Protein can help your post workout recovery. I think.

Please excuse me if this post sounds a bit like it is too geared towards the “meat head” weight lifter crowd. My good friend, Larry Bodine, asked me a question about using protein powders as a useful supplement. The one he asked about claimed to “improve physical performance by 20%, fuel lean muscle 142% faster than regular protein and improve endurance by 5 minutes.”

These claims always make me a little skeptical. Most of these product claims are never vetted by the FDA, so there is a whole lot of marketing hype involved. I encourage you to read this article that will help you review the claims and ingredients of the hundreds of supplements that are on the market.

I have never been a big fan of using supplements since they make you lighter in the wallet and they rarely are backed by true scientific studies. However, I started using creatine a few years ago, and that did greatly improve my performance. As I have gotten older, I have started investigating post-workout recovery supplements since I do not seem to bounce back after a hard workout as fast as I used to when I was a dumb kid. Currently I am trying out Cellmass by BNS. I will update you in a few weeks on how it has worked for me.

Make sure you check out some of the ingredients before you buy, or ingest, anything. Some products contain high levels of caffeine, which might irritate some people who are not used to drinking the equivalent of 2-3 cups of coffee with each dose.

All supplements are exactly what they say they are: supplements. They are not magic potions. They contain many of the same ingredients that you will find in good food, but they are in a concentrated and easy to ingest form (powder, shake, etc) that makes to convenient for some people. You still have to do the work, eat well, get your rest and have a good mental attitude about your workout regimen. They won’t do the work for you.

Modern Man: What a Wimp

I didn't say it. Australian anthropologist Peter McAllister did. He is the author of a book entitled, Manthropology: The Science of the Inadequate Modern Male. Now, before all you ladies start nodding your heads, let me put this in context. He was doing a comparison of our ancestors of the Neanderthal variety. They were physically superior specimens when compared to modern man. Although modern man has dispensed with using their mate's hair as a transportation method, so I think it all equals out.

Why is this the case? The demands placed on our bodies are much lower. Our bones are thinner because there is far less stress placed on them. We are slower since we rarely have to chase things to eat or run from things who want to eat us. Our ancestors all could probably beat Usian Bolt in a footrace without breaking a sweat. In fact, day to day life was probably more stressful of a workout than even the most elite athlete today.

Tens of thousands of years have decayed the performance capacities of our bodies. However, if you are someone who sits in a chair all day and does not bother to make time for exercise, you can see this decay in a matter of weeks. Our bodies are meant to adapt to our environments and the stress we place upon it. If you live like a couch potato, you will eventually become one.

I challenge you to make the most of your "inadequate" status. Make sure you are doing the following:

• Do at least 30 minutes of activity every single day. Some people think that doing moderate activity 3-4 days a week is enough. I think your body is designed to more. Our ancestors did not have the luxury of taking days off.
• Constantly challenge yourself. You must continuously increase the intensity and variety of your workout routines as you become more fit.
• Be aware of the SAID principle. SAID stands for "specific adaptations to imposed demands" and is one of the seven granddaddy laws of fitness. Your body is very efficient and will conform to the lifestyle you choose to live. If the most demanding thing you do is get up from your office chair to get a donut, that is the body you will create for yourself.

If you are feeling inadequate, it may be your body, and your more thoughtful mind, telling you that you are not living up to your potential.

Quick calorie counter

I just added a little gadget on the right side of this blog that allows you to count up the calories you have eaten. Click the Settings link to customize it to your size and activity level. Enjoy! Be honest.

Your chair is beating the hell out of you

Remember how your Mom used to yell at you at the dinner table to stop slouching? She was right. I bet she wouldn’t like the way you sit at your desk either.

A study by Canon UK found that the average desk dweller sits in their chair the equivalent of 34 weeks per year. That is not a typo. A number of people think that buying a $900 chair makes this OK. It probably helps, but it does not compensate for the effects of sitting, especially when you add bad posture to the mix.

You have muscles that run from your low back to the upper part of your legs called psoas, also known as hip flexors. They are what allow you lift your knee up (hip flexion). Try that movement right now and notice what it mimics: your legs in the sitting position. So, if you were to maintain this position for 5-6 hours per day, the muscles naturally begin to shorten and you lose flexibility.

