Holy Crap! Exercise Makes You Fat?

Now that I have your attention I can relay some very important advice on a recent article that was published in Time magazine: Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin – TIME: http://tinyurl.com/m9l26h

About 10 years ago, I would have lost my mind and become enraged, angry and out of control over such an article being written.  Thankfully, I have matured and can see both sides of the fence. Although, I couldn’t disagree more with the article and some of its facts, I can appreciate the argument and do understand where some of the misinterpreted information may be coming from.

Our fitness industry is full of information that sometimes gets misconstrued in the eyes of the consumer- like the writer of the aforementioned article.  Hell, if we were able to convince everyone what we know works, there wouldn’t be diet books, weight loss programs or for that matter very much need for our services because everybody would be on the same page. We, the fitness industry, are still trying to convey our message to those who will listen, and articles like this do not help us with our mission.

Listen to me: EXERCISE DOES NOT MAKE YOU FAT!!!!! It burns calories, improves cardiovascular function, decreases risks of developing certain diseases, improves your ability to live a long and prosperous life, helps with stress relief, improves cognitive function (see TIME article for this one supporter of exercise), increases bone density and muscle tissue, plus just feels amazing if you let it into your life.

Exercise comes in many forms and is appropriate for any person, at any level, of any gender, race or physical capacity. The fitness industry has options for everyone. Unfortunately, not everyone gets put into the proper programming for their ability, motivation levels or fitness goals.  A professional fitness trainer will take all of this into account and provide proper training, education and motivation for each of their clients.

Additionally, diet, which seems to be the main topic of discussion in this article, can account for more than 50% of the consumer’s results. Yes, exercise may invoke a hunger response, but a knowledgeable consumer will know better than to shove more than their needed daily calories into their mouths or indulge in crappy, non-nutrient dense foods post exercise.

It’s always been about balance: eat more, weigh more, eat less, weigh less. Can you eat less and lose weight without exercise? Yes, of course. Will your muscle’s atrophy (shrink in size and make you look like a saggy, bag of bones with a flat ass) by dieting alone without exercise? Yes, of course. Not to mention missing out on the wonderful side effects of regular exercise. ACSM, AHA and all the leading organization tout regular workouts on most days of the week for a reason. It works!

Bottom line: you need to move your mass, eat a balanced, healthy diet that supports your daily efforts and works within your current fitness abilities and motivational efforts. I’m sorry many people don’t enjoy exercise or moving their body parts. I’m also sorry that society has created drive thrus,  remote controls, sedentary jobs, video games, microwaves, cable TV and all the other indulgent activities we all take advantage of.

This article was just a giant excuse in my opinion. Yet another reason for consumers to not exercise or place blame on it being too hard and/or not effective. Weight loss is 50% effort, 50% diet and 100% percent commitment. Yes, that is 150%. Genetics, lifestyle and motivational levels will effect your percentages. I’m sorry you weren’t blessed with mile-long legs, a cute button nose and all the things your genetics didn’t give you. What are you willing to do, what can you do and what should you do? Three important questions to ask before you start your weight loss journey.

Don’t let this article discourage your exercise efforts, personal training sessions or investments in your health. Exercise is a tried and true method for weight loss and improved physical capacity.  Exercise does not make you fat rather, it’s the other pieces of effort that do.

Staying balanced,

Amy

PS- The worst part of this article is the piece of fat turning into muscle..this is not possible. Muscle tissue grows with specific exercise, and fat tissue shrinks as we burn off extra calories, therefore body composition changes. We can’t morph tissues- although that would be cool!!

PPS- If execise made you fat then how do you explain all the fitness professionals who walk the talk?

5 Common Mistakes Men Make in The Gym

Continuing on my path of observations I have to include the male presence in the fitness facility. The last blog post was about the girls, but this one is geared toward the men who are regular exercisers in the gym. Although there are some similar things that both the male and female do, there are definitely some unique traits many men possess when they workout.

I should also mention, that there are some very well-rounded exercisers (both male and female) that have excellent workout programs and continue to make progress, change things up and are still seeing success with their goals. These blogposts are more just my keen observation on the more common reasons gym sessions are less than optimal for both sexes.

If you are a male who regularly exercises (3 or more times per week) do you take part in any of the following mistake activities when you workout at the gym or elsewhere?

1. Doing too much too soon- jumping into a two hour workout session that includes high intensity activities and large volumes of weight training is going to leave you sore as hell! While some delayed muscle soreness is expected it is important that men understand gradual progression by slowly adding more to the mix. Going from no exercise in 6 months to 2 hours of exercise in the first session is extreme and beyond most high end guidelines. Tone it down a bit!

