Thursday | March 27, 2008

Bodyweight Exercises: Motivation Is NOT Necessary

What do you do on those days when you just aren't "motivated" to work out? When your energy level is zero, your mind is a million miles away, and your get up and go is gone gone gone?

If you are relying on motivation to get you into your workouts, it's no wonder you are failing.  Motivation is an emotional push to get something done.  But emotions are fleeting.  That "thrill" you got the first few times you did a new workout will drop off very quickly.  That "emotional high" you get at the start of the workout just can't keep repeating.  So if you are relying on THAT to get you to your workouts - you are banking on an account that soon will be empty.

So what DO you use to get going?  I will let Rhadi Ferguson, US Olympian in Judo, answer that:
Lloyd Irvin (the Grappling Coach): "What would you tell them to motivate them?"
Rhadi Ferguson: "To be honest with you Lloyd, I would not tell them anything.  I would ask them one question.  I’d ask them the same question that my football coach asked me years ago when I was playing football.  He said, “What are your goals?  You’ve got to understand what your goals are.  Once you understand what your goals are, you can become mission focused.  You can get a vision for what you want to be and what you want to do. "

So there you have it:
  • Set goals.
  • Focus on those goals.
  • Work toward those goals.
Motivation will make it easier, but it isn't necessary.  Clear vision is.

Something else that's necessary is getting rid of your nasty procrastination habit. So DON'T WAIT!
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Posted by Rick at 23:20:53 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Tuesday | March 18, 2008

Bodyweight Exercises: No More Recipes!

Have you ever seen a fitness book that DOESN'T include dozens of stupid recipes that you will never make?  The intention is to have you follow a specific dietary program. The reality is that this section of the book is never read. Never.


 How we eat is a huge problem. And the 100's of “fad” diets that come out every year, masquerading as “scientific studies” and “proven techniques” just add to the noise of confusion.
I have been doing weightlifting, yoga, karate, or bodyweight exercises for almost 30 years and I never - NOT once - followed the chapter of recipes in any book. Why? Because it takes too damn long!


When I was opening a new office in one state, but still managing all my work in the old office, and commuting between the 2 - the only way to eat was fast food places. I picked the healthiest alternatives (Hardee's BBQ grilled chicken has only 4 gms fat, I seem to recall). But the point is that you can't prepare walnut-and-tofu-with-lean-chicken-salad at Gate 17 of Midway Airport!


So what's the solution?

Actually, the answer is many-fold:
  Ø      find a diet solution that focuses on overall nutrition, not just specific recipes;
 
        Ø      find a diet solution that is flexible and compatible with your life;
 
  Ø      find a diet solution that allows you to “fall off the wagon” with respect to what you eat;
  Ø      find a diet solution that fits in with your chosen exercise routine.

Do you need to become a nutritionist? No. Heck, I can brush my teeth, but I'm not a dentist. You do need to understand fundamentals of eating (too many fats are bad, but some fats are good, especially for infants) and then YOU can decide what to eat.

So check out The FITNESS Portal for products that fit everything we've talked about.

** New Products: **

  1. Fight Procrastination
  2. Increase Your SPEED
Check out the FREE Bonus (with ANY sale)
Get our FREE eBook “Physical Fitness In 30 SECONDS A Day”
And keep giving us feedback, either on the blog or on the Comment box.
Posted by Rick at 00:20:52 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Monday | March 10, 2008

Bodyweight Exercises: Fitting Fitness Into Your Life

What is the main reason Americans - and you and me - are gaining weight
and getting out of shape?  I'm sure there are 1,001 studies on this,
but I think the main reason is simply lack of time. Well, really it's
lack of ability to fit fitness into the rest of your life. 
For most people, this wasn't a problem when you were in high school or
college. Again, yeah, I've seen the surveys that say kids are getting
fatter. But that still ties back to my answer: because 20 years ago,
kids could fit fitness into their lives. 
There's a paradox here, though. (Ha! Bet you never thought you'd see
the word "paradox" on a blog about fitness, did ya?). The
athletes of today are so much better at such young ages. I am in AWE of
LeBron James's skills and abilities. It is beyond my comprehension that
someone could be that good, that young.
Want another paradox? (Twice! I'm on a roll!). Athletes are also
perfoming at a high level much older. Randy Couture is a mixed-martial arts
(MMA) champion in his mid-40's. Most top level MMA fighters are well
into their 30's in what looks like a sport that should be dominated by 20
year olds. 
So what's the take away from all this?  The average person (and I
include myself - full-time professional job, wife, 2 grade school kids) is
not LeBron James, and never was. But we did have a brief period of
athleticism (for me, it was 4 years of karate training). How do we get that
back?
By finding fitness programs that are flexible enough to adapt to your
current life. You want fitness to be a priority. You NEED fitness to be
a priority. So overcome the obstacle by using fitness programs that fit
in among all the other priorities of your life. That's what all these
blog posts are about. 
So check out The FITNESS Portal for products that fit everything we've
talked about. Check out the FREE Bonus with every purchase. 
Get our FREE eBook "Physical Fitness In 30 SECONDS A Day"
And keep giving us feedback, either on the blog or on the Comment box.
Posted by Rick at 23:59:49 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Friday | March 07, 2008

Bodyweight Exercises: Energy Levels And Working Out

Back in the day, I lifted weights A lot. Like almost everyday

after work and 1 or 2 days on the weekend. I lifted for

strength, so I wasn't particulary big. But I was way stronger

than I looked.