Shortened hip flexors can cause you to lean forward when standing, which places undue pressure on your lower back as well as other arthokinematic distortions. Click here to see a detailed video of the mechanics of how this works. Your body will compensate for it, but not always in a way that is beneficial to you.

There are a few things you can do to help alleviate this common office warrior issue:

• Stand up at least once per hour and stretch for 2-3 minutes. One of the best stretches you can do in the office is the following:
• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, toes pointed straight ahead, left foot about 18 inches in front of you.
• Reach up as high as you can with your right arm
• Bend as far as you can to the left with your arm still extended
• Slightly twist back to your left and hold for 20-30 seconds
• Repeat for the other side, do this 2 times on each side
• Try to strengthen the opposing muscles in your back: the erector spinae. You can do this by doing back extensions on a Swiss ball or a prone cobra core exercise
• Think about working part of the day from a stand-up desk or worktable
• Make sure when you workout that you are not making the problem worse by always doing seated exercises (stationary bike, any seated resistance machine, etc.)

Take care of your posture. Make Mom proud.

I know exactly how many calories you can eat in a day and not gain weight. Do you?

I would argue that guessing, and erring on the side of easier, is most people’s greatest enemy when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight. People underestimate the size of their food portions, how many calories are in them, and how much extra stuff (butter, dressing, etc.) they put on it.  Many people also overestimate their activity level, how many calories they are burning on the elliptical trainer and how many calories they need to eat in a day.

Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is fat and unhealthy.

It is kind of like not having a speedometer in your car and then wondering why you keep getting speeding tickets. You can moan and groan that you “thought” you were going the right speed. Maybe you might even say, “Well, I don’t care what speed I am going as long as I’m comfortable with it.” Do these arguments sound familiar? The inescapable fact is that you eventually have to face the consequences whether that is Judge Harkins at traffic court or Mr. Love Handles and his sidekick, Diabetes.

Don’t guess; ask the right questions.

Check out these calculators that will help you find out exactly what you need to manage your personal health and wellness regimen. You can even add an application to your Google home page to quickly calculate what you need to do. Some things you might learn:

1. If you know how many calories you can eat, it also lets you know how many you CAN’T eat if you want to lose weight.
2. You may like that elliptical machine, but it comes at a price: you only burn about half the calories as running in the same amount of time.
3. What does it take to lose a pound of body fat? The loss of 3500 calories. Burn it, don’t eat it, whatever. Lose the 3500 or keep the pound.
4. Your genes are influential on how you look and where you store fat. However, except in rare medical cases, everyone can lose their excess body fat. If I put you on a desert island for 45 days with limited food and increased activity to survive, I guarantee that you would lose a tremendous amount of weight.
5. Number 4 evidently does not apply to that one character on the TV show, Lost.

Some people may say this is too complicated Who said this was going to be easy? Has ANYTHING you have ever achieved in your career been easy? What would your response be to a young associate who did not want to complete a project because it was “too complicated”? Remember that look of disdain on your face when you think about skipping over your own planning and preparation.

New study suggests you aren’t a fat burning machine

The “experts” are not going to be happy at the gym today. According to a new study from the University of Colorado, engaging in moderate exercise during the week does not give you a license to eat whatever you want. The traditional view by many trainers and weight loss gurus was that an active person continued to burn more calories all day after a moderate to intense workout. They thought that activity could permanently rev up a person’s metabolism even during rest time on the couch. The evidence from this study seems to debunk this line of thinking.

When you step back and think for a moment, it makes perfect sense. Why would the body stay in an accelerated metabolic state after a workout? OK, your body needs to recover and repair damaged tissue, and that takes some calories. However, it seems reasonable to think that it would be a good idea for your body to return to normal as fast as possible.

Think back to your prehistoric ancestor, Caveman Bob. After chasing wild game for 3 miles in order to feed his family, the last thing his body needs is to burn calories at a high rate for the next 24 hours. In fact, it should be just the opposite.