2. Using less than optimal form or movement speed- more often than not too much weight is the cause of poor exercise performance. There tends to be a hang-up on “how much weight” one can lift, rather than how well the performance is. Injury risk is dramatically increased when poor technique or too fast of speed is executed. Ask a certified pro to help you gauge a proper starting weight and use correct form ALWAYS.

3. Not warming-up properly or at all- a proper warm-up is crucial to preparing the body for more vigorous activity, for lubrication of joints, for gradually increasing heart rate and improving the body’s ability to neurologically connect to muscles and movements. Jumping in at full speed or lifting heavy without warming up is also an excellent way to pull and/or strain a muscle, plus decrease activity potential as the body has not gradually worked into the higher intensity levels.

4. Ignoring the lower half and the trunk- Similar to how women will do tons of exercises for their problem areas in hopes to dissolve away fat, men seem to spend more time and energy building their upper body, arms and shoulders, but barely touching those highly important lower body muscles and their core. Neglecting any of the major muscles groups leads to imbalance, potential for injury and disproportion of the muscles in the body. Besides, you don’t want to be called “chicken legs” now do you?

5. Practically running away from the stretching area- very rarely do I see men finishing their workouts with appropriate stretching. Over the years this will take a toll and decrease joint range of motion, may lead to back pain, stiffness and a decreased ability to perform day to day functions like taking off your T-shirt. All the major muscle groups should be stretched at the end of the workouts and held for 15-30 seconds each.

Of course all of these mistakes have proper guidelines, activities and opportunities for repair. Seeking the advice a certified fitness professional or just making a conscious effort to heed some of the tidbits of advice I have offered will be beneficial.  Do your best to make adjustments, work efficiently and enjoy your workouts mistake free!

I’ll be watching!

In health and fitness- Amy

5 Common Mistakes Women Make in The Gym

Many of my female clients are gym members who have been working out for years, but are no longer seeing results or are just plain bored and frustrated. They are dedicated individuals who enjoy the benefits of exercise, but are ready to throw in the towel because they are either gaining weight, losing function or just feeling stagnant.

It comes as no surprise to me  because I often view them in the gym and understand why they aren’t meeting their fitness goals or seeing further improvement. There are some common mistakes among woman (trust me men are not excluded from this) that are made when it comes to working out, which can lead to these discouraging scenarios.

Are you making any one of these common mistakes?

1. Focusing too much attention or cardiovascular/cardio training- this builds muscle endurance and burns calories, but isn’t the most effective way to build the lean tissue needed to support optimal body composition

2. Not putting enough intensity into their workouts- I don’t know if it’s fear, habit, stubbornness or just a combination of all three, but women need to up their workout intensity to burn more calories, improve their fitness levels and provide overload and progression to their current workout routines. This applies to cardio and strength routines!

3. Still doing 100’s of reps of exercises to spot reduce- spot reduction can only happen via plastic surgery. Weight loss will happen all over the body with a combination of cardio, strength and good eating habits. Doing 100 leg lifts per leg every day is called muscle endurance training and will not make the fatty tissue on top disappear.

4. Skipping exercises that work major muscle groups- they don’t like to work their back, but love to work their legs so they skip all the back exercises in the circuit, or just do the ones they like. This alone can lead to a screaming case of muscle imbalance, which can increase the risk of injury. You’ve got to train the entire body, front to back, side to side, deep and superficial!

5. Going back to old habits- doing the same routines for 20 years is will lead to plateauing (no longer seeing results or change). This is why it is so important to work with a certified professional to help you change up your routines, keep you fresh, improve your fitness levels and prevent overuse injuries and boredom.

Notice a trend in any of these habits? Do you do one, a couple or all of them?  It’s all fixable! Making a change to just one fo these common mistakes will certainly give you some results and encourage you to start fixing the others. After all, aren’t results what you’re after?

Keep it fresh- Amy

PS- 5 common mistakes men make in the gym is coming later this week

PPS- A more in depth article will follow both blog posts

The Snotty Instructor + A Few Other Tips About the Fitness Industry

Inspiration comes in many forms for me. Mostly from my students, clients and fellow fitness friends. I observe, listen, make mental notes in my head and of course will share my opinion at the drop of a hat if I’m allowed. I realize people don’t agree on everything, but I do know that if you don’t speak your mind and let people know how you feel about issues you really lose the option to be argumentative about it later.

