Those voices in my head

Many times the alarm goes off in the morning and it's hard to climb out form under the covers and get going.

I get these voices in my head.

I promise I'm not crazy so keep reading.

You probably know them they say "skip your workout today sleep in" or the infamous  procrastinator voice that tries to bargain with me and says "you can always do it tomorrow."

Once I get to the gym there is another one that chimes in " go light today or skip weights and do cardio." There always seems to be some voices that tell me things that are contrary to my goals.

Then when it comes to eating the one that always tries to sucker me in with "just one won't hurt." Many times when I listen to that voice one ends up being 6, 8 or 10.

As crazy as it sounds I believe we all have these voices inside telling us to take the easy route and justifying. The problem is that these voices don't have our best interest in mind when it comes to being successful in whatever endeavor we are pursuing.

Sometimes it pays to listen to them. Like when you are sick or overtrained but the majority of the time they are saboteurs. 

Almost every time I ignore those voices and push through I feel better and have a great sense of accomplishment.

Why do I push through these things.  Why is why. No I'm not trying to confuse you.  I'm talking about my WHY.  My WHY is what gets me up it is more powerful than all those voices.



So if  you are struggling to get up and stay committed to your fitness goals you are not alone. Most people are starting to abandon their New Years resolutions goals. 

Here is your first step to sticking to those resolutions and being successful.

Find your ‘why.’




When you find your ‘why’ – which is your personal, underlying motivation for getting healthy and fit – then you tap into real commitment – and your fitness success becomes a foregone conclusion.



Because when your ‘why’ is strong enough, you’ll show up for your training sessions, every time – without fail. And, as Woody Allen says, “80% of success is just showing up!”



But one thing we know for sure…it’s easier to remember WHEN to show up if you’ve got it scheduled on your calendar, smartphone or whatever!



And here’s something that’s profound…



The irony of commitment is… it sets you free!



Nothing has the power to eliminate stress, anxiety and worry like commitment. Commitment sets you free – it liberates you. Because we all recognize, at some level, commitment is inevitable if we really want what we say we want. And it’s commitment that empowers us to get what we want. Intention is where you start, the goal is where you finish – but it’s your commitment that carries you through the race.



I hope that doesn’t sound ‘hokey’ to you…because it’s not. Commitment is the cure. Because commitment produces action, and action produces results.

More meathead urban myths from the weight room...

This past week I thought of some more dumb urban myths you frequently hear in gym.  Most of them are from meatheads who liken themselves to be philosophers. Just ask them the next time they spew one of these stupid laws of the gym what is the scientific rational behind their "law."  Chances are you'll get the deer in the headlights look or  the "I read it in Muscle and Fiction." 

Here are some more that make me cringe...:

1. During bench press touch the bar to your chest.  This is great if you are short an stocky and have a barrel chest. Most people that try to do this bring their shoulders into a dangerous position that puts a lot of stress on the glenohumeral joint and connective tissue versus the muscles. A good good general rule of thumb is go slightly past 90 degrees at the elbow. Always retract and pinch your shoulder blades when lowering to keep good rhythm between your shoulder blades and glenohumeral joint thus preventing injuries.

2. Squat to parallel. I used to go beyond parallel which looked cool but gave me some sweet tendinitis.  We do tons of movement screens. Many people don't have the flexibility, mobility or stability to get to parallel especially with a load on their back.  Our rule of thumb is squat to the depth where you have good form and can maintain a neutral spine. A good place to start when trying to get lower on your squats is improving calf flexibility and foot mobility which will instantly add depth to your squat. 

3.)Machines are king because you can do more weight.  Get out of the stone ages!  I hear guys brag about their leg press all the time. Big F***in deal ! Get under the rack and squat than I'll be impressed anyone who has done a free weight squat will attest that it is way more difficult than a leg press. Free weights challenge stabilizers and core musculature. Machines don't do any of this! If you are trying to build muscle they have their place but as finishing movements. Like icing on the cake. Start with basic compound movements like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, pull ups, rows and overhead presses. Add in things like leg curls, leg extensions and tricep pushdowns when you have done the big movements. 

4.)High reps tone,  heavy weights bulk you up!    This is another piece of BS I hear all the time. Higher weights build endurance.  Moderate to heavier weights add hypertrophy i.e. muscle bulk.  Using reps of 6-12 is generally what has been shown to build muscle.  Also look at tempo which has to with time under tension for the muscle.  Keeping the muscle under tension between 40-70 seconds is a good guideline to use. We recommend using a tempo of 3 sec lowering 2 sec pause and 2 sec hold this would be about 7 seconds per rep.  Doing heavy weights will add alot of intensity to your muscles but won't necessarily add much size. 

Women fear bulking up but let me reiterate they don't have the hormone levels to bulk up like men and it also depends heavily on caloric intake.

In Prescription Alternatives, Professor Earl Mindell and Virginia Hopkins detail these findings: "In a recent study on bone density and exercise, older women who did high-intensity weight training two days per week for a year were able to increase their bone density by one percent, while a control group of women who did not exercise had a bone density decrease of 1.8 to 2.5 percent. The women who exercised also had improved muscle strength and better balance, while both decreased in the non-exercising group."

Notice it said high intensity weight training not light weights for toning. Being strong doesn't mean being big.

I have soccer moms who are lean, athletic, and feminine who can flip tractor tires in back of my studio.  That's strong!

