More Gyms. More Health Products, Yet Less Healthy

It is truly amazing that America has the highest obesity rates in the world, yet more gyms and health clubs than any other country. We spend more on health care than any other country, yet rank 37th in the world for effectiveness (Without getting in a health care reform debate, our poor health care has a lot to do with treating disease after it has happened, and little on preventing the problems in the first place.)

Fast-food chains spend billions of dollars on advertising each year to get us to eat at their places of business. Does this huge amount of money influence you? Maybe, maybe not, but it does influence many people around you.

Are we to blame the systems around us for the obesity problem? We can, but the problem is truly within each and every one of us. If you are overweight or obese, the blame is on you and you alone. If you want to change your life, it starts in your head.

The Point of No Return

Why does it take a catastrophic event to change our lives for the better?

You end up in the hospital and find out you are diagnosed with diabetes.

You play a flag football game at a company picnic for the first time in a decade and collapse on your ass.

You take your shirt off at a public event, someone makes a snide remark, and you can’t get it out of your head for days and weeks and months.

The event can be mental or physical.

When you hear amazing stories of people getting healthy quickly, they do it for a reason, not because they “felt like it.”

So why wait like something for this happen? Why not prevent it in the first place. Predict your “catastrophic event” or realize your “great discovery” so you can change today.

You can motivate yourself with fear of a heart attack. Or the fear of losing your kids or grand kids because you’ll kick the bucket early at the rate you are going. Or you can motivate yourself because you are just sick and tired of not being healthy.

Despite all of marketing thrown at us, as a citizen of a developed country, you have amazing opportunities. There are gyms and health clubs all around you, plenty of free fitness information you can access on the web, public parks, YMCA, and more.

You have no excuse to not be healthy because you do not have the resources. What’s stopping you is within your mind.

You Only Get One Chance. Appreciate What You Have

Take some time to yourself to think. It’s a simple exercise, but many people don’t stop to think about their lives. Sure, we all have quiet time, but do we set any time aside to actually think about where we are going in life?

Goal setting is something many people do not do, yet it is a fairly powerful tool. The reason it is so powerful is because it gives your subconscious some direction. Whether you’re aware of it or not at the time, your mind tends to work towards a goal. Obviously, you have to do the work towards your goals – they will not magically happen.

If you have no goal, how do you know what to do to get where you want?

Think about where you were 10 years ago. Did you feel great about yourself, or did you feel as miserable as you do today?

This is the important question: Where do you see yourself 5 years from now at the rate you are going? Don’t bullshit yourself here. Follow the trend line of your life.

If your last 5 years have consisted of no exercise and a diet of “Value Meals,” chances are your health has deteriorated over those years. Do you see a heart attack? Diabetes? Death?

Spend time thinking. Think about every year carefully as it passes. How is a poor lifestyle going to affect your life each and every year?

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now if you changed?
Now imagine where you will be if you decide to change your life today. What do you want to have? How do you want to feel? How will others see you? Remember, you’re not “wishing.” You’re imagining.

Imagining yourself in a better place is generally enough motivation to set goals for anything. Whether its money, health, social, whatever. Picturing yourself better off is a powerful motivation. Change starts in your head.

You only get one body and one life to live. There is no reset button. Learn to appreciate what you have and you will begin to take better care of yourself. When you start to appreciate what little time you have on this earth, change comes easier.

Then why do you do it? I won’t lie, I used to think that weighing yourself everyday makes sense, especially if you are on a diet and exercise program. But sometimes our bodies don’t make a lot of sense. We can work our butts off in the gym and eat right all day long, and still gain weight the next morning. We can eat a ton of food, wake up, and actually lose weight.

It would happen to me all of the time, and it’d set the precedent for the rest of my day. If i didn’t lose weight after a great day of exercise and diet, I’d get depressed for the rest of the day. If I did lose weight, then I’d end up doing what I was going to do anyway.

I’ve learned to weigh myself just once a week. If your happiness level is tied directly to your weight, then you should do the same. Daily fluctuations in your weight are not worth thinking about. They will drive you nuts.

Set a goal for yourself – If you’re on a long-term weight loss program (30lbs in 2 months for example), set weekly goals. That’s about 4 lbs per week. If you are pushing yourself to eat properly and get a lot of exercise, then you will stick with it all week long until “weigh-in” day. If you’re weighing yourself every single day, then you are going to think way too much about what you are doing.

Focus on How You Feel – When you don’t focus on the number of pounds you weigh, have lost, or have gained, you think about other things. Ideally, you’re focusing on your goal. And if you’re doing everything right then you will be more concerned with how you actually feel (which should mean you feel good!). How you feel is far more important than your weight or body fat percentage.

