hitting a new PR that day so I was psyching myself up to bury some weight.

Benny however broke my concentration (the gall) because he wanted to know if the contraption he was in was of any use.

To answer Benny’s question I asked him if he wanted to hear the truth or niceties.

“The truth” Benny boasted.

So the truth it was.

“That machine would be better off melted down and converted into a power rack. There you could do wide stance squats where your adductors would get hit in a more “functional” manner,” I decreed.

“What is it that you’re trying to do anyways?” I continued.

Benny was speechless. He really didn’t know. Embarrassment entered his being and
showed its’ presence on his face.

Trimming my inner thighs? He would have been ridiculed for such a statement.

As you may have guessed, the exercise machine in question is the seated hip adduction machine.

Why?

Many female gym goers (as well as imprudent “males”) plop themselves down on said devices thinking that they can reduce the girth of their inner thighs.

Now hear this!

There is no such thing as spot reduction!

Doing endless sets and reps of sit-ups, crunches, kickbacks, hip abduction, and hip
adduction exercises will not reduce fat in the exercised area.

Fat is lost throughout the body in a pattern dependent on your genetics, hormones, and age.

Exercising a muscle doesn’t burn the fat covering it.

Contrarily, building muscle underneath fat will only increase the size of the area you wish reduced.

Counterproductive isn’t it?

Benny hopped off the lady lounge and made his way to the Smith machine. I shook my head, hit my PR, and packed away my weightlifting gear.

Goooo Team!

All I could do to make it stop was to either run out into open traffic or put my earphones on. I opted for the latter.

I made it to the gym early this morning and all I could hear was the aerobics instructor’s high whining voice. She sounded like a revved-up high school cheerleader and it was eating at my brain.

The mirrored sliding door was slightly open and I could see a handful of girls stomping and bopping and jumping and bumping. It looked like a crazy dance routine and the energy was flowing.

The class soon came to a finish when a round of applause filled the air as if Isaac Stern just got done playing a violin concerto at Carnegie Hall.

A stream of smiley and sweaty students tiredly evacuated the aerobics room leaving an air of accomplishment behind.

I just finished a set of partial deadlifts and watched the estrogen parade as I rested.

As I analyzed the diehard dance demons, I thought to myself why haven’t many of these girls lost any weight after such repeated effort.

I’m not going to lie to you, classes do work for weight loss after all it is a form of exercise.

However if your diet isn’t in check, you can bebop till the cows come home, but your weight loss goals might as well be put out to pasture.

Now the sciency part-

In 2003 researchers analyzed data from the 1998 National Health Interview Survey, which was conducted through face-to-face interviews of a nationally representative
sample of U.S. adults (n =32,440) [1].

The results were rather perplexing. Only one-third of all those trying to lose weight
reported eating fewer calories and exercising more. However the most common
strategies among those trying to lose weight were eating fewer calories, eating less fat, and exercising more.

I guess the old adage- saying and doing are two different things- stands to reason here.

The researchers concluded by stating, “increased efforts are needed to promote effective weight-loss strategies among those who are obese and to promote the use of
calorie reduction along with increased physical activity in those who attempt weight loss.”

You see folks, you can’t expect results by just attending a couple of exercise classes per week and then chowing down like a crazed wilder beast.

It just ain’t gonna happen.

Check out the video below for a (exercise vs. eating) comparison.

References

1.  Kruger J, et al. Attempting to Lose Weight: Specific Practices Among U.S. Adults. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2004; 26 (5): 402-406. Available online:
http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com/pdfs/journals/0749-3797/PIIS0749379704000285.pdf

Ditch the Pink Dumbbells

In this testosterone laden blog I have yet to post an article that is aimed specifically towards women. Even though the information contained within may seem intended just for men, women can benefit from the information as well.

You will come to see what I mean shortly.

Fitness professionals, exercise gurus, and even Joe Bench Press down at the local Gold’s Gym have recommended, for years, that women, in their quest for weight loss and body metamorphosis, follow a “starvation” diet, perform copious amounts of cardiovascular work, and train with ridiculously light weights.

As a result, we have gyms across the country packed with disillusioned members obtaining objectionable results.

How this popular but questionable exercise prescription came about, I can only guess at.

Maybe the recommendation came about from stereotypical reasons, that women are weak and fragile (please don’t shoot the messenger). Or maybe it’s the belief that high-repetition training with light weights increases muscle “tone.” Or maybe it’s because weightlifting is deemed such a “masculine” activity that it needed to be “feminized” in order to illicit increased female participation.

Whatever the reasons, we can certainly see that the results are dismal.

