The "Twinkie" Diet.....

Yep, you read it right.  I said "Twinkie" Diet.  How is this even feasible you ask yourself.  Well I will tell you.  Food is not comfort, it is not an emotional suppressor, a friend, a lover, or an enemy.  Food is fuel.  We need food, more specifically calories, to fuel our body.  Our Body is not a temple or any of those other stupid cliches; the human body is a machine.  Your body is designed to WORK.  It requires fuel to function. 

SIMPLE???  YES!!!

As I mentioned in a previous post, our body is smart and usually very adaptive at allowing more calories to be consumed than need to be used.  Which is why we store "fat".  All "fat" is is extra calories we have consumed, but never used.  Think of that roll around your belly or those saddlebags on your side as stored fuel.  Eating "Fat" the macro nutrient, does not necessarily mean you will become "fat".  We have a tendency to think of these two entirely different things as the same concept.

I blame the media, lack of education, and overall societal retardation for blending these two "fats".  Did you know that excessive carbohydrates will be stored as "fat"?  Also too much protein will also be stored as "fat"?  We all know alcohol is stored as fat, but did you know that alcohol rarely, if ever, contains any fat at all?  Why is soda bad for you when we know that our body relies on "sugar" as a primary source of fuel?  Lots of questions I know, but all will be answered.  Maybe not in this post, but soon.

HOW MANY CALORIES DO YOU NEED TO CONSUME IN A DAY? 

Do you know the answer to this question?  I do.  The first step in creating true change is understanding all of the contributing factors that go into the overall equation.  Eat less and exercise more.  Sound simple and easy?  It is, but it is too vague.  How many calories did you eat yesterday and how many calories did you burn yesterday?  Did you burn more than you ate?  If you did, you will lose weight, if you ate more than you burned you will gain weight.  But the first step is KNOWING!

So where do "Twinkies" come into play?  I am using this analogy to drive home a point.  Eating right and exercising enough is a mathematical equation.  If my body burns 2200 calories in a day and I eat 2200 calories in a day, I am guaranteed to maintain my weight.  

SIMPLE MATH!!

It is easy people.  The hard part is plugging the variables into the equation.  I am a 6' 3" tall,  32 year old male who weighs 191 lbs.  I have a fairly active lifestyle and I work out 5-6 times a week.  If you want the exact formula, I suggest you look back through a couple of posts.  I really encourage you to go find it, write it down, and figure it out.  You need to know how many calories you burn in a day if you want any chance at losing weight and getting healthy.

So based on my height, weight, age, and activity level, I burn 3100 calories a day.  Seem like a lot?  It might for some.  If you work out a lot you get to eat a lot.  Michael Phelps was reported to eat between 8,000 and 11,000 calories a day while he was training for the Olympics.  If you like food so much, exercise.

OK, back to the "Twinkie"  One "Twinkie" has 150 calories in it according to http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-hostess-twinkies-i113361.  Not bad except when you consider how many chemicals and preservatives are used to create this little monstrosity.  I will save that nutrient dense not eating crap tirade for another post. 

As previously stated, I burn 3100 calories in a day, therefore, I need to eat 20.6 "Twinkies" to equal out the equation.  It doesn't matter how much sugar or fat or chemicals or ingredients are in those 20+ "Twinkies"  All that matters is that I eat exactly 3100 calories worth of "Twinkies" and I will not gain nor lose any weight.

IT ALL STARTS WITH MATH!!

Now in no way do I recommend doing this.  All I am trying to do is to get a concept to take root in your mind.  Did it work?  It did if you are now going to take the time and put in the effort to figure out how many calories you burn in a day and to start calculating how many calories you burn in a day.  The tools to lose weight and get healthy are all around us, PLEASE put in a little time and effort to figure out your own caloric equation. 

A great tool I use, but not the only tool out there, is www.Myfitnesspal.com,  You can use the website, or like me, you can download the app for your smart phone.  This allows you to accurately count the amount of calories you consume in a day.  If you only do one thing this year with regard to losing weight, I implore you to start counting calories.  It is the most effective and enlightening thing you can do to lose weight. 

ONE LAST THOUGHT!!