If you’re a habitual weigher, try only weighing yourself once a week and see how it does. I think most people will benefit from this because you will be much more focused on what’s important.

But lets be honest. Americans watch more TV than any other country, and America is the most overweight country on the planet. The correlation is there. Take a look at this graph: correlating the amount of hours of TV watched vs obesity rate.

Can’t find the United States on that graph? Take a closer look at the lonely dot on the upper right hand corner.

Replace TV with something Productive

The data is there. Watching TV doesn’t add on calories to your tummy, but it does absolutely nothing to help you burn them. As you sit there, watching your favorite shows, you’re not doing anything for your body to burn those calories you ate today.

A simple remedy for this is to replace an hour or so of TV with something productive. Take a walk, hit the gym, whatever. Just get off your ass and MOVE! If you can’t stand missing your favorite shows, get yourself a Tivo. Reward yourself after a workout by watching your favorite shows without commercials.

As Americans, we’ve fallen into a trance with our TV’s. It’s so bad that the NFL started a program to encourage kids to go outside and exercise. We’re going in the wrong direction with our priorities in life, but heck, it’s been like this for ages.

Studies on happiness have shown that people are not happiest when they are watching TV. It would be safe to assume that we enjoy TV so much that it makes us happy, but that is not the case. There is no interaction with TV, there is no input from us.

Instead, we find ourselves happiest when we challenge ourselves, whether mentally or physically. Replace some TV with working out and exercise and you will reap the benefits.

Because if you slip up and set yourself back a step or two, you ultimately think that your goal is unachievable if you’re worrying about the long term. “Great, I had that cake at work and now my whole diet is ruined. Stupid Milton!” If you’re taking it a day at a time then admit it, you still screwed up. But there is always tomorrow. Refocus your energy on the day ahead. Motivate yourself enough to reach all of your tiny goals the next day, and learn from the mistakes you’ve made in the past.

Swole for Summer – Day 16 Update

In the grand scheme of things, I’m doing pretty well on both my diet and exercise. I was planning on going to the gym only 4 days a week, but I’ve been so concentrated on Swole for Summer that I feel like a loser if I don’t go to the gym every chance I get. So even on my off days, I will drag my ass to the gym to get some cardio in to make up for all the cardio I haven’t been doing.

Thank god for spring. I can cook, but 97% of what I can cook involves a grill. When it’s warm outside then that means I have no excuses for screwing up my diet. It just makes it a whole lot easier when I have so many other things to worry about.

It’s funny because I look at the daily progress pictures and don’t see a damn thing changing. I’m going to assume that you’re all as sick of looking at my moobs as much as I am. But hell, I dropped 12.5 lbs in a little over 2 weeks, so it has to be going somewhere.

No intro to this article; I’m just gonna get down right down to it. Some may be offended or insulted by this article, but unfortunately my information does not take into consideration anyone’s feelings. I’m here to give the information honestly and truthfully, because that’s what reveals character.

Why are there some people that are fit, and some that are fat? Why do those fat people ask themselves why they are not fit? And most importantly, why do those same fat people convince themselves that they just can’t get fit?! I’ll tell you why. It’s one simple and straight-forward word: LAZINESS. To transform your body into a work of art takes A LOT of time, motivation, dedication, and discipline. For some reason, the fitness industry these days will have you believing that you can by the latest Ab-Lounge and Bowflex, workout for 20 minutes a day, three days a week, and be Adonis.

Besides the foolish and ludicrous statements made by the manufacturers of these machines, people eat it up like there’s no other food on the earth! WHAT THE @%$&*!! Can most of this country really be that ignorant? I mean come on people, do you actually believe working out for a combined one hour a week will get you into shape? Do you live on this planet? Transforming your body into a chiseled, well-oiled machine is one of the most difficult tasks that a man or a woman can do. The task is long and daunting. In no way, shape, or form is it easy and fun. Sure I can sit in front of the TV all day doing my Ab-Lounge for 20 minutes a day; who couldn’t? It’s so fun and easy!

I would now like to bring you back to the real world and introduce you to a statement that everyone should live by: IF IT WERE EASY, EVERYONE WOULD BE DOING IT! Why didn’t elite athletes like Lance Armstrong, Michael Jordan, Mike Tyson, Joe Montana, and Mark McGuire use these catchy fitness gadgets designed to replace working out? Because they are A-T-H-L-E-T-E-S! Why would a normal person believe that something sold on an infomercial that easily fits in your closet or under your bed can actually replace resistance, strength, and speed training? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the mind is a powerful weapon. You hear something that sounds easy and effective, and you immediately jump on it. Unfortunately, in the world of true fitness, the golden rule is that if it is easy you want to avoid it at all costs. If you’re doing crunches, your stomach should feel like there is lava in it.