Today’s inspiration came from a couple of sources: a regular student who takes classes from many yoga instructors at the gym and the lovely (all rules of sarcasm apply in the word lovely) gentleman who works out regularly in the weight room. Both of these circumstances had me frustrated and compelled to yell at the top of my lungs. Of course, I didn’t. I observed, listened and decided to blog my thoughts and share a few inside tips regarding fitness industry professionalism.

Teaching is an art!

Inspiration one-The Yoga Participant
Chatting up class today one of the participants shared her recent visit to a well-known San Fransisco yoga studio (which I will never speak highly of again after hearing her story). The instructor referred to her in the middle of class as the “person who needed more yoga training.” These are actually nicer words than she described to me. Additionally, this yoga teacher asked where the student was taking classes back home, then laughed when he found out! So yoga-like, too don’t you think? Pompous, rude, snotty, arrogant all come to mind when I even conceive the thought of this dear person being treated so unprofessionally by a so-called certified instructor. The thought of being so inconsiderate to a guest in my class is mind-numbing. This is absolutely not acceptable by any means! This just screams DIVA to me.

Inspiration two- The Weight Room Patron
I call him, “I wear my sunglasses man” because he wears his shades to work out in. Ridiculous because we don’t have a retractable roof, nor is the lighting all that bright. He has obviously dabbled in bodybuilding as he is built like one: shorter, packed on muscle, little body fat. Genetics, sport specific training and his diet keep him this way. Because he looks muscular people assume he has some knowledge about fitness and many will try to work out with him so they can look like him. He is not a certified fitness professional, he does not give proper advice and he practices OLD school training protocols. Nothing I’ve seen him do or offer to people remotely represents the fitness industry today. I won’t even go into detail about his narcissistic behaviors when it comes to utilizing the equipment and sharing space with others. Mr. “I wear my sunglasses at..” is a far cry from a trained professional, rather he plays one on TV with poor scripting.

So wear does all this inspiration lead me? Guidelines and tips of course on how to choose a properly trained fitness professional whether it be a group exercise instructor (yoga, pilates, cycling, kickboxing or whatever) or professional trainer. How does the consumer know they are getting the real deal or the make believe version. Let me enlighten you with the following:

A professional instructor should always:
1. Facilitate- be able to accommodate class members with enough equipment and space
2. Anticipate- be aware of class participants at all times and offer modifications to movements, suggestions or other options for all levels irregardless of format.
3. Motivate- keep the class moving with appropriate movements for the format, speak with a positive tone without ridiculing or pointing out participants, encourage everyone to work at their own level, and offer plenty of positive feedback
4. Educate- stay informed by attending continuing education sessions, implement the information into their curriculum and be aware of current fitness guidelines and research.
5. Be professional and courteous to all participants, regulars, visitors and newcomers alike
6. Hold a certification from an accredited organization such as ACE, AFAA or ACSM

All professional fitness trainers should:
1. Hold a certification from an accredited organization such as ACE, ASCM, NSCA, NASM or other. *Important mention-although bodybuilding & sport experience is great it does not relate to all the job responsibilities of personal training. We do more than teach exercises to clients!
2. Have a minimum of 200 hours of training and/or practicum and/or degree in exercise science or related field
3. Hold specialty certifications and training for formats such as yoga, pilates, cycling or other specialties *same goes for instructors
4. Maintain their certifications by attending continuing education workshops
5. Be not only a physical role model, but also a health and fitness educational resource for clients
6. A professional trainer is not your workout buddy, but your coach, confidant and butt-kicker!!

These guidelines and tips are essential traits and qualities that every fitness professional should possess. Although each trainer or instructor will have their own individual personality traits, it is critical that they are able to support their clients and participants with not only a sound background of training, education and experience, but also compassion, dedication, enthusiasm and patience. Really, would you want it any differently?

If nothing else, just remember to stay away from the snotty instructors and second guess any information you get from somebody who needs to wear sunglasses into the weight room. Just because somebody can lift a whole bunch of weight doesn’t make them a personal trainer!!

Always observing and listening..
Amy

Treating Your Symptoms and Ignoring the Culprit

I was talking to one of my students after yoga class today and one thing came up in conversation that inspired a brilliant comment from her. We were discussing my mother and her recent back injury, as well as my struggle to support her with her unhealthy lifestyle choices, hence part of the back injury.

She said, “People will treat their back, but not their weight.” I almost screamed I was so impressed with that statement. I told her I just had to go home and blog about it..so here I am.

