In the Grand Scheme of Things ...

I have been horrible about updating this blog.  After taking a little hiatus from full time training (2 mos.) I am back to working the gym floor only and really appreciative of the opportunity I have each day to work with people directly.  SO - with that said, a client reminded me that I should probably keep my blog up since I am back to training exclusively.  So here it goes.

Of course the holidays are here and we are facing another couple of weeks of parties and gatherings followed by the start of the new year.  This particular year we have had what seems to be an increased amount of inclement weather to add to the mix as well.  Of course, with all this comes extra hurdles to overcome concerning getting to the gym, working out, motivation, diet, etc. etc.  My thoughts on this are that in the grand scheme of things, a "slip up" or "slack" here and there is not going to ruin everything.

I have heard from several clients when speaking with them lately; "Well, I haven't been real good about my diet and am frustrated"  or "I haven't been getting all my workouts like I am supposed to".  They often say this with discouragement and seem to stop short of saying - but I feel like they are thinking - "So now everything is screwed up and I feel like I am making no or less progress".  

I guess I have to define how I look at exercise and how I think people should look at it.  It sounds corny but exercise and/or fitness should be a journey of sorts.  But I don't think it is a journey where you reach a destination.  I was reading in Newsweek the other day about these really old (like upper 90's) people and there lives and secrets for longevity.  The one very common thread seemed to be regular exercise.  Meaning, this doesn't end.  We don't reach a point where our bodies reach some pinnacle and then it is like coasting from there.  Exercise and training is a life long pursuit in one form or another.

I know where the mentality of my "disgruntled" clients comes from though.  I deal with it personally all the time as well.  You look at things short term.  You think I have to lose such and such amount of pounds.  Or I have to be currently maintaining such and such amount of weight.  Or my waistline/figure needs to look like this in the near future.  These are goals and short term goals due inevitably lead to reaching long term goals.  However, I think we sometimes get lost seeing the trees instead of the forest.  We forget that in the grand scheme of things, we are simply putting in our time towards the ultimate long term goal - A Healthy and High Quality of life.  Aesthetic ideas and numbers are definite measuring marks to help up think about what we are doing/working for - but again, the ultimate goal is doing it every day to increase the likelihood that we are going to continue to be able to live long functional lives.  

So when looking at what we are are are not doing during this time of year.  Consider the idea that even though you may not feel like you are getting everything done the way you need to - the fact that you are in there making efforts and "participating" is time well spent.  Also, I don't want to give excuses for "missing" the gym or exercise or "blowing" your diet - but again, in the grand scheme of things a miss or laxing up a bit is not going to set you back exponentially.  Especially if you have been putting in your time for weeks, months, and even years.  Our bodies adapt to change but not rapidly enough to make the occasional holiday "splurge" ruin all your hard earned work.  

Finally, I just wanted to preface something I hope to talk about in future blogs.  I think weight as in how much you weigh, has some relevance.  But I think there is entirely too much emphasis placed on this as we age.  We want to make sure that we are strong functional humans and that means carrying some muscle mass.  Muscle weighs.  So weight isn't always as important as we make it.  Also, the idea that weight training is about functionality and strength seems to be a concept I am consistently hammering home lately.  Weight training does a lot of good things but I have been really focused on emphasising to people lately that it is only through strength training and weights that we increase our bodies structural fortitude.  Again, I hope to discuss this more in future blogs.  

Thanks for reading,

Andy

Food and stuff ...

I have been thinking a lot about food lately.  It plays such a crucial role in the successes (and failures) of people working to lose weight.  My own personal struggles with diet in particular cause me to spend a great time thinking not only about what does and does not work for me, but also about what works, in general, for others.  I am a horrible cook.  Because of this I have had to learn to be very creative when going to places.  Just today I was at one of my mainstays, PepperJax Grill (not sure on the spelling of that).  I went with a client of mine and I was reminded that not everyone orders like I do.  So he was game for ordering essentially the same thing as I did.  Mind you, we had both just had weight workouts.  Here is what we ordered.

