I’ve often wondered about certain strategies gym goers employ. The one strategy that has vexed my mind is a ritual of sorts and a lot of people do it every day. You know if you do something every day and expect a different result, that makes you crazy right. It is at like the Holy Grail, the very reason people come to the gym and try to eat right, it’s the difference between a good day and a bad day, it is the end all be all. It is stepping on the scale! Don’t try to pretend you don’t do it because we all are guilty, especially in a place where there are scales and we are trying to lose weight, gain weight or stay the same. But the very fact people are control by this instrument, this measurement of body mass can be alarming and skewed. The end all be all may not be “all” its cracked up to be.
Let’s back track for a second. What are we trying to do? Most people? Answer is losing weight. Statistics show the most common goal for any gym goers is losing weight. But that should really be the goal? The answer is yes and no. If you are 50 lbs overweight and you need to lose 50 pounds then I would say losing weight would be a great goal for you. However, if you are trying to lose 10-20 pounds, does it really matter what the scale says as long as your body fat changes? Of course not! I use to tell clients all the time; if I could have you weigh the same weight you are today and look 100% different, would it matter what the scale said? 9 times out of 10, the number didn’t matter.
But the number does matter to some people and it matters a lot. The measurement of success is housed on an electronically scale that measure your body mass. Forget about how you feel or how your jeans fit, its all about that number! If this applies to you (its ok!) here’s what I’d like you to remember, the most important part of the fitness process is the feeling of pride, confidence and of well being. These we will refer to as the immeasurable, meaning you can’t stick a number to it. Stepping on a scale just gives you a number and tells you whether you are below, above or at where you want to be. Definitely a cliff hanger that sometimes can hit you between the eyes and make you want to quit. My suggestion? Don’t weigh yourself, especially if you feel you begin stressing over it. The emotional impact and feeling of defeat is not worth it. If you want to know how you are doing in your fitness program ask yourself these questions:
Do I have more energy? Do I wake up and go to bed easier? Do my clothes feel looser? Am I stressed less?
Answer yes to any or all of those and you are on the road to success. A road that is not dependent on the little number on a little scale.
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu Nov 15, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Aha!!! And the secret of movie popcorn.
I love those “aha moments.”
You know the kind…Like when you finally realize why and how movie theaters get away with charging $4.75 for a bucket of popcorn (chewy air, basically, with artificial butter flavoring).
I think I figured it out.
You know when you are at a movie with your spouse and a scene begins that reminds you of a recurring disagreement you’ve had with your spouse on som e petty matter? And the scene takes a decided and clear turn in the direction you did not want it to take? And you sense it is only going to get even more apparent and more embarrassing to you? And you are waiting for the person representing your spouse is going to say the exact same words on screen that your spouse has said to you. Except this time the entire audience is on her side?
And you know that she knows. And suspects that she knows that you know.
At that exact moment, you stand up, let out a sigh to indicate boredom, and say, “I’m going to go get some popcorn.”
And you go in the lobby by the concessions until the scene is over and a new scene is far enough along that she may have forgotten (or out of courtesy, really, not mention) the scene when you return to your seat. And you start to feel a little relieved.
But before you go back inside the theater you go up to the concession stand and say, “I’ll take an bucket of popcorn, please.” And however much they want to charge you for it, you will pay. Even $4.75.
A famous scientist with a hair style I envy once wrote, “Everything should be kept as simple as possible but not simpler.”
Simplicity, a novel concept that couldn’t possibly be true in exercise, could it? I mean with all the 3am infomercials about insane workouts using everything from your body weight to the kitchen sink and weight loss products that promise “instant results.” There is no such thing as “instant” results but there is a strategy of simplicity I tend employ. In continuation with this blog and all its wisdom, I would like to take the time and share some knowledge with those people looking for that perfect weight loss book or that magic cure to get rid of love handles. Well now you’re asking how I lose weight. How do I keep the weight off? In my career as a personal trainer I have realized one important thing: keep it simple. Nutrition and weight loss are very simple. Just follow my instructions.
