About 10 days ago I was mowing when I looked up to see a massive tractor on tracks coming down the lane pulling this enormous box scraper. It was a friend of mine named Scott Plummer who was there to start putting in a pond for us.
Coincidentally, the area I was mowing was the same place where the pond was going to be, which was great because the uneven ground bumps you all over the place. Formerly a bunch of scrub brush and scab trees, we knocked it down a few years back to start the process.
The first few years we lived there, we used to walk all over it dreaming. There was a small ravine with a couple of run-offs that converged in a low place just right for a pond. It took me a couple more years but finally I’d cut down all of the scab trees, leaving the bigger hickory trees.
It was kind of ugly, all those stumps sticking up the next couple years, but things take time, and we kept thinking about how nice it was going to be when we got the pond in. Finally we had a guy come and take out and bury the stumps, giving it a cleared but rough appearance.
That’s when I started mowing. All but this ugly center part, because there was a broken field tile in there somewhere that kept it pretty wet, so the ground started eroding, little by little each year. We also got a bunch of wetlands grass that stood around eight feet tall in the summer, along with a bunch of other varieties and even a couple trees that started growing back.
The ugly part slowly started taking over, a little more each year, so I’d keep mowing around it. Every time I mowed, the bumps would knock me all over the place, and I’d tell myself, “It won’t be long, and I won’t have to mow this anymore.”
When Scott told us he’d be there sometime in August to put in the pond, we got pretty excited. Now when I mowed, it was “just a couple more times” until finally, “this is the LAST time I’ve got to mow this!”
So you can imagine how I felt seeing him come down the lane with his big scraper, even bigger excavator and bulldozer! He wanted to do it while it was dry so he could work the ground better—plus we’d stand a good chance to see the pond start to fill in once the rains come later.
It was pretty entertaining, watching him work. We sat on the front porch with iced tea as he made trip after trip with the tractor pulling the scraper. He’d fill it up with clay from where the pond was going to be, and take it to the edge of the property where he was building the dam.
I mean it was hundreds of trips. After an hour or so, you could tell he’d built the dam up a little bit, but there was still a long way to go. But little by little, trip by trip, he kept scraping dirt from the bottom of the pond and moving it to the dam.
One afternoon he showed me how he used the laser to locate the edge of the pond, all the way around. It also showed him how high the dam had to be to hold the water. It was hard to get perspective until you actually went out and stood there.
Scott had to excavate a few more trees in a few places to make it all work, and shape the rest of the property so it would help drain into the pond. He used his excavator to haul the wood over to my wood cutting area and saved some of the stumps for the fish to use for nesting.
After about three days of moving dirt and clay and packing it down, we had about a two acre pond. The dam was now big enough to keep the water back, but with contours on each end to release water if it got too high.
Scott also found and released the water flow from the field tile coming in there, and viola, we had water. It’s still flowing 24 hours later, so I can’t wait until it rains and really gets going!
The water will be about fifteen to eighteen feet deep by the dam, with the rest of it gently tapered, especially up closer to the house, by the swimming area. It’s a very gentle grade down so you can just wade out there, with no big drop-offs. I mean this guy thought of everything.
He was telling me about grass carp, one of the species of fish we need to put in next year after it fills up. Apparently, you get about three of those guys, hybrids that are neutered (how do you neuter a fish?), and they’ll grow to around 2-3 feet and eat the algae and help keep the pond clean.
We learned about putting in some bluegill, bass and catfish, along with a bunch of little feeder fish, so they don’t eat each other. Then, once the bluegill get old enough to have their own babies, the bass will start eating them, and the pond will find it’s own balance.
One of the hickory trees we saved has a big branch that’s just perfect for a rope swing at the deep end of the pond. I was also thinking back to YMCA summer camp years ago where I’d swim out to a diving platform anchored out in the lake. Hmm.
As I sat out there on the swing each afternoon watching Scott work, it reminded me of a couple things about my job. First of all, when we needed help, we got an expert (maybe even an artist) with that excavator and scraper.
I would never try to tackle our “big dig” myself. I don’t have the tools or the knowledge. And people don’t need to try and figure out how to take all that weight off on their own. With a little help and the right equipment, it’s pretty easy (except for the hard work part).
It also occurred to me that just like Scott moving that dirt, taking the weight off is kind of like him taking another pass with that box scraper. That dirt’s not going to move unless he moves it. Likewise, you’ve got to show up and get your workout in. Get enough of them in and you’ll start scraping away at it.
In some cases, people want to tone up and put on some muscle. To me, it was like when Plummer was building the dam. It took some time before we could start to see it growing. After a while, though, it started taking shape, and finally, it became pretty robust.
And he kept working at it until it was exactly the way he wanted it. That’s how it is in the gym. You keep showing up, and keep chiseling away, until you’ve reshaped your body the way you want it.
I think back to how that ugly eroded part of the property had started taking over, each year getting more and more out of control. It’s the same thing with our weight. Take a break from working out, quit watching what you eat, and the next thing you know, you look down and discover you’re fat!
But now, with some expert help from Scott and his life-size Tonka toys, we’ve taken an eyesore and irritation, and turned it into something we’ll be able to use and enjoy for many years. It’s kind of like getting your body back. It takes some time, and it takes some work, but it’s definitely going to be worth it!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
"MAINTENANCE REQUIRED"
While I left home to come up and write this, Kathy stayed behind so she could continue scrubbing and spraying off the front porch. Over the past few months we’d been pretty busy dealing with other things, so it had gotten a little neglected.
Meanwhile, the spiders were weaving their webs and rolling their prey up in those little sticky balls. That green grime was starting to appear on the rails and decking, and there was quite a bit of dirt that had gotten blown in on the siding and up on the ceiling.
Now we’re usually pretty good about maintaining things. Just yesterday, we were putting some more paint on the walls in the center, and I’ve been busy doing trim at home to finally finish up a remodel job I started last year.
But sometimes, you get distracted. There’s always a lot to do, and in this case, the porches got left in the lurch. We actually started on the back porch last weekend after installing the last of 8 replacement outdoor lights on the back deck. Once again, it was spider balls everywhere.
So yesterday, Kathy finished it up, and this morning, I found her out front with her brush and soap bucket. She said she knew how much we used to like sitting out there and just had to clean it up. We’d gone through some tough times earlier in the year, and lots of things were just left undone.
Over the past four or five months, we’ve been working pretty hard to go back and fix things, and we’ve been knocking them out, one by one. When you’ve got a pretty long list, that’s the only way you can do it. Pick something and just jump in. When you finish it up, pick something else from the list and move on to the next one.
I remember when we first bought the property. It was just a mess of undeveloped trees and scrub brush. I guess I went a little crazy with the chainsaw and before we knew it, we had a couple acres of trees cut helter-skelter in every direction. It was like someone had just dumped a big box of giant tinker-toys.
It was pretty overwhelming. I cut up the trees and she dragged the brush to the burn pile. Lots of it. For days. Every weekend, that’s what we did. I cut, she dragged. She dragged, and I cut. Even in the winter. If I thought about how much there was to do, I’d get depressed.
The only way to handle it was to pick out an area to work on, and say “today, that’s how much I want to get done.” Then, we just hit it. At the end of the day, if we cleared that section, we felt pretty good.
Over the course of the fall and winter, we actually got it all cleared out and they were able to come in and remove the stumps and all of a sudden, we had a nice space for the house. Looking back, it doesn’t seem that bad.
Have you ever felt that way? When you’re in the soup it seems impossible to swim but later you realize you made it through O.K. I wish we had pictures of that mess of trees all piled up. We need to remember how we made it through the tough times, and who helped us through, too.
When we’re facing another big challenge, we’ll be able to say, “We’ve done tough things before, we can do this, too.” I think that’s why God told the Israelites to tell the stories to their children and their children’s children. He said to write it on their hearts. We need to remember.
You can’t let things get too bad before dealing with them. Ignoring little pains early can let bad things grow and fester that left unchecked, can be life threatening. Some forms of cancer are very treatable if you catch them early. But a lifetime of too much bad cholesterol can clog your arteries to the point where only bypass surgery will save you.
It’s the same way with relationships. If you quit talking, sooner or later, someone’s going to start walking. I’ve learned the hard way that burying old bones doesn’t keep them from coming back up. Sooner or later you’ve got to deal with them.
This year we’ve been so distracted that even the garden didn’t produce like it should have. We’ve focused so much time on us, making sure we were going out for walks, talking, and just spending time together, that the weeds took over the tomato plants.
Usually it’s a bumper crop with more tomatoes than we could ever hope to eat, can, or give away. Because of the lack of maintenance, the weeds stole the energy needed for our vegetables to thrive. But it’s better to have weeds in the garden than weeds in our hearts. Next year, things will be different.
I just spoke with someone in the gym. He said they’d been away for two weeks doing different things and now it’s almost like starting over. I told him that we really need to learn how to keep active when we’re traveling.
It’s not too hard if you plan for it. There are daily passes at gym memberships. Most YMCA’s let you attend free if you’re a member elsewhere. If nothing else, I’ll do pushups, sit-ups and body squats in the hotel. If they don’t have a workout room, there’s always walking or jogging outdoors.
But that won’t work if you’re not maintaining things already. It takes regular effort to keep things alive and even more work if you want things to thrive. And if you’ve neglected things for quite awhile, it can seem overwhelming.
But you can turn things around. Unhealthy hearts can become stronger. Gardens can grow again. Sometimes surgery is required, but hopefully you catch it in time. You’ve just got to dig in and get started.
Don’t let things get too out of control. Trust me on this. It’s much easier to nip things in the bud early. A little talk now can prevent heartache later. A little maintenance now can keep things running smoothly. A little exercise now will actually keep you running.
As for me, right now, I’m heading home to enjoy sitting on that nice clean front porch! Then, I’ll probably get on that baseboard trim. There’s work to be done!
Meanwhile, the spiders were weaving their webs and rolling their prey up in those little sticky balls. That green grime was starting to appear on the rails and decking, and there was quite a bit of dirt that had gotten blown in on the siding and up on the ceiling.
Now we’re usually pretty good about maintaining things. Just yesterday, we were putting some more paint on the walls in the center, and I’ve been busy doing trim at home to finally finish up a remodel job I started last year.
But sometimes, you get distracted. There’s always a lot to do, and in this case, the porches got left in the lurch. We actually started on the back porch last weekend after installing the last of 8 replacement outdoor lights on the back deck. Once again, it was spider balls everywhere.
So yesterday, Kathy finished it up, and this morning, I found her out front with her brush and soap bucket. She said she knew how much we used to like sitting out there and just had to clean it up. We’d gone through some tough times earlier in the year, and lots of things were just left undone.
Over the past four or five months, we’ve been working pretty hard to go back and fix things, and we’ve been knocking them out, one by one. When you’ve got a pretty long list, that’s the only way you can do it. Pick something and just jump in. When you finish it up, pick something else from the list and move on to the next one.
I remember when we first bought the property. It was just a mess of undeveloped trees and scrub brush. I guess I went a little crazy with the chainsaw and before we knew it, we had a couple acres of trees cut helter-skelter in every direction. It was like someone had just dumped a big box of giant tinker-toys.
It was pretty overwhelming. I cut up the trees and she dragged the brush to the burn pile. Lots of it. For days. Every weekend, that’s what we did. I cut, she dragged. She dragged, and I cut. Even in the winter. If I thought about how much there was to do, I’d get depressed.
The only way to handle it was to pick out an area to work on, and say “today, that’s how much I want to get done.” Then, we just hit it. At the end of the day, if we cleared that section, we felt pretty good.
Over the course of the fall and winter, we actually got it all cleared out and they were able to come in and remove the stumps and all of a sudden, we had a nice space for the house. Looking back, it doesn’t seem that bad.
Have you ever felt that way? When you’re in the soup it seems impossible to swim but later you realize you made it through O.K. I wish we had pictures of that mess of trees all piled up. We need to remember how we made it through the tough times, and who helped us through, too.
When we’re facing another big challenge, we’ll be able to say, “We’ve done tough things before, we can do this, too.” I think that’s why God told the Israelites to tell the stories to their children and their children’s children. He said to write it on their hearts. We need to remember.
You can’t let things get too bad before dealing with them. Ignoring little pains early can let bad things grow and fester that left unchecked, can be life threatening. Some forms of cancer are very treatable if you catch them early. But a lifetime of too much bad cholesterol can clog your arteries to the point where only bypass surgery will save you.
It’s the same way with relationships. If you quit talking, sooner or later, someone’s going to start walking. I’ve learned the hard way that burying old bones doesn’t keep them from coming back up. Sooner or later you’ve got to deal with them.
This year we’ve been so distracted that even the garden didn’t produce like it should have. We’ve focused so much time on us, making sure we were going out for walks, talking, and just spending time together, that the weeds took over the tomato plants.
Usually it’s a bumper crop with more tomatoes than we could ever hope to eat, can, or give away. Because of the lack of maintenance, the weeds stole the energy needed for our vegetables to thrive. But it’s better to have weeds in the garden than weeds in our hearts. Next year, things will be different.
I just spoke with someone in the gym. He said they’d been away for two weeks doing different things and now it’s almost like starting over. I told him that we really need to learn how to keep active when we’re traveling.
It’s not too hard if you plan for it. There are daily passes at gym memberships. Most YMCA’s let you attend free if you’re a member elsewhere. If nothing else, I’ll do pushups, sit-ups and body squats in the hotel. If they don’t have a workout room, there’s always walking or jogging outdoors.
But that won’t work if you’re not maintaining things already. It takes regular effort to keep things alive and even more work if you want things to thrive. And if you’ve neglected things for quite awhile, it can seem overwhelming.
But you can turn things around. Unhealthy hearts can become stronger. Gardens can grow again. Sometimes surgery is required, but hopefully you catch it in time. You’ve just got to dig in and get started.
Don’t let things get too out of control. Trust me on this. It’s much easier to nip things in the bud early. A little talk now can prevent heartache later. A little maintenance now can keep things running smoothly. A little exercise now will actually keep you running.
As for me, right now, I’m heading home to enjoy sitting on that nice clean front porch! Then, I’ll probably get on that baseboard trim. There’s work to be done!
Monday, August 16, 2010
NICOLE
This week one of our regulars named Nicole has been struggling with a shoulder/arm injury. She’s not sure quite how it happened. At first they thought it was a torn tricep. Now they’re leaning toward a slightly herniated disc in the cervical spine, which could put pressure on the nerves that feed the biceps and triceps.
She’s handling it pretty well, though. While it’s driving her nuts that she can’t participate in kickboxing, running or weight lifting, she’s determined to keep training by riding the bicycle for another week until her arm gets better.
Now it might sound like I’m talking about some elite athlete that does triathlons, but actually, I’m talking about a fairly regular gal that started exercising about 8 months ago. She’s had remarkable success since then, losing over 100 lbs to date.
I say fairly regular, because she’s just like the rest of us, but actually, she’s pretty extraordinary. Not only did she make it into the top 50% of people that didn’t quit after starting an exercise routine, she made it into the top 25% of people that never miss a workout.
She started a month before one of our Biggest Loser groups, to get a jump on things, and then did two Biggest Loser sessions in a row. Since then, she’s been doing cardio on her own, Kickboxing class on Mondays (a really barn burning workout), and coming into our Level 4 group workouts several times a week.
But with this injury to her shoulder/bicep area, she said she’s got to pull back to just the bicycle for awhile. “This is really putting a kink in my workouts!!!” I really like her attitude, though. She told me, “Oh well, guess this is one of those bumps in the road I’ve got to overcome, and I WILL!!!”
Is there any doubt that Nicole will continue to reach her goal? Even with a week of being limited in what she could do, she still lost another 5.6 lbs! Where once it worked against her, now her body is working for her—even when she can’t do quite as much until her arm heals up.
Think of it. Losing 100 lbs. If that’s difficult, come in to the gym sometime and I’ll have you pick up 100 lbs and walk around with it for a little bit. Just walking for a couple minutes carrying two 50 lb dumbbells is beyond most people’s grasp.
I’ve got a 40 lb backpack we use for adding weights to pull-ups and dips. What can be a tough exercise anyway becomes VERY difficult with that pack on. One time I put it on and walked a mile on the treadmill, just to see how it felt. That was just 40 lbs.
The first half mile wasn’t too bad, although I could feel the weight pulling down on my shoulders and back. By the end of the mile, the weight was getting heavy, and my breathing was getting a little labored—and I’m in pretty good shape.
I’ve got friends in the military that do forced marches with 50 lb rucksacks. They’ve got my respect. Imagine doing that with 100 lbs. That’s what Nicole had to do when she first started working out. No wonder half the people quit!
If you’re overweight, think of all the extra weight your frame has to support. It’s kind of like overloading an elevator. It might not snap and crash this time, but it can’t be good either. It’s no wonder that people complain of pain in their joints and back. Or that their muscles get sore. But it’s not just carrying around the extra weight.
When you’re morbidly obese, all that extra fat is actually pressing in on your lungs and other organs, making it difficult to breathe, so you can’t get enough oxygen—literally smothering you. And if you do get a decent breath, your heart has to pump that blood and oxygen through all those miles of extra blood vessels, making it work way harder than it should have to.
Now imagine walking around that way but then being able to throw 100 lbs off. How would it feel? What would it be like to not have to carry that weight around? How would your heart be working? How would your muscles and skeleton feel?
Before, your metabolism would be running slowly, but now, due to all that exercise and more muscle mass, it’s soaring right along. That’s why even though she hasn’t been able to do as much, Nicole still lost 5.6 lbs! Now, her body is working for her.
It is, too. You should see her doing the workouts. It’s like seeing freedom at work. I know how she feels. It used to be that I couldn’t run without having a serious asthma attack. Now, with the new asthma meds, I can run like the wind. OK, like a small breeze.
Folks, there’s freedom here. Figure out what you’ve got to do, make a decision like Nicole did—to just get started. Make up your mind, and then do it. Get started. Keep doing it. When it’s tough, do what you can. Work around things. You’re going to hurt. But you’re going to hurt more, later, if you don’t do it.
I’m sure Nicole would tell you that if she can do it, you can do it. But maybe not. After all, this pretty regular person is pretty extraordinary. So what about you? What are you going to do?
She’s handling it pretty well, though. While it’s driving her nuts that she can’t participate in kickboxing, running or weight lifting, she’s determined to keep training by riding the bicycle for another week until her arm gets better.
Now it might sound like I’m talking about some elite athlete that does triathlons, but actually, I’m talking about a fairly regular gal that started exercising about 8 months ago. She’s had remarkable success since then, losing over 100 lbs to date.
