Exercising While Beating a Ball

I don't get it and I'm going to go on a rant so hold on.

This article talks about some new classes being offered that consists of doing movements with a stability ball, that includes....beating it with sticks like you're Nikki Sixx.

It just amazes me that it seems that every time a workout comes out to try and "trick" people into thinking they're exercising, the fad falls away and then something new comes out that is even less effective yet gets all kinds of praise because it's again, trying to get people to exercise without them thinking they're actually exercising.

From the article:

Classes like "Sweat the Rhythm" force people to use different muscle groups without feeling like they're being forced.

Forced? This is what the state of health and fitness are coming to in America? We have to come up with non-mechanical, non-efficient means of exercise to supposedly get in shape but not feel FORCED to do it?

Another quote:

Raptis adds that "the same motion every day isn't effective. You need variety and movement."

Completely incorrect. The same motion every day IS effective, as long as you continue to increase the INTENSITY that you're using in that movement. How exactly are they adding resistance to a drumstick pounding on a ball? Are they making them do it while standing on one leg in an isometric lunge? I'm guessing if they did, the class would fall flat on it's face because then people would think "oh geez, I can't do that! That would be exercise!"

Exercise. Get it through your head. You want results, then exercise, sweat, complain, hate it. Then you'll get the results that you want.

End rant.

www.leanbodyfitness.com

Intervals Catching On

Intervals are even catching on in mainstream media sources such as Self magazine.

In this article they talk about intervals and even give a sample routine:

Hop on any cardio machine you like for the time allotted and the exertion level noted (1 is the easiest and 10 is next to impossible).

Warm up for 4 minutes at a level 3.
Sprint for 30 seconds at a level 7.
Recover for 90 seconds at a level 4.
Sprint for 30 seconds at a level 8.
Recover for 90 seconds at a level 4.
Sprint for 30 seconds at a level 9.
Recover for 30 seconds at a level 4.
Sprint for 30 seconds at a level 7.
Recover for 90 seconds at a level 4.
Sprint for 30 seconds at a level 8.
Recover for 90 seconds at a level 4.
Sprint for 30 seconds at a level 9.
Recover for 30 seconds at a level 4.
Sprint for 30 seconds at a level 7.
Cool down for 3 minutes, 30 seconds at level 3.

Give it a shot to switch up your routine a little bit.

NEXT WEEK

Speaking of a new interval routine, make sure to come back here next Monday, February 23, 2009 for a post that I'm planning on a new interval workout I've been working. I think you're going to hate it.



www.leanbodyfitness.com

7 Minutes of Exercise a Week

Some British researchers found that just working out 7 minutes a week can cause an improvement in how the body uses insulin to clear out blood sugar from the blood stream.

But the catch is that the 7 minutes had to be intense:

The volunteers, who were relatively out of shape but otherwise healthy, rode an exercise bike four times daily in 30 second spurts two days a week.

The volunteers did this for 2 weeks before getting tested again.

Although this is some good news, let's not get to excited. This study was only showing the effects of a small vigorous exercise routine on how insulin would react. This study doesn't say either way whether it had any effect on fat loss, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, etc.

It's a good place to start though. If we can get people to workout just 7 minutes a week to improve their insulin reactions, then we might be able to gradually get them up to working out even more for fat loss.

www.leanbodyfitness.com

Pasta

Back in this post I gave a link on a blog post from Mike Roussell on coffee.

Take a look at this video where he gives some scoop on pasta.

As he mentions, I don't know how practical it was to have people running for one and a half and 3 hours straight. That just seems like torture to me and I'm not sure that the vast majority of people would even have time on a regular basis to do something like that.

But, I think the conclusions that those groups didn't put any fat on by eating the pasta compared to the sedentary group was interesting and helps with the argument that carbs aren't the culprit, fat instead the culprit, and protein isn't the culprit...the culprit in fat gain is eating more calories than what your body needs.

www.leanbodyfitness.com

My Shopping List

I was out doing my grocery shopping yesterday and decide it might be a good idea to blog what my list of food was for the week. So here it is:

12 apples
7 bananas
7 oranges
3 cucumbers
1 can of tuna
package of string cheese
green tea
brown rice
liter bottle of water
1 dozen eggs
2 tubs of cottage cheese
7 yogurts (all natural)
12 pack of diet cherry coke
1 package of frozen broccoli
1 package of frozen carrots
1 package of multi-grain soft tortilla shells
2% milk

I know you're probably wondering (or at least you SHOULD be wondering) where the main protein is at. I buy chicken breasts in bulk as well as salmon so, those aren't part of the normal weekly list.

But this list above pretty much covers what my eating looks like over the course of a week. Some may say boring. And true, I guess it is. But, eating like this is what gets results. So pull this post up the next time you head to the grocery store and add some of these to your list.

Have a nice weekend.

www.leanbodyfitness.com

The Mental Part of Fitness

So I've been thinking lately about motivation when it comes to losing weight.

I had always had this breakdown in my head as to what percentage of the parts are needed for successful fat loss.

I had always said that 75% of it is eating healthy, and the other 25% is split down the middle between the workouts and motivation/drive/desire/focus, the whole mental aspect of it.

But lately i've changed my mind and was talking to a client about it today and thought I'd blog about it.

I think 90% of pie when it comes to reaching your fat loss goals is mental.

I've tried out a lot of workouts and diets out there. And you know what? They all work in some way. Maybe i didn't get the exact results that was claimed for the program but, they worked. They worked because....I stuck with them. I have the discipline and the focus to say "okay, sure, i'll try this diet and/or workout for 6-8 weeks and see how it goes." For me, that's easy. I've trained myself to be that way. I lived my life for a number of years with the drive and desire to reach various health and fitness goals. It's a complete focus.

But, obviously with the number of overweight and obese people growing in this country (and the world for that matter), most people do not have that ability to truly dedicate themselves 100% to a plan and stick with it.

Maybe that's where you start with trying to solve this problem then. Focus on why people lose interest so quickly and then figure out methods of motivation to keep people focused.

When I come up with that solution, you'll be the first to read it (although you might have to buy it in paperback).

www.leanbodyfitness.com

Lee Goes Off

Ya, I know, two posts in one day. What is this world coming to..

I had to post this though as it's a little bit of a follow up on my piece yesterday about A-Rod and steriods.

Lee Taft in his blog yesterday went off on a rant that I think bring up some great points. Take a read here.

www.leanbodyfitness.com