Just received this article from Craig Ballantyne and with New Year's resolutions waning, I thought I should post it immediately.
7 Ways To Get Motivated For Your Workout
By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com
There will be days (everyday?) when you don't feel like doing your workout.
Sometimes you don't want to get out of bed.
Sometimes you don't want to leave your office because you feel like there are too many deadlines (but this is when you need a workout the most!).
Sometimes you don't want to end story time with the kids only to head down to the basement gym.
It even happens to me.
But I knew how I'd feel like a million bucks after the workout.
And in the end, I know I can't let myself become "soft" and start skipping workouts. I have to lead by example.
But if you are set on achieving a goal, then when it's workout time, come heck or high water you've got to bear down and do the job.
So here are 7 ways to get motivated for your workout and to get you inspired to get through your workout.
1) Reward yourself. Finish your workout and treat yourself to a magazine, a TV show, some extra time with your family, some new songs for your IPOD, or even a little extra time for yourself.
2) Or set up a punishment for missing workouts. Skip the workout, put $20 into a jar to spend on home repairs. Make sure your spouse controls the jar.
3) Review your goals everyday and every night. Keeping your goals fresh in your mind will help you stay on track.
4) Realize that the hardest part of the workout is often getting your butt to the gym. Once you get 5 minutes into the workout, you will be over the hump. So tell yourself, "I'll just go in and do 1 set of the first 2 exercises, then I can go". Next thing you know, you'll have done the entire workout.
5) Visualize yourself doing a great workout and finishing strong. Get yourself mentally prepared and you will literally have better workouts each time.
6) Crank the tunes. Seriously, nothing motivates like music.
7) Get social support. If you have a workout partner, you'll feel like crap if you let them down. Or become accountable to everyone in the Turbulence Training workout forums...if you don't post your workouts, they'll track you down and demand to know why you've fallen off track! So online or offline, get everyone on your side!
Now get out there and kick the fat to the curb,
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com
Monday, January 28, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Priorities
Below is a great companion piece to my Friday post. It's an article written in November by Rachel Cosgrove and posted on her blog. Rachel lives in California so some of the costs she quotes are higher than here in PA but her point is still valid. (Of course, we pay more than $50 for cable. Thanks, Comcast.)
Cable TV or Fitness?
by Rachel Cosgrove
Why is it that cable TV, luxury car payments and Starbucks have become necessities in the households of most Americans but a gym membership and especially a personal trainer has not made it into that list of necessities yet? A personal trainer is still considered by most a "luxury" item.
Basic cable is currently $50.00/month, average car payment is $500/month and a daily Starbucks runs someone at $120.00/month ($4 a day) and most households manage to fit these in their budget as if they were a necessity.
Let’s face it if we were talking necessity we would all be driving a compact economical car which would get us from point A to point B for under $200 a month. Instead when you drive around my town you see every luxury vehicle there is and most with a monthly payment of well over $500 a month. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a problem with driving a nice car with a steep price tag at all. A nice car makes you feel good and I am all about feeling good but don’t say this $500 plus payment is a necessity and then tell me you can’t afford a personal trainer.
The average personal trainer charges $50.00 an hour. Meet them once a month and you’ll have someone designing a fitness program for you, providing accountability, and helping you to completely change your life. What price do you put on that? It amazes me that people will prioritize their cable TV or their luxury vehicle over their health and fitness.
I have seen people drive up to our gym in their Mercedes (again nothing against driving a Mercedes) and come in to get information and tell me it is too expensive at $219.00/ month which includes 4 fitness coaching sessions, an individualized program and a gym membership. I have to hold back from asking them how much that nice car in the parking lot costs them per month…
The idea for this article came from a client, who has lost 60 pounds and feels great, who said, "I have been a member now for 5 years working out consistently, you guys are in my monthly budget like my car payment or my electric bill. Paying you is just as much a necessity. I’ll get rid of our cable TV before I would give this up."
This got me thinking that more people need to have that attitude. The national weight loss registry just came out with the statistic that 62% of people successful at weight loss watch less than 10 hours of TV a week and 90% exercise regularly.