Double Chicken rice bowl

- easy on the seasoning (very salty)

Vegetables (peppers, onions, and mushrooms)

White Rice

Ahhhh!  You are exclaiming, "why would a personal trainer order WHITE rice".  Well, my answer to that is I had just finishes an intense weight training workout and my body was in prime condition to "accept" and utilize the type of carbohydrates found in white rice.  Most other times, I would opt for a brown rice (if available - it is not at PepperJax), or vegetables in place of the rice.  

Anyway, this got me thinking about what other places I go to that I strongly manipulate my order to make it meet my nutritional goals.  NOW, mind you, this is not to say that all these meals are perfect and appropriate for every meal consumption.  But in a crunch or as part of neccessity, they do fine.  I must emphasize though, preparing and cooking your food at home is always the safer option.  A majority of the time, food prepared at restaurants are loaded with hidden additives that make them less "clean" than your own food.  Also, I eat a little more than the average bear and a little less than others, so adjust accordingly.

First Watch 

Two Egg beaters scrambled

One turkey Sausage Patty or two turkey links

Two pieces of dry whole wheat toast or a multi grain muffin - or if I can afford to burn it - ONE wheat germ pancake (dry)

water and/or coffee

Wendy's

One grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce only

1 small chili

water or ice tea or diet soda

Applebee's, Jose Peppers, On the Border, etc.

Chicken Fajitas (occasionally beef) - no sides except salsa

water, diet soda, or tea

Panera or any other sandwich shop

Some version of a chicken sandwich - possibly turkey

Multi grain or whole wheat bread

Eliminate spreads that are really cheesy or things like mayonnaise - sometimes I do ask that they go light on the spreads

A GREEN leafy salad if available or

A soup that is not cream based

These are just a few examples of a few places and a few meals that I personally do. You can obviously be much more creative than that.  I am actually sort of boring when it comes to food.  Any restaurant has some sort of chicken dish (without skin) and a vegetable of the day.  Add a soup or greeny salad to that and you should have a satisfying meal.  Also, I love cheesy and creamy things.  That is what I often crave.  I really like fried food.  ALL of this is off limits.  There is really no place in it for any sort of diet plan.  I little cheese here and there used very sparingly, I can sometimes justify.  Anything creamy - I can't usually justify that.  But of course I break down ever so often.  

My point with all of this, is that I know what does and does not work for me when it comes to eating out.  I have also worked to learn how much of the three main macro nutrients I can get away with eating without overdoing it.  Everyone should do this - find out what will  work best for them.  That way you are armed with a plan and won't go into things unsure - which is a easy way to just pick the thing that you think tastes best without being best for you.

Recipes and Stuff ...

Well, I haven't been very good at blogging so far.  I think I am at like one every two months or so.  Not a good record.  Anyway, just wanted to chime in on a couple of things.  In previous posts I talked about the fact that I was doing high intensity training and then moved on to a higher volume training.  So I did that for about six weeks and think that I liked the high intensity (heavier weights, slower reps, etc.) regimen.  Now I have moved on to a good old back to basics routine.  It is very "bodybuilding" oriented.  I am actually using a bodybuilder (from the 70's) routines as inspiration and adapting them for my needs.  As I stated in previous posts.  Everyone is really different and every body responds to different types of workouts.  I think the current routine blends the best of both the high intensity and higher volume components.  So I will hopefully keep folks updated on how that is working for me.  I will just say though, that my longer frame does not build muscle easily and I am applying the principles that I am using to gain as much lean muscle as possible - obviously without gaining fat - which is actually a really hard strategy and takes a lot of determination.

