Obese America, Personal Training, and Abundance

July 10, 2008

Alwyn Cosgrove has a post on Abundance vs. Scarcity in the personal training market. He sets up the idea that some people have a mindset of abundance, and others of scarcity. Meaning, those with the abundance mindset think the world is full of plenty of opportunity for everyone whereas those with the scarcity mindset believe there is a limited amount, and to do well means (by necessity) that someone else must fail.

I call it going “Deep Sea Fishing for Water”. This can be a little deep (no pun intended) so bear with me….

It’s as if we chartered a boat and went out to sea, with the goal of collecting as much water as we could. When we get there - I start using a bucket to collect my water. You start using a tea cup.

Now ask yourself this — are you angry that I used a bucket? Do you feel as if I’m taking more than my “fair share” ?

In the personal training and fitness coaching market, there really is an abundance of potential clients. I’m never worried about helping out a fellow trainer for fear of them “stealing” my clients. That’s ridiculous. The United States has a population that is about 30% obese and growing (pun fully intended). Every year we graduate a larger number of high school students who have never had a serious PE class, who couldn’t run a mile to save their lives (literally, if a bear was chasing them, they’d be food).

Here’s the reality. If you’re a man, without any serious physical ailments, and under 70, you should be able to do at least 10 pull ups. You should be able to run a mile in less than 9 minutes (I’m being lax here). You should be able to do 100 crunches in a row, no problem; 50 push ups straight; and squat about bodyweight. I’m not joking. Any male of the species, if truly in shape, should be able to do these things. The amount of testosterone flowing in the male body is ridiculous compared to what women have. Men are quite literally on steroids. There is no excuse. These numbers are low. There are old old old men at Loprinzi’s that can do better than this.

All it takes is some work. And the pay off is huge.

For women there are similar standards. At least: 8 full push ups or 20 knee push ups; run a mile in less than 10 minutes; do 8 pull ups with 75% bodyweight (with 100% bodyweight if you have a small hip structure); Squat 75% bodyweight; 100 crunches, no problem. These could all be higher depending on bone structure.

For certain athletes these numbers would be different. Female Olympic lifters sometimes have a hard time doing pull ups because of the shear muscular weight they carry in their hips and legs. But, then they make up for that by clean and jerking their bodyweight (see below).

If you can’t do those things, I can help you. For that matter, a whole host of trainers could help you get better than you are now, even the crappy ones. All they have to do is encourage you to workout regularly. Most Americans don’t, therefor, it’s an open market. How many people do you know who can boast the aforementioned numbers? Can you?

This is Melanie Roach clean and jerking a ton of weight:

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Posted by saij

Unstable Training, Unstable Results

June 25, 2008

Keith Scott goes into the history, and provides criticism of unstable training (eg. boshu balls).

If you are trying to increase your strength, unstable training not only is a waste of time, but can actually be a detriment to your gains. You cannot possibly get stronger when you are squatting on a Bosu ball. You feet need a solid, stable surface to be able to increase loads progressively that will cause strength increases. Training on an unstable surface will not allow you to do this and will even make your weaker in the long run. Besides lack of strength increases and getting weaker, it also sets you up for injury. I have rehabbed many injuries that were caused by unstable training accidents.

Amen, brother.  He rightly mentions that it has its place in rehab settings, but it should be kept out of an athletes general program.  Remember that if you find yourself hiring a trainer at a big-box gym and he asks you to do overhead-lunges on a medicine-ball covered in oil.

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Posted by saij

The Vegetarian Athlete: An Oxymoron?

January 30, 2008

There are a rising number of Vegetarian Athletes competing today.  I have coached a number of them myself.   The Olympic Coach magazine attempts to  deal with the pro’s and con’s and what a coach can do to maximize an athletes performance in light of their dietary choices.

Optimal performance comes with good health. Athletes who follow any type of vegetarian eating program seem to have a lower risk of developing diseases such as diabetes and heart disease in later years of life. Unfortunately, much of the scientific research is focused on health effects of vegetarianism and not specifically on performance. However, it is easy to infer that vegetarian eating plans could lead to increased performance since carbohydrates are plentiful and carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy during moderate to high intensity training.

