13 year old, female weightlifting champ

I love this story for a bunch of reasons (please forgive any opening ads).

1. It kills the common female excuse against weightlifting, “but, I do not want to get big, disgusting muscles.” This teenager looks very fit to me.
2. She is on a Paleo diet.
3. She keeps trying to best her personal records.
4. She is intense, calm, disciplined (MWF at 0530???) and uses a great coach.
5. Eight weightlifting world records. EIGHT.

Her key element to success according to her coach: “she hasn’t been told for decades that she is limited.” What perceptions, attitudes and assumptions are limiting you?

Your goal for your next workout? Add 5-10 more pounds to every exercise you do. Run 10% longer and 10% faster. Swim 2 extra laps. Just increase something.

You will thank me. I guarantee it.

Secrets at the gym

I ran across an extremely insightful and humorous article about managing your expectations at the gym. The general theme was don’t worry so much about the details. Just do something.

I can usually predict how long people are going to stay at their “new” gym and stick with their fitness resolutions by the statements they make before signing up. Give yourself 5 points for each phrase you have used:

1. I really need a pool. It would be SO nice to swim laps at 6 a.m. every morning as a way to start my day!
2. I really need a 24 hour access gym. That way I can go at 10 p.m. when all the kids are in bed.
3. Oh! This new place has the cool Zumba Roomba Spin class that is the BEST class for burning calories!
4. This place has a lot of elliptical machines, which is great because I hate bikes and treadmills.
5. I like this place because it is so low key. People here are just trying to be active and not get so “crazy”.

If you scored 5 points or above, you are on my list for a potential flight risk. People that overanalyze the details and make high demands on specific exercises/classes/perks are trying to avoid the basic necessity: I need to move my body more on a consistent basis.

For example, committing to moving your legs fast and working your core for 20 minutes is great. Wanting to ONLY do it in a semi-circular motion set to Latin music under the direction of a gal named Marinda is missing the point.

Referring to the above 5, this is what will eventually happen:

1. You won’t. And, a pool is what makes one gym twice as expensive as one that doesn’t have one. Pay per session to use a pool unless your last name is Phelps.
2. If you work third shift, sure. Otherwise, who are you kidding, ?
3. This class will be have the same status as 1984 Jane Fonda videos in 6 months. Trust me.
4. Why? Because it is easier? Remind me why you are here? Also, keep in mind that every cardio machine does the same thing in a different ways. Your inflexibility shows a potential for future excuse manufacturing.
5. Go to a library if you want low key. People working out hard next to you should be inspirational. People grunting incessantly while wearing cut off Slayer T-shirts are the exception.

I have belonged to dozens of gyms in my life. They are all the same, and I could accomplish everything I do there in my garage. The most important qualities in a gym are convenient location, cleanliness and safety, hours that fit your schedule and enough variety to change your program every 6-8 weeks.

Just do something. Please.

Should I Use or Store a Calorie?

I am sure all of us would say “use”. Using a calorie means it goes into the body and is immediately used as fuel. Storing means I will use it later, which means it becomes adipose tissue. You may know adipose tissue by its street name: FAT.

Of course, you cannot will yourself to do one or the other. This is an involuntary response by the body based on insulin levels. Therefore, what you eat, how fast you eat and your sensitivity to insulin will determine if it goes in the metabolic fire or on your parabolic hips.

Take a moment to read this great article on the topic!

Kid training

Have you ever watched an 18 month old kid pick up a piece of food they just dropped on the floor and put it into their mouth? They might not understand the point that things covered with dirt and dog hair do not belong in their mouth, but they do seem to understand good biomechanics.

Flat back. Knees bent. Bending at the hips. Stand straight back up.

If you really watch a toddler walk, they look like drunk college kids after a beer pong tournament. They need to be zealots when it comes to maintaining their center of gravity, or they will fall over. By the way, I am referring to the toddlers.

Why do adults seem to lose their ability to execute proper form when they get older? I believe that they are compensating for neuromuscular deficiencies or they are lazy. Lazy is something I cannot fix, but anyone can correct their weak spots.