Moral to the story? Well, first, you are not Caveman Bob. Your priorities are different and you are a bit smarter (I hope). Adopt strategies to keep your metabolism high and keep the pounds off:

1. Exercise in some shape or form every day. Even if it is sitting on a stationary bike reading the paper while pedaling slowly, it is better than nothing. You are going to read the paper anyway, so just add the bike.
2. Do not assume that since you spent 45 minutes working out that you can now inhale everything in sight for the next 24-48 hours. Justifying it by saying “I need to replenish my reserves after that hard workout” does not hold water. You can eat more calories than you burned in a matter of minutes. Use a calorie counter to calculate how many calories you burned after you are done. If you eat 1 calorie more than that during the day, you will start gaining weight. Sorry, that’s just how the math works.
3. Speaking of water, chug that down after a hard workout. It will fill you up and rehydrate you.

It makes us feel better when we are sitting in front of the TV eating a bag of chips to say, “well, I worked out yesterday, so my body burns these chips off more than other people.” Oh, it would be so nice if that were actually true.

Work out your entire body in just 6 minutes with a kettlebell

If you have been in a health club recently, you might have noticed the appearance of a new piece of apparatus stashed in the corner by the Swiss balls and elastic bands. They look like little iron cannonballs with handles on top of them, and they are shockingly heavy. Most likely, you are looking at kettlebells.

Kettlebells are a traditional Russian training tool that is most closely associated with power lifting. However, in the last few years, they have become popular in the United States for providing an all over body workout in a very short period of time. After just a few minutes of swinging one or two of these around, you will notice how it can help you improve your strength, balance, cardiovascular endurance and core stability.

Make no mistake: this is an intense workout.

Kettlebells come in a variety of sizes and are usually measured in kilos (but I will make recommendations in pounds). For women, you should be using a 20-24 pound kettlebell. Men should start with a 36 pound one, but you might quickly progress to the 53 pound version.

It takes practice to become comfortable with this workout, but you will find a great deal of variety of exercises that are available to you. You can also do it in the privacy of your own living room.

Check out the video below of a 6 minute workout available for free on YouTube. Just follow along with the video, including the breaks, and you will quickly learn why this is such a great alternative to traditional resistance training.

UPDATE: This is NOT me in the video, so I take no credit for form, or lack thereof, in it.

Don’t be surprised if you feel a little wobbly or sore the next day. It proves that it works. Try this workout 3 times per week with at least a day’s rest between each session. This should be done in place of other resistance training and not in addition to it. Good luck!

Fitness still a priority for recession victims

For a great number of people, being laid off (or made redundant for my European friends) is once of the scariest things that could happen to them. The uncertainty of how the bills will be paid and the loss of identity that accompanies one’s career makes this life event one of the top five stressors anyone can endure.

It can also be the best thing to ever happen to you.

Think of your friends and colleagues that became victims of an economic slowdown. What do they do with all of this time? They spend time with their kids. They help their spouse around the house. They tackle all those projects that have been sitting in their ambition’s peripheral vision for months. And, they exercise more than ever.

A recent study shows that memberships at local health clubs are one of the last things that people cut back on when they are financially stressed. People that do not belong to a gym consider joining one. Even those newly liberated individuals who would never set foot in a wellness oriented facility invest more time running, doing yoga or home based activities.

Here are some things to think about if you find yourself with some with extra time on your hands to get fit:

1. You got laid off, not named to the U.S. Olympic team. Please do not go from your 50 hours per week of sedentary office life to trying to run 10 miles every day. This also applies to people who could run 10 miles day at one point of their life. Consult a trainer, start slow, and set a goal of improving 10 percent a week.
2. If you are going to make a change, make a CHANGE. You have a wonderful opportunity to remake your schedule, establish new priorities and make permanent, healthy lifestyle changes. So, don’t go half way. Review your exercise plan, diet, sleeping habits, alcohol intake, vices and addictions and your wellness goals. Do it all now since you will eventually be back into the daily grind.
3. Network with the sweaty. Every person you meet is a potential new route to your next career. OK, maybe not the crazy guy with two tone hair and the weightlifting belt in the free weights area, but you never know. There is a direct correlation between high exercise commitment and education level. There also is a correlation between educated level and successful, working people. Introduce yourself to that person you have seen at the gym every day for the past two years. Repeat often.
4. Make working out part of your job hunting routine. I think it helps people to exercise first and then go straight to a local coffee shop to do a couple of hours of research and contact potential employers. The workout charges you up and puts you in a frame of mind that has been pre-set for accomplishment.
5. Don’t hide in your fitness routine. Just because you have extra time does not mean you should meander around the club for three hours. You should emphasize discipline and intensity. If the workout that used to take you an hour now lasts 90 minutes, you are avoiding the work you need to be doing to take that next step in your career.
6. Have a slap down with your fridge. You are going to be home more than you are used to, and those snacks in the fridge are going to try and become your best friend. You don’t need friends like that, and they should not be hanging around your house. Take the time to get rid of foods that you know are bad for you and replace them with healthier choices.