Of course, many athletes who develop diabetes and other diseases later in life after their competitive days are over are likely becoming so unhealthy because they’ve stopped training all together.  It is rediculously common for competitive athletes to cease ALL training of any kind once they’ve ended their careers.  If athletes continued training (at a more moderate level than they did when they were competing) they would also be far less likely to develop these diseases.

The bottom line is that being a vegetarian is not going to hurt ones athletic performance.  But, it can make it harder to get adequate protein.  No athlete (particularly no strength athletes) can get away with a low protein diet.  Here are some meat (and milk) substitutes recomended in the article (albeit some are better than others):

  • Soy milk
  • Tofu
  • Edamame
  • Quinoa (a grain that is relatively in protein)
  • Walnuts, almonds
  • Kidney and black beans
  • Tempeh
  • Hummus
  • Peanut, soynut or almond butter

Eat up, athletes.  Your performance depends on it.

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Posted by saij

Athletes and Sports Drinks: What to Choose?

November 7, 2007

That’s the question asked, and answered in a new article in Olympic Coach Magazine.

There recomendations for how to choose a good Sports Drink for an Athlete are as follows:

When choosing a sports’ drink, it is important that it provides a combination of carbohydrate, sodium and fluid in the following quantities:

  • Carbohydrates: 14-17 grams per 8 ounces (a 6-7% carbohydrate solution).
  • Sodium: dependent upon athlete’s sweat rate and sweat sodium concentration but a range of 70-1266 milligrams per 8 ounces of fluid is recommended.
  • Fluid: dependent upon athlete’s sweat rate but a range of 3-8 ounces per 15-20 minutes is recommended.

1 Comment | Exercise, Health, Nutrition, Science, Weightlifting | Permalink
Posted by saij

Heavy Athletics Olympic Weightlifting Championships

September 24, 2007

I just got back from a great meet in creswell Oregon at Iron Works gym.  Thank you to Tom Hirtz for inviting me and helping me out with starting PDX Weightlifting.

See pictures of the event here.

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Posted by saij

The CrossFit Total, with Mark Rippetoe

September 18, 2007

Mark Rippetoe talks strength, training, and the new CrossFit Total, which contests the OH press, Dead, and Squat.

I’d like to see a contest which contests the OH Press, Front Squat, and Snatch.  That would be a serious test of overall athleticism … Hmmm … maybe the Dojo will have to host something like this in the future!

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Posted by saij

Even Figure Skaters Squat!

September 18, 2007

See:

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The Truth About Interval Training vs. Diet

September 10, 2007

The title above is actually quite misleading.  It presumes there is a dicotomy between the two: Diet vs. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).  There isn’t.  You need to do both.  You need a good solid diet, made up of vegatables, high quality protein sources in adequate amounts, AND you need to have a solid, tough, balls-to-the-wall exercise program.

That said, the question remains:  Which (diet or exercise) is KING and which is QUEEN.  (I’m sorry in advance for the inherently sexist categorical system I’m using).

I just read a post by Jon Benson (who I generally respect), that I have to disagree with.  In it, he prefaces (just like I did above) that REALLY you need to have both in place.  But, when pushed, he reversed Jack LaLanne’s assertion that Exercise is King, and Nutrition is Queen.  For Jon, Nutrition is King.

When it comes to sheer fat loss, when we’re not talking about ANY other health indicators, then I think Jon is correct.  But, if you care AT ALL about your strength levels, bone density, endurance, power, stamina, mental acuity, depression levels, hormone levels, or any other physical factor other than body fat %, then Exercise is KING.  Particularly High Intensity Exercise like Interval Training, Cross Training, and Weight Training.

I don’t even bother talking about diet, beyond the ultimate basics, with my clients when they first come to me.  Eventually we get into it pretty seriously, but at first, it’s just getting them off their couch.  If they aren’t moving, diet is worthless … because they’ll quit.

Diet follows from what your body needs.  If you aren’t causing your body to NEED 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight a day, then eating that much will feel weird.  If you aren’t causing damage (and that’s what exercise is, damage) to your body, then all those vegetables and vitamins and healthy foods seem like a chore, rather than a disparate need.

The harder and harder the routines get, as you progress to ever higher levels of workout intensity, the more and more you will start to WANT to eat healthier.  There is nothing like the craving for Broccoli that comes from a body that is constantly under serious physical stress.  I’m not joking!  I crave it all the time.

