Cardio addiction

One problem I have seen over the years as a trainer is "cardio addiction." This is where people get the mindset that they need to do tons of cardio everyday to stay lean and keep the fat off. This is simply in my opinion an urban legend in the fitness realm.

What we have to remember is exercise is a form of stress on the body and we need to treat it like medicine. A moderate form of stress is good just like a moderate dose of medicine is in most cases. However, if we overdose on exercise i.e. cardio just liek medicine we see negative side effects start to occur that will sabotage our best efforts. We will overstress the body and it will start to break down from the inside out. We will become overtrained and produce large amounts of the stress hormone cortisol which can cause inflammation and impede muscle recovery and fat burning two things we need to build lean mass and get that lean look that most people strive for.

If you have ever seen a serious marathon runner you will notice that many times they are skinny but not really toned. Alot of this is because they are constantly stressing their body and it is breaking down on the inside. They are dipping into protein(muscle) for energy which takes away from the lean look. Their muscles many times look like "flat tires." This is not always the case. Some runners who cycle their training properly and get optimal nutrition do look more toned.

Do you think it's coincidence some of these great marathoners have been having heart attacks i.e. Alberto Salazar? It's really simple why this is happening, too much stress on the body and not enough recovery time.

Another thing I feel is a big problem is doing the same type of cardio over and over and over. In my mind this is very counterproductive. One way is the fact is if you don't "rotate your tires" by crosstraining you will wear down your joints much like the tires in your car if you don't switch them up. I have a big problem with running programs drawn up by running coaches because they have you running 4-5 times per week which can be murder on your knees and low back especially if you are running on pavement. I like to have my clients do 2 running days a week versus 4-5 and have them crosstrain with non or lower impact cardio on the other days(biking, swimming, eliptical).

The other way is that your body will adapt to these modes fairly quickly and if you are trying to lose weight and burn calories it is essential to keep switching it up every time you change your strength phases (4-6 weeks). Keep the body off guard so it will continue to be challenged and burn calories at a high rate.

To sum it all up cardio is best done in moderate doses(3-5 times a week), I even promote a 2 days on 1 day off concept where you do 2 days in a row and take a day off . Also keep mixing it up so you don't wear down your joints. Another thing is keep you sessions under 60 minutes in one session per day(unless you are training for a marathon or triathlon) don't tax your body more than once per day as this can also lead to over training as well. Think quality versus quantity. I personally like to do 3-4 days a week of 20-40 minutes. 2 days are interval days shorter and more intense interval training for 20-30 minutes to really push into my anaerobic system and the other two are long pace maintaining my heart rate at 70-80% of my max to challenge my aerobic system.

I feel this works well and it allows me to get it done in conjunction with my strength training so I keep a balanced routine and have time to stretch as well. Remeber exercise is like medicine the right dose is effective, an overdose causes negative side effects, an too little yields no results.

Fitness Retreats A New Trend!

Recently, we held our first fitness retreat on Minnesota's beautiful North Shore. We had a small group but it was a great way for us to connect with some of our clients and spend some time educating them. I think one of the problems that clients have is relying too heavily on the trainer to do all the thinking.

When it comes to personal training, the clients who have the most success are usually the ones who decide to get educated and not just follow blindly what the trainer says. They ask questions, they read assigned articles and books to really gain an understanding of why they are doing what they are doing. These people really tend to outshine clients who just show up and do their workout and listen to the trainer's advice but never really apply it outside of the gym.

This is why I believe these retreats can be a vital offering for fitness professionals. We all have several irons in the fire distracting our attention daily so it's hard to internalize alot of the information we receive when it's mixed in with other junk throughout the day.

I know it's the same for me trying to do continuing education for my recertifications. I always attend at least one big out of state education conference each year. Even though there are seminars and events on town, I feel getting out of my hectic environment to really focus on educating myself is much more effective when it comes to retaining the information.

The same goes for people trying to learn how to make major lifestyle changes. If they can really spend a few days focusing on developing a new plan and mindset without interruptions, I think that will greatly elevate their chances for success. Therefore going forward we are going to plan to do at least two of these events yearly. The focus will be on developing a customized wellness plan and educating clients on different components of wellness. Subscribe to this blog or contact us through our website at http://www.puravidafitness.com/ to get on our mailing lists so you know when the next one is.