3500 calories equals 1 lb of body fat.  Therefore, if you consume 3500 more calories in a week than you burn, you will GAIN a pound at the end of the week.  Conversely, if you consume 3500 calories less than you burn in a week, you will LOSE a pound at the end of the week.  Broken down even further, 7 days in a week leaves you with 500 calories a day.  You will need to create a 500 calorie deficit per day in order to lose 1 pound a week.  You can even go as high as a 1000 calorie deficit a day while still maintaining an adequate fuel intake and lose 2 pounds a week. 

This is why it is SO DAMN EASY to put on weight and SO DAMN HARD to lose it because it is far easier to eat 8000 calories in a day than it is to burn 8000 calories in a day.  How many calories you consume is far more important than how much you exercise!!

I have you given you the tools.  Research them if you don't believe me.  You CAN start using them, but WILL you?

 

I am working out, but NOTHING is happening!

I have fallen into this trap before and it is a very frustrating place to be. I would work out hard for 5 or 6 days a week, but the results I had been anticipating just didn't happen. It started to piss me off. Here I am, sweating and pushing and going as hard as I can, but my body isn't really responding. So instead of quitting, I took another look at my life as a whole to try to figure out what the problem was.

WE SOMETIMES SEE THE WORLD THROUGH BLIND EYES!

I was a vegetarian for the 2 years prior to joining the Army Reserves and I have only added meat to my diet sparingly since then. My failure was in thinking that just because I was following this particular type of eating style that I didn't need to count calories.

"I eat mostly fruits, vegetables, and whole grains"

I would tell myself this and carry on with my eating habits and my workouts. BIG MISTAKE! If you have been following this blog you know my wife and I have been doing a round of P90X and we are, as of today, 49 days into it. The first 36 days went just as I previously described. We worked out according to the fitness schedule and we continued to eat as we always had because we were too arrogant to sit back and re-evaluate our diets. So 5 weeks go by and we can tell that our bodies are changing shape, but we were not losing the pounds we thought we should be losing.

LIGHT BULB!

Life will give you the answers to your problems, you just have to be open minded enough to see them. One morning, I was going through the meal plan for Turbo Fire and I started analyzing the difference between how we ate and how the plan wanted us to eat. Yes, I know we should have just followed the P90X diet plan, but like I said, we were being ignorant and arrogant. It happens to the best of us.

I immediately looked for an app for my phone that would help us gain control over our caloric intake. It wasn’t that I didn't know how important the equation of calories in vs. calories out is in losing weight, I just wasn’t applying it. Knowledge is not POWER; acting on that knowledge is TRUE POWER. In fact, this equation is more important than how much or how long you exercise.

If you do not exercise at all, you can still lose weight by diligently counting calories. All it takes is a little awareness, a little knowledge, and a mountain of commitment and self-control. So I found an app called "Myfitnesspal" and immediately committed to using it every single time I put something into my mouth and man was I amazed at what I realized I didn't know. This is a great app and I recommend it to everyone. It has the ability to scan bar codes and give you a detailed analysis of exactly what is in the stuff you are eating. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

HOW MANY CALORIES!!

After doing a little research, I have come to the realization that an exact formula for daily caloric needs is up for grabs. I saw 5 different formulas and each one created a different number for me. With that being said, I am using one that I currently believe in because for one thing, it is easy to follow, and for another, because it makes sense. Here it goes.

Take your current body weight and multiply that number by 10. This gives you your resting metabolic rate; the amount of calories you burn doing nothing other than staying alive.

You then take that number and multiply it by your personal level of daily activity; 1.2, 1.3, or 1.4. 1.2 is for a person who lives a sedentary lifestyle; someone who sits on the coach, in a car, and at a desk all day long.

1.3 is for a moderate level of daily activity; a person who walks, stands, chases children, etc.

1.4 is designed for a very active person; a construction worker, a waitress, or anyone who is constantly moving throughout the day.

This new number is the amount of calories you need in a day to maintain your current weight.

Now we add in your workouts. Google a particular activity and you will be able to get an estimate of how many calories you will burn doing it. A heart rate monitor or a body bug can more accurately tell you how many calories you are burning. My workouts run between 400 and 600 calories burned.

So now add this number to the previous one and you come up with the amount of calories you will burn on your workout days. The next step requires your honest assessment of how much you are working out. Because we have been doing P90X 6 days a week, I add 500 to my daily caloric need. If you only workout 1 or 2 times a week you will need to average out the days you work out with the days you don't to get a more accurate account of the calories you need to consume. Don't worry, I will show you some examples.

