Thank you Shannon may I have another?

So the same core group of us has been showing up to Shannon’s magical buffet of indoor cycling mixed with group personal training since October. We’ve all made significant gains in strength and endurance. Our hearts can recover really quickly from very hard efforts. Resting heart rates are dropping and fat is melting away. It is all good with two notable exceptions.

First, Shannon has yet to play any Metallica, Tool or even AC/DC. Second, because it has been the same group of people (now known as “athletes”) working out week after week, Shannon feels comfortable cranking up the intensity on us. And there is no end to the new and horrible things she can dream up. Have you ever had to scamper across a gym forward, backward and sideways with thick rubber bands holding your ankles together? I have and I’m here to tell you it is no picnic.

We can whine, whimper and complain all we want, but it falls on deaf and unsympathetic ears. She just keeps turning the screws. THE ONLY WAY TO GET HER TO TONE IT DOWN IS TO HAVE SOME NEW PEOPLE JOIN US IN JANUARY. So please, do yourself and us a huge favor. Get your ass out of bed and in to L.O.F.I.T.T. Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 5:30. You’ll be sort of glad you did.

Looking for a new holiday tradition? How about getting (or staying) totally buff?

Love it or hate it, the holiday season is right around the corner. As soon as all the retailers get rid of all the Halloween crap, out comes the Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Festivus gear. With so much to do (and so much to eat) many people let their fitness slide during the holidays. Their thought process is the same every year.

“New Year’s Eve is just around the corner, I’ll worry about working out on January 2.” And with that worry out of the way, the 60-day food orgy begins.

I’ve got a better plan. Instead of backing off this holiday season, why not ramp up? Why not look better at the parties? Why not have that little extra motivation to make better food choices all season long?

The last round of indoor cycling, group personal training was a huge success. In just 4 weeks of working out really hard and eating right, the entire group was able to achieve some very encouraging results. Some even claimed to enjoy it. So we’re going to do it again starting next Tuesday, November 2. Classes will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30am at LO FITT in Lake Oswego and run for 4 weeks. The December schedule will be announced soon.

Both of these classes will include a free holiday nutrition guide for all participants. So join us and go into 2010 looking and feeling awesome!

LO FITT is at 17449 Boones Ferry Rd, next to the Starbucks on Jean Way. Classes are limited to 10 participants so sign up early. To register, please contact Shannon via email at shanmc98@hotmail.com.

The Alter-G post sparked some great interest and discussion. Thought I’d post a little info on another innovative fitness tool and see what people thought of its potential. I haven’t seen one of these at LO F.I.T.T. yet, but I suspect it is only a matter of time. Costs a lot less than the Alter-G too.

Want to make a workout really hurt? Ignore supportive nutrition

We are already more than half-way done with week three of Shannon’s magnificent fitness buffet of indoor cycling and group personal training. Week one was manageable, but definitely a challenge.

Week two, as promised, was more of a challenge. We spent more time on the bike and Shannon raised the intensity level up several notches. Still, it seemed quite a bit easier. In fact, by Friday, I actually found myself wishing I could go again. I credit this to an extra week of eating healthy (at least for the most part) combined with a slight gain in fitness. I also discovered I’ve shed about 5 pounds since this whole ordeal began. Very cool.

Shannon took it up another notch this morning. After a few minutes on the bikes, we got right into a tough circuit of strength training exercises that had my heart pounding. Then it was back to the bikes for some intense intervals. Shannon has been talking supportive nutrition since day one. Today I discovered what happens if you don’t eat enough the day before. It makes the workout a lot harder and recovery doesn’t seem to come as fast. Last week’s 90-minute workouts seemed really short. Not the case today.

So, for me, it is back to the kitchen. Thursday will be here soon.

Alter-G Prototype

I recently learned about a new training tool called the Alter-G Anti-Gravity Treadmill and feel like I should briefly share my thoughts on it with everybody because it is one of the most amazing pieces of fitness equipment I have ever seen.

So, what in the world is the Alter-G Treadmill? It is an odd-looking contraption that makes running almost as easy and pain-free as sitting on the couch. In other words, the Alter-G allows slackers to run like pro’s with only a fraction of the effort! Trainers and coaches have has also found the Alter-G to be an innovative and useful training tool that has been changing the way injured people recover and how athletes train.

So how does it work? Imagine what it would be like to be able to leave a certain percentage of your body weight at home while you go for a walk or a run (or, if you prefer, what it would be like to do a workout on the moon). The Alter-G gives you a similar experience, albeit on a treadmill.

Picture a giant mechanical bully sneaking up behind you and giving you a massive wedgie while you are running on a treadmill. The wedgie takes some of the weight off your lower extremities and running gets a whole lot easier. Now, instead of a mechanical bully, picture a giant pillow of air and instead of being held up by your skivvies, imagine a special pair of shorts designed to distribute your weight evenly and with much more comfort. That’s the Alter-G. By providing a type of virtual weight loss, it allows users run faster, gain additional strength and enhance cardiovascular performance while minimizing impact and stress on their joints.

