Rip-Off Alert!

If you have a fitness product you’d like me to review, click the “Ask a Question” button and let me know.  I’ll give you my honest opinion in the interest of saving you some time and money.

Today we look at…

Mario Lopez’s Knockout Fitness!

Brief review for those in a hurry: $26.95 worth of utter garbage.

O.K., maybe that was a little harsh.  Judging from the reviews on Amazon, nine people found it worthwhile enough to give it at least four stars.  These are the same nine people that would find value in a book that told you smoking was bad for you, but only if it was “written” by a celebrity.

Let’s trash the publisher’s write-up:

“Ready to achieve that toned, hard body you’ve always wanted and have fun while doing it?”

No, I want to be sloppy, fat, and miserable. I hate questions like this.  With rare exception, this question can be translated as “Ready to be sold some over-priced junk?”

“Start your knockout fitness journey with expert Mario Lopez and gear up for results.”

“Expert?” Says who?  He’s an actor and a dancer!  Yes, he’s in good shape and his bodyfat is low.  That does not mean he’s an expert at anything.  Oh, and in case you were curious, Mario’s co-author was also the co-author for LL Cool J’s Platinum Workout, The Powerfood Nutrition Plan, and The Jump Off: 60 Days to a Hip-Hop Hard Body.

“Mario’s cutting-edge workout program provides easy-to-use, enjoyable methods for sculpting muscle, melting fat, and looking great.  Unique exercises will keep you focused in and out of the gym, and creative meal plans will satisfy.  You’ll also learn the value of endurance activities like dancing, swimming, and running; discover 10-minute tone-ups and tips for a healthier lifestyle; and begin the quest for a better you in three simple, proven phases.”

Oh, you mean if I eat reasonably healthy food and stay physically active I’ll be healthier and I’ll look better?  WOW!

“This innovative three-phase program is a refreshing alternative to dull, old-school workouts.  Regardless of your fitness level, current weight, age, or gender, Mario’s program will:
-Help you burn fat and build muscle
-Quickly transform and tone your body
-Show you how to keep your new form—forever

Unlike many of the get-fit-quick plans out there today, Mario’s program makes no false promises—he simply shows you how to get your desired results and keep them for life.  If you want a program that works and includes visible results, then Mario Lopez’s Knockout Fitness is a must.”

Guess what? ANY fitness plan will work if it is based on the following concept: EAT LESS AND EXERCISE MORE. Remember high school physics?  Remember the first law of thermodynamics?  You cannot create nor destroy matter…if you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight!  If this doesn’t happen, nobody will care because we’re all going to be too busy rewriting the known laws of science.

So enough of the easy pot-shots.  Is this book a total waste of money?  I’d say yes unless you’re lifestyle is focused on PopTarts.  If you have never seen exercise being done, done exercise yourself, talked about exercise, or read about exercise, you might get something from this.  Still, a just under $27 it’s a lot to pay for ultra-basic information.

Oh, wait. I forgot.  Mario Lopez is on TV.  Everything he says is right.  Give him all your money and do everything he says.

pfffft!

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Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day

Many people don’t exercise because they lead busy lives and don’t want their exercise programs to monopolize their schedules.  While it is true that professional athletes and body builders spend a great deal of time in the gym, the actual amount of exercise needed for good to optimal health is quite small.

If you want to have a healthy body and increased levels of energy, don’t look to the muscle magazines for exercise advice.  Every activity and every sport has different training regimens.  Some of the differences are small and some are quite large.  Putting it simply, if you don’t want to be a body builder, football player, or downhill skier then don’t train like one.

For a basic health and fitness starter program, I recommend 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise three days per week and about 45 minutes of resistance exercise two days per week.  If you haven’t exercised much lately, take it slow!  Over-enthusiasm is one of the biggest killers of exercise plans.  If you overdo it, you’ll be miserable and much less likely to continue.  How do you know if you’re doing too much?  Listen to your body!  If you go for a run and you start gasping for breath, slow down and walk until you feel better.  As you progress, you’ll find that you need fewer breaks and the breaks that you do take will be much shorter.  Start small with the weights!  No lifting with the ego!  The goal is NOT to be curled up in a big ball of pain the next morning.  Experiment until you find a weight that you can perform eight to twelve repetitions with.  If you can’t lift the weight eight times, go lighter.  Once you can do twelve repetitions it’s time to bump the weight up a little.

If you don’t feel you’re getting results quickly enough, don’t worry.  While the human body has an amazing ability to adapt to its environment and the stresses of that environment, the adaptation doesn’t come overnight.  Give it a couple of months.  With a sensible exercise program, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how little your daily schedule is impacted and by how much your body changes for the better!