Hmmm...Is it any mystery that most of America is obese watching over 10 hours a week of TV and can't find time or money to hire a personal trainer for 3 hours a week? When will fitness be in everyone's monthly budget as a necessity?
Rachel Cosgove is a triathlete and personal fitness coach. She and her husband Alwyn own Results Fitness in Santa Clarita, California.
RachelCosgrove.com/
.
Cable TV or Fitness?
by Rachel Cosgrove
Why is it that cable TV, luxury car payments and Starbucks have become necessities in the households of most Americans but a gym membership and especially a personal trainer has not made it into that list of necessities yet? A personal trainer is still considered by most a "luxury" item.
Basic cable is currently $50.00/month, average car payment is $500/month and a daily Starbucks runs someone at $120.00/month ($4 a day) and most households manage to fit these in their budget as if they were a necessity.
Let’s face it if we were talking necessity we would all be driving a compact economical car which would get us from point A to point B for under $200 a month. Instead when you drive around my town you see every luxury vehicle there is and most with a monthly payment of well over $500 a month. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a problem with driving a nice car with a steep price tag at all. A nice car makes you feel good and I am all about feeling good but don’t say this $500 plus payment is a necessity and then tell me you can’t afford a personal trainer.
The average personal trainer charges $50.00 an hour. Meet them once a month and you’ll have someone designing a fitness program for you, providing accountability, and helping you to completely change your life. What price do you put on that? It amazes me that people will prioritize their cable TV or their luxury vehicle over their health and fitness.
I have seen people drive up to our gym in their Mercedes (again nothing against driving a Mercedes) and come in to get information and tell me it is too expensive at $219.00/ month which includes 4 fitness coaching sessions, an individualized program and a gym membership. I have to hold back from asking them how much that nice car in the parking lot costs them per month…
The idea for this article came from a client, who has lost 60 pounds and feels great, who said, "I have been a member now for 5 years working out consistently, you guys are in my monthly budget like my car payment or my electric bill. Paying you is just as much a necessity. I’ll get rid of our cable TV before I would give this up."
This got me thinking that more people need to have that attitude. The national weight loss registry just came out with the statistic that 62% of people successful at weight loss watch less than 10 hours of TV a week and 90% exercise regularly.
Hmmm...Is it any mystery that most of America is obese watching over 10 hours a week of TV and can't find time or money to hire a personal trainer for 3 hours a week? When will fitness be in everyone's monthly budget as a necessity?
Rachel Cosgove is a triathlete and personal fitness coach. She and her husband Alwyn own Results Fitness in Santa Clarita, California.
RachelCosgrove.com/
.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Get Professional Help
Would you defend yourself in court, install your own roof or pull your own infected tooth? Most of us would not. So, why do the majority of people insist on cobbling together their own fitness program rather than having a routine designed specifically for them by a qualified fitness coach?
When someone decides to start exercising, I'm sure they want to get results. Most people are busy and want to get the most benefit from their time. And yet they spin their wheels spending hours each week on the cardio equipment exercising in the mythical fat burning zone, or using programs like they did in high school, or buying worthless gizmos that promise you six-pack abs in 5 minutes a day.
The $59 + shipping you wasted on "fat burning" pills or gimmicks masquerading as exercise equipment would probably have paid for two personal training sessions. Instead of a dust-collector, you could have invested in a well designed strength training program and proper instruction on good form.
When people think of personal training, most still envision working one-on-one with a trainer every workout. Some people do that but that's a choice; it's absolutely not a necessity.
If you are a novice interested in joining a gym, find one where you get some individual attention and instruction. Is saving a few bucks on membership worth it if you quit because you feel overwhelmed, intimidated and/or frustrated by your lack of results?
If you want to work out at home, hire a fitness coach for a few sessions to get you set up on a solid, effective and balanced exercise program.
Regardless of where you exercise, for best results, meet with your trainer every 4-6 weeks to change your routine.
If you want to get optimum results for your efforts, get professional help. Seriously.
.
When someone decides to start exercising, I'm sure they want to get results. Most people are busy and want to get the most benefit from their time. And yet they spin their wheels spending hours each week on the cardio equipment exercising in the mythical fat burning zone, or using programs like they did in high school, or buying worthless gizmos that promise you six-pack abs in 5 minutes a day.