The Alter-G is highly effective in rehabilitation and physical therapy because it also reduces impact loading on the lower extremities. The FDA has cleared the Alter-G for use in lower body injury and surgery rehabilitation, aerobic conditioning, weight control and reduction, sport specific conditioning programs and neurological retraining.

The Alter-G is also proving to be a highly effective training tool for both recreational and competitive athletes by allowing a person to train longer, run faster, gain additional strength, and enhance cardiovascular performance.  Moreover, until now, there has not been an effective method for athletes to maintain high fitness levels while they are injured.  The Alter-G allows injured athletes to match the aerobic intensity of their regular workouts while lowering the impact on his/her injured body during training.

The bottom line on the Alter-G treadmill is that is a very useful device for anybody who needs to achieve a higher level of conditioning with less impact as part of an overall exercise program. Want to check it out for yourself? Come see me at LO F.I.T.T.

New Year's resolutions are easy to make, the hard part is sticking to them

Over the past ten years, I have helped hundreds of people maximize their overall health, performance, and body composition. Put bluntly, I know how to help people lose unwanted body fat fast. Now, make no mistake about it, a big reason for this is because my training programs are fun, highly effective, and they set people up to achieve sustainable results.  My fitness boot camps are second to none, and I guarantee results to anyone who follows the program. I have done the countless hours of research and trial and error and I have had hundreds of people (myself included) as real world case studies to prove that my system for fat loss flat out works. But, today I am going to share something more powerful, something that must be set in place before you can even start to think about following a fitness program.

So, let’s get right to it. What do you think is the real secret behind my clients’ success? Well, if your answer was my aforementioned training system, then your answer is wrong. It is indeed a highly effective program when followed, but unfortunately it’s useless if someone is unwilling to start it AND stick to it.  So, it appears that the most important component of changing your body is finding the motivation to achieve your goals, and that’s the main focus of today’s discussion. I am going to literally walk you through the initial consultation and three step goal setting process that each one of my clients must now undergo before they start working with me. This is so important for achieving weight loss success that I now require it for any new client to be considered for joining one of my programs.

Before I get into this goal setting process, I just need to get something off of my chest. I know a lot of people think goal setting is just a cheesy, useless thing. Unfortunately, these people just don’t get it and frankly if you are one of those people, please stop reading this article and go buy another weight loss book or pill because I simply cannot help you. I can only help people who want to learn. I simply cannot help people who already think they know it all and are unable to solidify exactly what it is that they want to accomplish. The bottom line is that the most successful people out there, and I mean not just weight loss success, I am talking business, lifestyle, etc., are shamelessly goal driven. They know exactly why they want to do something and harness that super motivation to figure out what and by when they will accomplish it. Furthermore, they plan and prepare for every possible roadblock they will encounter in their path to success. This is what I want to teach you how to do today, so let’s get to it!

Step One- The Why: Why do you want to do this?

This is where it’s time to get real. In almost every initial consult I do, when I ask people why they have contacted me today, here is the typical blanket response:

“Well, I just want to get healthy.  If I lose weight, that would be great.”

Sure, I know they want to lose weight and be healthy, but really WHY do they want to do this? What is it that’s going to get them up at 5 am to get their morning workouts in or take a couple of hours on Sunday to plan and prepare their meals for the upcoming week? It sure isn’t “being healthy” because for some reason this just isn’t a very powerful motivator for most people (though it should be).

Let’s face it: everybody, including YOU, wants to look better naked. Stop giggling, you know it’s true and frankly that’s okay because the desire to improve one’s appearance is the most powerful motivator there is. This shouldn’t be such a big surprise since the main life mission of humans, or any species for that matter, is to procreate. This is instinctual. And obviously, looking better makes this more of a reality.

So, after a little digging, I find out the real reason why they want to start an exercise program; I find what has hindered their progress in the past, what is the pain motivating them to get moving now, and then establish their current and future ambitions. Some people want to be able to mow the lawn in the summer with their shirt off and not feel self-conscious. Others want to get back into their favorite pair of pants that they haven’t been able to get one leg into for the last five years. Then there are those who want to look and feel more attractive to ignite some passion back into their relationships and/or put forth their best image at work. And of course, my personal favorite is preparing for big events that have built in deadlines. Wanting to get as lean and tight as possible to rock that dream bathing suit in Hawaii, or get off the plane in Montana when visiting family you haven’t seen in two years to blow them away with your new body, the class reunion, or being a classic beauty in your wedding dress on the big day, it all works! This is the stuff that gets people fired up and ready to commit to making some real changes. How do I know? Well, I just shared with you verbatim the exact “WHY’S” of some of my own clients.

So, the first thing you have to figure out is your personal WHY. To make this even simpler for you, just answer this question: what are your physical dreams? Once you establish this, everything else is easy.

Step Two- The What and When: What do you want to accomplish and when do you want to accomplish it by?

