Six Things Your Trainer Won't Tell You - Part 2

• Abs are Made in the Kitchen - One of the things that bothers me is seeing trainers have their clients do abdominal workouts for 30 minutes straight.  Really?  Unless your six pack already shows or you want to improve the definition on your abs, there's no need to have this be the focus of your workout.  Doing ab exercises at the end of your workout will be more than enough stimulation.  Without proper diet/nutrition, your abs will never come shining through.  Remember this: We ALL have a six pack.  We just have to remove the fat that's covering it.
  
• Don't Use Most of the Equipment in the Gym - If you're going from machine to machine to machine and spending zero time on free weights, you need another trainer.  The machines are for people who don't properly know how to exercise without a trainer/spotter.  Machines offer a fixed path working one muscle at a time (isolation)...not exactly the most time efficient workout.   Not to mention, your body doesn't work in isolation in real life.  So if you're going to pay someone to teach you the proper way to workout...it should be with something other than machines.  Just my opinion.

Tomorrow: Six Things Your Trainer Won't Tell You - Part 3
Related: Six Things Your Trainer Won't Tell You - Part 1

Six Things Your Trainer Won't Tell You - Part 1

I've met some great trainers over the last few years.  I've also met some questionable trainers.  Most clients trust their trainers 100% when it comes to advice and how to get in shape.  But isn't the information only as good as the source from which it comes? 

Trainers are in the business of training, so there's an incentive for them to keep you around month after month.  So following are six things your trainer may not tell you but you should know.

• 85% of Your Results Come From What You Eat - This bit of information is HUGE!  If you're losing weight or gaining muscle, what you eat plays the biggest role in how you look.  No matter how advanced and fancy your workouts are, if you eat garbage, you will look like garbage.  Straight up.  Working out plays its part in stimulating muscle growth and speeding up the metabolism, but when combined with proper nutrition...you can get great results.  You can't just workout.  You have to do the hard part...eating right the rest of the time.

No need for a damn bosu ball.

• Your Core/Stomach is Not the Big Problem - It never fails.  You walk into the gym and see trainers having their clients doing all these balancing exercises on bosu balls, wobble boards, and other pieces of random equipment.  While it's okay to use them as secondary exercises, they shouldn't be the main focus of your workout.  Using resistance with weights, bands, and cables or doing full compound bodyweight movements is where most people need to focus.  Don't get suckered into all the promotions by the equipment industry.  They just want to sell more silly balance equipment. 
  If you want a strong core, lift something over your damn head and hold it there.  Then repeat.  Looking around the gym, most people have too big a core anyway and simply need to focus on full body movements and diet.  

Tomorrow: Six Things Your Trainer Won't Tell You - Part 2

Changes to Make This Spring

One of my favorite sayings is "Nothing changes until you do."

Here are five ideas to get started in becoming more productive this spring.


1. Take time to plan. Without a plan, you’re stuck with good intentions that you can’t execute. If you have extra time over spring break, do some personal reflection and goal setting. Think about one behavior at a time. What would you like to change about nutrition? Write it down. Continue this until you have a list of changes that have been on your mind. Which few do you believe are the most important behaviors to change and easiest to change? Start there. Be consistent. Don’t think about how far you have to go, think about what you will do today to work on that change. For example: I will eat two whole fruits a day. I will not snack in front of the TV or computer.


2. Clean out your cabinets. Spring says “let's clean up” for some reason. Why not take a day to really get your cabinets in order? Pull everything out and assess. Do you have a lot of packaged, heavily processed foods or snacks? What nourishing foods can you add to your pantry? Chances are, the less healthy stuff will find its way out. Healthy items include: nuts, fresh and dried fruit, dried and canned beans, whole grains (whole wheat pasta, cous cous, brown rice), canned salmon and tuna, tomato sauce, onions, garlic, salt-free dried herbs and spices.


3. Visit a running or sporting goods store. The problem with exercising is we tend to assume it is something to suffer through. You don’t have to do any exercise that feels uncomfortable. Exercise is not punishment.  Maybe you would have fun jogging in a pool, rollerblading, or just simply walking after work. Take stock of your fitness equipment. Everyone can use a pair of shoes that fit well. A sporting goods store will give you a perfect fit based on your activities and foot structure. Don’t assume you have to squeeze yourself into spandex or workout clothes. Find at least one outfit that makes you look and feel good.