Therefore, if you’re going to want extraordinary results, then unordinary measures must be taken. Right?

Let’s get to the meat of the matter.

It doesn’t matter if your primary goal is to lose weight, build muscle, increase strength, or enhance appearance, the approach and method should be the same.

Women should train the same way as men and it should be done with high intensity, heavy weight, and with basic compound exercises. Exercises like the squat, deadlift, presses, rows, dips, chin/pull-ups, and glute focused exercises such as weighted glute bridges and hip thrusts should be performed.

Just like the men you should be striving to increase your performance constantly. This means adding weight to the bar and/or repetitions to a set. The name of the game is progressive overload which is the gradual increase of stress placed upon the body during exercise training.

You should strength train three times per week on a full-body or upper/lower-body split routine with conditioning work performed on your “off days.”

A sample program may be as follows:

Monday

Squat, bench press, chin/pull-ups

Tuesday

Sprints, Prowler pushes, battling ropes, sled drags,  jump rope, etc

Wednesday

Deadlift, standing overhead press, rows

Thursday

Sprints, Prowler pushes, battling ropes, sled drags,  jump rope, etc

Friday

Lunge, dips, chin/pull-ups

Saturday & Sunday

Fun activity (hiking, biking, pick-up basketball game, etc) or 30-45 min brisk walking

So why all this focus on strength training?

Oh my, look at all the hands going up.

“Yes Connie Concerned.”

“Um, I’m only interested in toning up. I don’t want to build muscle or anything like that.”

“Yes Penny Perturbed.”

“Yeah, won’t all that weightlifting make me look like Arnold?”

“Go ahead Wanda Worried.”

“OK I was thinking, isn’t it best to get this fat off first before it turns into muscle or something?”

Let me explain.

According to Structure & Function of the Human Body, Memmler & Wood, “muscle tone refers to a partially contracted state of the muscles which is normal even though the muscles may not be in use at the time. The maintenance of this tone or tonus is due to the action of the nervous system, and its effect is to keep the muscles in a constant state of readiness for action.”

The popular definition of muscle tone according to askthetrainer.com is, “the level of visibility of your muscles which is also commonly referred to as definition. Having muscle tone means you can see the outlines of the muscles under your skin. Everyone has the muscles but not everyone is toned or defined which allows the muscles to be visible.”

Obviously we can see significant discrepancies between the two definitions. The popular term has morphed into something completely different from its intended meaning. It’s a misnomer.

Basically getting “toned” means losing excess body fat and building muscle.

And the best way to do this? That’s right. Heavy, hard, and with the basics.

Moving ahead, you will never look like Arnold, thank goodness, or the beings on the glossy magazines. Physiologically you are at a disadvantage in building muscle compared to men and in order to look like a “female” professional bodybuilder, you would need to take a vat full of pharmaceutical drugs.

Arm wrestle ya for some Anavar

On average, testosterone (a muscle-building hormone) levels in women are typically 5 percent to 10 percent of those in men. Therefore, you need not worry about building too much of it.

As for turning fat into muscle, this is a misconception. Fat and muscle are two different tissues and you cannot convert one to the other.

Now let’s look at some benefits of strength training for women (this by no means is an all-encompassing list):

• Increased strength
• Increased muscle mass and decreased body fat
• Increased bone density
• Improved immune function
• Reversed effects of aging
• Improved mood and increased confidence
• Improved quality of life

I will not elaborate on all of the benefits listed above, however I do want to touch upon the second bullet point a bit.

I understand that many women are deathly afraid of gaining some muscle mass, but please hear me out before you tune me out.

As your lean muscle increases, so does your resting metabolism. As a matter of fact, strength training can increase your metabolism by 15 percent. Coincidently, this equates to burning more calories throughout the day.

You see, a pound of muscle can burn about *20-30 calories a day (a pound of fat burns about 5 calories a day) therefore the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. More calories are used to make and maintain muscle than fat.

Chris Scott, Ph.D., exercise physiologist at the University of Southern Maine Human Performance Laboratory says, “When exercise ends, it takes time and energy for muscle cells to return to resting levels. Recovery can also be expensive: Depleted glucose and fat stores need to be refilled, accumulated cell products need to be removed and protein levels need to be built back up. All this requires energy.”

And the more reconstructing to be done, the more calories will be burned after your workout.

Again, do not worry about bulking up. It will not happen. You do not have enough testosterone to build large muscles.

OK, to tell you the truth, initially you may see a slight size increase (due to an increase in lean muscle mass) however this is only temporary because as fat tissue diminishes so will the bulk.