You’re not a pro athlete? Great. That’s seven fewer people to hire.

Most people don’t think they need a trainer.  Truthfully, they are correct.  Having a personal trainer is a luxury service, not a necessity.  You don’t need a trainer to go for a run or do some basic resistance exercise, but every person can do better with a good trainer.  As an example, let’s look at a pro football player.  The average player has lifted weights for years and certainly knows his body and its capacities.  While you may think that this would be the last person with a trainer, they actually have more than one.  A football player has at least the following people working on him: an off-season trainer, an in-season strength coach, a massage therapist, a chiropractor, a dietician, a physiotherapist, a position coach and the head coach.  That’s eight people dedicated to making sure that this athlete performs at the highest levels.  You’re not a pro athlete?  Great.  That’s seven fewer people to hire.

Convenience is one of the foremost reasons behind the average trainee’s decision to hire a trainer.  The average person knows that they should get some exercise, but they don’t want to spend the time planning their workouts and meal plans.  By using a trainer, structured plans are prepared and the client only has to worry about putting in the physical work.

Using a trainer also makes your workouts safer and more productive.  Many people who are starting out try to do too much and end up very sore and there are some exercises which are dangerous to do alone (especially if the exercise is unfamiliar).  Productivity is increased by training according to proven methods and progressions.  While there is no “one right way to exercise,” there are many wrong ways.  While some of these “wrong ways” will not injure you, they will not get you the results you should expect.  I estimate that the average trainee wastes the first five years of his or her training life.  He or she will certainly make some progress during this time, but nowhere near as much as was possible.
Are trainers for athletes?  Yes, but they’re also for everybody else.  An educated, professional trainer can make your workouts both more enjoyable and much more productive.

Time for the pledge: “I’ll never eat pizza again!” Yeah right.

The food you eat when life is just taking too long!

Your meal plan is one of the cornerstones of your fitness routine. If you think of your body as a car, compare your food to the gas you buy. You wouldn’t put kerosene in your car’s tank, but in essence that’s what we do with our bodies when we fill them with junk food. Successful meal planning doesn’t have to be difficult. With a little homework and some common sense, figuring out the “what and when” of your meal plan should be fairly easy.

When determining what to include in your meal plan, the first thing that I recommend is making a mental list of the foods that you don’t like. This may sound strange, but consider this: if you hate broccoli but you make it a part of your meal plan because it’s healthy, I can guarantee that you’ll be cheating on your plan within three days. Unless you are a very fussy eater, you should still have a wide array of foods to choose from. Make a list of all the foods that you eat or would like to eat, and from this range of food choices, you can cross off chilidogs, donuts and the like. (These represent the kerosene in the gas tank!) What’s left to choose from? Lean beef and pork, fish, poultry, eggs, milk, butter and just about every fruit, vegetable and grain imaginable! My rule of thumb: if you can’t pronounce the ingredients, don’t eat it!

Now that you have all of these great food choices, when should you be taking them on board? Unlike some animals, humans are not designed to gorge themselves with as much food as possible. We function much better by grazing, i.e.: having a small meal every three to four hours. Remember, these meals don’t have to be big sit-down affairs. While you may still have the traditional (but smaller!) breakfast, lunch and dinner, you can easily add in a piece or two of fruit or some nuts as small snacks. Your body stays happy because it’s always getting food in appropriate quantities. You’re happy because you never get very hungry. What about restaurants? With restaurants serving absolutely enormous portions, don’t feel that you need to be a member of the “Clean Plate Club.” Most meals served in a restaurant are more than sufficient to feed two or more people. Utilize the free to-go box and take it home. You’ll thank yourself later!

Time for the pledge: “I’ll never eat pizza again!” Yeah right. You will eat pizza again. And you’ll have some fries, also. Just don’t make these foundation foods. If 80% of your meals are made up of good natural foods, you don’t have to feel bad about the occasional bit of junk. Work yourself up to 80% wholesome. You’ll be amazed at the difference!

How to Fail at Fitness -And Sabotage Yourself All the Way Down

Most people who decide to “get healthy” will be back to their old habits in about a month. They start off with good intentions, but can’t seem to break their old lifestyle habits. Why is this? Getting started with a new fitness plan should be easy, right? While it may not be technically difficult to get yourself going, it can be easy to sabotage yourself with your own enthusiasm. Trying to do too much too soon, whether physically or mentally, is the easiest way to kill your motivation.