Setbacks in a career happen to everyone. However, not everyone takes advantage of what you can do to make yourself healthier during a lull in your eventual rise to the top. What you do in the weeks that you have your life all to yourself can change your health for the rest of your life.

Getting weaker a sign your body is trying to help you. Fight it.

What? For many people, that just does not sound right at all. Your body should be constantly trying to better itself, prepare for the next challenge and accumulate life skills to make you an invincible being.

Sorry, your “body” does not read self-help books and attend Anthony Robbins seminars. In reality, your body is constantly shedding things it does not need. This is a self-defense mechanism that you can thank your hairier, less erect ancestors for bestowing upon you.

On the good side, this can be extra fat when you eat less and exercise more. Your cave dwelling relatives did not have Sam’s Club and meat freezers a million years ago, so their bodies would use fat stores to keep themselves going in times of not so plenty.

However, this can be a negative (for today’s alpha male/female) process, too. Consider the following:

1. Losing muscle. If you are not using it, voluntarily or involuntarily, it is a drain on your body. Why would your body keep muscle it does need? It burns more calories, makes you heavier and is completely useless absent regular movement. Hello atrophy.
2. Specific sports and fitness skills. Have you ever gone a couple of years without skiing and then try to hop back on that double diamond? I am sure the people in the ski lift enjoyed the show, but you were probably not so happy with the results. You lost the skills and muscle memory because your body no longer needed them. It focused its resources somewhere else. It comes back fast, but it goes away fast as well.
3. Joint stability. See both of the above items for a continuation of the basic premise. Joints that are not stressed lose their stability since the connective tissues start to atrophy. This leads to an increased risk of injury even though your body is actually being more efficient. However, if you are the one telling it you don’t need the support, you really can’t blame it.

So, you now know your body has a finicky, efficiency expert in charge. You must make sure that when that expert asks you, “Do you still need this?” that you can claim, and demonstrate, that you do.

View from the top

My good friend, Larry Bodine, is a brilliant business development coach and visionary on using the web to increase your exposure. He also happens to be a guy who constantly is looking for new challenges and experiences.

A few months ago, he asked me for some help on being able to do something basic: more  pull ups. We talked for a while, and I gave him some routines that I thought might help. A few weeks later, he let me know that his results improved dramatically. He also was filled with a sense of pride that he continued to improve week after week.

He recently sent me this note from his latest adventure (picture included):

I’ve been hiking a lot lately, and yesterday made it to the peak of Ventana Canyon.  It’s an 8-mile round trip, climbing up 1300 feet to the top, at 4240 feet.  At the end, the “trail” was a pile of rocks. I have a blister on my left foot, a sunburn, sore quadriceps, and a real sense of accomplishment.

Larry Bodine, Esq.
Apollo Business Development

Larry has a son out of college, a very busy consulting practice and is on the road constantly. However, he finds time for his next fitness challenge and accomplishment. Good for you, Larry.

Some people only have a two dimensional view of the world. They read about it in books or see pictures of it on the Internet. Larry has a 3D perspective of the world: he was there. And, the view is better from the top.

In this corner…

A number of women who are trying to balance career, family and some semblance of a normal life have a similar question for me: if I have to choose one thing to do to be healthier, what should it be?

Well, harkening back to my days as a consultant, I would say “it depends.” It depends on what you are trying to accomplish and what you consider to be success.

Woman’s Fitness magazine had an excellent article about how different methods, cardio or strength training, face off against each other. Here are the abbreviated results:

Getting rid of excess weight

Winner: Strength training. Cardio burns more per hour, but strength training keeps your metabolism elevated longer. In addition, each pound of muscle you add can burn up to 60 more calories per day whether you exercise or not.