I say fairly regular, because she’s just like the rest of us, but actually, she’s pretty extraordinary. Not only did she make it into the top 50% of people that didn’t quit after starting an exercise routine, she made it into the top 25% of people that never miss a workout.
She started a month before one of our Biggest Loser groups, to get a jump on things, and then did two Biggest Loser sessions in a row. Since then, she’s been doing cardio on her own, Kickboxing class on Mondays (a really barn burning workout), and coming into our Level 4 group workouts several times a week.
But with this injury to her shoulder/bicep area, she said she’s got to pull back to just the bicycle for awhile. “This is really putting a kink in my workouts!!!” I really like her attitude, though. She told me, “Oh well, guess this is one of those bumps in the road I’ve got to overcome, and I WILL!!!”
Is there any doubt that Nicole will continue to reach her goal? Even with a week of being limited in what she could do, she still lost another 5.6 lbs! Where once it worked against her, now her body is working for her—even when she can’t do quite as much until her arm heals up.
Think of it. Losing 100 lbs. If that’s difficult, come in to the gym sometime and I’ll have you pick up 100 lbs and walk around with it for a little bit. Just walking for a couple minutes carrying two 50 lb dumbbells is beyond most people’s grasp.
I’ve got a 40 lb backpack we use for adding weights to pull-ups and dips. What can be a tough exercise anyway becomes VERY difficult with that pack on. One time I put it on and walked a mile on the treadmill, just to see how it felt. That was just 40 lbs.
The first half mile wasn’t too bad, although I could feel the weight pulling down on my shoulders and back. By the end of the mile, the weight was getting heavy, and my breathing was getting a little labored—and I’m in pretty good shape.
I’ve got friends in the military that do forced marches with 50 lb rucksacks. They’ve got my respect. Imagine doing that with 100 lbs. That’s what Nicole had to do when she first started working out. No wonder half the people quit!
If you’re overweight, think of all the extra weight your frame has to support. It’s kind of like overloading an elevator. It might not snap and crash this time, but it can’t be good either. It’s no wonder that people complain of pain in their joints and back. Or that their muscles get sore. But it’s not just carrying around the extra weight.
When you’re morbidly obese, all that extra fat is actually pressing in on your lungs and other organs, making it difficult to breathe, so you can’t get enough oxygen—literally smothering you. And if you do get a decent breath, your heart has to pump that blood and oxygen through all those miles of extra blood vessels, making it work way harder than it should have to.
Now imagine walking around that way but then being able to throw 100 lbs off. How would it feel? What would it be like to not have to carry that weight around? How would your heart be working? How would your muscles and skeleton feel?
Before, your metabolism would be running slowly, but now, due to all that exercise and more muscle mass, it’s soaring right along. That’s why even though she hasn’t been able to do as much, Nicole still lost 5.6 lbs! Now, her body is working for her.
It is, too. You should see her doing the workouts. It’s like seeing freedom at work. I know how she feels. It used to be that I couldn’t run without having a serious asthma attack. Now, with the new asthma meds, I can run like the wind. OK, like a small breeze.
Folks, there’s freedom here. Figure out what you’ve got to do, make a decision like Nicole did—to just get started. Make up your mind, and then do it. Get started. Keep doing it. When it’s tough, do what you can. Work around things. You’re going to hurt. But you’re going to hurt more, later, if you don’t do it.
I’m sure Nicole would tell you that if she can do it, you can do it. But maybe not. After all, this pretty regular person is pretty extraordinary. So what about you? What are you going to do?
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
BUDDY, JACK, AND THE ART OF BEING CONSISTENT
I was watching one of our cats the other night. He’s the spitting image of an older cat we have called Sylvester. Since this one follows him around like a little buddy, we decided to call him Buddy.
One night last week, I noticed Buddy just lying there by the water bowl. That was a little unusual. Typically they come over, get a drink of water, and then go find something to do.
But he wasn’t moving and it looked like he was staring at the cupboard. He stayed that way for a couple hours. As it turns out, there was a mouse in there. When it finally came out another way, he found it, caught it, and…well, you know the rest of the story.
Now Buddy wasn’t that hungry because he’s always sticking his nose in the food bowl. What he had, though, was a genetic need to find and pursue prey. Those cats are all pretty loving, but if we were little, we’d be cat food.
They can’t help themselves. Put a small rabbit in front of them and they’re gonna drag it home. It’s the same thing with a bird that doesn’t get away in time, or in this case, our little house mouse.
Another cat named Jack likes to sit near the edge of the lawn by the field. He likes it at dusk, or even right after dark. We’ll go out for a walk and there he is, like clockwork. The other two cats have their own routines.
What impresses me is their commitment to the idea. They are dedicated. Buddy’s still a kitten really, and he’s usually all over the place, getting into everything. But that night he was so patient, he waited until the little guy showed his nose. Then he lowered the boom.
And Jack never misses a night. He’s a hunter and knows it. Prowling and growling. We need to be more like cats.
If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that half the people quit after starting working out. That’s a real shame, because if you need to lose weight, you need to increase your activity—not decrease it.
What’s interesting is that of the 50% left over, about half of them NEVER miss! Or if they do, it kills them. They are so dedicated that you can set your clock by them. They’re typically the ones who are at or near their ideal weight, or well on their way to it.
They’re like Buddy and Jack in their mousing. They’re consistent in their approach, always persistent, and they’re completely dedicated to the idea. It takes high priority in their life and is part of their regular routine.
That’s what you need if you want to turn things around. Half measures generally don’t get the job done. They just get you halfway there. It’s why they call them half measures.
If your goal is to lose weight, build muscle, stop smoking, make repairs, or anything else you’d like to do, it’s going to take a little bit more than half measures. Figure out exactly what it is you want, and then write it down, or even tell others so now you’re on the spot about it.
Then break it down into measurable smaller goals—like a weekly weigh-in. Figure out a schedule that is consistent. Every day at such and such time, this is what you’ll be doing. Don’t deviate—no exceptions, no excuses.
Finally, you’ve just got to get start. I mean really. Just get started. Many people never get past the dreaming stage. If you want to get something done, you’ve actually got to do it.
Once you’ve gotten started, take a lesson from Buddy and Jack. You’ve got to be consistent. You’ve got to be persistent. You’ve got to be dedicated. If you can learn how to make it your mission in life, I promise you’ll get it done. Now get out there and get going!
One night last week, I noticed Buddy just lying there by the water bowl. That was a little unusual. Typically they come over, get a drink of water, and then go find something to do.
But he wasn’t moving and it looked like he was staring at the cupboard. He stayed that way for a couple hours. As it turns out, there was a mouse in there. When it finally came out another way, he found it, caught it, and…well, you know the rest of the story.
Now Buddy wasn’t that hungry because he’s always sticking his nose in the food bowl. What he had, though, was a genetic need to find and pursue prey. Those cats are all pretty loving, but if we were little, we’d be cat food.
They can’t help themselves. Put a small rabbit in front of them and they’re gonna drag it home. It’s the same thing with a bird that doesn’t get away in time, or in this case, our little house mouse.
Another cat named Jack likes to sit near the edge of the lawn by the field. He likes it at dusk, or even right after dark. We’ll go out for a walk and there he is, like clockwork. The other two cats have their own routines.
What impresses me is their commitment to the idea. They are dedicated. Buddy’s still a kitten really, and he’s usually all over the place, getting into everything. But that night he was so patient, he waited until the little guy showed his nose. Then he lowered the boom.
And Jack never misses a night. He’s a hunter and knows it. Prowling and growling. We need to be more like cats.
If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that half the people quit after starting working out. That’s a real shame, because if you need to lose weight, you need to increase your activity—not decrease it.
What’s interesting is that of the 50% left over, about half of them NEVER miss! Or if they do, it kills them. They are so dedicated that you can set your clock by them. They’re typically the ones who are at or near their ideal weight, or well on their way to it.
They’re like Buddy and Jack in their mousing. They’re consistent in their approach, always persistent, and they’re completely dedicated to the idea. It takes high priority in their life and is part of their regular routine.
That’s what you need if you want to turn things around. Half measures generally don’t get the job done. They just get you halfway there. It’s why they call them half measures.
If your goal is to lose weight, build muscle, stop smoking, make repairs, or anything else you’d like to do, it’s going to take a little bit more than half measures. Figure out exactly what it is you want, and then write it down, or even tell others so now you’re on the spot about it.
Then break it down into measurable smaller goals—like a weekly weigh-in. Figure out a schedule that is consistent. Every day at such and such time, this is what you’ll be doing. Don’t deviate—no exceptions, no excuses.
Finally, you’ve just got to get start. I mean really. Just get started. Many people never get past the dreaming stage. If you want to get something done, you’ve actually got to do it.
Once you’ve gotten started, take a lesson from Buddy and Jack. You’ve got to be consistent. You’ve got to be persistent. You’ve got to be dedicated. If you can learn how to make it your mission in life, I promise you’ll get it done. Now get out there and get going!
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
"COMPETITION"
One of the healthiest things we can do for ourselves is engage in competition. It helps our country too. Competition to provide goods and services is what drives our economy. Competition can also drive our quest to get and stay in better shape.
But sometimes competition can get a bad rap. You’ve probably heard stories about some school programs that have begun to de-emphasize competition in the classroom, to level the playing field. The theory is it’s bad for kids to be told they’re “average.” It’s too much of a blow to their self-esteem.
Well, getting a “C” might affect their self-esteem, but what about the kids that are above average, or even at the top of their class? They deserve the recognition for all their hard work.
Frankly, getting a low grade or two might provide a little motivation and incentive for the kid that has the ability but needs to pick it up. If the grade itself doesn’t do it, I’ll bet the parents could find a way to light a fire under their butt.
Life is full of selection, and if you want to be selected, you need to be near the top. That shows you’re capable, and willing to work hard. One way competition can get out of hand though, is in youth sports. We’ve all heard the parent take it just a little too far on the soccer field or ball diamond. And I think sometimes kids can get a little too disappointed when it doesn’t go their way. Winning is good, but it isn’t everything.
It’s the process that matters, where kids learn how to push themselves beyond their limits, and how to focus on a task. It’s learning how to try hard, and sometimes, how to live with disappointment.
In the end, if you did your best, that’s pretty good. If it was good enough to come out on top—sweet! But if you come up a little short, what’s wrong with celebrating the effort of the other guys?
I’ve learned much more from my losses than from my wins. Sure, I had some 1st place finishes back when I was competing hot and heavy in Taekwondo and Jiu Jitsu tournaments. But I had many more 2nd and 3rd place finishes.
For one thing, if they beat me, they were pretty amazing, and I always appreciated that. It’s hard to argue with excellence. The other thing is that I always treated it like an education. What could I take home to work on that would make me stronger the next time?
That doesn’t mean I wasn’t trying to win. With a competition coming up, we’d intensify our efforts. That went a long way to keep us training, and training hard—which provided other benefits.
The one time I had a shot at 1st place in a national tournament was at Disney World some years back. I was surprised I made the finals and guess I focused a little too much on attacking and trying to win. As a result, a spinning hook kick knocked me into 2nd place and left me with a broken nose and my right cheek broken in two places.
When it happened, I just kind of sat down because I knew it was over. When the referee asked me if I could go on, I didn’t want to say I quit, so all I could think of was “I resign.” Later, I realized that I was probably in shock due to the injuries.
As a result of that match, and a couple other injuries, the national Master’s council decided to make face shields mandatory, and now thousands of kids and adults have a little extra protection. Sometimes I wonder if we’re all a little lazier about blocking now, knowing we have that shield, but I guess it’s better than a kick in the head!
I’m always encouraging people to sign up for different 5 K races, half or full marathons (depending on their capabilities), trail runs and bike rides. It’s not so they’ll win the event, because that’s usually pretty unlikely for people new to running or riding. It’s because they’ll have to train for the event, and that will keep them focused.
Then, during the race, they’ll always push a little harder, because others are pushing too. It’s also quite inspiring, when you see others that are better than you. Of course, it can also be a little demoralizing so you need to keep perspective.
I remember my second marathon. The first one was a disaster with a knee injury. The second one was only a little better and I was at about mile 25, just kind of plugging along, when I heard “How you doing honey?”
As that registered, this sweet older lady caught up to me. She must have been at least 65, possibly 70. I told her I was fine, but that it was pretty tough. She slapped me on the shoulder and said, “That’s O.K. Sweety, we can do it” and took off!
I tried my best but she pulled away from me and finished a couple minutes ahead of me. I came to find out was that she’d been running for years and does a bunch of races every season. But for a couple years, anytime I was out training, I thought of grandma.
Even when we’re competing with others, we’re really competing with ourselves. We’re trying to bring out our best performance. If we can learn how to live up to our true potential, that’s when we really become winners!
But sometimes competition can get a bad rap. You’ve probably heard stories about some school programs that have begun to de-emphasize competition in the classroom, to level the playing field. The theory is it’s bad for kids to be told they’re “average.” It’s too much of a blow to their self-esteem.
Well, getting a “C” might affect their self-esteem, but what about the kids that are above average, or even at the top of their class? They deserve the recognition for all their hard work.
Frankly, getting a low grade or two might provide a little motivation and incentive for the kid that has the ability but needs to pick it up. If the grade itself doesn’t do it, I’ll bet the parents could find a way to light a fire under their butt.
Life is full of selection, and if you want to be selected, you need to be near the top. That shows you’re capable, and willing to work hard. One way competition can get out of hand though, is in youth sports. We’ve all heard the parent take it just a little too far on the soccer field or ball diamond. And I think sometimes kids can get a little too disappointed when it doesn’t go their way. Winning is good, but it isn’t everything.
It’s the process that matters, where kids learn how to push themselves beyond their limits, and how to focus on a task. It’s learning how to try hard, and sometimes, how to live with disappointment.
In the end, if you did your best, that’s pretty good. If it was good enough to come out on top—sweet! But if you come up a little short, what’s wrong with celebrating the effort of the other guys?
I’ve learned much more from my losses than from my wins. Sure, I had some 1st place finishes back when I was competing hot and heavy in Taekwondo and Jiu Jitsu tournaments. But I had many more 2nd and 3rd place finishes.
For one thing, if they beat me, they were pretty amazing, and I always appreciated that. It’s hard to argue with excellence. The other thing is that I always treated it like an education. What could I take home to work on that would make me stronger the next time?
That doesn’t mean I wasn’t trying to win. With a competition coming up, we’d intensify our efforts. That went a long way to keep us training, and training hard—which provided other benefits.
The one time I had a shot at 1st place in a national tournament was at Disney World some years back. I was surprised I made the finals and guess I focused a little too much on attacking and trying to win. As a result, a spinning hook kick knocked me into 2nd place and left me with a broken nose and my right cheek broken in two places.
When it happened, I just kind of sat down because I knew it was over. When the referee asked me if I could go on, I didn’t want to say I quit, so all I could think of was “I resign.” Later, I realized that I was probably in shock due to the injuries.
As a result of that match, and a couple other injuries, the national Master’s council decided to make face shields mandatory, and now thousands of kids and adults have a little extra protection. Sometimes I wonder if we’re all a little lazier about blocking now, knowing we have that shield, but I guess it’s better than a kick in the head!
I’m always encouraging people to sign up for different 5 K races, half or full marathons (depending on their capabilities), trail runs and bike rides. It’s not so they’ll win the event, because that’s usually pretty unlikely for people new to running or riding. It’s because they’ll have to train for the event, and that will keep them focused.
Then, during the race, they’ll always push a little harder, because others are pushing too. It’s also quite inspiring, when you see others that are better than you. Of course, it can also be a little demoralizing so you need to keep perspective.
I remember my second marathon. The first one was a disaster with a knee injury. The second one was only a little better and I was at about mile 25, just kind of plugging along, when I heard “How you doing honey?”
As that registered, this sweet older lady caught up to me. She must have been at least 65, possibly 70. I told her I was fine, but that it was pretty tough. She slapped me on the shoulder and said, “That’s O.K. Sweety, we can do it” and took off!
I tried my best but she pulled away from me and finished a couple minutes ahead of me. I came to find out was that she’d been running for years and does a bunch of races every season. But for a couple years, anytime I was out training, I thought of grandma.
Even when we’re competing with others, we’re really competing with ourselves. We’re trying to bring out our best performance. If we can learn how to live up to our true potential, that’s when we really become winners!
Monday, July 26, 2010
ACCOUNTABILITY
No matter what you’re trying to accomplish, one of the most important tools you have is accountability. Whether it’s a new goal you’re working on, or you're trying to fix that same old problem, the difference between success and failure is often how accountable you are.
Accountability means that you have to answer to someone. At work, this usually is a direct supervisor, but often you can have others you are accountable to as well, like a board of directors, a city board, county board, and so on.
Even elected officials are accountable—to you, at the ballot box. If they make you mad enough, you’ll give your vote to someone else. If enough people don’t like the situation, that accountability will get them voted out of office.
But the flip side is true, too. Here’s where accountability is a blessing. If enough people like what they’ve done, they’ll get re-elected.
If you’re self-employed, you’re really accountable to your customers. It means you take things seriously when people have a complaint or suggestion. And you try to be proactive when you can.
That’s one reason we’re continually trying to improve things, like putting fresh paint on a wall, moving equipment around, or even removing a wall to make a room bigger. Or getting a couple more treadmills because you’ve noticed the cardio room is getting pretty crowded at times.
Accountability is also important in relationships. When things are going great, we get accustomed to it and start taking things for granted. But then when things start going wrong, if you don’t have a system in place to talk things over, they can go downhill pretty fast.
Here’s where friends and family members need to stick their nose in. While at first it might be unwelcome, sometimes it’s necessary. And while it’s uncomfortable telling someone what you think about what they’re doing, it’s better than just watching them go down the tubes.
Later if they come to their senses, they’ll appreciate what you tried to do for them. And if they don’t make it through, at least you’ll know you did everything you could. It’s tough on everybody, because this is tough stuff, but you can survive it.
I can tell you this from personal experience. Circumstances, desire, and other factors can work together to create a “perfect storm” that leads to a moment of insanity which is the turning point. Then you have to justify things to yourself and others.
Little things become big things, up is down, black is white, wrong becomes right. Before you know it, you find yourself in an entirely different place than you ever thought possible.
Left unchecked, it’s easy to make a mess of things. It doesn’t take long for things to get out of hand, trust me on this. I lacked accountability.
But even then, redemption is possible. And accountability can play a role here too. If you’ve broken trust with someone, only complete, open accountability will demonstrate your intent to repair the breach and turn things around. If anything remains hidden, it won’t work.
Accountability here can work for you too. As you’re seen doing the right thing and making better choices every day, you can start to rebuild those bonds that were broken.
