I had the chance to watch some Olympic coverage last week. They were showing women’s gymnastics and the announcers were talking about how the girls were struggling a little bit, but still made the team finals.
Two had injuries serious enough to limit their events. That had to be pretty tough to take after preparing all their lives. A couple others took an extra step on their landings, and one over-rotated, sitting down on her dismount from the uneven bars.
Big mistakes if you’re in the Olympics, I guess. But did you see what they were doing right before that? Only a few people on the planet can move that way. To me, they were fantastic—extra steps and all.
I also saw a 33 year old woman in the vault—more than twice the age of most of the other competitors. She'd just made the finals. It was her fifth Olympics, a record for women.
Their quest is amazing to watch—their dedication, the commitment to excellence. We can learn a lot from these athletes.
But I’m just as impressed when I go down and watch my cutie-pie and the others at the gymnastics center. Right now, her group is learning how to do better cartwheels, back bends, and back walk-over (basically a backwards cartwheel). I think we can learn a lot from them too.
Right now, they’re light years from what I saw on TV, but they’re just getting started. And if someone rises to the top from here, that would be great.
But if none of them ever takes it to that level, that’s O.K. They still got a lot out of it—better fitness, coordination, balance, confidence, fun—all of which make it worthwhile.
I believe we’re all created for a purpose and we’ve all been given certain gifts. Some people are so gifted, that with hard work, and given the right opportunities, they can be rise to be the best in the world at what they do.
I also believe that we don’t have to be the most gifted to benefit. We don’t have to be the best to make the pursuit worthwhile. Take my running for example.
You don’t have to look far to find a better runner. It’s always a struggle just to finish, let alone try to improve my times. When I run that marathon next month, it will take me more than twice as long as the winner and they won’t even be world class.
I’m always near the back of the pack, and that doesn’t look like it will change much. But there’s something about the pursuit that makes it worthwhile for me.
If I push myself it gives me the moral authority to push others. It helps keep me lean, especially since it’s easy for me to eat more than I need.
It also helps me learn how to be more disciplined in other things. If I can keep going when I don’t exactly feel like it (anything over 13 miles), then I can make it through other things too. You learn how to finish something.
I’m amazed when I see the best in the world do what they do, but the pursuit was just as valid when I was slugging through my snail paced 18 miles earlier in that day. It went pretty well. Nobody died.
It’s just like the spark I see when someone finally gets it. They’ve started working out—and have just figured out that they’re going to be able to make it.
They’re doing things they didn’t think they could do. They’re feeling stronger and know they’re going to be able to take off the weight—and keep it off.
It becomes a pursuit for excellence. It might have started in desperation, but then it becomes a quest, a journey. They’re learning how to enjoy being physical. They’re feeling good about themselves.
I just watched the American men swim to the gold in the 4x100m free relay. They had the fastest split time in history and smashed the world record. They also beat France, who’d been trash talking all week. I’ll bet they’re feeling pretty good about themselves too.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC
Did you know that if a child has one obese parent, there’s a statistical likelihood that that child will grow up to be obese themselves? Or that if a child is obese as they move into their teen years, there is an 80% chance that they’ll stay obese as an adult?
These are sobering facts that should really bother us, yet we don’t seem to be doing much about it. I’m about to say some things that are probably not politically correct. They just may get some of you upset, so I’ll just apologize now and get that out of the way.
I think that we’ve gotten used to being a fat nation. There are movements out there trying to making “plus size” more socially acceptable. While most restaurants and fast food joints have added healthier choices, the top sellers are still the worst things: burgers, fries, and pop.
Schools used to have physical education classes daily. Now it’s every other day. In some cases, kids don’t even get it anymore.
There’s an old saying: “If you think you can, you can; if you think you can’t, you can’t. Either way you’re right.” If you get resigned to being overweight, you’ll stay overweight. If you make the decision to do something about it, you’ll do it.
We do have a choice with this. We can get down to our ideal, lean weight—the TV show “Biggest Losers” proves it every season. Our own local version has proved it, time and time again. People can lose 100 lbs if they just make up their mind to do it.
I spoke with someone yesterday who told me his dad died from heart related problems at an early age. So did his brother. Of course, this is a massive risk factor that makes heart disease a strong probability for him. The fact that he’s seriously overweight all but guarantees it.
Still, he won’t dedicate even 20 minutes a day to a walking/jogging program. Now he’s definitely a busy guy with a lot of important irons in the fire. But none of those things will get done if he has a heart attack. But he’s just too busy.
I mean, come on. GET UP 20 MINUTES EARLY! A little less sleep now just may prevent a much longer sleep later, if you get my drift. Make some changes. Say no once in a while. You must make time for this.
And if you have kids that are tending to be overweight, it’s not too late for them either. But if you deny the reality of the host of physical problems they’re facing later, not to mention the mental anguish, you’re locking your kids into a life long struggle.
I see the difficulty people have with this every day. It’s not easy, and many people struggle with it. It doesn’t have to be that way. Things can change if you want them to.
Better choices now can make all the difference later. I like a burger and chocolate shake as much as the next guy, but it’s a treat, not a regular meal. It’s not as nutritious, and eaten regularly, will not only make you fat, it’ll make you sick.
I’m sure I’m going to offend someone else here, but QUIT TAKING THE KIDS OUT TO EAT ALL THE TIME! I know its fast—that’s why they call it fast food—but the consequences can last a lifetime. You’ve got to start making sure they eat right.
You need to get them moving, too. I got to watch two of my grand kids playing tee-ball the other day. It was cool, and my cutie-pie can sure hit the ball! But it’s not really physical exercise. Not yet.
At that age, it’s a bunch of kids standing around waiting for the batter to finally hit a pitch served up by the coach. If they need too many whacks at it, they hit it off the tee. Now that’s when all the action starts—a mob of little ones swarming the ball from every direction, and the batter finally runs to 1st base.
The problem is, the action lasts but a moment, and it’s a long time between hits at that age. That means a lot of standing around time. Now that’s fine, and it’s a necessary part of the learning curve, but the kids need more activity. Keep them in tee-ball, but have them do other things, too.
Try gymnastics at Talent’s Unlimited. Now that’s a workout. Or dance class. Or martial arts. They offer it at the Y, and I’ve taught a program here in town for over 20 years.
I used to think the main attributes the kids received in our classes were confidence, self-control, and of course self-defense. Now I’m starting to think that the most important thing we give them is movement. Organized physical activity, and the chance to become lean, and learn how to stay that way.
Even if you don’t take advantage of programs like those, you can take them out for a walk, or a bike ride. Or play a game with them yourself. That way you both reap the benefits. Plus, you’ll be a great example. If the kids see you taking better care of yourself, they’ll be more likely to do it too.
If you’re overweight, it doesn’t mean you have to stay that way. And if your kids are overweight, it doesn’t mean they need to start that way. It’s up to you. It’s up to us. We can stop this epidemic.
These are sobering facts that should really bother us, yet we don’t seem to be doing much about it. I’m about to say some things that are probably not politically correct. They just may get some of you upset, so I’ll just apologize now and get that out of the way.
I think that we’ve gotten used to being a fat nation. There are movements out there trying to making “plus size” more socially acceptable. While most restaurants and fast food joints have added healthier choices, the top sellers are still the worst things: burgers, fries, and pop.
Schools used to have physical education classes daily. Now it’s every other day. In some cases, kids don’t even get it anymore.
There’s an old saying: “If you think you can, you can; if you think you can’t, you can’t. Either way you’re right.” If you get resigned to being overweight, you’ll stay overweight. If you make the decision to do something about it, you’ll do it.
We do have a choice with this. We can get down to our ideal, lean weight—the TV show “Biggest Losers” proves it every season. Our own local version has proved it, time and time again. People can lose 100 lbs if they just make up their mind to do it.
I spoke with someone yesterday who told me his dad died from heart related problems at an early age. So did his brother. Of course, this is a massive risk factor that makes heart disease a strong probability for him. The fact that he’s seriously overweight all but guarantees it.
Still, he won’t dedicate even 20 minutes a day to a walking/jogging program. Now he’s definitely a busy guy with a lot of important irons in the fire. But none of those things will get done if he has a heart attack. But he’s just too busy.
I mean, come on. GET UP 20 MINUTES EARLY! A little less sleep now just may prevent a much longer sleep later, if you get my drift. Make some changes. Say no once in a while. You must make time for this.
And if you have kids that are tending to be overweight, it’s not too late for them either. But if you deny the reality of the host of physical problems they’re facing later, not to mention the mental anguish, you’re locking your kids into a life long struggle.
I see the difficulty people have with this every day. It’s not easy, and many people struggle with it. It doesn’t have to be that way. Things can change if you want them to.
Better choices now can make all the difference later. I like a burger and chocolate shake as much as the next guy, but it’s a treat, not a regular meal. It’s not as nutritious, and eaten regularly, will not only make you fat, it’ll make you sick.
I’m sure I’m going to offend someone else here, but QUIT TAKING THE KIDS OUT TO EAT ALL THE TIME! I know its fast—that’s why they call it fast food—but the consequences can last a lifetime. You’ve got to start making sure they eat right.
You need to get them moving, too. I got to watch two of my grand kids playing tee-ball the other day. It was cool, and my cutie-pie can sure hit the ball! But it’s not really physical exercise. Not yet.
At that age, it’s a bunch of kids standing around waiting for the batter to finally hit a pitch served up by the coach. If they need too many whacks at it, they hit it off the tee. Now that’s when all the action starts—a mob of little ones swarming the ball from every direction, and the batter finally runs to 1st base.
The problem is, the action lasts but a moment, and it’s a long time between hits at that age. That means a lot of standing around time. Now that’s fine, and it’s a necessary part of the learning curve, but the kids need more activity. Keep them in tee-ball, but have them do other things, too.
Try gymnastics at Talent’s Unlimited. Now that’s a workout. Or dance class. Or martial arts. They offer it at the Y, and I’ve taught a program here in town for over 20 years.
I used to think the main attributes the kids received in our classes were confidence, self-control, and of course self-defense. Now I’m starting to think that the most important thing we give them is movement. Organized physical activity, and the chance to become lean, and learn how to stay that way.
Even if you don’t take advantage of programs like those, you can take them out for a walk, or a bike ride. Or play a game with them yourself. That way you both reap the benefits. Plus, you’ll be a great example. If the kids see you taking better care of yourself, they’ll be more likely to do it too.
If you’re overweight, it doesn’t mean you have to stay that way. And if your kids are overweight, it doesn’t mean they need to start that way. It’s up to you. It’s up to us. We can stop this epidemic.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
WHY NOT ME?
Have you ever wanted to do something, but wasn’t quite sure about it? You thought you’d like to do it, but didn’t know if you could. It seemed pretty hard, so you backed away.
You’re not alone. It seems like it’s much easier to not even try sometimes. Why put yourself through the hassle? Why get started, make the investment, get things going, if you know it won’t last anyway, right?
The problem is that nothing worthwhile comes easily. If you only do those things that come easily, it’s possible you’ll never really be doing anything big, that’s life changing.
You could miss the one thing that turns everything around, set you on a new course, and take things to a new level. It’s like the old saying, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.” It’s easy to fall into mediocrity.
Don’t get me wrong, if you’re happy—really happy—with the way things are, then that’s O.K. Don’t rock the boat. Sometimes, that’s exactly the right thing to do.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the majority of us really feel that way. Almost all of us have a deep felt need to do something. To try something, go somewhere; to be something different.
We’re wired a certain way to do something special. If you’re a believer, you could say we’re designed that way. Until we do it, or become it, we’re never going to be completely happy. This applies to our bodies too.
And we know that things aren’t the way they’re supposed to be. Look, even a child knows when something is wrong. We know we need to take better care of ourselves. We know we need to eat better. But then we don’t.
It’s the same thing with that deep felt need. I think it’s really rare when someone can truly say that they’re right where they’re supposed to be—doing exactly what they’re supposed to do. Too many of us settle for second best.
We take the easy way out and try to make the most of it, and then spend the rest of our lives wondering, “What if…?” We take one step forward and two steps back and wonder why we’re not getting anywhere.
It’s time to get off that train. Let me share something that works for me, and something I’ve seen in others who seem to get what they want.
When you see someone doing something that you’d like to do, ask the question “Why not me?” I’m not suggesting you start complaining, I’m suggesting you start considering.
Who says you can’t do that? Why can’t you do that? Why can’t you go there? Why not, really? What are the reasons that make that impossible? What would it take to make it possible? Is it something that could be done if you really tried—really worked at it?
I’d like to run a marathon in less than 5 hours (I’m a snail). Why not me? What’s it going to take? Lots of running, four times a week. A speed run, a tempo run, a recovery run, and a long run (see last week’s article for more details).
I’ve run (trotted) three of them now. It’s getting tiresome seeing people several decades my senior passing me up (God bless em).
Last year in mile 24, a sweet gray 70 year old woman caught me, slowed down and asked, “how you doing sweety?” I managed to get out “fine, but this is hard.” She patted me on the shoulder and said encouragingly “that’s O.K., you can do it.” Then she left me in her dust. Seriously.
Yesterday I really didn’t want to run 16 miles. I was tired from working on this tree that fell down in the recent storm. It’s a 100 year old oak tree. Well, 99 years. It’s enormous and I’ve been cutting on it for a week and have several weeks to go.
It was too hot to run outside, so I waited till 6pm to start. Too late, it turns out, because I ended up running an hour and a half in the dark. I told you I was slow.
It was inconvenient. I missed out on some time with my wife. If I want to achieve the goal in the fall though, it had to be done. Next time, I’ll start earlier. But I’m going to start, because I keep wondering, “Why not me?”
I met a woman today wondering the same thing. She’s retired, overweight, has some medical problems and just doesn’t feel good anymore. She wants a better life and has finally reached the point where she’s thinking “Why not me?”
I’m tired of settling. So is she. Together we’re going to accomplish something. We’re going to cover new ground. Make a new start. Find something special in the future. Sure it’s going to take some hard work and sweat. It’s going to be inconvenient, even messy sometimes.
But life is inconvenient. Life gets messy. Even when we’re settling. A year is going to pass, whatever we decide to do. I want to spend it going somewhere. Doing something important. Making a difference. How about you? Have you ever asked, “Why not me?”
You’re not alone. It seems like it’s much easier to not even try sometimes. Why put yourself through the hassle? Why get started, make the investment, get things going, if you know it won’t last anyway, right?
The problem is that nothing worthwhile comes easily. If you only do those things that come easily, it’s possible you’ll never really be doing anything big, that’s life changing.
You could miss the one thing that turns everything around, set you on a new course, and take things to a new level. It’s like the old saying, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.” It’s easy to fall into mediocrity.
Don’t get me wrong, if you’re happy—really happy—with the way things are, then that’s O.K. Don’t rock the boat. Sometimes, that’s exactly the right thing to do.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the majority of us really feel that way. Almost all of us have a deep felt need to do something. To try something, go somewhere; to be something different.
We’re wired a certain way to do something special. If you’re a believer, you could say we’re designed that way. Until we do it, or become it, we’re never going to be completely happy. This applies to our bodies too.
And we know that things aren’t the way they’re supposed to be. Look, even a child knows when something is wrong. We know we need to take better care of ourselves. We know we need to eat better. But then we don’t.
It’s the same thing with that deep felt need. I think it’s really rare when someone can truly say that they’re right where they’re supposed to be—doing exactly what they’re supposed to do. Too many of us settle for second best.
We take the easy way out and try to make the most of it, and then spend the rest of our lives wondering, “What if…?” We take one step forward and two steps back and wonder why we’re not getting anywhere.
It’s time to get off that train. Let me share something that works for me, and something I’ve seen in others who seem to get what they want.
When you see someone doing something that you’d like to do, ask the question “Why not me?” I’m not suggesting you start complaining, I’m suggesting you start considering.
Who says you can’t do that? Why can’t you do that? Why can’t you go there? Why not, really? What are the reasons that make that impossible? What would it take to make it possible? Is it something that could be done if you really tried—really worked at it?
I’d like to run a marathon in less than 5 hours (I’m a snail). Why not me? What’s it going to take? Lots of running, four times a week. A speed run, a tempo run, a recovery run, and a long run (see last week’s article for more details).
I’ve run (trotted) three of them now. It’s getting tiresome seeing people several decades my senior passing me up (God bless em).
Last year in mile 24, a sweet gray 70 year old woman caught me, slowed down and asked, “how you doing sweety?” I managed to get out “fine, but this is hard.” She patted me on the shoulder and said encouragingly “that’s O.K., you can do it.” Then she left me in her dust. Seriously.
Yesterday I really didn’t want to run 16 miles. I was tired from working on this tree that fell down in the recent storm. It’s a 100 year old oak tree. Well, 99 years. It’s enormous and I’ve been cutting on it for a week and have several weeks to go.
It was too hot to run outside, so I waited till 6pm to start. Too late, it turns out, because I ended up running an hour and a half in the dark. I told you I was slow.
It was inconvenient. I missed out on some time with my wife. If I want to achieve the goal in the fall though, it had to be done. Next time, I’ll start earlier. But I’m going to start, because I keep wondering, “Why not me?”
I met a woman today wondering the same thing. She’s retired, overweight, has some medical problems and just doesn’t feel good anymore. She wants a better life and has finally reached the point where she’s thinking “Why not me?”
I’m tired of settling. So is she. Together we’re going to accomplish something. We’re going to cover new ground. Make a new start. Find something special in the future. Sure it’s going to take some hard work and sweat. It’s going to be inconvenient, even messy sometimes.
But life is inconvenient. Life gets messy. Even when we’re settling. A year is going to pass, whatever we decide to do. I want to spend it going somewhere. Doing something important. Making a difference. How about you? Have you ever asked, “Why not me?”
Thursday, July 24, 2008
YOU CAN DO THIS, TOO!
I love seeing people working out. Just the other day, I came in the gym and heard this sound… “pound, pound, pound, pound.” I walked into the cardio room and there was Chris Redmon blazing away on the treadmill.
You might remember Chris from Biggest Loser “3.” He was the biggest loser without getting to be the biggest loser. He lost 56.5 lbs (more than anyone else in the group, and a gym record for 12 weeks), but a slightly lower percentage of body weight than the winner (Joe Stidham) and runner up (Bill Lewis) that time.