Anyway, I wanted to just post a couple of thoughts on recipes and diet.  I have been thinking a lot and talking with people a bunch about this subject.  First let me start by saying that this is my weakest personal area.  Every person really responds differently to dietary guidelines and no one way works best for each person so you have to experiment a lot.  I am a horrible cook so that makes experimenting on my own that much more difficult.  One thing that I have considered a lot lately is that the idea that people need to make sure that there calories don't exceed what the put out in energy is so important - but at the same time we also need to monitor the type of calories that we put into our bodies.  I always struggle to emphasize that the type of calories is almost as important as the amount of calories that you put in your body.  Also the timing of those calories and the sources are things to carefully consider.  My conclusions are too much to put right here but I would say that it is REALLY important to eat a sizable (biggest meal of the day) breakfast.  People just don't get this and really struggle to find things to eat in the morning.  Secondly eating more frequently and smaller meals tends to be the more appropriate way to consume calories.  Finally - as you go through the day you should taper your carbs and sources of carbohydrate - like a "bready" type products at night are not advised.

Okay - so as far as new recipes I have tried.  How about pizza?  I know - you are like "what ... pizza?"  Well I have made a new little pizza that I really like.  I use pita bread (which I have read has a pretty low glycemic rating) that is wheat (even better).  I put like a very thin layer of olive oil on the top of it (like a teaspoon) and smear it around.  Then I put like a tablespoon or so of Ragu sauce on it.  I use Hormel turkey pepperoni (only 5) and sprinkle about an 1/8th of a cup of 2% milk mozzarella cheese on it.  Oh and I have heated the oven to 425.  I put it in for like 5 minutes and it is awesome.  The calories, carbs and fat are all reasonable and it really tastes like decent pizza.  That is just my recipe.  You could add peppers or other vegetables to it to even make it better if you like.  

So that is it for today.  Let me know what you think.

Thanks for your time.

Andy

Exercise Psychology and what not ...

Haven't updated this blog as much as I would like so I am going to include a couple of different things here.  First - a little about what is going on with me.  I have entered a new phase of my training.  For the past 6 weeks or so I was doing a high intensity training regimen.  Basically, as I mentioned in a previous entry, this was a way for me to do one to two workouts and cover my whole body.  Also, the weights were much heavier and the sets and reps were much lower.  Less overall numbers but increased intensity.  The idea is that you get the most out of each set so you don't have to go back and do set after set with lots of reps.  Well, it worked well for me and I definitely got STRONGER.  I also think my body responded quite well.  For those of you who I haven't given my spiel ... basically my body is not genetically prone to gaining a great deal of muscle and my long skinny-ish frame has taken years to add shape and muscle size to.  So this was worth a shot.  I felt like I maintained and maybe even gained some muscle through this past 6 weeks.  Like an idiot I did not record my initial measurements to compare against.  Anyway, one other thing I did a lot of this past 6 weeks was write out all of my workouts.  In 16+ years of working out - I have never done this.  But I think now I won't ever stop.  It truly is an incredible way to document and remind yourself of what you have done and where you came from, so to speak.  I almost got excited writing out each of my workouts - which actually didn't vary too much as they were "one or the other" - but there was still something exciting about sitting down with my pre-workout drink and mapping out what I was about to do.   I WILL definitely continue to write out my workouts and would suggest that to anyone who is struggling with issues of consistency or motivation.  Anyway, now I am moving on to a higher rep - higher volume routine to hit more of my body parts more effectively.   I still am going to continue on with the 2 day split routine because I find that really "works" for me.  This routine is more reps, sets, and exercises per body part and a faster paced workout with super-sets and all that.  The idea is that hopefully it will lean me out and continue to shape the muscle that I have built.  Of course, I have to make sure the cardio and the diet are in check in order to make it all work together.

Okay - enough about me.  So the title of this blog is Exercise Psychology.  What prompted this was a lot of the conversations I have been having with people.  The more I think about it and talk with others about it ... the more I realize what a huge variable psychology is in all of this.  No matter if you have all the experience, tools, background knowledge, and resources .... if you don't have the right "psychology" - it can sort of kill you.  Why else would anyone who has spent hours of time and money on diet stuff, gym memberships, trainers, and even personal research, still struggle with their goals.  It is all the mental aspect of it.  And it is more than just motivation and drive.  I know plenty of folks that have both but still lose the battle day after day.  