So what does this have to do with exercise? It’s got everything to do with exercise, especially if you’re overweight. Did you know that it’s possible to “have an affair” with food? If you’ve ever left a trail of cookie crumbs across the counter at two in the morning, you know what I’m talking about.
And how many times have you tried to lose the weight, only to just put it back on, perhaps greater than before? I know several people who’ve lost 100 lbs and gained it all back. One told me he just quit working out and went back to eating whatever he wanted to. He lacked discipline, but he also lacked accountability.
When I went through the academy to become a part-time police officer, I learned one of the prime functions of law enforcement was police presence. And when I was working, my mentor Ray was always telling me that the vast majority of policing was just being seen, and I found it to be true.
Think about it. If you find yourself going just a little too fast, what do most people do as soon as they even see a police car? Slow down. While many people wouldn’t even think of breaking the law, the potential for a ticket or even arrest keeps us all honest. That’s accountability.
But what would happen if we just took away all those laws, along with the people who enforce them? The strong but immoral would prey on the rest. It would become the Wild West all over again.
That’s what happens when someone lost the weight but then doesn’t have the structure and accountability anymore. Their stronger desire overcomes their weaker will, and you can see what can happen then.
This summer we’re not doing the Biggest Loser, but it occurred to me that we still can help make a difference. I can’t drag them into the gym, but I can help the ones that are coming with accountability.
That’s why we’ve started a weekly weigh-in for the summer that’s posted conspicuously. There are no prizes, no accolades. Just names, last week’s weight, and this week’s weigh-in. If people want to opt in, all they have to do is give me their weight each week.
This should prove to provide some accountability for them. Is it that other people are going to see it? Perhaps, but I don’t think that’s the main thing. Really, it’s just like making sure I talk to my wife when things are bothering me, or all of us slowing down when we see a police car.
That regular weigh-in should help to serve the same purpose—it will force them to take a hard look at how things are going. And that accountability may just help keep them on track.
Now, you don’t have to be a member to take advantage of this idea. Tell someone else what you want to accomplish, and set up a weekly check-in with them. Write down the progress you’re making—or not making. Talk it over each week and stay focused. Good luck!
Accountability means that you have to answer to someone. At work, this usually is a direct supervisor, but often you can have others you are accountable to as well, like a board of directors, a city board, county board, and so on.
Even elected officials are accountable—to you, at the ballot box. If they make you mad enough, you’ll give your vote to someone else. If enough people don’t like the situation, that accountability will get them voted out of office.
But the flip side is true, too. Here’s where accountability is a blessing. If enough people like what they’ve done, they’ll get re-elected.
If you’re self-employed, you’re really accountable to your customers. It means you take things seriously when people have a complaint or suggestion. And you try to be proactive when you can.
That’s one reason we’re continually trying to improve things, like putting fresh paint on a wall, moving equipment around, or even removing a wall to make a room bigger. Or getting a couple more treadmills because you’ve noticed the cardio room is getting pretty crowded at times.
Accountability is also important in relationships. When things are going great, we get accustomed to it and start taking things for granted. But then when things start going wrong, if you don’t have a system in place to talk things over, they can go downhill pretty fast.
Here’s where friends and family members need to stick their nose in. While at first it might be unwelcome, sometimes it’s necessary. And while it’s uncomfortable telling someone what you think about what they’re doing, it’s better than just watching them go down the tubes.
Later if they come to their senses, they’ll appreciate what you tried to do for them. And if they don’t make it through, at least you’ll know you did everything you could. It’s tough on everybody, because this is tough stuff, but you can survive it.
I can tell you this from personal experience. Circumstances, desire, and other factors can work together to create a “perfect storm” that leads to a moment of insanity which is the turning point. Then you have to justify things to yourself and others.
Little things become big things, up is down, black is white, wrong becomes right. Before you know it, you find yourself in an entirely different place than you ever thought possible.
Left unchecked, it’s easy to make a mess of things. It doesn’t take long for things to get out of hand, trust me on this. I lacked accountability.
But even then, redemption is possible. And accountability can play a role here too. If you’ve broken trust with someone, only complete, open accountability will demonstrate your intent to repair the breach and turn things around. If anything remains hidden, it won’t work.
Accountability here can work for you too. As you’re seen doing the right thing and making better choices every day, you can start to rebuild those bonds that were broken.
So what does this have to do with exercise? It’s got everything to do with exercise, especially if you’re overweight. Did you know that it’s possible to “have an affair” with food? If you’ve ever left a trail of cookie crumbs across the counter at two in the morning, you know what I’m talking about.
And how many times have you tried to lose the weight, only to just put it back on, perhaps greater than before? I know several people who’ve lost 100 lbs and gained it all back. One told me he just quit working out and went back to eating whatever he wanted to. He lacked discipline, but he also lacked accountability.
When I went through the academy to become a part-time police officer, I learned one of the prime functions of law enforcement was police presence. And when I was working, my mentor Ray was always telling me that the vast majority of policing was just being seen, and I found it to be true.
Think about it. If you find yourself going just a little too fast, what do most people do as soon as they even see a police car? Slow down. While many people wouldn’t even think of breaking the law, the potential for a ticket or even arrest keeps us all honest. That’s accountability.
But what would happen if we just took away all those laws, along with the people who enforce them? The strong but immoral would prey on the rest. It would become the Wild West all over again.
That’s what happens when someone lost the weight but then doesn’t have the structure and accountability anymore. Their stronger desire overcomes their weaker will, and you can see what can happen then.
This summer we’re not doing the Biggest Loser, but it occurred to me that we still can help make a difference. I can’t drag them into the gym, but I can help the ones that are coming with accountability.
That’s why we’ve started a weekly weigh-in for the summer that’s posted conspicuously. There are no prizes, no accolades. Just names, last week’s weight, and this week’s weigh-in. If people want to opt in, all they have to do is give me their weight each week.
This should prove to provide some accountability for them. Is it that other people are going to see it? Perhaps, but I don’t think that’s the main thing. Really, it’s just like making sure I talk to my wife when things are bothering me, or all of us slowing down when we see a police car.
That regular weigh-in should help to serve the same purpose—it will force them to take a hard look at how things are going. And that accountability may just help keep them on track.
Now, you don’t have to be a member to take advantage of this idea. Tell someone else what you want to accomplish, and set up a weekly check-in with them. Write down the progress you’re making—or not making. Talk it over each week and stay focused. Good luck!
Friday, July 23, 2010
1000 MILE CHALLENGE (OR MORE)
Well, with Biggest Loser ending last week, I don’t have anyone to talk about, so I guess I’m going to have to talk about myself—at least this time. I hope something interesting will happen next week so you won’t have to put up with this too often!
Lately, I’ve been messing around with a little cross-training with a ¾ mile trail run and a 2 ½ mile bike loop. It takes me about 18:30 to do one trail run and one bike loop. So far, the most loops I’ve done in a row have been four, which took just under 75 minutes last Sunday afternoon. It was a nice workout. I was able to keep moving the whole time.
The trail loop has a bunch of small hills that gas you pretty quickly, and I do the bike loop on my mountain bike to get a little extra resistance. It’s heavier than my road bike, and has those big old tires, so it’s more of a workout, which is just fine on these short rides.
If I don’t have a lot of time, I’ll just run four laps, which is 3 miles. It’s nice because it’s softer than the road, and it has those hills to add a little fun to the run. Yesterday, I just ran and rode 2 circuits—half of what I did last wee—so it takes about half the time.
But when the heat index really gets up there, it’s tough to push myself out the door. Fortunately, I have access to a bunch of treadmills, bikes and ellipticals, so I can always get my cardio workout inside where it’s cool.
It’s not nearly as fun or interesting though. In fact, I pretty much hate running inside. The only time I don’t mind it is in the winter, when I hate running outside. Then, it’s too cold for me.
Now I know some really serious runners who have the special cold weather gear, but I’ve just never liked going out there. I’m not crazy about shoveling the sidewalk, much less trying to get out there and run a few miles.
So in the winter, you’ll see me on the treadmill. That works for me, especially on Sundays during football. Sometimes, I’ll even run the entire game. It’s interesting enough that I’ll forget about the running—kind of.
But today, it was really hot outside (I know, I’m a whiner), so I surrendered. That’s right. It was so hot, that even me, Mr. Trainer guy didn’t really feel like doing the run outside, so I jumped on the elliptical.
That was O.K. though, because it felt a little different, and used the muscles in a slightly different way, so that makes it kind of interesting. It reminded me of when we first got the center and I just about wore the ellipticals out. That was before I fell in love with running
.
So now, a little cross-training is just fine. You see, it really doesn’t matter what you do. What matters is that you just do something. It helps if you kind of like doing it. That’s never been a problem for me.
Someone asked me the other day if I just didn’t want to work out. I thought about it for a little bit and had to say “no, not really.” I can’t wait to workout. I think it’s because I was pretty sick as a kid. Back then, they didn’t have much help for serious asthmatics, so I wasn’t allowed to do anything strenuous.
The other kids would be mad that I “got” to sit on the side-lines during gym class, but all I ever wanted to do was get out there with them. Later, I got into martial arts and working out so much that I ended up getting a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology.
I still fought the asthma, though, even as an adult. I’d compete in martial arts events, like sparring and grappling, but I’d always have to hold back a little bit—and even then, I’d probably have an asthma attack. Then I’d have to use my rescue inhaler.
If that wasn’t enough, I had a breathing machine. If that wasn’t enough, I’d have to go to the hospital for a shot of adrenaline and breathing treatments which happened frequently.
I’ve probably used thousands of inhalers. But about seven years ago, they came out with new medicine that blocks the triggers that cause attacks. That was a life changer. Now, I can turn it up as much as I want, and I don’t even need to carry a rescue inhaler. I do take a small breathing machine with me when I’m traveling—just in case—but I very rarely need it.
It’s kind of ironic. Now that I can finally work out as hard as I want, since I’m getting older, my body doesn’t recover quite as well as it used to! So now I can run like the wind, but it hurts like hell later. Go figure.
After a lot of messing around with all kinds of different exercise programs, I’ve kind of realized that I’m happy if I just get to get my workout in. If it’s kind of tough, I like it. If it’s really tough, I love it, but pay for it later. So I just try to keep it kind of tough. That gives me a challenge, keeps it interesting, and helps keep me in shape.
I also get quite a kick out of working with everybody at the gym. There are lots of different people. Some need to lose a lot of weight, some just a little bit. Some want to get in better shape so they can do more things. Others are trying to improve their sports performance.
Right now I’ve got a bunch of sixth and seventh grade basketball players doing my morning workout three days a week. They’re a hoot. First of all, they’re kids, so they can do just about anything. Second, they’re really quite funny, and it’s a nice way to start the day.
What I really like is how they’re kind of like blank slates. It’s nice to know I have the chance to write things on their hearts and minds that could stay with them for a long time, perhaps all their life.
Things like “work hard and it will pay off later.” And “you can always do more than you think you can do.” These are concepts that will help them now in sport, but also help them a lot, later in life!
When I was their age, I couldn’t do what they’re doing. It would have killed me—literally. Now not only can I do it, but I’m teaching others. I’m pretty grateful, and think God must have quite a sense of humor. It’s nice to have a second chance at things.
Last year, I started tracking how many miles I ran, and this year, decided to just lump all my miles together, whether they were running, walking, on the bike, elliptical, or whatever. As long as I did them, they counted.
After the quick 30 minute workout on the elliptical today, I logged nine miles. Well, it said 18 miles, but I know that can’t be true, because these particular machines way overestimate your actual usage, in both calories and miles. So I only take credit for half-miles on it.
Still, 9 miles put me over the top at 1,001 miles for the year, which was my original goal. I was a little miffed because I really wanted to do it running. But that’s O.K. It’s been only a little over half a year and it got me thinking. What about 2,000? Or even, 2010 in 2010. Hmm…
Lately, I’ve been messing around with a little cross-training with a ¾ mile trail run and a 2 ½ mile bike loop. It takes me about 18:30 to do one trail run and one bike loop. So far, the most loops I’ve done in a row have been four, which took just under 75 minutes last Sunday afternoon. It was a nice workout. I was able to keep moving the whole time.
The trail loop has a bunch of small hills that gas you pretty quickly, and I do the bike loop on my mountain bike to get a little extra resistance. It’s heavier than my road bike, and has those big old tires, so it’s more of a workout, which is just fine on these short rides.
If I don’t have a lot of time, I’ll just run four laps, which is 3 miles. It’s nice because it’s softer than the road, and it has those hills to add a little fun to the run. Yesterday, I just ran and rode 2 circuits—half of what I did last wee—so it takes about half the time.
But when the heat index really gets up there, it’s tough to push myself out the door. Fortunately, I have access to a bunch of treadmills, bikes and ellipticals, so I can always get my cardio workout inside where it’s cool.
It’s not nearly as fun or interesting though. In fact, I pretty much hate running inside. The only time I don’t mind it is in the winter, when I hate running outside. Then, it’s too cold for me.
Now I know some really serious runners who have the special cold weather gear, but I’ve just never liked going out there. I’m not crazy about shoveling the sidewalk, much less trying to get out there and run a few miles.
So in the winter, you’ll see me on the treadmill. That works for me, especially on Sundays during football. Sometimes, I’ll even run the entire game. It’s interesting enough that I’ll forget about the running—kind of.
But today, it was really hot outside (I know, I’m a whiner), so I surrendered. That’s right. It was so hot, that even me, Mr. Trainer guy didn’t really feel like doing the run outside, so I jumped on the elliptical.
That was O.K. though, because it felt a little different, and used the muscles in a slightly different way, so that makes it kind of interesting. It reminded me of when we first got the center and I just about wore the ellipticals out. That was before I fell in love with running
.
So now, a little cross-training is just fine. You see, it really doesn’t matter what you do. What matters is that you just do something. It helps if you kind of like doing it. That’s never been a problem for me.
Someone asked me the other day if I just didn’t want to work out. I thought about it for a little bit and had to say “no, not really.” I can’t wait to workout. I think it’s because I was pretty sick as a kid. Back then, they didn’t have much help for serious asthmatics, so I wasn’t allowed to do anything strenuous.
The other kids would be mad that I “got” to sit on the side-lines during gym class, but all I ever wanted to do was get out there with them. Later, I got into martial arts and working out so much that I ended up getting a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology.
I still fought the asthma, though, even as an adult. I’d compete in martial arts events, like sparring and grappling, but I’d always have to hold back a little bit—and even then, I’d probably have an asthma attack. Then I’d have to use my rescue inhaler.
If that wasn’t enough, I had a breathing machine. If that wasn’t enough, I’d have to go to the hospital for a shot of adrenaline and breathing treatments which happened frequently.
I’ve probably used thousands of inhalers. But about seven years ago, they came out with new medicine that blocks the triggers that cause attacks. That was a life changer. Now, I can turn it up as much as I want, and I don’t even need to carry a rescue inhaler. I do take a small breathing machine with me when I’m traveling—just in case—but I very rarely need it.
It’s kind of ironic. Now that I can finally work out as hard as I want, since I’m getting older, my body doesn’t recover quite as well as it used to! So now I can run like the wind, but it hurts like hell later. Go figure.
After a lot of messing around with all kinds of different exercise programs, I’ve kind of realized that I’m happy if I just get to get my workout in. If it’s kind of tough, I like it. If it’s really tough, I love it, but pay for it later. So I just try to keep it kind of tough. That gives me a challenge, keeps it interesting, and helps keep me in shape.
I also get quite a kick out of working with everybody at the gym. There are lots of different people. Some need to lose a lot of weight, some just a little bit. Some want to get in better shape so they can do more things. Others are trying to improve their sports performance.
Right now I’ve got a bunch of sixth and seventh grade basketball players doing my morning workout three days a week. They’re a hoot. First of all, they’re kids, so they can do just about anything. Second, they’re really quite funny, and it’s a nice way to start the day.
What I really like is how they’re kind of like blank slates. It’s nice to know I have the chance to write things on their hearts and minds that could stay with them for a long time, perhaps all their life.
Things like “work hard and it will pay off later.” And “you can always do more than you think you can do.” These are concepts that will help them now in sport, but also help them a lot, later in life!
When I was their age, I couldn’t do what they’re doing. It would have killed me—literally. Now not only can I do it, but I’m teaching others. I’m pretty grateful, and think God must have quite a sense of humor. It’s nice to have a second chance at things.
Last year, I started tracking how many miles I ran, and this year, decided to just lump all my miles together, whether they were running, walking, on the bike, elliptical, or whatever. As long as I did them, they counted.
After the quick 30 minute workout on the elliptical today, I logged nine miles. Well, it said 18 miles, but I know that can’t be true, because these particular machines way overestimate your actual usage, in both calories and miles. So I only take credit for half-miles on it.
Still, 9 miles put me over the top at 1,001 miles for the year, which was my original goal. I was a little miffed because I really wanted to do it running. But that’s O.K. It’s been only a little over half a year and it got me thinking. What about 2,000? Or even, 2010 in 2010. Hmm…
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
BIGGEST LOSER "12" WEEK 12 "FINAL RESULTS"
This week marks the end of Biggest Loser “12.” It’s hard to believe we’ve done 12 of them, but here we are. With interest waning a little bit, I think we’re going to take the rest of the summer off and pick it back up in the fall.
Out of the original 28 people, just 6 made the final weigh-in. This is a much lower percentage than normal. Typically, we see about a 50-55% drop out rate for various reasons. I’m not sure why it’s higher than normal, since the workouts were exactly the same as last time.
We’ve had BL in the summer before too, so I’m not sure that’s the reason either. Perhaps it’s just a busier summer this year. While no one had an amazing run with weight loss over the 12 weeks, there were some very respectable losses. What I’m most proud of is the way the remaining participants pushed themselves.
Everyone improved in their one minute pushups, one minute sit-ups, and all but one posted improved 5 K times. In some cases, the improvements were dramatic, like Janice Johnson taking 4 minutes and Michelle Clark taking almost 3 minutes off their 5 K times. That was a reflection of all the hard work they put in over the 12 weeks.
If they can keep it up, I’m confident that they’ll continue to make progress toward their goal. Once they reach it, they can then transition into a maintenance mode. It’s much easier to maintain than it is to lose the weight, but even that will require them to be vigilant.
I’ve seen way too many people take off the weight, but then get lazy and stop working out. They also go back to eating the old way, and guess what? The weight comes back on, faster than ever, and often times, they’ll end up even heavier.
That’s no way to live. The secret is to find a balance and stay active while eating right and in moderation. You still have the same choices to make every day. Something you may not know is that when you lose weight, you burn the fat from out of the fat cell, but you still have the fat cell!
