The Family That Sweats Together Stays Together

Post written by Bridget Strub.

photo courtesy of Yoppy

More than a few weeks ago I wrote an article about being stuck in bad eating habits. Since we’re all still a little hung over from our Thanksgiving indulgences I figured today would be as good as any to give an update on my self proclaimed “stuck-ness.” I should preface this article by saying that I just downed a 44-ounce cup of Mountain Dew and an entire theatre size box of Tropical Typhoon flavored Mike an Ikes. Surprisingly enough, though, this could shape up to be a pretty positive report.

You should know something about me. I have a hard time making commitments to things, luckily not my relationship with Pete, but in virtually every other area in my life. I once had seven jobs in one year. I was only fired from one of them thank you very much. I’ve written and rewritten a five-year plan over ten times in the last five years. And my latest achievement? I’ve had five different gym memberships in the last four years – three of them being in the last year.

At the end of last school year I joined the gym at my Alma Mater St. John Fisher College. It was the best deal in town, it was right on my way to and from work, and they had TVs in front of all the cardio machines. There is absolutely no reason why I shouldn’t still be going there. But, in August the Bills took over campus and I was scared I’d run in to T.O., no, not really, but it was such a hassle to get there so I stopped going. Even when fall hit and the Bills were well into their pathetic season (minus their game this past Sunday) I continued to stay away. My excuses were plentiful, and every time I drove past Fisher and saw it stare me down on 490 the guilt was as heavy as my newly accumulated pounds.

At that point I joined the Iron Butterfly in Victor because I figured I should try working out in the morning before school so I didn’t have any excuse in the afternoon. Turns out that 5:30 am has a whole new batch of excuses to offer someone whose husband is still snoring contentedly in the warm bed. Most recently, about three weeks ago, I joined the JCC in Brighton thinking if my gym was closer to me I wouldn’t have as hard of a time waking up to go in the morning. That was a stupid assumption. It’s not easy to get up in the morning. In fact, I still hate it. There have been a few mornings that I have consciously decided to sleep in. But rather than give up for the day, I’ve made sure to go to the gym after work on those days. I’ve even been there three consecutive Saturdays when their doors open so that I can put in an hour and half or more of workout time. I am proud to say that in the twenty-one days I’ve been a member there, I’ve worked out eleven times. That’s because they have one thing that none of my other gyms ever had.

The JCC has a huge room filled with a wide variety of cardio machines. They have three weight rooms and more fitness classes than I could attend if I were a contestant on the Biggest Loser. They have a pool, a nice, clean locker room, and a program that provides new members with three private sessions with a personal trainer to help orient you to the facilities and you to meet with a personal trainer a few times to get oriented to the weights and you set up a plan that allows you to achieve your goals. Amazingly enough, all of those things are not what keep me going back. The only reason I have stuck to my commitment to the JCC is the fact that Pete has joined with me. He has been committed to waking up with me each morning and sweating it out with me. While we’re there we rarely work out together, but it’s been so nice to have someone there encouraging me along the way. It’s made all the difference in fact. On the days I can’t wake up, I go to the gym after work, because I know Pete will be waiting for me at home wondering whether I followed through with my commitment or not.

Our commitment to self-improvement has even carried over, somewhat, to our diet as well. Pete and I both love our sweets. In fact, they are a “usual” on our weekly grocery list. But this weekend Pete stopped and questioned our choice as we grabbed two half-gallon containers of Turkey Hill Ice Cream from the freezer. That pause alone is a huge improvement in our eating habits, but the fact that we actually put them back is a true testament to the difference working out together has made. I’ve noticed that I push myself harder, stick to my goals more closely and feel more encouraged than ever all because I know Pete is there.

It’s so important to have accountability in an area that you’re trying to improve in. Even if that accountability still lets you down 44 ounces of Mountain Dew and a box of Mike and Ikes after dinner. Hey, I’m not saying I’ve got it completely down just yet, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be perfect, but I’ve felt the best I’ve felt in awhile in the last few weeks. The scale hasn’t gone down too drastically yet, but my mindset has shifted, my relationship with Pete has gotten stronger, and I’d say I’m well on my way past stuck and that is something I can stay committed to.