1. Don’t over eat. Figure out why and when YOU do overeat. Is it an emotional reason? A lack of planning? Maybe just a lack of knowledge and accountability. We don’t get better unless we know what is preventing us from turning the corner, so access yourself and stop overeating. Keep it simple.
2.Carbs are not bad they are your #1 energy, use them as such. Stay away from foods with a lot of sugar, choose oatmeal over donuts, broccoli over bread and apples over bananas. Keep it simple.
2A. Get rid of the sugar in your diet. You don’t need it, its only making problems worse, say goodbye! Keep it simple.
3. Eat smaller portions. Learn when to say no to seconds and thirds. Your body does not have to eat that entire pizza, save the rest for the dog, I am sure he gets hungry too. Keep it simple.
4. Dessert is a habit, not a physiological need for survival. Habits can be broken. Just say no to the banana split. Keep it simple.
5. When eating out (if you must!), say no to Whoppers, Big Macs, and Thick burgers. Say yes to Grilled Chicken. When asked, “If you want fries with that,” Say my trainer said no. Keep it simple.
6. Eat smaller and more frequent meals. Humans are periodic eaters and continual metabolizers. In order to increase that metabolism we have to eat more frequently. For example, in order for the fire to burn it needs wood, same thing applies to your metabolism. Keep it simple.
This is by no means an all-inclusive list but you get the point. Weight loss is not that difficult nor is it that complicated; it just requires a little knowledge and a lot of gumption. If you want to continue to eat whatever you want you have two options:
Move a lot (a lot!)
Or keep gaining weight year after year after year.
Then one day you might realize that trainer guy was right. Keep it simple!
By John Y. Brown III, on Mon Nov 5, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Embracing my masculinity.
Last night going through the drive thru at Taco Bell I ordered a common order for me: 3 tacos. But for some reason the automatic follow-up question caught my attention in a different way than ever before.
“Would you like those tacos soft or hard shell?”
I paused for a few seconds wondering, “What does it say about a person who chooses “soft” over “hard” shell? Or vice versa?
Maybe “soft” taco types tend to be liberal and soft –almost effeminate. And maybe “hard” shell taco types are more conservative politically, like to stick with tradition and the status quo and more manly sounding food options.
And then I thought, Besides, that seems like a very personal question anyway.”
I was interrupted in deep thought, “Sir, soft or hard shell?”
I was relieved I got a sir and not a “ma’am” which happens more than I’d like to admit.
So, I dug deep for my lowest, slowest, manliest hard shell taco voice, and played it safe, “Hard shell” I said, Almost as if it was an insult to be asked. And to emphasize the kind of gringo they were dealing with, I added, “And make that a regular, not diet coke.”
I was relieved I hadn’t put an Obama bumper sticker on my car yet, which could have undermined the entire subliminal impact of my dinner order.
Sometimes men just have to get in touch with that primitive part of their masculinity—of what makes us men.
No apologies.
It’s a nature thing that modern social customs can limit but not remove. And last night I embraced it.
And if anyone in the Taco Bell kitchen overheard my order and my voice–and the “regular coke” exclamation point I added, it was unmistakeable that, yeah, that’s right, there was one bad alpha male about to pull up at the drive thru window.
By John Y. Brown III, on Mon Oct 29, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Another day traveling by air.
Another day with mild to modest frustration with a major airline.
The major airlines seem more and more to remind me of a old school ma’arm, just waiting to slap you on the wrist for something inconsequential.
Mostly because they enjoy doing it…
And another day, thankfully, salvaged by Southwest.
The new cool substitute teacher that all the students love. And all the school marmy teachers hate. ; )
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In SouCal airports you see a lot of people who look like celebrities, carry themselves like a celebrity , and who want to be confused for a celebrity–but who are not a celebrity.
I think it’s fun.