They’re still sitting there, kind of shrink-wrapped and much smaller, but they’re there, waiting for you to screw up. If you consume more calories than you burn in a given day, the excess calories will be converted to fat and stored—you guessed it—right back in those same fat cells.
This is one reason why experts get very concerned about obesity in our youth. Studies show that if they still have the weight into their teen years, they are almost certain to struggle with obesity all their life.
We need to set our kids up for success and get them moving early. If they’re already lean, great. It will keep them that way. If they’re a little overweight, getting them exercising daily could well change the pattern of their life.
Of course we need to help them make better food choices, too, primarily by helping them avoid all the junk food. And just like with adults, you can’t go wrong by focusing on more whole-grains and lots of fruits and vegetables.
This group knows what to do, and their results show it. The winner for week 12 was Cheryl Clark who lost 4.8 lbs and 2.5% of her body weight. Second place went to Michelle Clark who lost 2.2 lbs and 1.5%. Nicole Clodfelter placed third, losing 3.0 lbs and 1.2%.
The overall winner for Biggest Loser “12” was Michelle Clark, who lost 13.9% of her body weight and 23.2 lbs in the 12 weeks. Cheryl Clark placed second overall, by losing 11.6% and 24.6 lbs. Nicole Clodfelter was third overall, losing 10.1% and 27.0 lbs. Janice Johnson finished in 4th place, losing 7.7% and 18.2 lbs. Karen Brown was 5th, losing 5.9% and 13.4 lbs. Brittany Brown was 6th, losing 2.1% and 3.0 lbs.
Out of the original 28 people, just 6 made the final weigh-in. This is a much lower percentage than normal. Typically, we see about a 50-55% drop out rate for various reasons. I’m not sure why it’s higher than normal, since the workouts were exactly the same as last time.
We’ve had BL in the summer before too, so I’m not sure that’s the reason either. Perhaps it’s just a busier summer this year. While no one had an amazing run with weight loss over the 12 weeks, there were some very respectable losses. What I’m most proud of is the way the remaining participants pushed themselves.
Everyone improved in their one minute pushups, one minute sit-ups, and all but one posted improved 5 K times. In some cases, the improvements were dramatic, like Janice Johnson taking 4 minutes and Michelle Clark taking almost 3 minutes off their 5 K times. That was a reflection of all the hard work they put in over the 12 weeks.
If they can keep it up, I’m confident that they’ll continue to make progress toward their goal. Once they reach it, they can then transition into a maintenance mode. It’s much easier to maintain than it is to lose the weight, but even that will require them to be vigilant.
I’ve seen way too many people take off the weight, but then get lazy and stop working out. They also go back to eating the old way, and guess what? The weight comes back on, faster than ever, and often times, they’ll end up even heavier.
That’s no way to live. The secret is to find a balance and stay active while eating right and in moderation. You still have the same choices to make every day. Something you may not know is that when you lose weight, you burn the fat from out of the fat cell, but you still have the fat cell!
They’re still sitting there, kind of shrink-wrapped and much smaller, but they’re there, waiting for you to screw up. If you consume more calories than you burn in a given day, the excess calories will be converted to fat and stored—you guessed it—right back in those same fat cells.
This is one reason why experts get very concerned about obesity in our youth. Studies show that if they still have the weight into their teen years, they are almost certain to struggle with obesity all their life.
We need to set our kids up for success and get them moving early. If they’re already lean, great. It will keep them that way. If they’re a little overweight, getting them exercising daily could well change the pattern of their life.
Of course we need to help them make better food choices, too, primarily by helping them avoid all the junk food. And just like with adults, you can’t go wrong by focusing on more whole-grains and lots of fruits and vegetables.
This group knows what to do, and their results show it. The winner for week 12 was Cheryl Clark who lost 4.8 lbs and 2.5% of her body weight. Second place went to Michelle Clark who lost 2.2 lbs and 1.5%. Nicole Clodfelter placed third, losing 3.0 lbs and 1.2%.
The overall winner for Biggest Loser “12” was Michelle Clark, who lost 13.9% of her body weight and 23.2 lbs in the 12 weeks. Cheryl Clark placed second overall, by losing 11.6% and 24.6 lbs. Nicole Clodfelter was third overall, losing 10.1% and 27.0 lbs. Janice Johnson finished in 4th place, losing 7.7% and 18.2 lbs. Karen Brown was 5th, losing 5.9% and 13.4 lbs. Brittany Brown was 6th, losing 2.1% and 3.0 lbs.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
BIGGEST LOSER "12" WEEK ELEVEN "LEVEL IV WORKOUTS"
This week it was time to take things up to the next level. When people start training in Biggest Loser, they start with Level I activities. These are basic movements like walking, biking, using the elliptical machines and simple weight lifting exercises on the machines.
By month two, they’ve built some strength and endurance and are ready to advance to Level II activities like light jogging and basic free weight movements. Changing it up will keep their body guessing, and keep them losing weight.
By month three, they’re ready to start high intensity interval training with their cardio, and also start learning more advanced ways to lift weights. For details about these programs, see the previous articles for the last few weeks on the blog.
Before we finish the twelve weeks, I always like to introduce them to Level IV training, which is the most dynamic (and grueling), and perhaps, the most fun. This type of training was initially developed to help people achieve their athletic potential, which I use with young athletes all the time.
It turns out that regular folks like to train that way too. Originally, I was just doing the workouts with my son in the morning. I was doing it to get in shape for grappling tournaments. Several years ago, some people saw us and wanted to join in, so we started a morning group.
Then, some others asked if we could do it at noon. So we had two groups doing the Level IV boot camp style workouts twice a day on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Finally, at the end of an earlier Biggest Loser—I think it was BL 4, some of them asked me if we could do an afternoon group, so we started a 5:30 group too. That turned into the biggest group of all, and it’s been going ever since.
I think that people like having someone push them. I think they also like a challenge. They never know what they’re going to do in the workout, because they’re different every time. It’s also nice to know that they’re not the only one suffering through the workout!
So this time, at the end of week eleven, the Biggest Loser workout was an introduction to Level IV. I had four stations set up (usually I do five or more). The objective is to work for about a minute at station one, and then move to station two, and so on.
The first exercise was Wall Ball, where you squat down while holding a 10-20 lb soft ball on your shoulders. As you push back to a standing position, you toss the ball overhead up on the wall, and then catch it before doing another squat, and so on. You do this the entire minute.
It sounds easy, but quickly gets very difficult. The reason is that you’re using your entire body, and performing several different movements at the same time. This is called a compound exercise (squat and shoulder press).
Compound exercises use more muscles so they significantly increase the oxygen demands placed on your body. This makes the strength training workout a cardio workout too. It also burns a ton of calories!
The second exercise for the group was standing alternating Bicep Curls with dumbbells. This is a single joint exercise, and was used to give them a slight break for a minute, but still keep them moving. It also hit their pulling muscles (previously they used lower body and pushing muscles).
Movement three was Kettle-Ball swings. This is a great full-body movement where you hold a kettle-ball (basically an iron ball with a handle) and squat down swinging it between your legs and then back overhead until your arms are straight. Then you let the weight swing back down and repeat the movement. It’s tough!
The final exercise was our basic Abs Routine #1-5. For the first round they did crunches with their knees bent and feet on the floor. In the second round, they did crunches with their legs up in the air. In the third round, they did crunches with one leg crossed, and the other side in round four. For the fifth round, they did leg lifts. Each exercise hits the abs in a different area, and it also gave them a little break for a minute.
So they had four minute-long exercises and five rounds, for a total of twenty minutes. It sounds easy, and even feels easy for the first round or two. But by the third and fourth round, you know you’re in for something, and in round five, you’re just trying to hold.
If you’re new to this type of training, you can modify the intensity by using lighter weights, and stopping after just 30 or 45 seconds. This will give you a longer break between exercises. After awhile, though, you won’t need the break. Don’t forget to take a little drink of water between rounds. Good luck!
This week’s winner was Cheryl Clark, who lost 1.8 lbs and has lost 19.8 lbs overall so far. Michelle Clark placed second, losing 1.9 lbs. She’s lost 21.0 lbs to date. Janice Johnson was third, losing 1.4 lbs this week, and 17.4 lbs overall so far.
Nicole Clodfelter placed fourth, losing 1.0 lb and has lost 24.0 lbs overall in the past 11 weeks. She’s also an interesting story. To date, she’s lost 98.6 lbs and is just 1.4 lbs away from her initial goal of losing 100 lbs. She’d lost 14 lbs before coming in, and has lost the other 84.6 lbs in just 7 months here at the gym.
She says her biggest challenge is sticking with it, because some days she doesn’t feel like coming in and working out. She says she needs to “just do it.” Her biggest surprise so far is being able to run. At 36, that’s pretty cool because she hasn’t been able to run since high school.
After 7 months and two Biggest Losers, Nicole says she’s ready to try it on her own. She thinks the Level IV classes will help keep her motivated. She’d like to lose 50 more pounds, and I’m sure she’ll be successful. Way to go Nicole!
By month two, they’ve built some strength and endurance and are ready to advance to Level II activities like light jogging and basic free weight movements. Changing it up will keep their body guessing, and keep them losing weight.
By month three, they’re ready to start high intensity interval training with their cardio, and also start learning more advanced ways to lift weights. For details about these programs, see the previous articles for the last few weeks on the blog.
Before we finish the twelve weeks, I always like to introduce them to Level IV training, which is the most dynamic (and grueling), and perhaps, the most fun. This type of training was initially developed to help people achieve their athletic potential, which I use with young athletes all the time.
It turns out that regular folks like to train that way too. Originally, I was just doing the workouts with my son in the morning. I was doing it to get in shape for grappling tournaments. Several years ago, some people saw us and wanted to join in, so we started a morning group.
Then, some others asked if we could do it at noon. So we had two groups doing the Level IV boot camp style workouts twice a day on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Finally, at the end of an earlier Biggest Loser—I think it was BL 4, some of them asked me if we could do an afternoon group, so we started a 5:30 group too. That turned into the biggest group of all, and it’s been going ever since.
I think that people like having someone push them. I think they also like a challenge. They never know what they’re going to do in the workout, because they’re different every time. It’s also nice to know that they’re not the only one suffering through the workout!
So this time, at the end of week eleven, the Biggest Loser workout was an introduction to Level IV. I had four stations set up (usually I do five or more). The objective is to work for about a minute at station one, and then move to station two, and so on.
The first exercise was Wall Ball, where you squat down while holding a 10-20 lb soft ball on your shoulders. As you push back to a standing position, you toss the ball overhead up on the wall, and then catch it before doing another squat, and so on. You do this the entire minute.
It sounds easy, but quickly gets very difficult. The reason is that you’re using your entire body, and performing several different movements at the same time. This is called a compound exercise (squat and shoulder press).
Compound exercises use more muscles so they significantly increase the oxygen demands placed on your body. This makes the strength training workout a cardio workout too. It also burns a ton of calories!
The second exercise for the group was standing alternating Bicep Curls with dumbbells. This is a single joint exercise, and was used to give them a slight break for a minute, but still keep them moving. It also hit their pulling muscles (previously they used lower body and pushing muscles).
Movement three was Kettle-Ball swings. This is a great full-body movement where you hold a kettle-ball (basically an iron ball with a handle) and squat down swinging it between your legs and then back overhead until your arms are straight. Then you let the weight swing back down and repeat the movement. It’s tough!
The final exercise was our basic Abs Routine #1-5. For the first round they did crunches with their knees bent and feet on the floor. In the second round, they did crunches with their legs up in the air. In the third round, they did crunches with one leg crossed, and the other side in round four. For the fifth round, they did leg lifts. Each exercise hits the abs in a different area, and it also gave them a little break for a minute.
So they had four minute-long exercises and five rounds, for a total of twenty minutes. It sounds easy, and even feels easy for the first round or two. But by the third and fourth round, you know you’re in for something, and in round five, you’re just trying to hold.
If you’re new to this type of training, you can modify the intensity by using lighter weights, and stopping after just 30 or 45 seconds. This will give you a longer break between exercises. After awhile, though, you won’t need the break. Don’t forget to take a little drink of water between rounds. Good luck!
This week’s winner was Cheryl Clark, who lost 1.8 lbs and has lost 19.8 lbs overall so far. Michelle Clark placed second, losing 1.9 lbs. She’s lost 21.0 lbs to date. Janice Johnson was third, losing 1.4 lbs this week, and 17.4 lbs overall so far.
Nicole Clodfelter placed fourth, losing 1.0 lb and has lost 24.0 lbs overall in the past 11 weeks. She’s also an interesting story. To date, she’s lost 98.6 lbs and is just 1.4 lbs away from her initial goal of losing 100 lbs. She’d lost 14 lbs before coming in, and has lost the other 84.6 lbs in just 7 months here at the gym.
She says her biggest challenge is sticking with it, because some days she doesn’t feel like coming in and working out. She says she needs to “just do it.” Her biggest surprise so far is being able to run. At 36, that’s pretty cool because she hasn’t been able to run since high school.
After 7 months and two Biggest Losers, Nicole says she’s ready to try it on her own. She thinks the Level IV classes will help keep her motivated. She’d like to lose 50 more pounds, and I’m sure she’ll be successful. Way to go Nicole!
Friday, July 02, 2010
BIGGEST LOSER "12" WEEK TEN "GOING THE EXTRA MILE"
This week the group did their 5 K walk/run. Most of them have already been doing at least 3 miles in their walks or runs so they were used to the distance. The difference for most of them was that this time, the goal was to do it faster than ever before.
In the past, we’ve had several different Biggest Loser groups hit it just right where there was a real 5 K race somewhere nearby. The timing was also good, because the races were near the end of the 12 weeks.
In this case, we had to do our own 5 K, which was our usual 1-mile loop three times. While a couple of the Biggest Losers had actually done a couple 5 K runs, even posting improvements to their times, this course might have been a little tougher, with several hills each mile.
It’s a good thing to do the run for time once in awhile. While it’s good to cover 3 miles on a regular basis, it’s altogether different when you push the speed and try to do it faster. Or do a different, more difficult course.
Most people can walk a 5 K (3.1 miles) in right around an hour. That’s walking at 3.0 miles an hour, which is a pretty comfortable and average pace. A good basic program would be to work up to doing a 5 K three days a week, say on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
If you’re not used to exercise, you might have to start with a mile. At a comfortable pace it will take you about 20 minutes. Of all the different people we’ve seen start at the center or in Biggest Losers, only a very few needed much more time than that.
As soon as possible, the goal is to add time and distance to your program. Work up to 2 miles, or 40 minutes. Then try to do the 2 miles faster. Then one day, just keep walking until you’ve covered 3 miles. Once you’ve done that, you can work on your speed.
What you need to understand is that if you can already do it, your body has no reason to change. Your body quickly adapts to a new workload so the same amount of work becomes easier. That means that you’ll actually start burning fewer calories while doing the same amount of work.
But if you can challenge yourself to go a little further, or a little faster, you can burn more calories in the same amount of time. That means you’ll get better results in your exercise program, especially if weight loss is your goal.
I talked to each of the Biggest Losers who did the 5 K this weekend. Their new goal is to keep working on their 5 K on a regular basis. If they do, not only will their times improve, but they’ll keep burning lots of calories and that will keep them losing weight.
This week’s Biggest Loser is Michelle Clark who lost 1.1% of her body weight and 1.6 lbs. Second place went to Janice Johnson who lost 1.0% and 2.2 lbs. Vanessa Becker placed third by losing about 1.0% and 1.0 lb.
With ten weeks in the books, we’ve got to start thinking about our next Biggest Loser. I’m trying to decide if we should take a break for the summer, or go for Biggest Loser “13.” The dropout rate this last time has been the biggest ever, so you need to tell me.
Do you want another Biggest Loser this summer? I was thinking of doing couples (which could include friends and family members). Perhaps that would give both parties incentive to stick. Or, we could take a break.
Let me know if you’re interested. If I hear from enough of you in the next week or so, we’ll go for it! If not, then we’ll pick it back up in September. Hope to hear from you.
In the past, we’ve had several different Biggest Loser groups hit it just right where there was a real 5 K race somewhere nearby. The timing was also good, because the races were near the end of the 12 weeks.
In this case, we had to do our own 5 K, which was our usual 1-mile loop three times. While a couple of the Biggest Losers had actually done a couple 5 K runs, even posting improvements to their times, this course might have been a little tougher, with several hills each mile.
It’s a good thing to do the run for time once in awhile. While it’s good to cover 3 miles on a regular basis, it’s altogether different when you push the speed and try to do it faster. Or do a different, more difficult course.
Most people can walk a 5 K (3.1 miles) in right around an hour. That’s walking at 3.0 miles an hour, which is a pretty comfortable and average pace. A good basic program would be to work up to doing a 5 K three days a week, say on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
If you’re not used to exercise, you might have to start with a mile. At a comfortable pace it will take you about 20 minutes. Of all the different people we’ve seen start at the center or in Biggest Losers, only a very few needed much more time than that.
As soon as possible, the goal is to add time and distance to your program. Work up to 2 miles, or 40 minutes. Then try to do the 2 miles faster. Then one day, just keep walking until you’ve covered 3 miles. Once you’ve done that, you can work on your speed.
What you need to understand is that if you can already do it, your body has no reason to change. Your body quickly adapts to a new workload so the same amount of work becomes easier. That means that you’ll actually start burning fewer calories while doing the same amount of work.
But if you can challenge yourself to go a little further, or a little faster, you can burn more calories in the same amount of time. That means you’ll get better results in your exercise program, especially if weight loss is your goal.
I talked to each of the Biggest Losers who did the 5 K this weekend. Their new goal is to keep working on their 5 K on a regular basis. If they do, not only will their times improve, but they’ll keep burning lots of calories and that will keep them losing weight.
This week’s Biggest Loser is Michelle Clark who lost 1.1% of her body weight and 1.6 lbs. Second place went to Janice Johnson who lost 1.0% and 2.2 lbs. Vanessa Becker placed third by losing about 1.0% and 1.0 lb.
With ten weeks in the books, we’ve got to start thinking about our next Biggest Loser. I’m trying to decide if we should take a break for the summer, or go for Biggest Loser “13.” The dropout rate this last time has been the biggest ever, so you need to tell me.
Do you want another Biggest Loser this summer? I was thinking of doing couples (which could include friends and family members). Perhaps that would give both parties incentive to stick. Or, we could take a break.
