Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Excellent Interview with Dr. John Berardi
Dr. Berardi remains one of my go-to sources for the best nutrition information available. Here is a segment of an interview he gave for a local morning show in Toronto. Great stuff! You can click on the sidebar on You Tube for other pieces of this- and other- interviews.
Only One Body
Imagine you are sixteen years old and your parents
give you your first car. They also give you simple
instructions. There is one small hitch, you only get
one car, you can never get another. Never. No
trade-ins, no trade-ups. Nothing.
Ask your self how would you maintain that car?
My guess is you would be meticulous. Frequent oil
changes, proper fuel, etc. Now imagine if your
parents also told you that none of the replacement
parts for this car would ever work as well as the
ori ginal parts. Not only that, the replacement
parts would be expensive to install and cause you
to have decreased use of your car for the rest of
the cars useful life? In other words, the car would
continue to run but, not at the same speed and
with the efficiency you were used to.
Wow, now would we ever put a lot of time and effort
into maintenance if that were the case.
After reading the above example ask yourself another
question. Why is the human body different? Why do we
act as if we don’t care about the one body we were
given. Same deal. You only get one body. No returns
or trade-ins. Sure, we can replace parts but boy
it’s a lot of work and it hurts. Besides, the stuff
they put in never works as well as the original
“factory” parts. The replacement knee or hip doesn’t
give you the same feel and performance as the original
part.
Think about it. One body. You determine the mileage?
You set the maintenance plan?
No refunds, no warranties, no do-overs?
How about this perspective? One of my clients is a
very successful businessman. He often is asked to
speak to various groups. One thing he tells every
group is that you are going to spend time and money
on your health. The truth is the process can be a
proactive one or a reactive one. Money spent on your
health can take the form of a personal trainer,
massage therapist and a gym membership or, it can be
money spent on cardiologists, anesthesiologists, and
plastic surgeons. Either way, you will spend money.
Same goes for time. You can go to the gym or, to the
doctors office. It’s up to you. Either way, you will
spend time. Some people say things like “I hate to
work out”. Try sitting in the emergency room for a
few hours and then get back to me. Working out may
not seem so bad. Much like a car, a little preventative
maintenance can go a long way. However, in so many ways
the body is better than a car. With some good hard work
you can turn back the odometer on the body. I wrote
an article a while back (Strength Training- The Fountain
of Youth) that discussed a study done by McMaster
University which showed that muscle tissue of older
subjects actually changed at the cellular level and
looked more like the younger control subjects after
strength training.
Do me a favor, spend some time on preventative
maintenance, it beats the heck out of the alternative.
Just remember, you will spend both time and money.
Source: StrengthCoach.com
27 Rules of Conquering the Gym
Outstanding piece from Jason Gay that he wrote earlier this year. Always worth re-reading. Enjoy...
This is the time of year when even people who hate the gym think about going to the gym. Many of us are still digesting whole floors of gingerbread houses, and jeans that fit comfortably in October are now a denim humiliation.
Sweating is a good way to begin 2012. Exercise, like dark chocolate and office meetings that suddenly get canceled, is a proven pathway to nirvana. But if you're going to join a gym—or returning to the gym after a long hibernation—consider the following:
1. A gym is not designed to make you feel instantly better about yourself. If a gym wanted to make you feel instantly better about yourself, it would be a bar.
2. Give yourself a goal. Maybe you want to lose 10 pounds. Maybe you want to quarterback the New York Jets into the playoffs. But be warned: Losing 10 pounds is hard.
The New Year's push to lose weight is bringing crowds to gyms. Jason Gay offers tips to conquering the gym. Photo: Getty Images.
3. Develop a gym routine. Try to go at least three times a week. Do a mix of strength training and cardiovascular conditioning. After the third week, stop carrying around that satchel of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.
4. No one in the history of gyms has ever lost a pound while reading "The New Yorker" and slowly pedaling a recumbent bicycle. No one.
5. Bring your iPod. Don't borrow the disgusting gym headphones, or use the sad plastic radio attachment on the treadmill, which always sounds like it's playing Kenny Loggins from a sewer.
6. Don't fall for gimmicks. The only tried-and-true method to lose 10 pounds in 48 hours is food poisoning.
7. Yes, every gym has an overenthusiastic spinning instructor who hasn't bought a record since "Walking on Sunshine."
8. There's also the Strange Guy Who is Always at the Gym. Just when you think he isn't here today...there he is, lurking by the barbells.