The fun part for me is staring at them awestruck and looking like, carrying myself like and wanting to be confused for one of their fans.
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It smells good in California.
Even in the airport.
Clean.
It’s like people here shower two or three times a day.
Or use some sort of New Age magnetic device that repels dirt and dust and prevents perspiration.
It’s not quite human.
Like a fresh fruity well-toned Droid who just finished another colon cleanse.
I somehow worry that people I say hi too will suspect I don’t smell like one of them and know I’m not from here.
The low level humming from my iPhone from the Black Crowes isn’t helping any either
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It’s a dog’s life —not!
Remember the bleak saying about every down-and-outer getting their moment, “Every dog has it’s day”? I doubt that gets used in SoCal.
As I pulled out of the airport into San Diego last night the one thing I noticed over….and over…. and, yes, over again…was the privileged life that dogs lead out here.
At least one in three people I saw out last night in a suburb near downtown San Diego were walking their well-groomed, poised and, frankly, self-confident dog(s). Not in a cutesy or ostentatious way, like Paris Hilton carrying a tiny lap dog in her purse as a sort of panting accoutrement. Rather it was a normal person finally acting like the “dog’s best friend” we’ve always promised to be but—as any dog you know will tell you—have not lived up to.
And that attention and connection with their human shows, too—shows in the way SoCal dogs carry themselves and interact with other dogs—and even humans. They have a carriage about them which says, “Welcome to my town. Notice my owner. Pretty cool guy, huh?” It’s like the dogs are as self-conscious of who is walking them as their owners are about impressing others with their choice and type and breed of dog.
It’s darn near like the dogs out her are treated as a separate but co-equal species to humans. When you see a person and their dog on a chain walking, it’s not like back home. It’s like a couple out to get ice cream. Sure, the human appears to have control of the leash, but I suspect if you look closely it’s some sort of mutual canine-human leash that lets the two co-equal species stay together but without holding hands, or paws.
Oh, and dogs aren’t left outside here when their human pet goes into a store. No hitching post for these darlings. The dog walks in with every right to be there as anybody else. And seems a little impatient because there isn’t a larger canine section.
And as much as I hate to admit it, these dogs can be intimidating to people visiting from out of town. A strong-and-silent type pit bull was in Rite Aid last night with a cute young couple for a walk. The dog was well-manicured and obviously a female because it had a little bow in the corner of its well-coiffed mane. She began sniffing me—not like other dogs…but slyly as if by accident— and I instantly felt self-conscious when the dog looked up at me with these soft but probing and judgmental eyes. Although my new domesticated pit bull acquaintance didn’t say these exact words out loud, she was clearly thinking “You’re not from around here, are you? What….what kind of –whatever it is that you are….are you? And don’t even think about cutting in front of us in line. I’ll bite you and humiliate you in front of everyone. I’m still a dog, you know. Are we clear?”
I nodded affirmatively to the dog. I recovered my bearings long enough to realize something wasn’t quite right and mumbled, “Nice bow.”
The dog’s head whipped around as if to say, “What was that?!” “What?” I said. “I didn’t say anything.” The human owners looked oddly at me.
I offered, “Sorry. I wasn’t talking to you.”
It was the first time in a very long time that I felt like Junior from Hee-Haw stammering for something to say and knowing it would not be something appropriate or helpful. So I just kept quiet. And let this dog have its day. Like it does everyday in SoCal.
Read the rest of… John Y’s Musings from the Middle: Travels to SoCal
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Oct 24, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Sometimes on a late work night when I stop off at Thornton’s to reward myself with something utterly non-nutritious, I sit in my car wolfing at down and watch the nice clerk inside and ask myself, “If someone robbed Thornton’s now while I was watching, would I try to help stop the robbery?
So far that question has remained a hypothetical one. And so far, I have answered “yes.”
I would come to the rescue and save the day in every hypothetical instance I have imagined—dashing out of my gray Honda Accord that went unnoticed because the robbers saw 16 others just like it driving there.
