Eventually this question is asked of me from just about everyone I meet.  When people find out that my career is that I help people lose weight by figuring out how exercise fits into their lives…”yeah, I need to get back in the gym” is the usual response.  Andrea and I had a some friends over for dinner Saturday night and we covered just about every topic including the one’s “your not supposed to discuss”.

Religion.

Politics.

Kids.

Work.

Then out of the blue it came out…”When do YOU workout, Dave”?

Read the rest of this entry »

Today I posted about fitness myths and one of the comments I received is worthy of a response.    I am grateful for this person for voicing an opinion about what many may believe to be true.  I will leave the name of the person anonymous out of respect.  So for the purpose of the discussion let’s call him:

Gym Shorts

First:  The issue in question:

 Myth #2: You have to count calories for weight loss

There are so many fad diets out there that paint the picture that weight loss is a complicated process. You have to eat certain foods at certain times and avoid other foods at all costs. Of course all of these popular diets conflict over which foods you should or shouldn’t eat.

The truth is that you don’t have to make weight loss such a science. Simply eat healthy fresh foods that haven’t been processed, and eat smaller amounts and more often than you’re eating today.

No brain science there, just results.

The comment from Gym Shorts:

#2 is not a myth (you have to count calories for weight loss)

If what you say is true, we could sit on our couch and eat healthy fresh foods in small amounts all they long and we wouldn’t get fat. A nice thought but far away from reality. If you want to get smaller, you have to eat below maintenance calories, which can be calculated fairly easy. If you want to grow, you have to eat over maintenance calories. Simple as that. Now what you are saying could still result into eating below maintenance, but has nothing to do with not counting calories. At the end if there is more energy in form of food that goes in, compared to the energy that goes out, you will get fat. If you count or not.

In fact, many of these “weight loss breakthroughs” you bash in your first paragraph, or diet programs based on them, use exactly this to hype their program (”you don’t have to count calories”).

1. This proves my point.  There is so much misinformation that some of it can actually make sense – if it hasn’t already confused you.  If all of these diet DID really work and provide a solution for people anywhere past 30 days would we have an obesity crisis that is now not just our problem in the U.S. but internationally?
2. Yes. If people exercised, ate healthy fresh foods in small amounts more frequently during the day they would increase their metabolism and lose weight NOT gain weight.
3. Yes.  If people who did not exercise ate healthy fresh foods in small amounts more frequently during the day they would lose weight.
4. It is actually another myth that most fat people over eat.
5. Nine out of every ten of my clients over the past 16 + years, when evaluated, had Caloric intake that was too low compared to their adjusted BMR (Basal Metabolic rate) – squashing their metabolism.  In EVERY case the strategy was for INCREASED CALORIE CONSUMPTION and they lost weight – every time and kept it off.
6. MOST people are busy.  Very busy.  They do not have time for counting Calories and if they are forced to – eventually they stop, fail again and look for the next weightloss breakthrough, new gym or even a different trainer.
7. When I was competing I never ate more Calories in my life (3800 per day) and I couldn’t gain weight to save my life but what I did do was lose body fat.

This is reality.  When developing strategies and information to help people reach their fitness goals – the long term is what is important.  Eating well and exercising consistently has to work for the long run.

The days of fad diets, split routines and long drawn out cardio sessions are on their way out and for good reason.  The practitioners in the industry are the one’s that drive the real research which validates what we are doing and have been doing with our clients for years.

Eat well.  Exercise.  Win

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com

Like the ever-mounting hits on tobacco, on the flip side, its nemesis, exercise, continues to attract a growing crowd. Reports by the American Heart Association and others in Club Business International, suggest that heart attack patients who exercise regularly had a 40 percent lower risk of death as well as a 50 percent reduction in succumbing to cardiovascular disease after five years, compared to those who didn’t.

After 2 heart attacks in 28 months my dad knows this, lives this.

Live. Exercise. Live Longer.

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com  
www.homeofficeworkouts.net

Not everyone is consistent with exercise and eating well. 

What a revelation!

If you are just beginning or not as consistent as you would like…than that week off could harm your efforts.

That vacation you’ve been planning or the business trip you can’t get out of can sometimes have a negative effect on diet and your fitness routine.

In fact, sometimes it takes several days or a week to get back into the normal routine and feel like your self again. Although you’re away from home and it’s more difficult to follow your normal routine, you still shouldn’t go all out and blow all the progress you’ve made.

Try to get a little exercise everyday and limit the high fat and high calorie foods.

Think of the word maintenance while you are away.  The key is to maintain the level you left with.

If you don’t take any steps backward you won’t feel as if you are starting over again when you return to your regular routine.

Fall is coming.  School is almost here.  Back to you.

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com

…used to build a house of failure.

- Don Wilder

 
There are so many reasons (excuses) why we don’t workout on any particular day.
Part of my job is to help you identify them…and them work through them.