Read this article FIRST. It talks about the basic exercises and movements all young athletes should be able to master BEFORE specialized skill development. I think all adults should do the same. If you can do the basics like jumping rope, push ups and a couple of pull ups, you can build a solid program on top of it. If you can’t, there are some corrective exercises you need to work on before adding another Zumba class or exercise machine to your program. More to come on this topic…

Learn more at www.rainmakerfitness.com

100 less per day

I read today that in order to lose 10 pounds of fat per year, you need to eat 100 calories less per day. This is a nice, simple way of reinforcing a methodical and rational method of weight loss. However, there are a few assumptions/issues/problems that must be addressed:

1. It means 100 calories less than you NEED to eat every day. If you are eating 300 calories too much per day, it will just slow the rate of fat gain. This could be called the government budget model.
2. It means EVERY DAY. Don’t forget that holiday called Thanksgiving where most Americans overeat by as much as 2000 calories in one meal. That is three weeks of “just eat 100 calories less per day”.
3. See above and make sure you do not forget to count the Super Bowl party you attend, Christmas, Halloween candy, anniversary dinner with your sweetiepie, and so on…
4. It assumes you know how many calories are in what you are eating (portions, hidden ingredients, etc.).

I could go on, but I think you get the general drift. A 100 calorie per day goal on a 1800-2500 calorie diet is a very small margin of error. It may end up what you averaged for the year, but I do not think it is a realistic way of planning to lose weight. I would argue that 100 calories is a rounding error on a daily basis.

The answer is to engage in vigorous exercise a minimum of 4 times per week as well as banish junk from your eating habits. The average person should strive to cut 3500 calories per week through diet modifications and burn 3500 calories per week through exercise. This will result in two pounds of fat loss per week.

Make goals and plans on a weekly calendar. Measure results on an annual calendar. Do the work daily.

Just for fun

No real commentary needed for this link. It shows that fitness has a sense of humor.

http://www.clickorlando.com/slideshow/lifestyle/28109861/detail.html

When you are trying to be seen as inspirational, you don’t get a day off. Sorry.

Kudos to Michelle Obama. She has taken up a cause that is near and dear to my heart: fighting childhood obesity. She has spoken across the nation about the need for activity, healthy school lunches and the acceptance of personal responsibility when it comes to nutritional choices.

And, then she did something stupid: she went into the middle of Washington, D.C. and ordered an over 1500 calorie lunch at a burger joint.

The First Lady admits to an obsession to french fries. I am part of that cursed tribe as well. However, I am not on TV every day talking about the evils of fast food and being sedentary. Yes, all things are allowed in moderation , even for the President’s wife. But, couldn’t she have satisfied her cravings at home? You know, the big white mansion that has its own private chef? I bet he or she knows how to cook french fries, and they wouldn’t have let the press in.

Leaders lead, and they lead all the time once they have followers. Some people might think I am being too harsh, but this is the equivalent of a staunch anti-smoking advocate having an occasional cigar or two. In public.

Sorry, Mrs. Obama. If you want to lead from the front, you need to remember that everyone behind you can see what you are doing. You shouldn’t be showing that there is always some leeway when it comes to discipline. If you don’t think that is fair, I suggest to find another cause to champion.

This rules applies to ALL business leaders, too. Everything you do defines how those you lead should act. Are principles optional? Isn’t taking an occasional break from the “good fight” just being human? Sure it is. But, you gave up a little bit of that right when you chose to lead.

If you think the top of the mountain is lonely, remember that you chose to climb it.

Some civility, please.

It has been a long day at work. Clients were complaining. The boss was being difficult. And, Jim, who has no business being in the job he has, got yet another mention in a company wide email. At least I can take some comfort in my time at the gym after work.

Or, so I thought.

There are days when going to the gym is like a cross between Lord of the Flies and the basement of my old fraternity house on a Sunday morning. Ick with a side of, “Oh God, what the hell is that?!?”

There are basic rules of etiquette that you would think would be a given when using a public facility. Since they obviously are up for debate, let me give the animals some basic lessons in manners.

1. Wow, you really worked up a sweat. Impressive. However, I don’t need to discover it after I put my hands on the handrails of the elliptical machine when my hands now feel like I just ate 2 dozen blue crabs. Wipe it up please.
2. To the gentleman in the bathroom stall: how is it that everyone here knows you need to go see a gastroenterologist, and you don’t? You are killing my motivation.
3. I respect my elders. However, I lose a little of that respect when Merle insists on sitting down naked on the bench for 15 minutes while powdering his feet. And, put those toenail clippers away until you get home. The bench looking like a Rorschach Test after he stands up is creeping me out.
4. Howdy, pardner! Miss Kitty will be down in a few minutes, so why don’t you get yourself some Red Eye while you are waiting? Oh, but do us all a favor and refrain from using the water fountain as a spittoon while you are here. Don’t let the saloon doors hit you in the butt on the way out.
5. There are several places for gum. I prefer it stays in your mouth. I certainly bet the clean up crew does not prefer it to be left in the urinal.
6. As a corollary of the above, urinals have a singular purpose. So do the showers. Do not get efficient on me. Please do not let both of them having a drain confuse you.
7. You got the dumbbells from a rack. I know they are heavy. That is why they work so well. Put them back in a not so random fashion.
8. For all you frustrated NY Deli owners out there: stop making “plate sandwiches”. Putting them back on the weight tree in a “big plate, small plate, big plate” fashion make it hard to get what I need. It’s a pretty simple concept.
9. No eating in the the locker please. See rules 2-7 for the reasons why.
10. Finally, when I am buck naked, this is not the time to start a conversation about how my workout was, what I do for a living, and certainly not what I am doing this weekend. To each his own, but leave me alone.