Even though Chris and his wife Cheryl didn’t participate in Biggest Loser “4”, they were always here working out—you could set your watch by them. Somehow, they were able to maintain their commitment and focus, after the contest was over.
So here he was, pounding away on the treadmill, going faster than I’d ever seen him go, with his wife running next to him. When I looked at the display, he was going 7.0 mph. Now speed is a relative thing. Some go slower, some go faster, but for Chris, that was really impressive, considering that he’d only really started running during his contest, just 24 weeks ago.
What I always recommend is that you start out by walking. Then, when you feel ready, you jog a minute and then walk two minutes, repeating for as long as you can. As you get stronger, you can do more and more running intervals.
Usually, the running speed is right around 5.0 mph on the treadmill. If you’re outside, that is a 12 minute pace for the mile (if you ran the whole thing without stopping at 5.0 mph).
Sometimes, someone will be more comfortable jogging a little slower, but somewhere around 4.5 mph is probably the slowest you’ll run. Any slower, and you can walk that fast. Once in a while, someone will start running a little faster than 5.0 mph, but that’s a good average beginning running pace.
Then, the goal is to improve your 1 mile walk/run time. If you walked the whole thing at a very comfortable pace (3.0 mph), it takes 20 minutes to complete a mile. In our groups, we often had people starting with 20 minute miles at the beginning, and taking 3, 4 and even 5 minutes off their time in just 12 weeks.
If you do it in 15 minutes, you know you’re running some and walking some. As you get closer and closer to 12 minutes, you’ll be running more and more. Once you can do the mile in 12 minutes or less, you’re pretty much running the whole way.
Chris told me that he’d gotten down to around 11 minutes, which was fantastic, and now, here he is, turning it up some more, running 7.0 mph. He said the furthest he’d ever run was a mile (since that’s what we’d been doing in the group).
Now, he needs to set a new goal. I told him that one day a week, he needs to try to go further each time. Next time, add a quarter mile (one lap on the track). Try to run it all, but if you have to walk, that’s O.K. Whatever it takes to get there. This is called distance running.
Then, next week, add another quarter mile. Now you’re up to a mile and a half. Same thing. Whatever it takes to get there. Each week, keep adding a quarter mile. Pretty soon, you’re running 2 miles, and a month later, running 3 miles, which is basically a 5K.
The fitness benefits from the extra miles are pretty simple to understand. Do more work and you burn more calories. Run further and it will help you keep on track with your weight loss goal.
One day a week, you should work on your speed, like Chris was doing by doing a speed run. Say a week from today, Chris should try running at 7.1 mph, if only for a little while. Then rest up, and hit it again, working at that new speed. The following week, he can try 7.2 mph.
People are always surprised when I work with them on this. They can always go further and faster than they thought they could. That’s the ticket. You’ve got to build the intensity. Running faster is harder, and when you up the intensity, you burn more calories.
Finally, one day a week, you should do what’s called a tempo run. Pick a pace between your speed run (fastest) and distance run (slowest) and try to go for say 20 or 30 minutes at that tempo.
For example, say Chris would drop down to 5.7 mph for his distance run of two miles. He also can go 7.0 mph for shorter distances (say quarter mile repeats). He should pick something like 6.0, and try to do most of his 20-30 minute run at around that pace.
Each of these three basic types of runs will help you burn more calories, because they do different things for your body. They also make things more interesting, because each workout has a specific goal in mind.
Finally, the next thing is to set a goal for doing a 5K sometime. I recommend the Honeybee festival this fall. It’s far enough away that anyone can prepare for it. Remember, it’s not how fast you go.
You can walk the entire thing if you need to. Or jog a minute, and walk two minutes the entire way. It’s entirely up to you, and how much you want to push yourself.
The important things are to set a goal, which gives you motivation and something to look forward to. Then keep working toward the goal, which helps you stay on track with your weight loss. Finally, when you accomplish the goal, you’ll feel pretty good about yourself and what you did.
I can tell you this. Last year at the Louis & Clark Marathon, there were over 4,000 of us lined up before the event. Guys, gals, young, and old. Some were experienced. Others, like me, were there for their first time.
Most were there to run a half marathon (13.1 miles); about one fourth were there to try the whole marathon (26.2 miles). Quite a few were there to walk either the half or full marathon. The one thing I noticed, though, was that no one was obese. It was unusual to have that many people together, and no one was really overweight.
Sure, there were some people who were “in progress” with their weight loss, while others were at their ideal lean weight, but no one was what I would consider “over-fat.” Do that much work to get ready, and you get in shape.
So, here’s where you start. Hit the weights 3 days a week, and walk/run the other 3 days. On your running days make one day (after a rest day) a speed run where you work on speed. Make one day a tempo run, where you try to run a certain distance, or for a certain amount of time at a certain speed. Finally, one day a week, do a longer, slower distance run.
In a couple hours, I’m gonna go out for my distance run. I do it on the weekends since I have a little more time. This week it’s 15 miles, which is going to be pretty tough, since it’s sunny and hot out today (Sunday). If I want to be able to do the whole 26 miles in September, though, I’ve got to get used to running distances.
Sure, I’m a little extreme about this, but I’ve set a goal, and that means I’ll practice, and that means I’ll keep in shape. Plus, I’ll wear a lot of sunblock and a hat, and come back and soak my head every 2.5 miles when I get a drink. I’m not kidding. It will help me cool down.
Now you don’t necessarily have to get that crazy about it. There are things even I won’t do. Did you know there are people that run across the desert? I’ve got a friend that does 50 mile races!
There’s something for everyone, though. It’s self paced and you decide how far you take it. Start slow and see how it feels. You might decide you like it.
One thing’s sure. You’ll take off the weight. Oh, and Chris? He grinned and told me he was up to 90 lbs. In just 6 months. Now that’s cool. 10 more to go. I know he’ll do it. He’s running now!
You might remember Chris from Biggest Loser “3.” He was the biggest loser without getting to be the biggest loser. He lost 56.5 lbs (more than anyone else in the group, and a gym record for 12 weeks), but a slightly lower percentage of body weight than the winner (Joe Stidham) and runner up (Bill Lewis) that time.
Even though Chris and his wife Cheryl didn’t participate in Biggest Loser “4”, they were always here working out—you could set your watch by them. Somehow, they were able to maintain their commitment and focus, after the contest was over.
So here he was, pounding away on the treadmill, going faster than I’d ever seen him go, with his wife running next to him. When I looked at the display, he was going 7.0 mph. Now speed is a relative thing. Some go slower, some go faster, but for Chris, that was really impressive, considering that he’d only really started running during his contest, just 24 weeks ago.
What I always recommend is that you start out by walking. Then, when you feel ready, you jog a minute and then walk two minutes, repeating for as long as you can. As you get stronger, you can do more and more running intervals.
Usually, the running speed is right around 5.0 mph on the treadmill. If you’re outside, that is a 12 minute pace for the mile (if you ran the whole thing without stopping at 5.0 mph).
Sometimes, someone will be more comfortable jogging a little slower, but somewhere around 4.5 mph is probably the slowest you’ll run. Any slower, and you can walk that fast. Once in a while, someone will start running a little faster than 5.0 mph, but that’s a good average beginning running pace.
Then, the goal is to improve your 1 mile walk/run time. If you walked the whole thing at a very comfortable pace (3.0 mph), it takes 20 minutes to complete a mile. In our groups, we often had people starting with 20 minute miles at the beginning, and taking 3, 4 and even 5 minutes off their time in just 12 weeks.
If you do it in 15 minutes, you know you’re running some and walking some. As you get closer and closer to 12 minutes, you’ll be running more and more. Once you can do the mile in 12 minutes or less, you’re pretty much running the whole way.
Chris told me that he’d gotten down to around 11 minutes, which was fantastic, and now, here he is, turning it up some more, running 7.0 mph. He said the furthest he’d ever run was a mile (since that’s what we’d been doing in the group).
Now, he needs to set a new goal. I told him that one day a week, he needs to try to go further each time. Next time, add a quarter mile (one lap on the track). Try to run it all, but if you have to walk, that’s O.K. Whatever it takes to get there. This is called distance running.
Then, next week, add another quarter mile. Now you’re up to a mile and a half. Same thing. Whatever it takes to get there. Each week, keep adding a quarter mile. Pretty soon, you’re running 2 miles, and a month later, running 3 miles, which is basically a 5K.
The fitness benefits from the extra miles are pretty simple to understand. Do more work and you burn more calories. Run further and it will help you keep on track with your weight loss goal.
One day a week, you should work on your speed, like Chris was doing by doing a speed run. Say a week from today, Chris should try running at 7.1 mph, if only for a little while. Then rest up, and hit it again, working at that new speed. The following week, he can try 7.2 mph.
People are always surprised when I work with them on this. They can always go further and faster than they thought they could. That’s the ticket. You’ve got to build the intensity. Running faster is harder, and when you up the intensity, you burn more calories.
Finally, one day a week, you should do what’s called a tempo run. Pick a pace between your speed run (fastest) and distance run (slowest) and try to go for say 20 or 30 minutes at that tempo.
For example, say Chris would drop down to 5.7 mph for his distance run of two miles. He also can go 7.0 mph for shorter distances (say quarter mile repeats). He should pick something like 6.0, and try to do most of his 20-30 minute run at around that pace.
Each of these three basic types of runs will help you burn more calories, because they do different things for your body. They also make things more interesting, because each workout has a specific goal in mind.
Finally, the next thing is to set a goal for doing a 5K sometime. I recommend the Honeybee festival this fall. It’s far enough away that anyone can prepare for it. Remember, it’s not how fast you go.
You can walk the entire thing if you need to. Or jog a minute, and walk two minutes the entire way. It’s entirely up to you, and how much you want to push yourself.
The important things are to set a goal, which gives you motivation and something to look forward to. Then keep working toward the goal, which helps you stay on track with your weight loss. Finally, when you accomplish the goal, you’ll feel pretty good about yourself and what you did.
I can tell you this. Last year at the Louis & Clark Marathon, there were over 4,000 of us lined up before the event. Guys, gals, young, and old. Some were experienced. Others, like me, were there for their first time.
Most were there to run a half marathon (13.1 miles); about one fourth were there to try the whole marathon (26.2 miles). Quite a few were there to walk either the half or full marathon. The one thing I noticed, though, was that no one was obese. It was unusual to have that many people together, and no one was really overweight.
Sure, there were some people who were “in progress” with their weight loss, while others were at their ideal lean weight, but no one was what I would consider “over-fat.” Do that much work to get ready, and you get in shape.
So, here’s where you start. Hit the weights 3 days a week, and walk/run the other 3 days. On your running days make one day (after a rest day) a speed run where you work on speed. Make one day a tempo run, where you try to run a certain distance, or for a certain amount of time at a certain speed. Finally, one day a week, do a longer, slower distance run.
In a couple hours, I’m gonna go out for my distance run. I do it on the weekends since I have a little more time. This week it’s 15 miles, which is going to be pretty tough, since it’s sunny and hot out today (Sunday). If I want to be able to do the whole 26 miles in September, though, I’ve got to get used to running distances.
Sure, I’m a little extreme about this, but I’ve set a goal, and that means I’ll practice, and that means I’ll keep in shape. Plus, I’ll wear a lot of sunblock and a hat, and come back and soak my head every 2.5 miles when I get a drink. I’m not kidding. It will help me cool down.
Now you don’t necessarily have to get that crazy about it. There are things even I won’t do. Did you know there are people that run across the desert? I’ve got a friend that does 50 mile races!
There’s something for everyone, though. It’s self paced and you decide how far you take it. Start slow and see how it feels. You might decide you like it.
One thing’s sure. You’ll take off the weight. Oh, and Chris? He grinned and told me he was up to 90 lbs. In just 6 months. Now that’s cool. 10 more to go. I know he’ll do it. He’s running now!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
TOM'S STORY
I’ve spent a lot of time these last few years talking about some of the people I’ve worked with. Since the latest contest is over, I thought you might like to learn a little more about me, and why I do what I do.
For those of you that don’t know my story, I grew up as a severe asthmatic, back before they really had medicines that would help. Not allowed to do any physical activities, I had to sit on the sidelines in gym class (back then, we had P.E. every day).
The other kids gave me quite a hard time about it, but what they didn’t realize is that I would have given anything to be out there with them.
I spent most of my time reading and practicing music, but wanted to do things, play sports, and wasn’t able to. I was a pretty skinny kid, and my parents didn’t give me much junk food, since it was thought to contribute to asthma attacks.
Still, I was pretty lucky, because now-a-days, such inactivity is a sure recipe for obesity (more on that another time). If I’d had access to all the fast foods and junk foods that kids have today, I’d have been in trouble.
After graduating from high school and moving down to Vincennes, IN to go to school, I was hit by a train on October 2nd, 1980. Ironically, the thing that almost did me in wasn’t the train, but a massive asthma attack at the time, and I went into respiratory arrest and quit breathing.
God was surely looking out for me that day. Instead of dragging me down the tracks, the train simply knocked my car off to the side. At the same time, an ambulance also just happened to be returning from a call!
If I’d been knocked to the other side, I’d of been blocked by the train, and they wouldn’t have been able to get to me quickly. As it was, they got there right away, knocked out the back glass and got me out to start rescue breathing.
I have a faint memory of going down a bright hallway. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t heaven—just the hospital corridor. A few hours later, I woke up on a respirator. The nurse asked me if I knew what had happened, but I didn’t remember anything. She told me I’d been hit by a train and I was lucky to be alive.
When I went to see the car a week later (remember the old Datsun B-210?), my knees got weak. It was twisted up in a ball, and I couldn’t see how anyone could have made it out alive. I only had a couple scratches.
I knew I had to have been spared for a reason, cause people don’t survive things like that. How many people have you ever heard of that got hit by a train and lived?
I continued college, and started training in martial arts and working out, to get stronger. I got so interested in it, that I became a martial arts instructor and eventually got a master’s degree in physical education, specializing in exercise physiology and sport biomechanics.
I still had a lot of problems with asthma attacks, especially during workouts, and spent quite a few stays in the hospital—several near fatal. Later, the medicines got much better, and I could finally do more and more.
I never outgrew the asthma, but a couple years ago, they finally came out with Advair and Singular, medicines that let me train as hard as I want, with no symptoms at all! I’ve got to stay on the meds though. If I stop, all the symptoms come back, big-time.
That’s when I started running, and was able to start competing in some pretty rigorous jui-jitsu competitions. I’ve run 3 marathons, and am training to do one September 13th. I’m also doing some pretty crazy workouts at the gym and am even working on some basic gymnastics—great for your core.
Looking back, I’m pretty sure this is helping me make up in some way for those early years. The running has also made it much easier to help maintain my weight—especially as I’ve gotten older.
Even though there were a couple occasions when I almost died, when I look back, I’m grateful for all the experiences. It’s led me do everything I’m doing now, and has made me want to help everyone get moving and eating right, because I know what it’s done for me.
Anytime I get to run or do one of our crazy workouts, I’m grateful for the opportunity, because I couldn’t always do it. Now that I can, I’m going to take full advantage.
Research shows that inactive kids are at great risk for obesity, and once a child is obese, odds are that they’ll continue to be obese as adults. The good news is that most kids don’t have any physical reasons why they can’t get moving.
If we can get them up off the couch and off the computer, they can stay healthy and avoid the growing trend of youth obesity. Then they won’t have to spend a lifetime making up for it.
I’m the lucky one. I want to work out. It’s not work for me. Many people don’t see it that way though. Once they get started and lose some weight, it can change. When they look and feel better, and feel better about themselves, just like I did, they’ll find a new life in front of them. That’s why I do what I do.
For those of you that don’t know my story, I grew up as a severe asthmatic, back before they really had medicines that would help. Not allowed to do any physical activities, I had to sit on the sidelines in gym class (back then, we had P.E. every day).
The other kids gave me quite a hard time about it, but what they didn’t realize is that I would have given anything to be out there with them.
I spent most of my time reading and practicing music, but wanted to do things, play sports, and wasn’t able to. I was a pretty skinny kid, and my parents didn’t give me much junk food, since it was thought to contribute to asthma attacks.
Still, I was pretty lucky, because now-a-days, such inactivity is a sure recipe for obesity (more on that another time). If I’d had access to all the fast foods and junk foods that kids have today, I’d have been in trouble.
After graduating from high school and moving down to Vincennes, IN to go to school, I was hit by a train on October 2nd, 1980. Ironically, the thing that almost did me in wasn’t the train, but a massive asthma attack at the time, and I went into respiratory arrest and quit breathing.
God was surely looking out for me that day. Instead of dragging me down the tracks, the train simply knocked my car off to the side. At the same time, an ambulance also just happened to be returning from a call!
If I’d been knocked to the other side, I’d of been blocked by the train, and they wouldn’t have been able to get to me quickly. As it was, they got there right away, knocked out the back glass and got me out to start rescue breathing.
I have a faint memory of going down a bright hallway. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t heaven—just the hospital corridor. A few hours later, I woke up on a respirator. The nurse asked me if I knew what had happened, but I didn’t remember anything. She told me I’d been hit by a train and I was lucky to be alive.
When I went to see the car a week later (remember the old Datsun B-210?), my knees got weak. It was twisted up in a ball, and I couldn’t see how anyone could have made it out alive. I only had a couple scratches.
I knew I had to have been spared for a reason, cause people don’t survive things like that. How many people have you ever heard of that got hit by a train and lived?
I continued college, and started training in martial arts and working out, to get stronger. I got so interested in it, that I became a martial arts instructor and eventually got a master’s degree in physical education, specializing in exercise physiology and sport biomechanics.
I still had a lot of problems with asthma attacks, especially during workouts, and spent quite a few stays in the hospital—several near fatal. Later, the medicines got much better, and I could finally do more and more.
I never outgrew the asthma, but a couple years ago, they finally came out with Advair and Singular, medicines that let me train as hard as I want, with no symptoms at all! I’ve got to stay on the meds though. If I stop, all the symptoms come back, big-time.
That’s when I started running, and was able to start competing in some pretty rigorous jui-jitsu competitions. I’ve run 3 marathons, and am training to do one September 13th. I’m also doing some pretty crazy workouts at the gym and am even working on some basic gymnastics—great for your core.
Looking back, I’m pretty sure this is helping me make up in some way for those early years. The running has also made it much easier to help maintain my weight—especially as I’ve gotten older.