Of course this isn’t universal!  Bad habits are bad habits.  But, exercise creates the positive environment where a healthy diet can thrive.   And changing bad habits in diet is always easier when you are hitting the gym hard.

In the end, there is more to health than your outward appearance.  If you want to shed body fat, then you have to work your ass off in the gym, and you have to work hard on your diet.  Period.  There’s just no way around that.   But, the other reasons to exercise are so myriad that it seems silly to even consider a world where we didn’t put our all into it.

If I had to pick between a sub-par workout routine and a perfect diet, or a sub-par diet and a slammin’ workout routine, I’ll pick the latter.  (notice I didn’t say a perfect diet with NO exercise, or a perfect workout routine with all your meals all coming from Micky D’s … that’d be moronic).

The latter is more in line with how our species was psychologically designed to deal with the world.  Our species is designed to exercise.  We’re designed to climb trees (pull ups), run after our food, fish, swim, jump, build shelters, walk for miles and miles, etc.  We are NOT designed to diet.  Psychologically, a hard diet is much worse than a hard workout routine.

So, get up, start moving, eat healthy and sensibly, but don’t starve yourself.  And when you workout, don’t wimp out.   That’s the key.

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Posted by saij

300 Spartan Workout

September 6, 2007

A lot has been discussed and written about the 300 workout. And that’s not a surprise. The men (and the few women) in the movie 300 were AMAZINGLY fit, they were in remarkable shape. Their abs were ripped, their legs were muscled, and their backs were like iron.

Their physiques were what most strive for, and most don’t ever reach.

It wasn’t Hollywood hype. It wasn’t trick photography. And it wasn’t that they were on “roids”.

If there was any secret to their success, it was … wait for it … hard work and consistency. They put in the work. Everyday, they went in and trained like animals. Everyday, they were meticulous about their diets. Everyday, they moved forward.

They are living proof of how much you can change your body in a short period of time. If you are willing to put in the work and be disciplined, the sky is the limit.

In the end Vincent Regan shed 40 pounds in eight weeks, and took his deadlift from less than bodyweight (205) to more than double-bodyweight (355). He could pull 85% of 1RM blindfolded and recite Shakespeare in the midst of the toughest training session.

Besides, its fun to pretend to be a spartan!

But, what exactly IS the Spartan Workout? And how does one use it to maximum effect?

Well, there in lies a misconception. Hear this, from the guy who actually trained these warriors:

The second misconception surrounds the idea of the Spartan workout, aka “300”, how frequently it was done or who actually finished it. “300” is a one-time test, an invitation-only challenge undertaken by those deemed ready for it. By the end of our four-month project 17 people had done the workout (Logan and I were two of them). This constitutes about 50% of the cast and stunt crew. We supervised every test, evaluated each rep for quality and only counted those that achieved our standards for form and range of motion. Like many workouts “300” is not hard once you’ve done it but the apprehension built up ahead of it – something we encouraged – was enough to make some guys fear it to the degree that performance was compromised. This workout was a crucible that some passed through and others still have hanging over them.

“300”
25x Pull-up +
50x Deadlift @ 135# +
50x Push-up +
50x Box Jump @ 24” box +
50x Floor Wiper @ 135# (one-count) +
50x KB Clean and Press @ 36# (KB must touch floor between reps) +
25x Pull-up
300 reps total

In other words, the 300 workout is the benchmark. It is up to you to put in the work so that you can meet it.

See my Exercise List, for a whole host of ideas on how to get there. And if you are interested in Personal Fitness Coaching, either in person (in SE PDX) or online, email me at: coach@dojoathletics.com

2 Comments | Exercise, Fat Loss, Health, Weightlifting, Women's Health | Permalink
Posted by saij

WOMEN: It’s Time to Say Goodbye To Cellulite!

August 30, 2007

Bill Hartman Tells Women how to Finally get rid of Cellulite, here’s the breakdown:

Now the bigger question is how do you that as quickly and effectively as possible?

1.  eliminate all processed carbohydrates from your eating plan
2.  Reduce your overall carbohydrate intake (DO NOT eliminate all carbs)
3.  Perform progressively challenging metabolism enhancing resistance training
4.  Perform progressively challenging fat burning interval training
5.  Burn more fat at rest

See my Exercise List for ideas about how YOU can get into the best shape of your life!  Or better yet, if you live in Portland, email me: Coach@dojoathletics.com 

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