Three weeks into the New Year and this can be overheard in gyms across the country,
“My New Year’s Resolution was to lose weight so I started walking/running 3 miles a day and after losing 8 lbs the first 2 weeks, every morning this week I weigh myself, I weigh the same. What happened?”
There is so much WRONG with this comment I don’t even know where to start.
Actually I do. I could say stop weighing yourself. Because what really does it prove? Are you losing weight so that you can see the numbers on your scales change? Or are you losing weight to look better? Feel better?
So here's my question, exactly how does your weight insure that is happening?
Do you actually think your weight, the number itself, has anything to do with how you look and feel ?
You know what I think determines how you look?
A Mirror and a tape measure.
When it comes to weight loss and looking good, your scales are your worst enemy!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
I Guess Most People are More Important Than Me
Apparently there is something going on in our nation's capital today? I turned on the TV last night and this morning and couldn't find a thing about it.
Right.
Setting aside any political commentary for the time being (you think I can go on for hours about muscle building and fitness? That ain't nothing), I do wish to point out one very important similarity between the incoming and out going leaders of the free world.
They BOTH are VERY committed to fitness. I have read many times that Bush trains 4 days a week. His workouts consist of weight lifting and running. Apparently he is an avid runner, to the point where he knocks out 3 miles per run in 18 minutes or less. The rule of thumb for average people is do ONE mile in under 7 minutes and you are considered fit. 6 in 18 is pretty darn good for a 60 something year old guy. I won't hold his running addiction against him.
Obama uses various activities to stay fit. He plays hoops, golfs and hits the gym regularly. I read that during the campaign he never missed a DAY of working out. And of course he set off a national craze recently when photographed shirtless, and visible abs were present. Whatever he does in the way of training and diet, it obviously works, though he loses fitness points for being a former smoker who still, on occasion, lights up. I won't hold that against him.
Having pointed out that the 2 most powerful people in the world, 2 guys who, I think it's fair to say, have "full plates" pretty much 24/7/365, make it a priority to hit the gym on a regular basis, I think that's pretty impressive. It's almost as if they know how important it is and that it helps prepare them for the "job" of being President.
Remember this the next time you say, "I wish I had the time to work out, but I just don't".
You must be a REAL important person, huh?
Right.
Setting aside any political commentary for the time being (you think I can go on for hours about muscle building and fitness? That ain't nothing), I do wish to point out one very important similarity between the incoming and out going leaders of the free world.
They BOTH are VERY committed to fitness. I have read many times that Bush trains 4 days a week. His workouts consist of weight lifting and running. Apparently he is an avid runner, to the point where he knocks out 3 miles per run in 18 minutes or less. The rule of thumb for average people is do ONE mile in under 7 minutes and you are considered fit. 6 in 18 is pretty darn good for a 60 something year old guy. I won't hold his running addiction against him.
Obama uses various activities to stay fit. He plays hoops, golfs and hits the gym regularly. I read that during the campaign he never missed a DAY of working out. And of course he set off a national craze recently when photographed shirtless, and visible abs were present. Whatever he does in the way of training and diet, it obviously works, though he loses fitness points for being a former smoker who still, on occasion, lights up. I won't hold that against him.
Having pointed out that the 2 most powerful people in the world, 2 guys who, I think it's fair to say, have "full plates" pretty much 24/7/365, make it a priority to hit the gym on a regular basis, I think that's pretty impressive. It's almost as if they know how important it is and that it helps prepare them for the "job" of being President.
Remember this the next time you say, "I wish I had the time to work out, but I just don't".
You must be a REAL important person, huh?
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Yet Another Reason to Work Out
As stated earlier I live in a part of the country that is having a "real" winter this year. Yesterday it was -17 degrees when I went out in the morning and the day's high was zero. Today it was -9 when I left the house and 6 degrees and snowing as hard as it could when I returned.The point here is it would be real easy and completely understandable if someone had not left the house in the last 48 hours.
Given our current weather, you gotta need to get out of the house or else why bother? So if there isn't a need a lot of people don't. If this is done for a long enough period, and it doesn't take very long, depression and the serious "blahs" take hold. The phenomenon of the "winter blues" is real.
So do I need to go to the gym? Is it worth the risk of what can go wrong, getting out in sub-zero weather? No, not really. Not in the overall scheme of things. Taking days off, even a week, is fine. But see, here's the thing, once I get to the gym, it's just another day. I mean inside, you do your thing, sweat, shower and leave. Don't have any idea what the weather is like outside when I am in the gym.