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Adventures in Awful: Selling Out

Post written by Pete Strub.

photo courtesy of rockymountainhigh

Bridget (my wife, in case you don’t know) has frequently stated her desire to have Jillian Michaels from Biggest Loser be her personal trainer for one day. If you’ve ever seen Biggest Loser, you know Bridget is crazy to ever wish this upon herself. Jillian Michaels devours people. She is a human pit-bull, barking orders, snapping at people, ruthlessly going in for the kill. Whether Bridget is crazy or not, I must admit that I kind of like Jillian Michaels – not the marital infidelity sort of like, but the I-think-she-could-bench-press-me kind of like. I watch Biggest Loser every week and endure the bad drama and staged promotional scenes because I like what the show teaches us: through hard work and discipline, anyone can change their life. You can imagine my dismay, then, when Bridget and I were walking through Walgreens and saw a promotional display for Jillian Michaels Maximum Strength Calorie Control pills and Jillian Michaels Fat Burner pills. This week’s Adventure in Awful: Jillian Michaels – the sell-out.

One thing I’ve always enjoyed about Biggest Loser is that I’ve felt like they encourage doing weight loss the correct way. Our country has a quick-fix obsession and an inherent laziness that draws us toward fitness plans and programs that make grand promises of easy weight loss. On Biggest Loser, they preach lifestyle change. The show promotes the idea that the only way to lose weight for the long haul is to change your habits, work hard, and exhibit discipline. Every week the contestants on the show engage in grueling exercise and eat balanced healthy diets. This structure allows exercise and healthy eating to become habits that can carry on even after weight has been lost. Quick fixes will never work because they don’t change habits. Even though I have no proof, I would be willing to bet that the majority of people who try fad diets and products (Atkins, South Beach, Slim Fast, NutraSystem, etc.) gain the weight back within a year if they even lose any weight in the first place. As hard as it is for our get-it-your-way-right-now American minds to believe, quick fixes don’t work. Therefore, seeing Jillian Michaels promoting a quick-fix pill is like seeing Dave Ramsey or Suze Orman promote a credit card spending spree. It just isn’t right; it’s against everything she stands for, or so I thought.

Selling out is bad enough, but Jillian Michaels is worse than your average hypocrite. The worst part of this whole thing is that her endorsement of these products can and will bring harm to others. First of all, there is the fact that people in search of a quick fix who see Jillian’s picture will automatically assume that these pills will make them just like the Biggest Loser contestants. Although these people are naïve and partially deserve what they get, it is unfair of Jillian to take advantage of their naivety just to boost her bank account. Secondly, many of the people who buy these pills won’t bother to research the products and, consequently, won’t realize that these pills are basically super-caffeinated stimulants – uppers. The product contains the following warning, “Note: Limit the use of caffeine-containing medications, foods, or beverages while taking this product because too much caffeine may cause nervousness, irritability, sleeplessness and occasionally, rapid heartbeat.” Is that really a product we need to be promoting?

If you have ever seen the movie Requiem for a Dream, the movie is a heart-shattering glimpse of how drugs ruin lives. One of the characters is a fifty or sixty year old woman who wants to lose weight and gets prescribed pills by her doctor. The pills are basically stimulants that are too much for her system and proceed to ruin her body and mind, sending her to the hospital. I know that the pills being promoted by Jillian Michaels are probably safer than that, but taking highly-caffeinated stimulants is certainly not good for our bodies and does not promote the healthy living that she seems to stand for. How many people, naively thinking they are improving their health, will actually become less healthy because of her products? She is smart enough to know that these pills aren’t healthy, so it makes you wonder how far she would go to make a buck. I hear that smoking helps people keep weight off, maybe she should try that. Crackheads and Meth addicts seem pretty skinny, too. How about that?

No good can come from this. No good ever comes when people choose money over beliefs. If Jillian’s personality on the show is at all real, then she believes in hard work and healthy living. But she has chosen money over those beliefs, and it makes me sad. I’m sad for the people who buy her product. I’m sad for the people who will continue believing that easy fixes exist. I’m even sad for Jillian – compromising beliefs destroys people from the inside out – just like the pills she’s compromising for.

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Where is Your Focus?

Post written by Veronica Kipfer.

photo courtesy of adriarichards

I would like to follow in Patrick’s lead from his post yesterday, Two Words You Never Want to Say. I too managed to neglect introducing myself in last week’s post. As you already know, my name is Veronica. Since Patrick mentioned he is a newlywed, allow me to mention that I am single, I work as an Office Assistant. It’s not my dream job but it’s a very good job for now. One day I will own my own coffee shop, be married with a family… etc, but this is not a time for me to expose all my future hopes and dreams to the world, maybe next week. (or not) I went to school, majoring in Psychology, for about two years before it became clear that wasn’t the right path for me. It wasn’t until I left school, as I am sure is true for most young adults, that I discovered what my passion was. I discovered where my life was heading and it became my focus to do everything in my power to get there.

