Collected Fitness Wisdom

Lately I've been saving bits of articles or e-mails that really nail a topic. I hope one or more of them helps you see something in a new light.


From Paul Scott:

(On using machines and training muscles in isolation)

"Most of us are neither crippled nor on the verge of entering the Mr. Olympia competition, so why do we train as if either is the case? The answer is a combination of the gyms' desire to maximize profits, and our own desire to find workouts that don't involve work."



From Alwyn Cosgrove:

"If you cheat: get right back on track. A lot of people think after cheating- I've blown it- so I might as well REALLY blow it! Let me ask you- if you get a flat tire do you get out of your car and slash the other three? Hey, you have a flat tire- might as well have four, right?"



From Rocco Castellano:

"There is nothing in the world that will change your life, not a piece of equipment, not a diet, not a personal trainer, not a workout...nothing will do the work for you.

You need to take action. YOU can only make YOUR life better."



From Mike Geary:

"In several of my newsletters in the past, I've given examples of how choosing your foods based on the glycemic index can be misleading and useless in many cases.

Case in point...

Watermelon has one of the highest measured GI's of all foods (much higher than even cake and ice cream). However, a normal serving of cake and ice cream may give you a whopping 700 or 800 calories, whereas a typical serving of watermelon may give you 50 or 60 calories max!

Trust me... watermelon isn't making anyone fat!

The lesson... GI is almost useless when you're not considering "Glycemic Load", which also factors in the quantity of carbohydrates ingested in a typical serving."



From Rachel Cosgrove:

(On how her body changed from doing lots of steady state cardio when she was training for a triathlon)

"I now have first-hand experience that steady-state aerobics is absolutely, completely, utterly ineffective for fat loss. After working my way up to twenty training hours a week, I can tell you that long, steady-state endurance is not the answer for a defined, lean physique and it's a waste of time if your goal is fat loss.

It's only the answer if your goal is to complete an endurance event."



From Vern Gambetta:

"If you have a limited amount of time to work out, you're better off ditching the machine to do different kinds of body-weight and whole-body exercises. You'll get more caloric burn for your time spent."

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