What’s more strength training “shapes” your muscles. Without sufficient load, muscle will not “change” and “tone” cannot be achieved.

Conversely, if you are successful with the popular prescription purported (diet, cardio, light weights), most end up with what is known as the skinny-fat look.

Skinny-fat can be defined as someone being fairly thin or “average” weight but having a high fat to muscle ratio. What is  called skinny-fat in the fitness circle, is called normal-weight obesity within the scientific community.

Skinny-fat Look

Paul Chek, internationally renowned expert in the fields of corrective and high-performance exercise kinesiology stated,

“Charles Poliquin and colleagues have identified The Chunky Aerobic Instructor Syndrome. Poliquin found that aerobics instructors quickly adapted to the workload of teaching classes, often performing three hours of exercise a day. Despite the fact that this is the equivalent training level of a professional athlete, the instructors still maintained disproportionately high body fat levels. You can verify Poliquin’s findings by simply observing the bodies of people who perform a lot of cyclical cardiovascular activity; there is no question many of them are pudgier than you would expect” (Chek).

He goes on to say that resistance/strength training is the key to breaking away from the Chunky Aerobics Instructor Syndrome.

Now I would like for you to check out how strength training should be done and the results that can be gained from it. I’ll let the videos speak for themselves and I’ll end it here for now.

*The precise number of calories burned per day by skeletal muscle is still being debated today. I have seen figures from as low as 6 to as high as 100. By no means do the discrepancies in numbers take away from the importance of strength training. I will cover this debate in a future blog entry so please stay tuned.

Sources:

Askthetrainer.com. Web. <http://www.askthetrainer.com/what-is-muscle-tone.html&gt;.

Chek, Paul. Chunky Syndrome. ABC Bodybuilding. http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50614

Neurosoma.com. Web.
<http://www.neurosoma.com/muscletone.html&gt;.

Easy? Never!

My training today was quick and brutal, I performed heavy box squats for openers, close grip bench presses afterwards, and packed it all in with some hammer curls and neck work.

I got to the gym feeling less than 100% so I had it in mind to perform some “light work” in order to facilitate “recovery.”

Well that went straight out the window as I started ramping up the weights during my squats.

Nevertheless, as I finished my routine and I was putting away my weightlifting gear, one of the gym members turned to me and said, “had yourself quite a short workout today huh.”

Mind you my short workout was 10 times more productive than his.

I just smiled and said, “yeah, I’m not feeling myself today so I better quit while I’m still ahead.”

He then fired back with, “why don’t you just drop all that heavy lifting and take it easy? You should lift lighter. You know you ain’t getting any younger and all that straining is just going to get you hurt.”

I smiled again and just said, “I’m going to lift as heavy as I can for as long as I can. The day that I have to lift light is the day I hang it all up.”

This little conversation with said fellow got me thinking. Why is it that some of us just can’t take it easy? Why do we have to keep pushing day in and day out? Are we a different breed from the rest or do we have some loose screws?

Call me different or even nuts, I just can’t see myself doing it any other way.

What about you?

Off-topic

This short entry is getting away from this blogs intended purpose, but since it gives you a glimpse inside my head and since the subject matter is of importance, I felt that there is no harm in talking about it today.

I was recently reading up on the current mass media’s musings on weight loss and I just couldn’t believe the CRAP they are publishing. I have weaned myself off of popular media a long time ago because I learned through much study and research that just about anything they put out is pretty much slanted, fabricated, or embellished.

If it’s talk about politics, economy, world affairs, and yes even health and medicine, you can be almost assured that what you’ll be getting isn’t going to be the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Don’t believe me? Read this quote-

“The business of a journalist now is to destroy the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, fall at the feet of Mammon and sell himself for his daily bread. We are tools, vessels of rich men behind the scenes, we are jumping jacks. They pull the strings; we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are the properties of these men. We are intellectual prostitutes”  (INDEX on Censorship, Vol. 30, No. 1, January 2001, p. 10).

Still don’t believe me? Good! You shouldn’t take my word for it. Now go and research it yourself!

Anyways, getting back to the matter.

In the fitness industry (an umbrella term used in order to encompass all of its “sub-categories”), as in other realms, the straight-up truth doesn’t sell. After all, the plain, old, boring, basics isn’t sexy.

Myths, fallacies, and straight-out lies abound. If you want the truth, get ready to dig for it.

Unfortunately, that’s the way society is set up. It’s not happenstance. There’s a reason for it. If you think hard enough over it, maybe you will figure out why.

Are you up to the challenge?

