Archive for August, 2010

How many times have you heard this – “Well, I was losing weight but then life happened. We had to go to the kids’ recital, so we stopped at McDonald’s. Then, my sister had a barbeque, so I ended up drinking a few beers and eating too many hot dogs. And work caught up with me, and I got really busy and didn’t have time to go to the gym.”

Excuses, excuses.

Does it ever occur to these people that thin, fit people are just as busy? We don’t sit around the house thinking about all the good times we’re missing out on while we’re busy not eating. Fit and thin people do tend to get to the gym more often; it’s just the nature of the beast.

But being busy is no excuse for being fat. Not having time to cook a home-made meal every single meal is no excuse for being overweight.

It doesn’t take extra energy to not eat. It just takes willpower. And even if you do hit the gym all the time, you can’t out-train a bad diet. So, you have that in common with the fit and thin crowd. Not getting to the gym is no excuse for being fat.

Regain your discipline. You know when you’re eating too much. Just . . . STOP IT!

We all have lives. We all have things to do. It isn’t the ability to get to the gym that makes you lose weight. Have you been to a gym lately? Have you seen all the fat people there? There are plenty that never seem to lose weight. Lack of gym-time is not your problem.

Just eat less. That’s it. It’s a simple concept, but it can be hard to do. That’s why I like Eat, Stop, Eat. You don’t need a special diet. You don’t need a support group. You just need to eat less. Just because your kids get a Happy Meal doesn’t mean you need to order a 1400 calorie burger. You don’t even have to eat with them.

Being busy is a lot more fun when you’re thin.

-Drew

Intensity is, by far, the most important factor in getting a good workout. Are your workouts demanding enough? If you’re not sure (or think you are), take a look at this checklist:

1. You finish your workouts with little to no sweat.
2. Your workouts rarely leave you feeling drained or exhausted.
3. You could easily carry on a conversation with someone else during your workout.
4. You haven’t made significant progress in weight loss, strength or cardio endurance or speed in months.

If more than one of these things rings true with you, it’s time to re-evaluate your workouts.

Benefits of Intensity

One word: Progress. Why else would you work out? The only way you’ll make a significant change is to work hard. There’s a reason it’s called a WORKout. It’s not called an “easyout.”

Being out of shape sucks. Everything is a struggle, even walking up a flight of stairs. But by cranking up the intensity, you can catapult yourself into good enough shape that workouts become FUN. Lifting more weight is FUN. Running farther and faster is FUN. Looking great is FUN.

When you want to accomplish your goals in the shortest amount of time possible, you just have to try harder. Give it everything you’ve got. Make progress.

How to Increase Your Intensity

General Rules:

Don’t stop your workout to have a conversation with a friend or lifting partner. They’ll be there when you’re done, or you can see them later. You’re there to transform your body into a machine. Talk about the local sports team or weather can wait for another time.

Don’t think that just because your heart rate was elevated for a short amount of time that you need more rest than you’re used to. The gym doesn’t have a magic aura that makes you burn calories by simply being there. Keep your heart rate elevated, and keep the rest periods as short as possible.

For cardio:

If you can carry on a conversation with someone, you’re not pushing yourself hard enough. I know that many times during a spin class, I’ll see people yapping to each other between songs or even during them. Those same people also weigh exactly the same as they did a year or three ago. They haven’t made progress and they don’t work very hard. Don’t be that person.

If you’re doing High Intensity Interval Training, don’t let your “recovery” periods last for so long that your heart rate comes down and you can carry on a conversation. That’s too much rest. Remember, you’re only working for a short amount of time, but that doesn’t mean you can take it too easy on those non-working intervals. Recovery is one thing, downright rest is another.

For lifting:

Work antagonistic muscle groups. While your chest is recovering from a set, work your back. While your triceps are recovering, work your biceps. Work whatever the opposite muscle is from what you just worked.

Keep your rest periods around 2 minutes per body part. That means from the time you finish a set of something like bench press, find other things to do until you reach that 2 minute mark. It might be rows, and then some swiss ball mountain climbers. Maybe you just do 2 minutes of plank in between. But don’t do nothing.

I know a lot of people are scared of doing something in between sets. They’re afraid it might make them weaker because they won’t be able to lift as much when they’re tired. But, isn’t that pretty much the point? It’s one thing to be strong when you’re well-rested and recovered, but it’s another to be able to maintain a strength level when you’re out of breath, your heart rate is elevated and you’re working hard. I know which kind of strength I’d rather have.

-Drew

Okay, that’s not strictly true. But it’s true sometimes. Maybe you only slept for four hours last night and are just generally feeling lethargic. We often neglect sleep for many reasons. Working out shouldn’t consistently be one of them.

Now, I’m not talking about maybe you’re a little tired from the day and hitting the gym isn’t what you really want to do. I’m not talking about “Wow, it’s early, and this bed is nice and warm.” I’m talking about serious lack of sleep.

There’s no reason to push yourself to hit the gym in a sleep-deprived state. Decreased nervous system response will lead to a loss of strength. Cardio-respiratory function will be impaired, leading to a loss of stamina. In other words, you’re not going to get a great workout in, anyway.

Rest up, and hit it HARD the next day. You’ll get a better workout, burn more calories and increased focus will make you less apt to injure yourself.

Obviously, if this decision is happening quite often in your life, you need to get more sleep period. Sleep is when your body recovers, and as we all know, recovery is so crucial to maintaining good fitness and an injury-free lifestyle.

If there’s a serious decision brewing between sleep and the gym, opt for the sleep. Your body will thank you for getting some extra shut-eye. Catching up on sleep is a good thing sometimes. Just don’t make missing your workouts a serious habit.

-Drew

These days, it seems as though we have to dedicate ourselves to one particular training dogma at the exclusion of all others. You’re either a long, slow distance runner (LSD), or you’re a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) supporter. You’re either a low-rep lifter, or a high-rep circuit trainer. Why do we do this? Only training one way while ignoring all others generally results in imbalance and less than optimal efficiency.

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