The mind intrigues me. As I shared last week, I am a firm believer in positive thinking. Thinking positively takes focus. And focus requires determination, diligence and patience. Yes! Imagine that, focused people posses more patience than the unfocused. So what is focus and why should you care if you are focused?

According to dictionary.com, Focus is defined as, a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity. Why should you care if you are focused? Let’s take last week’s article, Push Yourself, Don’t Quit and use it as an example of why it’s important to keep yourself focused. For those of you who may not have read the article, I shared how I found myself in a horrible mood, I changed the focus of what I was thinking about and just like that, my spirit began to lift and I found myself feeling much better even though circumstances may not have been so wonderful.

Focus is something that has been very important and influential in my life over the last year or so. I grew up as an overweight child and it held me back from fully living my life. I remember being in middle school and dropping out of soccer. Did I quit? Yes. Did I want to quit, absolutely not! Over the last year I’ve been focusing on my lifestyle habits and choosing healthier options. Ok, let’s all face it, we’d all rather make excuses for why we can’t make healthier choices. I’ve heard many, here are just a few examples, “I’ve tried that diet… I can’t do the no-carb thing… I don’t have time… I just can’t keep it up…”

First, I’d like to say every single one of us cannot use the same health plan to lose weight, maintain weight or put weight on. Whatever it is you want to do, you’ve got to make it work for you with your body. I’ve had many people tell me their opinions of what has worked for them, and their magical food they ate that helped them drop that last 5lbs that seems to always stick around. While I welcome all advice from others, I have to stay focused on my goal, to be healthy.

I joined a biggest loser competition last year at my office and nothing motivated me more than that. Just like NBC’s The Biggest Loser, we would weigh in once a week, Monday mornings of course. Each week I would wait in line for my turn to weigh in. I was shocked how many reasons, or excuses rather, I was hearing for someone’s 2lb weight gain, or why they didn’t lose this week. “Well I had a party on Saturday and then the family was over Sunday for dinner and the whole nine yards.” It’s amazing how quickly we can excuse our behavior. For anyone that watches The Biggest Loser, change is a must! The overweight contestants join the show because their focus was off. Maybe they’re a single mom, trying to raise a few kids. Or maybe they’re a busy Dad working two jobs, whatever their story is, they’ve all made choices to lead them to where they are when they first join the show. I see The Biggest Loser helping these contestants change their mental focus the most. Yes, they train them in proper nutrition and workouts, but most importantly they help re-align their focus.

Since a little over year ago, I’ve dropped roughly 70lbs. It has taken a lot of work, and focus. It also took a year. Staying focused will produce amazing results if you keep going, refuse to quit and push yourself.

Let’s say you’ve attained what you were focusing on. Don’t stop there! Get a new focus that incorporates your previous focus and build on your achievements.

I’d like to share with you a tool I have found very helpful. It’s called “The Daily Plate”. You can find “The Daily Plate” on livestrong.com This is an amazing tool that allows you to enter your weight, the amount of weight you would like to lose or gain, your activity level etc. It then gives you an approximate calorie intake and allows you to track your daily food and exercise. This helped me stay focused to lose the 70lbs. A great thing about “The Daily Plate” is the breakdown of carbs, fats and sugars. Helping you make sure you are getting a healthy balance. Enjoy!

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9 Fitness Resources to get you Motivated

Do you need some motivation to get off the couch and into the gym? What works well for me is trying a new fitness program. The list includes workouts from basic to extreme, from very quick to enduring workings, along with some useful tracking logs. Here are 9 great resources, most of which you can start today!

One Hundred Pushups:
The website hundredpushups.com offers a great program for working your way up to doing 100 pushups in a row in only six weeks. The program gets very difficult towards the end, but it certainly gets you in shape. Perfect for those of you who enjoy charts and sticking to a strict regiment.

Two Hundred Situps:
Very similar to One Hundred Pushups, TwoHundredSitups.com guides you through a six week journey to perform 200 situps in a row.

Burpee Workout:
This is a great workout if you don’t have a lot of time or if you don’t have access to any gym equipment. As a bonus, you get to see Mike Rowe explain it – he’s one of my favorite tv stars from Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs.
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The 300 Workout:
This is a serious workout and you can tell by watching the video that it’s not something you can just jump into. If you think you are in great shape and want to get a real idea of how fit you are, this is the perfect test. The name came from the movie, The 300, in which at the end of an extreme fitness program to get in shape for the movie, many of the actors took this test.
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The Couch-to-5K Running Plan:
A great guide for new runners – the Couch-to-5k Running Plan provides a nine week schedule on how to work up to running a 5K race. Starts off easy and only takes about 20-30 minutes, three times a week.

this photo and the main page thumbnail photo are courtesy of mikebaird

Gyminee:
Gyminee is a free tool to track your nutrition, weight and workouts. The website is very clean and easy to use. I was very impressed when I first signed up and found the p90x workout listed – making it very easy to track my workout info. Join groups, make friends, or take challenges like biking 100 miles. Definitely worth checking out.