Does the pain ever stop?

Hard work, intensity, effort is the most important factor in achieving your weightlifting goals, be it putting more weight on the bar or more muscle on the frame.

Hard work on a so-so program will always trump the most brilliantly devised and thought-out program if followed with less than wholehearted effort.

Along the same lines, hard work will get the better of the minutia as well. If you are focusing too much on the little things in your efforts to reach size and strength, then it may behoove you to rethink your strategies.

Hard work should be synonymous with weightlifting. When your hands touch the metal, there should be no letting go until true effort has been exhausted.

Scouring the internet sites and forums, I’m amazed at the “concerns” many chit-chatterers have when it comes to weightlifting. Everything under the sun is talked about in improving performance and appearance however I have to wonder if these people are truly putting in the effort or just talking (typing) a good game.

Is hard work not a concern because it’s a given?

From what I have seen and continue to see, that’s not the case.   

My guess is that mental and physical energy is being misplaced on the intricacies rather than the big picture. Hence all the debate, confusion, and lackluster results which abound.

My question then is do these intricacies, details, minutia, call them what you will flourish because weightlifters are afraid, for lack of a better term, of hard work thus the constant search for easier ways towards their wanted goals?

In this game of iron-lifting things never get easier. Learn to embrace hard work and the pain that coincides.

You Got to Move It Move It – Move It!

Nutritional biochemist, sought after speaker, best-selling book author, fitness expert and all around nice guy Covert Bailey once stated that the more overweight you are or the more weight you want to lose the more exercise you should do.

 

This advice is fantastic. Why? Because it works. Even the scientific community finally came around to understanding this concept.

The American College of Sports Medicine has released a “new position stand” called Appropriate Physical Activity Intervention Strategies for Weight Loss and Prevention of Weight Regain for Adults. Here is a brief summary.

• 150-250 minutes/week of moderate-intensity physical activity provides only modest weight loss.
• Greater amounts (e.g., >250 minutes) provide clinically significant weight loss.
• Energy/diet restriction combined with physical activity will increase weight loss as compared to diet alone.

On a side note, ACSM also recommends strength training, ALLELUIA, as part of this health and fitness regimen; in order to increase fat-free mass and further reduce health risks.

Now an example. Take for instance the highly popular and highly insane nighttime program The Biggest Loser. The “trainers” work the be-donkeys out of their trainees, which I don’t endorse, with undeniable results. Even though the show is unrealistic, dangerous, and asinine, we can see that frequent exercise bouts throughout the day works. And boy does it.

So how can I make this work for me you may ask. I’m glad you asked. For example, if you have a membership to a gym, great. Try to get there as often as possible. When you aren’t there, try to perform bodyweight squats, push-ups, core work, hill sprints, whatever throughout the day. Use large compound movements though. No arm curls, triceps kickbacks, calf raises, etc because those aren’t going to do anything for you.

Nothing has to be set in stone here. For instance, when you feel like pounding out a few reps of push-ups, just drop down and do them. Don’t worry about sets, reps, tempo, or any of that stuff. Just pound them out and go back to doing whatever you were doing.

If you have access to a cardiovascular machine at home, jump on it and perform 10-15 minutes of that if time allows. If not, jump on it anyway and push out a super intense sprint for 40 seconds or so. Do that a bunch of times throughout the day and those seconds will be adding up to some serious minutes.

Here’s another good tip for you. When making your way to the car, or the house, or whatever approaching destination, explode into a wild sprint for just a bit. That short burst of craziness is going to jack up your heart rate and cause all kinds of metabolic disturbances which in the long run (pun intended) is going to help you in losing unwanted tissue.

Folks, however, be judicious when you do this. If you think you may pull a hamstring or blow out your knees, be forewarned. I don’t need a lawsuit

It’s perplexing why nobody really does this because it works great. It’s quick, “easy,” spontaneous, and effective. It also helps you in wanting to stay in motion. It gets addictive and this is a good thing especially if you have had negative experiences with exercise.

Using me as an example, whenever I want to lean out a bit I’ll hit push-ups, dips, triceps dips, core work, pull-ups, sprints and such throughout the day (on top of my regular strength training regimen) and by the time I know it I’m a svelter, denser version of myself. Presto! 

Try it and let me know how you make out.

Oh yeah! And don’t forget the small stuff. You know you heard it a million times. Skipping the elevator for the stairs, parking your car further from your destination, etc. It seems minimal but it adds up. Add to that performing inordinate (but very doable) exercise, physical activity, movement, etc any chance you get throughout the day and you will be looking at a new you in no time soon.