Dealing with stress

Winner: Cardio. Think of runners high and the endorphins endurance activity produces.

Looking good naked (for lack of a better description)

Winner: Strength. You are permanently altering body shape. Enough said.

Injury prevention

Winner: Strength. Repetitive motions like running and cycling without strength training can lead to injury. Strength training helps the connective tissues deal with the pounding.

Living forever

Winner: Cardio. That heart muscle, and the systems connected to it, is pretty important.

Beating your personal best

Winner: It depends. Only you truly know what personal best you are trying to eclipse. Your training should be very specific to attaining that goal.

Breaking through

Let’s say you have been really good about your fitness and diet program since setting a goal on January 1st of becoming more healthy. Great job! However, this is about the time of year (10-12 weeks into a new program) that you may have hit a plateau: the weight isn’t coming off anymore.

Take comfort in the fact that this is normal. Your body is constantly seeking homeostasis, and the root of this word is from the Greek term for “standing still”. Even after a big change in your lifestyle will eventually become routine. You should be happy that your body has become adjusted to this new way of living! However, it is a sign that you need to step it up a bit.

The key through breaking any plateau is change. There are many training variable that you can manipulate to lose that last 10 pounds that are so resistant to leaving your waistline. Try one or more of the following:

• Decrease the rest time between sets.
• Split your workout into two times per day, so you can work harder during each workout.
• Add one set to each of your resistance exercises.
• Vary your workout exercise choices. Don’t keep doing the same thing.
• Change the weights and repetitions on resistance exercises. If you are doing 3 sets of 10 repetitions, try doing 5 sets of 5 repetitions with a heavier weight for the next two weeks.
• Try supersets. For example, do a chest exercise, then immediately do a back exercise with no rest in between. Rest 45 seconds and repeat.
• Instead of doing 30 minutes of cardio, do 15 minutes of cardio interval training. Go 30 seconds easy and then 30 seconds at a sprint/high intensity.

If you want your body to change, you have to change your routine, so it doesn’t BECOME routine. To read more about how to break through to the next level, click here.

The First Lady’s first class arms

Talk about a great role model. The 44 year old first lady of the United States looks like she is 15 years younger. What is the secret to her success?

1. She works out for 90 minutes, 3 times per week
2. She has a personal trainer help her with her program
3. She eats a balanced diet despite being tempted by lavish state dinners
4. Her day starts with exercise as part of a standing routine

Intensity, discipline, consistency and focus. It really isn’t a secret. Read more here.

You are sick. Should you exercise?

When it comes to advice about your own health, everyone seems to be an aspiring doctor. Ask someone a general question about an injury or sickness that they have, and they will rattle off what probably caused it, how to make it better and what they should and shouldn’t do during the recovery process.

I appreciate the fact that people take ownership of their own well being, but they should make sure they have all the facts. Unfounded “rules of thumb” and “old wives' tales” can actually be holding people back. Here are some ones I hear all the time:

• Stretch before you run. Never stretch a cold muscle. You should perform some form of warm up first before static stretching. Some research shows that it is safer to NOT stretch before a run, perform a short dynamic warmup (lunges, calisthenics, etc.) and then work into a steady pace. Stretch afterwards.
• Wait 30 minutes after eating to swim. Really, have you ever heard of someone dying from this?
• Do not exercise if you are sick since it weakens your defenses. A recent study by Ball State University shows there is little validity to this idea.

The moral of the story is that there are great resources to get the facts you need. Your gym coach from 1960 or your neighbor might not be one of the best ones to rely on.

Marketing versus selling

I believe that success in fitness, principles and habits, has similarities to success in marketing and selling. I recently did an interview with the brilliant Ed Poll of LawBiz Management on this very topic. It is about 22 minutes long, but you can hear what we talked about by clicking here.

Teledieting

I know a number of people who have great intentions when they start a new fitness program, but they soon fall off the wagon. This is more pronounced during the weeks of February when New Year’s resolutions lose their influence on people.