When my wife Andrea and I began our family my exercise consistency was cut by
more than half.

This gave me a greater appreciation for what my in home personal training clients
were going through.

Actually most of the opposition I would run into when speaking to a prospective
new client dealt with the fact that they didn’t have any exercise equipment
in their home.

Because of this I knew when I developed my Home Office Workouts website one
of the first orders of business was to deal with that issue.

You can check out this fr.ee article on my site to see how you can set up a home
gym for under $100 dollars.

Go ahead and take a look:

==> http://tinyurl.com/5u488b will direct you straight to my article.

Don’t let the excuse of not having a gym full of equipment in your home or office stop
you from having the body of your dreams.
Don’t give in.  Make a plan.  Win.

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com

We still think “not me”.  The excerpt below is from the Mayo Clinic and you may find the information interesting.  If not.  Please pass it on to someone who needs a kick in the pants to start living an active, meaningful life.

As Americans’ collective waistline has continued to expand, so has the prevalence of obesity-related cancer.

According to the June issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter, an estimated 14 percent of cancer deaths in older men and 20 percent in older women can be attributed to excess body fat. It’s not fully understood why excess body fat increases the risk of cancer.

Theories include:

Insulin — Obesity and inactivity generally lead to higher levels of insulin circulating in the blood. Excess insulin is believed to fuel the growth of cancer cells. In addition, it increases circulating levels of other hormones that likely play a role in cancer development and growth, such as estrogen.

Estrogen — Adding to insulin’s influence on estrogen levels, fat tissue also produces this hormone. Estrogen levels are 50 percent to 100 percent higher in postmenopausal women who are overweight versus those who are lean. It’s believed that this alteration increases the risk of estrogen-sensitive cancers such as certain types of breast cancers.

Immune system — Excess fat is thought to release proteins that may suppress the immune system and increase inflammation. Both may play a role in cancer development and progression.

Other risks of obesity — Obesity-related problems such as acid reflux, high blood pressure, gallstones and fatty liver may damage tissues of the esophagus, kidney, gallbladder and liver, respectively. This may set the stage for cancer development.

Although there’s evidence that gaining weight increases the risk of cancer, there has been almost no research that demonstrates whether losing weight will reduce that risk. Two major components of weight loss — a healthy diet and exercise — appear to be excellent ways to reduce cancer risk.

…a healthy diet and exercise…what a novel idea.

To bad prevention isn’t as sexy as beach muscles and a firm butt.

Prevent.  Live.  Win.

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com

My 10 minute Whole Body Workouts are not easy.  They are not supposed to be.

Comments I often get are “there is no way I can perform the exercises in those workouts” or “I will probably only be able to each exercise once in 10 minutes”.

Another terrific attribute to this system is RELATIVE INTENSITY. 

Everyone, and I mean everyone is at a different ability level and fitness level. 

• Some are stronger.
• Some have never exercised regularly.
• Some don’t have much stamina.
• Some feel like they need to lose weight before they can exercise.
• Somedays we feel great…somedays not so much.
• Etc.

It doesn’t matter.  Why?  Because every exercise can be modified to be more difficult or much easier. 

The days you feel like a million bucks…you might get 4 or even five rounds done in 10 minutes.

The days you don’t you may only complete 3.  You take what your body will give you.

Here’s a bit of advice that was given to me along time ago - 

“Before you can be great at anything you first have to be good.  Before you can be good you have to start!”

Can you do 4 exercises, 10 repetitions each, and then repeat that for 10 minutes at your personal best effort? 

I bet you can. 

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com

‘I don’t have time’ is the reason that most people don’t exercise. Well, they call it a ‘reason’ I like to call it what it really is – an excuse.

Most people believe their workouts need to be 60-90 minutes in order to really count. With this kind of time commitment it is no wonder that exercise becomes the activity that you simply don’t have time for. Before you know it one missed workout becomes two and soon you realize that you haven’t put on your gym shorts for a month.

Missed exercise is a slippery slope toward irreversible consequences. Obesity wasn’t gained in one day…or even in one year. Neither was heart disease.

Question: Have you ever wondered if long workouts really deliver the best results?

The truth is that exercise doesn’t have to take 60-90 minutes anymore. The experts agree that short, intense bouts of exercise can actually deliver better results than traditional low intense exercise.

In fact, a study was conducted at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine that tested whether multiple short bouts of exercise would deliver better results than one long bout of exercise. They found that participants who performed short bouts of exercise stuck with the program longer and experienced greater weight loss than the participants that performed long bouts of exercise.