I don’t mean to be persnickety, but I am just trying to get out of here without catching cholera.

Fire them. Hire me.

This is the extremely simplified version of what you are saying when trying to gain business from a client who is already using a competitor for the same services you provide. Some people do not like the first part because it seems crass, combative and a great deal like negative campaigning. Too bad. It is the decision that you are asking the client to make, so you need to take responsibility for putting them in this tough spot.

I have found that most pitches/beauty contests/dog and pony shows/etc. go something like this:

1. Thank you for giving us the opportunity


2. Since 1938, we have been dedicated to…


3. We have 4 locations and here are all the logos of our clients we stole off their web sites


4. Let us read you out loud all our capabilities of all our departments/practice areas


5. Biography parade


6. Conclusion: you should hire us because we are great and will offer some “value add” something or other

Change some of the details, and that is exactly what your competitors can say. You must differentiate yourself to a point where they don’t want to just hire you. They want to fire their current provider (in a nice way, I am sure).

When trying to unseat or take a share away from the incumbent, you have a few choices:

1. Say we are great and wait for the incumbent to fumble one day


2. Do the same work and charge discount prices (at little profit) to buy their business


3. Offer a new approach or new services that makes them think they are doing something NEW

Ideas? OK, here are a few:

• Cross sell in advance. Don’t sell Mergers & Acquisition services without employment, real estate and IP protection bundled in. When these issues are ignored in favor of “doing the deal”, mergers always seem to disappoint.


• Follow the client. Is the client going somewhere new? Expanding in China? New Jersey? Go there for the first time with them. By the way, you need to know this BEFORE their current firm does, so do your research and go ask them questions. Often.


• Alternative Fee Arrangements. What would happen if you walked in and proposed a flat fee for all their services? You would need to investigate and control your costs, but so does every business. Can you offer transparency and predictability in addition to your services?

It may very noble to perform the charge down the “we are great and will charge less” hill like a scene out of Braveheart and take the enemy head on. It is just not very smart.

Figure out a new approach that makes it easier for them to have that difficult conversation with their present provider instead of you.

Want to feel relaxed more often? Go for a run.

My favorite, most brilliant therapist I know, Renee Branson, wrote a great article on her attempt to relax over the weekend by running through barbed wire, fire and mud. This was not an audition for a Mad Max sequel. She was a contestant in the Warrior Dash: an arduous, 3.5 mile race through the woods with obstacles galore. I am sure she is still sore and cleaning mud out of her car. And, she is more relaxed.

Her article talked about the importance of managing the stress hormone, cortisol, that is part of everyone’s lives. It is a necessary, life preserving hormone. When a bear appears in your campground, it is what allows your fat little butt to run a five-minute mile. However, it takes a toll on the body. No free lunch, folks. You have heard that many times from me before.

Cortisol is a steroid. Like other steroids, it can produce a benefit from inhibiting certain body responses, but it comes with a cost. Increased cortisol levels are associated with lowered immune system efficiency, decreased libido and accumulation of belly fat. Lovely. By the way, you may have noticed that cortisone, as in cortisone injections, sounds very similar. And, it has similar effects.

Our daily lives are filled with stress. Unexpected stress that we are not used to handling makes our bodies start pumping cortisol into the bloodstream by the shovelful. However, after we become accustomed to stress that is part of our routine, cortisol production is decreased. That is why an military pilot can handle the stress of landing on an aircraft carrier at night (over and over and over again), which is something that would make most people paralyzed with fear.

Research has also shown the same to be true with exercise. I found a great article that addressed this on livestrong.com. Cortisol levels will be elevated in response to new stress on the body. The first time you attempt a 3 mile run, you can expect a hormone party. Once you can easily do 8 miles, the shorter run has almost no effect on producing cortisol.

Interestingly, the benefits from managing cortisol production through exercise seems to have an effect on keeping hormone levels lower during times of emotional upheaval.

Rest when your body needs it. However, your mind may need to go for a run.