Let me know if you’re interested. If I hear from enough of you in the next week or so, we’ll go for it! If not, then we’ll pick it back up in September. Hope to hear from you.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
BIGGEST LOSER "12" WEEK NINE "STICKING IT OUT"
Well, the group has been through nine weeks of training—those that are left, that is. Typically, we’ll see about half drop out for one reason or another. At this point, it’s been much more extreme.
Out of the 29 Biggest Losers that started nine weeks ago, just six made this week’s weigh-in! I know a couple others are out of town, but that’s perhaps the lowest weigh-in ever.
I’ve been trying to figure out what’s going on. Since we’re doing pretty much the same workouts, I have to conclude it has something to do with the timing.
The workouts are on Friday nights, and I know it’s tough to get here sometimes, especially on Friday night. But in the past, we’ve had some large groups, so that can’t be the only reason.
Perhaps it’s just the time of year. It is summer, after all, and the heat index is up there, too. I like the summer workouts because we can get outdoors, but when it gets too hot, we start staying inside and using the equipment here.
That’s what we did this week. Usually in Week Nine, I’ll take the group out to the football field and they’ll run/walk a quarter mile and then do 25 pushups, 25 body squats, and 25 sit-ups, four times.
This time, they did the quarter miles on the treadmill and went into the mat room for the pushups, body squats and sit-ups. Pretty nice with that air conditioning! Oh well, they still did the work.
They probably wouldn’t burn quite as many calories as they would have done if they were doing it all outside, but we didn’t have to worry about heat sickness this way. I used it as an opportunity to have them try to go faster than usual on the treadmill. So it all worked out in the end.
For the Biggest Losers that were there, it was a great workout. It was quick, but very effective. Most finished in under twenty minutes. But the main thing is that they’re finishing what they started.
After getting started, the hardest thing for people is learning how to stick it out. The first month is painful as your body is getting used to doing the work. The next month, you’re feeling stronger, and it doesn’t hurt as much. You’re also getting some results.
I don’t worry much about the people that make the weigh-ins at this point. I worry even less about the people that still make the workouts. By now, they’re getting strong, and they know they can push themselves much more then they used to. They’ve also made eating right and exercising smart a daily habit.
These are qualities that will serve them pretty well, especially once they’re out on their own. If there’s a common mistake I see with people working out, it’s that they tend to keep doing the same routine, without any variation at all.
It’s really good to better to change it up, and do different things. It’s good for your body and it’s good for your mind. Your body likes it because it gets stressed in different ways, and so it has to develop more. Your mind likes it because it’s something new.
Of course, if you drop out of a program, it’s going to be kind of tough to change it up and do new and different things. So maybe the most important thing lesson to learn is…DON’T QUIT! If you quit, you don’t get what you want.
One who hasn’t quit is Cheryl Clark, our Biggest Loser this week. She lost 3.1% of her body weight and 6.2 lbs. She’s had some weeks where the scale wasn’t as kind as she’d have liked, and like many women, she’s also learned she needed to be eating more.
Cheryl’s been pretty persistent though, and it’s been paying off. To date, she’s lost 18.2 lbs in nine weeks. With three weeks to go, if she keeps this up, she can be down about 25 lbs for the 12 weeks.
Second place went to Michelle Clark, who lost 1.3% and 2.0 lbs. Janice Johnson was third, losing about 1.0% and 1.8 lbs. Vanessa Becker was fourth, losing 1.0 lb.
Next week, depending on weather, we’ll do either the 5 K challenge or teach them an advanced Level IV workout. Either way, it’s going to give them another chance to step it up. See you then!
Out of the 29 Biggest Losers that started nine weeks ago, just six made this week’s weigh-in! I know a couple others are out of town, but that’s perhaps the lowest weigh-in ever.
I’ve been trying to figure out what’s going on. Since we’re doing pretty much the same workouts, I have to conclude it has something to do with the timing.
The workouts are on Friday nights, and I know it’s tough to get here sometimes, especially on Friday night. But in the past, we’ve had some large groups, so that can’t be the only reason.
Perhaps it’s just the time of year. It is summer, after all, and the heat index is up there, too. I like the summer workouts because we can get outdoors, but when it gets too hot, we start staying inside and using the equipment here.
That’s what we did this week. Usually in Week Nine, I’ll take the group out to the football field and they’ll run/walk a quarter mile and then do 25 pushups, 25 body squats, and 25 sit-ups, four times.
This time, they did the quarter miles on the treadmill and went into the mat room for the pushups, body squats and sit-ups. Pretty nice with that air conditioning! Oh well, they still did the work.
They probably wouldn’t burn quite as many calories as they would have done if they were doing it all outside, but we didn’t have to worry about heat sickness this way. I used it as an opportunity to have them try to go faster than usual on the treadmill. So it all worked out in the end.
For the Biggest Losers that were there, it was a great workout. It was quick, but very effective. Most finished in under twenty minutes. But the main thing is that they’re finishing what they started.
After getting started, the hardest thing for people is learning how to stick it out. The first month is painful as your body is getting used to doing the work. The next month, you’re feeling stronger, and it doesn’t hurt as much. You’re also getting some results.
I don’t worry much about the people that make the weigh-ins at this point. I worry even less about the people that still make the workouts. By now, they’re getting strong, and they know they can push themselves much more then they used to. They’ve also made eating right and exercising smart a daily habit.
These are qualities that will serve them pretty well, especially once they’re out on their own. If there’s a common mistake I see with people working out, it’s that they tend to keep doing the same routine, without any variation at all.
It’s really good to better to change it up, and do different things. It’s good for your body and it’s good for your mind. Your body likes it because it gets stressed in different ways, and so it has to develop more. Your mind likes it because it’s something new.
Of course, if you drop out of a program, it’s going to be kind of tough to change it up and do new and different things. So maybe the most important thing lesson to learn is…DON’T QUIT! If you quit, you don’t get what you want.
One who hasn’t quit is Cheryl Clark, our Biggest Loser this week. She lost 3.1% of her body weight and 6.2 lbs. She’s had some weeks where the scale wasn’t as kind as she’d have liked, and like many women, she’s also learned she needed to be eating more.
Cheryl’s been pretty persistent though, and it’s been paying off. To date, she’s lost 18.2 lbs in nine weeks. With three weeks to go, if she keeps this up, she can be down about 25 lbs for the 12 weeks.
Second place went to Michelle Clark, who lost 1.3% and 2.0 lbs. Janice Johnson was third, losing about 1.0% and 1.8 lbs. Vanessa Becker was fourth, losing 1.0 lb.
Next week, depending on weather, we’ll do either the 5 K challenge or teach them an advanced Level IV workout. Either way, it’s going to give them another chance to step it up. See you then!
Friday, June 18, 2010
BIGGEST LOSER "12" WEEK EIGHT "THE WOOD ST. WARRIORS"
This week we had a couple of interesting workouts. On Friday afternoon, several of the Wood Street Warriors accepted my challenge to come out for a trail run. I’ve got a half mile loop through the woods and fields but this year I added a couple of twists: a really steep short hill down to the creek, and an extra stretch up around where the pond is going to be.
Their challenge was to run at least four laps around, with 10 body squats after the first lap, 15 body squats after the second, 20 after the third, and 25 after the fourth. If they really felt froggy, they could add a fifth lap and 30 body squats for a total of 100 squats and 3.75 miles. If they did a sixth lap, that would take the distance up to right around 4 ½ miles!
Trail running is quite a bit different than jogging on the road or even the treadmill. While the road is toughest on you, trail running is much easier on the feet and knees because the ground is softer and has some give to it.
It can be a little tricky though. You’ve got to really watch where you’re going so you don’t turn an ankle. Instead of long strides, you need to shorten your stride on uneven ground, and put your whole foot down deliberately.
But those adjustments also drive up the intensity of the work. Since the terrain is uneven, it takes more muscle control to keep your balance, which also works your core more. This makes it very good for your overall health and posture. In fact, my chiropractor is always telling people to go out and walk on uneven ground.
After the first lap, the gals knew they were in for something. The hills didn’t look that threatening, but because they kept coming at you, and were pretty steep, it drove up the intensity.
Once you got over the short hill, you got a short break before the next one kicked in, which made this yet another form of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). I told them the only real goal the whole time was to push up the hills. Try to really hit the hills hard.
The body squats in between laps further kicked up the intensity and combined with the hills made it quite a lower body workout. By the time they’d finished 4 laps, they’d done the equivalent of a 5 K run, plus all the hills and squats! The 5th lap was a walk/run lap, but by the time they’d walked half of it, they’d recovered enough to run the rest. Great job ladies!
Afterward, I scooted back to the center to work with the Biggest Losers and their own introduction to HIIT. Always an eye opener, HIIT training shows you that you can always do more than you think you can do.
After warming up on either the treadmill, bike or elliptical, they kicked up the intensity using Borg’s scale of Perceived Exertion. They took it up to what felt like about an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is being in a coma and 10 is too hard to continue.
Working at what feels like a 5 or 6 is very low intensity, and a 7 is what feels like moderate intensity right in the middle of the cardio zone. When you get to what feels like an 8, it’s pretty serious—you don’t know how long you can keep it up.
Working at what feels like a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10 is even harder. This is work that is so hard that you don’t know if you can keep going, even for a minute. Of course a 10 is so hard that you have to stop, so you don’t want to get quite that intense.
They did a minute at what felt like an 8, and then a minute where they backed off to recover. Then they kicked it up again by going faster, or raising the level on the machine. After another minute of recovery, we took it up to what felt like a 9.
Typically, they won’t really be working hard enough for it to really be a 9, so I had them do it again, only harder. This time, I could tell it really was a 9 because they were huffing and puffing and watching the clock to see when the minute was up!
After a minute to recover, they switched machines and tried the whole routine again. Finally, they switched machines again so they got to experience the whole thing on a treadmill, elliptical and recumbent bike. The idea was to show them that you can do HIIT anywhere, even out in the woods with hills like the Wood St. Warriors!
HIIT training burns many more calories than a traditional workout. Moderate exercise will burn around 5 calories a minute. If you push pretty hard, you can get that up to around 10 calories a minute.
With HIIT training, you can get as high as 15 calories a minute, but it also gives you a much longer after-burn, meaning you’ll continue to burn more calories even after the work is over. This is a great tool for them to use as they move into their third month of training. It’s often just the ticket to get you through a plateau!
This week’s Biggest Loser was Nicole Clodfelter, who lost 1.4% of her body weight and 3.6 lbs. This came after a week where she turned up her intensity quite a bit, running her second 5 K and taking nearly 5 minutes off her time!
Second place went to Michelle Clark who also ran a 5 K in just over 31 minutes. She was delighted that she was able to keep running the entire time! Michelle lost about 1.0% of her body weight and 1.4 lbs.
Their challenge was to run at least four laps around, with 10 body squats after the first lap, 15 body squats after the second, 20 after the third, and 25 after the fourth. If they really felt froggy, they could add a fifth lap and 30 body squats for a total of 100 squats and 3.75 miles. If they did a sixth lap, that would take the distance up to right around 4 ½ miles!
Trail running is quite a bit different than jogging on the road or even the treadmill. While the road is toughest on you, trail running is much easier on the feet and knees because the ground is softer and has some give to it.
It can be a little tricky though. You’ve got to really watch where you’re going so you don’t turn an ankle. Instead of long strides, you need to shorten your stride on uneven ground, and put your whole foot down deliberately.
But those adjustments also drive up the intensity of the work. Since the terrain is uneven, it takes more muscle control to keep your balance, which also works your core more. This makes it very good for your overall health and posture. In fact, my chiropractor is always telling people to go out and walk on uneven ground.
After the first lap, the gals knew they were in for something. The hills didn’t look that threatening, but because they kept coming at you, and were pretty steep, it drove up the intensity.
Once you got over the short hill, you got a short break before the next one kicked in, which made this yet another form of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). I told them the only real goal the whole time was to push up the hills. Try to really hit the hills hard.
The body squats in between laps further kicked up the intensity and combined with the hills made it quite a lower body workout. By the time they’d finished 4 laps, they’d done the equivalent of a 5 K run, plus all the hills and squats! The 5th lap was a walk/run lap, but by the time they’d walked half of it, they’d recovered enough to run the rest. Great job ladies!
Afterward, I scooted back to the center to work with the Biggest Losers and their own introduction to HIIT. Always an eye opener, HIIT training shows you that you can always do more than you think you can do.
After warming up on either the treadmill, bike or elliptical, they kicked up the intensity using Borg’s scale of Perceived Exertion. They took it up to what felt like about an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is being in a coma and 10 is too hard to continue.
Working at what feels like a 5 or 6 is very low intensity, and a 7 is what feels like moderate intensity right in the middle of the cardio zone. When you get to what feels like an 8, it’s pretty serious—you don’t know how long you can keep it up.
Working at what feels like a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10 is even harder. This is work that is so hard that you don’t know if you can keep going, even for a minute. Of course a 10 is so hard that you have to stop, so you don’t want to get quite that intense.
They did a minute at what felt like an 8, and then a minute where they backed off to recover. Then they kicked it up again by going faster, or raising the level on the machine. After another minute of recovery, we took it up to what felt like a 9.
Typically, they won’t really be working hard enough for it to really be a 9, so I had them do it again, only harder. This time, I could tell it really was a 9 because they were huffing and puffing and watching the clock to see when the minute was up!
After a minute to recover, they switched machines and tried the whole routine again. Finally, they switched machines again so they got to experience the whole thing on a treadmill, elliptical and recumbent bike. The idea was to show them that you can do HIIT anywhere, even out in the woods with hills like the Wood St. Warriors!
HIIT training burns many more calories than a traditional workout. Moderate exercise will burn around 5 calories a minute. If you push pretty hard, you can get that up to around 10 calories a minute.
With HIIT training, you can get as high as 15 calories a minute, but it also gives you a much longer after-burn, meaning you’ll continue to burn more calories even after the work is over. This is a great tool for them to use as they move into their third month of training. It’s often just the ticket to get you through a plateau!
This week’s Biggest Loser was Nicole Clodfelter, who lost 1.4% of her body weight and 3.6 lbs. This came after a week where she turned up her intensity quite a bit, running her second 5 K and taking nearly 5 minutes off her time!
Second place went to Michelle Clark who also ran a 5 K in just over 31 minutes. She was delighted that she was able to keep running the entire time! Michelle lost about 1.0% of her body weight and 1.4 lbs.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
BIGGEST LOSER "12" WEEK SEVEN "OUTDOOR WORKOUT #2"
This week we went outside again. That’s one of the benefits of doing Biggest Loser in the spring and summer. The last time we went outdoors, the group did the park-to-park run, with four stops along the way. At each station, they also did a bunch of jumping jacks, pushups, sit-ups and body squats at each stop.
This week they jogged down to the park at Main and Jasper St. Once they got to the water tower, they did three sets of burpees and sit-ups.
Here’s how you do a burpee—from a standing position, bend down and put your hands on the floor, kicking your feet out into a pushup position. Do the pushup, and then hop back to a squatting position before jumping straight up in the air with your arms stretched out overhead. That’s a burpee!
They did 10 burpees in a row, which is tough, because you’re using almost every muscle group. That puts quite an oxygen demand on the body, especially after jogging first. Once they finished the burpees, they hit the grass and did 20 sit-ups. This actually helped them catch their breath, because they were lying on their back.
Once they finished the sit-ups, they did 10 more burpees, 20 more sit-ups, and finished with a third set of 10 burpees and 20 sit-ups. By then, everyone was feeling it.
At that point, I split the group in two and had the stronger runners take a lap around the park before heading back. The others simply started back from there. The run/walk back is always much harder than people expect because of all the work they did in between.
From start to finish, the workout took less than 30 minutes, and everyone agreed that it was more intense than they were used to. My goal is to teach them that they can do almost always do more than they think they can do. It’s also to show them what they should be feeling like in their workouts during the week.
If my workout is the only one that gasses them that much, then they need to step it up during the week. The challenge is to keep raising their level of intensity each week. That will help them keep taking the weight off, especially when their body gets used to what they were doing.
If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got. In fact, your body might even get weaker! You need to keep changing it up. Next week, we’ll teach them how to do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) to help them get more out of their cardio workouts.
If you’re already working out and doing pretty well, and want a more advanced version of the combination workouts, here’s another one for you. Run a ¼ mile, and then do 25 pushups, body squats, and sit-ups. Then repeat the whole thing three more times.
That’s one of the most talked about workouts we’ve done, and the group just might see it sometime in the next couple of weeks! Another challenge they’ll be facing is to do a 5K (3.1 mile) walk/run. Again, the goal is to keep up the intensity.
Someone who’s done a good job finding more intensity is Karen Brown who took first place this week by losing 1.6% of her body weight and 3.4 lbs. You may recall that she lost 42 lbs in Biggest Loser “9” some months ago. She’s continued to work on it, and this week, she walked 9 miles three different times!
One of those times was right before we did the outdoor workout I told you about, so she actually did closer to 11 miles that day! With that kind of effort, I’m not surprised she was the Biggest Loser this week.
Second place went to Michelle Clark, who’s also been pushing hard in the gym. She lost 1.3% of her body weight and 2.0 lbs. Third place was a tie between Vanessa Becker and Janice Johnson, who both lost about 1.0% of their body weight. Vanessa lost 1.0 lbs and Janice lost 1.6 lbs.
This week they jogged down to the park at Main and Jasper St. Once they got to the water tower, they did three sets of burpees and sit-ups.
Here’s how you do a burpee—from a standing position, bend down and put your hands on the floor, kicking your feet out into a pushup position. Do the pushup, and then hop back to a squatting position before jumping straight up in the air with your arms stretched out overhead. That’s a burpee!
They did 10 burpees in a row, which is tough, because you’re using almost every muscle group. That puts quite an oxygen demand on the body, especially after jogging first. Once they finished the burpees, they hit the grass and did 20 sit-ups. This actually helped them catch their breath, because they were lying on their back.
Once they finished the sit-ups, they did 10 more burpees, 20 more sit-ups, and finished with a third set of 10 burpees and 20 sit-ups. By then, everyone was feeling it.
At that point, I split the group in two and had the stronger runners take a lap around the park before heading back. The others simply started back from there. The run/walk back is always much harder than people expect because of all the work they did in between.
From start to finish, the workout took less than 30 minutes, and everyone agreed that it was more intense than they were used to. My goal is to teach them that they can do almost always do more than they think they can do. It’s also to show them what they should be feeling like in their workouts during the week.
If my workout is the only one that gasses them that much, then they need to step it up during the week. The challenge is to keep raising their level of intensity each week. That will help them keep taking the weight off, especially when their body gets used to what they were doing.
If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got. In fact, your body might even get weaker! You need to keep changing it up. Next week, we’ll teach them how to do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) to help them get more out of their cardio workouts.
