With the holidays upon us it is customary, or at least implied that people are going to overindulge in eating and drinking and take part in even less physical activity than they normally do.
The average person gains one to two pounds over the holidays. While that not seem too bad, the problem is that the weight gained stays on, most people do not drop that slight gain. If the weight never gets dropped, and every year the weight keeps accumulating then you start having a problem.
But what is one to do? It is implied that you eat. If you are off work, spending time with family and friends and watching the ultimate Christmas Movie (Die Hard) it is hard not to have that cookie and beer.
Don’t worry about everyone else. If you make a plan to eat relativity healthy, don’t let others derail you by giving into their temptations. Actually a lot of people choose to eat healthy over the holidays, or at least try to. Many put out healy alternatives but continue to serve the treats because that is what is expected.
There are dozens of websites out there dedicated to healthy holiday treats.
You don’t need to eat one of everything that is being served. Before you go out if you are worried about overeating, have a healthy meal at home before hand to fill you up so you don’t over indulge while you are out. It is fine to have a little extra here and there or a cookie or piece of pie. Treats are good, just in moderation.
No one feels good after drinking a gallon of eggnog. Nor do you feel good from consuming a pound of sugar cookies. If you did this before think about how you felt. If you felt like crap, think about that and realize that you don’t want to repeat it.
If your overall goal is to drop a few pounds keep that in mind. Is that third cupcake or 5th glass of eggnog worth it? Unlikely! It will make you feel good at the moment, but going back to the last point, you will feel like crap shortly. Either from being over full of crappy food, too much sugar, too much fat, or just depressed because you are three cupcakes.
Serve healthy food at your parties. You will be surprised on how fast it goes. Most people want to eat healthy and when given the choice will choose some healthier options.
Exercise over the holidays. Even a little exercise is better than none at all. A 10-15 minute walking around the block after a big meal can do wonders for your blood sugar and your mood. The more you exercise the more you can eat and not feel guiltily. I had a professor in university tell us that is why he works out. He works out because he likes to eat.
Last this is booze. it is OK to have a drink, just be mindful that there are calories in alcohol. Also depending on what you drink there are added calories in any mix or other ingredients you put in your cocktail. Drink water between drinks or choose a lower calorie cocktail.
Remember It’s ok to have a treat. But everything in moderation.
A Calorie is a Calorie is a Calorie. However some grus in the fitness industry think otherwise.
When we “eat well” or at least say we eat well and we think we should be losing weight. If that doesn’t work we blame our metabolism, or we say that it was the type of calories we were eating, not that we we eating too many of them.
Depending on whom you ask or what you read the key to weight loss is Calories in versus Calories out. Meaning if you eat less calories than you burn each day your body will be forced to tap into its stored fat for energy. You will burn this fat for energy and drop the pounds you are wanting to.
Can it be that simple? Is this the cure for obesity? Well yes but it is not that simple.
The problem is that most people have a major problem counting and keeping track of the actual calories they consume.
I have actually run into this several times as a trainer. My clients tell me that they are eating healthy and that they have cut their calories to the level that we talked about. I keep detailed records of their exercise program, but they are still unable to lose weight.
At one point early on in my career I started to doubt myself. Either I was not good at my job or my clients were lying to me.
Both untrue, I was definitely good at my job and my clients we not lying to me, at least not on purpose.
Dr. Steven Heymsfield, an obesity specialist at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City, found the exact same thing; the “eat-less-move-more” mantra did not work for many people.
What did Dr. Heymsfield do? He did a clinical study to find out what exactly was going on.
Dr. Heymsfield had twenty of his patients that could not seem to lose any weight consume isotope labeled water that would allow the Dr. to track exactly how many calories the patients expended. Sometimes referred to as Doubly labeled water.
For anyone interested the isotope labeled water is called Heavy Water sometimes written as D20. The stuff is pretty cool. Besides being able to tell you exactly what your metabolic rate is, if you make ice cubes out of it they sink when you put them in water.
The patients had no idea why they were drinking this special water the doctor gave them. Basically the doctor was spying on them or at least double-checking their caloric intake and expenditure.