Your body can only take so much at any one time. If you haven’t been physically active for a while, you should take it slow with your new exercises. While the exercises may seem easy at first, they apply unexpected stress to your body. Overdoing it won’t help you progress faster, but it will make you very sore and you won’t be very enthusiastic about going back to the gym. Let your body get used to exercising! If you ease into it, you’ll be more likely to stick with your program.

“Too much too soon” also applies to your mental game. A common set of goals usually reads something like this: “I’m going to exercise every day, eat six small healthy meals a day and get eight hours of sleep every night.” Wow! Great idea, but too much too soon! While you should definitely have these goals in mind, they are long-term goals. If you don’t exercise, eat poorly and get five hours of sleep a night, you’ll be trying to change three major habits all at once. Try accomplishing them one at a time instead. When I have a new client, I tell him or her to just worry about getting in the gym and to forget about meal planning for about a month. Trust me, exercising three or four days per week is going to be a big enough adjustment! After the exercise habit has developed, then we can start working on the meal planning.

If you have set some lofty goals for yourself, that’s great! You should be congratulated for just making the effort, but nobody climbed Everest by running straight for the top. Climb your personal Everest in stages and you’ll have a much better shot at reaching the top.

How Much Exercise Do I ACTUALLY Need for Optimal Health Anyway?

Many people don’t exercise because they lead busy lives and don’t want their exercise programs to monopolize their schedules. While it is true that professional athletes and body builders spend a great deal of time in the gym, the actual amount of exercise needed for good to optimal health is quite small.

If you want to have a healthy body and increased levels of energy, don’t look to the muscle magazines for exercise advice. Every activity and every sport has different training regimens. Some of the differences are small and some are quite large. Putting it simply, if you don’t want to be a body builder, football player, or downhill skier then don’t train like one.

For a basic health and fitness starter program, I recommend 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise three days per week and about 45 minutes of resistance exercise two days per week. If you haven’t exercised much lately, take it slow! Over-enthusiasm is one of the biggest killers of exercise plans. If you overdo it, you’ll be miserable and much less likely to continue. How do you know if you’re doing too much? Listen to your body! If you go for a run and you start gasping for breath, slow down and walk until you feel better. As you progress, you’ll find that you need fewer breaks and the breaks that you do take will be much shorter. Start small with the weights! No lifting with the ego! The goal is NOT to be curled up in a big ball of pain the next morning. Experiment until you find a weight that you can perform eight to twelve repetitions with. If you can’t lift the weight eight times, go lighter. Once you can do twelve repetitions it’s time to bump the weight up a little.

If you don’t feel you’re getting results quickly enough, don’t worry. While the human body has an amazing ability to adapt to its environment and the stresses of that environment, the adaptation doesn’t come overnight. Give it a couple of months. With a sensible exercise program, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how little your daily schedule is impacted and by how much your body changes for the better!

Free Weights vs Machines in Your Exercise Program? It’s Your Dime…

Should you use free weights or machines in your exercise program? If you have spent much time in gyms, you will recognize this as one of the Great Questions. While there are definitely uses for both in your program, I recommend that you use free weights more often than machines. By using free weights you will exercise the whole body more efficiently and use the body in a more natural way.

One of the downsides to machines actually doubles as a selling point. Machines are arguably safer to use; the weights travel along a fixed path and you are pressing or pulling from a braced position. While this can make for a safer lifting experience, you’re not getting all that you can from the exercise. For example, let’s look at squats versus the leg press. With the leg press, you are using all of the muscles in your legs as you raise and lower the weight. When squatting, since you have to stabilize the load while making the weight go up and down with your body, you are using almost every muscle from the neck down. While this entails more work, you get greater benefits. Not only are you strengthening the “helper muscles” along with the target areas, you are burning more calories by recruiting the extra muscles. Surprise: you’re working harder and smarter!

Free weights also give you the opportunity to strengthen your body through familiar movements. Unless you live in a very complicated world, picking a box up off of the floor does not entail strapping cables to the weight, running the cables through a pulley system and then pressing on foot pedals with your legs from a braced position. No, you simply squat down, get a good grip and lift. While there are certainly safety concerns, these can be easily addressed by a qualified trainer like me. There are very few “dangerous lifts,” and even these can be performed safely with proper instruction and good technique.

Machines do have their advantages! They are excellent for rehabilitation work where a very high degree of control is needed and they are used extensively for isolation work (targeting one specific muscle group). They also have the time advantage. It is much faster to move a pin on a weight stack than to load and unload a bar!

In most exercise programs, my clients will spend 80-90% of their time with free weights and 10-20% of their time on machines. This allows the client to train his or her entire body for most of the session while still allowing time to address specific weak points.