If you’re already working out and doing pretty well, and want a more advanced version of the combination workouts, here’s another one for you. Run a ¼ mile, and then do 25 pushups, body squats, and sit-ups. Then repeat the whole thing three more times.
That’s one of the most talked about workouts we’ve done, and the group just might see it sometime in the next couple of weeks! Another challenge they’ll be facing is to do a 5K (3.1 mile) walk/run. Again, the goal is to keep up the intensity.
Someone who’s done a good job finding more intensity is Karen Brown who took first place this week by losing 1.6% of her body weight and 3.4 lbs. You may recall that she lost 42 lbs in Biggest Loser “9” some months ago. She’s continued to work on it, and this week, she walked 9 miles three different times!
One of those times was right before we did the outdoor workout I told you about, so she actually did closer to 11 miles that day! With that kind of effort, I’m not surprised she was the Biggest Loser this week.
Second place went to Michelle Clark, who’s also been pushing hard in the gym. She lost 1.3% of her body weight and 2.0 lbs. Third place was a tie between Vanessa Becker and Janice Johnson, who both lost about 1.0% of their body weight. Vanessa lost 1.0 lbs and Janice lost 1.6 lbs.
Friday, June 04, 2010
BIGGEST LOSER "12" WEEK SIX "CHANGING IT UP AGAIN"
This week the group learned the second free weight routine. As always, the goal is to continually keep changing it up. It doesn’t take long before your body adapts to a certain routine. That’s when results start falling off.
Even if your goal isn’t weight loss, it’s smart to keep things changing. If you’re a bodybuilder or trying to put on size, it’s good to do things in 3 week cycles—four at the most. Then you need to change it up somehow.
By changing the routine, it keeps your body “guessing.” It’s adapted to the workout levels, the intensity, and even the order in which you do things. By varying the exercises, or the exercise order, you can make the workout more difficult. Give it a try.
The first dumbbell (DB) routine I typically teach is a full body workout that hits every muscle group:
1. Front Squat
2. Chest Press on the Ball
3. Bent Knee Dead lifts
4. Single Arm Rows
5. Lateral Raises
6. Single Arm Bicep Curls (alternating)
7. Overhead Tricep Press
8. Abs Crunches on the Ball
9. Side Twists
The second (new) DB routine hits the same body parts, but uses different exercises. By mixing it up, it will create a whole new set of demands on the body.
1. Walking Lunge
2. Peck Fly’s on the Ball
3. Straight Leg Dead lifts
4. Pullovers on the Ball
5. Arnold Shoulder Press
6. Double Bicep Curl
7. Tricep Kickbacks
8. Ab Routine #1-5: Crunches (knees bent), Crunches (legs up), Side Crunches (L) then (R), Leg Lifts
There are several ways to do the workout. You could do it as a circuit from start to finish, and then do it again once or twice. Try not to stop for breaks until you’ve completed the circuit.
An alternative method is to put things together in pairs, called supersets. Do the Walking Lunges and Pec Fly’s back-to-back, two or three times. Then move on to the Dead lifts and Pullovers. Do them both back-to-back, and then repeat the pair again once or twice.
Take the next three exercises and put them together: Arnold Press, Bicep Curl and Tricep Kickbacks. Do all three back-to-back, two or three times. Finally, do the Ab Routine at the end. Pick a number, say 20 reps, and do each one of the five abdominal exercises 20 times.
Either way, the goal is to hit the entire body, which you will. You’ll want to keep moving without rests. If you need to take a drink, take it between pairs of exercises, or at the end of a circuit. That will keep you moving! Good luck.
By the way, don’t forget about the 5th Annual C.A.M.A. Bike Rally, on Saturday, June 5th. You can get information from www.camacoalition.org !
This week’s Biggest Loser was Michelle Clark, who lost 1.3% of her body weight and 2.0 lbs. Janice Johnson was second with 1.2% and 2.8 lbs. Dale Rasmussen placed third, losing 1.1% and 2.6 lbs. Mindi Milner, Nicole Clodfelter and Karen Brown all tied for fourth place, losing 1.0 of their body weight and 2.0, 2.6, and 2.2 lbs respectively.
Even if your goal isn’t weight loss, it’s smart to keep things changing. If you’re a bodybuilder or trying to put on size, it’s good to do things in 3 week cycles—four at the most. Then you need to change it up somehow.
By changing the routine, it keeps your body “guessing.” It’s adapted to the workout levels, the intensity, and even the order in which you do things. By varying the exercises, or the exercise order, you can make the workout more difficult. Give it a try.
The first dumbbell (DB) routine I typically teach is a full body workout that hits every muscle group:
1. Front Squat
2. Chest Press on the Ball
3. Bent Knee Dead lifts
4. Single Arm Rows
5. Lateral Raises
6. Single Arm Bicep Curls (alternating)
7. Overhead Tricep Press
8. Abs Crunches on the Ball
9. Side Twists
The second (new) DB routine hits the same body parts, but uses different exercises. By mixing it up, it will create a whole new set of demands on the body.
1. Walking Lunge
2. Peck Fly’s on the Ball
3. Straight Leg Dead lifts
4. Pullovers on the Ball
5. Arnold Shoulder Press
6. Double Bicep Curl
7. Tricep Kickbacks
8. Ab Routine #1-5: Crunches (knees bent), Crunches (legs up), Side Crunches (L) then (R), Leg Lifts
There are several ways to do the workout. You could do it as a circuit from start to finish, and then do it again once or twice. Try not to stop for breaks until you’ve completed the circuit.
An alternative method is to put things together in pairs, called supersets. Do the Walking Lunges and Pec Fly’s back-to-back, two or three times. Then move on to the Dead lifts and Pullovers. Do them both back-to-back, and then repeat the pair again once or twice.
Take the next three exercises and put them together: Arnold Press, Bicep Curl and Tricep Kickbacks. Do all three back-to-back, two or three times. Finally, do the Ab Routine at the end. Pick a number, say 20 reps, and do each one of the five abdominal exercises 20 times.
Either way, the goal is to hit the entire body, which you will. You’ll want to keep moving without rests. If you need to take a drink, take it between pairs of exercises, or at the end of a circuit. That will keep you moving! Good luck.
By the way, don’t forget about the 5th Annual C.A.M.A. Bike Rally, on Saturday, June 5th. You can get information from www.camacoalition.org !
This week’s Biggest Loser was Michelle Clark, who lost 1.3% of her body weight and 2.0 lbs. Janice Johnson was second with 1.2% and 2.8 lbs. Dale Rasmussen placed third, losing 1.1% and 2.6 lbs. Mindi Milner, Nicole Clodfelter and Karen Brown all tied for fourth place, losing 1.0 of their body weight and 2.0, 2.6, and 2.2 lbs respectively.
Monday, May 24, 2010
BIGGEST LOSER "12" WEEK FIVE "PARK-TO-PARK CROSS TRAINING"
This week we turned it up with our Park-to-Park workout. It’s a combination of jogging and calisthenics that hits the whole body. They started at the gym and ran down Wood St. to Schwartz Park and then walked around the trail. Once everyone got there, we did 10 jumping jacks, 10 body squats, 10 pushups and 10 sit-ups.
I’d been waiting a couple weeks for good weather, and we lucked out. After showers for several days, we had a break just a few hours before the workout, and the sun even came out for awhile. At the same time, it was still a little cool with a breeze, which always helps!
As soon as we were done with the calisthenics, we took out down to High St. and ran North to Sunrise Park. While they waited for any stragglers, they walked around the park like before. Once everyone arrived, we did another 10 jumping jacks, body squats, pushups and sit-ups.
Once we all got done, we jogged down High St. to the football field where we did 10 more reps of each exercise. Finally, we headed back up over the overhead bridge on Buena Vista. At that point it got really difficult, but most everyone jogged up the hill! Once they got back to Wood St., they jogged back to the center where they did a final set of each of the exercises.
All in all, they went right about 2.0 miles and did 40 jumping jacks, body squats, pushups and sit-ups. For most, it was a pretty tough workout because they were using so many different muscle groups.
Their legs and lungs were working hard during the jogging. Then they hit the Chest, Shoulders, Arms, Legs, Back and Core with the calisthenics. Then they were back running again, and so on. So it’s anaerobic and aerobic at the same time, which makes it quite the calorie burner.
Anytime you can mix things up like that, it’s good for your body. Your body develops the ability to use different energy systems, and your endurance will improve dramatically. At the same time, you’re doing something goal oriented—run to there and then do so many reps of such and such. Then do it again. It’s good for your mind, too, because it keeps you interested.
We do this all the time in my Level IV boot camp classes. Just a week ago, the Friday workout was very similar. The difference was the distance ran, the number of times they ran it, and the type of movements they did in between.
It’s pretty challenging, so you might want to work up to it. You definitely don’t want to do it on an empty stomach. You might try the BL workout first. If everything goes OK, then you can try the Level IV workout—but with fewer repetitions of each exercise. Another way to scale the workout down is by doing 2 minutes on the elliptical trainer instead of the ¼ mile run.
Make sure you know how to do the movements correctly. If you ever have any questions, you can always contact me at the center, or through the website.
1. Run ¼ mile
2. Do 25 pull-ups
3. Run ¼ mile
4. Do 25 overhead squats (w/stick)
5. Run ¼ mile
6. Do 25 pushups on an exercise ball
7. Run ¼ mile
8. Do 25 Dumb Bell Curls
9. Run ¼ mile
10. Do 25 Kettle Bell Swings
11. Run ¼ mile
12. Do 25 Pikes or Knee-Ins on the Ball
13. Run ¼ mile
14. Do 25 Sit-ups
15. Run ¼ mile
This week’s Biggest Loser was Carrieann Phegley, who lost 2.2% of her body weight and 3.8 lbs. Cheryl Clark placed second, losing 1.9% and 3.8 lbs. Cheryl’s lost the most weight so far, by losing 12.8 lbs in five weeks.
Bridgett Trover was third for the week, losing 1.7% and 3.0 lbs. Michelle Clark, who has the overall lead so far, placed fourth by losing 1.5% and 2.4 lbs. Karen Brown was fifth, losing 1.3% of her body weight and 2.8 lbs, and Nicole Clodfelter finished in sixth place, losing about 1.0% and 2.4 lbs.
Don’t forget about the C.A.M.A. Teen Bike Rally coming up on June 5th. It’s a great chance to get some cross-training in, and not just for teens. Proceeds go to benefit the Coalition Against Methamphetamine Abuse and provide teens education about Meth and other forms of substance abuse, but anyone can do the ride! You can get information online at www.camacoalition.org .
You can choose from several routes of varying difficulty. The easiest is an 8.5 mile route which anyone can do, including my 7 year old grandson. Next is a 25 mile route which is a little tougher, but my 9 year old Cutie-Pie can do it. I’m guessing most newer riders will do this one.
Next is a 41.5 mile which a lot of us from the center are doing. It’s best if you have a road bike for this one, and some experience. Finally, the most difficult route is a 70 mile loop. This one’s for the big dogs. These characters have lots of riding experience, and riding is often their main form of exercise.
Pick one and give it a shot. Do some riding over the next couple weeks to prepare. It’ll be a great workout, and you’ll get lunch, too! See you there.
I’d been waiting a couple weeks for good weather, and we lucked out. After showers for several days, we had a break just a few hours before the workout, and the sun even came out for awhile. At the same time, it was still a little cool with a breeze, which always helps!
As soon as we were done with the calisthenics, we took out down to High St. and ran North to Sunrise Park. While they waited for any stragglers, they walked around the park like before. Once everyone arrived, we did another 10 jumping jacks, body squats, pushups and sit-ups.
Once we all got done, we jogged down High St. to the football field where we did 10 more reps of each exercise. Finally, we headed back up over the overhead bridge on Buena Vista. At that point it got really difficult, but most everyone jogged up the hill! Once they got back to Wood St., they jogged back to the center where they did a final set of each of the exercises.
All in all, they went right about 2.0 miles and did 40 jumping jacks, body squats, pushups and sit-ups. For most, it was a pretty tough workout because they were using so many different muscle groups.
Their legs and lungs were working hard during the jogging. Then they hit the Chest, Shoulders, Arms, Legs, Back and Core with the calisthenics. Then they were back running again, and so on. So it’s anaerobic and aerobic at the same time, which makes it quite the calorie burner.
Anytime you can mix things up like that, it’s good for your body. Your body develops the ability to use different energy systems, and your endurance will improve dramatically. At the same time, you’re doing something goal oriented—run to there and then do so many reps of such and such. Then do it again. It’s good for your mind, too, because it keeps you interested.
We do this all the time in my Level IV boot camp classes. Just a week ago, the Friday workout was very similar. The difference was the distance ran, the number of times they ran it, and the type of movements they did in between.
It’s pretty challenging, so you might want to work up to it. You definitely don’t want to do it on an empty stomach. You might try the BL workout first. If everything goes OK, then you can try the Level IV workout—but with fewer repetitions of each exercise. Another way to scale the workout down is by doing 2 minutes on the elliptical trainer instead of the ¼ mile run.
Make sure you know how to do the movements correctly. If you ever have any questions, you can always contact me at the center, or through the website.
1. Run ¼ mile
2. Do 25 pull-ups
3. Run ¼ mile
4. Do 25 overhead squats (w/stick)
5. Run ¼ mile
6. Do 25 pushups on an exercise ball
7. Run ¼ mile
8. Do 25 Dumb Bell Curls
9. Run ¼ mile
10. Do 25 Kettle Bell Swings
11. Run ¼ mile
12. Do 25 Pikes or Knee-Ins on the Ball
13. Run ¼ mile
14. Do 25 Sit-ups
15. Run ¼ mile
This week’s Biggest Loser was Carrieann Phegley, who lost 2.2% of her body weight and 3.8 lbs. Cheryl Clark placed second, losing 1.9% and 3.8 lbs. Cheryl’s lost the most weight so far, by losing 12.8 lbs in five weeks.
Bridgett Trover was third for the week, losing 1.7% and 3.0 lbs. Michelle Clark, who has the overall lead so far, placed fourth by losing 1.5% and 2.4 lbs. Karen Brown was fifth, losing 1.3% of her body weight and 2.8 lbs, and Nicole Clodfelter finished in sixth place, losing about 1.0% and 2.4 lbs.
Don’t forget about the C.A.M.A. Teen Bike Rally coming up on June 5th. It’s a great chance to get some cross-training in, and not just for teens. Proceeds go to benefit the Coalition Against Methamphetamine Abuse and provide teens education about Meth and other forms of substance abuse, but anyone can do the ride! You can get information online at www.camacoalition.org .
You can choose from several routes of varying difficulty. The easiest is an 8.5 mile route which anyone can do, including my 7 year old grandson. Next is a 25 mile route which is a little tougher, but my 9 year old Cutie-Pie can do it. I’m guessing most newer riders will do this one.
Next is a 41.5 mile which a lot of us from the center are doing. It’s best if you have a road bike for this one, and some experience. Finally, the most difficult route is a 70 mile loop. This one’s for the big dogs. These characters have lots of riding experience, and riding is often their main form of exercise.
Pick one and give it a shot. Do some riding over the next couple weeks to prepare. It’ll be a great workout, and you’ll get lunch, too! See you there.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
BIGGEST LOSER "12" WEEK FOUR "TIME TO CHANGE IT UP"
This week we talked to the group about turning it up a notch. After a month of using the machines, it was time to learn how to use free weights. It came at a good time, too, because many of them had reached a plateau.
For some reason, this group has had some difficulty breaking through to the next level. Hopefully the free weights will help shake some things loose. They’ll burn more calories doing the exercises with dumbbells (DB) because of all the other stabilizer muscles that will come into play, particularly in their core.
The main idea is to simply take each exercise they did on machines, and replace it with dumbbells. The Chest Press machine is replaced with Chest Press on the exercise ball. The Seated Row machine is replaced with Single Arm Rows.
The Leg Press machine is replaced by doing body squats while holding dumbbells on their shoulders. The Lower Back machine and Leg machines are replaced with Bent Knee Deadlifts.
They’ll also do Lateral Raises instead of the Shoulder Press Machine, Bicep Curls with instead of the Bicep Curl Machine, and Overhead Presses instead of the Tricep Press Machine. They’ll also do several abdominal exercises on the ball, to replace the Ab Machine.
One of the keys to keeping the intensity up is to do the exercises back to back, without stopping. Here’s the first workout they’ll be doing for the next two weeks in case you’d like to try it. Make sure you get with someone who knows how to perform the movements correctly. Do each group of exercises back-to-back three times, with 10-12 repetitions each.
1. Chest Press on Ball (DB) / Body Squats (DB)
2. Single Arm Rows (DB) / Bent Knee Deadlifts (DB)
3. Lateral Raises (DB) / Bicep Curls (DB) / Overhead Press
4. Ab Crunches on Ball (regular, back bends, crossing over)
This week, my Cutie-Pie also turned it up a little bit. Her gym class is doing a 1 mile run fitness test on Tuesday, so she got together with me several times to help her prepare. I just love the fact that they’re having the kids do this, and she says they’ve been running quite a bit in gym class to get ready.
So we got on the treadmill to see where she was. I was pretty surprised, and she did a fair amount of running the first time to finish in 15:56. Now I know there are kids out there that will blow that away, but some kids are born runners and some aren’t.
I’m one of those guys that wasn’t borne to it. In fact, for many years, I couldn’t run at all, due to a pretty serious case of asthma. A few years back, they came out with some medicine that finally controlled it.
When I first started jogging a few years ago, I finished at the back of the pack consistently. After a couple years of working on it, I now finish right in the middle of the group.
That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a big deal to me. Especially when you realize that only so many people show up for the 5K’s, duathons, and half marathons that I like to run. So to be in the middle of a pretty exclusive group is pretty cool.
The second time we got together, we went out to the track at the football field. I think it’s much easier doing a mile for time out there, because you’re outside. It’s also cooler outside this time of year.
At the field, she kept a faster pace and only walked a little bit after each quarter mile. The last lap was faster, as she kicked it up to try and get there under 13:00. I was surprised at how determined she was as we ran around that last turn, and she finished in 12:53, three minutes quicker than before.
The last workout had to be inside again, due to the rain. It was also later in the day, and I could tell she wasn’t feeling it quite as much, as she held back a little in the first two quarter miles. Still, she kicked it up in the end and finished right at 14:00.
While it was a minute slower than out at the track, it was still almost two minutes faster than the last time she was on the treadmill. It was also pretty darn good for an eight year old who’s about four feet tall!