Even though there were a couple occasions when I almost died, when I look back, I’m grateful for all the experiences. It’s led me do everything I’m doing now, and has made me want to help everyone get moving and eating right, because I know what it’s done for me.
Anytime I get to run or do one of our crazy workouts, I’m grateful for the opportunity, because I couldn’t always do it. Now that I can, I’m going to take full advantage.
Research shows that inactive kids are at great risk for obesity, and once a child is obese, odds are that they’ll continue to be obese as adults. The good news is that most kids don’t have any physical reasons why they can’t get moving.
If we can get them up off the couch and off the computer, they can stay healthy and avoid the growing trend of youth obesity. Then they won’t have to spend a lifetime making up for it.
I’m the lucky one. I want to work out. It’s not work for me. Many people don’t see it that way though. Once they get started and lose some weight, it can change. When they look and feel better, and feel better about themselves, just like I did, they’ll find a new life in front of them. That’s why I do what I do.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER "4" -- WEEK 12
Well that was it. Another 12 weeks gone—just like that. I’m always amazed how fast things go. One thing is certain though, time always passes. The only question is what will you have you done with it?
This was another great group of Biggest Losers. We started with 68 and ended with 31 making the final weigh-in, a little less than half the group which is about normal. I always tell them when we start: “Half of you won’t finish for one reason or other—which half are you going to be in?”
A lot of different things came up to take them out of the game: jobs, illnesses, vacations, summertime, lack of interest, too hard, not what they expected, ____________ (fill in the blank).
The ones that bother me the most are those that I simply never heard from. They just stopped coming. I always wonder if they’ll find a way to get what they want. Life always intrudes, and it’s what you do when that happens that makes all the difference.
Keep in mind, that I don’t feel that this is the only way. It’s just the way to lose the most weight in the shortest amount of time. It’s perfectly fine to take it a little slower and do it gradually. In fact, more than half of the remaining contestants ended up leaning in that direction.
Even if they just lose a pound a week, they can still get what they want. So it takes a year, or even a year and a half? Time is going to pass anyway. How long did it take to put the weight on?
One of the biggest challenges facing the group is figuring out what to do next. They’ve been used to being pushed by me and each other. We kept raising the intensity, and kept setting goals along the way.
Now what they need to do is set a new goal—right away. They need to figure out a new plan, and start working it, right now. Otherwise, things can easily slip back in the other direction.
We had several examples of how that can happen, with people going on vacation and gaining 8 & 10 pounds in just a week or two. Imagine if you “permanently” go on vacation. I once had a member lose 80 pounds and then put it back on—plus a few pounds!
It’s a lifestyle of making better choices that will stand the test of time. That’s one of the things our resident nutrition expert Camilla Whitkanack, MS RD talked about in our final meeting. She has a great presentation of good versus bad choices that’s always an eye-opener, and like with our last group, I believe it made quite an impact this time, too.
Of the 31 people who made the final weigh-in, most of them were able to do the final one-mile walk/run test to see how it compared with 12 weeks ago. The average improvement was around 3 minutes, with several completing the mile 4 minutes faster and one even took 6 minutes off her time!
The weekly winner was also our final winner, Josh Rigdon, who'd been feeling the heat from Bill Lewis, our 2nd place finisher. Josh turned it up in the last week, working out 3 times a day, and worked out 4 times on two different days.
All that calorie burning had the desired effect with Josh losing 4.5% of his body weight and a crazy 10.2 lbs in the final week. That brought his total up to a contest winning loss of 21.2% of body weight and a new Biggest Loser record of 57.6 lbs in 12 weeks. He won a $20 Kroger gift certificate from Dimond Brothers Insurance for being the weekly Biggest Loser, and the $500 grand prize for taking the top spot overall.
Josh had also taken some heat because he’s young and pretty athletic but he’s worked his butt off (literally). For the first time ever (and probably last time too), we’re including before and after photos so you can see for yourself.
Bill was pretty impressive too, losing 18.1% of his body weight and another 40.6 lbs, all at the young age of 67. That pretty much shot down the “lost it because you were young” theory. It also brought Bill’s total weight loss up to over 93 lbs in 24 weeks!
3rd place overall went to Judy Rush, who’s been pushing hard the entire time even though she has a bum knee. Judy lost 13.0% of her body weight and a total of 24.8 lbs making her the top lady this time around.
Here’s how the overall winner Josh fit into our Biggest Loser Hall of Fame:
1. Josh Rigdon lost 57.6 lbs in Biggest Loser “4” this summer.
2. Chris Redmon lost 56.5 lbs in Biggest Loser “3” last spring.
3. Bill Lewis lost 52.5 lbs in Biggest Loser “3.”
4. Joe Stidham lost 49.5 lbs in Biggest Loser “3.”
5. Steve Johnson, Jr. lost 44.0 lbs in Biggest Loser “1” last fall.
And finally, here are the total numbers for the 31 people who completed Biggest Loser “4” for the last 12 weeks. Contestants are listed in order of percent of weight loss and then total pounds lost.
Most of those who lost the least still reported a loss in inches and clothing sizes even if the scale wasn’t as kind. I think the numbers are going to start going their way soon though, especially given their great effort in the last few workouts and the final one mile run. It’s been an honor to work with all of them.
Name, %, lbs:
1. Josh Rigdon 21.2 57.6
2. Bill Lewis 18.1 40.6
3. Judy Rush 13.0 24.8
4. Steve Jones 11.8 29.8
5. Kelly Reed 11.6 23.0
6. Tracy Rush 10.6 25.4
7. Shawn Bowers 9.9 30.4
8. Mike Elledge 9.7 29.4
9. Darren German 9.3 28.0
10. Stacey Reed 8.8 17.0
11. Janet Tyler 8.7 15.2
12. Jeannie Kaufman 8.4 13.6
13. Kellie Gates 7.6 16.8
14. Jerryca Leeman 7.4 17.2
15. Theresa Finley 5.8 13.0
16. Pam Kelly 5.7 15.4
17. Laura Whitaker 5.5 16.2
18. Lisa Eskew 5.4 9.8
19. Rhonda Shaw 5.4 9.0
20. Kelli Stidham 5.2 14.0
21. John Kaufman 4.7 10.0
22. Sheri Hackett 4.5 10.0
23. Lynn Anderson 4.1 8.0
24. Bridgett Trover 3.6 6.6
25. Kathy Rhoads 3.5 6.2
26. Jasmine Camp 3.5 7.6
27. Shirley Fiscus 3.4 6.6
28. Tina Cooper 3.3 6.0
29. Karen Kerrick 3.0 4.5
30. Mandy Neal 2.6 5.8
31. Dawn Stewart 0.0 0.0
This was another great group of Biggest Losers. We started with 68 and ended with 31 making the final weigh-in, a little less than half the group which is about normal. I always tell them when we start: “Half of you won’t finish for one reason or other—which half are you going to be in?”
A lot of different things came up to take them out of the game: jobs, illnesses, vacations, summertime, lack of interest, too hard, not what they expected, ____________ (fill in the blank).
The ones that bother me the most are those that I simply never heard from. They just stopped coming. I always wonder if they’ll find a way to get what they want. Life always intrudes, and it’s what you do when that happens that makes all the difference.
Keep in mind, that I don’t feel that this is the only way. It’s just the way to lose the most weight in the shortest amount of time. It’s perfectly fine to take it a little slower and do it gradually. In fact, more than half of the remaining contestants ended up leaning in that direction.
Even if they just lose a pound a week, they can still get what they want. So it takes a year, or even a year and a half? Time is going to pass anyway. How long did it take to put the weight on?
One of the biggest challenges facing the group is figuring out what to do next. They’ve been used to being pushed by me and each other. We kept raising the intensity, and kept setting goals along the way.
Now what they need to do is set a new goal—right away. They need to figure out a new plan, and start working it, right now. Otherwise, things can easily slip back in the other direction.
We had several examples of how that can happen, with people going on vacation and gaining 8 & 10 pounds in just a week or two. Imagine if you “permanently” go on vacation. I once had a member lose 80 pounds and then put it back on—plus a few pounds!
It’s a lifestyle of making better choices that will stand the test of time. That’s one of the things our resident nutrition expert Camilla Whitkanack, MS RD talked about in our final meeting. She has a great presentation of good versus bad choices that’s always an eye-opener, and like with our last group, I believe it made quite an impact this time, too.
Of the 31 people who made the final weigh-in, most of them were able to do the final one-mile walk/run test to see how it compared with 12 weeks ago. The average improvement was around 3 minutes, with several completing the mile 4 minutes faster and one even took 6 minutes off her time!
The weekly winner was also our final winner, Josh Rigdon, who'd been feeling the heat from Bill Lewis, our 2nd place finisher. Josh turned it up in the last week, working out 3 times a day, and worked out 4 times on two different days.
All that calorie burning had the desired effect with Josh losing 4.5% of his body weight and a crazy 10.2 lbs in the final week. That brought his total up to a contest winning loss of 21.2% of body weight and a new Biggest Loser record of 57.6 lbs in 12 weeks. He won a $20 Kroger gift certificate from Dimond Brothers Insurance for being the weekly Biggest Loser, and the $500 grand prize for taking the top spot overall.
Josh had also taken some heat because he’s young and pretty athletic but he’s worked his butt off (literally). For the first time ever (and probably last time too), we’re including before and after photos so you can see for yourself.
Bill was pretty impressive too, losing 18.1% of his body weight and another 40.6 lbs, all at the young age of 67. That pretty much shot down the “lost it because you were young” theory. It also brought Bill’s total weight loss up to over 93 lbs in 24 weeks!
3rd place overall went to Judy Rush, who’s been pushing hard the entire time even though she has a bum knee. Judy lost 13.0% of her body weight and a total of 24.8 lbs making her the top lady this time around.
Here’s how the overall winner Josh fit into our Biggest Loser Hall of Fame:
1. Josh Rigdon lost 57.6 lbs in Biggest Loser “4” this summer.
2. Chris Redmon lost 56.5 lbs in Biggest Loser “3” last spring.
3. Bill Lewis lost 52.5 lbs in Biggest Loser “3.”
4. Joe Stidham lost 49.5 lbs in Biggest Loser “3.”
5. Steve Johnson, Jr. lost 44.0 lbs in Biggest Loser “1” last fall.
And finally, here are the total numbers for the 31 people who completed Biggest Loser “4” for the last 12 weeks. Contestants are listed in order of percent of weight loss and then total pounds lost.
Most of those who lost the least still reported a loss in inches and clothing sizes even if the scale wasn’t as kind. I think the numbers are going to start going their way soon though, especially given their great effort in the last few workouts and the final one mile run. It’s been an honor to work with all of them.
Name, %, lbs:
1. Josh Rigdon 21.2 57.6
2. Bill Lewis 18.1 40.6
3. Judy Rush 13.0 24.8
4. Steve Jones 11.8 29.8
5. Kelly Reed 11.6 23.0
6. Tracy Rush 10.6 25.4
7. Shawn Bowers 9.9 30.4
8. Mike Elledge 9.7 29.4
9. Darren German 9.3 28.0
10. Stacey Reed 8.8 17.0
11. Janet Tyler 8.7 15.2
12. Jeannie Kaufman 8.4 13.6
13. Kellie Gates 7.6 16.8
14. Jerryca Leeman 7.4 17.2
15. Theresa Finley 5.8 13.0
16. Pam Kelly 5.7 15.4
17. Laura Whitaker 5.5 16.2
18. Lisa Eskew 5.4 9.8
19. Rhonda Shaw 5.4 9.0
20. Kelli Stidham 5.2 14.0
21. John Kaufman 4.7 10.0
22. Sheri Hackett 4.5 10.0
23. Lynn Anderson 4.1 8.0
24. Bridgett Trover 3.6 6.6
25. Kathy Rhoads 3.5 6.2
26. Jasmine Camp 3.5 7.6
27. Shirley Fiscus 3.4 6.6
28. Tina Cooper 3.3 6.0
29. Karen Kerrick 3.0 4.5
30. Mandy Neal 2.6 5.8
31. Dawn Stewart 0.0 0.0
Monday, June 30, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK 11
We just finished the next to the last week of the contest and we’re getting ready to wrap things up for the summer. We had 3 great groups in a row, but I think that it’s time to take a break from the contest.
Instead, I’m leaning toward giving a special workout on Wed’s and Fri’s at 5:30 where people can come in and get the same workout I do with my personal training clients. It will be a group workout and it will be tough. Level III and Level IV stuff designed to keep your body changing for the better.
I do a similar group workout called on M, W & F at noon. Basically, it’s a group of people that want to be pushed, challenged, and coached. Everyone works at their own level, but I push them all.
Everyone has an inner athlete just waiting to be discovered (even if you never were one) and that’s what those workouts are about. It’s easy to control your weight when you’re an athlete and it’s really cool becoming more athletic, and leaner and meaner.
As we move fully into those dog days of summer, here are a few thoughts. If you want to change the way you look and feel, you have to have a big desire. It takes desire to change. It’s got to be a really big desire, or it won’t stick. Another way of putting it is that the pain of doing it has to be less than the pain of not doing it. Fix your eyes on the prize or the goal.
The next thing is commitment. You have to be committed to doing it or it will simply get lost in the shuffle. There’s too much going on. Your commitment will determine how high a priority it is. If it isn’t up near the top of your list, forget it—you’ll end up quitting.
Things are so fast paced. We live in a fast food society and if it takes longer than about 3 minutes we lose interest. Our news channels have news and more news that scrolls across the screen. All to keep our interest, because they know we’re about 5 seconds from tuning out.
But it’s our commitment that matters. If you’re committed, you stay with something and figure out how to make it work. Even when it’s tough, you make it work.
Another thing you need is willingness to change. You would be amazed at how many people I hear from that aren’t happy with the way they look and feel. It’s like pulling teeth, though, trying to get them to change.
After I hear all the reasons they can’t try it my way, one of my favorite lines (which sounds kind of cocky but I don’t mean it that way) is: “so how’s that working for you?” Really. If it’s not working, why not try something different.
You also have to learn how to be intentional. You do things on purpose, for a reason, every day. You look for opportunities to intentionally do things that move you in the direction you want to go.
This is important because if you don’t, life intrudes and will always move you in a different direction. You’ve got to schedule your workouts. That’s what you do at that time, every day. Same thing with how you eat.
You also have to have a plan. A wise person once said that failure to plan is really planning to fail. Knowing you need to do something, and knowing what to do are two different things. Find someone that knows how and hook up with them. Get a mentor. Find a coach. Listen to them. Read some books. Do a Google or Yahoo search on it. But do something.
Finally, perhaps above all, you have to be consistent. Doing the same things over and over, day in, day out has great power. It’s how we get fat, or how we get thin. It comes down to what you do each day. Like the power of compounding interest, good habits add up too.
If you slip up, acknowledge it, and move on. It won’t do you any good to dwell in the past. You’ve got to be willing to forgive yourself for the dumb things (and quit doing them) and start looking ahead again.
This week’s winner was Bill Lewis—again. You may recall he lost 52.5 lbs in our Biggest Loser “3” and had been doing very well this time around—until he went on vacation for 2 weeks and put 10 pounds back on.
He’ll tell you it was because he ate too much and didn’t get enough exercise. Bill has such a way of making this simple. When he averaged 5 lbs a week I’d ask him how he did it and he said he just walks/jogs an hour on the treadmill twice a day.
It’s pretty simple, but it’s also quite a lot of work. If anyone else was complaining that they weren’t losing enough, I’d ask them if they were doing that?
After Bill got back, he took off 8 lbs last week, and this week lost an amazing 5% of his body weight, and a total of 10.0 lbs. He’s like a machine. This week he turned it up to walking 3 times a day, plus walking to and from the gym!
So far, he’s lost 33.6 lbs and with the 52.5 lbs from before, is up to a total of 86 lbs in 23 weeks. And he still has a week to go. Bill received a $15 Subway gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance. Next week we’ll have the final results. Right now, it’s time for my run.
I’ve got this crazy desire to run a marathon on September 13th and I’m committed to getting ready. Last year I had to walk the last 8 miles due to a knee injury showing up during the race and I know I have to be intentional about my training, so each workout has a purpose.
I’m following a plan by one of the many expert marathon trainers out there (Hal Higdon). I’ve got to be consistent in my training if I want to get strong enough to do the 26 miles and hopefully avoid injuries. This week the long run is 12 miles so I’ve got to get going. See you next week!
Instead, I’m leaning toward giving a special workout on Wed’s and Fri’s at 5:30 where people can come in and get the same workout I do with my personal training clients. It will be a group workout and it will be tough. Level III and Level IV stuff designed to keep your body changing for the better.
I do a similar group workout called on M, W & F at noon. Basically, it’s a group of people that want to be pushed, challenged, and coached. Everyone works at their own level, but I push them all.
Everyone has an inner athlete just waiting to be discovered (even if you never were one) and that’s what those workouts are about. It’s easy to control your weight when you’re an athlete and it’s really cool becoming more athletic, and leaner and meaner.
As we move fully into those dog days of summer, here are a few thoughts. If you want to change the way you look and feel, you have to have a big desire. It takes desire to change. It’s got to be a really big desire, or it won’t stick. Another way of putting it is that the pain of doing it has to be less than the pain of not doing it. Fix your eyes on the prize or the goal.
The next thing is commitment. You have to be committed to doing it or it will simply get lost in the shuffle. There’s too much going on. Your commitment will determine how high a priority it is. If it isn’t up near the top of your list, forget it—you’ll end up quitting.
Things are so fast paced. We live in a fast food society and if it takes longer than about 3 minutes we lose interest. Our news channels have news and more news that scrolls across the screen. All to keep our interest, because they know we’re about 5 seconds from tuning out.
But it’s our commitment that matters. If you’re committed, you stay with something and figure out how to make it work. Even when it’s tough, you make it work.
Another thing you need is willingness to change. You would be amazed at how many people I hear from that aren’t happy with the way they look and feel. It’s like pulling teeth, though, trying to get them to change.
After I hear all the reasons they can’t try it my way, one of my favorite lines (which sounds kind of cocky but I don’t mean it that way) is: “so how’s that working for you?” Really. If it’s not working, why not try something different.
You also have to learn how to be intentional. You do things on purpose, for a reason, every day. You look for opportunities to intentionally do things that move you in the direction you want to go.
This is important because if you don’t, life intrudes and will always move you in a different direction. You’ve got to schedule your workouts. That’s what you do at that time, every day. Same thing with how you eat.
You also have to have a plan. A wise person once said that failure to plan is really planning to fail. Knowing you need to do something, and knowing what to do are two different things. Find someone that knows how and hook up with them. Get a mentor. Find a coach. Listen to them. Read some books. Do a Google or Yahoo search on it. But do something.
Finally, perhaps above all, you have to be consistent. Doing the same things over and over, day in, day out has great power. It’s how we get fat, or how we get thin. It comes down to what you do each day. Like the power of compounding interest, good habits add up too.
If you slip up, acknowledge it, and move on. It won’t do you any good to dwell in the past. You’ve got to be willing to forgive yourself for the dumb things (and quit doing them) and start looking ahead again.
This week’s winner was Bill Lewis—again. You may recall he lost 52.5 lbs in our Biggest Loser “3” and had been doing very well this time around—until he went on vacation for 2 weeks and put 10 pounds back on.
He’ll tell you it was because he ate too much and didn’t get enough exercise. Bill has such a way of making this simple. When he averaged 5 lbs a week I’d ask him how he did it and he said he just walks/jogs an hour on the treadmill twice a day.
It’s pretty simple, but it’s also quite a lot of work. If anyone else was complaining that they weren’t losing enough, I’d ask them if they were doing that?
After Bill got back, he took off 8 lbs last week, and this week lost an amazing 5% of his body weight, and a total of 10.0 lbs. He’s like a machine. This week he turned it up to walking 3 times a day, plus walking to and from the gym!
So far, he’s lost 33.6 lbs and with the 52.5 lbs from before, is up to a total of 86 lbs in 23 weeks. And he still has a week to go. Bill received a $15 Subway gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance. Next week we’ll have the final results. Right now, it’s time for my run.
I’ve got this crazy desire to run a marathon on September 13th and I’m committed to getting ready. Last year I had to walk the last 8 miles due to a knee injury showing up during the race and I know I have to be intentional about my training, so each workout has a purpose.
I’m following a plan by one of the many expert marathon trainers out there (Hal Higdon). I’ve got to be consistent in my training if I want to get strong enough to do the 26 miles and hopefully avoid injuries. This week the long run is 12 miles so I’ve got to get going. See you next week!
Monday, June 23, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK 10
When we began the 12 weeks, we started the group with what I call Level I training (circuit training with machines) for a month. Then we introduced them to Level II workouts (single exercises with free weights and dumbbells).
After that, they started on our Level III training (compound exercises with free weights). The goal was to keep the workouts progressing so their bodies would never get used to the training—that way they’d keep changing.
The Level III training helps them get great workouts fast—none of them take longer than 30 minutes. They also burn more calories because you’re working several muscle groups at the same time.
Here’s the final week of workouts for the group, in case you want to give it a try.
Monday
Pushups on Rings (or Ball)
Jumping Pullups
Ab Routine #1-4 (Crunches, Legs Up, Crossing, Leg Lifts)
*Single Arm Cable Lateral Raises (1 set to max)
Wednesday
Thrusters with Bar
Reverse Pullups
*Floor Wipers (1 set to max)
Friday
Jumping DB Clean & Presses
EZ Bar Curls
Hanging Knee Raises
*Ball Pikes (1 set to max)
This week’s Biggest Loser was Bill Lewis, who lost 3.8% of his body weight and a total of 8.0 lbs. That’s impressive, even if he was taking off most of the 10 lbs he’d put on during his recent vacation.
He’s not the first one to face that problem this summer. As soon as he got back from vacation, he got back to work and took off eight pounds. Bill won a $20 Walmart gift certificate from Dimond Brother Insurance.
2nd Place went to Pam Kelly who lost 2.1% of her body weight and a total of 5.6 lbs. Any other week, she probably would have won, but this happened to be the week Bill got back!
Pam was in the last group of Biggest Losers also. She recently took me up on a challenge I made at the end of the last group. She ran/walked a 5K race a few weeks ago and plans to do another one soon.
Next week I’m going to introduce the group to Level 4 training. Believe it or not, many of the workouts are done in 20 minutes, and one in particular takes less than 10 minutes, but it’s intense. I’ll tell you more later. Right now, it’s time to get to the gym!
After that, they started on our Level III training (compound exercises with free weights). The goal was to keep the workouts progressing so their bodies would never get used to the training—that way they’d keep changing.
The Level III training helps them get great workouts fast—none of them take longer than 30 minutes. They also burn more calories because you’re working several muscle groups at the same time.
Here’s the final week of workouts for the group, in case you want to give it a try.
- Start with a 5-10 minute Cardio Warmup.
- Do each numbered exercise 12-15 repetitions in a circuit, four times, without stopping.
Finish with a single burnout exercise* with maximum reps!
Level III Workouts—Week Four
Monday
Pushups on Rings (or Ball)
Jumping Pullups
Ab Routine #1-4 (Crunches, Legs Up, Crossing, Leg Lifts)
*Single Arm Cable Lateral Raises (1 set to max)
Wednesday
Thrusters with Bar
Reverse Pullups
*Floor Wipers (1 set to max)
Friday
Jumping DB Clean & Presses
EZ Bar Curls
Hanging Knee Raises
*Ball Pikes (1 set to max)
This week’s Biggest Loser was Bill Lewis, who lost 3.8% of his body weight and a total of 8.0 lbs. That’s impressive, even if he was taking off most of the 10 lbs he’d put on during his recent vacation.
He’s not the first one to face that problem this summer. As soon as he got back from vacation, he got back to work and took off eight pounds. Bill won a $20 Walmart gift certificate from Dimond Brother Insurance.
2nd Place went to Pam Kelly who lost 2.1% of her body weight and a total of 5.6 lbs. Any other week, she probably would have won, but this happened to be the week Bill got back!
Pam was in the last group of Biggest Losers also. She recently took me up on a challenge I made at the end of the last group. She ran/walked a 5K race a few weeks ago and plans to do another one soon.
Next week I’m going to introduce the group to Level 4 training. Believe it or not, many of the workouts are done in 20 minutes, and one in particular takes less than 10 minutes, but it’s intense. I’ll tell you more later. Right now, it’s time to get to the gym!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK 9
At the last meeting we talked about continuing to turn up the cardio intensity with High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), and in their weight workouts with our Level III training. This last month is all about turning up the intensity.
The main mistake I see people make is that they do the same things that they’ve gotten used to—that they’re comfortable with. But if you’ll change it up, your body will continue changing too. That will help you get past the normal plateau’s you’ll find along the way.
I taught them the next two week’s Level III workouts, so here they are in case you’d like to try them. Each workout will hit your entire body—the pushing muscles (Chest, Shoulders & Triceps), the pulling muscles (Back & Biceps), your lower body, as well as your core.
Remember, the goal is to do everything back to back, with no breaks, except for water. Make sure you get with someone who knows how to do the exercises, so you can do them safely.
Monday
DB Thrusters (Squat & Press)
Ring Pullups
Floor Wipers
*DB Curl 21’s (1 set to max)
Wednesday
DB Single Arm Clean & Press
DB Curls (both arms, together)
Ab Crunches on the Ball—one leg raised
*Ball Pushups & Knee Curls (1 set to max)
Friday
EZ Bar Deadlift, Curl & Reverse Press
Pilates Crunches
*DB Lateral Raises (1 set to max)
Level III Workouts—Week Three
Monday
Jumping Squats with Bar
Pullover Presses on Ball
SA Dumbbell Curls
*Floor Wipers (1 set to max)
Wednesday
Push Presses with Bar
EZ Bar Curls
Hanging Knee Raises
*Ball Pikes (1 set to max)
Friday
Jumping Lunge with SA DB Press
DB Curl 21’s
Pilates Crunches
*SA Cable Curl (1 set to max)
This week’s Biggest Loser was Denise Cravens, who lost 2.8% of her body weight and 4.2 lbs. Denise has been working hard for months and was pretty happy to be in the winner’s column! She received a $25 Casey’s gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance.
This will be the 3rd twelve week Biggest Loser we’ve done in a row and I’m wondering if it’s time to take a break. I’d bring it back in September to coincide with the TV show like we did last fall.
It’s really up to you, though. We started with 68 people this time, and 57 people last time. If there’s enough interest to do a 4th one this year during the summer, I’m willing. It would start on 7/11 if we did it.
The other idea I had was to take a smaller group of say 20 people, and personally train them for the summer—no contest—just hard work and results. We’ll have to see what develops. You’ll have to let me know.
See you next week. Right now, it’s time to get to the gym!
The main mistake I see people make is that they do the same things that they’ve gotten used to—that they’re comfortable with. But if you’ll change it up, your body will continue changing too. That will help you get past the normal plateau’s you’ll find along the way.
I taught them the next two week’s Level III workouts, so here they are in case you’d like to try them. Each workout will hit your entire body—the pushing muscles (Chest, Shoulders & Triceps), the pulling muscles (Back & Biceps), your lower body, as well as your core.
Remember, the goal is to do everything back to back, with no breaks, except for water. Make sure you get with someone who knows how to do the exercises, so you can do them safely.
- Start with a 5-10 minute Cardio Warmup.
- Do each numbered exercise 10-12 reps (guys) or 12-15 reps (gals) in a circuit 4 times!
- Finish with a single burnout exercise* with maximum reps!
Level III Workouts—Week Two
Monday
DB Thrusters (Squat & Press)
Ring Pullups
Floor Wipers
*DB Curl 21’s (1 set to max)
Wednesday
DB Single Arm Clean & Press
DB Curls (both arms, together)
Ab Crunches on the Ball—one leg raised
*Ball Pushups & Knee Curls (1 set to max)
Friday
EZ Bar Deadlift, Curl & Reverse Press
Pilates Crunches
*DB Lateral Raises (1 set to max)
Level III Workouts—Week Three
Monday
Jumping Squats with Bar
Pullover Presses on Ball
SA Dumbbell Curls
*Floor Wipers (1 set to max)
Wednesday
Push Presses with Bar
EZ Bar Curls
Hanging Knee Raises
*Ball Pikes (1 set to max)
Friday
Jumping Lunge with SA DB Press
DB Curl 21’s
Pilates Crunches
*SA Cable Curl (1 set to max)
This week’s Biggest Loser was Denise Cravens, who lost 2.8% of her body weight and 4.2 lbs. Denise has been working hard for months and was pretty happy to be in the winner’s column! She received a $25 Casey’s gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance.
This will be the 3rd twelve week Biggest Loser we’ve done in a row and I’m wondering if it’s time to take a break. I’d bring it back in September to coincide with the TV show like we did last fall.
It’s really up to you, though. We started with 68 people this time, and 57 people last time. If there’s enough interest to do a 4th one this year during the summer, I’m willing. It would start on 7/11 if we did it.
The other idea I had was to take a smaller group of say 20 people, and personally train them for the summer—no contest—just hard work and results. We’ll have to see what develops. You’ll have to let me know.
See you next week. Right now, it’s time to get to the gym!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK 8
It’s been eight weeks and it’s time for another update on everyone’s progress. We started with 68 people and 36 people made the weigh-in last Friday.
As usual, the contestants have divided themselves into three groups. The first group is made up of people who have quit for one reason or another. They’re not around anymore.
The second group is made up of people that are still involved, but I don’t see them much. Quite a few of them have been on vacation this summer. Some make a Friday workout and weigh-in, and then miss another. Some have been sick. At least one had knee surgery.
Finally, we have a core group of people left who are really pushing hard. I see them in the gym all the time, doing more and more. Around 20 to 25 of them make the regular Friday night workouts to learn how to turn it up.
This time, after the weigh-in and announcements, I spent about 10 minutes explaining the new exercises. In the first four weeks, they did Level I exercises on the machines. In weeks 5 to 8, they did Level II exercises on the free weights.
If you’ll remember, free weights cause you to use more stabilizer muscles and engage your core more—burning more calories and giving you a better workout.
This week, they’ll be starting on Level III. Instead of simple one-movement exercises that primarily focus on a single muscle group, this time, they’ll be doing compound movements that combine different exercises.
The Clean-Jerk and Press is a good example. You bend down and pick up the bar, jerk it up to shoulder level, move yourself slightly so you’re underneath the bar, and then press it overhead.
Another example is the Walking, Lunge, Curl & Press. Holding 2 dumbbells just light enough for you to be able to shoulder press them, take a walking step forward (lunge). While maintaining that position, curl both dumbbells up to your shoulders, and then turn your hands and press the dumbbells up over head. Lower the weights, take another long lunging step and repeat.
These exercises are demanding because you’re using so many different muscle groups all at the same time. They have a huge influence on your metabolism and are awesome calorie burners. They also engage your core the whole time.
I gave them four weeks of workouts to finish out the 12 weeks. Each workout is different, causing your body to respond more dramatically. In case you’d like to try them on for size, here’s their Level III workout for Week Nine:
As usual, the contestants have divided themselves into three groups. The first group is made up of people who have quit for one reason or another. They’re not around anymore.
The second group is made up of people that are still involved, but I don’t see them much. Quite a few of them have been on vacation this summer. Some make a Friday workout and weigh-in, and then miss another. Some have been sick. At least one had knee surgery.
Finally, we have a core group of people left who are really pushing hard. I see them in the gym all the time, doing more and more. Around 20 to 25 of them make the regular Friday night workouts to learn how to turn it up.
This time, after the weigh-in and announcements, I spent about 10 minutes explaining the new exercises. In the first four weeks, they did Level I exercises on the machines. In weeks 5 to 8, they did Level II exercises on the free weights.
If you’ll remember, free weights cause you to use more stabilizer muscles and engage your core more—burning more calories and giving you a better workout.
This week, they’ll be starting on Level III. Instead of simple one-movement exercises that primarily focus on a single muscle group, this time, they’ll be doing compound movements that combine different exercises.
The Clean-Jerk and Press is a good example. You bend down and pick up the bar, jerk it up to shoulder level, move yourself slightly so you’re underneath the bar, and then press it overhead.
Another example is the Walking, Lunge, Curl & Press. Holding 2 dumbbells just light enough for you to be able to shoulder press them, take a walking step forward (lunge). While maintaining that position, curl both dumbbells up to your shoulders, and then turn your hands and press the dumbbells up over head. Lower the weights, take another long lunging step and repeat.
These exercises are demanding because you’re using so many different muscle groups all at the same time. They have a huge influence on your metabolism and are awesome calorie burners. They also engage your core the whole time.
I gave them four weeks of workouts to finish out the 12 weeks. Each workout is different, causing your body to respond more dramatically. In case you’d like to try them on for size, here’s their Level III workout for Week Nine:
Start with a 5-10 minute Cardio Warmup.
Do each primary exercise 10-12 reps (guys) or 12-15 reps (gals) in a circuit 4 times!
Finish with a single burnout exercise* with maximum reps!
Monday
Clean Jerk & Press
Standing EZ Bar Curl
Pilates Crunches
*Single Arm Cable Curl
Wednesday
Walking Lunge, Curl & Press
Ab Routine #1-4: (Crunches, Legs Up, Crossing, Leg Lifts)
*Dumbbell Lateral Raises
Friday
Box Step Ups with Curls
Single Arm Dumbbell Press on Ball
Hanging Knee Raises
*Tricep Overhead Press
While half the people tried out the exercises, I took the other half of the group into the cardio room and showed them how to do high intensity interval training (HIIT).
Basically, HIIT is a way to pack 40-45 minutes worth of work into 20-24 minutes. It doesn’t matter what equipment you use. They used the treadmills, ellipticals, and exercise bikes, rotating on each after 7-8 minutes.
What you do is take a perceived exertion scale of 1-10, where 1-4 would be about like lying on the couch. Level 5 and 6 is pretty easy and you could do it indefinitely. Level 7 is where we started—not too hard, but you can definitely feel it. That was their 2 minute warmup—at what felt like a “7.”
Then they cranked it up to what felt like an “8” on their perceived exertion scale. This meant they were jogging on the treadmill, or walking up a very steep grade. On the bikes and ellipticals, they cranked up the levels until it was pretty hard, but they could still do it.
After a minute of working at what felt like an “8”, they backed it down to a 6 or 7 to recover for a minute. Then, they took it back up to what felt like an “8” for another minute, and so on.
After 8 minutes, they switched to a different piece of cardio equipment so they could see how it felt while doing other things.
When they’d done several intervals at an “8”, they did one at what felt like a “9.” A nine is very difficult. You can do it for a while, but only for a little while (a “10” would be too difficult to continue). They were all watching the clock, cause it was killer—but they did it!
Finally, after about 20-22 minutes, they did one final interval at a “9”, but for two minutes! This one was brutal. I could really hear them breathing hard, grunting and groaning, with focused intensity—exactly what it takes to get what you want. One of them told me “I thought I was about ready to die, at the end of those two minutes.”
They stayed on for a couple minutes, and backed it down around what felt like a “5” to cool down a little bit. One other important note: make sure you have your water bottle with you, and every time you are on a resting interval, take a sip or two of water. By the time you’ve finished your workout, you should have finished the bottle. This will keep you hydrated.
Well there’s their workout strategy for the next four weeks to finish out the contest: HIIT training on cardio days, and Level III workouts (compound exercises) in the weight room. Of course they’ve got to keep watching what they eat.
The winner this week was Theresa Finley, who lost 1.4% of her body weight and 3.0 lbs. Theresa won a $20 Kroger gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance for her hard work.
Remember, for most people, losing a pound a week is pretty predictable. Two pounds a week is doable if you’re walking a mile in the morning and then getting your real workout in later in the day. Anything over two pounds a week is outstanding. Here’s the breakdown after Week 8:
1. Josh Rigdon 14.3 % 38.8 lbs
2. Tracy Rush 11.4 % 27.2 lbs
3. Rodney Rodrick 11.1 % 27.2 lbs
4. Judy Rush 10.3 % 19.6 lbs
5. Julie Reed 10.1 % 17.3 lbs
6. Kelly Reed 10.0 % 19.8 lbs
7. Darren German 8.3 % 25.0 lbs
8. Mike Elledge 8.1 % 24.4 lbs
9. Steve Jones 7.0 % 17.8 lbs
10. Shawn Bowers 7.0% 21.4 lbs
11. Kellie Gates 6.9 % 15.4 lbs
12. Jeannie Kaufman 6.8 % 11.0 lbs
13. Janet Tyler 5.7 % 10.0 lbs
14. John Kaufman 5.5 % 11.6 lbs
15. Kelli Stidham 5.2 % 14.0 lbs
16. Alta Cary 5.1 % 12.3 lbs
17. Karen Kerrick 4.3 % 6.6 lbs
18. Lynn Anderson 4.2 % 8.2 lbs
19. Lisa Eskew 4.2 % 7.6 lbs
20. Julie Wieland 3.9 % 7.6 lbs
21. Pam Kelly 3.6 % 9.6 lbs
22. Laura Whitaker 3.5 % 10.2 lbs
23. Samantha Wombles 3.4 % 10.0 lbs
24. Denise Cravens 3.4 % 5.4 lbs
25. Sheri Hackett 3.3 % 7.4 lbs
26. Theresa Finley 3.0 % 6.6 lbs
27. Gary Lane 2.9 % 8.0 lbs
28. Tina Cooper 2.8 % 5.0 lbs
29. Jasmine Camp 2.8 % 6.0 lbs
30. Rosa Wolfe 2.7 % 6.2 lbs
31. Bridgett Trover 2.2 % 4.0 lbs
32. Mandy Neal 2.1 % 4.8 lbs
33. Shirley Fiscus 1.2 % 2.4 lbs
34. Penny Spinner 1.1 % 1.8 lbs
35. Loretta Morgan 0.1 % 1.4 lbs
36. Kathy Rhoads 0.1 % 0.8 lbs
Friday, June 06, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK 7
Have you ever been so proud of someone you just wanted to burst? Of course you have—if you’ve ever had kids or grandkids.
Well, last Friday, I took 22 of the Biggest Losers out to the H.S. football field and laid down a challenge: 8 laps around the track (2 miles), with 25 body squats, 25 pushups and 25 sit-ups after each lap (200 total)!
The challenge was actually a mental one as much as a physical one. To my amazement, no one said anything—not one complaint, not one argument, no one bargained. They all just kind of gave me that faraway look and said O.K. What a great group!
My plan was actually to have them do half that much—4 laps around the track (1 mile), and 100 total body squats, pushups and sit-ups. I wanted to see how they’d react though. Plus, when it got tough, I wanted them to remember that it could have been twice as much, and that would keep them going.
Don’t think I was taking it easy on them. Even a mile is tough when you throw in 25 squats, pushups & sit-ups in between each lap—try it sometime. In addition, they were supposed to run anytime they could.
If they were pretty good at running, they were to run the whole thing, as fast as they could. If they hadn’t been running much, then I wanted them to at least try to jog at times down the straight-aways.
After they got back in from the 1st ¼ mile, I let them in on the secret and they were all pretty happy about it. But you know, I think they would have done it even if I hadn’t cut it in half.
This is that kind of group.
Take Judy Rush for example. She’s lost 22.2 pounds to date in 7 weeks. That’s great, but she’s lost 70 pounds total, including the 47 pounds she lost before we ever met her. You could see why, if you watched her working out with the group.
Judy has some pretty serious knee problems, but she never quits. She even does the squats with everyone else, although she has to modify them, going just halfway down on the one side. I even saw her sprinting down the back straight-away!
No wonder she’s lost 70 pounds. She might never win this contest, but she’s still a winner, and a great example. She also takes your excuses away.
Everyone finished the workout, and they all agreed it was pretty tough. I challenged them to try the 2 mile version sometime. Anytime you put some running intervals in between full body exercises in a workout, you’ll burn a lot of calories.
This week’s winner was Gary Lane, who joined us at the start of Week Two. Gary lost 2.0% of his body weight and 5.4 lbs during the week. He received a $15 Subway gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance.
Next week, I’ll give you everyone’s two-month totals and tell you how we’re going to turn it up yet again. We’ve got to keep things moving—and these guys and gals can take it. Right now, it’s time for my workout!
Well, last Friday, I took 22 of the Biggest Losers out to the H.S. football field and laid down a challenge: 8 laps around the track (2 miles), with 25 body squats, 25 pushups and 25 sit-ups after each lap (200 total)!
The challenge was actually a mental one as much as a physical one. To my amazement, no one said anything—not one complaint, not one argument, no one bargained. They all just kind of gave me that faraway look and said O.K. What a great group!
My plan was actually to have them do half that much—4 laps around the track (1 mile), and 100 total body squats, pushups and sit-ups. I wanted to see how they’d react though. Plus, when it got tough, I wanted them to remember that it could have been twice as much, and that would keep them going.
Don’t think I was taking it easy on them. Even a mile is tough when you throw in 25 squats, pushups & sit-ups in between each lap—try it sometime. In addition, they were supposed to run anytime they could.
If they were pretty good at running, they were to run the whole thing, as fast as they could. If they hadn’t been running much, then I wanted them to at least try to jog at times down the straight-aways.
After they got back in from the 1st ¼ mile, I let them in on the secret and they were all pretty happy about it. But you know, I think they would have done it even if I hadn’t cut it in half.
This is that kind of group.
Take Judy Rush for example. She’s lost 22.2 pounds to date in 7 weeks. That’s great, but she’s lost 70 pounds total, including the 47 pounds she lost before we ever met her. You could see why, if you watched her working out with the group.
Judy has some pretty serious knee problems, but she never quits. She even does the squats with everyone else, although she has to modify them, going just halfway down on the one side. I even saw her sprinting down the back straight-away!
No wonder she’s lost 70 pounds. She might never win this contest, but she’s still a winner, and a great example. She also takes your excuses away.
Everyone finished the workout, and they all agreed it was pretty tough. I challenged them to try the 2 mile version sometime. Anytime you put some running intervals in between full body exercises in a workout, you’ll burn a lot of calories.
This week’s winner was Gary Lane, who joined us at the start of Week Two. Gary lost 2.0% of his body weight and 5.4 lbs during the week. He received a $15 Subway gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance.
Next week, I’ll give you everyone’s two-month totals and tell you how we’re going to turn it up yet again. We’ve got to keep things moving—and these guys and gals can take it. Right now, it’s time for my workout!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK 6
So we’re at the halfway point for Biggest Loser “4.” It always amazes me how fast these things go. I shouldn’t be surprised, though. My cutie-pie is 7 ½, I just turned 46—life seems to be moving faster than ever.
Remember when we were younger and things seemed to take forever? Sometimes weight loss is like that, but you have to realize that things didn’t get this way overnight.
What if it takes six months or even a year? Time is going to pass anyway—you might as well spend it doing something that helps you get what you want.
I was wearing my singing and speaking hat this morning at a church up in Chrisman. One of the things I believe is how we’re here for a purpose. It’s not supposed to be all about us.
But if we’re not healthy, it can become all about us. Diabetes and heart disease will make sure of that. But how can you spend your time helping others when you don’t feel good enough to help yourself?
There’s another area we need to take responsibility for, though it may not seem related: our “financial health.” Just like learning how to eat right and exercise smart, fixing your finances takes great discipline. And just like overeating and not exercising, the consequences of not addressing our spending and saving habits can have grave consequences.
We’re a fast food society, and that mindset permeates our entire culture. We want things now, and we want them fast. We’re encouraged to buy now and pay later, but boy do we pay later! One little credit card charge here, a car payment we can’t afford there, and “all of a sudden” when things get bad, we’re in too deep to get out.
Just making the minimum payments can be tough and it can take years to pay down something that has long since lost its value. Soon, we’re trapped in a cycle that holds us prisoner—just like when we’re overweight, out of shape and our health is declining.
If we can learn to live on less than we earn, though, and save a little for a rainy day, we can be prepared for when times get tough. Just like eating right and exercising smart, it takes a total transformation of how we think, and how we live.
We have to learn to say “no” to things we don’t really need. We’ve got to learn to make tough choices, and think long term, instead of in the “right now.” Like Dave Ramsey says on his radio show and in his book “The Total Money Makeover”… “You’ve got to live like no one else, so someday you can live like no one else.”
For full details, I totally recommend his book, but here’s how it works. First, you’ve got to create an emergency fund of $1,000 that you keep on hand for—emergencies. That’s what Dave calls Baby Step #1.
The second thing Dave teaches is the Debt Snowball (Baby Step #2). Here’s how it works:
Arrange all your debts from smallest to largest.
Make minimum payments on everything except the smallest one. That one you’re going to attack with all your energy and extra resources.
If you don’t have any extra in the budget to attack the debt, sell something. Sell lots of things. Get an extra job if necessary.
When you pay it off, you move on to the next one and so on.
Cut up all your credit cards—Dave calls it a “plasectomy.” Learn to live on a debit card—if you don’t have it, you can’t spend it.
Make a commitment to incur no new debt. Nothing. This is going to catch a lot of people, but it’s the key to everything. A diet only works if you stick to it. An exercise program only works if you show up. No new debt. Period.
If you can’t afford things, sell them. Quit making payments. Monthly payments are “death by a thousand cuts” and they’ll suck the life out of you.
I have to tell you, that this can be incredibly liberating if you’ll do it. It may seem impossible—just like losing 80 or 100 lbs. But it is possible. I’ve seen people do both, and I’m working to lose the financial weight, myself.
It’s tough, if not impossible, helping someone when you’re worried about paying your own light bill. Once you start getting rid of some of those payments, you’ll have the ability to do more for the people you care about. You’ll be able to respond when you see a need, and that’s very cool.
Dave’s Baby Step #3 is a little tougher. After you’ve eliminated all debt (except the house), fully fund your emergency fund with 3-6 months expenses. Then, if something really comes along to rock your world, you’ll have the capacity to deal with it.
Did you know that people in good health have a much greater chance to survive serious, traumatic injuries? Their bodies apparently have a reserve and strength that get them through it.
It’s the same thing with our financial health. Just like our bodies, we’ve got to get our house in order. Then, when the storm comes, we might be shaken, but we’ll survive.
Back to Biggest Loser “4.” This week’s winner was Shawn Bowers who lost 3.2% of his body weight and an incredible 9.6 lbs! Shawn had been losing a lot of weight early in the contest, but had just gone on vacation, and put some of those pounds back on.
We’ll be watching closely to see how he does next week. My prediction is that he’ll continue his losing ways, and probably come in around 4-5 lbs lighter. Shawn won a $20 Walmart gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance. He earned it!
For those of you who already are in good health—whether it’s physically, or financially, I want to encourage you to use your gift. Get out and do something. Help someone, cause remember, it’s not all about us.
Those of you that aren’t quite there (me too), that’s O.K. It might need to be about you for a little while so you can get some things fixed. But let’s do it. Let’s get moving!
Remember when we were younger and things seemed to take forever? Sometimes weight loss is like that, but you have to realize that things didn’t get this way overnight.
What if it takes six months or even a year? Time is going to pass anyway—you might as well spend it doing something that helps you get what you want.
I was wearing my singing and speaking hat this morning at a church up in Chrisman. One of the things I believe is how we’re here for a purpose. It’s not supposed to be all about us.
But if we’re not healthy, it can become all about us. Diabetes and heart disease will make sure of that. But how can you spend your time helping others when you don’t feel good enough to help yourself?
There’s another area we need to take responsibility for, though it may not seem related: our “financial health.” Just like learning how to eat right and exercise smart, fixing your finances takes great discipline. And just like overeating and not exercising, the consequences of not addressing our spending and saving habits can have grave consequences.
We’re a fast food society, and that mindset permeates our entire culture. We want things now, and we want them fast. We’re encouraged to buy now and pay later, but boy do we pay later! One little credit card charge here, a car payment we can’t afford there, and “all of a sudden” when things get bad, we’re in too deep to get out.
Just making the minimum payments can be tough and it can take years to pay down something that has long since lost its value. Soon, we’re trapped in a cycle that holds us prisoner—just like when we’re overweight, out of shape and our health is declining.
If we can learn to live on less than we earn, though, and save a little for a rainy day, we can be prepared for when times get tough. Just like eating right and exercising smart, it takes a total transformation of how we think, and how we live.
We have to learn to say “no” to things we don’t really need. We’ve got to learn to make tough choices, and think long term, instead of in the “right now.” Like Dave Ramsey says on his radio show and in his book “The Total Money Makeover”… “You’ve got to live like no one else, so someday you can live like no one else.”
For full details, I totally recommend his book, but here’s how it works. First, you’ve got to create an emergency fund of $1,000 that you keep on hand for—emergencies. That’s what Dave calls Baby Step #1.
The second thing Dave teaches is the Debt Snowball (Baby Step #2). Here’s how it works:
Arrange all your debts from smallest to largest.
Make minimum payments on everything except the smallest one. That one you’re going to attack with all your energy and extra resources.
If you don’t have any extra in the budget to attack the debt, sell something. Sell lots of things. Get an extra job if necessary.
When you pay it off, you move on to the next one and so on.
Cut up all your credit cards—Dave calls it a “plasectomy.” Learn to live on a debit card—if you don’t have it, you can’t spend it.
Make a commitment to incur no new debt. Nothing. This is going to catch a lot of people, but it’s the key to everything. A diet only works if you stick to it. An exercise program only works if you show up. No new debt. Period.
If you can’t afford things, sell them. Quit making payments. Monthly payments are “death by a thousand cuts” and they’ll suck the life out of you.
I have to tell you, that this can be incredibly liberating if you’ll do it. It may seem impossible—just like losing 80 or 100 lbs. But it is possible. I’ve seen people do both, and I’m working to lose the financial weight, myself.
It’s tough, if not impossible, helping someone when you’re worried about paying your own light bill. Once you start getting rid of some of those payments, you’ll have the ability to do more for the people you care about. You’ll be able to respond when you see a need, and that’s very cool.
Dave’s Baby Step #3 is a little tougher. After you’ve eliminated all debt (except the house), fully fund your emergency fund with 3-6 months expenses. Then, if something really comes along to rock your world, you’ll have the capacity to deal with it.
Did you know that people in good health have a much greater chance to survive serious, traumatic injuries? Their bodies apparently have a reserve and strength that get them through it.
It’s the same thing with our financial health. Just like our bodies, we’ve got to get our house in order. Then, when the storm comes, we might be shaken, but we’ll survive.
Back to Biggest Loser “4.” This week’s winner was Shawn Bowers who lost 3.2% of his body weight and an incredible 9.6 lbs! Shawn had been losing a lot of weight early in the contest, but had just gone on vacation, and put some of those pounds back on.
We’ll be watching closely to see how he does next week. My prediction is that he’ll continue his losing ways, and probably come in around 4-5 lbs lighter. Shawn won a $20 Walmart gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance. He earned it!
For those of you who already are in good health—whether it’s physically, or financially, I want to encourage you to use your gift. Get out and do something. Help someone, cause remember, it’s not all about us.
Those of you that aren’t quite there (me too), that’s O.K. It might need to be about you for a little while so you can get some things fixed. But let’s do it. Let’s get moving!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK 5
This week the group really had a treat. Remember Camilla from the last set of articles for the last group? Camilla’s a registered dietician at Terre Haute Regional, and she came back in to talk to our latest group of people in Biggest Loser “4.”
Because her presentation is so good, instead of paraphrasing, I’m going to reproduce her Top Ten Tips word for word:
“Ten Tips for Healthy and Conscious Eating”
Camilla Whitkanack, MS RD
Terre Haute Regional Hospital
Be aware of your calorie requirements. Many software programs and websites will give you a close estimate. Try www.mypyramid.gov and click on My Pyramid Plan.
To lose weight, many sources recommend taking in 300-500 calories less than your estimated needs. Most active women should not eat less than 1500 kcalories, most active men no less than 1800. If you find yourself hungry, unsatisfied, or constantly thinking about food, than you are most likely depriving yourself too much!
Keeping a food log for a few days can be helpful. Be thorough and write down everything. Self-evaluate by estimating calories (www.calorieking.com). Or simply compare your food choices to a suggested eating pattern based on food groups and serving sizes (www.mypyramid.gov). Limit food logs to a few days or one day every once in a while. Focusing on every bite over a long period of time is not healthy.
Plan meals around fruits and vegetables. Fresh, frozen, or canned (light syrup or juice-packed fruit) are all good choices.
Include good sources of protein with your meals and snacks: chicken, fish, beans, nuts or peanut butter, eggs, lowfat yogurt or milk, soy products, and lean meats. Protein is very important but small portions (2-3 ounces, 8-12 ounces lowfat milk or yogurt) is plenty. Think of protein as an important side dish, not as the main entrée.
Never “save” your appetite for a huge meal or to allow yourself more calories in the evening. The effect on appetite, satiety cues (feeling full or satisfied), and metabolism are counter-productive when trying to lose weight or prevent weight gain!
Eat with 2 hours of getting up in the morning. Even if you are not hungry, a light healthy snack that includes some protein will do. People who skip breakfast tend to consume more calories throughout the rest of the day and are more likely to have weight issues.
Don’t give up your favorite foods, no matter how indulgent they may be. Just don’t keep them too handy! If you must have it, make a special trip to the store or order it as a special treat when eating out.
Choose calories you can chew – limit juices, sports drinks, regular soda, alcohol, and specialty coffees. And remember the best diet drink of all – water!
Don’t snack or eat meals in front of the tube, while reading, or using the computer. Make eating its own activity, enjoy it, and then move on to another activity.
(Adapted from RD411.com website, which contains education tools for dietetic professionals.)
Thanks, Camilla!
This week’s winner was Bill Lewis (finally) who lost 2.5% of his body weight and 5.0 lbs. Bill has been the runner up for quite a few weeks. You might recall that Bill lost 52.5 lbs in the last group, and has lost another 26.0 lbs in the last 5 weeks. That’s 78.5 lbs total in 19 weeks! Bill received a $25 Casey’s gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance, our weekly sponsor.
Second place went to Alta Cary, who lost 2.0% of her body weight and 4.8 lbs, with third place going to Jasmine Camp, who lost 1.7% of her body weight, and 3.6 lbs. Nice job, girls!
Those who missed the Friday night workout missed a good one. Most everyone agreed it was the toughest so far. Quite a few commented how they would never have been able to do it just five short weeks ago.
About 25 people showed up for it, and they learned a new free weight routine and how to turn it into high intensity interval training. Remember, last week they moved from the machines to free weights, using dumbbells (which recruit all the accessory muscles) and exercise balls (which work your core more).
Basically, I showed them how to alternate the dumbbell exercises with core exercises such as ab crunches on the ball, or planks and the like, to build intensity into the workout. This way, they never quit moving.
I call this active rest. While one muscle group is resting, another’s working. We even threw running into the mix, between sets.
Try it. It really boosts the intensity, and that means you’ll be burning more calories. That means you’ll lose more weight. I’ll tell you more about this next week. Right now, I’ve got to go for a run!
Because her presentation is so good, instead of paraphrasing, I’m going to reproduce her Top Ten Tips word for word:
“Ten Tips for Healthy and Conscious Eating”
Camilla Whitkanack, MS RD
Terre Haute Regional Hospital
Be aware of your calorie requirements. Many software programs and websites will give you a close estimate. Try www.mypyramid.gov and click on My Pyramid Plan.
To lose weight, many sources recommend taking in 300-500 calories less than your estimated needs. Most active women should not eat less than 1500 kcalories, most active men no less than 1800. If you find yourself hungry, unsatisfied, or constantly thinking about food, than you are most likely depriving yourself too much!
Keeping a food log for a few days can be helpful. Be thorough and write down everything. Self-evaluate by estimating calories (www.calorieking.com). Or simply compare your food choices to a suggested eating pattern based on food groups and serving sizes (www.mypyramid.gov). Limit food logs to a few days or one day every once in a while. Focusing on every bite over a long period of time is not healthy.
Plan meals around fruits and vegetables. Fresh, frozen, or canned (light syrup or juice-packed fruit) are all good choices.
Include good sources of protein with your meals and snacks: chicken, fish, beans, nuts or peanut butter, eggs, lowfat yogurt or milk, soy products, and lean meats. Protein is very important but small portions (2-3 ounces, 8-12 ounces lowfat milk or yogurt) is plenty. Think of protein as an important side dish, not as the main entrée.
Never “save” your appetite for a huge meal or to allow yourself more calories in the evening. The effect on appetite, satiety cues (feeling full or satisfied), and metabolism are counter-productive when trying to lose weight or prevent weight gain!
Eat with 2 hours of getting up in the morning. Even if you are not hungry, a light healthy snack that includes some protein will do. People who skip breakfast tend to consume more calories throughout the rest of the day and are more likely to have weight issues.
Don’t give up your favorite foods, no matter how indulgent they may be. Just don’t keep them too handy! If you must have it, make a special trip to the store or order it as a special treat when eating out.
Choose calories you can chew – limit juices, sports drinks, regular soda, alcohol, and specialty coffees. And remember the best diet drink of all – water!
Don’t snack or eat meals in front of the tube, while reading, or using the computer. Make eating its own activity, enjoy it, and then move on to another activity.
(Adapted from RD411.com website, which contains education tools for dietetic professionals.)
Thanks, Camilla!
This week’s winner was Bill Lewis (finally) who lost 2.5% of his body weight and 5.0 lbs. Bill has been the runner up for quite a few weeks. You might recall that Bill lost 52.5 lbs in the last group, and has lost another 26.0 lbs in the last 5 weeks. That’s 78.5 lbs total in 19 weeks! Bill received a $25 Casey’s gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance, our weekly sponsor.
Second place went to Alta Cary, who lost 2.0% of her body weight and 4.8 lbs, with third place going to Jasmine Camp, who lost 1.7% of her body weight, and 3.6 lbs. Nice job, girls!
Those who missed the Friday night workout missed a good one. Most everyone agreed it was the toughest so far. Quite a few commented how they would never have been able to do it just five short weeks ago.
About 25 people showed up for it, and they learned a new free weight routine and how to turn it into high intensity interval training. Remember, last week they moved from the machines to free weights, using dumbbells (which recruit all the accessory muscles) and exercise balls (which work your core more).
Basically, I showed them how to alternate the dumbbell exercises with core exercises such as ab crunches on the ball, or planks and the like, to build intensity into the workout. This way, they never quit moving.
I call this active rest. While one muscle group is resting, another’s working. We even threw running into the mix, between sets.
Try it. It really boosts the intensity, and that means you’ll be burning more calories. That means you’ll lose more weight. I’ll tell you more about this next week. Right now, I’ve got to go for a run!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK 4
Last week we talked about being intentional about things. You know, doing things on purpose for a purpose. If you take enough steps in the right direction, well, then you get there.
If you want to accomplish anything in your life, you need to have desire. You need a dream. You’ve got to take action and get things started. And then you need to do things intentionally each day that will help you get to your goal.
But once you get past the problem of getting started, something else often gets in the way. You’ve heard the old saying—“we have met the enemy and he is us.” Life intrudes and old habits die hard.
Here’s where you need to have staying power, because things will try to throw you off track. You need consistency. You need to be like Chris and Cheryl from Biggest Loser “3.” You remember Chris. He was the biggest loser ever to not be the Biggest Loser!
He lost 56.5 lbs during the 12 weeks. Cheryl did pretty well too, losing over 36 lbs. Sometimes, people do the next one so they can keep things going. In their case, they knew they’d learned enough to keep it going. They’ve also learned how to be consistent.
Friday night, I was talking to the group about having what it takes, and in the other room there were just two people working out doing cardio. Guess who? The Redmons. I swear you can’t plan this stuff.
Chris told me he just hit the 75 lb mark this week and was shooting for 100 lbs. Cheryl’s at just under 50 lbs. It was Friday night, their contest has been over for a month and a half, and they’re the only two in the whole gym (except for the Biggest Losers).
Then after our meeting, I took the whole group back to the free weight room to get them going on Level II, and guess who was coming out. The Redmons. You could tell they’d really been hitting it. What a great example.
Folks, that’s consistency. I can set my clock by those two, and some others I see everyday. They’ve learned how to not let anything get in the way of them getting what they want. They know what they need to do, and they do it.
I believe that God inspires and makes things possible, but God won’t do it for us (except for those things too big for us to do). In the end, it’s up to us.
Right now, we’ve got over 50 people still going on Biggest Loser “4” (we started with 67). It’s been a month, and we’ve lost 17. Several signed up but never even showed up to the first weigh-in. Then, each week, we’ve lost a few for various reasons.
This week, our winner was Josh Rigdon, who lost 2.8% of his body weight and 7.0 lbs. Josh has been hitting it pretty hard, and received a $20 Kroger Gift Certificate from Dimond Brothers Insurance.
Here’s a list of the top 25 losers (that made the last weigh-in) for the first four weeks. They’re ranked in order of percentage of weight loss and are for just about half the group. Most of the others have lost between 2 and 4 pounds.
Next week, we’ll look at how the remaining contestants are turning it up. Right now, it’s time for my work out.
1. Josh Rigdon 9.8% 26.2 lbs
2. Bill Lewis 9.4% 21.0 lbs
3. Tracy Rush 8.3% 19.8 lbs
4. Rodney Rodrick 8.1% 19.8 lbs
5. Darren German 6.5% 19.4 lbs
6. Mike Elledge 6.3% 19.1 lbs
7. Kelly Reed 6.3% 12.4 lbs
8. John Kaufman 5.8% 12.2 lbs
9. Judy Rush 5.5% 10.4 lbs
10. Jeannie Kaufman 5.2% 8.4 lbs
11. Stacey Reed 4.3% 8.4 lbs
12. Shirley Duniphan 4.1% 9.0 lbs
13. Shawn Bowers 4.1% 12.6 lbs
14. Ed Motley 4.0% 9.6 lbs
15. Julie Reed 3.8% 6.6 lbs
16. Kelli Stidham 3.6% 9.6 lbs
17. Janet Tyler 3.5% 6.2 lbs
18. Kelli Gates 3.5% 7.8 lbs
19. Barb Board 3.3% 6.4 lbs
20. Lisa Eskew 3.3% 6.0 lbs
21. Nancy Motley 3.2% 4.6 lbs
22. Steve Jones 2.8% 7.2 lbs
23. Julie Wieland 2.8% 5.8 lbs
24. Lynn Anderson 2.7% 5.2 lbs
25. Gary Lane 2.3% 6.4 lbs
If you want to accomplish anything in your life, you need to have desire. You need a dream. You’ve got to take action and get things started. And then you need to do things intentionally each day that will help you get to your goal.
But once you get past the problem of getting started, something else often gets in the way. You’ve heard the old saying—“we have met the enemy and he is us.” Life intrudes and old habits die hard.
Here’s where you need to have staying power, because things will try to throw you off track. You need consistency. You need to be like Chris and Cheryl from Biggest Loser “3.” You remember Chris. He was the biggest loser ever to not be the Biggest Loser!
He lost 56.5 lbs during the 12 weeks. Cheryl did pretty well too, losing over 36 lbs. Sometimes, people do the next one so they can keep things going. In their case, they knew they’d learned enough to keep it going. They’ve also learned how to be consistent.
Friday night, I was talking to the group about having what it takes, and in the other room there were just two people working out doing cardio. Guess who? The Redmons. I swear you can’t plan this stuff.
Chris told me he just hit the 75 lb mark this week and was shooting for 100 lbs. Cheryl’s at just under 50 lbs. It was Friday night, their contest has been over for a month and a half, and they’re the only two in the whole gym (except for the Biggest Losers).
Then after our meeting, I took the whole group back to the free weight room to get them going on Level II, and guess who was coming out. The Redmons. You could tell they’d really been hitting it. What a great example.
Folks, that’s consistency. I can set my clock by those two, and some others I see everyday. They’ve learned how to not let anything get in the way of them getting what they want. They know what they need to do, and they do it.
I believe that God inspires and makes things possible, but God won’t do it for us (except for those things too big for us to do). In the end, it’s up to us.
Right now, we’ve got over 50 people still going on Biggest Loser “4” (we started with 67). It’s been a month, and we’ve lost 17. Several signed up but never even showed up to the first weigh-in. Then, each week, we’ve lost a few for various reasons.
This week, our winner was Josh Rigdon, who lost 2.8% of his body weight and 7.0 lbs. Josh has been hitting it pretty hard, and received a $20 Kroger Gift Certificate from Dimond Brothers Insurance.
Here’s a list of the top 25 losers (that made the last weigh-in) for the first four weeks. They’re ranked in order of percentage of weight loss and are for just about half the group. Most of the others have lost between 2 and 4 pounds.
Next week, we’ll look at how the remaining contestants are turning it up. Right now, it’s time for my work out.
1. Josh Rigdon 9.8% 26.2 lbs
2. Bill Lewis 9.4% 21.0 lbs
3. Tracy Rush 8.3% 19.8 lbs
4. Rodney Rodrick 8.1% 19.8 lbs
5. Darren German 6.5% 19.4 lbs
6. Mike Elledge 6.3% 19.1 lbs
7. Kelly Reed 6.3% 12.4 lbs
8. John Kaufman 5.8% 12.2 lbs
9. Judy Rush 5.5% 10.4 lbs
10. Jeannie Kaufman 5.2% 8.4 lbs
11. Stacey Reed 4.3% 8.4 lbs
12. Shirley Duniphan 4.1% 9.0 lbs
13. Shawn Bowers 4.1% 12.6 lbs
14. Ed Motley 4.0% 9.6 lbs
15. Julie Reed 3.8% 6.6 lbs
16. Kelli Stidham 3.6% 9.6 lbs
17. Janet Tyler 3.5% 6.2 lbs
18. Kelli Gates 3.5% 7.8 lbs
19. Barb Board 3.3% 6.4 lbs
20. Lisa Eskew 3.3% 6.0 lbs
21. Nancy Motley 3.2% 4.6 lbs
22. Steve Jones 2.8% 7.2 lbs
23. Julie Wieland 2.8% 5.8 lbs
24. Lynn Anderson 2.7% 5.2 lbs
25. Gary Lane 2.3% 6.4 lbs
BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK 3
This week I want to talk about being intentional. This is where you do certain things on purpose, with an overall goal in mind. You’re trying to achieve or accomplish something.
We send kids to school with the intention that they learn something. We go to the doctor with the intention of getting better. Most people come up and exercise with the intention of shape, or stay in shape.
Intention can also be a bad thing. As a police officer (in my spare time) I’ve learned that intent can be the thing that makes a crime more serious.
For example, if you’re in a store, and the impulse overcomes you to take something, it’s shoplifting. But if you plan the act outside, and then go in the store with the intent of taking something, that crime is now called burglary—with much stiffer penalties.
Here’s another example. If you lose your cool and pop someone during a heated argument (and they’re not hurt too bad) you committed simple battery. But if you hide in their home with the intent of committing a battery, now that’s home invasion—a Class X felony!
Lack of intent can also get you in trouble. Let’s go back to our school example. We can send our kids to school, but if they just sit there, and never really work at it, well, you know what’s going to happen. If that same kid applies him or herself, studying hard, doing all the assignments, extra readings and the like, that child is going places.
Here’s another example from my other job. If I’m in a position to help somebody keep from being harmed, and had the ability to do so but didn’t—I’d be in trouble. Did you know that?
Intention is a powerful thing. If we can learn to do things (good things) with intent, we can accomplish a lot. During our Friday meeting, I asked the top two Biggest Losers to tell us how they did so well.
Bill Lewis came in 2nd place again. He’d lost 52.5 lbs in the last Biggest Loser, and in the 1st three weeks he’s lost 16.0 lbs! This week he lost 2.1% of his body weight, and 4.4 lbs. He said that he just works out twice a day and watches what he eats.
Sounds pretty simple, right? But think about it. Every day (twice) he has to intentionally get his butt down to the YMCA, get on that treadmill and start moving. He says he walks about an hour each time. He’s had some injuries, so he hasn’t been able to run as much. He’s also 67.
Each day, each meal (and even between meals), he has to intentionally avoid things that might trip him up. If he wants to eat something that might not help him, he has to intentionally say no and make a better choice. He also has to seek out good choices in the right amounts. This is intentional too.
There are plenty of people that know they need to do something, but don’t pursue it with the intention of making it happen—each day, each time. They won’t get what they want. Bill does, because he’s very intentional about it.
Our 1st place winner this week was Josh Rigdon, who lost 2.2% of his body weight, and 5.8 lbs. He received a $15 Subway gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance for his hard work.
Josh told us he’s been working out twice a day (every day), and has been intentionally pushing himself harder. Sometimes he’ll run, and then go back and lift weights, and then come back and run.
He’s also being pretty careful with what he eats. He and a friend had to go out for pizza twice in the same week! They told me they drank lots of water, had a big salad and got the thinnest crust they could get. They also had to act with intention when a friend put a basket of bread sticks down right between them!
Folks, this is doable. Make a decision. Then every day, with intention, do things designed to help you achieve your goal.
Intentionally get your butt to the gym, or outside for a walk. Intentionally push yourself by going farther or faster. Intentionally avoid things you know are going to mess up your diet. You Intentionally choose things you know are good for you.
Once in awhile, intentionally have a “cheat day” and enjoy something that you intentionally avoid most of the time. Start walking through life with intention about the things you know you really need to do.
Remember, making no choice today is still making a choice. It’s really a choice to do nothing (at least today). It may or may not be intentional, but either way it has consequences. Choose to do something for yourself today. O.K?
We send kids to school with the intention that they learn something. We go to the doctor with the intention of getting better. Most people come up and exercise with the intention of shape, or stay in shape.
Intention can also be a bad thing. As a police officer (in my spare time) I’ve learned that intent can be the thing that makes a crime more serious.
For example, if you’re in a store, and the impulse overcomes you to take something, it’s shoplifting. But if you plan the act outside, and then go in the store with the intent of taking something, that crime is now called burglary—with much stiffer penalties.
Here’s another example. If you lose your cool and pop someone during a heated argument (and they’re not hurt too bad) you committed simple battery. But if you hide in their home with the intent of committing a battery, now that’s home invasion—a Class X felony!
Lack of intent can also get you in trouble. Let’s go back to our school example. We can send our kids to school, but if they just sit there, and never really work at it, well, you know what’s going to happen. If that same kid applies him or herself, studying hard, doing all the assignments, extra readings and the like, that child is going places.
Here’s another example from my other job. If I’m in a position to help somebody keep from being harmed, and had the ability to do so but didn’t—I’d be in trouble. Did you know that?
Intention is a powerful thing. If we can learn to do things (good things) with intent, we can accomplish a lot. During our Friday meeting, I asked the top two Biggest Losers to tell us how they did so well.
Bill Lewis came in 2nd place again. He’d lost 52.5 lbs in the last Biggest Loser, and in the 1st three weeks he’s lost 16.0 lbs! This week he lost 2.1% of his body weight, and 4.4 lbs. He said that he just works out twice a day and watches what he eats.
Sounds pretty simple, right? But think about it. Every day (twice) he has to intentionally get his butt down to the YMCA, get on that treadmill and start moving. He says he walks about an hour each time. He’s had some injuries, so he hasn’t been able to run as much. He’s also 67.
Each day, each meal (and even between meals), he has to intentionally avoid things that might trip him up. If he wants to eat something that might not help him, he has to intentionally say no and make a better choice. He also has to seek out good choices in the right amounts. This is intentional too.
There are plenty of people that know they need to do something, but don’t pursue it with the intention of making it happen—each day, each time. They won’t get what they want. Bill does, because he’s very intentional about it.
Our 1st place winner this week was Josh Rigdon, who lost 2.2% of his body weight, and 5.8 lbs. He received a $15 Subway gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance for his hard work.
Josh told us he’s been working out twice a day (every day), and has been intentionally pushing himself harder. Sometimes he’ll run, and then go back and lift weights, and then come back and run.
He’s also being pretty careful with what he eats. He and a friend had to go out for pizza twice in the same week! They told me they drank lots of water, had a big salad and got the thinnest crust they could get. They also had to act with intention when a friend put a basket of bread sticks down right between them!
Folks, this is doable. Make a decision. Then every day, with intention, do things designed to help you achieve your goal.
Intentionally get your butt to the gym, or outside for a walk. Intentionally push yourself by going farther or faster. Intentionally avoid things you know are going to mess up your diet. You Intentionally choose things you know are good for you.
Once in awhile, intentionally have a “cheat day” and enjoy something that you intentionally avoid most of the time. Start walking through life with intention about the things you know you really need to do.
Remember, making no choice today is still making a choice. It’s really a choice to do nothing (at least today). It may or may not be intentional, but either way it has consequences. Choose to do something for yourself today. O.K?
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER 4 -- WEEK TWO
Something’s up. It seems like everyone’s expectations are higher than they used to be. Don’t get me wrong—I’m still proud of how everyone did in Biggest Loser “1” and “2”, but there was a difference between the first two groups and the third one. Group 3 raised the bar pretty high.
It was a tough act to follow, but after two weeks, I think this group can do it again. The top ten people have lost 14.4, 13.8, 13.2, 13.0,12.6, 11.8, 11.6, 11.0, 10.2, and 9.4 lbs respectively. That’s an average weight loss of more than 6 pounds a week!
To put that in perspective, the top three losers from last time, Chris, Bill and Joe (56.5 lbs, 52.5 lbs, 49.5 lbs) averaged “just” 4.4 lbs a week over the 12 weeks. Our top ten so far are averaging almost 2 pounds a week more. Of course, it’s just week two, and a lot of things can happen in the next ten weeks.
But it begs the question, “Why are these guys and gals losing so much more weight than those who have gone before?” I’d like to say it’s me, the program, the advice, etc…, but I don’t think so. I think what’s happening is that people are seeing other people do it, and they get inspired.
They see other people, just like them, having success and it turns something on inside them. They start to get a belief that “if they can do it, maybe I can do it.” It gives you hope, and hope is a powerful thing. It’s also powerful when you start believing in yourself—when you’re willing to take a chance.
I’m seeing people that have tried for years to make a change, actually doing it this time, and that’s a great thing. I remember when it was like pulling teeth trying to get some of them to the gym. Now I’m seeing them on weekends, working out at odd hours, doing whatever it takes to get it done.
Something else that seems to be working is the group dynamic. There’s great power in numbers. It takes on a momentum of its own. That’s why if you want to be successful it always helps to get around successful people. Something rubs off.
I was so impressed with this group on Friday. First of all, over 60 of them showed up, and this after last week’s workout. I deliberately make it tough—they were sore afterward. It’s a proving ground. They need to learn that they can take it, and apparently they did.
They didn’t even blink when I asked them to run (or walk/run) down to the park at the corner of Main & Jasper. We all went right down Main St. and we all did 3 sets of 20 squats, 20 pushups, and 20 sit-ups. We did planks, burpees, and even sumo wrestling right there in front of God and everyone.
If they cared if anyone saw them, they didn’t let on, and that’s what it takes. You can’t worry about what other people think. You have to focus on the goal and do it. At some point, I’m sure they all realized that they still have to make it back the eight or nine blocks too. This group can take it and come back for more.
These first two weeks, it’s been about getting them moving, and learning what their minimum was—the minimum number of calories they need to eat. Next week, their goal is to turn up the intensity on the machines, to push the cardio a little harder, and to start recording what they eat so they can see where they stand. Then, we’re going to talk about how to start eating better, too.
Our Biggest Loser for Week Two was Ed Motley, who lost 3.0% of his body weight and an amazing 7.0 lbs. He received a $25 gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance for all his hard work.
Ed was followed by (surprise) Stidham again who lost 2.6% of his body weight and 4.8 lbs. Joe also hit another amazing milestone. You recall he won the last contest by losing 49.5 lbs. He also reached his long-term goal of losing 100 pounds, that very morning! That’s like the folks on TV!
3rd Place was claimed by Tracy Rush, who lost 2.4% of his body weight and 5.6 lbs. Tracy is our pounds leader, having lost an incredible 14.4 lbs in the two weeks!
Look. These guys and gals are normal people who we all know. They’re doing it. You can too. Don’t let this chance slip away. Take their energy and momentum and claim it for your own, too. Get around them. See what they’re doing. Start doing it yourself.
Things are shaping up to be quite a contest around here. They can shape up for you too!
It was a tough act to follow, but after two weeks, I think this group can do it again. The top ten people have lost 14.4, 13.8, 13.2, 13.0,12.6, 11.8, 11.6, 11.0, 10.2, and 9.4 lbs respectively. That’s an average weight loss of more than 6 pounds a week!
To put that in perspective, the top three losers from last time, Chris, Bill and Joe (56.5 lbs, 52.5 lbs, 49.5 lbs) averaged “just” 4.4 lbs a week over the 12 weeks. Our top ten so far are averaging almost 2 pounds a week more. Of course, it’s just week two, and a lot of things can happen in the next ten weeks.
But it begs the question, “Why are these guys and gals losing so much more weight than those who have gone before?” I’d like to say it’s me, the program, the advice, etc…, but I don’t think so. I think what’s happening is that people are seeing other people do it, and they get inspired.
They see other people, just like them, having success and it turns something on inside them. They start to get a belief that “if they can do it, maybe I can do it.” It gives you hope, and hope is a powerful thing. It’s also powerful when you start believing in yourself—when you’re willing to take a chance.
I’m seeing people that have tried for years to make a change, actually doing it this time, and that’s a great thing. I remember when it was like pulling teeth trying to get some of them to the gym. Now I’m seeing them on weekends, working out at odd hours, doing whatever it takes to get it done.
Something else that seems to be working is the group dynamic. There’s great power in numbers. It takes on a momentum of its own. That’s why if you want to be successful it always helps to get around successful people. Something rubs off.
I was so impressed with this group on Friday. First of all, over 60 of them showed up, and this after last week’s workout. I deliberately make it tough—they were sore afterward. It’s a proving ground. They need to learn that they can take it, and apparently they did.
They didn’t even blink when I asked them to run (or walk/run) down to the park at the corner of Main & Jasper. We all went right down Main St. and we all did 3 sets of 20 squats, 20 pushups, and 20 sit-ups. We did planks, burpees, and even sumo wrestling right there in front of God and everyone.
If they cared if anyone saw them, they didn’t let on, and that’s what it takes. You can’t worry about what other people think. You have to focus on the goal and do it. At some point, I’m sure they all realized that they still have to make it back the eight or nine blocks too. This group can take it and come back for more.
These first two weeks, it’s been about getting them moving, and learning what their minimum was—the minimum number of calories they need to eat. Next week, their goal is to turn up the intensity on the machines, to push the cardio a little harder, and to start recording what they eat so they can see where they stand. Then, we’re going to talk about how to start eating better, too.
Our Biggest Loser for Week Two was Ed Motley, who lost 3.0% of his body weight and an amazing 7.0 lbs. He received a $25 gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance for all his hard work.
Ed was followed by (surprise) Stidham again who lost 2.6% of his body weight and 4.8 lbs. Joe also hit another amazing milestone. You recall he won the last contest by losing 49.5 lbs. He also reached his long-term goal of losing 100 pounds, that very morning! That’s like the folks on TV!
3rd Place was claimed by Tracy Rush, who lost 2.4% of his body weight and 5.6 lbs. Tracy is our pounds leader, having lost an incredible 14.4 lbs in the two weeks!
Look. These guys and gals are normal people who we all know. They’re doing it. You can too. Don’t let this chance slip away. Take their energy and momentum and claim it for your own, too. Get around them. See what they’re doing. Start doing it yourself.
Things are shaping up to be quite a contest around here. They can shape up for you too!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER "4" -- WEEK ONE
Well, we’re off again. 65 people met last Friday night for the 2nd time, following their 1st week in Biggest Loser “4”. We met for the 1st time a week ago for the initial weigh-in and 1 mile walk/run, 1 minute max pushups, and 1 minute max situps.
This time we started the Friday night workouts. After the weigh-in, Joe Stidham (the winner from Biggest Loser 3) took them out for a little run while I figured up the results for the week. Astonishingly, our Week One results might even be better than last time, but more on that later.
The goal in the first week is always to just get everyone moving. Remember, we’re asking them to work out twice a day. Walk a minimum of a mile every morning (20 min max), and then hit the real workout in the afternoon or evening.
That workout consists of lifting weights three times a week on M, W, F, and a focused cardio workout three times a week on T, TH, and Sat. For the first month, the weights will be on the machines.
This week, they were supposed to just do the circuit once, picking a weight they could lift comfortably 12-15 times. For cardio, they were supposed to warm up for 5 minutes, and then pick up the pace, incline, speed, etc… for 20 minutes or so, and then cool down for 5-10 minutes.
The goal next week is to turn up the intensity. On the weight machines, instead of one circuit, they’re supposed to hit it twice, and try to keep moving the whole time—no rest breaks. On their cardio days, they’re supposed to boost the intensity, and possibly keep going a little longer.
In the boot camp, they did pushups for a minute, situps for a minute, and then 5 sets of 10 body squats mixed up with a bunch of core exercises like planks, plank extensions, knee-ins, and an entire ab routine. Then they ran the dots (always a group favorite)—remember the “suicides” you did in school?
It was a tough workout, and most of them were pretty sore over the weekend, but the key is to get up and start moving and stretching, and the soreness leaves pretty quickly. They don’t believe me, but it will probably never be that bad again. The body is wonderfully made, and its ability to get stronger quickly is amazing.
We also told them how to measure their body fat, and they were supposed to go to the website (tomdolanfitness.com) and plug in their numbers. This would tell them their minimum—the amount of calories they need to eat, just to exist.
Then, they set a reasonable calorie goal, somewhere about that minimum. You might recall that I always say that 9 out of 10 women aren’t eating enough (and I can prove it). The goal here is to get them thinking about how much they’re eating this week.
Next Friday, I’ll talk to them about the quality of their food. Once they start dialing that in, plus all the workouts, we’ll start seeing some great results, if the first weigh-in is any indication. I’m also going to raise the bar in the Friday night workout.
The winner this week was Rodney Rodrick, who lost an amazing 4.6% of his body weight, which works out to -11.4 lbs! He received a $25 Casey’s gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance, who is once again sponsoring the contest.
The second place winner was another newcomer, Tracy Rush, who lost 3.7% of his body weight and 8.8 lbs. We were unable to get a picture of Rodney at the time, so Tracy stood in for him in the picture.
Third place went to—surprise—Bill Lewis. Remember our runner-up from last time? He’s off to a strong start, losing 3.4% of his body weight and -7.6 lbs. Other great showings include Mike Elledge (-9.1 lbs), Jim York (-8.2 lbs) Josh Rigdon (-7.8 lbs), and Darren German, (-7.4 lbs).
Another 14 people lost at least four lbs and many lost 5 or 6 lbs, quite a few of them women! I don’t know, but this seems to be an even better start than last time, and you know how well that turned out. It’s a great new beginning for each of them. How about you? Why not follow along and do what they do? You could have a new beginning too.
This time we started the Friday night workouts. After the weigh-in, Joe Stidham (the winner from Biggest Loser 3) took them out for a little run while I figured up the results for the week. Astonishingly, our Week One results might even be better than last time, but more on that later.
The goal in the first week is always to just get everyone moving. Remember, we’re asking them to work out twice a day. Walk a minimum of a mile every morning (20 min max), and then hit the real workout in the afternoon or evening.
That workout consists of lifting weights three times a week on M, W, F, and a focused cardio workout three times a week on T, TH, and Sat. For the first month, the weights will be on the machines.
This week, they were supposed to just do the circuit once, picking a weight they could lift comfortably 12-15 times. For cardio, they were supposed to warm up for 5 minutes, and then pick up the pace, incline, speed, etc… for 20 minutes or so, and then cool down for 5-10 minutes.
The goal next week is to turn up the intensity. On the weight machines, instead of one circuit, they’re supposed to hit it twice, and try to keep moving the whole time—no rest breaks. On their cardio days, they’re supposed to boost the intensity, and possibly keep going a little longer.
In the boot camp, they did pushups for a minute, situps for a minute, and then 5 sets of 10 body squats mixed up with a bunch of core exercises like planks, plank extensions, knee-ins, and an entire ab routine. Then they ran the dots (always a group favorite)—remember the “suicides” you did in school?
It was a tough workout, and most of them were pretty sore over the weekend, but the key is to get up and start moving and stretching, and the soreness leaves pretty quickly. They don’t believe me, but it will probably never be that bad again. The body is wonderfully made, and its ability to get stronger quickly is amazing.
We also told them how to measure their body fat, and they were supposed to go to the website (tomdolanfitness.com) and plug in their numbers. This would tell them their minimum—the amount of calories they need to eat, just to exist.
Then, they set a reasonable calorie goal, somewhere about that minimum. You might recall that I always say that 9 out of 10 women aren’t eating enough (and I can prove it). The goal here is to get them thinking about how much they’re eating this week.
Next Friday, I’ll talk to them about the quality of their food. Once they start dialing that in, plus all the workouts, we’ll start seeing some great results, if the first weigh-in is any indication. I’m also going to raise the bar in the Friday night workout.
The winner this week was Rodney Rodrick, who lost an amazing 4.6% of his body weight, which works out to -11.4 lbs! He received a $25 Casey’s gift card from Dimond Brothers Insurance, who is once again sponsoring the contest.
The second place winner was another newcomer, Tracy Rush, who lost 3.7% of his body weight and 8.8 lbs. We were unable to get a picture of Rodney at the time, so Tracy stood in for him in the picture.
Third place went to—surprise—Bill Lewis. Remember our runner-up from last time? He’s off to a strong start, losing 3.4% of his body weight and -7.6 lbs. Other great showings include Mike Elledge (-9.1 lbs), Jim York (-8.2 lbs) Josh Rigdon (-7.8 lbs), and Darren German, (-7.4 lbs).
Another 14 people lost at least four lbs and many lost 5 or 6 lbs, quite a few of them women! I don’t know, but this seems to be an even better start than last time, and you know how well that turned out. It’s a great new beginning for each of them. How about you? Why not follow along and do what they do? You could have a new beginning too.
Monday, April 21, 2008
USE IT OR LOSE IT
As I look around, I find that people seem to fall into two different categories: those that can move and those that can’t. The difference between them also seems to become more pronounced the older they get.
In their 30’s and 40’s, you start to see it. People are less and less active and have more and more aches and pains. Often, a condition has become chronic and they’re dealing with it. Many times, they’ve had to limit activities, and it really starts to slow them down.
It gets really obvious with people in their 50’s and 60’s, however. In many cases, all activity has ceased except for basic walking and standing, and often times, those are difficult.
I think the differences are most pronounced with people in their 70’s and 80’s. At this point, you’re either up and moving around, or you’re not.
Come to think about it, it’s pretty common to see skids and teenagers having a hard time moving these days. Youth obesity is rampant—just go to the mall and watch for awhile. What kind of future do they have, even as early as their 20’s?
And this isn’t the way it was supposed to be. If you look at the human body, we’re fearfully and wonderfully made. We’re made to move and specially designed. When healthy, we can walk and run, bend and lift, turn and throw things.
Just watch a one or two year old. They can squat down and stay that way. Pick their feet up and stick them in their mouth (try that in your 40’s). They not only can run, they want to run—everywhere. That’s how I want to be (except the feet thing).
I know a guy in his 60’s who’s a national champion in running. He can get there in a hurry. Is he just a fluke? Or has he worked at it.
My dad will be 85. Sure, he’s moving slower than he used to, but he can bend down and pick something up if you drop it—before you can. He never misses his workout. If he does, he makes it up—two in one day!
Somewhere along the line, many of us quit moving, and that’s where the downward spiral begins. The old saying is true. Use it or lose it.
If you don’t make a point to staying active, at some point, you’ll lose muscle tone. You’ll get weaker. Your bones will weaken. Ultimately, your metabolism will slow. You’ll put on fat.
At some point, you’ll do even less because it’s harder than it used to be. Finally, even going up and down stairs will get difficult. Reaching up into cupboards above your head will be harder. Forget picking up your grandkids, you won’t even be able to get into the car to go see them.
I know this sounds harsh, but it’s true. And it’s so unnecessary. Studies show that people in their 80’s can increase strength and muscle tone in as little as 6 weeks! We had a 67 year old come in 2nd place in the last Biggest Loser “3”. He lost 52.5 lbs and signed up for the next one!
I see people in their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s working out every day—they do it not because they want to (although many enjoy it)—they do it because they know they have to.
Look, I know there are things you can’t control, like genetics, and accidents, and even many illnesses. They just come on and you have to deal with it. But it’s funny how some people can still keep moving, even through adversity, if they want to.
There’s a lot of evidence that what we eat might keep many illnesses at bay. Fruits and greens are believed to give us a measure of immunity against illness and disease.
Other foods with protein help us improve strength and muscle tone. Still other foods like quality whole grains and other good starches (in moderation) Give us the energy we need to get through your day.
But most of us don’t even come close to eating the way we should. We eat too many things we shouldn’t, and not enough things that we should eat.
It’s clear that regular exercise can help prevent heart disease, diabetes, onset or worsening of osteoporosis. But still, many of us don’t do that either. We’re too busy and don’t have time for it. It’s inconvenient and messy. It’s too hard.
What’s hard is not being able to do the things you want to do. Being in a constant state of decline, where little by little, you feel things slipping away.
How do you want to live the next 10 years, or 20 or more? How do you want to live this year? We have a record 65 signed up to take on the 12 week challenge in our “Biggest Loser 4” starting next week.
These are people that want to change the way they feel. They want to change the way they feel about themselves, too. Of course, they also want to change the way they look.
I really admire them. It takes courage to face things. To admit you need to change. It takes even more courage to take action and do something about it. It takes courage, knowing things are going to change, and it won’t be easy.
But think about how things could be—how they will be—once you get started on that new journey. You can have your life back. You can be what you were really designed to be, and do what you were designed to do.
You are unique and special with a unique and special job to do. Nothing feels better than knowing you’re right where you need to be, doing right what you’re supposed to be doing. That’s pretty hard to do when your joints ache and your back hurts cause you’re carrying too much weight around.
God has given us a unique chance to be the story in our own book. The pages haven’t all been written yet, and guess what—you hold the pen in your hands. That’s right—you. What are you going to do about it?
In their 30’s and 40’s, you start to see it. People are less and less active and have more and more aches and pains. Often, a condition has become chronic and they’re dealing with it. Many times, they’ve had to limit activities, and it really starts to slow them down.
It gets really obvious with people in their 50’s and 60’s, however. In many cases, all activity has ceased except for basic walking and standing, and often times, those are difficult.
I think the differences are most pronounced with people in their 70’s and 80’s. At this point, you’re either up and moving around, or you’re not.
Come to think about it, it’s pretty common to see skids and teenagers having a hard time moving these days. Youth obesity is rampant—just go to the mall and watch for awhile. What kind of future do they have, even as early as their 20’s?
And this isn’t the way it was supposed to be. If you look at the human body, we’re fearfully and wonderfully made. We’re made to move and specially designed. When healthy, we can walk and run, bend and lift, turn and throw things.
Just watch a one or two year old. They can squat down and stay that way. Pick their feet up and stick them in their mouth (try that in your 40’s). They not only can run, they want to run—everywhere. That’s how I want to be (except the feet thing).
I know a guy in his 60’s who’s a national champion in running. He can get there in a hurry. Is he just a fluke? Or has he worked at it.
My dad will be 85. Sure, he’s moving slower than he used to, but he can bend down and pick something up if you drop it—before you can. He never misses his workout. If he does, he makes it up—two in one day!
Somewhere along the line, many of us quit moving, and that’s where the downward spiral begins. The old saying is true. Use it or lose it.
If you don’t make a point to staying active, at some point, you’ll lose muscle tone. You’ll get weaker. Your bones will weaken. Ultimately, your metabolism will slow. You’ll put on fat.
At some point, you’ll do even less because it’s harder than it used to be. Finally, even going up and down stairs will get difficult. Reaching up into cupboards above your head will be harder. Forget picking up your grandkids, you won’t even be able to get into the car to go see them.
I know this sounds harsh, but it’s true. And it’s so unnecessary. Studies show that people in their 80’s can increase strength and muscle tone in as little as 6 weeks! We had a 67 year old come in 2nd place in the last Biggest Loser “3”. He lost 52.5 lbs and signed up for the next one!
I see people in their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s working out every day—they do it not because they want to (although many enjoy it)—they do it because they know they have to.
Look, I know there are things you can’t control, like genetics, and accidents, and even many illnesses. They just come on and you have to deal with it. But it’s funny how some people can still keep moving, even through adversity, if they want to.
There’s a lot of evidence that what we eat might keep many illnesses at bay. Fruits and greens are believed to give us a measure of immunity against illness and disease.
Other foods with protein help us improve strength and muscle tone. Still other foods like quality whole grains and other good starches (in moderation) Give us the energy we need to get through your day.
But most of us don’t even come close to eating the way we should. We eat too many things we shouldn’t, and not enough things that we should eat.
It’s clear that regular exercise can help prevent heart disease, diabetes, onset or worsening of osteoporosis. But still, many of us don’t do that either. We’re too busy and don’t have time for it. It’s inconvenient and messy. It’s too hard.
What’s hard is not being able to do the things you want to do. Being in a constant state of decline, where little by little, you feel things slipping away.
How do you want to live the next 10 years, or 20 or more? How do you want to live this year? We have a record 65 signed up to take on the 12 week challenge in our “Biggest Loser 4” starting next week.
These are people that want to change the way they feel. They want to change the way they feel about themselves, too. Of course, they also want to change the way they look.
I really admire them. It takes courage to face things. To admit you need to change. It takes even more courage to take action and do something about it. It takes courage, knowing things are going to change, and it won’t be easy.
But think about how things could be—how they will be—once you get started on that new journey. You can have your life back. You can be what you were really designed to be, and do what you were designed to do.
You are unique and special with a unique and special job to do. Nothing feels better than knowing you’re right where you need to be, doing right what you’re supposed to be doing. That’s pretty hard to do when your joints ache and your back hurts cause you’re carrying too much weight around.
God has given us a unique chance to be the story in our own book. The pages haven’t all been written yet, and guess what—you hold the pen in your hands. That’s right—you. What are you going to do about it?
Saturday, April 12, 2008
DR SUESS & YOU
I got to see something special this past weekend. Originally, I was just going to see my Cutie-Pie in her first role as one of the smaller “Who’s” in the Paris High School production of Seussical the Musical. I ended up seeing so much more (as great as she was).
Within two minutes they had totally pulled me in. From the awesome performances of the “Cat in the Hat,” and “Horton,” to one of my former student’s delightful role as a bird who dupes Horton into sitting on her egg, this was an amazing thing to see.
Outside of the great songs, rhymes and gags, I was struck by the sheer volume of work involved. While my granddaughter was making her acting debut, my daughter was making up faces, and my son-in-law was working with the props backstage.
That was just one family. There were many involved. According to the director, Dan Lynch, there were well over a hundred kids involved in the performance. One fourth of all the high school students were involved in some way with the musical.
Imagine all the potential energy they had to harness—all the different talents and personalities, that came together to make this thing work—and work it did. Dan and the assistants did a remarkable job, and so did all the kids.
Well over a year ago, Dan had a vision of what could be done. The team spent a year imagining it (thinking a thought as the writers and Dr. Seuss would say). Then they started recruiting help in each area. My granddaughter knew she was going to be a “Who” for many months before they began practicing.
They got help from the art department, the music department, and many other volunteers in the community. The kids got together and practiced—and practiced. And you know what? It all came together. Boy did it come together. I’m guessing it was just like Dan “thinked it.”
So what’s this got to do with losing weight, or with our next group of “Biggest Losers” starting this Friday, or with you? It’s simple.
While we might not all be able to get up on a stage and make everyone smile, we all have our own potential. We can all think a thought about something we’d like to do, like Dan did, like the writers did, and like Dr. Seuss tried to teach us so many years ago.
We have but to think a thought, dream a dream. And then, just like these great kids and volunteers did, get to work on it. Getting help where we need it, and practicing our part in it. Sure it might be difficult. It might be inconvenient. But nothing great comes without great effort.
You can even tell your own story. What thought do you dare to think? And what do you think might come of it when you try? I can’t wait to see it.
Nice job Dan, Cutie-Pie, Hannah, Amanda, T.J., and everyone else. And by the way, I don’t mind green eggs and ham, and I’ll take some whole wheat toast with it. Butter side up.
Within two minutes they had totally pulled me in. From the awesome performances of the “Cat in the Hat,” and “Horton,” to one of my former student’s delightful role as a bird who dupes Horton into sitting on her egg, this was an amazing thing to see.
Outside of the great songs, rhymes and gags, I was struck by the sheer volume of work involved. While my granddaughter was making her acting debut, my daughter was making up faces, and my son-in-law was working with the props backstage.
That was just one family. There were many involved. According to the director, Dan Lynch, there were well over a hundred kids involved in the performance. One fourth of all the high school students were involved in some way with the musical.
Imagine all the potential energy they had to harness—all the different talents and personalities, that came together to make this thing work—and work it did. Dan and the assistants did a remarkable job, and so did all the kids.
Well over a year ago, Dan had a vision of what could be done. The team spent a year imagining it (thinking a thought as the writers and Dr. Seuss would say). Then they started recruiting help in each area. My granddaughter knew she was going to be a “Who” for many months before they began practicing.
They got help from the art department, the music department, and many other volunteers in the community. The kids got together and practiced—and practiced. And you know what? It all came together. Boy did it come together. I’m guessing it was just like Dan “thinked it.”
So what’s this got to do with losing weight, or with our next group of “Biggest Losers” starting this Friday, or with you? It’s simple.
While we might not all be able to get up on a stage and make everyone smile, we all have our own potential. We can all think a thought about something we’d like to do, like Dan did, like the writers did, and like Dr. Seuss tried to teach us so many years ago.
We have but to think a thought, dream a dream. And then, just like these great kids and volunteers did, get to work on it. Getting help where we need it, and practicing our part in it. Sure it might be difficult. It might be inconvenient. But nothing great comes without great effort.
You can even tell your own story. What thought do you dare to think? And what do you think might come of it when you try? I can’t wait to see it.
Nice job Dan, Cutie-Pie, Hannah, Amanda, T.J., and everyone else. And by the way, I don’t mind green eggs and ham, and I’ll take some whole wheat toast with it. Butter side up.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
BIGGEST LOSER 3 -- WEEK TWELVE
It’s been a great 12 weeks and the final results are in. I have to say, that while I’ve been proud of all our Biggest Loser groups over the past year, this group has really raised the bar. There were several new records along the way. Our Biggest Loser, and the winner of the $500 was Joe Stidham who lost an amazing 21.324% of his body weight (49.6 lbs).
We started with 57 people and ended up with 21 people at the final weigh-in. Probably nine others (that I know of) were still active although they didn’t make the weigh-in. Three were still participating, but missed the weigh-in.
Perhaps six more had conflicts on Fridays, but were continuing with their workouts and improved eating habits. A couple others had had serious injuries that kept them from participating.
Cheryl Redmon lost more weight than any other woman (36.4 lbs) in 12 weeks. Four guys lost more than 40 lbs: Cody Redmon (40.2 lbs), Joe Stidham (49.6 lbs), Bill Lewis (52.2 lbs), and Chris Redmon took top honors and set a new record for weight loss (56.2 lbs).
Another nine people lost more than 15 lbs during the 12 weeks: Penny Spinner (15.5 lbs), Tiffany Gann (16.4 lbs), Jane Graham (16.6 lbs), Jasmine Camp (17.8 lbs), Donnie Bartos and Carla Sinclair (19.4 lbs), Janet Tyler (21.4), Stacey Reed (22.2 lbs), and Tony Haupt (27.8 lbs).
Finally, another six lost 10 lbs or close to it: Angel Lumpp (9.2 lbs), Rita Haupt (9.6 lbs), Shirley Fiscus (9.8 lbs), Dawn Stewart (10.0 lbs), Sherree Hutchings (10.2 lbs), and Pam Kelly (10.9 lbs).
I have to also mention the Redmon family again. As a family, Chris, Cheryl and Cody lost a combined total of 132.8 lbs. That’s more than amazing. Talk about changing their family tree! What a great example to set for the community. Nice job guys.
You should have seen them Friday afternoon out at the high school track for the final 1 mile walk/run. They’ve been improving their times each week, and the goal this time was to really let their hair down and show everyone what they could do.
It’s very typical to see a 3-4 minute improvement in the 1 mile walk/run time over 12 weeks. I have to say that this time, I was astonished. Stacey Reed went from 21:00 to 12:13, about a 9 minute improvement! She’s been doing everything. If we offer the class, she’s in it.
Denise Cravens went from 19:00 to 11:04, an 8 minute improvement. While she hasn’t yet seen all the weight loss she’s looking for, she is much stronger. You should see her during our power lunch workouts—I know she’s going to get what she wants.
Pam Kelly went from 21:12 to 14:12, exactly a 7 minute improvement. And our oldest competitor, Bill Lewis (age 67) went from 16:58 to 11:04; Sherree Hutchings, 18:37 to 12:47; and Donnie Bartos, 13:41 to a smokin’ 7:26, each about a 6 minute improvement.
The final competitors saw great improvements in their ability to do pushups and situps, too. Bill couldn’t do a single situp 12 weeks ago and posted 20 this time. Pam couldn’t get one at the first test and finished with 41. Many competitors doubled and some even tripled their ability to do pushups in a minute.
The great thing is all the competitors are so much stronger now—both physically and mentally and that’s going to serve them well in the future. So here are the final results from Biggest Loser “3”:
Name % Wt Loss Lbs Lost
1. Joe Stidham -21.324 -49.6
2. Bill Lewis -18.940 -52.2
3. Chris Redmon -17.218 -56.2
4. Cheryl Redmon -17.218 -36.4
5. Cody Redmon -12.036 -40.2
6. Carla Sinclair -10.948 -19.4
7. Janet Tyler -10.797 -21.4
8. Tony Haupt -10.611 -27.8
9. Jane Graham -10.197 -16.6
10. Stacey Reed -10.091 -22.2
11. Donnie Bartos -9.566 -19.4
12. Penny Spinner -8.944 -15.5
13. Jasmine Camp -7.646 -17.8
14. Tiffany Gann -7.509 -16.4
15. Angel Lumpp -5.875 -9.2
16. Rita Haupt -5.811 -9.6
17. Sherree Hutchings -5.484 -10.2
18. Shirley Fiscus -4.799 -9.8
19. Dawn Stewart -4.739 -10.0
20. Pam Kelly -3.921 -10.9
21. Denise Cravens -1.284 -2.0
When these guys and gals started a weight loss program, they were really fighting themselves—their own bodies, and their old habits. Now they’re stronger, weigh less, and their bodies have started working for them.
In the future, they’ll be able to do more work, burn more calories, and this will make it even easier to help control their weight. They truly are in the driver’s seat.
Some of the competitors are close to their ideal weight and will have to learn how to maintain. Some of them still have a way to go. At this point, they just need to set another 12 week goal and …do it again.
They’ve done it once, they know what to do. Now, they need to do it again. For some, they’ll want to do it again for another 12 weeks after that. Perhaps a few might need to do it again one more time. Then, everyone will be at their ideal weight, and they all can do it.
I want to thank Dimond Brothers Insurance for their fine support during this Biggest Loser “3”. They put up some great prizes each week (often more than one) so everyone had something to shoot for. At the end, they also put up another $100 for 2nd place, and $50 for 3rd place, which was really unexpected—and a really classy thing to do!
We have 40 registered for Biggest Loser “4” which starts Friday, April 11th. I was going to cut it off, but we’re going to go ahead and open it up to however many want to do it. You’ve got 2 weeks to get registered. $25 to participate, $500 prize for the winner, and you can have a gym membership anywhere you want. This will be the last one for awhile, so you better do it now!
We started with 57 people and ended up with 21 people at the final weigh-in. Probably nine others (that I know of) were still active although they didn’t make the weigh-in. Three were still participating, but missed the weigh-in.
Perhaps six more had conflicts on Fridays, but were continuing with their workouts and improved eating habits. A couple others had had serious injuries that kept them from participating.
Cheryl Redmon lost more weight than any other woman (36.4 lbs) in 12 weeks. Four guys lost more than 40 lbs: Cody Redmon (40.2 lbs), Joe Stidham (49.6 lbs), Bill Lewis (52.2 lbs), and Chris Redmon took top honors and set a new record for weight loss (56.2 lbs).
Another nine people lost more than 15 lbs during the 12 weeks: Penny Spinner (15.5 lbs), Tiffany Gann (16.4 lbs), Jane Graham (16.6 lbs), Jasmine Camp (17.8 lbs), Donnie Bartos and Carla Sinclair (19.4 lbs), Janet Tyler (21.4), Stacey Reed (22.2 lbs), and Tony Haupt (27.8 lbs).
Finally, another six lost 10 lbs or close to it: Angel Lumpp (9.2 lbs), Rita Haupt (9.6 lbs), Shirley Fiscus (9.8 lbs), Dawn Stewart (10.0 lbs), Sherree Hutchings (10.2 lbs), and Pam Kelly (10.9 lbs).
I have to also mention the Redmon family again. As a family, Chris, Cheryl and Cody lost a combined total of 132.8 lbs. That’s more than amazing. Talk about changing their family tree! What a great example to set for the community. Nice job guys.
You should have seen them Friday afternoon out at the high school track for the final 1 mile walk/run. They’ve been improving their times each week, and the goal this time was to really let their hair down and show everyone what they could do.
It’s very typical to see a 3-4 minute improvement in the 1 mile walk/run time over 12 weeks. I have to say that this time, I was astonished. Stacey Reed went from 21:00 to 12:13, about a 9 minute improvement! She’s been doing everything. If we offer the class, she’s in it.
Denise Cravens went from 19:00 to 11:04, an 8 minute improvement. While she hasn’t yet seen all the weight loss she’s looking for, she is much stronger. You should see her during our power lunch workouts—I know she’s going to get what she wants.
Pam Kelly went from 21:12 to 14:12, exactly a 7 minute improvement. And our oldest competitor, Bill Lewis (age 67) went from 16:58 to 11:04; Sherree Hutchings, 18:37 to 12:47; and Donnie Bartos, 13:41 to a smokin’ 7:26, each about a 6 minute improvement.
The final competitors saw great improvements in their ability to do pushups and situps, too. Bill couldn’t do a single situp 12 weeks ago and posted 20 this time. Pam couldn’t get one at the first test and finished with 41. Many competitors doubled and some even tripled their ability to do pushups in a minute.
The great thing is all the competitors are so much stronger now—both physically and mentally and that’s going to serve them well in the future. So here are the final results from Biggest Loser “3”:
Name % Wt Loss Lbs Lost
1. Joe Stidham -21.324 -49.6
2. Bill Lewis -18.940 -52.2
3. Chris Redmon -17.218 -56.2
4. Cheryl Redmon -17.218 -36.4
5. Cody Redmon -12.036 -40.2
6. Carla Sinclair -10.948 -19.4
7. Janet Tyler -10.797 -21.4
8. Tony Haupt -10.611 -27.8
9. Jane Graham -10.197 -16.6
10. Stacey Reed -10.091 -22.2
11. Donnie Bartos -9.566 -19.4
12. Penny Spinner -8.944 -15.5
13. Jasmine Camp -7.646 -17.8
14. Tiffany Gann -7.509 -16.4
15. Angel Lumpp -5.875 -9.2
16. Rita Haupt -5.811 -9.6
17. Sherree Hutchings -5.484 -10.2
18. Shirley Fiscus -4.799 -9.8
19. Dawn Stewart -4.739 -10.0
20. Pam Kelly -3.921 -10.9
21. Denise Cravens -1.284 -2.0
When these guys and gals started a weight loss program, they were really fighting themselves—their own bodies, and their old habits. Now they’re stronger, weigh less, and their bodies have started working for them.
In the future, they’ll be able to do more work, burn more calories, and this will make it even easier to help control their weight. They truly are in the driver’s seat.
Some of the competitors are close to their ideal weight and will have to learn how to maintain. Some of them still have a way to go. At this point, they just need to set another 12 week goal and …do it again.
They’ve done it once, they know what to do. Now, they need to do it again. For some, they’ll want to do it again for another 12 weeks after that. Perhaps a few might need to do it again one more time. Then, everyone will be at their ideal weight, and they all can do it.
I want to thank Dimond Brothers Insurance for their fine support during this Biggest Loser “3”. They put up some great prizes each week (often more than one) so everyone had something to shoot for. At the end, they also put up another $100 for 2nd place, and $50 for 3rd place, which was really unexpected—and a really classy thing to do!
We have 40 registered for Biggest Loser “4” which starts Friday, April 11th. I was going to cut it off, but we’re going to go ahead and open it up to however many want to do it. You’ve got 2 weeks to get registered. $25 to participate, $500 prize for the winner, and you can have a gym membership anywhere you want. This will be the last one for awhile, so you better do it now!
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