The $59 + shipping you wasted on "fat burning" pills or gimmicks masquerading as exercise equipment would probably have paid for two personal training sessions. Instead of a dust-collector, you could have invested in a well designed strength training program and proper instruction on good form.
When people think of personal training, most still envision working one-on-one with a trainer every workout. Some people do that but that's a choice; it's absolutely not a necessity.
If you are a novice interested in joining a gym, find one where you get some individual attention and instruction. Is saving a few bucks on membership worth it if you quit because you feel overwhelmed, intimidated and/or frustrated by your lack of results?
If you want to work out at home, hire a fitness coach for a few sessions to get you set up on a solid, effective and balanced exercise program.
Regardless of where you exercise, for best results, meet with your trainer every 4-6 weeks to change your routine.
If you want to get optimum results for your efforts, get professional help. Seriously.
.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The Superiority of Total Body Workouts
Lately, I keep seeing people posting on online forums about breaking up their strength training routines in all kinds of "creative" ways.
A decade ago, like many people (although not many women), I used to split my weight training into body part splits like Legs, Back and Biceps one day and Chest, Shoulders and Triceps the next. When I think about it now, it doesn't surprise me that so many serious lifters ended up with shoulder injuries. (Luckily, I wasn't one of them.) Our body works in an integrated fashion and true muscle isolation is pretty much impossible so lots of shoulders were being overtrained, big time.
Back then, besides your basic circuit program, most workouts were based on the bodybuilder model. I don't know why because it really makes little sense if you think about it but that's how it was done. But as Maya Angelou says, "When you know better, you do better" so I have moved on from that method of training and now spread the gospel of total body training. :-)
Most people's main objective is dropping fat. Three total body strength workouts per week will help you accomplish that better than body part splits. (If you really want or need to divide your workouts, go with a lower / upper body split.) Concentrate on compound exercises, which are those that use more than one muscle. Your program should primarily consist of exercises like Squats, Lunges, Presses, Rows, Pushups, Deadlifts, Pulldowns, etc. Besides the fact that those exercises are more functional, you'll burn more calories doing them than you will isolation exercises like Bicep Curls and Tricep Kickbacks.
.
A decade ago, like many people (although not many women), I used to split my weight training into body part splits like Legs, Back and Biceps one day and Chest, Shoulders and Triceps the next. When I think about it now, it doesn't surprise me that so many serious lifters ended up with shoulder injuries. (Luckily, I wasn't one of them.) Our body works in an integrated fashion and true muscle isolation is pretty much impossible so lots of shoulders were being overtrained, big time.
Back then, besides your basic circuit program, most workouts were based on the bodybuilder model. I don't know why because it really makes little sense if you think about it but that's how it was done. But as Maya Angelou says, "When you know better, you do better" so I have moved on from that method of training and now spread the gospel of total body training. :-)
Most people's main objective is dropping fat. Three total body strength workouts per week will help you accomplish that better than body part splits. (If you really want or need to divide your workouts, go with a lower / upper body split.) Concentrate on compound exercises, which are those that use more than one muscle. Your program should primarily consist of exercises like Squats, Lunges, Presses, Rows, Pushups, Deadlifts, Pulldowns, etc. Besides the fact that those exercises are more functional, you'll burn more calories doing them than you will isolation exercises like Bicep Curls and Tricep Kickbacks.
.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Stop Holding On To The Treadmill
Between new workout programs for clients and getting new Body & Soul members started, I haven't had time to write anything for this blog. However, I didn't want to neglect you so I'm posting links to good articles that address an issue that's been popping up lately.
One of my new members told me last night that at her previous gym she usually walked on the treadmill at an incline. When I asked her if she held on, she admitted that she did. Today I ran across a thread on Spark People about the same topic and if you watch The Biggest Loser, you saw Jillian Michaels mention it on Tuesday.
Jillian specifically advised against holding on when you exercise because it lowers the number of calories you burn.