The REAL kicker is when I leave. The snow, cold and wind don't seem as bad. I know they are, but something about working out just makes taking the whole winter thing easier. I feel stronger, warmer, my blood is rushing and I'm significantly more energized than I would be if I sat home and wished the weather was better. It's mentally cleansing and therapeutic for me.
When I stop to think about all the millions of people who live in cold weather climates that allow the weather to "beat" them it saddens me. I don't like winter sports. Skiing, skating and snowmobiling have never appealed to me. But my regular indoor gym workouts help me not only survive the long cold winter, but thrive.
Yet another reason to work out.
Given our current weather, you gotta need to get out of the house or else why bother? So if there isn't a need a lot of people don't. If this is done for a long enough period, and it doesn't take very long, depression and the serious "blahs" take hold. The phenomenon of the "winter blues" is real.
So do I need to go to the gym? Is it worth the risk of what can go wrong, getting out in sub-zero weather? No, not really. Not in the overall scheme of things. Taking days off, even a week, is fine. But see, here's the thing, once I get to the gym, it's just another day. I mean inside, you do your thing, sweat, shower and leave. Don't have any idea what the weather is like outside when I am in the gym.
The REAL kicker is when I leave. The snow, cold and wind don't seem as bad. I know they are, but something about working out just makes taking the whole winter thing easier. I feel stronger, warmer, my blood is rushing and I'm significantly more energized than I would be if I sat home and wished the weather was better. It's mentally cleansing and therapeutic for me.
When I stop to think about all the millions of people who live in cold weather climates that allow the weather to "beat" them it saddens me. I don't like winter sports. Skiing, skating and snowmobiling have never appealed to me. But my regular indoor gym workouts help me not only survive the long cold winter, but thrive.
Yet another reason to work out.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Pretty Good Advice for Most Things
I have this close friend that I was explaining a work situation to. This guy has known me for my entire adult life and knows what I am "about". He relayed to me a story that was told to him by a guy that went to work for Ford 30 plus years ago.
This guy said on his first day on the job his boss called him into the office and said the way to be successful was to remember 3 things:
Come to work EVERYDAY. Be ON TIME. Be ready to WORK.
Doing these 3 things would set you so far apart from the rest of the pack, that you could and would be successful, possibly even, in spite of yourself.
Think this approach would work at the gym?
I do.
Pretty simple really.
This guy said on his first day on the job his boss called him into the office and said the way to be successful was to remember 3 things:
Come to work EVERYDAY. Be ON TIME. Be ready to WORK.
Doing these 3 things would set you so far apart from the rest of the pack, that you could and would be successful, possibly even, in spite of yourself.
Think this approach would work at the gym?
I do.
Pretty simple really.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
What A Shame
Crap. Today at 1:00 pm they are burying an uncle of mine. We were very close many years ago because he is only 12 years older than me and lived only a few miles from my family, so we saw them a lot. About 30 years ago he and his family decided to move back to a farm in the rural south in a part of the country where he and both my parents were born and raised. He decided that big city living wasn't for him.
I hated them for it. It left my parents without a single living relative within 700 miles and his decision to move was based in part on his unwillingness to partner with my dad on a business that he felt would "lock him in" to the city for years to come. Fine. My parents were okay with it because they understood the pull of moving "back home" and they too desired to be back in the lifestyle of a farm.
So for the last 30 years I go see them (my parents did finally return about 20 years ago) and spend a couple days to weeks visiting in the deep south country side. Rolling hills, fresh clean air, pure cold spring water and the smell of cattle in the air. Funny thing to me was that every time I would visit my uncle he would be inside watching TV, smoking and telling me about his latest electronic gadget that he had got. He worked in a tool and die shop 55 hours a week and had a hour and fifteen minute commute one way to this job. Not exactly a farming lifestyle.
Fifteen years ago he suffered a heart attack, then had lung problems of which both of these things were treatable and then manageable with a change in lifestyle. Stop smoking, stop with the fried southern food and get outside and enjoy the country. Hunt, fish, walk the hills, that kind of thing. Nope. Kept smoking, kept eating fried everything and became fixated on American Idol and Survivor. Six months ago he was diagnosed with lung cancer and was told because of the fact that he had not done ANY of the lifestyle changes recommended over the last 10 years that trying to remove the cancerous lung would be impossible. So he died Sunday.