Now we know that 3500 calories = 1 pound of body weight and in order to lose weight we need to consume less calories than we burn. So every time we consume less than 3500 calories than we burn we lose 1 lb.

TOO EASY!!

On paper, it is very easy, in application, it is harder than you think. No worries though, we are all smart people and we can do this. So let's create a calorie deficiency that will allow us to safely and effectively lose weight. I have learned that between a 500 and 750 calorie deficit per day is ideal. It keeps you losing weight while not sending your body into starvation mode.

One of the reasons diets do not work for an extended amount of time is because of the huge calorie deficit they can create. Your body will begin to adjust when it realizes you are not giving it the calories it needs to function efficiently. Your metabolism will slow down and as soon as you increase your calories, your body will hold onto them like a kid with a new birthday present.

OK now let’s put this all together. Here is how I formulate my daily caloric needs.

200 lbs. X 10 = 2000 calories.

2000 calories X 1.4 = 2800 calories.

500 calories burned for exercise + 2800 equals 3300 calories per day to maintain my current weight.

I want to get to 195 so I create a 500 calorie deficit per day. This will allow me to lose 1lb per week because 500 calories X 7 days a week = 3500 calories lost or 1lb.

So 3300 - 500 equals 2800 calories per day. Now all I have to do is make sure I eat 2800 calories per day and do my workouts and drink a lot of water (didn't see that one coming did you) and I am going to lose weight.

Now it is your turn. Go through the formula and see what you come up with. The next step will be to log, however you choose to, your daily caloric intake and the rest WILL take care of itself. This does require SELF HONESTY and SELF DISCIPLINE, but you can do it.

As for averaging calories; let’s say you only workout 2 times a week and during those sessions you burn 400 calories each. So over the course of the week you will burn and extra 800 calories. Divide that number by 7 and you get around 114 calories per day. You would add this number to your daily caloric needs to come up with an average instead of adding 400 calories twice a week. You can do it that way if you want, but I always think that keeping it simple is easier and more effective.

Now for my shameless plug. You were waiting for it, I could tell. www.HighOctaneHealth.com. I am forming Challenge groups that start on the 1st and 15th of each month. All you have to do is purchase a program. You have 10 different ones to choose from and then commit to the challenge. I will be on your back side like white on rice for the entire time to make sure you are doing the workouts, following the meal plans and accurately and effectively counting your calories.

Not only do you get a Beachbody workout, you also receive Shakeology and if you are wondering what the hell Shakeology is go to www.Myshakeology.com/carlsonfitnow and learn more. This meal replacement shake will help you cut calories while dramatically increasing the quality of nutrients you are putting into your body.

All of this is VERY SIMPLE. Now I did not say easy, I said SIMPLE. You will have to change bad habits in order to create a new lifestyle, but YOU CAN DO IT and I can help. What are you waiting for? The only time to do something is now. Get out of your own way, get uncomfortable, and get BUSY.

What the HELL do you know?!

Good fats, bad, fats, good carbs, bad carbs, whey isolate vs. concentrate?  Whole grains vs. refined.  More vegetables, less fruit,  Glycemic index, glucose, sucrose, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, and gluten. Monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, saturated, and trans fats.  HDL, LDL, cholesterol, insulin, vitamins, nutrients, antioxidants, and probiotics.  Etc.  Etc.  Etc.

AAAHHHHH!

I am going to stop eating altogether.  I don't even plan on drinking water because apparently fluoride is bad and the water pipes are leaching chemicals, and acceptable levels of bad things in my water may not be very acceptable after all. 

DOUBLE AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

It's no wonder people don't have a clue as to what and how to eat.  I read an article 2 months ago that said I should eat 6 small meals a day and in the same magazine this month I was told it didn't really matter how many times I ate just as long as my calorie intake was in line with my metabolism.  What?!  Really?

Don't eat at least an hour or two before going to bed because your body will store all of those calories, but the more weights you lift, the more your "RESTING" metabolism increases and the more calories you burn.  I guess I need to find a dictionary and hone up on my "sleeping" and "resting" definitions.  The more I write, the angrier I am getting.  This blog ought to turn out amazing!

What to believe, oh, what to believe?  What ever happened to the dietary pyramid?  The one some of us grew up with in the 80's and 90's.  Well apparently 8-11 servings of bread, rice, pasta, and cereal is now the leading factor for obesity and people acquiring type 2 diabetes.  Yeah, I didn't see that one coming. 