The results were what some might expect. 18 out of the 20 participants were vastly under reporting their caloric intake. Some actually ate twice as much as they recorded and only exercised half as much as they said the did.
The Doctor suggested that the patients weren’t lying, they were just underestimating. This seems to happen a large majority of the people trying to drop weight by keeping track of calories. He went on to even suggest that the heavier the person is the more they tend to underestimate their caloric intake.
Dr Heymsfield did a second study, this time telling the participants what the water was used for. When the results came in and compared the food journals were much closer to what the actual numbers revealed by the water were.
This shows that a lot of the obesity epidemic may be psychological. Or at least have some psychological parts to the equation.
In today’s society fast food advertising is right in our faces and the sedentary culture that we embrace is creating a perfect storm. People are able to justify to themselves they are not overeating and they are exercising enough to lose weight.
When people try and don’t succeed to lose weight they blame their metabolism or something else, where in reality they are really eating too much food.
We are programmed to eat a lot of food because throughout our history mankind has been faced with famines and droughts so out body are programmed to eat and store fat for those times. However in western society a pizza is a phone call away. We don’t worry about not having food readily available.
The majority of the population is overweight or obese. But not everyone is overweight or obese. That means that it is possible to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. If someone else can do it so can you.
Many that are overweight blame their metabolism but really it is the number of calories you eat. The answer to weight loss isn’t sexy or quick and there is no trick.
Advertisers do a good job of convincing you that the trick is in a bottle, book or video. The weight loss industry thrives on failure. That is why it is a multibillion dollar a year industry. The amount spent on weight loss in the United States is 20 billion dollars per year. That’s more than the GDP of some countries.
If all that money spent on the weight loss fads, pills and gimmicks really worked why is there such an obesity epidemic?
This may be depressing to some out there trying to lose weight but it shouldn’t be. It should actually be encouraging. The study by Dr. Heymsfield shows that it is possible to lose weight by a reduction in calories as long as you are honest about the number of calories you consume.
Weight loss is within your means.
Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter to be informed when new blog posts get put up.
I have been getting a lot of question lately about myths and rumors in the fitness industry. So I decided to write a blog post on some of them. I will keep adding to the myths and clarifying anything I can.
If you have a myth you want answered drop the question in the comment sections and I will be sure to include it in one of the following posts.
Here are 5 of the myths I heard lately.
Myth #1
Static Stretching before exercise prevents injury!
Nope. Gradual warm up is the key to preventing injury. Static stretching could actually lead to injury. Your muscles are like elastics; they stretch and go back to their original shape. If elastic is cold and you tried to stretch it the chances of damaging it are greater.
There has been no evidence that static stretching before working out improves performance. Warming up prior to exercise prepares your body for what is about to come. There have been many studies showing that a warm-up before exercise improves performance. If you do feel like you need to do some static stretching before getting into the meat and potatoes of your workout, warm up first then stretch then proceed with the workout.
Myth #2
Yoga Lengthens muscles.
You cannot lengthen your muscles. It would be like saying yoga is going to make you taller. Your muscles have an origin point and an incretion point that cannot be changed. Yoga can help improve flexibility so your joints and muscles can move freely throughout their entire range of motion. You may get the feeling that they are longer because they are moving more freely through their complete range of motion, but they have not lengthened.
Myth # 3
Yoga creates weight loss
No, or at least not much. Weight loss or “burning fat” is a product of energy expenditure. Yoga can be hard and in many of the poses you burn slightly more calories than resting but not a lot more. Yoga is just not intense enough. Cardiovascular training or high intensity interval training are two ways to increase caloric expenditure and increase fat burning.
Myth # 4
You can spot reduce!
We hear this one a lot. If we could spot reduce scientists would not be wasting time and money researching obesity and potential cures. If doing sit-ups worked to decrease abdominal fat stores and in conjunction obesity, the research to find other cures would have stopped long ago.
When doing sit ups or side bends or the inner and outer thigh machine you are actually stimulating muscle. By doing that type of strength and core training you will increase the strength and endurance of your muscles but do little to nothing to effect the layers of fat covering them.