Decreased calorie burn is definitely an issue but there are many more reasons to walk on the treadmill the same way you walk normally, which doesn't include holding on to handrails.
Check out these articles by Lorra Garrick:
Stop Holding on When on the Treadmill
Top 17 Excuses for Holding on to the Treadmill
One of my new members told me last night that at her previous gym she usually walked on the treadmill at an incline. When I asked her if she held on, she admitted that she did. Today I ran across a thread on Spark People about the same topic and if you watch The Biggest Loser, you saw Jillian Michaels mention it on Tuesday.
Jillian specifically advised against holding on when you exercise because it lowers the number of calories you burn.
Decreased calorie burn is definitely an issue but there are many more reasons to walk on the treadmill the same way you walk normally, which doesn't include holding on to handrails.
Check out these articles by Lorra Garrick:
Stop Holding on When on the Treadmill
Top 17 Excuses for Holding on to the Treadmill
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Record Your Workouts for Best Results
The first gym I ever joined, members were given a workout chart listing all their exercises. Each workout, we recorded the weights used and reps completed. Or, at least I did because that's what you were supposed to do. :-)
So, when I chose a career in fitness, I was surprised at the number of people who never charted their workouts. If you are one of them, you shouldn't be because the few minutes it takes is well worth the effort. Studies have shown that those who record their workouts make better progress than those who don't.
You may think, jeez, we're talking about exercise here, not medicine or rocket science. I have my routine memorized. Why can't I just do it and get it over with? Well, you can but if you want to see better and faster results, you'll keep track.
Knowing what you accomplished last time should be a motivator to at least match it or, even better, to beat it by one or more reps. Winging it gives your mind too much power. How many times have you thought, "Boy, those 8 reps were tough!" Except that had you been keeping track, you would have known that in your previous two workouts, you did 10 reps and most likely you could have physically done that many or more today.
Tracking also helps you know when to increase your resistance. Without a workout record, you're more likely to wait far too long to up your weights- definitely an issue for many exercisers.
Regardless of your primary goal- fat loss, strength, endurance, muscle building, etc. you need to challenge your body to make substantial changes. Mindlessly going through your routine is better than doing nothing but will result in mediocre changes.
If you haven't tracked your workouts in the past, start today. Some people track all kinds of information like how they felt, etc. but make sure you at least record:
* Date
* What exercises you did
* How many sets of each
* How much weight you used
* How many reps you completed of each exercise.
.
So, when I chose a career in fitness, I was surprised at the number of people who never charted their workouts. If you are one of them, you shouldn't be because the few minutes it takes is well worth the effort. Studies have shown that those who record their workouts make better progress than those who don't.
You may think, jeez, we're talking about exercise here, not medicine or rocket science. I have my routine memorized. Why can't I just do it and get it over with? Well, you can but if you want to see better and faster results, you'll keep track.
Knowing what you accomplished last time should be a motivator to at least match it or, even better, to beat it by one or more reps. Winging it gives your mind too much power. How many times have you thought, "Boy, those 8 reps were tough!" Except that had you been keeping track, you would have known that in your previous two workouts, you did 10 reps and most likely you could have physically done that many or more today.
Tracking also helps you know when to increase your resistance. Without a workout record, you're more likely to wait far too long to up your weights- definitely an issue for many exercisers.
Regardless of your primary goal- fat loss, strength, endurance, muscle building, etc. you need to challenge your body to make substantial changes. Mindlessly going through your routine is better than doing nothing but will result in mediocre changes.
If you haven't tracked your workouts in the past, start today. Some people track all kinds of information like how they felt, etc. but make sure you at least record:
* Date
* What exercises you did
* How many sets of each
* How much weight you used
* How many reps you completed of each exercise.
.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
3 Tips to Burn Belly Fat Fast
Here is a terrific article from Dan Grant.
No gimmicks, no magic formulas, no B.S., just straight talk about how to get the results you want. I couldn't have said it any better myself so I won't. :-)
3 Tips to Burn Belly Fat Fast
No gimmicks, no magic formulas, no B.S., just straight talk about how to get the results you want. I couldn't have said it any better myself so I won't. :-)
3 Tips to Burn Belly Fat Fast
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