Her fitness test is Tuesday at school, so after resting Monday to recover, she should be ready to go. The things she’ll need to remember are to try and lengthen her stride to use more muscles and take the pressure off her knees. She also needs to concentrate on her breathing when it gets tough: in-two, out-two, in-two, out-two.
She’s also planning on doing the 25 mile distance in the C.A.M.A. Park-To-Park bike ride coming up the first weekend in June. She’s done the 8 mile distance already, and with a new bike, wants to go a little bit further. So she’ll do it with her daddy, while her younger brother does the 8 miler with her mom.
A bunch of us will be doing the 40 miler, and there are even some serious riders in town who’ll do the 70 mile distance—now that’s impressive! But to me, it’s just as impressive to see an 8 year old do 25 miles.
This week’s winner was Alison Raney, who lost 1.1% of her body weight and 2.0 lbs. Nicole Clodfelter and Mindi Milner tied for second, losing about 1.0%. Nicole lost 2.2 lbs, and Mindi lost 1.6 lbs. Tisha Brinkley placed fourth, losing 1.6 lbs, and Janice Johnson was fifth, also losing 1.2 lbs.
For some reason, this group has had some difficulty breaking through to the next level. Hopefully the free weights will help shake some things loose. They’ll burn more calories doing the exercises with dumbbells (DB) because of all the other stabilizer muscles that will come into play, particularly in their core.
The main idea is to simply take each exercise they did on machines, and replace it with dumbbells. The Chest Press machine is replaced with Chest Press on the exercise ball. The Seated Row machine is replaced with Single Arm Rows.
The Leg Press machine is replaced by doing body squats while holding dumbbells on their shoulders. The Lower Back machine and Leg machines are replaced with Bent Knee Deadlifts.
They’ll also do Lateral Raises instead of the Shoulder Press Machine, Bicep Curls with instead of the Bicep Curl Machine, and Overhead Presses instead of the Tricep Press Machine. They’ll also do several abdominal exercises on the ball, to replace the Ab Machine.
One of the keys to keeping the intensity up is to do the exercises back to back, without stopping. Here’s the first workout they’ll be doing for the next two weeks in case you’d like to try it. Make sure you get with someone who knows how to perform the movements correctly. Do each group of exercises back-to-back three times, with 10-12 repetitions each.
1. Chest Press on Ball (DB) / Body Squats (DB)
2. Single Arm Rows (DB) / Bent Knee Deadlifts (DB)
3. Lateral Raises (DB) / Bicep Curls (DB) / Overhead Press
4. Ab Crunches on Ball (regular, back bends, crossing over)
This week, my Cutie-Pie also turned it up a little bit. Her gym class is doing a 1 mile run fitness test on Tuesday, so she got together with me several times to help her prepare. I just love the fact that they’re having the kids do this, and she says they’ve been running quite a bit in gym class to get ready.
So we got on the treadmill to see where she was. I was pretty surprised, and she did a fair amount of running the first time to finish in 15:56. Now I know there are kids out there that will blow that away, but some kids are born runners and some aren’t.
I’m one of those guys that wasn’t borne to it. In fact, for many years, I couldn’t run at all, due to a pretty serious case of asthma. A few years back, they came out with some medicine that finally controlled it.
When I first started jogging a few years ago, I finished at the back of the pack consistently. After a couple years of working on it, I now finish right in the middle of the group.
That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a big deal to me. Especially when you realize that only so many people show up for the 5K’s, duathons, and half marathons that I like to run. So to be in the middle of a pretty exclusive group is pretty cool.
The second time we got together, we went out to the track at the football field. I think it’s much easier doing a mile for time out there, because you’re outside. It’s also cooler outside this time of year.
At the field, she kept a faster pace and only walked a little bit after each quarter mile. The last lap was faster, as she kicked it up to try and get there under 13:00. I was surprised at how determined she was as we ran around that last turn, and she finished in 12:53, three minutes quicker than before.
The last workout had to be inside again, due to the rain. It was also later in the day, and I could tell she wasn’t feeling it quite as much, as she held back a little in the first two quarter miles. Still, she kicked it up in the end and finished right at 14:00.
While it was a minute slower than out at the track, it was still almost two minutes faster than the last time she was on the treadmill. It was also pretty darn good for an eight year old who’s about four feet tall!
Her fitness test is Tuesday at school, so after resting Monday to recover, she should be ready to go. The things she’ll need to remember are to try and lengthen her stride to use more muscles and take the pressure off her knees. She also needs to concentrate on her breathing when it gets tough: in-two, out-two, in-two, out-two.
She’s also planning on doing the 25 mile distance in the C.A.M.A. Park-To-Park bike ride coming up the first weekend in June. She’s done the 8 mile distance already, and with a new bike, wants to go a little bit further. So she’ll do it with her daddy, while her younger brother does the 8 miler with her mom.
A bunch of us will be doing the 40 miler, and there are even some serious riders in town who’ll do the 70 mile distance—now that’s impressive! But to me, it’s just as impressive to see an 8 year old do 25 miles.
This week’s winner was Alison Raney, who lost 1.1% of her body weight and 2.0 lbs. Nicole Clodfelter and Mindi Milner tied for second, losing about 1.0%. Nicole lost 2.2 lbs, and Mindi lost 1.6 lbs. Tisha Brinkley placed fourth, losing 1.6 lbs, and Janice Johnson was fifth, also losing 1.2 lbs.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
BIGGEST LOSER "12" WEEK THREE "GETTING STRONGER"
This week marks the end of three weeks for our Biggest Losers, or 21 days in the program. Experts say it takes a minimum of 21 times to make something a habit, so hopefully, they’re right on track.
The goal for week one was simply to get them moving. In week two, the goal was to get them to start keeping a daily food diary so they would be able to see if they were eating enough (most women don’t) or overeating (most men do). Week three was about the types of food they were eating, and understanding how food is used in the body.
The participants have had three weeks working out on the machines to build their strength, and on cardio days, they’ve hopefully been hitting it for a minimum of 30 minutes. As their endurance allows, they were to up it to 45 minutes, or even an hour! On top of that, if their schedules allowed, they were to also get in a quick 20 minute walk each morning.
The whole purpose has been to get them eating better, in the right amounts, and start building their strength and endurance so they can do more during their workouts. At first, they were kind of fighting their own bodies, which weren’t used to working out.
Once they started building some strength, though, their bodies started working for them, which allows them to do a little bit more in the same amount of time, or even, spend more time before they get gassed.
The more work they can do, the more calories they’ll burn, so they’ll end up losing more weight, which of course was their goal all along. At first, it’s pretty tough burning enough calories, but later, as they get stronger, it will be much easier.
Most people can burn around 5 calories a minute with light to moderate exercise. That means about 300 calories an hour when you’re starting out. After a few weeks to get stronger, though, people can start doing work to the tune of around 10 calories a minute, or around 600 calories an hour.
That’s double the work, and it pays off. A pound of fat is the equivalent of 3,500 calories. That means if everything else is equal, and you just add an hour of activity to your day, at first, it would take about 11 ½ days to burn a pound of fat.
Once you start getting in shape, you can double your output, which can cut your time to lose a pound almost in half—down to around 5 or 6 days. And if you work out longer, you can lose more.
That’s why if people have a big weight loss goal, I always recommend they take an extra 20-30 minute walk regardless what else they did in their “real” workout. If they want to take the weight off quickly, that can make a big difference.
So now that they’re stronger, the goal is to change the intensity of the work along with the amount of time they can keep going. Both will drive up the calorie output, and that will drive off the pounds.
This week, their goal is to use the machines for one more week, but this time doing “supersets.” Rather than just hit the circuit from start to finish, they’ll be doing a pushing exercise like the Chest Press, and then do an opposing pulling movement like the Seated Row, back to back. Then they’ll repeat the two exercises two more times before moving on to the next two machines.
Each pair of machines are arranged in order so they can get the Pushing/Pulling thing going at each step as they work their way through the circuit. This way, they’ll never take a break, but while one muscle group is resting, the other, opposing group is working.
If the machines aren’t organized quite that way where you work out, or if you’re using equipment at home, here’s how I have the machines arranged, so you can simulate the workout. Do each pair of exercises back to back, 10-12 repetitions each, for a total of 3 sets before moving on. Next week, we’ll raise the intensity again by moving to free weights!
PUSHING -- PULLING
1. Chest Press -- Seated Row
2. Pec Deck -- Lat Pulldown
3. Shoulder Press -- Rear Delt
4. Tricep Press -- Bicep Curl
5. Leg Press -- Calf Raises
6. Leg Extension -- Leg Curl
7. Ab Crunch -- Lower Back
This week’s Biggest Loser was a two-way tie between Cheryl Clark and Carrieann Phegley, who both lost 2.1% of their body weight. Cheryl lost 4.4 lbs and Carrieann lost 3.6 lbs. Third place went to Dale Rasmussen, who lost 2.0% and 4.6 lbs.
Michelle Clark was fourth, losing 1.6% and 2.6 lbs. Alison Raney took fifth, losing 1.1% and 2.0 lbs. Sixth place went to Janice Johnson, who lost 1.0% and 2.4 lbs.
The goal for week one was simply to get them moving. In week two, the goal was to get them to start keeping a daily food diary so they would be able to see if they were eating enough (most women don’t) or overeating (most men do). Week three was about the types of food they were eating, and understanding how food is used in the body.
The participants have had three weeks working out on the machines to build their strength, and on cardio days, they’ve hopefully been hitting it for a minimum of 30 minutes. As their endurance allows, they were to up it to 45 minutes, or even an hour! On top of that, if their schedules allowed, they were to also get in a quick 20 minute walk each morning.
The whole purpose has been to get them eating better, in the right amounts, and start building their strength and endurance so they can do more during their workouts. At first, they were kind of fighting their own bodies, which weren’t used to working out.
Once they started building some strength, though, their bodies started working for them, which allows them to do a little bit more in the same amount of time, or even, spend more time before they get gassed.
The more work they can do, the more calories they’ll burn, so they’ll end up losing more weight, which of course was their goal all along. At first, it’s pretty tough burning enough calories, but later, as they get stronger, it will be much easier.
Most people can burn around 5 calories a minute with light to moderate exercise. That means about 300 calories an hour when you’re starting out. After a few weeks to get stronger, though, people can start doing work to the tune of around 10 calories a minute, or around 600 calories an hour.
That’s double the work, and it pays off. A pound of fat is the equivalent of 3,500 calories. That means if everything else is equal, and you just add an hour of activity to your day, at first, it would take about 11 ½ days to burn a pound of fat.
Once you start getting in shape, you can double your output, which can cut your time to lose a pound almost in half—down to around 5 or 6 days. And if you work out longer, you can lose more.
That’s why if people have a big weight loss goal, I always recommend they take an extra 20-30 minute walk regardless what else they did in their “real” workout. If they want to take the weight off quickly, that can make a big difference.
So now that they’re stronger, the goal is to change the intensity of the work along with the amount of time they can keep going. Both will drive up the calorie output, and that will drive off the pounds.
This week, their goal is to use the machines for one more week, but this time doing “supersets.” Rather than just hit the circuit from start to finish, they’ll be doing a pushing exercise like the Chest Press, and then do an opposing pulling movement like the Seated Row, back to back. Then they’ll repeat the two exercises two more times before moving on to the next two machines.
Each pair of machines are arranged in order so they can get the Pushing/Pulling thing going at each step as they work their way through the circuit. This way, they’ll never take a break, but while one muscle group is resting, the other, opposing group is working.
If the machines aren’t organized quite that way where you work out, or if you’re using equipment at home, here’s how I have the machines arranged, so you can simulate the workout. Do each pair of exercises back to back, 10-12 repetitions each, for a total of 3 sets before moving on. Next week, we’ll raise the intensity again by moving to free weights!
PUSHING -- PULLING
1. Chest Press -- Seated Row
2. Pec Deck -- Lat Pulldown
3. Shoulder Press -- Rear Delt
4. Tricep Press -- Bicep Curl
5. Leg Press -- Calf Raises
6. Leg Extension -- Leg Curl
7. Ab Crunch -- Lower Back
This week’s Biggest Loser was a two-way tie between Cheryl Clark and Carrieann Phegley, who both lost 2.1% of their body weight. Cheryl lost 4.4 lbs and Carrieann lost 3.6 lbs. Third place went to Dale Rasmussen, who lost 2.0% and 4.6 lbs.
Michelle Clark was fourth, losing 1.6% and 2.6 lbs. Alison Raney took fifth, losing 1.1% and 2.0 lbs. Sixth place went to Janice Johnson, who lost 1.0% and 2.4 lbs.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
BIGGEST LOSER "12" WEEK TWO "FOOD IS FUEL (AND OTHER THINGS)"
This week the group was supposed to look more closely at what they ate. After a week of keeping a daily food journal, it should be pretty easy to make sure they’re getting the right amount of food. Remember from last week, studies show that people who write down what they eat lost more weight than those who didn’t.
The journal will also tell them where they have holes in their diet. That could be from either missing meals or snacks, or from missing even part of their meals. To be well rounded, each meal should have a source of protein, starch (complex carbs), and fruits or greens.
Protein is for building muscle and bone. Without protein in your diet, you will slowly waste away. Your bones won’t be as strong as they could be either. This explains in part why our elderly become frail, with bones that are easily broken.
Studies show that people in their 80’s can increase muscle mass after just six weeks of regular exercise such as walking and basic strength training. And if our seniors would dedicate 45 minutes to an hour a day to regular exercise, and ensuring they get enough protein in their diet, they’d be amazed at how good they’d feel.
My dad will be 87 in July, and he spends at least an hour a day in the gym doing a very similar routine to what our Biggest Losers are doing in the first month of training. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, he hits the strength circuit, doing most of the machines, three times around. On Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, he focuses on Cardio, riding the exercise bike, and walking.
He also gets up in the morning and goes for a walk outside for 20-30 minutes. That’s right. He does two workouts a day! His weight is down to what it was back when he was in basic training in the army during World War II. I’m sure he had a bit more muscle back then, but come on, he’s 86! Sometimes I tell him he needs to focus on getting a little more protein.
Sources of protein include meats, poultry, fish, dairy products like milk, yogurt and cottage cheese, nuts, and some beans. You need to make sure you get some protein in every meal. Some people need to supplement this with a protein shake, if they’re very active.
Starches are the next category to look at. Starches are complex carbohydrates, meaning that the starch molecules are more difficult for the body to break down. This means they’ll give the body longer lasting energy, compared to simple sugars that are used right away.
Sources of starch include whole grain breads and cereals, oats, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pasta, corn, rice, and some beans like the navy and pinto beans. Also a good source of vitamins and minerals, and some fiber, complex carbs need to be part of every meal too.
Dad tends to stick with the basic starches like whole grain breads and cereals. The bread should feel heavy, compared to the other choices. You should also be able to smell it when you pick it up. That means you’ll have more of the good stuff in there.
The last category was fruits and greens. These need no description—a fruits a fruit, and greens are all the other vegetables out there. Most people eat very little of either, and that’s unfortunate because they’re packed with vitamins and minerals that will help your body work better, and make you feel great.
Dad really scores well here. He eats fruits for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even snacks. He likes the fact that they’re very low in calories, so he can eat them without worrying about gaining weight. They have lots of fiber too, so as he says, “they fill you up.”
The other main benefit of eating fruits is quick energy. Unlike the more complex starches, fruits are simple sugars (fructose), so your body breaks it down in a hurry. If you ever feel a little run down and need a quick pick-me-up, have some fruit. You’ll feel better within minutes.
Dad eats a ton of veggies, too, mostly in a home-made soup that he puts together a couple times a week. It’s got every vegetable under the sun in there. There will be some quick energy from the vegetables, but the main benefit there is all the natural vitamins and minerals, and the fiber.
As the Biggest Losers start getting their diet squared away, each meal will start to have all three key components: protein, starch, and fruits or greens. Once they start eating that way, they’ll start feeling better, and their body will use everything they eat (assuming they’re eating the right amount). That means nothing will be stored as fat, and their bodies will be working great.
Speaking of fats, it’s not necessary to worry about them too much. All you need to do is make sure you eat leaner cuts of meats, trim the fat where possible, and choose low fat dairy products during the day. It’s also a no brainer that you need to avoid junk foods and fried foods too. This will keep you from getting too much of the bad fats.
For the good fats, you’ll be getting that low fat dairy every day, and hopefully eating some other things like fish, and nuts that are high in Omega-3. Finally, it’s best to take a good supplement that has all three of the Omegas: Omega-3, Omega-6, and Omega-9. Experts used to focus only on Omega-3, but lately, they’ve been leaning toward a balanced supplement.
Don’t forget to get plenty of water each day, too. The more active you are, the more you need, but most people aren’t even getting the minimum daily recommendation: 48 oz. Personally, I think that’s about half what an active guy needs. I’d shoot for 3-4 bottles a day if you’re an active female, and 4-5 bottles a day if you’re a guy.
This week’s winner was Mindi Milner, who lost 2.1% of her body weight and 4.2 lbs. Second place went to Carrieann Phegley, who lost 1.8% and 3.2 lbs. Venessa Becker took third, losing 1.5% and 2.0 lbs. John Kaufman was fourth, losing 1.4% and 3.0 lbs. Cheryl Clark was fifth, losing 1.3% and 2.8 lbs, and Karen Brown and Nicole Clodfelter tied for sixth place, both losing 1.1%. Karen lost 2.4 lbs while Nicole lost 2.8 lbs.
Finally, a big shout out to everyone who completed the Christie Clinic Illinois Half or Full Marathon over in Champaign this weekend! I wish I could have been there with you, but a stupid sinus infection knocked me out of the running. Sigh. Great job you guys.
The journal will also tell them where they have holes in their diet. That could be from either missing meals or snacks, or from missing even part of their meals. To be well rounded, each meal should have a source of protein, starch (complex carbs), and fruits or greens.
Protein is for building muscle and bone. Without protein in your diet, you will slowly waste away. Your bones won’t be as strong as they could be either. This explains in part why our elderly become frail, with bones that are easily broken.
Studies show that people in their 80’s can increase muscle mass after just six weeks of regular exercise such as walking and basic strength training. And if our seniors would dedicate 45 minutes to an hour a day to regular exercise, and ensuring they get enough protein in their diet, they’d be amazed at how good they’d feel.
My dad will be 87 in July, and he spends at least an hour a day in the gym doing a very similar routine to what our Biggest Losers are doing in the first month of training. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, he hits the strength circuit, doing most of the machines, three times around. On Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, he focuses on Cardio, riding the exercise bike, and walking.