I bench pressed 325 3x with a body weight of 154. I did, at

each workout, about 15 sets of squats, working my way up from

225. See, I would do 1 set of squats in between other bodypart

exercises. So 3 sets shoulders - 1 set squats - 3 sets lats -

1 set squats. You get the idea.

Why do I tell you this? How does this relate to the title of

this post? Let me tell you about the time I tried to work out

with a hangover.

See, this is back when I drank. I don't drink now, but it has

nothing to do with being anti-alcohol or anything. It's just

that I didn't drink anything while I was dating my wife. I

was in law school and she was finishing up her music degree,

and she never went to bars. So I never went to bars. Well,

eventually someone offered me a beer, and I thought to myself

"why start again when I've just gone over 12 months without

drinking?" So I didn't. And I haven't.

Okay, back to the story. Now please understand - I didn't

really know I was hungover. I thought I was just extra tired

from a long night of super-hard dancing. So I hit my first

round of 3x10 bench presses, and then got under the bar for

a squat. And I pushed out 3, and on the 4th, I felt like the

little plug that holds all my energy in, got taken out and

all my energy drained out all over floor. I was done. Completely.

And I never forgot that day, for 2 reasons. First, because my

stomach felt like it had been turned inside-out and put back

in wrong. And second, because I had no backup workout routine.

I worked out 1 way, with 1 order of exercises. While that made

for great discipline, it sucks when it comes to adaptability.

A few years later, I broke my ankle. Actually snapped a tiny

little bone in thay area. So I couldn't go to the gym. But I

had nothing else. No bodyweight exercises or pilates or yoga.

Nothing. But, my appetite didn't decrease. And I actually put

back - in 3 weeks - ALL of the weight I lost the previous 6

months. Weight that I had lost without dieting - just by

exercising. Because my body was demanding lots of calories. And

I had no way to burn them off.

So an ideal fitness program has to be flexible, to adjust to

your energy level, and to your physical condition (hurt, tired,

distracted). I am not a "morning person" but morning is the

only time I have time to workout. So I have a routine that is

built around shotokan kata (because I can perform kata at any

level of interest, energy, or sleep deprivation) and a generous

smattering of bodyweight exercises. Because I have found that

this type of routine offers the most flexibility and

adaptability to things like energy level and time.

Hey! Check out The FITNESS Portal for 3 reasons:

1. a special FREE offer with any purchase. ANY purchase at all.

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3. A feedback form, for people who want to PRAISE or harass me,

but don't want to post to a blog.
Posted by Rick at 01:21:29 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Thursday | March 06, 2008

Bodyweight Exercises: RELAXATION and Fitness

Ideal fitness program incorporates relaxation
Relaxation techniques are too often overlooked as part of fitness.

This is probably because anything that doesn't directly make your

muscles bigger, or make you run faster, or make you lose weight is

ignored by us in the West as being part of a fitness program.


Fitness is more than weight loss or muscle gain. Fitness is really

anything that improves the quality of your life. Relaxation

certainly qualifies as that (well, except for my friend Chip. His

favorite saying was, "I've tried relaxing, but I enjoy the feeling

of being tense all the time.").


The benefits of relaxation are almost too numerous to mention.

Relaxation lowers your blood pressure, and helps to keep it at a

healthy level. Relaxation reduces stress, and allows you to handle

stress or other situations with calmness and detachment.


Any ideal fitness program incorporates relaxation into the body of

the program. The relaxation techniques will blend seamlessly with

the other elements of the fitness routine.


Relaxation is not some hippy yoga thing, but is used by all top

athletes. It should be used by all top business and professional

people, but - sadly - too often, people equate relaxation with

laziness.


The simplest form of relaxation is breathing. Deep breathing.

Rejuvenating breathing. Here's how:

1. stand or sit so that your waist is not bent.

2. breathe in as deep as you can.

3. breathe out, so that all of the air is out of yuor lungs.

4. breathe in again, but this time, force your stomach to push out

and keep breathing in, even when your lungs are full. Count inside

your mind 1, 2, 3... while breathing in.

5. Hold the breath for the same count as you breathed in.

6. Exhale for the same count you held it for. Empty your lungs

completely.

7. Repeat.


This form of deep breathing relaxes your body in several subtle ways:

1. by counting while breathing, your focus is put on your lungs and

away from your problems and stresses.