4. Make a “don’t do” list. There’s never enough time in the day to prepare meals and exercise. If this is you, there’s too much on your plate. Period.  It’s not a race to see how much you can squeeze into your calendar. There will always be things to do. Why not spend some time making your first-ever “don’t do” list? All you need to do is think about what you are currently doing that eats up time in your day. Are you spending too much screen time – TV and computer? Volunteering too much? Pulling more than your fair share in the family? It’s time to delegate and get some help.


5. Love yourself. Most people would probably read this and say, “well of course I love myself.” But if you really think about it, we're our own worst critics, especially when we know we need to change. We judge ourselves by so many things each day – what we weigh, what we put in our mouths, if we were too lazy to exercise, we’re not _____ enough. The reality is, the better you feel about yourself, the more positive you are, the more successful you will be. Write down three things about yourself you love, ask others what they love most about you, and then write down three negative things you will no longer tell yourself.


When you want to change habits, it can be hard just figuring out where to start. That’s what’s so powerful about “Nothing changes until you do.”  It shows that change starts within.  It also says that you already have what you need to change. You don’t need to wait for someone to solve your problems. You can change your own life.


START NOW!

Simple Math

With all the talk about which diet to be on, which magic pill to take, or which surgery to get, the true key to losing weight is simple math. When it comes to your body, calories are calories. Your scale can't tell if they're carbs, protein, or fat.

So, how do you employ simple math to lose weight without starving yourself or taking extreme measures? Here's how:

Calculate Goal Weight Calories

First, you need to determine what the ideal weight for your body is. Use the American Cancer Society’s Calorie Calculator and enter your goal weight, your gender and your activity level. The tool will calculate the number of calories someone who weighs your goal weight should consume.

In order to meet this goal weight, you need to eat like someone who weighs that amount instead of eating like someone who weighs what you currently weigh. Commit your goal weight to memory. Write it down or make yourself a sign and put it in a prominent place.

Divide Your Calories

Split your daily calorie intake into 5 segments. So if you need to consume 2,200 calories, divide that amongst the 5 meals that you should be having each day.

• Breakfast – 300 calories
• Snack – 250 calories
• Lunch – 500 calories
• Snack – 250 calories
• Dinner – 900 calories
  

Track Everything

Get a food journal (What I Ate (Teal) Mini Journal) or use a free online service like FitDay to track EVERYTHING that you eat.

Start planning your meals ahead of time by identifying the calorie counts of your favorite foods and building your meals around them. You can still have your favorite latte or fast food splurge. You just need to account for them.

Read labels and measure servings. This is what the majority of people don't do. If you plan on eating cereal for breakfast, take a few minutes to measure out the 1/2 cup serving of cereal and the 1/2 cup of milk. Take a look at how big the serving really is – this will help you adjust your own judgement of portion sizes.

Weigh Yourself Weekly

Weekly weigh-ins help you stay on track and allow you to keep those extra pounds from mysteriously piling on.

Balance Your Calorie Checkbook

Think of your daily calorie allotment like your bank account. You have a certain number of calories to spend per day. As you go through your day, you subtract every calorie that goes into your mouth from your calorie balance. If you know you are going out for a special dinner, you can save up your calories earlier in the day or earlier in the week. If you don’t “spend” all of your calories in a given day, think of them as a savings for the future. If you “spend” more than your allotted calories then you are borrowing against your calorie account. Once in a while this will not affect you negatively, however, if you are constantly borrowing, your body goes into debt – and you will gain weight.

Similarities

Relationships are like fat people. Most of them don't workout.

Fat: The Truth

Let's be real. The U.S. is the fattest country in the world. The World. Do you know how large the world is? Children's obesity rates have doubled since 2000 while youth diabetes are up 30-50%. SMH. That's just fat!

How do we go from being once the world's most powerful country to the world's fattest country? Because we treat the symptoms and not the cause.

The average American takes in almost 3,000 calories a day. And the majority of that is unhealthy. Nearly 60% of Americans fail to participate in any type of exercise. But we're quick to take a pill to alleviate the symptoms caused from being overweight.

So take a look in the mirror and ask yourself what are you doing to fight the fat?

The Most Important Goal: Have a Plan!

Most people decide to start working out and changing their eating habits without really knowing exactly what they want. Whether it be a wedding, a reunion, health reasons, or to make someone jealous...you need to have a plan. You need to know if you're making progress in your workouts and not just going through the motions.

Keep your rest periods short so that you're able to get through your workouts in 30-40 minutes. If your workouts take longer than that, then you need a new plan.

Look around the next time you're in the gym. Chances are that loads of folks are in there running their mouths and connecting on Facebook. Don't fall into that category. Get in. Workout. Get out. You don't need to spend the majority of your time working out. Life is too damn short.