I do find it strange that symptoms of extra weight, such as increased incidence of lower back pain, chronic, knee, ankle and foot issues, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and decreased ability to function with day to day activities are more commonly treated with ignorance rather than being pro-active.

The statistics are out there, healthcare professionals support it and fitness professionals are screaming it at the top of their lungs. If you lose weight, these issues will not be such a nuisance in your life. You may still suffer from the aches and pains of too much, too soon or experience a case of muscle reawakening from doing a new activity, but the chronic symptoms that plague so many overweight individuals will no longer be an issue.

Do you want to treat these symptoms?

So why are so many still treating the symptoms of being overweight rather than addressing the culprit itself? It’s like bandaging up the wounds from your attacker, but the attacker is still free to roam and injure you again. I’m not sure about the logic, but I do know this:

Exercise works for everybody. We have parameters, guidelines, exercises and programming for all of you no matter where you are in life. If you have an injury (chronic or acute), medical concern, previous to no exercise experience, or are a former athlete there is still something that you can get started with immediately.

Certified and educated fitness pros can help guide you in the right direction and develop a sound program based off of your current state of fitness and health, help you formulate your goals and design a specialized routine that will work for your individual needs.

I know some people dread exercise more than anything in the world, but you just can’t avoid it. We have to move it to lose it, and we have to move it to stay healthy. The alternative is continue down the path of treating your individual symptoms and enjoy the lackluster lifestyle.

I’ve picked my path and hope you will all join me in an occasional day of delayed muscle soreness from exercise. I feel great and look forward to a long, happy life!

Make it a happy, healthy, fit day!
Amy

Great Fitness Advice-Get Over Yourself!

OK- I admit it, exercise is hard sometimes and doesn’t always feel good. BUT- it beats the alternative of feeling lethargic, lackluster and carrying around extra weight that is not only unnecessary (unless your pregnant), but unhealthy. Besides making most people feel less than attractive, extra weight contributes to heart disease, metabolic disorders like type II diabetes and orthopedic issues. Enough said!

As a fitness professional I create, deliver and administer dozens of programs every month for my clients, classes and camps, which will and do deliver results. These results vary based off of each participant’s abilities, commitment and willingness to participate and stay engaged with their programming and/or group activities. I can lead them to the water hole, show them the way, but ultimately it is up to them to drink in my advice and reap the benefits.

Being brutally honest I often find that individuals are layered with excuses for not doing something, or they use their current state of health/wellness as one BIG excuse for not being able to comply to actions necessary to find results. Professionally speaking, I would never ask anybody to do more than what they are physically capably of doing- that would be irresponsible and disrespectful. However, it can become frustrating when people do not let go of their current state of health and use is as a crutch to keep from making progress.

We have the power to let go and we have the power to hang on. The question is why are people still hanging on to unhealthy habits and throwing up their hands so easily when results don’t show up after one week of effort?  It takes weeks of effort to see results, and the effort put forth will show vast differences in those results. Not giving in to old habits and staying focused on what you can do and doing it well is what needs to happen.

By far, I think my best and most in your face piece of fitness advice is this, “Get over yourself!” You don’t like where you are, then change it and stop making excuses for why you can’t. Exercise can be modified and created for anybody regardless of age, gender, health or physical ability. It just plain works! No BS!!

It is ultimately everyone’s choice to do something or to not do something. Look forward and focus on the things that can happen if you take action, rather than what has happened. If your happy where you are, keep at it, but if you want more from your health, fitness and appearance then take my advice..Get over it and make a change!

Honestly- Amy

Outdoor Fitness Camps Are Booming!

It looks like the fitness trend of boot camps is really taking off! The past 6 months has really given rise to these formats, which are fun, challenging, provide stellar results and are cost effective for the participants. A private personal training session can cost you over $60.00 per hour and around $750.00 per month if you met with your trainer three times per week. Who has that kind of money to spend in this economy?

A 3 day a week boot camp averages around $125.00 per person for a month session and not only provides you with a trainer designed program, but also the extra push most people need but aren’t willing to take when it comes to losing weight.

So how about it- interested in trying one out? We’ve recently added a few more options to our camp offerings and outdoor fitness camps. You can check them out by clicking on one of the links in the blog or by directly visiting the site http://www.fitnessgatherings.com/bootcamp.htm

Important mention: you can come and try any of our outdoor camps for FREE the first time. Come join the fun, experience the great outdoors and challenge yourself in an entirely different way. Once you try it, you’ll be convinced this is exactly what you’ve been missing in your fitness program.

Come out and play!

In health and adventure- Amy