We plan to make the next one even better with more helpful content that helps change lives for the better

Please send us controversial topics to cover in this blog that are related to fitness or nutrition. We'll give you our two cents on it.

My Reaction to another bullsh*t "miracle" pill!!

Recently scientist think that they discovered another "miracle pill" that people can take that will supposedly help them burn fat without exercising. Great just great give people more excuses to be lazy. When will people wake up and realize staying in shape takes work and it is not easy!! When has anything in life that is truly worth it ever been easy??

Why is our society at 70% of the population overweight. I'll tell you why we eat more and move less. There is no magic cure. Remember phen-fen in the 90s. It was touted as miracle fat loss drug. Guess what it helped people lose fat but also did some nasty things to the heart in the process.

Take Alli, you can lose weight with the threat of crapping your pants. Sounds insane, right? People are still buying it though.

We will never lower that 70% number until people give up on quick fixes and take personal responsibility for their health. I've seen so many of these "promising" pills come out and end up being to good to be true every time. Sp if you are waiting for that perfect pill give it up it is as about as real as Santa Clause(hope I didn't burst any one's bubble by revealing Santa is a fraud).

Wake up America. This country was built on hard work and discipline. That is what it takes to really get fit and healthy. Quit dieting, quit whining about not being able to lose weight when you give a half assed effort and quit making excuses!!

I guarantee this will be another promising drug that lets everyone down just like the rest of them. I wonder if there is a bet in the sports book in Vegas for that? I could probably make some money on that bet.

A perfect 10

Recently I have been doing a coaching class for myself where I am working on screening potential clients better and asking them questions in order to get them committed to really making changes and not just making a half assed effort which yields half assed results.

The most profound one is "where is your commitment on a score of 1-10. They say if you are not at a 10 than you should not proceed with this potential client until they are a solid 10. I agree with this because I have seen to often people come in with big goals and we create an action plan but when it comes down to it they are all talk and no action.

If I had asked this question earlier we could have avoided either wasting both of our times or really made the person more committed. This is something that I am trying to improve as a trainer and business owner. People who are committed get results and refer friends. Ones who say for example I want to lose 20 pounds but show up one time a week for a workout and eat healthy about half the time, continue to spin their wheels and never lose weight. They bitch how they've tried everything but don't realize that they are the problem not the programs they are doing.

If you only showed up for work half the time and expected to get paid for full time, people would say that this is a ridiculous expectation. The same goes with exercise, especially weight loss. You really need to be doing all of the following to really make progress
1. Strength training
2. Cardio Exercise
3. Flexibility
4. Following a healthy eating plan and logging your intake if you are trying to lose weight
5.. Finding someone or a group to be accountable to
6. Just having some good old fashion discipline. Learn to Say "NO" to junk food alcohol and treats!!

So if you are in a funk you need to look at your level of commitment to your fitness program right now. Do something to refocus. Sign up for a 5k join an exercise group. Register to be part of our You Lose, They Gain challenge see our website at www.puravidafitness.com for details.

For God's sake don't continue to sit around and feel bad about yourself and complain. Do something about it and quit making excuses. There are always excuses not to and the
stoplights in life will never all be green.

If you need help contact us or someone you know who is a great coach to help you design
a workable but efficient plan just for you.

You can do this!! Today could be the first day you turn it around or you could just stay in the hamster wheel of hating how you look and feel but not REALLY doing anything about it even though you kid yourself that you are and it's hopeless. It's your choice....

The power of assessments

Recently I have been doing alot of reassesments on clients on how they are doing in terms of weight management and body fat percentage. It seems at the end of summer clients lose motivation and tend to slide a little on their eating and exercise because of trips up north and trying to enjoy those last sunny days.

Heck, I'm even guilty of it as a trainer. That is why it is important to do regular reassesments to make sure you don't backslide too far or if you are sticking to your plan to make sure it is working. The numbers don't lie!!

I remember one time my scale weight was down so I thought wow my body fat percentage will be lower when I test it. Well, I tested it and guess what it was up 3% from the last time even though my weight was down. How was that possible? I'll tell you how, I had been half assing my strength training workouts and my lean mass had dropped which gave me a higher ratio of bodyfat to lean mass.

This was a wake up call for me. It made me step up my workouts again to increase my lean mass and strengthen my nutrition.

I can't tell you how many times we have prevented a total backslide by doing a reassessment of measurements and bodyfat with a client who has been slacking on their workouts and eating plan. It literally renews a sense of urgency in them. I prefer to do this before they backslide too much so they can recover fairly quickly.