SO WHAT DO WE DO?



Go Vegan!  Only kidding.  Relax, in no way am I bashing Veganism nor am I against it.  I have met a few people who swear that it has changed their life.  And you know what I say to that? 

GOOD FOR YOU!

because that is the whole point.  If what you are doing is honestly working for you then keep on doing it.  If what you eat gives you energy, peace of mind, improved health, and a better functioning body then keep on doing it.

IF ON THE OTHER HAND.....

If what you are eating is making you plump, fat, fluffy, hefty, tired, miserable, and all around unhappy, then we need to make some changes.  I rarely use analogies because most of the time I am the only one that gets them, but here is one I would like to offer you.

I am a golfer and have been playing for a long time.  I am quite good, believe it or not and the reason for this is that I am smart enough to listen to what the BALL is telling me.  Let me explain, if I hit a shot that goes off to the left, instead of blaming my hip turn, or spine angle, or blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, I think to myself, "What really caused the ball to go left"?  Well the club face was obviously going in that direction and subsequently enough it was pointing that way as well. 

NO WAY?!    

Yep.  Too easy you say.  It should be.  Now the correlation to food.  If you look in the mirror and see parts of your body expanding, or if you suffer from heartburn, or have gas, or feel bloated, or get diabetes, or just feel bad then you must stop blaming outside factors and listen to what the FOOD is telling you.  I do make a slight suggestion when you do this...

YOU HAVE TO BE COMPLETELY HONEST ABOUT YOUR OBSERVATIONS!

If your breakfast consists of a doughnut, a banana, and coffee and for lunch you have a cheeseburger, fries and water and for dinner you eat pasta, bread sticks, salad, and dessert and then tell me that all you ate during the day was a banana, water, and a salad, you are doing yourself a grave injustice.  I really don't care if you lie to me because I can see how YOUR body had responded to YOUR food choices, but please, please, please don't lie to YOURSELF.

Enough tough love.  Where can we start to make a change?  Lets focus on sugar and refined carbohydrates.

SUGAR: Fructose, Lactose, and Sucrose are some of the main players in this game. 

Sucrose is table sugar.  The stuff no one should have or use in their house.  Just saying.  You want to make a real change?  Stop using table sugar altogether.  The stuff we buy has enough sugar in it already to choke a cow, we don't need to add any more.  Alright, great progress so far.

Lactose: Is a sugar found in dairy, mainly milk because most dairy products are created from milk.  DUH.  There is good in lactose unless you are intolerant of course.  How do you know if you are intolerant?  Listen to your damn body people.  If you eat any type of dairy product and soon feel heartburn or bloating or any other bad sensation, STOP eating dairy.  There are a thousand alternatives.  Find one!

Fructose: Is a simple sugar found in plants.  It is a monosacharride which in Lamen's terms means that it only has one saccharide making it very easy to digest.  Very easy to digest means that it hits the blood stream fast and it hits it hard.  Why does this matter?  Glucose and Insulin people, but more on that in a minute.

OK, the minute is up.  Why do we need to eliminate as much sugar and refined carbohydrates from our lives as possible.  Because of two little teeny tiny words, GLUCOSE AND INSULIN.  Glucose is the main source of cellular energy, meaning our cells primarily use Glucose to function and Insulin is the key our body produces that unlocks the door of the cell so that Glucose can come in and join the party.  Well then, why am I telling you to stop eating the energy our body needs?  Because deep down I am a very angry person and I want to make your life as miserable as possible.  Only kidding....  Maybe. 

So here is how I am going to justify cutting down on our sugar intake.  Another analogy coming up. Wow, apparently I do like to use analogies after all.  Honest observation of ones self.  See, I do practice what I preach.   

A car uses gas as its primary fuel, therefore we fill up our tank until it is full and then drive the car until the tank is out of gas and then repeat the whole process again.  We only use as much as we put in.  Our body runs in a similar way, with one huge difference, our body's gas tank is able to EXPAND AND STORE EXTRA FUEL.  Let me repeat that, our body's gas tank is able to EXPAND AND STORE EXTRA FUEL!

This is why it is critically important to listen to and observe your body, if you are even slightly over weight you have put more fuel into your tank then your body could use and because our bodies like to remain alive, your body decides to store the left-over fuel for a later date.