Myth # 5
The more you sweat the more weight you lose.
Yes and no, depends on what type of weight. You will lose the water weight through the sweating process. Athletes and those that sweat a lot can lose a few pound of water through sweating alone. Sweating is a way your body regulates its temperature so that it doesn’t overheat. Sweating a lot doesn’t mean that your body is burning fat. Burning fat requires you to “burn” more calories than you take in, either by reducing the number of calories you eat or increasing the amount of activity you do.
People can be in hot environments and sweat a lot but not burn enough extra calories to tap into their fat reserves for energy. Conversely if you restrict your calories consumption you can “burn” fat from doing your daily activities and not sweating at all.
If you sweat too much and you don’t replenish the liquids you lost you can get into a dehydrated state, which can become potentially dangerous.
That’s all for now. Stay tuned for more fitness myths in upcoming blog posts.
Subscribe to my Fitness newsletter to get e-mailed when I have new blog posts.
Send in your fitness and nutrition questions in the comment section below.
Failure is part of life. Everybody has failed at something at one point in their lives. If we let that get us down we wouldn’t accomplish anything. I look at my 10 month old daughter. She is currently attempting to stand on her own. She can pull herself up if there is a table, chair or leg around for her to hold on to. Once she is up she will let go and try stand on her own. Right now she falls down after a few seconds, cries a bit and a few minutes later she is trying it again. According to the definition of failure, a lack of success, she failed.
As my daughter gets older and is learning life skills she will fail at things. We often see failure as a bad thing. My daughter will learn from those failures and hopefully be able to correct what went wrong and continue to progress.
If my daughter gave up after the first time she failed at standing then I guess she would never stand, or walk for that matter. That is a fairly extreme example but if we all gave up after we failed at something many of us wouldn’t be walking, driving, have a significant other, have a job or possibly have an education. Especially if what we have stopped was just one step in a progress to get us to an ultimate goal.
When it comes to health and fitness as adults we often fail. That by itself is not a bad thing. The problem arises when we give up and don’t try again. What is just as bad is when we try again we do so without making any changes from why we failed the last time. Can you imagine doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results?
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. – Albert Einstein
If we failed a school test or a driving test we hopefully sit down and look at what we got wrong, think about the correct solution and learn the information so that the next time we will get it right, or at least don’t repeat the same mistake twice.
As a society we need to take that same mentality and apply it to weight loss.
If you tried a diet, pill or potion and it didn’t work. Don’t try it again until you figure out what went wrong in the first place.
I don’t recommend fad diets or weight loss pills in the first place, but whatever intervention you tried and didn’t have success with you need to analyze.
What was the reason you stopped your diet or exercise plan?
What the diet or diet change to restrictive?
Was it not working to your standards?
Were you hungry on the diet and just decided to stop?
Was the exercise sessions too hard?
Were the exercise sessions too long?
Were things too expensive?
Did you not have the support you needed?
Once you think about why you stopped, think of solutions that will help you overcome that if you happen to run into it again. Make a plan to deal with the reason for stopping.
Think about why you stopped and what you are going to do next time to prevent the same thing from happening.
Take everything you do in your quest to burn off those excess pounds as a science experiment. It’s not failure, you are just learning how not to do something.
Imagine if Edison stopped when he failed at building the light bulb.
If you do the same thing over and over again you are doomed to fail. If you change a small thing and fail you didn’t really fail, you learned something.
Health and fitness are very new sciences when compared to math, physics and chemistry. And with weight loss and fitness there are many variables and factors to take into account. As well everyone is different with different like, wants, needs, tastes, physical abilities, allergies and goals. You know you better than anyone else. You know what is going to work for you and what is not. Health and Fitness is important but the information out there is not a one size fit all.
Any programs, diets or routines need to be adjusted to fit the individual. That is why it is called personal training and not copy and paste / one size fits all training.
If you are looking to hire a personal trainer there are several different things that you should take into account before handing over your hard earned money. Most trainers are worth their weight in gold in helping to achieve results. One big question that is coming up more frequently now a day when hiring a trainer is what certification they hold. The same is true for those wanting to become a personal trainer, what is the best certification to get?