I rush inside, slide across the floor to avoid bullets (really just for effect since there are never any bullets), grab a pot of scalding hot coffee, and throw it on the would be assailants just like the scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
I then call the cops, do a couple of quick live interview,s and the clerk tosses me an extra Krispy Kreme doughnut “on the house” as I turn an wave a cavalier goodbye.
It’s exhausting.
Even though it’s all hypothetical.
But heck, because the heroics are so impressive in my hypothetical, I think I am probably excused for having to do anything now in reality if a real robbery ever does take place. You know?
It takes 250,000 crunches to burn 1 pound of body fat.
If I did 200 crunches a day, everyday for the next 4 years I could hope to burn 1 pound of fat. Not exactly the best return on investment. In fact thats not worth my time or anyone else’s, So why are so many people under the impression that crunches, sit-ups give you a lean sexy core? Not sure the answer but it is the wrong impression we are getting.
As I mentioned in the last post the tissue is not best loaded the way we do crunches. It is actually best loaded the other direction. So this is all a matter of purpose. We have to ask ourselves; “What is the purpose of doing this exercise?”
If the purpose is to do crunches to burn your body fat off, you better get use to doing a lot of them. If the purpose is to work the abdominal muscles then you can expect that crunches will strengthen that motion greatly the more you do them. But are they the best option?
Maybe? Maybe not. Again this is all a matter of purpose. Which leads me to programming and more specifically core programming.
From an anatomical view the “core” is a group of muscles, at the center of the body that move in conjunction with other muscle group (particularly the extremities). I believe we short change ourselves by only looking at the center of bodies to strengthen our core. You must realize that our entire body is our core. All muscles move in harmony with eachother to create movement, they do not and have never acted in isolation.
So to give you a visual of what I am talking about picture this. Your abs are really sore after a good workout and you go to the grocery store and reach on the top shelf for something. What do you notice? Your abs contracting or bracing as you lift your arm overhead to pull something off the shelf. Ok another example; you take your groceries to the car, you open the car door and you notice that you can feel your abs contracting as you open the door. “But I only thought the abs or “core” were worked when we bend over?” Your core’s purpose is to decelerate movement, so as you reach for something your core is decelarating the movement for acceleration to occur. One more visual.
Let’s say we are working out, doing squats. Your abs are still sore and while you are squatting I add resistance to your left shoulder (as if to push you over) what do you notice. Your abs or “core” engaged. It is decelerating the movement so you don’t fall over. Moral to the story is situps and crunches are not the only way to develop your core muscles. In fact doing core movements on the ground (as in a plank) is not the only way to work your core. I would be willing to bet that you would get more from core programming on your feet than you would on your back. To back my claim, how many times a day are you laying on your back? One and that is to go to sleep. Point made.
Let’s talk about purpose:
In order to get to where we are trying to go, we have to have a purpose behind it. So if we are talking about core program design and specific workouts we can do targeting that part of the body, we have to have rhyme and reason. So what is the point of you doing crunches? If its to build abdominal strength/endurance in that particular motion, I would say that is a great purpose. If it is to burn body fat and give you an 8 pack, I would find a better purpose. So let’s evaluate a variety of goals and where core programming would fit in.
Purpose #1: Reduce Body Fat to Uncover 8 Pack
Well if all you are doing is crunches than your rate of return is minimal. The key to body fat reduction lies in nutrition not exercise. We cannot out exercise a bad diet. Genetics will always play a role but most of us are not genetic marvels that can eat what we want and still stay lean. However, to increase the likelyhood of the reduction of body fat, using more muscles will burn more calories. So, doing core exercises such as wood chops would be great for the metabolic increase, at the same time strengthen the areas we are looking to target.
Read the rest of… Josh Bowen: The Core — The Center of Our Universe, Volume 2
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Oct 12, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
The personal impact of movies on our lives.