9. "Great job!" is trainer-speak for "It's not polite for me to laugh at you."
10. Beware a hip gym with a Wilco step class.
11. Gyms have two types of members: Members who wipe down the machines after using them, and the worst people in the universe.
12. Nope, that's not a "recovery energy bar with antioxidant dark chocolate." That's a chocolate bar.
13. Avoid Unsolicited Advice Guy, who, for the small fee of boring you to death, will explain the proper method for any exercise in 45 minutes or longer.
14. You can take 10 Minute Abs, 20 Minute Abs, and 30 Minute Abs. There is also Stop Eating Pizza and Eating Sheet Cake Abs—but that's super tough!
15. If you're motivated to buy an expensive home exercise machine, consider a "wooden coat rack." It costs $40, uses no electricity and does the exact same thing.
16. There's the yoga instructor everyone loves, and the yoga instructor everyone hates. Memorize who they are.
17. If you see an indoor rock climbing wall, you're either in a really cool gym or a romantic comedy starring Kate Hudson.
18. Be cautious about any class with the words "sunrise," "hell," or "Moby."
19. If a gym class is going to be effective, it's hard. If you're relaxed and enjoying yourself, you're at brunch.
20. If you need to bring your children, just let them loose in the silent meditation class. Nobody minds, and kids love candles.
21. Don't buy $150 sneakers, $100 yoga pants, and $4 water. Muscle shirts are for people with muscles, and rhythm guitarists.
22. Fancy gyms can be seductive, but once you get past the modern couches and fresh flowers and the water with lemon slices, you're basically paying for a boutique hotel with B.O.
23. Everyone sees you secretly racing the old people in the pool.
24. If you're at the point where you've bought biking shoes for the spinning class, you may as well go ahead and buy an actual bike. It's way more fun and it doesn't make you listen to C+C Music Factory.
25. Fact: Thinking about going to the gym burns between 0 and 0 calories.
26. A successful gym membership is like a marriage: If it's good, you show up committed and ready for hard work. If it's not good, you show up in sweatpants and watch a lot of bad TV.
27. There is no secret. Exercise and lay off the fries. The end.
Where's my infomercial and best seller?
Monday, June 25, 2012
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Resistance Training to Improve Flexibility
One of the many fallacies about strength training is that it will decrease one's flexibility. I was happy to see the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research [25(12)/3391-3398] refute this ideology at the University of North Dakota. Researchers measured static stretching at various points (hamstrings, shoulders, etc...) and compared it to a group that solely performed strength training. The results of this preliminary study suggested that full-range resistance training regimens can improve flexibility as well as the static stretching programs. Take-home point: do not fear that strength training will reduce your flexibility. Exercises like the above (2-arm/1-leg Kettlebell Stiff-Legged Deadlifts) are an outstanding way to improve glute (minimus and maximus) and hip strength. Additionally, it's a great way to improve balance and work on grip endurance.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
Incline Bench DB Row w/ISO Hold
I use this exercise a lot to improve mid/upper-back strength with clients. It's a fantastic choice for those looking to improve posture (which is most of us!)
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Look Like Barbie, Lift Like Ken
Megan Graham, 3rd place winner of the recent Miss Bikini Universe is trained by a colleague of mine, Ben Bruno. She is living proof that girls need to lift challenging weight vs "Pink Dumbbells" and hours of non-stop steady-state cardio to look their best. Ben wrote an OUTSTANDING article with VIDEOS of Megan's workouts. Check it out here: http://www.benbruno.com/2012/06/look-like-barbie-lift-like-ken/
Saturday, June 16, 2012
I had the opportunity to head out to Littleton, MA last week to meet with members of their Police Department. Like many other communities throughout Massachusetts, they constructed a new building a couple years ago- complete with a state of the art exercise room for their staff. While it's a wonderful amenity to have, some of the officers aren't proficient with using some of the equipment...that's where I come in.
I took the group through a few exercises and stretches based on their available equipment and space. They had fun and learned a lot. The plan is to head back in the fall and lead them through a routine they can all progress with on their own.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Perform Better 3-Day Functional Training Summit: Providence
I had the privilege of attending Perform Better's 3-Day Functional Training Summit earlier this month. I'll be writing a full review in my Summer Newsletter (published July 1, 2012).
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
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