There are many reasons for quitting: lack of results, lack of time or even lack of energy. However, I think a big part of it is lack of comfort. I am not talking about being sore. It is a lack of comfort in being the “out of shape” person that doesn’t look like they know what they are doing. It is kind of like going to a singles bar, alone, over and over again, and never meeting Mr. or Miss Right because you don’t have a great opening line. After a while, you just give up.

I know it is hard to get motivated to work out on some days. I have found most of this time that if you can get there, change clothes, and spend just 5 minutes exercising, you will complete your workout. If after 5 minutes you still don’t have it in you, leave.

Some people also hire personal trainers to help them through this initial phase, but you still have to walk through that gym door Perhaps there is a better way. A recent Dutch study showed a significant increase in weight loss success from the simple act of a counselor calling people up and encouraging them to continue. Some people might see this as nagging, but I call it coaching.

If you cannot afford such a service, find a friend who is also trying to improve their fitness level to be your counselor. Talk through your frustrations and make a follow up time to talk AFTER your next session. It will be hard to make that call if you have done nothing.

Wait just a second

I noticed today on my travels that it is easy to make the wrong choices about eating without even thinking about it. I had to fly from San Diego at 6:30 a.m., and my first stop after airport security ripped my bags apart was Starbuck’s.

I always get a basic coffee, but food choices are a bit challenging at Starbucks. There just aren’t a lot of good choices. I LOVE the blueberry muffins, but take a look at what is in them. It is like having Mom whip me up this great, old fashioned breakfast in terms of calories. However, I wolf it down in 90 seconds and get almost no enjoyment out of it.

Frequently, I might order it for no other reason than I am in a hurry. It is a simple choice that I am comfortable with making. But, if I take a step back and let one person go ahead of me in line, it gives me a moment to rethink it. I usually get a banana or their new oatmeal (big fan).

Five extra seconds could make the difference of needing to spend an extra hour on the bike today. I think it is a good use of my time to stop and think.

The fat smoker

David Maister, a world class consultant to the legal industry, has published a book with one of the more brilliant titles I have ever seen: Strategy and the Fat Smoker. In short, it talks about how to manage people who know what they should do for long term success, but they still just don’t cut out the bad habits or start the good ones to get them there. According to Maister, doing what is obvious is not easy. What a wonderfully simple and brilliantly true statement.

Need a challenge?

Some people need a goal to get moving. There is a nationwide initiative called The 50 Million Pound Challenge that is encouraging people to join together to lose the weight they want to take off. Whether you have 10 or 100 pounds to lose, experts agree that having a support network is a great tactic to help you stick with your program.

Some of the facts about the seriousness of the obesity problem in the United States are breathtaking:

• Two out of every three adults are considered to be overweight or obese
• 17% of all children in the U.S. are overweight
• Certain groups, such as African Americans, are suffering even more (80% of adult women and 67% of adult men are overweight)

This program is free and provides materials to help you design diet plans, track your progress and keep the weight off. It is sponsored by State Farm Insurance, and I think this validates the program even more. Who has more to gain from your weight loss than a company that provides health and life insurance???

Actually, you do.

Wisdom at the gym

Henoch ("Henry") Frydman just celebrated his 100th birthday in November by hitting his local gym. He has not missed a workout there since 1977, and I don’t think he plans on disrupting his six day per week regimen any time soon. He is an inspiration to those around him, and he certainly is to me.

Henry is not seeking glory, trophies or attention. He just wants to continue to live an active and healthy life despite what the calendar tells him. I think if more people were like him, there would be a whole lot less people in this country who are stuck on their porches wistfully thinking about the vigor of their youth.

You can read more about him here. The lesson is that fitness is a state of mind as well as a sense of commitment. What have you done today that would inspire Henry?

My diet beats your treadmill

I am glad that many of you have joined health clubs or restarted your exercise routine after the New Year. You can almost smell the turkey and cookies melting away in the cardio center of my place. However, if you have not made significant changes to your diet, it might be a wonderful exercise in futility. A recent Loyola study found that despite all of your hard work, you can’t compensate enough for the pounds you pack on from a bad diet. I thought this passage was particularly simple to understand and to the point:

“…researchers from Loyola University Health System and other centers compared African American women in metropolitan Chicago with women in rural Nigeria. On average, the Chicago women weighed 184 pounds and the Nigerian women weighed 127 pounds.