All I heard from people was what a fighter he was and that with all the illnesses he had a "normal" man would have died 10 different times over the last 10 years.
So here's what I thought: Imagine the quality of life that he could have TODAY as a 63 year old man living in the glorious south country had he tried, even a little, to take care of himself. Think for a minute about all the life that will be missed and what WAS missed over the last 10 years all because smoking and an unhealthy lifestyle meant more than anything else. I mean he moved south 30 years ago to escape the dreaded curse of city living yet never took advantage of any of the healthy benefits of living where he did. And then on top of it all, wasted being a "fighter" and all that God given inner strength, to fight a battle that he might not have had to. What could he have done with those strengths had he used them in concert with a healthy lifestyle?
He was a good and decent man.
The new season of American Idol starts today.
What a shame.
I hated them for it. It left my parents without a single living relative within 700 miles and his decision to move was based in part on his unwillingness to partner with my dad on a business that he felt would "lock him in" to the city for years to come. Fine. My parents were okay with it because they understood the pull of moving "back home" and they too desired to be back in the lifestyle of a farm.
So for the last 30 years I go see them (my parents did finally return about 20 years ago) and spend a couple days to weeks visiting in the deep south country side. Rolling hills, fresh clean air, pure cold spring water and the smell of cattle in the air. Funny thing to me was that every time I would visit my uncle he would be inside watching TV, smoking and telling me about his latest electronic gadget that he had got. He worked in a tool and die shop 55 hours a week and had a hour and fifteen minute commute one way to this job. Not exactly a farming lifestyle.
Fifteen years ago he suffered a heart attack, then had lung problems of which both of these things were treatable and then manageable with a change in lifestyle. Stop smoking, stop with the fried southern food and get outside and enjoy the country. Hunt, fish, walk the hills, that kind of thing. Nope. Kept smoking, kept eating fried everything and became fixated on American Idol and Survivor. Six months ago he was diagnosed with lung cancer and was told because of the fact that he had not done ANY of the lifestyle changes recommended over the last 10 years that trying to remove the cancerous lung would be impossible. So he died Sunday.
All I heard from people was what a fighter he was and that with all the illnesses he had a "normal" man would have died 10 different times over the last 10 years.
So here's what I thought: Imagine the quality of life that he could have TODAY as a 63 year old man living in the glorious south country had he tried, even a little, to take care of himself. Think for a minute about all the life that will be missed and what WAS missed over the last 10 years all because smoking and an unhealthy lifestyle meant more than anything else. I mean he moved south 30 years ago to escape the dreaded curse of city living yet never took advantage of any of the healthy benefits of living where he did. And then on top of it all, wasted being a "fighter" and all that God given inner strength, to fight a battle that he might not have had to. What could he have done with those strengths had he used them in concert with a healthy lifestyle?
He was a good and decent man.
The new season of American Idol starts today.
What a shame.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Take Advantage of Life's Fitness Opportunities
I live in a part of the country where winter is, well winter. We get cold, wind and snow. Sometimes not very much at a time, or all winter. But sometimes we get a lot and it's all winter. This would be one of those winters.
I have gone to my gym a couple times in some pretty lousy weather and to my complete lack of surprise I will be one of 2 or 3 people there. Now I understand that I take fitness and muscle building to a level few do so I am not being critical of people for staying home when it's not "easy" to get to the gym. No I have something else in mind to be critical of.
When I get back home after a workout my driveway needs plowing. I live in your everyday "cookie cutter" style neighborhood. It's a subdivision that has been built in the last 25 years, so we have standard 2 car width driveways and no sidewalks. Some of my neighbors are in to fitness, at least enough that when the weather allows, they walk, ride bikes, play tennis and some even have gym memberships. So what do you think I find when I get home?
All my neighbors cleaning off their driveways with their little snow blowers. Now I have a snow blower too. Mine hangs on the wall and you better believe when we get a 12" snow fall I got that baby out there blowing my snow. But 2, 3, 4 inches? Come on. Shovel. GET A WORKOUT!!!
Do you know how many calories you can burn shoveling snow? I don't either, but I'm sure it's a heckofa lot more than padding along behind a Toro. This is the type of thing that when you are fit and into a healthy lifestyle, you almost look forward to. It's a chance, in everyday life to show what your made of, without looking like that's what you are trying to do. Why people have to always seek the easiest way to do everything is why the average person in the gym looks and stays AVERAGE and why the people that never set foot in one look and feel the way they do.