I am not a psychologist, but if I was, I would open a practice dedicated to "exercise psychology".  My background in education and psychology related fields has given me plenty of perspective though.  It seems pretty apparent that behind every behavior or lack there of one - there is a significant mental factor playing a role.  But it seems that we pay the least amount of attention to those things.  Like when someone is putting a food item in their mouth that they KNOW is not on their plan and defies all logic when it comes to what they would like to achieve ... why do they still throw it on in?  Or when a person comes to the gym day after day and is very regimented in there routine, why are they able to continue on with such discipline?  There is so much going on in these different situations that impact our choices and motivation.  I guess I encourage myself and others to continue to explore these issues with themselves or others further and see what role psychology plays in our own successes and failures.

Andy

What Works for YOU?!?!

I get to spend a lot of time talking to members at the club and as such I hear all sorts of interesting ideas on fitness. One of things I find most interesting about some of the people that I get to talk with is the individual differences there are in their lifestyles and respective bodies. I know people who eat whatever they want and workout, and as a result they look great. I know people that eat whatever they want and work out, and as a result they look not as good as they want and never seem to change. I know people that work their selves to the bone, try and eat what they think is an appropriate diet and still struggle to make the littlest amount of change. I know that don't work out much, don't eat right, and as a result look that way. And of course I know people that don't have a clue about what to do, don't really watch what they eat, and still look just fine. All of the variations in different people can most likely be attributed to genetics and a bunch of other factors related to lifestyle that I can't get into because I can't give all the information I need to here. Point is, people are different. As such, people need different approaches to reach their goals. I said to a client the other day, "It is really simple - you do X amount of work and take in X amount of the right type of calories and you have no choice but to lose weight". But of course, even though I was trying to put things in perspective for that client, it never seems quite that simple.
So what does all this mean to someone reading this (assuming that someone else is reading this besides me and I am not rambling to myself???)? It means that we have to quest to find what works for us each individually. Most likely you fall into the category of struggle with diet and struggle with workouts. If you don't and you happen to be one of those people who has found results through your efforts, then kudos to you. However, if you are the person that needs guidance and direction, start thinking about what truly works for YOU. Now - the most important thing to consider to determine this, you need to get a little scientific. What I mean is that you need to take a look at the variables in your life that you can manipulate. Things like what you eat, how much you eat, what sort of training you do and how much of it you do are all very important variables to consider. By looking at each of those individually and thinking about what you are currently doing - then thinking about whether or not that is currently working for you - you can start to think about what changes you may need to make. And not every variable may need to be changed right this moment. Some things you do because they really do work for you and without them, things wouldn't work. (Does that all make sense or I am lost in la la land?) Take an individual who is struggling to lose weight, get to the gym enough, work out effectively and eat right. So I take those variables and break them down. How much exercise seems doable right now ... and what are you currently doing ... how is that working out for you??? (Dr. Phil anyone?) Then I take a look at diet. What are you currently eating, what changes could you make, etc. etc. Some things may not work for you. For instance if you know that in the past you have done hours of cardio a day with little change, then you may need to consider that sort of cardio just doesn't work for you. What other sorts of cardio does your body respond to? If you have tried low carb or low fat diets and they have had mixed results not only in how your body responded but also in how you felt while on them and whether or not you wanted to continue ... then again ask, what works best for you. I know all this seems ambiguous and that is because there are so many variables that can be manipulated in so many different ways that to comment on them all would take a book. My thoughts are though, after talking with different folks and hearing all of the things that work and don't work for people, it really strikes me as important to take some time and really think about/meditate on/write out or whatever ... what works for you?
Finally, I am always struck by some of the people that I seem in the gym consistently that have everything clicking and really seem to have found what works for them. What I often find is most consistent amongst the people that have found that is they are strong in the following areas:
Consistency
Effortlessness (not in effort that is put out but effort it takes to muster up the energy to make them do what they have to do)
Schedule
Routine
Discipline
Contentment
Take those words for what they mean and think about that next time you are thinking about what will work for you.
Andy

ASSIGNMENTS

The title of this post may seem a little odd but I think it is appropriate when thinking about making changes in your lives.  When thinking about transitioning from one way of living (i.e. eating poorly, not exercising enough, etc. etc.) to a more "healthful" lifestyle ... we have a tendency to think in terms of dramatic shifts in behavior.  I find that this is often daunting for most people and that they pump themselves up for this big "switch" and when that becomes too much, they fall back into familiar patterns of behavior.  Of course this cycle ends up discouraging us and we find it harder and harder to get the nerve to do it all over again.  