SIMPLE AND AMAZING.  SIMPLY AMAZING.

The problem is we don't wait for the stored fuel to be used, NO, we eat some more.  And when the extra fuel from that meal is stored, we don't wait until that storage bin of fuel is used before we eat again, NO, we eat some more.  And the cycle goes on and on.  Remind me, and I will talk later about caloric density and how it really matters to your health and well being. 

Back to the main topic.  Glucose, which is the final breakdown of Fructose, Sucrose, and Lactose is very dangerous in LARGE amounts because our body prefers it and because it doesn't require a lot of energy to break it down.  So here we are with a massive amount of glucose in our system and now we need a way to get it into our cells and/or store some for later. 

HELLO INSULIN!

Our Pancreas is the organ in our body that creates and distributes Insulin.  What happens when you over work an organ or a machine?  That's right.  It begins to wear out and not function properly.  This is why people "acquire" type 2 diabetes.  (So sad that we do it to ourselves)  We have flooded our body with so much Glucose that our Pancreas is working over-time to create enough Insulin that it just starts to wear down and our body becomes insulin resistant.  We have the fuel, but because of our bad food choices, we have destroyed a major tool in our body that allows us to stay moving.

 This is why I say we need to eliminate table sugar and refined carbohydrates from our diets.  By the way, refined carbohydrates (pastries, breakfast cereal, white, bread, pasta, cookies, doughnuts, and the like) are just as easily broken down into Glucose as sugar is.  Hence the word "refined".

The moral of the story.  If we can cut back and ultimately eliminate table sugar and refined carbohydrates from our diet we can make a profound impact on our overall fitness.  I know this is a lot of information, but it doesn't even scratch the surface of what I want to share with you.  I am going to spend the next couple of weeks discussing diet and nutrition in an attempt to make some sense of it all; for you as well as for me.  I hope you will join.

In the mean time (shameless plug) head over to http://myshakeology.com/carlsonfitnow to learn about a life changing, I mean that with all of my heart, product and take a look at what Shakeology can do to help you get control of your diet and make a lasting change in your life.  I take it every single day and I will continue to do so until the world ends or I do, whichever comes first.

Thanks for reading and put down the damn muffin.  NO SODA EITHER PEOPLE! 



Whether you DO IT in the bedroom, the living room, or the guest room, JUST DO IT!

I have not really talked about the physical aspect of getting healthy, such as the exercises you MUST do, and gyms you HAVE to join, or how fast and how often you NEED to run.  If you keep reading I will tell you why.  I don't really care what type of exercise routine, work out program, gym, sport, or endurance type activity you do, just so long as you DO IT and DO IT CONSISTENTLY.

With that being said, I would like to tell you what has worked for me, why it has worked for me, and why it might be able to help you.  I am currently doing P90X by the former stand up comedian, Tony Horton.  Didn't know that did you?  If you haven't seen the infomercials for P90X or know of someone who has done it or bought it , but never did it, you should really get out from under your rock and join the world of the living.

Here is why I enjoy an "at home" total body fitness program.  I only had to pay someone one time to own the program for the rest of my life.  I love (right now I am lying so as not to offend anyone) gyms.  They allow you access to an amazing assortment of torture devices of which 90% of the people in the gym RIGHT NOW don't have a clue how to use.  OK, so you are paying someone else a monthly fee to use 10% of their equipment; to each their own I guess. 

Go ahead and disagree, but the next time you are at a gym, watch the people around you.  Every few minutes or so a person will approach a particular machine much like a dog discovering a frog for the first.  They will circle it 12 times, do a quick recon to see if anyone is looking, and then finally make 6 feeble attempts at a repetition before retreating back to a machine they are more comfortable with.

IT HAPPENS ALL OF THE TIME!

Now it may sound like I am making fun of people particularly because I am, but I am shedding light on a behavior that every one of us at one time or another has done.  If you have the time and resources to hire a professional trainer, I highly recommend it.  As long as they keep you motivated and accountable and train you as hard as you can be trained then you can probably stop reading this blog because you are not part of my target audience. 

Let me run off on another tangent for a minute.  Please bear with me.  Treadmills, ellipticals, stair masters, and stationary bikes are great additions to gyms for people who are nowhere near their place of residence, but come on people, is running around the block so hard?  I remember growing up as a kid and riding my bike everywhere.  Hell, I would ride my bike down to the park to go play football or basketball.  Just think, exerting energy getting to a place where I could exert more energy all the while doing it OUTSIDE.  Weird concept, I know. 