Here is a breakdown of good rep ranges we use for different adaptations:

12-25 Endurance

6-12   Hypertrophy (building muscles a.k,a "toning)

1-5     Strength

So there you go. The next time the local gym "expert" starts ranting all his knowledge you'll now have a different perspective. 

Urban fitness an weight loss myths

Here we are in the New Year and people are going crazy trying to undo months of bad habits in a few weeks.  The infomercials are in high gear promising to fix all your problems with one little gadget.  There all kinds of celebrity diets surfacing out there my personal favorite is the HCG Diet where you literally starve yourself and take HCG in a oral compound this is the same thing steroid users take when coming off their cycles.  You go on their site and they have a doctor (which is probably an actor who is a doctor on a soap opera) to make it look all official and they have a testimonial with a woman but let;s see how she looks this time next year.  It's crap like all other diets. People get it through your heads the word DIET is a short term solution to a long term problem.


Anyway while at parties or social gatherings people approach me with "urban myths" about working out and weight loss. So  I decided to list my top four and what I think about these.


1.) There is no magic do hickey or device that is the magic bullet.  Your body needs frequent change and variation to keep changing and improving.  I have found that using a variety of training equipment works when applied correctly. People get into these camps thinking one things is the answer when really it all is. I know there is a kettlebell infomercial out there and people think that they are the best  but the problem is there are many people who aren't' ready to do kettlebells. My wife's cousin got this system hurt herself and ended up trying to sell them Ebay.   You need to vary your resistance training and make sure you know what you are doing when using equipment especially kettlebells. Here are all the types resistance we use free weight, cables, kettlebells, water filled pvc pipe, ropes, TRX, sleds, bodyweight, rubber tubing, stability balls, body blades, throwing bags, bosus and of course our tractor tires out back. That's quite a list! My point is keep varying it up and your body will never get too comfortable and plateau.

2.)By doing  X diet  I can lose so much more fat.I'm sick of hearing  how this diet proves to increase fat burning 5 time more than typical diets or how Paris Hilton did this diet and lost 20 pounds in 2 weeks. The supermarket line is loaded with BS.  Here's a reality check dieting doesn't  work.  We are pushing 70% for the amount of adults who are considered to be overweight and the diet industry is worth 100 billion dollars. So we keep getting fatter as they get richer. Sounds a little fishy to me.   Quit fooling yourself.  Get with a nutritionist or dietitian that knows there stuff and learn how to eat for the long haul. Quit going on and off diets.  If diets worked why are you on another one?   Think long term not short term. Learn about low glycemic eating, learn how to read labels, educate and empower yourself instead of listening to some sell out quack doctor who is peddling his medically approved system  or following the routine that some celebrity who resembles  the skeleton we had anatomy class recommends. What the hell are her credentials anyway?

3.)Running is the only way to lose weight. I hear this one alot. People are obsessed with running. What they don't realize is 70-80% of weight loss is nutrition.  They can go out and run burning 500 calories or so but come right back to the house and erase that calorie burn with a few pieces of pizza or that White Mocha Sugar Supreme Whatchamacallit from Starbucks.  Besides many people should not run because their structure is messed up and the impact will only damage them more. Try biking, elliptical, swimming, circuit training or boxing. There is more than one way to skin a cat.

4.)If I train with weights I bulk up to much. Women say this one all the time. The truth is they don't have the testosterone levels to add muscle like men do.  There levels are usually one fourth of men's. Plus if you aren't eating too many calories you can't add bulk. So once again it comes back to nutrition. Also if you do not want to look like a bodybuilder don't train like one. I like to use circuits with my women and mix it up with high intensity exercises that get the heart rate up and crank up the metabolism as well as shape the body. Check us out on face book where you can find some of out circuit videos. To see what I mean.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Puravida-Fitness-LLC/94822718190

Don't Play The Prevent Defense

Don’t Play The Prevent Defense”

I’ve been a Vikings fan since I was a little kid. One of things they seem to do no matter who is the coach is play the prevent(a win) defense. Whoever designed this defense is a moron. Because it never works. For those of you that aren’t football scholars here is the premise of the prevent defense. When you are ahead let the offense keep gaining on you but do it so that they run out of time before they can score enough points to tie or beat you. So basically instead of playing to win it’s playing not to lose. Well guess what happens when teams go in the prevent.. THEY LOSE.



Why am I babbling about football theory.



Well, I think many people go through life playing the prevent defense that is not to lose. They complain about being overweight or not having enough money but when called out to do something about it they make excuses why they can’t succeed. I’ve been in this field for a long time and have seen and heard it all. I see who makes progress towards their fitness goals and who constantly struggles and never makes progress.



The ones who achieve do whatever it takes to get it done. If that means they have to get up earlier to work out they do it if that means they can’t eat sweets every day they say "no.” most of the time. They are consistently showing up and making good lifestyle choices.



Then there are the ones who consistently struggle and never make any real progress. They use any excuse not to work out like “it’s snowing”(we live in Minnesota deal with it) or I’m too busy(everyone is busy) winners focus on how they can get it done and losers like to fixate on all the reasons they can’t do it.

There is always excuses not to and there will never be a time in life when the stoplights are all green. So quit sitting back playing the prevent in life and play to win. Pick a goal that you want to accomplish this year and pursue it with relentless passion.