Take the opportunities that life presents to help yourself be healthy. Shovel instead of snow blowing, rake leaves instead of blowing them, use an ax instead of a chain saw, take the stairs instead of the escalator and God help you if you are one of the people who drives around or waits for 15 minutes looking for a close parking spot and I am with you. You will experience first hand how fit my right hook is.
I have gone to my gym a couple times in some pretty lousy weather and to my complete lack of surprise I will be one of 2 or 3 people there. Now I understand that I take fitness and muscle building to a level few do so I am not being critical of people for staying home when it's not "easy" to get to the gym. No I have something else in mind to be critical of.
When I get back home after a workout my driveway needs plowing. I live in your everyday "cookie cutter" style neighborhood. It's a subdivision that has been built in the last 25 years, so we have standard 2 car width driveways and no sidewalks. Some of my neighbors are in to fitness, at least enough that when the weather allows, they walk, ride bikes, play tennis and some even have gym memberships. So what do you think I find when I get home?
All my neighbors cleaning off their driveways with their little snow blowers. Now I have a snow blower too. Mine hangs on the wall and you better believe when we get a 12" snow fall I got that baby out there blowing my snow. But 2, 3, 4 inches? Come on. Shovel. GET A WORKOUT!!!
Do you know how many calories you can burn shoveling snow? I don't either, but I'm sure it's a heckofa lot more than padding along behind a Toro. This is the type of thing that when you are fit and into a healthy lifestyle, you almost look forward to. It's a chance, in everyday life to show what your made of, without looking like that's what you are trying to do. Why people have to always seek the easiest way to do everything is why the average person in the gym looks and stays AVERAGE and why the people that never set foot in one look and feel the way they do.
Take the opportunities that life presents to help yourself be healthy. Shovel instead of snow blowing, rake leaves instead of blowing them, use an ax instead of a chain saw, take the stairs instead of the escalator and God help you if you are one of the people who drives around or waits for 15 minutes looking for a close parking spot and I am with you. You will experience first hand how fit my right hook is.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Changing your workout time can make a difference
For a person that despises New Year's resolutions as much as I do, I will admit it is the perfect time to re-evaluate things. Since I am in a mass building cycle ( I have decided to NOT fight my bodies natural instinct to add weight during the winter), getting the most out of my workout is even more important.
After some reflection, and research on my previous workouts, something I can do because I keep a log, I discovered that I always seemed to add a little more muscle if my workouts were in the morning. I have always kind of felt this was the case, but never really checked it out. When I was doing the majority of my morning workouts in the past, I was living a life style that made for some "rough" mornings. Naturally I assumed that this held me back (which I am sure that it did), but so much so that I thought that looking at my results during this period would be useless. Turns out I might have been doing a little better than I thought.
This has led me to try morning workouts again. My winter work schedule makes it possible, and my life style is such now that I am up, awake and rested most mornings at 4:45. So gym time between 6 and 9 am is very doable.
Today is the 8th day of the new year and will be my 5th morning workout, and I would say it's in my head, but even if it is at this point so what, but I FEEL much stronger coming out of the holidays than I have in a couple years. Has training in the morning helped? Well, obviously my energy level is better in the morning than after a full days work. So even though I am trying to push in the evening workouts, that days life has already beaten me down some. It's too early to tell if I am really making a difference by training in the morning, but I can say this for sure right now:
If your workouts have gotten a bit stale, instead of trying different Weight Lifting Routines, take a couple days to rest and try a couple weeks of a different time of day for your sessions. I have a good feeling that it will make a big difference.
After some reflection, and research on my previous workouts, something I can do because I keep a log, I discovered that I always seemed to add a little more muscle if my workouts were in the morning. I have always kind of felt this was the case, but never really checked it out. When I was doing the majority of my morning workouts in the past, I was living a life style that made for some "rough" mornings. Naturally I assumed that this held me back (which I am sure that it did), but so much so that I thought that looking at my results during this period would be useless. Turns out I might have been doing a little better than I thought.
This has led me to try morning workouts again. My winter work schedule makes it possible, and my life style is such now that I am up, awake and rested most mornings at 4:45. So gym time between 6 and 9 am is very doable.