He also gets up in the morning and goes for a walk outside for 20-30 minutes. That’s right. He does two workouts a day! His weight is down to what it was back when he was in basic training in the army during World War II. I’m sure he had a bit more muscle back then, but come on, he’s 86! Sometimes I tell him he needs to focus on getting a little more protein.
Sources of protein include meats, poultry, fish, dairy products like milk, yogurt and cottage cheese, nuts, and some beans. You need to make sure you get some protein in every meal. Some people need to supplement this with a protein shake, if they’re very active.
Starches are the next category to look at. Starches are complex carbohydrates, meaning that the starch molecules are more difficult for the body to break down. This means they’ll give the body longer lasting energy, compared to simple sugars that are used right away.
Sources of starch include whole grain breads and cereals, oats, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pasta, corn, rice, and some beans like the navy and pinto beans. Also a good source of vitamins and minerals, and some fiber, complex carbs need to be part of every meal too.
Dad tends to stick with the basic starches like whole grain breads and cereals. The bread should feel heavy, compared to the other choices. You should also be able to smell it when you pick it up. That means you’ll have more of the good stuff in there.
The last category was fruits and greens. These need no description—a fruits a fruit, and greens are all the other vegetables out there. Most people eat very little of either, and that’s unfortunate because they’re packed with vitamins and minerals that will help your body work better, and make you feel great.
Dad really scores well here. He eats fruits for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even snacks. He likes the fact that they’re very low in calories, so he can eat them without worrying about gaining weight. They have lots of fiber too, so as he says, “they fill you up.”
The other main benefit of eating fruits is quick energy. Unlike the more complex starches, fruits are simple sugars (fructose), so your body breaks it down in a hurry. If you ever feel a little run down and need a quick pick-me-up, have some fruit. You’ll feel better within minutes.
Dad eats a ton of veggies, too, mostly in a home-made soup that he puts together a couple times a week. It’s got every vegetable under the sun in there. There will be some quick energy from the vegetables, but the main benefit there is all the natural vitamins and minerals, and the fiber.
As the Biggest Losers start getting their diet squared away, each meal will start to have all three key components: protein, starch, and fruits or greens. Once they start eating that way, they’ll start feeling better, and their body will use everything they eat (assuming they’re eating the right amount). That means nothing will be stored as fat, and their bodies will be working great.
Speaking of fats, it’s not necessary to worry about them too much. All you need to do is make sure you eat leaner cuts of meats, trim the fat where possible, and choose low fat dairy products during the day. It’s also a no brainer that you need to avoid junk foods and fried foods too. This will keep you from getting too much of the bad fats.
For the good fats, you’ll be getting that low fat dairy every day, and hopefully eating some other things like fish, and nuts that are high in Omega-3. Finally, it’s best to take a good supplement that has all three of the Omegas: Omega-3, Omega-6, and Omega-9. Experts used to focus only on Omega-3, but lately, they’ve been leaning toward a balanced supplement.
Don’t forget to get plenty of water each day, too. The more active you are, the more you need, but most people aren’t even getting the minimum daily recommendation: 48 oz. Personally, I think that’s about half what an active guy needs. I’d shoot for 3-4 bottles a day if you’re an active female, and 4-5 bottles a day if you’re a guy.
This week’s winner was Mindi Milner, who lost 2.1% of her body weight and 4.2 lbs. Second place went to Carrieann Phegley, who lost 1.8% and 3.2 lbs. Venessa Becker took third, losing 1.5% and 2.0 lbs. John Kaufman was fourth, losing 1.4% and 3.0 lbs. Cheryl Clark was fifth, losing 1.3% and 2.8 lbs, and Karen Brown and Nicole Clodfelter tied for sixth place, both losing 1.1%. Karen lost 2.4 lbs while Nicole lost 2.8 lbs.
Finally, a big shout out to everyone who completed the Christie Clinic Illinois Half or Full Marathon over in Champaign this weekend! I wish I could have been there with you, but a stupid sinus infection knocked me out of the running. Sigh. Great job you guys.
Monday, April 26, 2010
BIGGEST LOSER "12" WEEK ONE "IT'S NOT WHAT YOU EAT!"
Well the group just finished their first full week of training. The goal was to get them moving, and I think we accomplished that. After the weigh-in, we talked about how much they were eating.
It’s always a surprise to women when they learn they need to eat more. I got an email from one of the participants telling me how hard it was to hit her target—it just seemed like so much food. At the end of the week, though, she’d lost a pound. She ate more (including breakfasts) and lost weight.
She’s not alone in that. Most women aren’t eating enough. According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), women need a minimum of 1,200 calories a day just to live—without taking exercise into consideration.
Typically, the average woman will need to be up around 1,500-1,650 calories a day to lose weight, and feel good doing it. That’s important. You need to feel good too. You’d never think of driving your car to Terre Haute on an empty gas tank (not more than once), but that’s what you’re doing with your body if you’re not hitting your minimum.
Food is fuel for the body. You need it to live, for quick energy, long fuel, building muscle and bone, and to keep the body healthy. It’s just fuel. If you don’t get enough, your body won’t work right. In fact, too few calories and your body just might think its starving.
That’s the problem many women are facing. They’ve gotten scared to eat anything, thinking it’ll go right to their butt! But it won’t. If they eat the right amount of food, they’ll just feel better, and their body will take what it needs to build, and use the rest for fuel.
So the first thing was to find out how much they were eating. That was the purpose for giving them daily calorie logs that first day. After tracking it for a few days, it will become pretty clear if they’re getting their minimum or not.
Now guys tend to go the other way—we’re typically over-eaters. Put a plate in front of a guy, and not only will we clean it up, but we’ll go back for seconds, even thirds! We can eat our way right past full, straight through to gorged.
Of course, this isn’t healthy either, and explains the big guts and butts you see all over the place. What men need to learn is portion control, and the daily logs help with those, too.
If you write it down, you become more accountable. If you’re guessing, you’re usually wrong, because guessing makes you fat. But keeping a diary will keep you thin! Studies have shown that people who wrote down what they eat lose more weight than those who didn’t.
The ACSM minimum for guys is 1,800 calories, and most guys can lose a lot of weight and still be pretty comfortable if they stay around 2,400 calories a day. But if you want to lose more weight, quicker, than you can push it down closer to the minimum.
Personally, I think it’s better to be comfortable and not feeling like you are starving. That’s why I recommend that most women stick with 1,650 calories if you’re of average build. If you’re a little taller, you can eat a little more and still lose weight. Likewise, if you’re a little smaller, you can eat a little less and still feel satisfied.
The workout this week began with a 1 mile walk/run. After that, they moved to the mat room and did 5 rounds of 10 pushups, 10 body squats, and 10 sit-ups for a total of 50 of each exercise.
It’s a good example of what I call “active rest.” After doing the pushups, your upper body gets a break while you do the body squats. Then your lower body gets a break while you do the sit-ups, and so on. This way you can do more total work, and your body burns more calories because you keep moving.
Next week we’ll turn it up a notch. Meanwhile, they’re supposed to continue their daily mile each morning, and their regular routines later in the day: the weight machine circuit three days a week and cardio on the other days. We’re also going to look at how food is used in the body so they can start making better choices.
This week’s winner was Susan King, who lost 2.7% of her body weight and 6.4 lbs. I almost missed it because she weighed in Thursday night before going out of town and left me a note that I found after our Friday night workout. Good thing I found it!
Second place went to Michelle Clark, who lost 2.4% and 4.0 lbs, and Alison Raney took third by losing 2.3% and 4.5 lbs. Karen Brown and Carol Mitchell tied for fourth place, losing 2.2%. Karen lost 5.0 lbs and Carol lost 3.8. Fifth place went to Tom Dagley, who lost 2.1% and 3.8 lbs.
It’s always a surprise to women when they learn they need to eat more. I got an email from one of the participants telling me how hard it was to hit her target—it just seemed like so much food. At the end of the week, though, she’d lost a pound. She ate more (including breakfasts) and lost weight.
She’s not alone in that. Most women aren’t eating enough. According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), women need a minimum of 1,200 calories a day just to live—without taking exercise into consideration.
Typically, the average woman will need to be up around 1,500-1,650 calories a day to lose weight, and feel good doing it. That’s important. You need to feel good too. You’d never think of driving your car to Terre Haute on an empty gas tank (not more than once), but that’s what you’re doing with your body if you’re not hitting your minimum.
Food is fuel for the body. You need it to live, for quick energy, long fuel, building muscle and bone, and to keep the body healthy. It’s just fuel. If you don’t get enough, your body won’t work right. In fact, too few calories and your body just might think its starving.
That’s the problem many women are facing. They’ve gotten scared to eat anything, thinking it’ll go right to their butt! But it won’t. If they eat the right amount of food, they’ll just feel better, and their body will take what it needs to build, and use the rest for fuel.
So the first thing was to find out how much they were eating. That was the purpose for giving them daily calorie logs that first day. After tracking it for a few days, it will become pretty clear if they’re getting their minimum or not.
Now guys tend to go the other way—we’re typically over-eaters. Put a plate in front of a guy, and not only will we clean it up, but we’ll go back for seconds, even thirds! We can eat our way right past full, straight through to gorged.
Of course, this isn’t healthy either, and explains the big guts and butts you see all over the place. What men need to learn is portion control, and the daily logs help with those, too.
If you write it down, you become more accountable. If you’re guessing, you’re usually wrong, because guessing makes you fat. But keeping a diary will keep you thin! Studies have shown that people who wrote down what they eat lose more weight than those who didn’t.
The ACSM minimum for guys is 1,800 calories, and most guys can lose a lot of weight and still be pretty comfortable if they stay around 2,400 calories a day. But if you want to lose more weight, quicker, than you can push it down closer to the minimum.
Personally, I think it’s better to be comfortable and not feeling like you are starving. That’s why I recommend that most women stick with 1,650 calories if you’re of average build. If you’re a little taller, you can eat a little more and still lose weight. Likewise, if you’re a little smaller, you can eat a little less and still feel satisfied.
The workout this week began with a 1 mile walk/run. After that, they moved to the mat room and did 5 rounds of 10 pushups, 10 body squats, and 10 sit-ups for a total of 50 of each exercise.
It’s a good example of what I call “active rest.” After doing the pushups, your upper body gets a break while you do the body squats. Then your lower body gets a break while you do the sit-ups, and so on. This way you can do more total work, and your body burns more calories because you keep moving.
Next week we’ll turn it up a notch. Meanwhile, they’re supposed to continue their daily mile each morning, and their regular routines later in the day: the weight machine circuit three days a week and cardio on the other days. We’re also going to look at how food is used in the body so they can start making better choices.
This week’s winner was Susan King, who lost 2.7% of her body weight and 6.4 lbs. I almost missed it because she weighed in Thursday night before going out of town and left me a note that I found after our Friday night workout. Good thing I found it!
Second place went to Michelle Clark, who lost 2.4% and 4.0 lbs, and Alison Raney took third by losing 2.3% and 4.5 lbs. Karen Brown and Carol Mitchell tied for fourth place, losing 2.2%. Karen lost 5.0 lbs and Carol lost 3.8. Fifth place went to Tom Dagley, who lost 2.1% and 3.8 lbs.
Monday, April 19, 2010
BIGGEST LOSER "12" -- GETTING STARTED
This week marks the start of another 12 week cycle with 27 participants starting Biggest Loser “12”. To kick things off, the group started with our standard fitness test. After a timed one mile walk/run, they counted pushups in a minute, as well as sit-ups in a minute.
The tests have two purposes. First, the tests give us a benchmark to measure against when everyone does the test again at the end of the 12 weeks. Second, the fitness tests give everyone an idea of how out of shape they really are.
For many new participants, the tests feel like an actual workout, even though they’re really not. So, at least for the first day, they serve as their first workout. When they come back next Friday night for their first “real” workout, they’ll realize how easy the tests actually were.
The goal in the first week is always to get everyone moving. While some of them have already been engaged in fitness programs and even looking at their diets, many, if not most of them haven’t. So it’s not important how much they do, just that they do something every day.
To that end, I asked them all to try and start their day with a one mile walk in the morning. For most people, a 3.0 mph pace is pretty comfortable, so it will only take them 20 minutes to cover the mile. Getting moving early is a good way to crank up your metabolism so you’ll burn more calories throughout the day.
Later in the day, they’ll do their “real” workout for the day. This will consist of weight training on the machines three days a week (Mon, Wed, Fri), and cardio workouts on the treadmills, elliptical trainers, bikes, or walking/jogging outside on the other days (Tue, Thur, Sat). Once a week, they can take a day off, unless they want to go for a walk.
Weight training on the machines can be as simple as going through the circuit one time, after a 10 minute cardio warm-up that gets their blood flowing and joints warmed up. A typical circuit will take 20-30 minutes. Their goal is to set the machines on weights light enough to get 12-15 repetitions. If it’s easy, then next time they can try a slightly heavier weight.
On the cardio days, their goal is to get at least 20-30 minutes of exercise. It can be all on one piece of cardio equipment, or divided up between several things. As they get stronger and build up their endurance, they’ll want to stretch it out to 30-45 minutes, or even an hour.
Another thing they’ll want to be thinking about is what their weight loss goal is for the 12 weeks. Guys tend to lose more than gals for several reasons. They usually have more muscle, so they can push harder, burning more calories. They also have a different hormone mix which tends to influence weight loss.
A good way to set a goal is to look at what other people have done. Last time, the top seven guys lost 44.0, 36.4, 34.2, 32.4, 30.1, 29.8, and 27.6 lbs respectively. The top seven gals lost 34.2, 19.4, 18.4, 17.4, 15.0, 13.6, and 13.2 lbs respectively.
In the past, we’ve had guys lose even more, up to 56.0, 57.0, and even 60.0 lbs. The top losing woman over the past couple years has lost 42.0 lbs in 12 weeks. So you need to take a look at the averages, and set your own goal.
Almost everyone falls short of what they want to lose, but that’s O.K. Most are pretty happy with what they did lose, and now they know how to do it again to take the rest of the weight off.
The other main purpose for the first week is to give them a food diary so they can start keeping track of what they should eat. It’s not so much to get them thinking about the quality of their foods, because we’ll cover that next week. It’s to determine how much they’re eating—the quantity of food.
Most women don’t eat enough, and most men are overeaters, so this will help them see where they land. It also gets them in the habit of thinking about what they’re eating. Research shows that people who write it down lose more weight than those who don’t.
When they come back next week, they’ll bring their diaries, and they’ll learn how to figure out their minimum calories needed, and a good calorie target to shoot for each day. We’ll also start talking about the quality of foods and how to make better choices.
It’s going to be a wild 12 weeks—it always is. At least half of them will drop out before it’s over—they always do. Some will have good reasons, but many won’t. It just won’t be their time to lose the weight, I guess.
When life intrudes, and it will, you have to make choices and stick with it to get what you want. Sometimes those choices aren’t easy, but if you’re trying to do the right thing, it will usually work out in the end.
I hope that this new group of 27 Biggest Losers can learn how to make those tough choices and keep focused on the goal. That will serve them well if they can do it. Next week, we’ll have the weight loss results from Week One.
The tests have two purposes. First, the tests give us a benchmark to measure against when everyone does the test again at the end of the 12 weeks. Second, the fitness tests give everyone an idea of how out of shape they really are.
For many new participants, the tests feel like an actual workout, even though they’re really not. So, at least for the first day, they serve as their first workout. When they come back next Friday night for their first “real” workout, they’ll realize how easy the tests actually were.
The goal in the first week is always to get everyone moving. While some of them have already been engaged in fitness programs and even looking at their diets, many, if not most of them haven’t. So it’s not important how much they do, just that they do something every day.
To that end, I asked them all to try and start their day with a one mile walk in the morning. For most people, a 3.0 mph pace is pretty comfortable, so it will only take them 20 minutes to cover the mile. Getting moving early is a good way to crank up your metabolism so you’ll burn more calories throughout the day.
Later in the day, they’ll do their “real” workout for the day. This will consist of weight training on the machines three days a week (Mon, Wed, Fri), and cardio workouts on the treadmills, elliptical trainers, bikes, or walking/jogging outside on the other days (Tue, Thur, Sat). Once a week, they can take a day off, unless they want to go for a walk.
Weight training on the machines can be as simple as going through the circuit one time, after a 10 minute cardio warm-up that gets their blood flowing and joints warmed up. A typical circuit will take 20-30 minutes. Their goal is to set the machines on weights light enough to get 12-15 repetitions. If it’s easy, then next time they can try a slightly heavier weight.
On the cardio days, their goal is to get at least 20-30 minutes of exercise. It can be all on one piece of cardio equipment, or divided up between several things. As they get stronger and build up their endurance, they’ll want to stretch it out to 30-45 minutes, or even an hour.
Another thing they’ll want to be thinking about is what their weight loss goal is for the 12 weeks. Guys tend to lose more than gals for several reasons. They usually have more muscle, so they can push harder, burning more calories. They also have a different hormone mix which tends to influence weight loss.
A good way to set a goal is to look at what other people have done. Last time, the top seven guys lost 44.0, 36.4, 34.2, 32.4, 30.1, 29.8, and 27.6 lbs respectively. The top seven gals lost 34.2, 19.4, 18.4, 17.4, 15.0, 13.6, and 13.2 lbs respectively.
In the past, we’ve had guys lose even more, up to 56.0, 57.0, and even 60.0 lbs. The top losing woman over the past couple years has lost 42.0 lbs in 12 weeks. So you need to take a look at the averages, and set your own goal.
Almost everyone falls short of what they want to lose, but that’s O.K. Most are pretty happy with what they did lose, and now they know how to do it again to take the rest of the weight off.
The other main purpose for the first week is to give them a food diary so they can start keeping track of what they should eat. It’s not so much to get them thinking about the quality of their foods, because we’ll cover that next week. It’s to determine how much they’re eating—the quantity of food.
Most women don’t eat enough, and most men are overeaters, so this will help them see where they land. It also gets them in the habit of thinking about what they’re eating. Research shows that people who write it down lose more weight than those who don’t.
When they come back next week, they’ll bring their diaries, and they’ll learn how to figure out their minimum calories needed, and a good calorie target to shoot for each day. We’ll also start talking about the quality of foods and how to make better choices.
It’s going to be a wild 12 weeks—it always is. At least half of them will drop out before it’s over—they always do. Some will have good reasons, but many won’t. It just won’t be their time to lose the weight, I guess.
When life intrudes, and it will, you have to make choices and stick with it to get what you want. Sometimes those choices aren’t easy, but if you’re trying to do the right thing, it will usually work out in the end.
I hope that this new group of 27 Biggest Losers can learn how to make those tough choices and keep focused on the goal. That will serve them well if they can do it. Next week, we’ll have the weight loss results from Week One.
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