When looking for a personal trainer or fitness trainer what certifications are you looking for? Is there one certification that is better than another? Why hire a trainer that is certified anyway? Why not just someone that looks like they know what they are doing?
Remember the old adage “you get what you pay for”?
Let’s apply that to personal trainers. Do you want someone with training and a certification? What kind of education? Should they have a weekend course or a University degree? Do you want someone with experience? What kind and how much experience with what kind of population you looking for? How much are you willing to pay for a trainer?
Many trainers specialize in a certain area. It may be specific sport training, weight loss, post rehab, or something else. Most certified trainers are well versed in all aspects of health can fitness and can train outside of their niche and can work with clients of all natures if a trainer for your niche is not close by.
Currently there are no national standards when it comes to personal trainer certification. This means your “certified personal trainer” could have taken a weekend course or have spent 2 years in collage, or 4 years in University, they may have done their course online and they may not have actually touched a person (no practical or hands on component of their course) when obtaining their certification.
Some trainers get hired and have no place being in a gym training people.
I don’t even know where to start on how ridiculous this video is. There is no circumstance on earth where these two exercises should be paired together like this. Individually the incline chest press and leg press are two exercises that require a lot of concentration to make sure they are done properly. The odds of this women hurting herself have greatly increased doing this.
I could write a whole blog post just on this short video, but I will stop now.
If you are working out at a health club check to see if they have bios of their trainers? Some clubs have different levels of trainers. This is very helpful because usually the trainers with less certifications or those with less experience charge less than the upper level/elite trainers. The upper level trainers have more certifications, courses, conferences, self directed readings and experience that the lower level trainers.
That is not to say those lower level trainers are not good. Everyone has to start somewhere. Those trainers would take clients that have a less complicated fitness goal. If you have no health issues and are just looking for a general fitness routine than the lower level trainers will more than likely work for this application. If you have some physical limitations or some other health conditions or you are a serious competitive athlete then you may want to spend the little extra money on an elite level trainer.
I look at hiring a trainer the same way I look at doing my taxes. I could do my own taxes. I could work my way through it, take a lot of time, become frustrated and spend a lot of time researching trying to determining how much of a return I am entitled to get. Or I could take all of my tax info to my accountant who has been doing this for years and knows exactly what he is doing. He will most likely do a better job on my taxes than I, getting me more money back in less time. Sure it will cost me a few dollars but I save that in time. Remember your time is worth money too.
My accountant could just be a friend of mine that knows a lot about taxes or he could be a Certified General Account, registered with a governing body. This was quite helpful a few years ago when my wife got audited by the government. Because my accountant is certified he knew exactly what to do and took care of everything. If I had done my taxes, or gotten a friend to do them things may not have turned out the same way.
For those that want to know everything turned out fine.
Certification means knowledge and accountability. Anyone that has actually become certified had to pass a test that at least challenged their knowledge base and has passed. Other testes by other organizations challenge both knowledge and practical skills.
In many of the organizations to remain certified trainers need to obtain continuing education credits every year. This ensures your trainer will continue to expand their knowledge base through courses or other conferences.
Some organizations will provide the trainers with insurance. Trainers that are not certified may or may not carry personal liability insurance. I couldn’t imagine training without insurance; you never know what could happen. I wouldn’t drive a car without insurance, even though I am a good driver.
Trainers with certifications also work within their scope of practice that is laid out in their certification.
Is someone that has only read muscle magazines and worked out like a bodybuilder themselves qualified to work with you if you have high blood pressure?
Can the trainer that just won the local bodybuilding show train you and help you recover from a torn ACL? Maybe he can, maybe he can’t.
If they are not certified or do not have the experience working with someone that has those specific issues will they try to develop a program for them anyway? Would they admit when something is beyond their level of expertise? Would they refer you to a trainer that has experience that area?
There are some exceptions to the rule. I have seen a few really great trainers that do not have any certifications. They do a lot of reading and research themselves to gain the knowledge to help them perfect their craft. They know their limitations and when they are over their head. These are a rare breed and typically don’t work in commercial fitness clubs.