Today is the 8th day of the new year and will be my 5th morning workout, and I would say it's in my head, but even if it is at this point so what, but I FEEL much stronger coming out of the holidays than I have in a couple years. Has training in the morning helped? Well, obviously my energy level is better in the morning than after a full days work. So even though I am trying to push in the evening workouts, that days life has already beaten me down some. It's too early to tell if I am really making a difference by training in the morning, but I can say this for sure right now:
If your workouts have gotten a bit stale, instead of trying different Weight Lifting Routines, take a couple days to rest and try a couple weeks of a different time of day for your sessions. I have a good feeling that it will make a big difference.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
This is why I lift weights for exercise instead of ski!
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See this kind of thing doesn't happen in the weight room.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
A Preventable Tradgety
So my wife gets a phone call last night from someone she works with that says "did you hear that ****** passed away a couple hours ago?". Well my wife is the supervisor at her work and she responds with "no, no one has contacted me about anything." And then she proceeds to start making calls about this person who has supposedly just dropped dead.
After a few calls that shed no light, her phone starts ringing constantly. Apparently the right people have confirmed that the rumor is true and the network is starting to disperse the info. After this goes on for a while my wife walks in and starts telling about how weird it is that this person just drops dead to the floor, no warning, no illness and had been at work just 4 hours prior, in a chipper mood.
As I start trying to in my head picture who this person was my wife starts rattling off the details, 41 year old mother of 3 kids under the age of 13. About 5' 3' tall and weighs 250 lbs, and, WHOA WAIT A MINUTE? Her? I remember her. The poster person for the "going to drop dead of a heart attack at any moment" person. The one that's 125 lbs overweight, smokes, and eats fried food like it's the only cooking method invented? HER?
In no way does any of these things lessen the tragedy for her family and friends. My wife was no less upset even considering knowing about this ladies issues. But see here's the thing, can ANYBODY be SURPRISED that this happened? Stunned, yes. Surprised? My reaction was how did she live this long?
I mean no disrespect to her and anyone that may have her characteristics, but the tragedy here is not that she passed away suddenly. The tragedy is that she chose a selfish , unhealthy lifestyle and because of that 3 children have no mom at home. Weight Control, and trying to live a healthier lifestyle are things you have some control over.
Healthy is a "CHOICE" in most instances. Some illnesses can not be helped, but this death isn't one of them. This could have been stopped or at least delayed by simply deciding that good health is something you can chose to have.
After a few calls that shed no light, her phone starts ringing constantly. Apparently the right people have confirmed that the rumor is true and the network is starting to disperse the info. After this goes on for a while my wife walks in and starts telling about how weird it is that this person just drops dead to the floor, no warning, no illness and had been at work just 4 hours prior, in a chipper mood.
As I start trying to in my head picture who this person was my wife starts rattling off the details, 41 year old mother of 3 kids under the age of 13. About 5' 3' tall and weighs 250 lbs, and, WHOA WAIT A MINUTE? Her? I remember her. The poster person for the "going to drop dead of a heart attack at any moment" person. The one that's 125 lbs overweight, smokes, and eats fried food like it's the only cooking method invented? HER?
In no way does any of these things lessen the tragedy for her family and friends. My wife was no less upset even considering knowing about this ladies issues. But see here's the thing, can ANYBODY be SURPRISED that this happened? Stunned, yes. Surprised? My reaction was how did she live this long?
I mean no disrespect to her and anyone that may have her characteristics, but the tragedy here is not that she passed away suddenly. The tragedy is that she chose a selfish , unhealthy lifestyle and because of that 3 children have no mom at home. Weight Control, and trying to live a healthier lifestyle are things you have some control over.
Healthy is a "CHOICE" in most instances. Some illnesses can not be helped, but this death isn't one of them. This could have been stopped or at least delayed by simply deciding that good health is something you can chose to have.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Introduction entry
Alright, in spite of my disdain for New Year's resolutions I have decided to utilize the "excuse" and enter the world of Blogging. I have been meaning to do this for the longest time and have as yet just not made the time to start. So there. It's done. I'm in. The idea is to post meaningful info on a regular basis. I have the info, it's this "post on a regular basis part" that I may struggle with. Anyway, when done as a New Years resolution, it does give me the liberty to break it at anytime. I mean that is what they are for right?
By the way this blog is going to be run in partnership with my home site www.MuscleandHealth.org - How to Build Muscle with Weight Lifting Routines. Here is where I will try to stay in closer contact with all the fine people who visit and use MuscleandHealth.
By the way this blog is going to be run in partnership with my home site www.MuscleandHealth.org - How to Build Muscle with Weight Lifting Routines. Here is where I will try to stay in closer contact with all the fine people who visit and use MuscleandHealth.
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