You shouldn’t be saying to yourself, “Wow, I’m getting such a great workout and it’s so fun and easy, and it doesn’t put any strain on my abs or back.” Get real genius.

Welcome to the real world. For some unknown reason, most people will always want to take the easy way out. They want to take the paved road instead of the dirt road. Why? Because in this day and age, we are lazy, sedentary animals. You ever see a lion in the jungle taking it easy? Nope! If he did, a younger, hungrier lion will tear him to shreds. Most people think that it can be fun and easy to attain a flawless physique and extraordinary strength levels. Unfortunately, when their goals are not met, they immediately convince themselves they can’t improve their bodies because of genetics, injuries, whatever excuse they can muster up. You’re only lying to yourselves. Stop making excuses to not workout and get your ass into the gym and on the roads. Go do 500 crunches, not 20 Ab-Lounge twist things or whatever they are. Go hit a heavy bag instead of doing Billy Blanks Tae-Bo video. GO AND ACTUALLY PUT SOME MEANING INTO YOUR WORKOUT!

What do you think those fitness gadgets will do for you in the long run? Seriously, it is so annoying to see someone using the latest Home Gym and wondering why they are not increasing strength and size like the next guy at the gym? Well, how about the fact that you are sitting at home, using a piece of plastic to guide your puny body through a motion that doesn’t even stimulate the proper muscle fibers which cause strength gains. Why doesn’t the lady doing Ab-Blaster workouts have a tight midsection like the lady that works her midsection in the gym? Because the lady in the gym is actually using her body to improve on her body, not a “toy.” That’s all these new and improved fitness gadgets are: toys! Don’t listen to Chuck Norris and his sexy assistant. The Total Gym will never in a million years replace real gym exercises. If that were the case, no one would go to a gym. Everyone would stay at home to workout, because the house is cozy and comfortable.

You are an athlete. A strength driven, power based, speed possessing ANIMAL! You need to be in the concrete jungle, not on the padded carpet. Stop believing what you hear and research the facts. Don’t make excuses to make yourself feel better about not attaining your goals. How bad do you want it? If you kind of want it, buy the Total Gym. If you actually want it, don’t be ignorant and start using your body for what it was made for: a temple of pure perfection. No one will know the true potential of the human body unless they push it to the absolute max. You need to sweat, bleed, ache, be sore, and then do it harder the next time. Fun? Movies are fun. Going out to dinner is fun. Working out is anything but. NO PAIN, NO GAIN!

Don’t be regular. Get your ass out of the house and off the fitness gadget you just bought on Channel 3 and get into a gym!

“DIG! Bury Me! Underneath! Everything that I am!” – Mudvayne

“Heavy! I want it Heavy!” – Disturbed

“Yeah! You push it! Yeah! You push it!” – Static-X

We all love music. I find that some bands are better used as the soundtrack to my weight training than others. While my local pussyfoot gym spins tracks from the latest Britney Spears record, in my head I’m singing Mudvayne and Disturbed tracks over and over again, hell I even sing out loud sometimes (but not too loud). Yes, I do need an Ipod Nano, but I digress.

So what exactly is my point? My point is this: when you are in the gym you need to be in the zone. Too many folks saunter into the gym with Britney Spears’ intensity. They walk up to the dumbbells, sigh, lift off the same weight they used last week, and hit the same number of reps and sets as last week¦ and last month¦ and likely last year. These are the same folks that won’t squat because it hurts their back, they won’t run because it hurts their knees, they won’t use a barbell because it HURTS THEIR HANDS! These things can be fixed, worked through, or worked around, but instead it’s an excuse to sit around on machines doing the same endless reps, day after day.

Then later when I’m trying to finish up my super-set so that I can get in one more exercise before the gym closes, I have to listen to, “I like to exercise late because there isn’t really anyone here to watch me. Maybe if I was in a bit better shape I wouldn’t mind so much, you know?” NO! I don’t know, buddy! I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about! I like it when other people are working out around me. Guys like me start up unspoken competitions with other similar athletes. We watch intently to see if our rivals hit their deadlift max this week. We check out the shredded guy’s calves to see if ours are still bigger. But we don’t watch you.

In fact I don’t really care what you do because you add absolutely nothing to my training, but please move away from the decline bench so I can finish my last set of weighted decline sit ups!

If you want to make progress you need to DIG! You need to want it HEAVY! You need to PUSH IT!! Eat what you know you need to eat. Lift more weight every single workout no matter what. Get in that zone so you can block out the rest of your life, so that the only thing you see right now is that bar on the floor, and you know that today, right now, you’re about to lift 5 lbs more on this exercise than you’ve ever lifted before, and hell if you can get an extra rep you’ll do that too. Get IN that zone, because it’s time to DIG!