Many of us don't want to know the truth but seeing the numbers really hits us emotionally and will spur us into action if we have been sliding. If we have been working hard it reinforces ourt hard work and motivates us to keep going. In the case we have been working hard and we don't see the numbers move like they should it allows us to troubleshoot so we are not wasting time or effort on a plan that is not getting us results.

The bottom line is if you are involved in an exercise and nutrition plan it is important to evaluate your progress or lack of every 1-2 months to revaluate and tweak your program's components. On the other hand if you have been lazy it tells you to get off your ass and "git er done."

Please "Fix Me!!"

Here I go on my soapbox again. Why is it that there seems to be an attitude of "fix me." A lot of people want to lose weight,get healthier, or get rid of pain but really do not want to do the necessary work. It's much easier to take drugs or have someone else do the work. The reality is that drugs may take away pain temporarily, drugs may help you lose weight initially and drugs may trick your body into feeling healthier but it's not a long term solution. You must take an integrated approach to health and fitness by doing much of the work yourself. Here is an example you see a chiropractor and can't seem to hold your adjustments maybe you should look at an exercise program that conditions the spinal stabilizers so that they hold the vertebrae in place better.

Now I do believe drugs can help with certain conditions but they should not be the only form of treatment or the only thing you use to lose weight. I'm going to pick on ALLI because it's a good example of how far people will go to lose weight without exercising. If you take ALLI and eat junk food guess what you could crap your pants!! It even says a warning about this in a more discreet way on the manual that comes with it. I heard a woman being interviewed when it was released, she said "I don't have time to exercise so this is what I'm going to do!" So she would rather risk having an accident in public than start exercising and eating better. How pathetic!!

Really the best thing we can do to alleviate pain, lose weight and start to feel better is start to move more, learn to move better(shameless plug for personal training) and eat less crap and more whole foods. The more I train the more I realize that God really made the best machine ever designed when it comes to our bodies. They are set up to work efficiently but we screw it up by letting ourselves go. It's no different than maintaining a house or car if you don't keep the parts in good working order the structure or engine will cease to function.

People need to get this through their heads. They often say "I have a bad back or bad knee" really when you observe them you can usually see the following:
(All which lend to more stress on the joints)
1.)They are overweight
2.)They have poor core stability and balance
3.)Their muscles are out of balance from sitting all day
4.)Their movement is faulty

All these things can be improved with exercise and nutrition. Does that mean you can completely cure post surgery joints or degenerative discs? No but you can definitely get the body to move more optimally and restore function to a high level. Having surgery isn't death sentence and neither is growing older. I have a 77 year old client who is in better shape now than 10 years ago.

The bottom line is doctors, chiros, massage therapists and trainers are great at assisting you to get to your goal whether it be pain management, weight loss, or general fitness but you need to do some of the work on your own. My dad used to say "do it the hard way, and you get it done right." I used to scoff at that but now I realize that maybe he was right and we as a society need to take more responsibility for our health, and get off out butts and start taking a proactive approach to our health versus a reactive one by eating better and getting more active.

Response Doing It Your Own Way

This is SO true! There is nothing more frustrating than feeling like a gerbil on an "exercise wheel". Doing allot of work and hardly seeing any results. When you decide to get some help, scrutinize whom you're asking for the help. Make sure that they "practice what they preach". It is also important to remember that nothing good comes easy! It's always good to have another "set of eyes". Doing it on your own and at your own pace is great and admirable, but nobody's perfect so you should check in with someone.

I've had the fortune of being fixed (operated on) by some of the best orthopedic surgeon's in the country. I believe that they are at the top of their game because they have to "answer" to someone (the American Medical Association). They're continually at workshops and conventions learning new techniques and exchanging ideas. Obviously everyone's not a Dr.. But if it's really important to you, get someone to instruct or coach you on how to make a plan to achieve your goal. When they outline a fitness or diet plan for you.....STICK TO IT!! Cheating only hurts you and your efforts to meet your goal. Whining and complaining will do nothing for you. It's great to wish for things, but actions speak louder than words. Nobody that I've ever met wants to help or offer advice to an individual who won't make the effort to change. Until you've had every ability taken away and had to relearn what used to come naturally, please don't complain and follow the advice if Nike....."Just do it"!
-Susan Peters