     One strategy that I like to try with myself and others is giving myself "assignments".  By this, I think of a particular pattern that I need to establish or un-establish and I make an assignment to do this.  For instance, if my pattern is eating something at 9 o'clock every night just to give myself a little treat.  (This is a habit I hear about all the time that can often be very counterproductive and  be discarded as it is just unnecessary in most situations)  Then obviously, I give myself an assignment to make sure I don't have that snack at 9.  However, I don't give myself any other assignments for that week as I need to master one thing before I move on to another.  After, I feel like that "habit" has been broken, then I can focus on my next assignment.  The point is I don't give myself the assignment to "eat right" starting this week or "work out" as those are very broad terms that don't specifically detail a series of steps to take.  And having too many steps to take on in a given week is usually very overwhelming and hard for people to swallow (no pun intended) all at once.  So I guess my words of wisdom (as much to myself as to others) are to think of the behaviors that you are ready to tackle and give yourself that assignment for the week or even day as you make changes in your life.

Diet and Motivation

I have been talking with my clients about two particular themes lately ... diet and motivation.  The NUMBER ONE variable that seems to be the determining factor between success and failure with regards to a fitness plan is the diet.  If your diet is on point, workouts are enhanced.  If your diet is off, your workouts can be nullified.  Point being, given a choice between the two - I wish my clients would get there diets in check before they get their workouts down.  Funny enough though, it seems as most people would rather give time and effort in the gym in lieu of making changes in their diet.  It seems to be the hardest variable to overcome.  Reality is though, it is the one variable that can make or break you in most cases.  The other thing that people really seem to deal with is motivation.  Even if they have all the information in the world related to diet and/or exercise ... sometimes putting what they know into action is the hardest part of all.  I always encourage people to look for that disconnect.  WHY is it that even though you KNOW what to do and how to do it ... even why you should do it ... WHY is it that you still struggle to make appropriate daily choices.  There is some missing motivational component (in my estimation) that seems to be the biggest stumbling block in this area.  I guess this is where a little bit of the therapeutic/psychological component of my job comes into play.  Helping others determine what is causing that disconnect between what you should be doing and what you currently aren't.  Then, once people start doing what they need to - the next step is to help them learn how to continue to do it for a lifetime.  In future posts, I hope to talk some more about that.  

Thanks for reading.

Andy

First Post

I hope I can include lot's of information that is pertinent to my clients and anyone else who will listen.  But all good blogs should (in my opinion) serve as a place to share a little about what is going on with me as well.  I think doing so might create a little empathy for the reader ... if that makes sense.  Anyway, my subject for the day is what I am currently doing in the gym.  I am currently employing a modified "HIT" training regimine.  Basically HIT (stands for high intensity training) is a strategy where you do limited full body work during your workouts but he sets and reps that you do are extremely intense and designed to get every last bit of effort out of you.  I am modifying this a little to meet my needs as I like the idea of working all of my body parts on a more frequent basis but given them ample time to recover in between (which is one of the principles of hit) but also am doing so specific body part (arms, chest) emphasis.  So I have been doing this for about two to three weeks now and will hopefully be able to make notes on how it is working for me.  In general, I seem to be responding okay.  I think I need to do a little higher volume work for my chest and arms.  (arms especially)  Overall, my goal is to bring up my weaker body parts a little while keeping the rest of my body where it is at as well as leaning out.  Sort of a three pronged approach.  That is all for now.  Thanks for reading!

Andy

Any comments ... feel free to send them to actrainer@gmail.com