Throw out the idea that you need an entire afternoon or a free evening to have a great workout. It simply doesn’t take as much time as you think. Here’s one example:

10 Minute Results-Driven Workout

• Dumbbell Squat Press: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level. First lower down into a squat position. Make sure that your knees do not go past 90 degrees. Exhale as you press the dumbbells overhead while you straighten your legs and return to the starting position. Complete 10 repetitions.
• Dumbbell Lunge and Curl: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand down at your sides. Exhale as you lunge forward with your right leg and curl the dumbbells up toward your chest. Make sure that your knee does not go past 90 degrees. Inhale as you return to the starting position and repeat on the other side. Complete 10 repetitions. 
• Dumbbell Bent Over Rows: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand. Bend your knees and lean forward from your waist, keeping your back flat. Exhale as you drive your elbows back and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Inhale as you return to the starting position. Complete 10 repetitions.
• V-Ups: Sit on the edge of a chair or bench and lean back. Exhale as you drive your knees in toward your chest, squeezing your abdominal muscles. Inhale as you lower your knees back down with control. Complete 10 repetitions.

REPEAT AS MANY TIMES AS POSSIBLE FOR 10 Minutes.

Think outside of the box. Could you do a 10 minute workout in the morning and a 10 minute workout before bed?  Make a playlist of your favorite songs that will play for 10 minutes and go for it!

Let’s be honest, you make time for the things that you feel are important. If I told you that for every minute you spent exercising I would give you a thousand dollars, would you find a minute to exercise? Sure you would! You’d probably find quite a few minutes to exercise.

Short bursts of intense exercise will give you the results you want, all you have to do is make the time for it.

Somewhere deep down inside you know that it’s now or never.

Will you choose to simply close this email and allow your hectic schedule to slowly push you down the path of obesity and health risk? Or will you find creative ways to fit exercise into your day as you steadily regain your shape and health?

Make this the day that you finally make the change. Call or reply to this email to schedule your no-obligation fitness consultation and I’ll show you many other high intensity time effective workouts that deliver amazing results.

The choice is yours.

Make sure you check out the 8 months of 10 minute workouts I have posted on www.homeofficeworkouts.com and make your life a little easier!

10 minutes. Do it now.  Win.

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com
www.homeofficeworkouts.net

…on exercise of course!

Bummer huh?  Did you really think an exercise nut like me would write about the virtues of getting high?  Maybe the legalization of marijuana?  Another time, another day.

If you would like to get legally stoned then you want to read the rest of this blog post.

First I need to remind you, if you did not only know, what the #1 killer in the U.S. currently is.  It is STRESS.

STRESS is linked to every major disease know to man…especially those of cancer and heart disease.  Stress also:

• Negatively impacts your immune system
• Destroys your state of mind
• Makes you gain weight (Now I have your attention)
• Makes it more difficult to recover from your workouts

Exercise turns the page on stress and done right it will do so while you are legally stoned as my friend and Carlos Santana puts it.

Ever heard of a runners high? 

There is more science backing up what many fitness professionals already know.  The following is a run down from a presentation by Carlos I was lucky enough to listen in on in Providence R.I. last weekend.

“A study in 2004 by Georgia Tech University found that runner’s high might be caused by the release of another naturally produced chemical, the endocannabinoid anandamide.”

Anandamide is similar to the active chemical THC.  Yes the same THC found in marijuana.

The greatest news is you don’t have to run a marathon to get it!

My 10 minute workouts are designed get you to the same level of out put in less time.  It’s all about intensity and consistency!

Get high.  Lose weight.  No stress.  Win.

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com

Last week Wii Fit was launched by gaming giant Nintendo.

As it gains popularity, especially amongst my clientele, I there is a responsibility a fitness professional I could not deny.  I had to learn as much as I could about Wii Fit and create an informed opinion to pass on to you. 

IF you have already paid $250 plus for the original console and controls with a few games you can purchase Wii Fit as an add on for around $175 depending on where you get it.   Wii Fit is very interactive.  You can choose from all these different features and more:

• Yoga
• Balance Games
• Strength Training
• Aerobics
• Body Test
• Pick a trainer
• 3D demos

I must say as I reviewed the support site for Wii Fit I was pleasantly surprised.  The exercises are depicted in a very easy to understand and anatomically correct way.  There is a way to monitor progress and “how well you do” for each workout. 

Could this be a viable alternative to help people of all ages and ability levels to engage in physical activities on a consistent basis?  Time will tell.  I have already heard the argument “atleast my kids will be moving while they play their video games”.  True but what ever happened to activities like these:

• Riding bikes
• Tag
• Hide and seek
• pick games – soccer, baseball, basketball, etc.
• Play ground activities, swings, slides, etc.

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) just released the latest statistics on childhood obesity and the good news is the numbers are not any worse.  NO increase in childhood obesity is a victory and should be celebrated.  However our job as professionals and as parents is NOT done.  The rate of childhood obesity has not decreased so it is still alarmingly high.

Wii Fit is a commentary, poor or otherwise, on where our society is and where it is going.  This may be one of the few times that technology has actually come through and made life easier without a negative side effect.  If the consumers of this product become consistent exercisers then I applaud Nintendo for a job well done.  Until I see some evidence of that…

Too Be Continued…

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com