This One's for the Boys!

Okay, so I should actually state that this is for the men that I am lucky enough to have reading my blog.  We had a men's health seminar the other day and it went really well (better than I expected) and I was really impressed by how much interest the men who attended had in what we had to say.  I won't go into every thing that was talked about but I did want to summarize my take on what I saw as the biggest talking points of the event.

1.  (Per the doctor we had come talk)  If you are a guy you need to be monitoring what is happening with your prostate and having that checked out.  Taking medications/supplements seems to be a good idea just as preventative medicine.  Also, nutrition (as we all know) is hugely important and our carbohydrate intake needs to monitored.  I won't go into specifics - e-mail me if you want more on that.  Finally, hormone level checks and possible hormone replacement therapy is huge now and getting huger.  Check it out and see what that is all about.

2.  ME!  Okay so I (and the trainer I spoke along with) went about dispelling myths.  The funny thing about that is that I worked with a gentleman today who I ended up going over at least three of the things we talked about in the seminar ... I told him it was a shame he didn't make it.  Anyway, here are the big 5 MYTHS (and the realities) that I continually have to clear up.

1.  Doing cardiovascular exercise does NOT constitute working your legs.  There is weight training and cardio training (and flexibility training) and you need to do BOTH!

2.  Spot reduction does not really work.  You can't flatten your belly (much) with ab work alone.  you have to create a caloric deficit (appropriately) and lose BODY FAT (not just lbs.) to flatten your stomach and get abs.   This is my big mission at the moment  .... hard!

3.  Free weights rule and machines are just fluff.  Well that may be harsh but I really preach the "gospel" of free weight training as it's overall benefits far outweigh using machines alone.  Again - you want more - e-mail me.

4.  Your arms are not the most important part of your body to work.  You have three big groups of muscles - legs, back and chest in that order.  Work those first and focus on them and everything else will fall into place.  We can add the arms/shoulders/lower legs/and ab stuff once we get the big three under control!

5.  This one's the BEST!  Lifting weights does not mean body building and by lifting weights you will not turn into a big muscle man or look like you are trying to enter "physique contests".  Big muscular physiques take a ton of work, often really good genetics, and good food intake as well as supplementation.  Even if you have some or most of these, it is still really hard to put in the amount of time and effort necessary to get "big" or "muscly".  Point is - EVERY MAN should be doing weight training if for nothing else - to help improve their posture, strength and muscle tone.  The benefits of working with weights are so plentiful I will need to list them all in another post.  Just summarize it by saying that working with weights will enhance your quality of life for now and many years to come.

As for the nutrition stuff, I won't get into all that as it wasn't really my topic I focused on.  But I would just say that we all need to make sure we are getting plenty or protein (which is more than you think), monitoring (but not eliminating) are carbohydrate intake, and realizing that how much and when you eat is almost as important as what you eat.

Thanks for reading,

Andy

The Quest to Lose 20 lbs.

So I am on a quest.  I am sharing this for several reasons.  One is accountability.  It helps to motivate me if more people know what I am doing.  Second, I like people to understand that I deal just as much as anyone else with my diet, my workouts, my regimen, etc.  I think that is what can make a good trainer - the ability to empathize because you have been there.  Not saying that ultra ripped genetic freaks can't make good trainers - but a little struggle goes a long way in understanding where your friends and clients are coming from.

So my quest is to lose 20 lbs.  Now let me preface this by saying that I am not an advocate of making blanket statements about losing "weight".  Meaning that the scale is not the only measure of progress and body fat/body composition is much more relevant in assessing where you are at.  The fact that muscle is more dense and thus more heavy is a very important factor.  BUT the reality is that I NEED to be at about 200 lbs. Not 220 where I am currently hovering.

I have dealt with my weight's ups and downs for years.  I even was about 250 at one point while teaching and dropped a dramatic 60 lbs to 190 at one point.  I don't believe I handled this quite as appropriately as I could of and as such some of that weight was muscle. (I was doing mucho cardio and eating a hard core "low fat" diet)  I know now that there is a healthy way to do this and it comes in the form of getting the right macro nutrient (protein, carb, fats) percentages down to a science so that I maintain as much muscle as possible while losing purely fat.  NOT EASY

Obviously diet is my big hurdle.  Without getting all numerical/scientific on you - basically I had to find out how many calories I expend daily (both just to live and with exercise factored into the equation) and then determine how much I am actually consuming.  Most of you know I am now on a "meal plan" that helps me keep my calories at a certain number.  Without going into specifics - with the fact that it takes 3500 calories burned to lose 1 lb.  I am on track to lose about 1.5 lbs weekly roughly.  This would be greatly increased (to 2 or 3 lbs. weekly) if I would edit myself more appropriately during the weekends when I am not on the "meal plan" and have to fend for myself.  Of course I am working to make those changes but like many of you have said and I say often "it's hard".  

My point with all this is that when you break down your daily intake/output into numbers (even if they are sometimes rough estimates) it helps open your eyes to what it is that you have to really DO to create the change that you want to see occur.  I know my workouts are on point and I am lucky that I don't have to modify that too much.  I have also been really lucky lately to have a great workout partner (which I highly recommend) to push me in directions that I sometimes resist going - he has a strong running background and I have the weight training background so we compliment each other well.

So just some food for thought.  Thoughtful consideration and analysis of what you eat daily and weekly compared to how much you expend daily and weekly is a great way to assess what you need to do to create that change.  (Consequently the same can be said for those lucky souls who actually want to gain weight)  I am in the process of doing this and it is really helping me gauge each week where I need to "edit" my behavior so I can finally reach my goal.  

MY  GOAL IS TO BE AT 200 lbs. (give or take a pound or to) AND STAY THERE!  If I need to adjust that goal when I get there (maybe go a little lower), so be it.  Doing so is not only healthy for my body but good for my piece of mind.  

Thanks for reading,

Andy