Researchers had expected to find that the slimmer Nigerian women would be more physically active. To their surprise, they found no significant difference…People burn more calories when they exercise. Thing is, they compensate by eating more…

"We would love to say that physical activity has a positive effect on weight control, but that does not appear to be the case," Cooper said.

Diet is a more likely explanation than physical activity expenditure for why Chicago women weigh more than Nigerian women, Luke said. She noted the Nigerian diet is high in fiber and carbohydrates and low in fat and animal protein. By contrast, the Chicago diet is 40 percent to 45 percent fat and high in processed foods…”

The reason is simple math. Let’s assume that you have decided to “get into shape” for good this year. You weigh 160 pounds, and you are going to jog for one hour per day on a treadmill, five days a week. Congratulations! You will burn 2920 calories. However, any ONE of the following combinations will quickly negate your efforts:

One beer per day (7 x 142 = 994) and one Chipotle burrito (1179) in one week.

One order of cheese fries from Outback Steakhouse (2900)

A Grande, White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks every other day (4 x 720 = 2880)

The point is that you cannot ignore your diet. I admire your tenacity at the gym. Keeping up with five days a week on the treadmill, or any other activity, is a noble effort. You will get quickly frustrated from a lack of results from the hurricane level damage that you can do in just a few minutes with a fork in your hand or straw in your mouth.

What should you do?

1. Know what you are eating. I provided the links to the foods I used in the examples above.
2. Make a plan to compensate for days where eating badly cannot be avoided. I do not expect you to miss every Super Bowl party or cocktail event at work, but you need to compensate for it throughout the day by eating lighter and making good choices.
3. Come to grips with reality. There is a limit to how much exercise you can do. There is almost no limit to how much, or how badly, you can eat. If you think your bullheaded will power at the gym will make up for that “love of wine and cheese” issue that you have, think again.

The minefield in the supermarket

A number of people make great resolutions to eat healthier at the start of a new year. One of the ways they do so is to swear off eating out in restaurants and cook more meals at home.

However, you need to realize that the same tricks that restaurants use to make dishes more appealing are used my food manufacturers.

1. Pretty packaging attracts us to one food item over another. However, the most important part of a package is the Nutritional Guidelines box on the back. Ever wonder why it is so plain and standardized on EVERY food item? It is just objective information for your protection.
2. Deceptive “healthy” or “all natural” labels are all the rage. You will see foods labeled as “No Cholesterol!” and think that means healthy. Well, sugar cubes (since they have no animal products in them) are cholesterol free as well, but I do not think you should eat them all day. Likewise, “100% natural” and “organic” labels do not mean a great choice. Take a look at the calories in a large packet of granola the next time you are at a store…
3. Hidden serving sizes are a new way to hide the ugly truth. I picked up a small container of Kung Pao chicken the other day because the label said it was only 380 calories per serving. Too bad there were 5 servings in this tiny package.

Don’t feel duped. Get informed. There is always a healthier, viable choice to most meals. Check out this article from the Today show about the worst supermarket choices. Each has a substitution that may not be as good as the original, but it is better than running an extra 5 miles a day on the treadmill to compensate for 5 minutes worth of pleasure.

Stretch much?

Be honest. The answer is probably no. Stretching is the red-headed stepchild of the workout family, and it does not get much of a tan since it rarely sees the light of day. When people are short on time, it always seems to be the part of the routine that gets skipped or put in the to the “I’ll do it later at home” pile.

Your coaches in high school were probably the first people to introduce you to the benefits of stretching, but like my old coaches, they learned most of what they knew about fitness back in the 1950’s. Like everything else in exercise science, we have come a long way since then. I hope you are not using a stretching routine that is as old as you are!

Read this article on the modern way to stretch. It helps serve as a proper warm up for your daily routine and has some new twists (pun intended) you may not recognize:

• Be careful performing static stretching before you work out or play sports.
• Stretch twice a day, every day, to maintain your gains.
• Do just one stretch for each tight muscle. After that, the results greatly diminish.
• Dynamic stretching can help increase blood flow, strength and power production.

If any of this sounds new to you, it is time to learn what may be holding you back.