So why do we not run OUTSIDE, ride a bike OUTSIDE, or climb stairs OUTSIDE?  Because frankly, doing these activities outside is harder.  We like to believe we are "working out" even though we know deep down we aren't.  I know for a fact I can run a 12:30 two mile on a treadmill, but barely break 13:45 outside, which is exactly why I run OUTSIDE. 

The real thing is harder, but THAT IS WHY IT IS BETTER! 

Don't even get me started on the bacteria and body smells inside a gym.  Plus, whoever heard of an indoor triathlon?  I have yet to see a marathon run on treadmills. If that ever happens I claim the rights to the idea and want 50% of the profits please. 

For those of you who skipped that last tirade, welcome back.  Moving right along.  Fear.  Fear of looking stupid, fear of being judged, fear of not following the herd.  These are real fears people have for joining a gym and not fully utilizing their membership. 

I watched "that show" again last night, the one where "large" people are "losing the biggest" amount of weight they possibly can and I loved every minute of it, minus the elimination part of course.  I love it because you get to see people forced out of the aforementioned fears by incredible motivators.  I have never in my brief life in a gym, seen a person fall to the floor weeping in pain after running on a treadmill or treading water at the side of a pool.  I would fully endorse gyms if the participants inside worked themselves hard enough to throw up and/or cry, but people are too scared to push themselves that hard for fear of judgment. 

THIS IS WHY I SUGGEST AT HOME WORKOUT PROGRAMS!

Chest and Back!  For those of you who have ever done this routine you will appreciate this.  Chest and Back is the very first work out of the P90X series.  It is only done once a week, and only for the first 3 weeks and 3 out of the last 4 weeks of the entire 90 days.  So you only have to do the workout 6 times.  I have thrown up 75% of the time I have done this workout. 

WHY? 

Because I am able to push myself to my breaking point because I am in my own home.  I don't have to worry about other people judging me, so I am able to place my entire focus, no wait, my entire being into doing this work out as hard as I can possibly do it.  Amazing enough, I also get results.

I also have the benefit of my own personal trainer in Tony Horton, who has obviously done his homework because the guy in an ABSOLUTE BEAST!  The same thing goes for any of the other fitness gurus who have created a workout routine.  I have the best of both worlds, I am in the comfort of my own home so I can cry and throw up without any fear of embarrassment and I have my own personal trainer who keeps me motivated and moving forward.

But wait, did I just hear you say, "What about form"? "How do you know you are doing the exercise correctly"?  "What about injury"?  "What if I can't do it the exact way he does it?" 

Well lets see, I have two eyes and a mirror so I am fairly confident I can mimic other people.  I have been doing that for many years, plus, all I am doing is body weight exercises along with free weights or bands.  I am fairly confident in my abilities as an intellectual person that if a weight is too heavy for me to pick, well then, I won't pick it up or if a move is too complicated or hurts me in any way, I will modify it or do something else.

The point is I am DOING IT.  I am pushing myself as hard as I can and getting results because of it.  Here comes the not so shameful plug again.  If you are curious about researching "at home" workout routines, go to HighOctaneHealth.com and checkout the "Workout" tab.  There are a number of different programs for all types of fitness levels.  Each one is a link to a video that will help you decide which one is right for you.  I implore you to look over each one.  You never know which one might appeal to you.

Hopefully this is the last time I will focus on the topic of "How to Exercise" because I think that as long as you are consistently exercising as hard as you can on a regular basis then you will be fine 

My focus for the next couple of blogs will be nutrition and the fact that we really don't have a clue as to what is good and/or bad for us.       

Oh man, I am too sore to move!

Starting any type of fitness program or new gym routine or even a new season of your particular sport can be difficult in more ways than one.  The difficulty I am talking about today is the total incapacitating soreness we feel in every fiber of our body during every waking moment after a bout of intense exercise.  Muscle soreness is universal and never a laughing matter, to you.  It is often hilarious to others though.

I had a friend of mine jokingly suggest I mount a rope above my toilet to help alleviate the muscle screaming pain my mounting and un-mounting of the porcelain goddess caused me after an intense leg workout.  All joking aside, I really considered doing it.  I am currently in the process of completing the first 30 days of P90X, and for those of you not familiar with this program, it is the one you see on infomercials during the strange hours of the night.  If you want to learn more about this life changing program, check out HighOctaneHealth.com.