2. by filling - actually filling - your lungs with air, you are

getting badly needed oxygen to your stressed and tense muscles.

3. by using your abdominal muscles to force the air in and out,

you are activating your chi to begin to work throughout your body.


There are many forms of relaxation. But the key is to use them

inside and with your exercise and fitness program, so that the

benefits are maximized and magnified.


Are you wondering what this "ideal" fitness program looks like? Well,

in a few more posts, I will reveal an ideal program.

Until then, you can go to The FITNESS Portal to check out some great

programs, and to sign up for our FREE eBook "Physical Fitness In 30

SECONDS A Day" and our randomly-sent-out newsletter.
Posted by Rick at 01:44:39 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Wednesday | March 05, 2008

Bodyweight Exercises: Stretching And The IDEAL Program

An ideal fitness program will include stretching as a key component.

 This is because stretching keeps you limber, adding to a youthful appearance. Also, stretching keeps your muscles from getting tight during an activity, which prevents injuries. Finally, stretching can help reduce stress (which should also be a key goal of your fitness routine) by keeping your body physically able to quickly repond to stressors and by reducing or eliminating fatigue.

Now, just to be clear, I want to explain the type of stretching I am talking about. I do not mean the 5 or 10 minutes of stretching done at the beginning of an exercise class to warm up, or at the end to cool down. This type of stretching is designed to do just enough to cover the next 20 or 30 minutes. The stretching this article is looking at is more permanent than that.

I also do not mean the little itty bitty stretching, or the worse irrelevant stretching, that so-called exercise gurus throw into their exercise programs. These stretches are not related to the exercises in the program, and can actually cause injury. This is because you are stretching muscles that were not used in the exercise, or were antagonistic to muscles used in the exercise, and so don't focus on the right areas.

An ideal exercise program will include stretching that focuses on the muscles used throughout the program, to make sure those muscles are not hurt by exercising. But the stretching will also work all the muscles of your body, to keep balance after the exercise routine is finished.

This will also reduce fatigue and help you keep your energy at a constant level throughout the day, especially at those times of day you are naturally inclined to slow down or want to rest. This is different for each person. But stretching can reduce the ups and downs for everyone.

A fitness program that is properly designed will have stretching as a key and integral part. The stretching will be built into the routine, like a basement is built into a house. It won't be an after-the-fact add-on, like throwing a deck on the back of an already-built house.

So how does an ideal fitness program do this?  Well, that's probably coming up in another blog post.

In the meantime - as always - go to The FITNESS Portal to check out some great programs, and to sign up for our FREE eBook "Physical Fitness in 30-SECONDS A Day" and randomly-sent-out newsletter.

Posted by Rick at 15:17:25 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Tuesday | March 04, 2008

Bodyweight Exercises: What Does The Ideal Fitness Program Look Like?

What would an ideal fitness program contain? It would be easy to say "bodyweight exercises," but it is much more than that. The obvious answer is that the "ideal" fitness program is different for each person.

And that is such a cop-out.

Any ideal fitness program will have certain characteristics. One of these is that it will incorporate stretching seamlessly, so that the stretching exercises complement the remainder of the program.

Another characteristic is that it will have a relaxation component. This is because stress reduction and lowering blood pressure is a primary goal of an ideal routine.

Flexibility is an absolute must. But not YOUR flexibility. The program itself must be flexible enough to adapt to your time demands, your changing energy levels, and your motivation - or lack thereof.

Your program should be adjustable to your changing and growing goals. This month, your goal is weight loss. This day, you want to emphasize your best abdominal exercises. This week, you want to shock your body and change everything up.

It must also fit into your lifestyle, and the lifestyle of your family. This is different from being flexible day-to-day. The ideal fitness program is integrated into the goals and values that you, or your family, holds primary.

Diet actually should not be a key component of your ideal fitness program. Let's face it: almost no one sticks to a diet. So why should your fitness program be killed just because you can't eat chicken and rice for 39 consecutive meals?

However, your fitness program must burn enough calories to cover those times when you do eat bad. Or is it badly? Because it is possible to lose weight without dieting.

Finally, the program should not require a massive life change from you. You are trying to get fit, lose some weight, maybe adjust your cholesterol level or fend off approaching diabetes. While some people try to
tie this back to "you didn't get enough hugs as a child," the reality is that an ideal fitness program is one that you can follow and stick with whether or not you reach this bizarre nirvana. You know what? I eat a brownie because I like the taste of brownies. Not to fill an emotional void in the center of my soul - to fill a brownie sized hole in the center of my stomach. Is that heresy? So what.

So, now that we've laid out the characteristics of an ideal fitness program, what would it look like? Aaaah... Stay tuned for those posts over the next few days...

Until those posts are put up, go to The FITNESS Portal to check out some great programs, and to sign up for our FREE eBook and randomly-sent-out newsletter.
Posted by Rick at 01:42:37 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |