People often ask me, “Why it is so hard to make changes?” Perhaps an even better question is: “How do we make changes permanent?” It’s so easy to drift back into the same old habits and undo any changes we’ve made. It’s also easy to give up on a process that might take longer than you expected.
Over the years, I’ve noticed a pattern in people making significant changes to their lifestyle under a wide variety of circumstances. There seem to be seven steps that people need to take if they’re going to get the job done.
This includes people going back to school to change a career; people trying to overcome addiction; people working on their debt snowball; and perhaps the most common, people trying to lose a little weight and get into shape. While they’ve not all been successful, it seems like most people had better odds if they hit each one of these seven steps. I know I’ve written about these before, but I get so many questions about it, I thought I’d reprise them for you:
1. Unfortunately, there often has to be a crisis of some sort to get our attention. It often takes something going wrong before we wake up about things. Health problems often push people into making changes in their diet and exercise, but it’s a whole lot easier to get started before you develop problems like diabetes or high blood pressure. Sometimes, someone else’s crisis can be our wake up call.
2. This brings us to an awareness of our situation. We have to realize a need before we can make a change. What you need can often be different than what someone else needs. It can be as simple as concluding that you need to take off a few pounds and tighten things up, or it can be as big as realizing you need to lose 100 lbs or you develop diabetes or a heart condition.
3. Just knowing you need to do something doesn’t get it done, however. You have to make a decision to do it. This is different. Without a decision, nothing gets done.
4. You’ve got to have a big desire to get it done. It’s going to take a big desire to get past all the obstacles that are going to come up. There are lots of things we know we should be doing, but it takes a different amount of motivation to actually do them. I’ve heard it said that until your “want-to” becomes a “have-to” it’s going to be really hard to make the changes you need.
5. Once you’ve made a decision, you need to get some information. There are lots of programs out there, with tons of information available through the internet and in books and magazines easily available. One of the best sources of information is with someone that you know and trust who has already been successful. Mentoring with a knowledgeable friend who has your best interests in mind can often make the difference between success and failure.
6. You’ve got to be accountable to someone. The more people who know about your plan, the more likely you are to accomplish it. This is called getting leverage on yourself. Your team can help keep you on track when you start drifting off the path. Your mentor can help you in this area as well.
7. Finally, and this is perhaps the most important part, you’ve got to actually just get started. All the preparation in the world doesn’t matter if you never begin the journey. You will never hit your target if you can’t actually pull the trigger. O.K., maybe one too many metaphors, but you get the idea. You’ve got to actually DO it.
Next week, we’ll take a look at how you can keep your eye on the ball (whoops, another metaphor). Until then, I hope you’ll feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Saturday, March 30, 2013
HOW TO EAT FOR WEIGHT LOSS
If you’re getting in all your workouts and burning a bunch of fat calories, AND you’re hitting your minimum daily calorie target, then there’s only one other thing to look at. What kind of foods are you eating?
First of all, if you know you probably shouldn’t be eating it, you’re probably right. You shouldn’t be eating it, or at least much of it. It’s probably alright to eat a little bit of most anything. Our problem (especially guys), is that we tend to way overdo it.
Three duplex cookies won’t make you fat. It’s only 130 calories. If you’re in balance, you’ll just burn it. Unfortunately (personal experience here), three cookies turns into nine cookies. Nine turns into nineteen cookies. Now that will make you fat!
So, knock off the pop. Cut back on the sweet tea, and just don’t keep cookies or chips in the house. If you can do that, you’ll get a lot farther on your weight loss program.
Drink some more water. Your body needs more than you think.
If you like beer, and drink a lot of it, you’re going to have problems losing weight. You might have other problems too, but that’s another article.
Once you’ve taken care of the junk, and the things that you know aren’t good for you, then you can start making some healthier choices. Every meal should have some protein for building muscle and bone, some complex carbs for long-lasting energy, and some fruits or vegetables for quick energy, fiber, and lots of vitamins and minerals.
Good protein sources include chicken and turkey, lean cuts of beef or pork, fish, and low fat dairy products like milk, eggs, yogurt and cottage cheese. Protein shakes are also a good food choice, especially after your workout. You need much more protein than you think.
Quality complex carbs take longer for the body to break down, and include whole wheat and other whole grain breads and cereals, oats or oatmeal, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, whole grain pastas, and some beans. One portion or serving will be good enough.
Fruits and vegetables pretty much speak for themselves. The more variety and color the better. Unless you’re diabetic, you really can’t go wrong with more fruits and greens. If you’re diabetic, or have another medical condition, then you need to consult with your doctor.
Here’s what our typical well-balanced breakfasts look like in Biggest Loser: Oatmeal, half a banana, and a low fat yogurt. Or whole grain cereal, 2% milk, and some fresh fruit. You get the idea. Replace any category with anything else in the same category and you’re good to go.
Lunch can be as simple as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat with some fruit. Or a 6” chicken sub on whole grain bread with lots of veggies. It’s the same idea. Take one thing from each category.
For supper, we’ll take some meat, poultry or fish; add one serving of complex carbs, and round it off with lots of vegetables. The gals usually need about 3-4 oz of the protein, while guys will need 6-8 oz. Remember, stick with one serving of the complex carbs, and load up on the veggies.
Like the song says, “This is how we do-oo it.” Work out like a dog, knock off the junk, and eat balanced meals in the right amount for you. I’ve seen hundreds of people lose weight over the past 17 Biggest Loser programs, and hundreds more in the gym. You can do it too!
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
First of all, if you know you probably shouldn’t be eating it, you’re probably right. You shouldn’t be eating it, or at least much of it. It’s probably alright to eat a little bit of most anything. Our problem (especially guys), is that we tend to way overdo it.
Three duplex cookies won’t make you fat. It’s only 130 calories. If you’re in balance, you’ll just burn it. Unfortunately (personal experience here), three cookies turns into nine cookies. Nine turns into nineteen cookies. Now that will make you fat!
So, knock off the pop. Cut back on the sweet tea, and just don’t keep cookies or chips in the house. If you can do that, you’ll get a lot farther on your weight loss program.
Drink some more water. Your body needs more than you think.
If you like beer, and drink a lot of it, you’re going to have problems losing weight. You might have other problems too, but that’s another article.
Once you’ve taken care of the junk, and the things that you know aren’t good for you, then you can start making some healthier choices. Every meal should have some protein for building muscle and bone, some complex carbs for long-lasting energy, and some fruits or vegetables for quick energy, fiber, and lots of vitamins and minerals.
Good protein sources include chicken and turkey, lean cuts of beef or pork, fish, and low fat dairy products like milk, eggs, yogurt and cottage cheese. Protein shakes are also a good food choice, especially after your workout. You need much more protein than you think.
Quality complex carbs take longer for the body to break down, and include whole wheat and other whole grain breads and cereals, oats or oatmeal, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, whole grain pastas, and some beans. One portion or serving will be good enough.
Fruits and vegetables pretty much speak for themselves. The more variety and color the better. Unless you’re diabetic, you really can’t go wrong with more fruits and greens. If you’re diabetic, or have another medical condition, then you need to consult with your doctor.
Here’s what our typical well-balanced breakfasts look like in Biggest Loser: Oatmeal, half a banana, and a low fat yogurt. Or whole grain cereal, 2% milk, and some fresh fruit. You get the idea. Replace any category with anything else in the same category and you’re good to go.
Lunch can be as simple as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat with some fruit. Or a 6” chicken sub on whole grain bread with lots of veggies. It’s the same idea. Take one thing from each category.
For supper, we’ll take some meat, poultry or fish; add one serving of complex carbs, and round it off with lots of vegetables. The gals usually need about 3-4 oz of the protein, while guys will need 6-8 oz. Remember, stick with one serving of the complex carbs, and load up on the veggies.
Like the song says, “This is how we do-oo it.” Work out like a dog, knock off the junk, and eat balanced meals in the right amount for you. I’ve seen hundreds of people lose weight over the past 17 Biggest Loser programs, and hundreds more in the gym. You can do it too!
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
WHY CAN'T I LOSE WEIGHT? (PART TWO)
Last week I told you about a common question I get all the time: “Why am I not losing any weight?” I always ask a couple of questions in return. The first question was “Are you getting all your workouts in?”
I went on to talk about how sometimes you just need to do more to get that weight coming off—even if you’re already pretty active. Not too long ago, I was in what most people would call pretty good shape, but I still was able to lose 35 lbs—mainly by adding what I like to call my “bonus” workouts.
I was pretty active to begin with, but by adding that “bonus” workout every evening, I was able to maintain regular weight loss. It can be as simple as just walking 20 minutes in the morning. In my case, I like to ride the bike every evening after supper.
It doesn’t really matter what you do. What matters is that you’re moving more than you were before. Over and over, I’ve seen people who do this lose more weight than people that don’t.
Usually, when people complain about their lack of weight loss, they haven’t been getting all their workouts in, but sometimes, they have. So what then?
Someone made a great comment on Facebook last week: “You can out-eat any exercise program.” This is true, although I think it applies more to men than women. But there’s another factor that often comes into play, especially for women.
Coincidentally, right after I finished last week’s article, I was folding towels at the center when another woman asked me basically the same thing. After we covered talked about exercise, I asked her a second question: “Are you hitting your minimum?”
After talking with hundreds of women about this over the years, I’ve learned that most women (perhaps 9 out of 10) aren’t hitting their minimum, even if many of them think they’re eating too much. While most guys tend to overeat, most women don’t eat enough.
It’s very easy to prove, one way or the other. There are lots of smart phone apps and web sites that make it easy to track your calories these days, like www.calorieking.com ; www.myfitnesspal.com ; www.mynetdairy.com .
We have a scale at the gym that measures body fat, belly fat, hydration levels, metabolic age, and BMR (basal metabolic rate). Don’t confuse this with BMI, which is an index that compares your weight to norms based on your height.
BMR is a measure of the number of calories your body needs every day, based on your frame (height, weight, and age), and it’s very accurate. I like to call it your “minimum” since most people can identify with that easily.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, women should never fall below 1,200 calories a day, regardless of activity level. This is because your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) requires at least that many calories just to maintain normal body functions. For guys, it’s around 1,800 calories.
So she showed me her weight loss sheet that tracks all the parameters, and I looked at her BMR, which was right around 1,300 calories. When I asked her if she was eating at least that much, she told me “well, I’m having a hard time getting to 1,200.”
This is very typical, especially with women who have been cutting back, trying to lose weight. Here’s the bottom line. If you don’t hit your minimum, your body somehow makes it near impossible to lose weight.
Your metabolism will slow down, and you’ll have a hard time burning fat for fuel. I’ve seen it time and time again. But as soon as you start eating above that threshold, your body somehow adjusts again, and you’ll start to lose weight.
The secret is picking a moderate amount of calories above your minimum so you feel comfortable throughout the day. For women, a comfortable margin is usually between 1,500-1,650 calories. Guys tend to lose weight easily between 2,000-2,400 calories.
So now you know the first thing: you probably have to do more. The second thing is: you have to hit your minimum. Since overeating is pretty obvious, if you’re doing that, knock it off!
Next week, we’ll talk about what to eat while you’re hitting that minimum. Until then, feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
I went on to talk about how sometimes you just need to do more to get that weight coming off—even if you’re already pretty active. Not too long ago, I was in what most people would call pretty good shape, but I still was able to lose 35 lbs—mainly by adding what I like to call my “bonus” workouts.
I was pretty active to begin with, but by adding that “bonus” workout every evening, I was able to maintain regular weight loss. It can be as simple as just walking 20 minutes in the morning. In my case, I like to ride the bike every evening after supper.
It doesn’t really matter what you do. What matters is that you’re moving more than you were before. Over and over, I’ve seen people who do this lose more weight than people that don’t.
Usually, when people complain about their lack of weight loss, they haven’t been getting all their workouts in, but sometimes, they have. So what then?
Someone made a great comment on Facebook last week: “You can out-eat any exercise program.” This is true, although I think it applies more to men than women. But there’s another factor that often comes into play, especially for women.
Coincidentally, right after I finished last week’s article, I was folding towels at the center when another woman asked me basically the same thing. After we covered talked about exercise, I asked her a second question: “Are you hitting your minimum?”
After talking with hundreds of women about this over the years, I’ve learned that most women (perhaps 9 out of 10) aren’t hitting their minimum, even if many of them think they’re eating too much. While most guys tend to overeat, most women don’t eat enough.
It’s very easy to prove, one way or the other. There are lots of smart phone apps and web sites that make it easy to track your calories these days, like www.calorieking.com ; www.myfitnesspal.com ; www.mynetdairy.com .
We have a scale at the gym that measures body fat, belly fat, hydration levels, metabolic age, and BMR (basal metabolic rate). Don’t confuse this with BMI, which is an index that compares your weight to norms based on your height.
BMR is a measure of the number of calories your body needs every day, based on your frame (height, weight, and age), and it’s very accurate. I like to call it your “minimum” since most people can identify with that easily.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, women should never fall below 1,200 calories a day, regardless of activity level. This is because your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) requires at least that many calories just to maintain normal body functions. For guys, it’s around 1,800 calories.
So she showed me her weight loss sheet that tracks all the parameters, and I looked at her BMR, which was right around 1,300 calories. When I asked her if she was eating at least that much, she told me “well, I’m having a hard time getting to 1,200.”
This is very typical, especially with women who have been cutting back, trying to lose weight. Here’s the bottom line. If you don’t hit your minimum, your body somehow makes it near impossible to lose weight.
Your metabolism will slow down, and you’ll have a hard time burning fat for fuel. I’ve seen it time and time again. But as soon as you start eating above that threshold, your body somehow adjusts again, and you’ll start to lose weight.
The secret is picking a moderate amount of calories above your minimum so you feel comfortable throughout the day. For women, a comfortable margin is usually between 1,500-1,650 calories. Guys tend to lose weight easily between 2,000-2,400 calories.
So now you know the first thing: you probably have to do more. The second thing is: you have to hit your minimum. Since overeating is pretty obvious, if you’re doing that, knock it off!
Next week, we’ll talk about what to eat while you’re hitting that minimum. Until then, feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
WHY AM I NOT LOSING WEIGHT?
I had a Facebook question recently that I thought I’d share with our Beacon-News readers too. She said, “I’ve been working out on the treadmill since mid January, and also been watching what I eat, but I really haven’t been losing any weight. Can you give me some tips?”
First of all, I had to congratulate her, because she realized there was a problem, set some goals, and took some action. She’s also made it through a couple months and established some good new habits.
This is no small point. Lots of people run out of gas after just a couple weeks—especially if they’re not seeing any weight loss. In her case, it probably comes down to tweaking things a little bit, or trying to do a little bit more.
In our Biggest Loser groups, if someone isn’t losing, I always ask them two questions. Are you getting all your workouts in, and are you hitting your daily minimum (calorie goal)? Usually, the first answer is no.
Keep in mind that in Biggest Loser, we ask them to do two workouts a day. There’s the normal cardio or weight routine every day in the afternoon or evening. But there’s also the wakeup workout which can be as simple as just walking 20 minutes (roughly a mile) in the morning before you start your day.
Just adding that second workout often adds a pound a week to their weight loss. Said another way, it takes most people from losing just a pound a week, to losing two pounds a week—or more!
When I lost my 35 lbs, I did the same thing. I was already pretty active with great cardio and weight routines every day, so I took one of our Schwinn Air Dyne exercise bicycles home and rode it every night for at least 30 minutes.
Many times, I did 45 minutes or even an hour. I figured I was going to sit there and watch TV anyway, so I might as well do something while I was sitting. Two years later, I still do it every night and I’ve kept the weight off. (I also do 20-30 minutes most mornings).
So that “bonus” workout is the ticket, because it helps you burn more calories. In the end, it’s math. If you keep your intake the same, and simply add some extra calories out each day, by the end of the week, you’ll lose another pound or two.
Now this doesn’t mean that you can eat more. It means you’re trying to burn another 500 calories a day through activity. If you do it seven days, you’ll have burned 3,500 calories which equals a pound of fat.
Next week, I’ll address the second question: “Are you hitting your minimum (daily calorie target)”? This is more important than you might think. Until then, feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
First of all, I had to congratulate her, because she realized there was a problem, set some goals, and took some action. She’s also made it through a couple months and established some good new habits.
This is no small point. Lots of people run out of gas after just a couple weeks—especially if they’re not seeing any weight loss. In her case, it probably comes down to tweaking things a little bit, or trying to do a little bit more.
In our Biggest Loser groups, if someone isn’t losing, I always ask them two questions. Are you getting all your workouts in, and are you hitting your daily minimum (calorie goal)? Usually, the first answer is no.
Keep in mind that in Biggest Loser, we ask them to do two workouts a day. There’s the normal cardio or weight routine every day in the afternoon or evening. But there’s also the wakeup workout which can be as simple as just walking 20 minutes (roughly a mile) in the morning before you start your day.
Just adding that second workout often adds a pound a week to their weight loss. Said another way, it takes most people from losing just a pound a week, to losing two pounds a week—or more!
When I lost my 35 lbs, I did the same thing. I was already pretty active with great cardio and weight routines every day, so I took one of our Schwinn Air Dyne exercise bicycles home and rode it every night for at least 30 minutes.
Many times, I did 45 minutes or even an hour. I figured I was going to sit there and watch TV anyway, so I might as well do something while I was sitting. Two years later, I still do it every night and I’ve kept the weight off. (I also do 20-30 minutes most mornings).
So that “bonus” workout is the ticket, because it helps you burn more calories. In the end, it’s math. If you keep your intake the same, and simply add some extra calories out each day, by the end of the week, you’ll lose another pound or two.
Now this doesn’t mean that you can eat more. It means you’re trying to burn another 500 calories a day through activity. If you do it seven days, you’ll have burned 3,500 calories which equals a pound of fat.
Next week, I’ll address the second question: “Are you hitting your minimum (daily calorie target)”? This is more important than you might think. Until then, feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Monday, March 11, 2013
HOW TO KEEP THE RESOLUTE IN RESOLUTION!
Fitness programs often get derailed before they’re really began, and how when life presses in, they’re usually the first things to go. This week I’d like to give you five tips to help keep you going when the going gets tough.
1. Speak out your goals frequently – there’s power in the spoken word. It’s even Biblical. When God spoke, things happened. Say what you want to do. Tell other people. Continue to tell yourself. The squeaky wheel gets the most grease, so you might as well be the wheel, squeaking to yourself. Remember “The Little Engine That Could” from our childhood? He said “I think I can, I think I can.” And then he did.
2. Write down your goals – there’s power in the written word too. People with written goals are more likely to achieve them. They’re also helpful reminders about what we need to do. If I don’t write something down, forget about it. Too many things are trying to get our attention. Write it down.
3. You need to have a reason behind the reason – this is the goal; it’s why you want to achieve the goal. This gives the goal meaning. For example, say you want to lose weight. Ask yourself why you want to lose the weight. Perhaps the answer might be “so I can look better.” Then go deeper. Ask yourself why you want to look better. Maybe that answer is “so I can feel better about myself.” See how it works? The deeper you go, the more likely it is that that goal will have staying power.
4. Be accountable to someone else – this will help keep you honest, and perhaps even keep you out of trouble! Someone once said we should try to live our lives as if someone was always watching. It applies to working out too. It’s easy to push when you’re working out with someone else. If other people know your goals, and how important they are to you, they’ll be able to help you stay on track.
5. Finally, give yourself a reward – even though the goal itself is often a reward, it can be great fun to do something to celebrate your success, even if the success is measured in small increments. If you just went down a pants size, go buy yourself a pair of skinny jeans. You earned it! If it’s a bigger goal, plan a bigger party. That might give you the extra juice you need to stay the course.
I hope these tips help a little bit. Let me know. Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
1. Speak out your goals frequently – there’s power in the spoken word. It’s even Biblical. When God spoke, things happened. Say what you want to do. Tell other people. Continue to tell yourself. The squeaky wheel gets the most grease, so you might as well be the wheel, squeaking to yourself. Remember “The Little Engine That Could” from our childhood? He said “I think I can, I think I can.” And then he did.
2. Write down your goals – there’s power in the written word too. People with written goals are more likely to achieve them. They’re also helpful reminders about what we need to do. If I don’t write something down, forget about it. Too many things are trying to get our attention. Write it down.
3. You need to have a reason behind the reason – this is the goal; it’s why you want to achieve the goal. This gives the goal meaning. For example, say you want to lose weight. Ask yourself why you want to lose the weight. Perhaps the answer might be “so I can look better.” Then go deeper. Ask yourself why you want to look better. Maybe that answer is “so I can feel better about myself.” See how it works? The deeper you go, the more likely it is that that goal will have staying power.
4. Be accountable to someone else – this will help keep you honest, and perhaps even keep you out of trouble! Someone once said we should try to live our lives as if someone was always watching. It applies to working out too. It’s easy to push when you’re working out with someone else. If other people know your goals, and how important they are to you, they’ll be able to help you stay on track.
5. Finally, give yourself a reward – even though the goal itself is often a reward, it can be great fun to do something to celebrate your success, even if the success is measured in small increments. If you just went down a pants size, go buy yourself a pair of skinny jeans. You earned it! If it’s a bigger goal, plan a bigger party. That might give you the extra juice you need to stay the course.
I hope these tips help a little bit. Let me know. Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
SOME TIPS FOR GETTING STARTED IN 2013
Well it’s a new year again. 2013. It sure seems like 2012 didn’t last very long. The years seem to last forever when we’re younger, but as we get a little older, they just seem to shoot by. But here it is—another opportunity for another fresh start. Of course, if everything’s going exactly the way you want it, don’t change a thing!
So the first step is to evaluate how things went for you last year. Did you have some new goals? Did you achieve them? Is there anything that stands out that needs to be addressed? Are there any changes you need to make?
How’s your health and fitness? Is your weight where you want it to be? How do you feel? Are you eating right and working out regularly? If not, maybe now’s the time to get started.
We always see lots of new people in the gym in January and that’s great. It’s perfectly fine to have a New Year’s resolution. Just make sure you stay resolute in February!
If you’ve never worked out, or it’s been a long time since you’ve been to the gym, here are a few tips to help you get things going:
• Start slowly and do less than you think you should be doing. That will help keep you from getting hurt, or from being so sore that you won’t ever want to come back. This applies especially to people who’ve worked out in the past. Don’t expect to be operating at the same level you were at before.
• On your cardio days, start with walking and then do some short one-minute intervals where you try to go a little faster, or perhaps even a short jog if possible. Do some walking as a cool down afterward. Every time you come in, do a little bit more.
• If you’re getting started with the weights, focus on the machine circuit for a week or two. It will give you a good full body workout and is a very safe way to get started. After that, you can start working some free weights into your workout.
• Don’t forget to eat a little something 45-60 minutes before working out, especially if it’s going to be a vigorous workout. There’s nothing worse than getting light headed and feeling like you’re going to throw up on your first day in the gym!
• Bring or buy a bottle of water and drink it periodically during your workout. If you wait until you feel thirsty, it’s too late—your body needs it sooner than that.
• While research really doesn’t show a performance benefit to stretching before working out, there is a benefit to doing a light warm-up, or light reps before lifting heavier weights. Your joints will thank you. Do some light stretching of your muscles after you get done!
• Slow and steady wins the race. Look at things from a year-long perspective. What do you want to accomplish this year? Then set your goals accordingly. Get started, and don’t quit. Make adjustments when you need to, but don’t quit. Keep the resolute in your resolution. Happy New Year!
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
So the first step is to evaluate how things went for you last year. Did you have some new goals? Did you achieve them? Is there anything that stands out that needs to be addressed? Are there any changes you need to make?
How’s your health and fitness? Is your weight where you want it to be? How do you feel? Are you eating right and working out regularly? If not, maybe now’s the time to get started.
We always see lots of new people in the gym in January and that’s great. It’s perfectly fine to have a New Year’s resolution. Just make sure you stay resolute in February!
If you’ve never worked out, or it’s been a long time since you’ve been to the gym, here are a few tips to help you get things going:
• Start slowly and do less than you think you should be doing. That will help keep you from getting hurt, or from being so sore that you won’t ever want to come back. This applies especially to people who’ve worked out in the past. Don’t expect to be operating at the same level you were at before.
• On your cardio days, start with walking and then do some short one-minute intervals where you try to go a little faster, or perhaps even a short jog if possible. Do some walking as a cool down afterward. Every time you come in, do a little bit more.
• If you’re getting started with the weights, focus on the machine circuit for a week or two. It will give you a good full body workout and is a very safe way to get started. After that, you can start working some free weights into your workout.
• Don’t forget to eat a little something 45-60 minutes before working out, especially if it’s going to be a vigorous workout. There’s nothing worse than getting light headed and feeling like you’re going to throw up on your first day in the gym!
• Bring or buy a bottle of water and drink it periodically during your workout. If you wait until you feel thirsty, it’s too late—your body needs it sooner than that.
• While research really doesn’t show a performance benefit to stretching before working out, there is a benefit to doing a light warm-up, or light reps before lifting heavier weights. Your joints will thank you. Do some light stretching of your muscles after you get done!
• Slow and steady wins the race. Look at things from a year-long perspective. What do you want to accomplish this year? Then set your goals accordingly. Get started, and don’t quit. Make adjustments when you need to, but don’t quit. Keep the resolute in your resolution. Happy New Year!
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
BEATING THE HOLIDAY BLUES
While the holiday season is supposed to be a time of joy and celebration with family, many people get depressed during the holidays. I’m sure part of it has to do with the season.
As we move into winter, with all that cold and gray outside, it’s easy to forget the smiles we have in spring and summer. Even fall with all its colors, seems far away.
Many people have also lost loved ones around the holiday time, and that’s got to be terribly hard to deal with. How they get through tough days like that is beyond me. Perhaps that’s one of those things that only God can help with.
And then there are just the blues that come from feeling fat and overstuffed from all the holiday fare—and it’s easy to do. I saw a study once that told how most Americans gain 5-7 lbs between Thanksgiving and the New Year. I believe it, because it happened to me, too.
I was cruising along at a nice lean 168 back in November, and this morning, I weighed in at 173.2 lbs. Not obese by any standard, but it still shows. At least my jeans still fit.
The reason why is pretty simple, I think. With all the stuff we have to do around the holidays, it’s hard to get all your workouts in. And with all that food staring you in the face, it’s almost impossible not to surrender to some of it.
A pound a week multiplied by five weeks equals five to seven pounds, just like the experts say. But that’s not the end of the world. If you catch it, that is. Keep up the same pattern, and it will be 10 pounds by February and 25 pounds by summer!
So it starts today. We can’t worry about the things we can’t control—like the past. All we can do is focus on those things that we can control—like what we do today.
I’ve heard that one thing that helps people through tough times and tough memories is going out and doing something for someone else. It takes their attention off themselves and how they feel.
I think a similar approach can work for those 5-7 lbs, or even more, if you have them. We need to just get out and do something, and maybe renew our commitment to eating right too. This isn’t rocket science; it’s calories in versus calories out.
Who knows? That little action today could help change things tomorrow. It might just help you beat those Holiday Blues! Well, I’ve got to go now—I’ve got to get on the exercise bike and start the ball rolling. See you next year!
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
As we move into winter, with all that cold and gray outside, it’s easy to forget the smiles we have in spring and summer. Even fall with all its colors, seems far away.
Many people have also lost loved ones around the holiday time, and that’s got to be terribly hard to deal with. How they get through tough days like that is beyond me. Perhaps that’s one of those things that only God can help with.
And then there are just the blues that come from feeling fat and overstuffed from all the holiday fare—and it’s easy to do. I saw a study once that told how most Americans gain 5-7 lbs between Thanksgiving and the New Year. I believe it, because it happened to me, too.
I was cruising along at a nice lean 168 back in November, and this morning, I weighed in at 173.2 lbs. Not obese by any standard, but it still shows. At least my jeans still fit.
The reason why is pretty simple, I think. With all the stuff we have to do around the holidays, it’s hard to get all your workouts in. And with all that food staring you in the face, it’s almost impossible not to surrender to some of it.
A pound a week multiplied by five weeks equals five to seven pounds, just like the experts say. But that’s not the end of the world. If you catch it, that is. Keep up the same pattern, and it will be 10 pounds by February and 25 pounds by summer!
So it starts today. We can’t worry about the things we can’t control—like the past. All we can do is focus on those things that we can control—like what we do today.
I’ve heard that one thing that helps people through tough times and tough memories is going out and doing something for someone else. It takes their attention off themselves and how they feel.
I think a similar approach can work for those 5-7 lbs, or even more, if you have them. We need to just get out and do something, and maybe renew our commitment to eating right too. This isn’t rocket science; it’s calories in versus calories out.
Who knows? That little action today could help change things tomorrow. It might just help you beat those Holiday Blues! Well, I’ve got to go now—I’ve got to get on the exercise bike and start the ball rolling. See you next year!
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
BIGGEST LOSER "17" -- WEEK TWELVE (FINAL RESULTS)
This marked the end of Biggest Loser “17” for our group, after 12 weeks of training and watching what they ate. After the final weigh-in, the remaining participants once again took measurements of their arms, chest, stomach, hips, legs and calves. The goal was to compare their numbers with what they got in the first meeting, so they could calculate total inches lost.
We also did a fitness post-test, consisting of a minute each of push-ups, sit-ups, body squats, burpees, and mountain climbers. In each case, the participants were stronger and had much more endurance, sometimes markedly so, often doubling and tripling their numbers from before.
They also had to record a final 1 mile walk/run time. It was not unusual to see several minutes taken off their 1 mile walk/run time from twelve weeks ago. Most of them have completed at least one 5 K recently, and several have done two!
This week’s Biggest Loser was Jeremy Whitaker, who lost 3.2% of his body weight and another 6.6 lbs in the final week of the program. He finished off the program with a 6 mile run this morning, and then Garfields for lunch and Texas Roadhouse for Supper! Not to worry – he ate sensibly at both places.
For second place, we had a tie between Nicole Shaughnessy and Betty Payne, both losing 1.2% and also 1.8 and 1.6 lbs respectively. Interestingly, we also had a tie for third place, with Ashlee Hiatt and Johna Todd losing about 1.0% and also 1.6 and 1.8 lbs respectively.
Since it was the last meeting, we talked about how each of them needed to set new goals, whether it’s additional weight loss, or maintaining the results they’ve gotten. If they get out of balance, it will be easy to put that weight right back on. Exercising daily and watching what they eat will be a life-long pursuit.
The overall winner for Biggest Loser “17” was Jeremy Whitaker (no surprise there), who lost 32.7% of his body weight and a whopping 66.4 lbs – a new Biggest Loser record for 12 weeks! His body fat percentage went down by 13.5%, and he lost in excess of 40 inches across his body. He also significantly reduced his metabolic age, now having a body much younger than his actual years, rather than much older.
Nicole Shaughnessy finished the twelve weeks in second place, losing 10.8% and 15.7 lbs. Ashlee Hiatt placed third, losing 10.2% and 17.0 lbs. Johna Todd finished fourth, losing 7.6% and 15.0 lbs. Carla Duke was fifth, losing 4.7% and 7.0 lbs, and Betty Payne finished sixth, losing 4.6% and 6.0 lbs.
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
We also did a fitness post-test, consisting of a minute each of push-ups, sit-ups, body squats, burpees, and mountain climbers. In each case, the participants were stronger and had much more endurance, sometimes markedly so, often doubling and tripling their numbers from before.
They also had to record a final 1 mile walk/run time. It was not unusual to see several minutes taken off their 1 mile walk/run time from twelve weeks ago. Most of them have completed at least one 5 K recently, and several have done two!
This week’s Biggest Loser was Jeremy Whitaker, who lost 3.2% of his body weight and another 6.6 lbs in the final week of the program. He finished off the program with a 6 mile run this morning, and then Garfields for lunch and Texas Roadhouse for Supper! Not to worry – he ate sensibly at both places.
For second place, we had a tie between Nicole Shaughnessy and Betty Payne, both losing 1.2% and also 1.8 and 1.6 lbs respectively. Interestingly, we also had a tie for third place, with Ashlee Hiatt and Johna Todd losing about 1.0% and also 1.6 and 1.8 lbs respectively.
Since it was the last meeting, we talked about how each of them needed to set new goals, whether it’s additional weight loss, or maintaining the results they’ve gotten. If they get out of balance, it will be easy to put that weight right back on. Exercising daily and watching what they eat will be a life-long pursuit.
The overall winner for Biggest Loser “17” was Jeremy Whitaker (no surprise there), who lost 32.7% of his body weight and a whopping 66.4 lbs – a new Biggest Loser record for 12 weeks! His body fat percentage went down by 13.5%, and he lost in excess of 40 inches across his body. He also significantly reduced his metabolic age, now having a body much younger than his actual years, rather than much older.
Nicole Shaughnessy finished the twelve weeks in second place, losing 10.8% and 15.7 lbs. Ashlee Hiatt placed third, losing 10.2% and 17.0 lbs. Johna Todd finished fourth, losing 7.6% and 15.0 lbs. Carla Duke was fifth, losing 4.7% and 7.0 lbs, and Betty Payne finished sixth, losing 4.6% and 6.0 lbs.
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
BIGGEST LOSER "17" -- WEEK ELEVEN
This was the last meeting with the group before the final weigh-in next week, so I had one last chance to give them another tough workout! You might recall the last few weeks have included High Intensity Interval Training in the cardio room, and also several advanced circuit training workouts in the weight room.
To keep it new and interesting, I took things they knew from each of the past few workouts but combined them all into one giant super-circuit. Instead of doing several rounds of six or seven exercises, this time they only had to do each station one time, but a lot of reps while they were there. The other twist was that they started with a ¼ mile run, and also did ¼ mile runs after each station!
This is a challenging workout for people whether you’re used to running or not. If you’re an experienced runner, treat the ¼ mile runs like sprints and try to increase your speed each time. Then attack the different stations, trying to finish each as quickly as possible.
If running is new and difficult for you, don’t try to go too fast, just try to run the entire ¼ mile. Then when you get to the stations, push yourself there. As an alternative to running, you could do 2-3 minute intervals on an elliptical, stepper, bike, or rower. Here’s what the workout looked like, in case you’d like to give it a try.
1. 25 Pull-ups
2. 50 Box Jumps
3. 50 Kettlebell Swings
4. 50 Pushups
5. 50 Single-arm DB Curls (total)
6. 50 Sit-ups
This week’s Biggest Loser was Jeremy Whitaker, who lost 2.1% of his body weight and 4.6 lbs. Johna Todd was second, losing 1.9% and 3.8 lbs. Carla Duke placed third, losing about 1.0% and 1.2 lbs. Betty Payne was fourth, losing about 1.0% and 1.0 lbs.
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
To keep it new and interesting, I took things they knew from each of the past few workouts but combined them all into one giant super-circuit. Instead of doing several rounds of six or seven exercises, this time they only had to do each station one time, but a lot of reps while they were there. The other twist was that they started with a ¼ mile run, and also did ¼ mile runs after each station!
This is a challenging workout for people whether you’re used to running or not. If you’re an experienced runner, treat the ¼ mile runs like sprints and try to increase your speed each time. Then attack the different stations, trying to finish each as quickly as possible.
If running is new and difficult for you, don’t try to go too fast, just try to run the entire ¼ mile. Then when you get to the stations, push yourself there. As an alternative to running, you could do 2-3 minute intervals on an elliptical, stepper, bike, or rower. Here’s what the workout looked like, in case you’d like to give it a try.
1. 25 Pull-ups
2. 50 Box Jumps
3. 50 Kettlebell Swings
4. 50 Pushups
5. 50 Single-arm DB Curls (total)
6. 50 Sit-ups
This week’s Biggest Loser was Jeremy Whitaker, who lost 2.1% of his body weight and 4.6 lbs. Johna Todd was second, losing 1.9% and 3.8 lbs. Carla Duke placed third, losing about 1.0% and 1.2 lbs. Betty Payne was fourth, losing about 1.0% and 1.0 lbs.
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Thursday, December 06, 2012
BIGGEST LOSER "17" -- WEEK TEN
This week I introduced the group to another type of circuit training that uses some traditional power training moves. They used a straight bar which comes in two sizes: 30 lbs for the ladies, and the traditional 45 lb bar for the guys. The ladies started with the bar and 5 lbs on each side (40 lbs total) while the guys started with the bar and 10 lbs on each side (65 lbs total).
They did four basic movements. The first is a Bent Leg Dead-Lift: Bend over, grabbing the bar with both hands in an overhand grip. With knees slightly bent, use your hips and lower back to straighten your body up so you are standing straight, and the bar is hanging down around thigh level. Don’t use your arms at all, except to hold the bar. Once you straighten up, bend back over, lowering the bar to the ground. People lifting heavy weights will often use a reverse grip in one hand, switching hands in each subsequent set. On the last rep, don’t put the bar back down on the floor.
The second movement is the Hanging Clean: This movement starts with you standing up straight, with the bar in both arms hanging down in front of you with an overhand grip (where you ended above). Drop your knees just a little bit, and then accelerate your hips up while pulling up on the bar in a straight line up to eye level. At the top of the movement, drop your arms a little bit so you can get your hands under the bar and let the bar settle in front of your shoulders on your upper chest. Release the bar so it hangs at arm level again and then repeat. On the last rep, leave the bar up on your chest.
The third movement is the Front Squat: With the bar up on your chest, and keeping your body as erect as possible, bend your knees into a squat position. Try to avoid letting your knees move forward, instead pushing your hips back behind you with most of your weight on your heels. Some people find it better to balance with their shoes off, since tennis shoes tend to lift you up and tilt you forward a bit. Again, try to keep your upper body as straight as possible, with a good natural arch in your back. It might also be helpful to tilt your head back, looking upward. You definitely don’t want to bend forward as that puts too much stress on your lower back. Once you’ve reached a 90 degree angle at the knee joint, use your legs and hips to stand back up to the starting position. On the last rep, don’t put the bar down.
The fourth movement is the Push Press: Starting in the last position, slightly bend your knees, and then explode upward using your hips to get the bar moving. Using that momentum, use your arms and shoulders to press the bar up overhead into a locked position. Keep your back straight and try to avoid leaning backward. If it’s too heavy, use a lighter weight. Once the bar is overhead, you should be able to pause there for just a split second before lowering the bar back to your chest and repeating the movement. On the last rep, put the bar back down on the floor by dropping your arms so the bar is hanging down, and then lowering the bar by squatting and bending at the waist. Again, use your legs, and not just your back when lowering the bar.
After completing all four movements (40 reps total), they took “a break” by doing 5 assorted Ab exercises: Toes-2-Bar, Leg Raises, Sit-Ups, Crunches, and Leg Lifts. After doing about a minutes worth of abs, they started another set with the bar, for 5 rounds total!
This week’s Biggest Loser was Jeremy Whitaker, who lost 3.1% of his body weight and another 6.8 lbs. His ten week total is an amazing 55.2 lbs total. Second place went to Betty Payne, who lost 1.3% and 1.8 lbs. Carla Duke placed third, losing about 1.0% and 1.4 lbs.
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
They did four basic movements. The first is a Bent Leg Dead-Lift: Bend over, grabbing the bar with both hands in an overhand grip. With knees slightly bent, use your hips and lower back to straighten your body up so you are standing straight, and the bar is hanging down around thigh level. Don’t use your arms at all, except to hold the bar. Once you straighten up, bend back over, lowering the bar to the ground. People lifting heavy weights will often use a reverse grip in one hand, switching hands in each subsequent set. On the last rep, don’t put the bar back down on the floor.
The second movement is the Hanging Clean: This movement starts with you standing up straight, with the bar in both arms hanging down in front of you with an overhand grip (where you ended above). Drop your knees just a little bit, and then accelerate your hips up while pulling up on the bar in a straight line up to eye level. At the top of the movement, drop your arms a little bit so you can get your hands under the bar and let the bar settle in front of your shoulders on your upper chest. Release the bar so it hangs at arm level again and then repeat. On the last rep, leave the bar up on your chest.
The third movement is the Front Squat: With the bar up on your chest, and keeping your body as erect as possible, bend your knees into a squat position. Try to avoid letting your knees move forward, instead pushing your hips back behind you with most of your weight on your heels. Some people find it better to balance with their shoes off, since tennis shoes tend to lift you up and tilt you forward a bit. Again, try to keep your upper body as straight as possible, with a good natural arch in your back. It might also be helpful to tilt your head back, looking upward. You definitely don’t want to bend forward as that puts too much stress on your lower back. Once you’ve reached a 90 degree angle at the knee joint, use your legs and hips to stand back up to the starting position. On the last rep, don’t put the bar down.
The fourth movement is the Push Press: Starting in the last position, slightly bend your knees, and then explode upward using your hips to get the bar moving. Using that momentum, use your arms and shoulders to press the bar up overhead into a locked position. Keep your back straight and try to avoid leaning backward. If it’s too heavy, use a lighter weight. Once the bar is overhead, you should be able to pause there for just a split second before lowering the bar back to your chest and repeating the movement. On the last rep, put the bar back down on the floor by dropping your arms so the bar is hanging down, and then lowering the bar by squatting and bending at the waist. Again, use your legs, and not just your back when lowering the bar.
After completing all four movements (40 reps total), they took “a break” by doing 5 assorted Ab exercises: Toes-2-Bar, Leg Raises, Sit-Ups, Crunches, and Leg Lifts. After doing about a minutes worth of abs, they started another set with the bar, for 5 rounds total!
This week’s Biggest Loser was Jeremy Whitaker, who lost 3.1% of his body weight and another 6.8 lbs. His ten week total is an amazing 55.2 lbs total. Second place went to Betty Payne, who lost 1.3% and 1.8 lbs. Carla Duke placed third, losing about 1.0% and 1.4 lbs.
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
BIGGEST LOSER "17" -- WEEK NINE
This week I gave the group another Level 4 workout. From now, till the end, our goal is to keep things intense with circuit training, and also to keep teaching them new exercises to put into their routines.
The key with Level 4 circuit training is to mix it up day-to-day by changing the different exercises. This keeps your body from getting too used to things, which means it’s always going to be challenging, so you’ll burn lots of calories. That means you’ll keep losing weight! It also keeps it fresh, which helps keep your interest.
When you do circuit training, you want to have exercises that will hit your entire body. This means you’re going to target your pushing muscles (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps), pulling muscles (Back & Biceps), lower body (Hips & Legs), and also your abs or core.
It can be as simple as doing one exercise from each group, or doing a longer circuit with 2 or more exercises that hit each area. You want to arrange things so each area gets worked, then rests while you hit a different area. This way, you move from one exercise to the next, without needing an actual break, and that’s what keeps the intensity high.
Last week, they did an 8 station circuit that was made up of Wall Ball (Squat thrusters), the Rower, Battle Ropes, Leg Raises, Pull-ups, Deadlift Sumo Hi-Pulls, the Exercise Bike, and Assorted Ab exercises with a ball.
This week’s circuit used some more new movements for the group: Box Jumps, Mountain Climbers, Single Arm Kettlebell Swings (switching arms), Dynamax Ball Smack Downs, BOSU Ballistic Push-ups, Pilate Crunches, and Burpees!
They did each station for 45-50 seconds, with 10-15 seconds to move and get ready for the next station. There were 7 stations, done 3 times by the Biggest Losers, for a total of 21 minutes. The 5:30 group did 4 rounds totaling 28 minutes.
1. Box Jumps (lower body) – jump on and off a box for 45-50 seconds. We use an aerobics step with several risers. The better shape you’re in, the more risers.
2. Mountain Climbers (entire body) – in a push-up position, bring your knees up alternating L-R as fast as you can for 45-50 seconds.
3. Single Arm Kettlebell Swings (shoulders, biceps, hips, core) – in a slight crouch, using a fairly light kettlebell, swing it up until it’s horizontal to the ground with one arm, lower it down, bouncing off one leg, and then switch arms on the way back up. Repeat for 45-50 seconds.
4. Dynamax Ball Smack Downs (upper back, core) – holding a 10 lb soft medicine ball, reach up overhead, slightly raise up off your heels and then bring the ball down violently, letting go of it so it smacks the mat! If you’re in great shape, use a heavier Dynamax ball. Do it for 45-50 seconds (which is much harder than it sounds).
5. BOSU Ballistic Push-ups (chest, shoulders, triceps) – using a BOSU trainer, do a pushup with your L hand is on the BOSU, and your R hand on the floor. Following the push-up, explosively transition yourself so that your R hand is now on the BOSU, and your L hand is on the other side on the floor. Continue for 45-50 seconds. In every other set, flip the BOSU over and do the pushups with your hands on the handles.
6. Pilate Crunches (core) – lay on the mat on your back with your legs straight and arms in front of you. Bring your knees up to your chest while lifting your shoulders off the mat and reaching toward your toes. Repeat for 45-50 seconds.
7. Burpees (entire body) – from a standing position, bend your knees, reach down and drop into a pushup position. Do a pushup before hopping back to your feet and doing a small jump while reaching over your head with your arms. Repeat for 45-50 seconds.
This week’s Biggest Loser was Jackie Landsaw, who lost 1.4% of her body weight and 2.4 lbs. Jeremy Whitaker was second, losing 1.2% and 2.6 lbs. Nicole Shaughnessy placed third, losing about 1.0% and 1.2 lbs.
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
The key with Level 4 circuit training is to mix it up day-to-day by changing the different exercises. This keeps your body from getting too used to things, which means it’s always going to be challenging, so you’ll burn lots of calories. That means you’ll keep losing weight! It also keeps it fresh, which helps keep your interest.
When you do circuit training, you want to have exercises that will hit your entire body. This means you’re going to target your pushing muscles (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps), pulling muscles (Back & Biceps), lower body (Hips & Legs), and also your abs or core.
It can be as simple as doing one exercise from each group, or doing a longer circuit with 2 or more exercises that hit each area. You want to arrange things so each area gets worked, then rests while you hit a different area. This way, you move from one exercise to the next, without needing an actual break, and that’s what keeps the intensity high.
Last week, they did an 8 station circuit that was made up of Wall Ball (Squat thrusters), the Rower, Battle Ropes, Leg Raises, Pull-ups, Deadlift Sumo Hi-Pulls, the Exercise Bike, and Assorted Ab exercises with a ball.
This week’s circuit used some more new movements for the group: Box Jumps, Mountain Climbers, Single Arm Kettlebell Swings (switching arms), Dynamax Ball Smack Downs, BOSU Ballistic Push-ups, Pilate Crunches, and Burpees!
They did each station for 45-50 seconds, with 10-15 seconds to move and get ready for the next station. There were 7 stations, done 3 times by the Biggest Losers, for a total of 21 minutes. The 5:30 group did 4 rounds totaling 28 minutes.
1. Box Jumps (lower body) – jump on and off a box for 45-50 seconds. We use an aerobics step with several risers. The better shape you’re in, the more risers.
2. Mountain Climbers (entire body) – in a push-up position, bring your knees up alternating L-R as fast as you can for 45-50 seconds.
3. Single Arm Kettlebell Swings (shoulders, biceps, hips, core) – in a slight crouch, using a fairly light kettlebell, swing it up until it’s horizontal to the ground with one arm, lower it down, bouncing off one leg, and then switch arms on the way back up. Repeat for 45-50 seconds.
4. Dynamax Ball Smack Downs (upper back, core) – holding a 10 lb soft medicine ball, reach up overhead, slightly raise up off your heels and then bring the ball down violently, letting go of it so it smacks the mat! If you’re in great shape, use a heavier Dynamax ball. Do it for 45-50 seconds (which is much harder than it sounds).
5. BOSU Ballistic Push-ups (chest, shoulders, triceps) – using a BOSU trainer, do a pushup with your L hand is on the BOSU, and your R hand on the floor. Following the push-up, explosively transition yourself so that your R hand is now on the BOSU, and your L hand is on the other side on the floor. Continue for 45-50 seconds. In every other set, flip the BOSU over and do the pushups with your hands on the handles.
6. Pilate Crunches (core) – lay on the mat on your back with your legs straight and arms in front of you. Bring your knees up to your chest while lifting your shoulders off the mat and reaching toward your toes. Repeat for 45-50 seconds.
7. Burpees (entire body) – from a standing position, bend your knees, reach down and drop into a pushup position. Do a pushup before hopping back to your feet and doing a small jump while reaching over your head with your arms. Repeat for 45-50 seconds.
This week’s Biggest Loser was Jackie Landsaw, who lost 1.4% of her body weight and 2.4 lbs. Jeremy Whitaker was second, losing 1.2% and 2.6 lbs. Nicole Shaughnessy placed third, losing about 1.0% and 1.2 lbs.
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
BIGGEST LOSER "17" -- WEEK EIGHT
This week marked the end of eight weeks—two months down, and one to go. At this point, weight loss often slows down, and the people have to fight hard to get past a plateau. To help them turn it up another notch, I introduced them to what I call Level 4 workouts.
Level 1 consists of doing the basic weight and cardio machines. Level 2 workouts replace the machine circuit with basic free weight movements with dumbbells. Recently, they’ve been doing Level 3 workouts by doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) in the cardio room, and Supersets with their free weights.
Level 4 workouts take free weight movements and combine them with new core-training movements and short bouts of cardio, arranged in a circuit that you complete several times.
You do each station for 45-50 seconds, with 10-15 seconds to rest while moving to the next station. The Biggest Losers did 3 rounds for a total of 24 minutes. The regular evening class did a bonus 4th round for a total workout time of 32 minutes. Here’s what they did.
1. Wall Ball (10-20 lb ball) – Keeping your body erect, squat facing a wall with a ball on your shoulder. As you come up, toss the ball overhead on a wall, and then catch it on your other shoulder, repeating the squat. Repeat for 45-50 seconds.
2. Rower (Concept 2) – Get on and row for 45-50 seconds.
3. Battle Ropes (take two ends of a 50’ rope wrapped around something) – shake it up and down, side-to-side, making circles, etc… for 45-50 seconds.
4. Leg Raises (on dip, leg raise, pull-up station) – do as many as you can straight leg, and then with knees bent for 45-50 seconds.
5. Pull-ups (on dip, leg raise, pull-up station) – assisted with your leg if necessary, do as many wide grip pull-ups as you can; change grip to neutral grip, and reverse grip when needed. 45-50 seconds.
6. Kettlebell (KB) Sumo Hi-Pulls – starting with a fairly light KB hanging down in front of you with a dual grip, keeping your back straight, squat down so the KB touches the floor. Then stand up and raise the KB up with both arms until your hands are at eye level, and repeat for 45-50 seconds.
7. Exercise Bike (Schwinn AirDyne) – get on a ride, using both arms and legs with great intensity for 45-50 seconds.
8. Assorted Sit-ups with small Ball (8-10 lb ball) – Round 1: Regular sit-ups while holding ball in front of you with arms extended; Round 2: Bicycle motion with legs while holding ball in front of you with bent arms, moving ball to each side of your body; Round 3: Lay down on your back, with your legs straight, while holding the ball in arms extended overhead. Jack-knife your body up so your straight arms holding the ball touch your toes of your straight legs (good luck with this one). Bonus Round 4: Lay on your back with knees bent, holding the ball between your knees, with your arms extended straight side-to-side for balance. Bring your knees side-to-side so they touch the ground on the L, then R, etc… do each for 45-50 seconds.
This week’s Biggest Loser was Jeremy Whitaker, who lost 2.6% of his body weight and another 6.0 lbs. His 8 week total is 45.9 lbs! Second place went to Ashlee Hiatt, who lost 1.6% and 2.8 lbs. Johna Todd was third, losing a little more than half a pound.
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Level 1 consists of doing the basic weight and cardio machines. Level 2 workouts replace the machine circuit with basic free weight movements with dumbbells. Recently, they’ve been doing Level 3 workouts by doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) in the cardio room, and Supersets with their free weights.
Level 4 workouts take free weight movements and combine them with new core-training movements and short bouts of cardio, arranged in a circuit that you complete several times.
You do each station for 45-50 seconds, with 10-15 seconds to rest while moving to the next station. The Biggest Losers did 3 rounds for a total of 24 minutes. The regular evening class did a bonus 4th round for a total workout time of 32 minutes. Here’s what they did.
1. Wall Ball (10-20 lb ball) – Keeping your body erect, squat facing a wall with a ball on your shoulder. As you come up, toss the ball overhead on a wall, and then catch it on your other shoulder, repeating the squat. Repeat for 45-50 seconds.
2. Rower (Concept 2) – Get on and row for 45-50 seconds.
3. Battle Ropes (take two ends of a 50’ rope wrapped around something) – shake it up and down, side-to-side, making circles, etc… for 45-50 seconds.
4. Leg Raises (on dip, leg raise, pull-up station) – do as many as you can straight leg, and then with knees bent for 45-50 seconds.
5. Pull-ups (on dip, leg raise, pull-up station) – assisted with your leg if necessary, do as many wide grip pull-ups as you can; change grip to neutral grip, and reverse grip when needed. 45-50 seconds.
6. Kettlebell (KB) Sumo Hi-Pulls – starting with a fairly light KB hanging down in front of you with a dual grip, keeping your back straight, squat down so the KB touches the floor. Then stand up and raise the KB up with both arms until your hands are at eye level, and repeat for 45-50 seconds.
7. Exercise Bike (Schwinn AirDyne) – get on a ride, using both arms and legs with great intensity for 45-50 seconds.
8. Assorted Sit-ups with small Ball (8-10 lb ball) – Round 1: Regular sit-ups while holding ball in front of you with arms extended; Round 2: Bicycle motion with legs while holding ball in front of you with bent arms, moving ball to each side of your body; Round 3: Lay down on your back, with your legs straight, while holding the ball in arms extended overhead. Jack-knife your body up so your straight arms holding the ball touch your toes of your straight legs (good luck with this one). Bonus Round 4: Lay on your back with knees bent, holding the ball between your knees, with your arms extended straight side-to-side for balance. Bring your knees side-to-side so they touch the ground on the L, then R, etc… do each for 45-50 seconds.
This week’s Biggest Loser was Jeremy Whitaker, who lost 2.6% of his body weight and another 6.0 lbs. His 8 week total is 45.9 lbs! Second place went to Ashlee Hiatt, who lost 1.6% and 2.8 lbs. Johna Todd was third, losing a little more than half a pound.
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
BIGGEST LOSER "17" -- WEEK SEVEN
This week the group worked on High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). It’s always an eye-opener for them because they find out they can do quite a bit more than they thought.
HIIT is all about short, hard bouts of exercise followed by brief moments to recover. You start with a few minutes going easy to get warmed up. Then you pick up the pace for a minute. Then you back off for a minute to give yourself time to recover a little bit. Then you do another minute even harder, rest a minute, and so on.
You can do the intervals on any piece of cardio equipment. Here in the gym, we had them split up into smaller groups on the treadmills, ellipticals, and Schwinn AirDyne bikes. After several intervals, each group rotated to the next piece of equipment.
We also varied the time of the intervals. For the first couple rounds, we stuck with one minute intervals. After everyone had done three rounds in each area (9 rounds total), we rotated back to the beginning, and shortened the work and rest intervals to 30 seconds.
After a few of those intervals, we went to 20 second high intensity intervals with just 10 seconds rest. The shorter intervals let you go even faster, since you don’t have to go as long, so they’re even more intense.
We switched equipment again, and they did two 90 second work intervals, each with a minute rest. Finally, they did a monster 2 minute interval to cap things off. They started at a very high workload but the interval was so long, they had to slow down a little bit to be able to finish.
In the end, they worked out for 45 minutes, which included a few minutes at the start for a warm-up, and a few minutes at the end for a cool-down. They learned they could do the high intensity interval training on any cardio equipment. They also got some experience changing up the interval times to allow even great intensity.
It’s good to do HIIT at least once a week, and it really doesn’t matter what you do it on, or what your interval times are. What matters is that you use it as a tool to push yourself beyond what you normally would do. This challenges your body, and will get you in great shape!
If you’re trying to lose weight, as they are, HIIT also has a longer calorie after-burn than regular forms of exercise. The work is so hard that your body will keep burning calories long after your workout. You might even get hungry later.
Make sure you don’t do HIIT on an empty stomach, though. You’ll quickly burn through all the readily available fuels in your body. Since you can’t access fat for fuel quickly enough to meet the demands, you’ll want to have a little sugar in the blood to get you through, so have a snack 30-60 minutes before your workout.
If you’re new to exercise, getting into HIIT can be as simple as trying to jog a minute and then walking two minutes. As you get stronger, you can decrease the rest period little-by-little, until at some point, you’ll be able to just keep jogging. Give it a try!
This week’s Biggest Loser was Ashlee Hiatt, who lost 1.8% of her body weight and 3.2 lbs. Betty Payne was second, losing 1.5% and 2.0 lbs. Third place went to Johna Todd, who lost 1.4% and 2.8 lbs.
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
HIIT is all about short, hard bouts of exercise followed by brief moments to recover. You start with a few minutes going easy to get warmed up. Then you pick up the pace for a minute. Then you back off for a minute to give yourself time to recover a little bit. Then you do another minute even harder, rest a minute, and so on.
You can do the intervals on any piece of cardio equipment. Here in the gym, we had them split up into smaller groups on the treadmills, ellipticals, and Schwinn AirDyne bikes. After several intervals, each group rotated to the next piece of equipment.
We also varied the time of the intervals. For the first couple rounds, we stuck with one minute intervals. After everyone had done three rounds in each area (9 rounds total), we rotated back to the beginning, and shortened the work and rest intervals to 30 seconds.
After a few of those intervals, we went to 20 second high intensity intervals with just 10 seconds rest. The shorter intervals let you go even faster, since you don’t have to go as long, so they’re even more intense.
We switched equipment again, and they did two 90 second work intervals, each with a minute rest. Finally, they did a monster 2 minute interval to cap things off. They started at a very high workload but the interval was so long, they had to slow down a little bit to be able to finish.
In the end, they worked out for 45 minutes, which included a few minutes at the start for a warm-up, and a few minutes at the end for a cool-down. They learned they could do the high intensity interval training on any cardio equipment. They also got some experience changing up the interval times to allow even great intensity.
It’s good to do HIIT at least once a week, and it really doesn’t matter what you do it on, or what your interval times are. What matters is that you use it as a tool to push yourself beyond what you normally would do. This challenges your body, and will get you in great shape!
If you’re trying to lose weight, as they are, HIIT also has a longer calorie after-burn than regular forms of exercise. The work is so hard that your body will keep burning calories long after your workout. You might even get hungry later.
Make sure you don’t do HIIT on an empty stomach, though. You’ll quickly burn through all the readily available fuels in your body. Since you can’t access fat for fuel quickly enough to meet the demands, you’ll want to have a little sugar in the blood to get you through, so have a snack 30-60 minutes before your workout.
If you’re new to exercise, getting into HIIT can be as simple as trying to jog a minute and then walking two minutes. As you get stronger, you can decrease the rest period little-by-little, until at some point, you’ll be able to just keep jogging. Give it a try!
This week’s Biggest Loser was Ashlee Hiatt, who lost 1.8% of her body weight and 3.2 lbs. Betty Payne was second, losing 1.5% and 2.0 lbs. Third place went to Johna Todd, who lost 1.4% and 2.8 lbs.
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
BIGGEST LOSER "17" -- WEEK SIX
Well we made it halfway through our latest twelve week Biggest Loser program with no major bumps or bruises. We’re down four from our original group, but that’s to be expected. Remember, in any program like this, it’s normal to see half the group drop out for one reason or another.
That’s why I talked with them Monday night about digging deep to discover what it takes inside to keep things going. If you can’t do six weeks, how can you do six years? Losing the weight—and keeping it off—is a lifelong pursuit, not just a twelve week program.
In the end, you’ve got to have something bigger than a want-to, if you’re going to get something of this magnitude done. It’s got to be a have-to. It’s got to be so big that it’s going to just “kill you” if you don’t get this done.
That’s the kind of drive and commitment it takes to do big things. Anything less than that will fall by the wayside sooner or later when things come up.
After six weeks, you start running into more than just psychological issues. Your body starts adjusting to the work and weight loss starts to plateau.
That’s why it’s important to keep changing things up, and increasing the intensity of your workouts. So this week, we took the first two free weight routines the group learned (published in last week’s article) and combined them.
They performed each set of exercises, back-to-back, without a break, 10-15 repetitions each set, a total of three times in each round. Each round also included an exercise that worked their abs. That way they got a break from the major muscle group worked while also covering their midsection too.
Here’s what they did, in case you’d like to try it yourself. Make sure you get with someone who knows how to properly perform each exercise. If need be, you can always use Google and YouTube to find videos online.
Round One: (Chest)
• Dumbbell (DB) Chest Press on Ball
• DB Pec Fly’s on Ball
• Ab Crunches on Ball (3x)
Round Two: (Back)
• DB Single Arm Rows
• DB Pullover on Ball (3x)
Round Three: (Lower Body)
• Walking Lunges
• DB Squats
• DB Bent-knee Deadlifts
• Ab Crunches on Ground (3x)
Round Four: (Shoulders)
• DB Shoulder Press (Arnold Press)
• DB Lateral Raises
• Cross-over Sit-ups on Ball (3x)
Round Five: (Arms)
• DB Hammer Curls and then Single Arm Curls
• DB Overhead Tricep Press and then DB Kickbacks
• Leg Raises (3x)
This week’s Biggest Loser was Jeremy Whitaker who again had a big week, losing 3.3% of his body weight and 7.8 lbs. He told us he’d increased his jogging from 3 miles to 5 miles/day. One day he did 5 miles in the morning and another 3 miles that evening. Jeremy’s lost 37.0 lbs in the six weeks.
Second place went to Carla Duke, who lost about 1.0% and 1.2 lbs. Nicole Shaughnessy was third, losing about a half a percent and 0.6 lbs. Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
That’s why I talked with them Monday night about digging deep to discover what it takes inside to keep things going. If you can’t do six weeks, how can you do six years? Losing the weight—and keeping it off—is a lifelong pursuit, not just a twelve week program.
In the end, you’ve got to have something bigger than a want-to, if you’re going to get something of this magnitude done. It’s got to be a have-to. It’s got to be so big that it’s going to just “kill you” if you don’t get this done.
That’s the kind of drive and commitment it takes to do big things. Anything less than that will fall by the wayside sooner or later when things come up.
After six weeks, you start running into more than just psychological issues. Your body starts adjusting to the work and weight loss starts to plateau.
That’s why it’s important to keep changing things up, and increasing the intensity of your workouts. So this week, we took the first two free weight routines the group learned (published in last week’s article) and combined them.
They performed each set of exercises, back-to-back, without a break, 10-15 repetitions each set, a total of three times in each round. Each round also included an exercise that worked their abs. That way they got a break from the major muscle group worked while also covering their midsection too.
Here’s what they did, in case you’d like to try it yourself. Make sure you get with someone who knows how to properly perform each exercise. If need be, you can always use Google and YouTube to find videos online.
Round One: (Chest)
• Dumbbell (DB) Chest Press on Ball
• DB Pec Fly’s on Ball
• Ab Crunches on Ball (3x)
Round Two: (Back)
• DB Single Arm Rows
• DB Pullover on Ball (3x)
Round Three: (Lower Body)
• Walking Lunges
• DB Squats
• DB Bent-knee Deadlifts
• Ab Crunches on Ground (3x)
Round Four: (Shoulders)
• DB Shoulder Press (Arnold Press)
• DB Lateral Raises
• Cross-over Sit-ups on Ball (3x)
Round Five: (Arms)
• DB Hammer Curls and then Single Arm Curls
• DB Overhead Tricep Press and then DB Kickbacks
• Leg Raises (3x)
This week’s Biggest Loser was Jeremy Whitaker who again had a big week, losing 3.3% of his body weight and 7.8 lbs. He told us he’d increased his jogging from 3 miles to 5 miles/day. One day he did 5 miles in the morning and another 3 miles that evening. Jeremy’s lost 37.0 lbs in the six weeks.
Second place went to Carla Duke, who lost about 1.0% and 1.2 lbs. Nicole Shaughnessy was third, losing about a half a percent and 0.6 lbs. Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Thursday, November 01, 2012
BIGGEST LOSER "17" -- WEEK FIVE
During the first four weeks, the group focuses on using the strength machines—what I call Level 1 workouts—first as a circuit, then in pairs, back-to-back, to get a better workout. The machines are nice to start out on, because they provide a safe, controlled motion, and allow you to focus on each muscle group.
After the first month, it’s time to expand their horizons by starting them out on free weights. They notice the difference in their workouts right away because there are quite a few differences between machines and free weights.
Machines guide the motions. Free weights require you to control the weight the entire time. Machines isolate the particular muscle group you’re working on. Free weights force you to use accessory muscles to help stabilize your body during the movements. Finally, since you have to use more muscles, that means you’ll burn more calories during your workout.
While there are hundreds of different free weight exercises, a good plan is to start replacing each machine with one basic free weight movement. I call these Level 2 workouts. For example, the Chest Press machine is replaced by the Dumbbell (DB) Press on a ball. The Seated Row machine is replaced by Single Arm DB rows, and so on.
After a week of basic movements, we did a second free weight workout with similar, yet different exercises. They did the first workout on M-W-F in Week Five, and are doing the other on M-W- F this week.
Here they are in case you’d like to try them. Get with someone who can show you how to do each movement correctly. Or you can Google the movements and view videos on YouTube.
The goal is to do three sets of 10-15 repetitions for each exercise. All of the exercises are performed with dumbbells (DB), at a weight they could lift comfortably at least 10 times. If it gets too easy, use the next heavier pair of dumbbells in subsequent sets.
WORKOUT #1
1. DB Squat (Legs, Hips)
2. DB Press on Ball (Chest)
3. DB Bent Leg Deadlifts (Hips, Legs & Lower Back)
4. DB Single Arm Rows (Upper Back)
5. DB Lateral Raises (Shoulders)
6. Single DB Overhead Press (Triceps)
7. Alternating DB Curls (Biceps)
8. AB Crunches on the ball (Crunches, Sit-ups, and Knee-In’s)
9. Ball Twists (Standing, Lumberjacks)
WORKOUT #2
1. Walking Lunges (Legs, Hips)
2. DB Pec Fly’s on Ball (Chest)
3. DB Straight Leg Deadlifts (Hips, Legs & Lower Back)
4. DB Pullovers on Ball (Upper Back)
5. DB Arnold Press (Shoulders)
6. Bent-over double DB Kickbacks (Triceps)
7. Double DB Curls (Biceps)
8. AB Routine #1-5 (Crunches w/Knees Bent, Crunches w/Legs Up, Crunches to R side w/one leg crossed, Crunches to L side w/one leg crossed, Leg Lifts)
This week’s Biggest Loser was Ashlee Hiatt, who lost 1.7% of her body weight and 3.0 lbs. Second place went to Jeremy Whitaker, who lost 1.1% and 2.6 lbs. Third place was a tie between Sheryl Bennett and Vince Porter, both losing about 1.0% and 2.0 and 2.1 lbs respectively.
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
After the first month, it’s time to expand their horizons by starting them out on free weights. They notice the difference in their workouts right away because there are quite a few differences between machines and free weights.
Machines guide the motions. Free weights require you to control the weight the entire time. Machines isolate the particular muscle group you’re working on. Free weights force you to use accessory muscles to help stabilize your body during the movements. Finally, since you have to use more muscles, that means you’ll burn more calories during your workout.
While there are hundreds of different free weight exercises, a good plan is to start replacing each machine with one basic free weight movement. I call these Level 2 workouts. For example, the Chest Press machine is replaced by the Dumbbell (DB) Press on a ball. The Seated Row machine is replaced by Single Arm DB rows, and so on.
After a week of basic movements, we did a second free weight workout with similar, yet different exercises. They did the first workout on M-W-F in Week Five, and are doing the other on M-W- F this week.
Here they are in case you’d like to try them. Get with someone who can show you how to do each movement correctly. Or you can Google the movements and view videos on YouTube.
The goal is to do three sets of 10-15 repetitions for each exercise. All of the exercises are performed with dumbbells (DB), at a weight they could lift comfortably at least 10 times. If it gets too easy, use the next heavier pair of dumbbells in subsequent sets.
WORKOUT #1
1. DB Squat (Legs, Hips)
2. DB Press on Ball (Chest)
3. DB Bent Leg Deadlifts (Hips, Legs & Lower Back)
4. DB Single Arm Rows (Upper Back)
5. DB Lateral Raises (Shoulders)
6. Single DB Overhead Press (Triceps)
7. Alternating DB Curls (Biceps)
8. AB Crunches on the ball (Crunches, Sit-ups, and Knee-In’s)
9. Ball Twists (Standing, Lumberjacks)
WORKOUT #2
1. Walking Lunges (Legs, Hips)
2. DB Pec Fly’s on Ball (Chest)
3. DB Straight Leg Deadlifts (Hips, Legs & Lower Back)
4. DB Pullovers on Ball (Upper Back)
5. DB Arnold Press (Shoulders)
6. Bent-over double DB Kickbacks (Triceps)
7. Double DB Curls (Biceps)
8. AB Routine #1-5 (Crunches w/Knees Bent, Crunches w/Legs Up, Crunches to R side w/one leg crossed, Crunches to L side w/one leg crossed, Leg Lifts)
This week’s Biggest Loser was Ashlee Hiatt, who lost 1.7% of her body weight and 3.0 lbs. Second place went to Jeremy Whitaker, who lost 1.1% and 2.6 lbs. Third place was a tie between Sheryl Bennett and Vince Porter, both losing about 1.0% and 2.0 and 2.1 lbs respectively.
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Friday, October 26, 2012
BIGGEST LOSER "17" -- WEEK FOUR
Last week we talked about the different food groups and why we need them: Protein, Complex Carbs (starches), Fruits (simple sugars), Vegetables (fibrous carbs), and good Fats. We also talked about avoiding all those refined and highly processed junk foods.
Perhaps a simpler way of looking at it is like this—make sure that every meal includes a source of Protein, Starch, and Fruits or Greens. This common sense approach has worked with hundreds of Biggest Losers. Then you just need to make sure your portion control is operating.
Remember, women should never go below 1,200 calories/day and men should never go below 1,800 calories/day. This is the minimum calories you need just to keep your body operating properly. Your activity level will add to the number of calories you need.
Over the years, I’ve observed that most women can comfortably lose weight on between 1,500-1,650 calories/day. This is often quite a bit more than they were eating before. Guys tend to comfortably lose weight if they stick to around 2,200-2,400 calories a day. Speaking from personal experience, I can tell you that most guys are over-eaters!
Here are some healthy, balanced meal ideas that many of our successful Biggest Losers have used. Each has a serving of Protein, Starch, and Fruits or Greens.
Adjust for the calories that you need. The 400 calorie meal size works out perfectly for women on a 1,650 calorie diet if they’re also having three 150 calorie snacks. If you’re a guy, you’ll need to add a little bit to get up to 500-600 calories/meal. If you have any questions or special concerns, check with your health care professional!
Sample 400 Calorie Breakfasts:
• ½ to ¾ cup whole grain Cereal, 8 oz Skim or Soy Milk, and a Medium Banana.
• 1 piece of whole grain Bread with a little butter and honey, a small low fat Yogurt, and some fresh Fruit.
• 2 eggs, 1 piece of whole wheat Toast with butter, ½ cup fresh fruit.
• 1 serving of Oatmeal, 8 oz Skim or Soy Milk, and some fresh fruit.
Sample 400 Calorie Lunches:
• 1 cup whole wheat Spaghetti & Meatballs and ½ cup Green Beans.
• 6” Chicken Teriyaki Sub loaded with veggies on Honey Oat bread.
• Grilled Chicken and Spinach Salad with fat free dressing.
• ½ broiled Chicken Breast, ½ cup frozen Bean Medley, 1 piece whole wheat Bread with butter.
Sample 400 Calorie Suppers:
• 3 oz baked Chicken, ½ cup Baked Beans, Mixed Salad with fat free dressing.
• 3 oz Meatloaf, ½ baked Sweet Potato, ½ cup fresh Green Beans.
• 1 cup grilled Chicken and whole wheat Pasta, Mixed Salad with fat free dressing.
• 3 oz fresh or frozen Fish, ½ cup long grain wild Rice, frozen garden Bean Medley
• 3 oz smoked Pork Chop, ½ baked Potato w. a little butter, Mixed Salad with fat free dressing.
Sample 150 Calorie Snacks:
• Small low fat Yogurt and ½ cup Red Seedless Grapes, or Banana or other fruit.
• Meal Replacement Shakes
• ½ small box of Raisins and ¼ cup of Cashew Pieces.
• ½ cup low fat Cottage Cheese and ½ cup Fruit.
• Several pieces of real (not processed) Cheese & several whole wheat Crackers .
• Protein Bar
• ½ cup fat free Frozen Yogurt and ½ cup fresh Strawberries.
• Yellow Delicious Apple and 1 tbsp Peanut Butter.
This week’s Biggest Loser was Jeremy Whitaker, who lost 2.6% of his body weight and 6.6 lbs. Second place was a tie between Ashlee Hiatt and Nicole Shaughnessy, both losing 1.9% and 3.4 lbs and 2.9 lbs respectively.
The group also graduated from the weight machines this week, so in next week’s article, I’ll cover their first free weight routine for you. Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Perhaps a simpler way of looking at it is like this—make sure that every meal includes a source of Protein, Starch, and Fruits or Greens. This common sense approach has worked with hundreds of Biggest Losers. Then you just need to make sure your portion control is operating.
Remember, women should never go below 1,200 calories/day and men should never go below 1,800 calories/day. This is the minimum calories you need just to keep your body operating properly. Your activity level will add to the number of calories you need.
Over the years, I’ve observed that most women can comfortably lose weight on between 1,500-1,650 calories/day. This is often quite a bit more than they were eating before. Guys tend to comfortably lose weight if they stick to around 2,200-2,400 calories a day. Speaking from personal experience, I can tell you that most guys are over-eaters!
Here are some healthy, balanced meal ideas that many of our successful Biggest Losers have used. Each has a serving of Protein, Starch, and Fruits or Greens.
Adjust for the calories that you need. The 400 calorie meal size works out perfectly for women on a 1,650 calorie diet if they’re also having three 150 calorie snacks. If you’re a guy, you’ll need to add a little bit to get up to 500-600 calories/meal. If you have any questions or special concerns, check with your health care professional!
Sample 400 Calorie Breakfasts:
• ½ to ¾ cup whole grain Cereal, 8 oz Skim or Soy Milk, and a Medium Banana.
• 1 piece of whole grain Bread with a little butter and honey, a small low fat Yogurt, and some fresh Fruit.
• 2 eggs, 1 piece of whole wheat Toast with butter, ½ cup fresh fruit.
• 1 serving of Oatmeal, 8 oz Skim or Soy Milk, and some fresh fruit.
Sample 400 Calorie Lunches:
• 1 cup whole wheat Spaghetti & Meatballs and ½ cup Green Beans.
• 6” Chicken Teriyaki Sub loaded with veggies on Honey Oat bread.
• Grilled Chicken and Spinach Salad with fat free dressing.
• ½ broiled Chicken Breast, ½ cup frozen Bean Medley, 1 piece whole wheat Bread with butter.
Sample 400 Calorie Suppers:
• 3 oz baked Chicken, ½ cup Baked Beans, Mixed Salad with fat free dressing.
• 3 oz Meatloaf, ½ baked Sweet Potato, ½ cup fresh Green Beans.
• 1 cup grilled Chicken and whole wheat Pasta, Mixed Salad with fat free dressing.
• 3 oz fresh or frozen Fish, ½ cup long grain wild Rice, frozen garden Bean Medley
• 3 oz smoked Pork Chop, ½ baked Potato w. a little butter, Mixed Salad with fat free dressing.
Sample 150 Calorie Snacks:
• Small low fat Yogurt and ½ cup Red Seedless Grapes, or Banana or other fruit.
• Meal Replacement Shakes
• ½ small box of Raisins and ¼ cup of Cashew Pieces.
• ½ cup low fat Cottage Cheese and ½ cup Fruit.
• Several pieces of real (not processed) Cheese & several whole wheat Crackers .
• Protein Bar
• ½ cup fat free Frozen Yogurt and ½ cup fresh Strawberries.
• Yellow Delicious Apple and 1 tbsp Peanut Butter.
This week’s Biggest Loser was Jeremy Whitaker, who lost 2.6% of his body weight and 6.6 lbs. Second place was a tie between Ashlee Hiatt and Nicole Shaughnessy, both losing 1.9% and 3.4 lbs and 2.9 lbs respectively.
The group also graduated from the weight machines this week, so in next week’s article, I’ll cover their first free weight routine for you. Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
BIGGEST LOSER "17" -- WEEK THREE
So we’re three weeks into Biggest Loser “17” and things seem to be going pretty well for most of the participants. They’ve got their daily food diaries going so it’s time to start taking a closer look at what they should be eating and why. Keep in mind that I’m not a doctor or registered dietitian, so this is a summary of what I’ve seen work best for most people in the past. Check with your health care professional to be sure this will work for you.
The first food we looked at was protein, which is used for building muscle and bone. Quality sources of protein include lean cuts of meat, poultry, and fish; and low fat dairy products like eggs, milk, yogurt and cottage cheese. Other good sources are nuts, peanut butter, and some types of hard beans. Other foods might contain some protein, but typically not enough to be counted as a main source.
Most people don’t eat enough protein in their diet, especially once they start an exercise program. Even if you try to get some in every meal and snack, you still might be too low on protein. If that’s the case, a quality protein shake supplement will help you get what you need.
Next, we looked at the most abused and misunderstood food group—carbohydrates. There are really three things to know about these—outside of the obvious need to knock out most, if not all of the highly refined, processed junk foods.
First, not all carbs are bad. In fact, most of them are fine for you—if you eat them in moderation. We need carbs for fuel, for both quick and long lasting energy, particularly when we’re exercising.
Fruits are made mostly of water, fiber and fructose, a simple sugar, which can be broken down very rapidly and used to get you going. There are lots to choose from, but most people don’t eat nearly enough fruits like apples, oranges, bananas, grapefruits, grapes, pears, kiwi and so on. As a result, they’re also missing out on a great source of critical vitamins and minerals.
Because they’re very low in calories and high in water and fiber, most people can eat as much fruit as they want, unless they’re diabetic. If you have that medical condition, you’ll need to be more careful with fruits and other carbs because of the effect they have on your insulin level, so consult your physician.
The second kind of good carbs are called complex carbohydrates because they have a more complicated chemical structure which takes longer to be broken down by the body. That makes them an ideal source of long lasting energy.
Good sources of complex carbs include whole grain breads and cereals; oats and oatmeal; long grain wild rice, barley, and whole grain pastas. Other sources include potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and some hard beans.
If you’re diabetic, you’ll need to be extremely careful with complex carbs because of the huge effect they have on insulin levels. Most everyone else will do well by getting one serving at each meal. That will give you the long lasting fuel you need, and also some good vitamins and minerals.
For most people, half a potato or sweet potato will be more than enough to meet your needs. You can also limit your bread to sandwiches made from just one slice of quality whole grain bread, instead of two. Go with thin crust pizza’s (without the cheese filling), and thin flat wraps when available.
Vegetables are the third type of good carbs. Extremely high in vitamins and minerals, vegetables are fibrous carbs (extremely high in fiber) and so are more difficult to digest. Since much of the food is passed through as roughage, not all the food is absorbed by the body, which makes vegetables extremely low in calories. It’s very hard to over eat vegetables but most people tend to skip this critical part of a healthy food regimen.
The best way to deal with fats is to construct a food plan that takes them into account naturally. In fact, we’ve probably run into them in other areas, like eating low fat dairy products, nuts, and fish. We can avoid foods higher in fat by eating more poultry, and eating only lean cuts of meat and even then, smaller portions.
If we’re doing all those things, we’re probably getting all the fats we need, but experts recommend we take a supplement to be sure. In the past few years, most people have become aware of the need to take Omega 3 (fish oil), but recently more attention has been paid to the need to include Omega 6 and 9. So that’s what I look for: a supplement that contains all three: Omega 3, 6, and 9.
So there you have it. It’s pretty simple really. We just need to take the basics and run with them. If you do that and also eliminate most of the junk, it’s hard to go wrong. Next week I’ll show you some of the sample meals that I’ve seen people use to get great results.
This week’s Biggest Loser was Carla Duke, who lost 2.5% of her body weight and 3.8 lbs. This brought her total weight loss for the three weeks up to 9.8 lbs. Second place went to Jeremy Whitaker, who lost 2.0% and another 5.2 lbs, bringing his total weight loss up to an amazing 20.0 lbs! Vince Porter was third, losing 1.7% and 4.4 lbs, and 10.8 lbs for the three weeks.
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
PROTEIN
The first food we looked at was protein, which is used for building muscle and bone. Quality sources of protein include lean cuts of meat, poultry, and fish; and low fat dairy products like eggs, milk, yogurt and cottage cheese. Other good sources are nuts, peanut butter, and some types of hard beans. Other foods might contain some protein, but typically not enough to be counted as a main source.
Most people don’t eat enough protein in their diet, especially once they start an exercise program. Even if you try to get some in every meal and snack, you still might be too low on protein. If that’s the case, a quality protein shake supplement will help you get what you need.
CARBS
Next, we looked at the most abused and misunderstood food group—carbohydrates. There are really three things to know about these—outside of the obvious need to knock out most, if not all of the highly refined, processed junk foods.
First, not all carbs are bad. In fact, most of them are fine for you—if you eat them in moderation. We need carbs for fuel, for both quick and long lasting energy, particularly when we’re exercising.
Fruits are made mostly of water, fiber and fructose, a simple sugar, which can be broken down very rapidly and used to get you going. There are lots to choose from, but most people don’t eat nearly enough fruits like apples, oranges, bananas, grapefruits, grapes, pears, kiwi and so on. As a result, they’re also missing out on a great source of critical vitamins and minerals.
Because they’re very low in calories and high in water and fiber, most people can eat as much fruit as they want, unless they’re diabetic. If you have that medical condition, you’ll need to be more careful with fruits and other carbs because of the effect they have on your insulin level, so consult your physician.
The second kind of good carbs are called complex carbohydrates because they have a more complicated chemical structure which takes longer to be broken down by the body. That makes them an ideal source of long lasting energy.
Good sources of complex carbs include whole grain breads and cereals; oats and oatmeal; long grain wild rice, barley, and whole grain pastas. Other sources include potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and some hard beans.
If you’re diabetic, you’ll need to be extremely careful with complex carbs because of the huge effect they have on insulin levels. Most everyone else will do well by getting one serving at each meal. That will give you the long lasting fuel you need, and also some good vitamins and minerals.
For most people, half a potato or sweet potato will be more than enough to meet your needs. You can also limit your bread to sandwiches made from just one slice of quality whole grain bread, instead of two. Go with thin crust pizza’s (without the cheese filling), and thin flat wraps when available.
Vegetables are the third type of good carbs. Extremely high in vitamins and minerals, vegetables are fibrous carbs (extremely high in fiber) and so are more difficult to digest. Since much of the food is passed through as roughage, not all the food is absorbed by the body, which makes vegetables extremely low in calories. It’s very hard to over eat vegetables but most people tend to skip this critical part of a healthy food regimen.
FATS
The best way to deal with fats is to construct a food plan that takes them into account naturally. In fact, we’ve probably run into them in other areas, like eating low fat dairy products, nuts, and fish. We can avoid foods higher in fat by eating more poultry, and eating only lean cuts of meat and even then, smaller portions.
If we’re doing all those things, we’re probably getting all the fats we need, but experts recommend we take a supplement to be sure. In the past few years, most people have become aware of the need to take Omega 3 (fish oil), but recently more attention has been paid to the need to include Omega 6 and 9. So that’s what I look for: a supplement that contains all three: Omega 3, 6, and 9.
So there you have it. It’s pretty simple really. We just need to take the basics and run with them. If you do that and also eliminate most of the junk, it’s hard to go wrong. Next week I’ll show you some of the sample meals that I’ve seen people use to get great results.
THIS WEEK
This week’s Biggest Loser was Carla Duke, who lost 2.5% of her body weight and 3.8 lbs. This brought her total weight loss for the three weeks up to 9.8 lbs. Second place went to Jeremy Whitaker, who lost 2.0% and another 5.2 lbs, bringing his total weight loss up to an amazing 20.0 lbs! Vince Porter was third, losing 1.7% and 4.4 lbs, and 10.8 lbs for the three weeks.
Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
BIGGEST LOSER "17" -- WEEK TWO
By now the group has had another week to get used to tracking their food consumption with their daily food diaries or on their smart phones. Most people have no idea how much they are eating so they either eat too much or too little.
Food diaries help you get just enough food to keep the fires burning and fuel part of your activity during the day. Then, if you exercise enough, you’ll create a calorie deficit that lets you start burning fat for fuel. That’s how you take the weight off.
It’s also important to spread your calories out during the day. Some experts call it grazing. The main thing is to avoid eating too much at any one time, because anything you can’t use is stored as fat in the body.
By spreading it out into 3 smaller meals and 2-3 healthy snacks, you’ll tend to always use or burn everything you eat, which is a huge advantage. It also keeps you from getting hungry and maybe overeating later in the day.
For most people, this means you need to eat a little more in the morning, and a little less at night. Some need to eat a lot less in the evenings! If you miss breakfast, a morning snack, and maybe even lunch, you’re setting things up for a disaster later in the day.
Every time we talk about this I remind people never go to below 1,200 calories (women) or 1,800 calories (men). This is your baseline which I call your “minimum.” If you routinely come in under your minimum, several things start to happen.
You’ll start to feel run-down, and just have an overall lack of energy. Often, your body won’t recover as well from little things. What’s worse, your body thinks you’re “starving” and causes you to hold on to that fat in case you might need it.
But as soon as you start hitting your minimum, your body will have what it needs to operate correctly, and then starts letting you burn fat for fuel. I’ve seen this hundreds of times. It’s counter-intuitive, but it works. You’ve got to hit your minimum.
Most women need around 1,650 calories to lose weight and feel good doing it. Most guys need around 2400 calories. This breaks down to three 400 calorie meals and three 150 calorie snacks for the gals. The guys need to shoot for three 600 calorie meals and three 200 calorie snacks.
In the gym, their goals were to continue to hit their cardio workouts and push ahead with the interval training I talked about last week (run a minute, walk two minutes, etc…). As it gets easier, they should start increasing their speed. They can also run a little further, or take shorter rest breaks.
For their group workout, I had them do 10 pushups, 10 body squats, and 10 sit-ups (5x). Then we went to the weight room where they learned a new way to use the machines. We took the first two machines (Chest Press and Seated Row) and did them back-to-back, three times, without a break. In this case, they had a partner on the other machine, so they switched back-and-forth.
Then they would take the next pair of machines (Pec Deck and Lat Pulldown) and do those back-to-back, without a break, a total of three times, and so on. These supersets continue until you get through each pair of machines. If you try it, you’ll see this will greatly increase the intensity of your workouts, burning lots more calories.
This week’s Biggest Loser was Jeremy Whitaker, who lost 1.8% of his body weight and 4.6 lbs. Jeremy’s lost 14.8 lbs in the first two weeks! Second place went to Johna Todd, who lost 1.6% of her body weight and 3.4 lbs. Third place went to Sheryl Bennett, who lost 1.5% and 3.4 lbs.
Next week we’ll take a look at the quality of foods we eat. Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Food diaries help you get just enough food to keep the fires burning and fuel part of your activity during the day. Then, if you exercise enough, you’ll create a calorie deficit that lets you start burning fat for fuel. That’s how you take the weight off.
It’s also important to spread your calories out during the day. Some experts call it grazing. The main thing is to avoid eating too much at any one time, because anything you can’t use is stored as fat in the body.
By spreading it out into 3 smaller meals and 2-3 healthy snacks, you’ll tend to always use or burn everything you eat, which is a huge advantage. It also keeps you from getting hungry and maybe overeating later in the day.
For most people, this means you need to eat a little more in the morning, and a little less at night. Some need to eat a lot less in the evenings! If you miss breakfast, a morning snack, and maybe even lunch, you’re setting things up for a disaster later in the day.
Every time we talk about this I remind people never go to below 1,200 calories (women) or 1,800 calories (men). This is your baseline which I call your “minimum.” If you routinely come in under your minimum, several things start to happen.
You’ll start to feel run-down, and just have an overall lack of energy. Often, your body won’t recover as well from little things. What’s worse, your body thinks you’re “starving” and causes you to hold on to that fat in case you might need it.
But as soon as you start hitting your minimum, your body will have what it needs to operate correctly, and then starts letting you burn fat for fuel. I’ve seen this hundreds of times. It’s counter-intuitive, but it works. You’ve got to hit your minimum.
Most women need around 1,650 calories to lose weight and feel good doing it. Most guys need around 2400 calories. This breaks down to three 400 calorie meals and three 150 calorie snacks for the gals. The guys need to shoot for three 600 calorie meals and three 200 calorie snacks.
In the gym, their goals were to continue to hit their cardio workouts and push ahead with the interval training I talked about last week (run a minute, walk two minutes, etc…). As it gets easier, they should start increasing their speed. They can also run a little further, or take shorter rest breaks.
For their group workout, I had them do 10 pushups, 10 body squats, and 10 sit-ups (5x). Then we went to the weight room where they learned a new way to use the machines. We took the first two machines (Chest Press and Seated Row) and did them back-to-back, three times, without a break. In this case, they had a partner on the other machine, so they switched back-and-forth.
Then they would take the next pair of machines (Pec Deck and Lat Pulldown) and do those back-to-back, without a break, a total of three times, and so on. These supersets continue until you get through each pair of machines. If you try it, you’ll see this will greatly increase the intensity of your workouts, burning lots more calories.
This week’s Biggest Loser was Jeremy Whitaker, who lost 1.8% of his body weight and 4.6 lbs. Jeremy’s lost 14.8 lbs in the first two weeks! Second place went to Johna Todd, who lost 1.6% of her body weight and 3.4 lbs. Third place went to Sheryl Bennett, who lost 1.5% and 3.4 lbs.
Next week we’ll take a look at the quality of foods we eat. Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Thursday, October 04, 2012
BIGGEST LOSER "17" -- WEEK ONE
After taking the summer off, it’s nice to get another Biggest Loser group started, so here we go with Biggest Loser “17.” It’s a pretty small group, just fourteen people, especially compared to some of the bigger groups we’ve had, but I figure there are still lots of people wanting to do this on their own.
So for the next 12 weeks, I’m going to take you through everything we do with the group. I’ll tell you about the workouts and how they progress in intensity over the course of the program. We’ll also cover how they’re learning to watch what they’re eating.
There’s no sense in reinventing the wheel—if someone has success, we should be able to copy it and have some success of our own. So if you want to do this on your own, you should be able to mirror what they do with similar results. Here’s what we’ve done so far.
A week ago, we met for the initial weigh-in and measurement sessions so they could get an accurate read on where they were. We took weight, body fat, water, bone density, and other variables, as well as several tape measurements: Right & Left Arm, Chest, Stomach, Hips, Right & Left Thigh, and Right & Left Calves. They’ll weigh-in weekly, and do measurements once a month. This will give them a way of tracking their progress, both on the scale, and around their body.
They also did a fitness test consisting of 1 min pushups, 1 min sit-ups, 1 min body squats, 1 min burpees, and 1 min mountain climbers. Part of their homework assignment was to do a 1 mile walk/run for time.
We had two goals here. The first was just to show them what kind of shape they were in. The other was to have something to compare to when they do the tests again in 12 weeks. I’m betting they’ll all be pretty amazed at how much easier each of these tests will be.
Another part of their homework was to start filling out a Daily Calorie Log. Most people have no idea how much they’re eating—they either guess high or low—but few people guess right. This will lock that in for them and show them exactly where they are each day.
We’ll also use the logs to look at the quality of their foods, but for the first week, it’s all about getting the quantity right. Women need to stay above 1,200 calories; men above 1,800. Targets that seem to work pretty well are 1,650 calories for women and 2,400 calories for men. If you don’t get enough food, your metabolism will slow, making it hard to burn fat for fuel.
Obviously, if you get too much, you store whatever you don’t need as fat. Either way, it’s a problem, so the trick is figuring out what your body needs and not go much over that. Then, by adding exercise and more activity, you put your body in a calorie deficit that lets you start burning fat for fuel.
If you can burn 500 calories a day through a combination of exercise and watching what you eat, you’ll net 3,500 calories a week, which is a pound of fat. If you can double that and burn 1,000 calories a day, you can lose two pounds of fat, and so on. In the end, it comes down to how much activity you have, and how closely you stick to your calorie targets.
Highly motivated people can even triple those numbers, especially early in the weight loss cycle, often losing three pounds a week or even more. Of the 14 people involved, eight of them lost at least 2.6 pounds, and six of them lost over 3.4 lbs, so you see what I’m talking about.
That means we’re off to a good start. All 14 people weighed in, with 12 of them losing weight. We had a two-way tie for first place between Carla Duke and Jeremy Whitaker, both losing 3.8% of their body weight and a whopping 6.0 lbs and 10.2 lbs respectively. Second place went to Nicole Shaughnessy, who lost 3.1% and 5.0 lbs.
Their workout goals are to walk at least a mile every morning, and then get their regular workouts each afternoon or evening. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, they’re supposed to hit the weight machine circuit after a cardio warm-up. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, they’ll get a good cardio workout on the treadmill, elliptical, bike, rower, stepper, or even running and walking outside.
They’re also supposed to start pushing a little bit during their cardio workouts. One of the best ways to get this going is by first warming up, and then trying to jog a minute at a low running speed (4.0 to 5.0 mph). After a minute pushing, they can rest a little by walking two minutes. Then they do another interval jogging, rest, and so on. This will help them prepare for an upcoming 5 K (3.1 mile) walk/run they’ll do in November.
Next week we’ll take a look at food diaries and how they start ramping things up in the gym. Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
So for the next 12 weeks, I’m going to take you through everything we do with the group. I’ll tell you about the workouts and how they progress in intensity over the course of the program. We’ll also cover how they’re learning to watch what they’re eating.
There’s no sense in reinventing the wheel—if someone has success, we should be able to copy it and have some success of our own. So if you want to do this on your own, you should be able to mirror what they do with similar results. Here’s what we’ve done so far.
A week ago, we met for the initial weigh-in and measurement sessions so they could get an accurate read on where they were. We took weight, body fat, water, bone density, and other variables, as well as several tape measurements: Right & Left Arm, Chest, Stomach, Hips, Right & Left Thigh, and Right & Left Calves. They’ll weigh-in weekly, and do measurements once a month. This will give them a way of tracking their progress, both on the scale, and around their body.
They also did a fitness test consisting of 1 min pushups, 1 min sit-ups, 1 min body squats, 1 min burpees, and 1 min mountain climbers. Part of their homework assignment was to do a 1 mile walk/run for time.
We had two goals here. The first was just to show them what kind of shape they were in. The other was to have something to compare to when they do the tests again in 12 weeks. I’m betting they’ll all be pretty amazed at how much easier each of these tests will be.
Another part of their homework was to start filling out a Daily Calorie Log. Most people have no idea how much they’re eating—they either guess high or low—but few people guess right. This will lock that in for them and show them exactly where they are each day.
We’ll also use the logs to look at the quality of their foods, but for the first week, it’s all about getting the quantity right. Women need to stay above 1,200 calories; men above 1,800. Targets that seem to work pretty well are 1,650 calories for women and 2,400 calories for men. If you don’t get enough food, your metabolism will slow, making it hard to burn fat for fuel.
Obviously, if you get too much, you store whatever you don’t need as fat. Either way, it’s a problem, so the trick is figuring out what your body needs and not go much over that. Then, by adding exercise and more activity, you put your body in a calorie deficit that lets you start burning fat for fuel.
If you can burn 500 calories a day through a combination of exercise and watching what you eat, you’ll net 3,500 calories a week, which is a pound of fat. If you can double that and burn 1,000 calories a day, you can lose two pounds of fat, and so on. In the end, it comes down to how much activity you have, and how closely you stick to your calorie targets.
Highly motivated people can even triple those numbers, especially early in the weight loss cycle, often losing three pounds a week or even more. Of the 14 people involved, eight of them lost at least 2.6 pounds, and six of them lost over 3.4 lbs, so you see what I’m talking about.
That means we’re off to a good start. All 14 people weighed in, with 12 of them losing weight. We had a two-way tie for first place between Carla Duke and Jeremy Whitaker, both losing 3.8% of their body weight and a whopping 6.0 lbs and 10.2 lbs respectively. Second place went to Nicole Shaughnessy, who lost 3.1% and 5.0 lbs.
Their workout goals are to walk at least a mile every morning, and then get their regular workouts each afternoon or evening. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, they’re supposed to hit the weight machine circuit after a cardio warm-up. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, they’ll get a good cardio workout on the treadmill, elliptical, bike, rower, stepper, or even running and walking outside.
They’re also supposed to start pushing a little bit during their cardio workouts. One of the best ways to get this going is by first warming up, and then trying to jog a minute at a low running speed (4.0 to 5.0 mph). After a minute pushing, they can rest a little by walking two minutes. Then they do another interval jogging, rest, and so on. This will help them prepare for an upcoming 5 K (3.1 mile) walk/run they’ll do in November.
Next week we’ll take a look at food diaries and how they start ramping things up in the gym. Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
GETTING RIPPED
These past few weeks, we’ve taken a look at some of the different fitness goals people have. Most commonly, they want to lose a little weight, or even a lot of weight. It’s also common for people to want to get toned up, and sometimes increase their size or strength. But sometimes, people tell me they’d like to get “ripped.”
While getting “ripped” means different things to different people, it’s usually associated with wanting to have good muscle tone everywhere, and such low body fat that all the abdominals and oblique muscles (sides) are showing. This type of physique is pretty unusual, especially in adults.
Being ripped is much more common in males, especially in the teenage years. This is partly due to metabolism and partly due to activity level. The more active they are, the leaner they are. Girls tend not to be quite as cut, even if they’re just as active. There are several reasons for this.
Guys have extremely high levels of testosterone, especially at that age, which results in greater muscular development. Their additional muscle mass increases metabolism which burns more calories, even while resting.
On the other hand, females tend to maintain higher levels of body fat. This is due to much lower levels of testosterone, but much higher levels of estrogen and other hormones. This means their muscle mass will typically be much less than that of males. Women also tend to have more body fat around their midsection for protection of their reproductive organs.
For these reasons, I’ve observed that women wanting to get cut or ripped usually have to work harder than men to get the same result. But that doesn’t make it easy for guys either, especially as they move out of their younger years. For every decade it gets harder.
Someone in their 20’s will find it easier to get ripped than someone in their 30’s. Those in their 30’s will find it easier than someone in their 40’s or 50’s, and so on. This is partly due to metabolism changes as we age. Activity levels also play a huge role, as does decreased muscle mass in both men in women.
But the biggest difficulty in getting ripped is due to our diet. We tend to eat more than we need, especially guys. And even regular fitness enthusiasts often have poor diets, too high in carbs and too low in protein.
If these problems weren’t enough, there’s one more. The easiest pounds to come off are the first few, early in the process. In contrast, the hardest pounds to lose are those stubborn last few, especially around your abdominals and obliques (side muscles).
That will take a very complete and focused effort, with little room for error. This means you’re going to have to maximize your muscle mass but also burn away most of your body fat. But these are conflicting goals.
Pros build up their muscle mass and then do a cut phase where they eat less and more cleaner, eliminating most carbs altogether. Most people find it hard to stick with such a restrictive diet.
To see the top row of abs, your body fat needs to be around 10%. To see the next row, you’ll have to lose another percent, getting down to around 9%. To see another row, you’ll have to be around 8%. The last row will get you down to around 7%. And to eliminate the rest of the body fat below your belly button and around your hips, you’ll need to get down to around 5-6%.
Not only is this difficult, but it usually can’t last very long. Those fitness models and professional bodybuilders you see in the magazines are photographed at a time when they are at their absolute peak fitness and lowest body fat.
They know when the photo shoot is, and train and diet to peak at that moment. They pull back on the heavier weights, focusing on lighter weights and more repetitions, and also increase their cardio. They’re often dehydrated, sometimes even using artificial means to get there.
A good example would be an MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter who cut weight before a fight. They look extremely ripped because they’ve gotten as dehydrated as possible to eliminate any weight due to water weight so they can make their weight.
But once the photo shoot, bodybuilding competition, or MMA fight is over, they have to return to a more normal diet. In the case of fighters, they hydrate and eat right after the weigh-in. Fitness models and bodybuilders typically resume a more traditional muscle building phase. As a result, their body fat can quickly go back up as much as five percent or more.
There’s another way to do it that might work better for you. High intensity exercise programs like P90X, Insanity, or Cross Fit can help get you there. Eliminate rest periods during your weight lifting by doing supersets of opposing muscle groups or adding ab exercises between sets.
Do higher repetitions in some of your sets, and add burn-out drop sets to failure. Add an extra cardio session each day, like going for a 20 minute walk every morning, or riding the bike an hour every night. Or do 20 minutes of cardio like the rower and bike before your workout and then another 20 minutes after. It doesn’t have to be hard, just burn those calories.
At the same time, adjust your calories enough so you can lose a little bit each week. You don’t have to eliminate carbs, just the junk. Make sure the rest of your carbs are high quality, like fruits and vegetables.
Do only low fat dairy, and if you like breads, limit yourself to about half of what you’re used to. Make a sandwich with only one piece of whole grain bread. Use the smaller, lower calorie breads, or rye, which is lower in calories, and has a smaller insulin response. Learn how to quit eating when you’re full.
If you’re already near your ideal weight and in excellent shape, these steps will get you there but you have to stick with it. Little-by-little you’ll start seeing more and more definition, and if you want it bad enough, and don’t give up, you too can “get ripped!”
Don’t worry if you’re not ready for that yet. Most people just want to lose weight and get their life back, so Biggest Loser “17” is starting this week to help you get the ball rolling. If you want to participate, you need to get with me right away! Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
While getting “ripped” means different things to different people, it’s usually associated with wanting to have good muscle tone everywhere, and such low body fat that all the abdominals and oblique muscles (sides) are showing. This type of physique is pretty unusual, especially in adults.
Being ripped is much more common in males, especially in the teenage years. This is partly due to metabolism and partly due to activity level. The more active they are, the leaner they are. Girls tend not to be quite as cut, even if they’re just as active. There are several reasons for this.
Guys have extremely high levels of testosterone, especially at that age, which results in greater muscular development. Their additional muscle mass increases metabolism which burns more calories, even while resting.
On the other hand, females tend to maintain higher levels of body fat. This is due to much lower levels of testosterone, but much higher levels of estrogen and other hormones. This means their muscle mass will typically be much less than that of males. Women also tend to have more body fat around their midsection for protection of their reproductive organs.
For these reasons, I’ve observed that women wanting to get cut or ripped usually have to work harder than men to get the same result. But that doesn’t make it easy for guys either, especially as they move out of their younger years. For every decade it gets harder.
Someone in their 20’s will find it easier to get ripped than someone in their 30’s. Those in their 30’s will find it easier than someone in their 40’s or 50’s, and so on. This is partly due to metabolism changes as we age. Activity levels also play a huge role, as does decreased muscle mass in both men in women.
But the biggest difficulty in getting ripped is due to our diet. We tend to eat more than we need, especially guys. And even regular fitness enthusiasts often have poor diets, too high in carbs and too low in protein.
If these problems weren’t enough, there’s one more. The easiest pounds to come off are the first few, early in the process. In contrast, the hardest pounds to lose are those stubborn last few, especially around your abdominals and obliques (side muscles).
That will take a very complete and focused effort, with little room for error. This means you’re going to have to maximize your muscle mass but also burn away most of your body fat. But these are conflicting goals.
Pros build up their muscle mass and then do a cut phase where they eat less and more cleaner, eliminating most carbs altogether. Most people find it hard to stick with such a restrictive diet.
To see the top row of abs, your body fat needs to be around 10%. To see the next row, you’ll have to lose another percent, getting down to around 9%. To see another row, you’ll have to be around 8%. The last row will get you down to around 7%. And to eliminate the rest of the body fat below your belly button and around your hips, you’ll need to get down to around 5-6%.
Not only is this difficult, but it usually can’t last very long. Those fitness models and professional bodybuilders you see in the magazines are photographed at a time when they are at their absolute peak fitness and lowest body fat.
They know when the photo shoot is, and train and diet to peak at that moment. They pull back on the heavier weights, focusing on lighter weights and more repetitions, and also increase their cardio. They’re often dehydrated, sometimes even using artificial means to get there.
A good example would be an MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter who cut weight before a fight. They look extremely ripped because they’ve gotten as dehydrated as possible to eliminate any weight due to water weight so they can make their weight.
But once the photo shoot, bodybuilding competition, or MMA fight is over, they have to return to a more normal diet. In the case of fighters, they hydrate and eat right after the weigh-in. Fitness models and bodybuilders typically resume a more traditional muscle building phase. As a result, their body fat can quickly go back up as much as five percent or more.
There’s another way to do it that might work better for you. High intensity exercise programs like P90X, Insanity, or Cross Fit can help get you there. Eliminate rest periods during your weight lifting by doing supersets of opposing muscle groups or adding ab exercises between sets.
Do higher repetitions in some of your sets, and add burn-out drop sets to failure. Add an extra cardio session each day, like going for a 20 minute walk every morning, or riding the bike an hour every night. Or do 20 minutes of cardio like the rower and bike before your workout and then another 20 minutes after. It doesn’t have to be hard, just burn those calories.
At the same time, adjust your calories enough so you can lose a little bit each week. You don’t have to eliminate carbs, just the junk. Make sure the rest of your carbs are high quality, like fruits and vegetables.
Do only low fat dairy, and if you like breads, limit yourself to about half of what you’re used to. Make a sandwich with only one piece of whole grain bread. Use the smaller, lower calorie breads, or rye, which is lower in calories, and has a smaller insulin response. Learn how to quit eating when you’re full.
If you’re already near your ideal weight and in excellent shape, these steps will get you there but you have to stick with it. Little-by-little you’ll start seeing more and more definition, and if you want it bad enough, and don’t give up, you too can “get ripped!”
Don’t worry if you’re not ready for that yet. Most people just want to lose weight and get their life back, so Biggest Loser “17” is starting this week to help you get the ball rolling. If you want to participate, you need to get with me right away! Feel free to contact me through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tomdolanfitness if you have any questions or comments.
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