Here is a short list of some of the Certifying bodies out there along with a link to their website.
Many to the above organizations offer more than one type of certification. They will offer certifications for pre and post natal, older populations, Group Fitness, indoor cycling, post rehab and many other specialty areas.
If you are looking to hire a personal trainer, think about your specific circumstance. Are you looking at losing weight or building muscle? Do you have some past or current injuries you need looked at or taken into consideration when a program is designed for you.
If you are thinking about becoming a personal trainer, I recommend talking to some of the trainers at your local club. Ask what certifications they have and what type of cliental they train. You can look for local certifications courses being run in your area. Often time’s gyms can point you in the right direction for the certification you are looking for, especially if you want to work in their club. Some gyms have standards that their trainers must meet in order to train there.
I have turned down many “trainers” that look the part but don’t have any certifications or courses at all. We have a lot of clients that ask what certifications our trainers have and I am happy to tell them that they are all certified and have a lot of experience in different areas.
The last thing I would want would for someone to get hurt in my gym under the supervision of an uncertified, uninsured trainer.
I was at a personal training conference this weekend, taking in all kinds of new information in the field of health and exercise. There were a lot of very smart (PhD level) presenters there giving us the lowdown on what is new. With all the scientists there I got thinking about how the public get information on health and wellness and why they choose to believe it.
The majority of the population knows that exercise is good. Many know that eating fast food, processed food and junk food is not good. Nothing mind blowing about that I hope.
I heard a lot of people this weekend talk about getting the information out there to the general public. Honestly it is there. People just don’t care or can’t adhere to what they start.
Look at the number of people that join a gym after New-Years or start a diet. Here is a link to the top 13 New Year resolutions in the US. Lose weight, get fit and eat healthy food all make the list with lose weight at the top.
Other health related goals like stop smoking, reduce stress and reduce alcohol all make the list as well. From the top 13, six are health related. People want to be healthy and fit; they know that it is a good thing. The scientists and the trainers know how to get people fit and healthy. So why is there such a disconnect?
As a society we look for the easiest way to do things. We try to be as efficient as possible. It maybe laziness or it may be a trait we inherited from our ancestors trying to conserve energy and conserve food stuffs when times were tough and we had to hunt and scavenge for our next meal. That is not a problem now a day with a pizza delivery just a phone call away.
People want to believe that the “quick fix” solution they see on TV to help them get fit. You didn’t put on that extra weight in 10 days, what makes you think it will come off in 10 days? We want to believe the fad, the gimmick, the pill or the easy way out. We listen to those on TV, the celebrities, who may or may not have any formal training in fitness or nutrition.
Dr. Oz was even pulled in front of a US Senate hearing because of the pills and diets he pushes on his show.
Dr. Oz was also criticized for giving “non-scientific advice” to his viewers. I don’t want to pick on Dr. Oz too much but it is a good example. He is a Doctor, an MD, so I am sure he is quite smart. His research interests include heart replacement surgery, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, and health care policy. I am sure that he is great at all of those things but he is not an exercise or nutrition specialist. He may know a lot about it but he is not an expert in it. He is an expert in cardiac surgery.
I don’t get my expert plumber to do my taxes, even though he is cheaper than my accountant and claims to know a lot about filing taxes.
We like to listen or believe in people like Dr. Oz and the gimmicks because we want hope. Exercise professionals, the researchers, don’t get TV shows because we are not selling a quick fix. We are selling a lifestyle change. Our solutions are not quick, not easy and not sexy so they have no real sales appeal.
Getting in shape, burning off those few extra pounds is hard.
I am going to be brutally honest and tell everyone that losing weight (burning off extra fat) is probably one of the hardest things there is to do.
How do I know? If it were easy everyone would be at the ideal weight they want to be at and this blog would be a waste of time. Don’t get discouraged. I am just telling the truth. Every little bit counts and it will come with adherence.
Post your comments below. Do you think the media and advertisers sell false hope and their own weight loss pills more so then they sell answers or solutions to weight loss problems?
I am spending the weekend at a personal training/exercise physiology conference getting up to date on what is new and happening in the industry.