Anyways, there is a Legs and Back routine in P90X that lasts about an hour, but the after effects can last upwards of 4 days.  I remember the very first time I did the routine, I had to rearrange my entire week around the fact that I could not climb a single stair due to soreness.  True?  Yes.  Funny?  Only for those lucky enough to witness my suffering.

So why do we get sore and how do we combat this demon.  Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness is believed to be the result of micro tears in the muscle tissue.  The contracting and stretching of the muscles during intense exercise causes damage to the muscle fiber leading to tightness and soreness.  This is a natural process and a requirement for our muscles to get stronger.  The micro tears signal a response within the body to repair and rebuild the muscle ultimately creating larger and stronger muscle fibers. 

NO PAIN, NO GAIN!

So what can we do to minimize the soreness and continue our routine?  I am so glad you asked because giving up on a new fitness program because your muscles are too sore to continue is like giving up on a new gasoline because it makes your car go faster.  The sorer you are, the stronger you will be, but lo and behold I have a solution.  Notice I say "a solution" and not "the solution."  I would never tell somebody that their solution is wrong just because I didn't suggest it. 

Remember people, the proof is in the pain, so do not get discouraged by it, be encouraged by it!

Now for a simple physiology lesson.  Our nutrition MUST compliment our exercise.  What I mean by that is what we eat should be geared toward how we move.  Not all calories are created equal, but for the most part, the simple equation of calories in vs. calories out is an integral part of our fitness success.

Now lets look at what to do after an intense workout.  Our livers have only enough Glycogen (blood sugar created from carbohydrates) to fuel our bodies for about 45 - 60 minutes of intense exercise.  There is also some glycogen stored within our muscles, but not enough to consistently keep us moving after our livers are depleted. 

Knowing this, our biggest concern IMMEDIATELY after working out is to find a way to replenish our Glycogen stores.  Simple sugars will do the trick which is why sports drinks are a very popular post workout drink. 

GOOD IS NICE, BUT BETTER IS ALWAYS BEST!

Research during the 90's found that a ratio of sugar to protein at 4:1 actually improved recovery by 25%.  The shameless plug is now ready for introduction.  Beachbody's P90X Results and Recovery Formula is specifically designed to maximize post workout recovery which minimizes soreness and allows you to stick with your workout program and even workout harder the next day.  

A serving of this amazing formula contains simple and complex carbohydrates for optimum energy recovery and helps reduce muscle soreness.  It contains a High Protein Efficiency Ratio blend of proteins providing the necessary building blocks for muscle repair and growth.  The P90X Results and Recovery Formula also contains High levels of vitamin C and E which are important antioxidants that also assist in muscle repair and reduce soreness.

Our goal in working out is to feel better about ourselves and to improve our health.  Soreness is an integral part of this, but it should never detour us from pursuing our dreams.

For more information on this amazing and very necessary supplement, go to HighOctaneHealth.com.   I have a bucket of this stuff shipped to my house every single month because I won't workout without it.  I encourage you to do a little research and then buy some. 

You will not be SORELY disappointed.  Pun intended.

  

 

If not for you, do it for the dog.

I have had the idea to run with my dog for a few months now, but today was the day we finally ventured out to see how he would fare.  I am a fairly consistent runner.  I log between 5 to 10 miles a week, but I would be hard pressed to say I enjoy running.  I enjoy the effects I get from running; increased cardiovascular endurance, a leaner figure, lower blood pressure, and a lower resting heart rate, but I do not jump out of bed with shoes on rearing to go.

I had a dog years ago who I would take running with me and she was amazing.  No leash, no problems, she would stay within a 10 foot radius around me and keep pace for as long as I ran.  Don't worry, she is still alive, she was dog napped by my Mother. 

Today I took my white boxer, yes I said white, on a run.  It went exactly how I expected it to go.  He is built for sprinting.  He is less than a year old and almost weighs 80 pounds; pure muscle.  So we get to the street and I can tell he is ready to go.  He sets a fierce pace right from the start.  Silently I chuckle to myself.  Sure enough, less then a mile into the run he is beginning to suck some air.  I don't think he was prepared for the distance I planned; he didn't stretch much and probably had it in his mind we were going on a leisurely walk. 

