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