One of the lectures yesterday there were some serious knowledge bombs being dropped. I saw minds being blown in the room all around.
There was one presenter in particular that mentioned something in passing, more as a reminder than as a shocking new point that got me thinking.
He said that personal training needs to be personal. Not rocket science for most trainers (hopefully). But it may not gel in those out there looking to get a personal trainer.
Getting a fitness program should be like shopping for a car. There are top of the line, high end cars, cheaper versions, you can have the base model off the lot or you can pick up the Cadillac of cars with all the extra cool things. You go grab the base model off the lot and be happy with that or you can make it your own.
When many people pick up a new vehicle they are compelled to customize it to fit their needs, wants, likes and style. Even if it is just fuzzy dice in the window.
You can get a personal training program from a book, magazine or off the net but it is not very custom for your own needs. If a personal trainer gives you a generic program then they are not really personal training. They are just doing the same thing the internet can do, they just cost more than the one on the net.
If your trainer is not making adjustments to your program based on your needs, likes and abilities then they are not doing their job. You wouldn’t by a standard transmission if you couldn’t drive a standard transmission. Just like your trainer shouldn’t make you do something if you can’t do it, especially if you can’t do it because of an injury or restriction.
Hopefully your trainer is assessing you and basing your program off you assessment as well as your goals. As Paul Chek says “if your are not assessing, your guessing” If they are a good trainer they are asking how you are feeling and are always assessing and making changes to your program on the fly.
Try your trainers out and feel free to get a second opinion or try a different trainer from time to time. It is like test driving a car. if you like the features and what you are getting from the car, or the trainer you will enjoy it more, get more out of it and not feel so bad on spending all that money on it.
Many people set all kinds of fitness goals every year, yet many of the goals are not met. Here are some sure fire ways to help you reach your fitness related goals.
Set a Goal
To start off you need a goal. Many people choose weight loss at a standard fitness goal. But it can be anything, build muscle, run a marathon, do a chin-up, anything you want.
For our example we will choose the goal to lose some weight.
Goal: To lose weight!
Once you have the idea you need to refine it.
Refine goals
To refine the goal you should use the SMART principle
S – Specific
M- Measurable
A – Achievable
R- Realistic
T- Time based
By applying those principals to our goal it changes to:
Refined Goal: Lose 10 pounds by February 1st.
Our refined goal is very specific and measurable and realistic. The time line from now (Nov 5th) until February 1st is quite realistic. When losing weight you want to shoot for between 1 and two pounds a week. Any more than that and it gets harder to take off and even harder to keep off once the goal is met.
Set Short Term Goals
Set up to 3 short term goals that will help you get to your long term goal. Setting process orientatedgoals will make achieving the goals even more easy. For example, many people would set the goal to lose a pound a week as a short term goal. While that is a good goal, what happens if you don’t achieve it? Will you be discouraged? There are so many factors that involved in that even if you do everything correct you may not achieve that goal because you don’t have ultimate control over it.
The best type of short term goals to set at first is the small processes that you have complete control over. For a short term weight loss goal I may encourage my clients to do 15-20 minutes of cardiovascular activity 2-3 times week. This totally achievable and it will make you feel so good once you accomplish the goal. you have complete control if you go to the gym for some cardio, go for a walk, take class or whatever.
A few other examples of short term process oriented goals would be:
– Decrease the number of times you eat out per week
– Increase the number of vegetables you eat each day
– Increase the length of your workouts
– Limit something non-healthy from your diet
And the list goes on. As long as you have complete control over the goal and it will help you get to your long term goal than it can be added in.
Short term goals should use the SMART principal when refining them to meet your specific situation, as well and be revisited, evaluated and modified every few weeks
This brings me to the 4th principle
Evaluate and change short term goals
Every few weeks sit down and look at the short term goals you set. Did you achieve them, why or why not? How did you feel when you achieved them? Now that you have seen what has worked you can change, modify or increase your short term goals for the next few weeks.
Small changes or increases here are going to work best. Try increasing your cardio by another 5 minutes or add in an extra cardio session that week. Or you could increase you veggie intake even more, decrease junk food a bit more and so on, the list is endless.