So we already figured out the obvious: you want to look better and feel amazing! So, now we need to establish what objective goal(s) need to be accomplished in order to realize this subjective dream.

Well, from a logistics standpoint and keeping things as cost effective as possible, there are three major ways I track “look better” progress with my clients, in order of importance from least to most important:

1.)    Scale Weight: This is by far the least important goal, but it gives a number that’s worth tracking. Though body fat percentage would be a much better method of tracking progress, it is simply too inaccurate on a small scale and too costly on a large scale. The key is to take your initial weight before you start and then not to weigh in more than every 2 weeks. I have found that most people do better with tracking their weight every month. There are simply too many variables for controlling your body weight and the natural fluctuations based on diet (and for women, their menstrual cycle), meaning the less frequently you do this the better. If the scale is just too de-motivating for you in general, then skip this one altogether.  Besides, the next two markers are far more important.

2.)    Dress/Pant Size: This is probably the most simple and effective unused method of tracking whether or not your body is changing. I think it’s safe to say that if you are dropping dress and/or pant sizes that you will be looking better, right?  You should immediately select one dress or one pair of pants that you really want to get if that is the true end goal. I tell my clients to assess how they are fitting in their preferred dress/pant size tracker on a weekly or bi-weekly basis because most clients who follow my program exactly as outlined lose a dress and/or pant size every month (until they get to their ideal dimensions). For anyone who wants to argue that every outfitter has different sizes, well that’s irrelevant if you use the same pants or dress to track your progress. There is nothing more satisfying than fitting comfortably into clothes that used to almost rip when you put them on!

3.)    Digital Pictures: Pictures don’t lie, that’s the bottom line. If you want to look better, what better way is there to assess this than with pictures? I cannot begin to tell you how important this is. Taking a before picture is essentially you telling the whole world that you are ready to change and that you are ready to do whatever it takes to make those changes. The key is to take pictures wearing exactly what you want to look your best in. Maybe it’s taking pictures of you in the dress or pair of pants that you are using to track your dress or pant size. Or maybe it’s a sleeveless shirt and shorts that you want to wear during the summer. And if you want to see your abs, then you should take pictures of your abs to track how much more definition you see each month. Take a front, side, and rear view picture and be sure to note the exact conditions in which the picture was taken (lighting, distance from camera, time of day/week, etc.) to be as accurate as possible in your assessment.  I have several clients whose results were dramatic, but they didn’t take before pictures and they all wish they had.  Your before pictures will become your trophy and they are an absolute must if you really are serious about getting results that count. I recommend taking new pictures either bi-weekly or monthly until you reach your goal(s).

Step Three- Planning and Preparing for Roadblocks: What are the big obstacles that will prevent you from having the success you desire? What’s contributed most to past failures?

Preparing for roadblocks in advance is key to overcoming them

Now that we know what you want to accomplish, it’s time to plan and prepare for any obstacles that might get in your way of getting the job done.

The number one excuse I hear is that people are too busy and tired and don’t have enough time to get their workouts in or make their meals. Well, I don’t care how busy you think you are. There is always hidden time throughout the day and week that can be freed up if you re-prioritize. Again, think back to why you wanted to do this in the first place and then examine what’s most important to you. Make your workouts and your meal times just like work appointments. Either you make the appointment or you don’t. And if you want to keep your job (or get your dream body) then you better make that appointment.

Another big obstacle is alcohol. People like to drink and unfortunately alcohol is about as detrimental to burning fat as it gets. Again, what’s important to you?  The choice is yours. Remember, once you achieve your goal(s), alcohol can be added back in with moderation.  Low to zero alcohol consumption is needed if you want to look your best year round and that’s a fact.

Finally, many people deal with boredom eating or emotional eating. Boredom eating means just that, eating to fill up dead time when you have nothing better to do. The best way to deal with this is (you guessed it) to do something! Find an active hobby to keep your mind off of eating when boredom strikes and you can beat this trend. Emotional eating describes the use of food to cope with stress or to reward for accomplishment. Food is not unlike drugs or alcohol in this regard, it can be very addictive. There is no quick fix for emotional eating other than avoiding trigger situations (bars, parties, etc.) and trigger foods (starches, sugars, fast food, etc.) in the short term to break bad habits.

At the end of the day, whether your roadblocks are very individual or if they fall in line with the general roadblocks most people encounter on a regular basis, the key is to be honest about them and to plan and prepare for them. And that’s where social support and accountability come into play. My clients who have experienced the most success with me have undergone their transformations with the support of other friends or family members. This is so critical, especially because most of the poor food and drinking choices that sabotage one’s progress occur on the weekend, when most people hang out with their friends and family. If they are committed with you and your goal to get fit and look better, you can put yourself in a much better position to realize the success you desire and deserve. The last thing anybody needs is sabotage or peer pressure from those closest to them, so get your team on board and get them on board early.

I hope this has been helpful.  Happy New Year and stay tuned for more fitness and nutrition tips to keep you on track with your goals this year.