Crossfit:
Are you finding your workouts too easy? Looking for some variety?
CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.

P90X:
This is by far the best workout program I’ve ever done. I’m currently on my second time around of doing this 90 day routine. It’s not free, but I believe it’s well worth the money. See my full review here.

Map My Run:
MapMyRun.com offers a great tool for mapping out your workout runs. Very similar to GoogleMaps or Mapquest, you start with a streetview map and can map out your workout course. Only with MapMyRun you create your own directions. The best feature is that as you are mapping it out, it will keep track of the total distance. Also add a few icons like water and first aid and then save your route for future workouts.

Honorable Mentions:
fitnoke.com A free website that allows you to keep track of your fitness workouts. Coming soon they will have a daily workout program to follow.

livestrong.com Another free online program to track your fitness and nutrition. Also view great resources on fitness and keep up on Lance with his blog and photos.

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Review: Blast Your Bench by Lee Hayward

Fitness Review:

Blast Your Bench

I came across the Blast Your Bench program after doing some research for my next fitness routine. I had just completed the p90x program and looking for something that would help me work towards one of my life goals of bench pressing 315 lbs.

One Caveat: I am going to be very vague in this review to protect the content that Lee Hayward has put into this. He spent a lot of time creating this routine and it would be unfair for me to share the details that you would receive when purchasing his downloadable PDF.

The Goal: Blast Your Bench is designed to help you increase your one rep maximum for the bench press exercise. In other words, the maximum amount of weight you can lift for a single repetition of the bench press.

What you get: The program is a downloadable PDF file and costs $40. You can try the 14 day trial, but you won’t be able to actually complete the program before the trial is up. Lee also includes a ton of other similar fitness PDFs which add to the value. I haven’t had time to read through all of those. Lee does a great job of going into great detail about how and why the program works. It’s well worth reading the 139 page report.

My Review: The program lasted for a total of five weeks. The first two are a general warm up program in which you don’t do any flat bench. The following three weeks are the actual program. At the very beginning Lee shares some advice on how to determine your current one-rep max for the bench press. I was able to bench press 265lbs. I’m in pretty good shape, especially coming off of the p90x workout and I think it was fair of me to start Lee’s program here. I didn’t come into this with no weight lifting experience. This amount was pretty much the maximum weight I had ever lifted, so I knew if I could improve on that, it would certainly be due to Lee’s program.

The three weeks of the actual Blast Your Bench program were certainly different that any other routines I had done in the past. While I can’t give any details, each workout I found both very challenging and very fun. I really enjoyed how the progressions worked and the way it is designed really worked well for motivating me. The first week really kicked my butt, or should I say my chest. It proved quite a challenge. The second week I found myself eating it up and making great progress. The third week I continued to make progress, but I did find that my arms and shoulders starting to feel slightly stressed. I’m not sure what it was due to, but my guess is that it was partly due to being a very challenging program and the stress it places on your body, as well as the third week really focusing on heavy weight, more so than the first two weeks. Lee does caution that the Blast Your Bench program is not something you would do no a continual basis.

I cheated: I always like to share when I didn’t follow the program exactly because that may impact my results. There were two major suggestions that Lee gave in his pdf packet that I did not follow. I did not follow his advice to increase my caloric intake. I won’t give the numbers he recommends, but it would have been a significant increase. It’s not that I disagreed at all. I definitely see the value in taking in more calories for this program. I did end up eating a little more, but I chose not to simply because I didn’t want to increase my weight that much, or spend the extra time and money eating additional meals. I also did not take any supplements including Creatine. I’ve heard very impressive results when using Creatine, but I chose not to for two reasons. First, I wanted to see what I could personally bench press without relying on the help of supplements. Second, my wife is a nurse and simply doesn’t want me to use supplements such as Creatine. She actually had a patient who was overusing Creatine and ended up on her floor. So to respect my wife’s wishes, I don’t use any supplements. Although she has nothing against protein shakes or protein bars.

The results: I was very pleased to find that my final test for my one rep max I was able to do 295lbs. That’s a gain of 30lbs in just three weeks. Not bad for someone who weighs 165lbs.