NOT THE CASE!

So I had to alter my approach.  Instead of running at my usual 7 1/2 minute mile pace, we switched to doing 60 120's.  For those of you who are not familiar with these, they will drastically improve your run time and endurance.  I will speak of interval training more on a another post, so for the sake of this one, 60 120's are sprints.  You run as fast as you can, I mean balls out, for 60 seconds and then walk for 120 seconds.  You repeat this until you throw up.  Too easy.

So we do this for the remaining 2 miles and finally make it home. Needless to say as I am writing this he is passed out on the couch.  I had to get up a few minutes ago to see if he was still breathing.  So now I know if I want to run at a steady pace, I will need to do it alone, but he is now my permanent sprint partner from here on out.

It is nice to learn that we can make exercise fun if we really try.  I read this article Animal Obesity and it made me sad to realize that for whatever reason as we are getting fatter so are our pets.  I understand a person's right to choose how they live their own life, but your pet it not so lucky.  Yes, a dog will eat itself stupid if given the chance because they are hard wired for survival, but to create an obese environment for your pet just because you are over-weight is a little too much for me to grasp. 

If you find yourself in this particular situation, do not shy away from it or be embarrassed by it, or feel ashamed by it.  

USE IT!

Human beings were meant to run, that is why we stand upright! And if you have never had the chance to witness the pure exhilaration a dog feels while running at top speed, then you are missing out.  Make a choice for you and your pet.  Start slow with daily walks and then progress to light jogging and then hard running. 

MAKE A DECISION, COMMIT TO IT, AND THEN SUCCEED!  TOO EASY!

Winter is coming, so for some of you in colder climates, head on over to HighOctaneHealth.com for some incredible indoor training programs.  SNOW is not a viable excuse for not getting healthy!



Hard work? Of course, but why?

I had a conversation with a friend of mine over the weekend about a subject I has been pondering for some time.  I had been wondering what is it about the image of a perfectly sculpted body that invokes such envy and admiration within us.  To each their own, I understand, and by that I mean that everyone has a personal image of what a "perfect" body should look like.  Some prefer a long, broad swimmers body, while others prefer a more muscular physique like a professional body builder.

My point to my friend was that it is not the body that we admire, but the work we either consciously or unconsciously understand that went into creating the body.  If anyone is naive enough to think that people with amazing physiques are born that way or fall out of bed looking like that are doing themselves a grave disservice.  Anything in life worth attaining requires lots of work.

What I have come to realize is that we value the time, energy, sacrifice, commitment, and perseverance required to create such a masterpiece.  The end result is only an affirmation of the energy spent creating it.

"Son, every man or woman puts their pants on one leg at a time, just like you do".

The first time I heard my father tell me this, it really struck home and made me realize that these amazing people (we were talking about professional golfers) are really no different from me.  They are all human and have the same hours in a day that I have, but they have found a way to utilize those hours to create something amazing. 

So what is the secret?  I am fortunate enough to represent a company whose motto of three little words contains the key that unlocks a person's entire universe.

"Decide, Commit, Succeed"

It is our mind that creates our world, and not the world influencing our mind.  Every person whom we look upon in admiration whether it be for financial, spiritual, or physiological reasons, has at one time or another followed these three simple words. 

Whether your goal is to lose 5 pounds or complete your first triathlon, you HAVE to begin with a decision.  You have to decide you want to accomplish this goal.  It must become a part of your being.  Once you have done this, you will magically begin to find opportunities that can assist you in achieving this dream.  Choose wisely among the many options and then FULLY commit to your course.  The only thing left to do is succeed.  How much time and energy will be required?  You will know when you have accomplished your task. 

IT IS SO VERY SIMPLE!

Notice I did not say easy.  Simple and easy are about as similar as candles and jelly beans.  It was and still is very difficult for me to get out of bed at 520am, 6 days a week and complete my P90X workout.  Every single day, I lay in bed for a minute or 2 and run through the list of excuses the little voice in my head throws at me; the one that never seems to go away.  But do I let this stop me? 

HELL NO! 

I made a decision to get into the best shape of my life and I have chosen to do it with P90X and Shakeology.  More importantly, I am COMMITTED to accomplishing my goal.  Simple? Yes. Easy? No.

Join me today.  Struggle and cry and sweat and bleed and curse and yell right along with me because it is not the body we admire, but the hard work and commitment that created it.