Continue to tweak
Evaluate what is working and what is not working. Make any small changes necessary to keep yourself on track until you reach you goal.
Never Give up!
If you stop working towards your goal you will never get there. If you are not working towards your goal than it isn’t really a goal, it is more like a dream.
Why do most people drop out of an exercise program?
Well there are a lot of reasons. Not very good ones but a lot of them. Most people know that exercise is good for you. It will improve your health, your quality of life and even your lifespan. The major problem with decision making is that if it was rational then exercise adherence would not be a problem.
Many people say they just don’t have the time.
Many people travel for work.
Work or child care responsibilities take a priority.
They feel intimidated by others in the gym
They had to give up something more enjoyable to work out. Exactly, why workout when you can watch reruns drink beer and eat chips.
Some say they got bored with their exercise program.
Some don’t know what to do in the gym
They don’t know when how to start
They are afraid of getting hurt.
and the list goes on
One of my favorite fitness quotes:
“Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” ~ Edward Stanley
It is very true. And most people know it, so what is the problem with getting people to exercise and eat properly?
over half of the population is overweight or obese. If you are thin or of a normal weight you are the odd person out.
I don’t buy excuses, but I do understand how hard to could be to get into the exercise habit. I try to help I help people get better self management skills so they are able to achieve their goals. If someone else can do it why can’t you? Why can’t anyone Many of the most successful and busy people in the world make time for exercise. If they can find the time anyone can.
I talk a little about feeling intiminated in the gym and not nessessarly knowng what to do here http://robdickson.net/?p=29
But there is nothing stopping you from taking a walk around the block. It is easy, free and great exercise. Something is always better than nothing, and you can build on it. Adding more, going longer or complementing it with other forms of exercise.
What other reasons have you heard of that people use to drop out of an exercise program? Write then in the comment section below and lets see if we can find a way to help these people overcome their objections and keep them motivated.
I was talking to a friend of mine the other day that just recently started working out. He picked up a few pieces of equipment from a local department store and was looking for some friendly advice on how to get started.
My first question was why he decided to start working out. The answer shocked me.
He said that he was going to join a gym but needed to get into shape beforehand.
What?
For complete openness, I do work in a commercial fitness club. But I don’t recall anyone needing to be in shape to join. Quite the opposite, many people of different fitness levels join fitness centers every day. I am in favor of people choosing to work out at home and not joining a gym. I worked out from home for years and both working out from home and in a commercial club have their pros and cons. But naturally I wanted to know why my friend said that.
He explained that everyone in the gym will be in shape and he didn’t want to embarrass himself. That was that. He was under the impression that everyone in the gym knows what they are doing and are super fit.
First of all many people embarrass themselves in gyms every day and not for being out of shape, they get embarrassed because they do something stupid.
The stigma around not knowing what to do in a gym can be intimidating for some. The idea that there is going to be a lot of fit people in the gym and you are going to stick out like a sore thumb can also cause a little stress when it comes to getting a membership.
Let me be the first to say that not everyone in the gym knows what they are doing. Even many of the guys and girls that are big and in shape that look like they know what they are doing are doing things incorrectly. So don’t copy exercises that someone else is doing unless you get specific instruction from a qualified professional.
And being big and in shape is not a qualification. A good rant about certifications in the fitness industry will be coming shortly.
Many people that start at a gym start with some sort of (hopefully certified) personal trainer. Usually a good idea, they can get you started with some basic exercises.
The big thing to note; if you are not in shape or that familiar with gym equipment, and you don’t want to get noticed, you won’t.
The people in the gym that want to get noticed will get noticed. They are overly loud, dress inappropriately or strangely, talk to a lot of people and spend a lot more time trying to get noticed than working out.
The average gym goer, wearing normal gym close walking on a treadmill or doing some resistance training machines typically don’t draw a large crowd of onlookers.
If you want to work out at your house, by all means go ahead. There are lots of pros and cons of both gyms and working out at home. If you do join a club seek some advice on how to get started if you are unfamiliar with gym equipment. And above all don’t worry about drawing attention to yourself in the gym, most people are looking at someone else.