I just went through the drive through at McDonalds and ordered coffee the same way I have ordered it for the past 18 years, “Lots of cream; lots of sugar.”
That’s always the way I take my coffee but not always the way I ordered it. Before seeing Pulp Fiction in 1994 I would ask for coffee “with extra cream and extra sugar.”
But this scene with Winston Wolfe changed all that. And for the past 18 years and probably the rest of my life, a small but noticeable change occurred in my life.
The coffee tastes the same, of course. But I get a little subconscious Wolfie rush every time I order coffee. And feel like I am a little more in control of the situation —because of my ordering style—than I used to me.
So we all know by now that sugar is detrimental to our bodies and can destroy all the hard work you are doing in the gym. As I have documented in previous articles, sugar is the main nutritional culprit in the obesity society that we have become, in my opinion of course.
So what happens when you are cognizant of nutritional labels but the food industry somehow hides a little secret?
That little secret is known as High Fructose Corn Syrup.
Now research continues to go back and forth on whether artificial sweeteners have the same effect on the body as sugar.
What is clear is High Fructose Corn Syrup represent 40% of all added sweeteners to food and beverages. It’s everywhere:
Common Foods High in High Fructose Corn Syrup
Regular soft drinks
Pancake syrups
Fruit Flavored Yogurts
Ketchup
Breakfast cereals
So what is it and high should I care?
HFCS is a corn based sweetener that is a mixture of fructose (fruit sugar) and glucose (simple sugar). As all carbohydrates is HFCS is 4 calories per gram. The fructose is the troubling issue.
Of all the types of questions a fitness professional is asked, nutrition is the most common subject. Quite frankly people are clueless when it comes to what they eat. Conversely, that is not their fault. In this country we search for the quick fix, the easy way out and our media has done a great marketing job on “diets.” These diets usually consist of restriction some selection of food; fat, carbs, meat etc. So we are constantly told what we “shouldn’t” eat and rarely are we told what we should eat. So I wanted to put together a list of 10 foods that most everyone needs (barring food allergy, religious reasoning or preference). These 10 foods have various purposes that go beyond how many calories they consist of. These foods help the body ward off disease, decrease inflammation, and add vital vitamins and minerals to our body.
Eggs– Eggs are on this list for a variety of reasons; the whites are full of high biological value protein (that is a good thing), the yellow is full of leptin (which controls appetite) and they are extremely versatile (scrambled, poached, boiled etc.). Eggs also have 12 vitamin and minerals, one of which (choline) is vital for brain development and increased memory. Eggs are nutrient dense only containing 75 calories per egg. Side note I eat 10 egg whites every morning!
Nuts– If you only look at foods based upon their fat content and calorie count you would probably leave these section of food out. You would be missing the point of the article. Yes calories matter, however a twinkie may have less calories than a Big Mac that does not mean it is a good option. Most nuts are loaded with Omega 3 fatty acids that are good for the cardiovascular system and act as an anti-inflammatory warding off potential disease. Also nuts are considered an antioxidant which has the potential to decrease the potential for cancer. Because most nuts are high in fat, thus high in calories, use proper judgment and portion control and monitor the salt as well. Almonds, cashews, pistachios are all good choices.
Read the rest of… Josh Bowen: Ten Foods You Should Be Eating
I’ve often wondered about certain strategies gym goers employ. The one strategy that has vexed my mind is a ritual of sorts and a lot of people do it every day. You know if you do something every day and expect a different result, that makes you crazy right. It is at like the Holy Grail, the very reason people come to the gym and try to eat right, it’s the difference between a good day and a bad day, it is the end all be all. It is stepping on the scale! Don’t try to pretend you don’t do it because we all are guilty, especially in a place where there are scales and we are trying to lose weight, gain weight or stay the same. But the very fact people are control by this instrument, this measurement of body mass can be alarming and skewed. The end all be all may not be “all” its cracked up to be.