My recommendation: I found the Blast Your Bench program fun, challenging, and I was happy with the results. I feel as if this is not a one-time value for me. I plan on implementing many of the routines he provides into my future workouts. I also plan on coming back to the full program any time I hit a plateau. My only negatives about the routine where how my shoulders and upper arms felt stressed towards the end of the third week, however I can’t say for sure if that is the fault of the program. Especially since I didn’t follow it exactly. Also, simply from a marketing and design perspective, I’d love to see Lee update the PDF report with a better design and layout. The content is terrific, it could just use a slightly more professional look.

I give the Blast Your Bench an 8 out of 10 and believe it is well worth the $40 investment.

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Review: P90X

The P90X Extreme Home Fitness Program

Overview: I started the P90X workout program in mid-October and completed the 90 days in mid-January. It was a terrific program to do throughout the winter. I would recommend the program for anyone who is currently in relatively good shape and who can handle a very intense workout and has the time to commit to the program, which was about 60 – 90 minutes a day, six days a week. The program is based on muscle confusion, so you are constantly doing something new and different. Each workout has a variety of exercises, and the overall workouts are constantly changing.

The Instructor: Tony Horton is the instructor in each video that you will watch. I found Tony very entertaining, encouraging, and a great instructor. He has the perfect personality for someone you will be spending 90 minutes a day with for the next 90 days. He provides a lot of humor, while at the same time encourages you to do your best. He also does a great job, for almost every exercise, of showing you the normal method of performing the exercise, as well as an easier modified method, and a more difficult method of performing the exercise.

Results: I noticed huge results after completing the full 90 days of doing the P90X program. What I personally noticed was an increase in overall core strength. This program does an excellent job of working your entire body. I was very impressed in the overall balance of strength I had after completing this. It forced me to work muscle groups that I typically prefer not to work. My physique definitely reflected the results of 90 days of intense workouts. My biggest regret is that I didn’t do any of the pre-measurements as recommended in the book, in order to provide some quantitative results. My entire body slimmed up, especially in my waist and belly. I was actually showing a six-pack by the end of the 90 days. I put size on my chest, back, arms and legs. And my overall fitness level – endurance, flexibility, and strength, has been the best it has ever been.

Workouts: The overall P90X program offers three different programs that you can follow: Classic, Lean, and Doubles. I followed the Classic program. The program is basically divided into 3 months. Each month consists of six workouts you do for three weeks, followed by a fourth week that focuses on your Core. The six workouts typically cover all of your major muscle groups, chest, back, triceps, biceps, shoulders, abdominals, and legs (all in various combinations). As well as workouts that focus on different aspects like flexibility, plyometrics, and cardio. Every workout can simply be described as fun and intense. I love the fact that you are constantly doing something different in each workout, that you never seem to grow bored.

Equipment Needed: So there are several items that you’ll want to purchase, or make sure you have in order to perform all of the workouts.

I cheated: Let me share a few things that I cheated on. The first was the nutrition. I did not follow the nutrition guide that was provided. The guide is a terrific resource, but I know my limitations. I was not about to change our entire family’s meal program as I went through this program, just for me. Don’t get me wrong, I think following the nutrition guide would prove excellent results, but that was something I chose to sacrifice. I did however, make some important nutritional changes. I increased my water intake tremendously (between 8 and 12 glasses a day) and I stopped drinking soda, and generally tried to eat healthy. I really made a conscious effort to cut out junk foods and my wife supported me in this with the healthy meals she cooked for our family.

The second item I cheated in was the workouts. There was one workout in particular that I did not enjoy. I’m not saying it wasn’t effective – it was very effective. I simply did not enjoy this. I don’t want to share which one it was as I don’t want to bias you, but you may find that there is a workout you simply don’t enjoy, which may be totally different than what I found. In fact, some of my friends actually enjoyed this particular workout. I forced myself to do that particular workout for the first 8 weeks, but then the last month, I used it as a rest day, or substituted it with a similar workout I enjoyed more.

Continued Use: After completing the P90X workout, I’ve gone back and worked in various P90X workouts into my weekly program. I have an outstanding resource of DVDs that I can easily pop in and not have to think at all about what exercises I need to do, and just follow along and know I’m getting a great workout.

You must Commit: I would recommend this to anyone who is up for the challenge of 3 months of intense workouts. It’s a huge time commitment. However, I guarantee that if you follow this program and stick with it for the full 90 days, continually working to do you best and improve on each workout, while at the same time eating healthy, you WILL notice results. This is basically like any workout program. If you commit to it, eat healthy, and do your best, you’ll see results. The bonus is that this is one is very fun, does an excellent job of providing a total body workout, not just for muscle groups, but flexibility, mind, cardio, and strength, as well as never getting boring.

Rating: 10 out of 10

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