America’s Fitness Coach

How to make this New Year about a New You

Well, it’s that time of the year. Time to think about making a New Year’s resolution. Or, maybe not! If you’re one of those who has been burned in the past, by making and even getting excited about a renewed commitment to change some aspect of your life in the New Year, only to once again not make it stick, then you’ve probably made a resolution to never again make resolutions. As a cynic once said, “A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.”

Is there really anything to the idea of goal setting at the turn of a new year? Many people believe there is. For what it’s worth, here are the top ten New Year’s resolutions made in 2008:  

1. Lose weight
2. Manage debt/save money
3. Get a better job
4. Spend more time with family
5. Quit smoking
6. Eat right/Get fit
7. Get a better education
8. Reduce stress
9. Going greener
10. Volunteer to help others

Does making resolutions make sense?

Let’s examine statistically how successful people are, as it relates to maintaining their resolution as time goes on.

• Past the first week: 75%
• Past 2 weeks: 71%
• After one month: 64%
•  After 6 months: 46%

While a lot of people who make New Year’s resolutions do break them, research shows that making resolutions is useful. People who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions. Abraham Lincoln said, “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.” That said, clearly being explicit and specific with your resolutions goes a long way toward realizing those goals.

I highly encourage people to make New Year’s resolutions. I have always found the turning of a new year to be a great time to take a few steps back and evaluate things that need to be changed in my life. Then I set specific goals to do things differently, with the kick-off-date being the first day of the new year.

There is something about beginning January one that works especially well with fitness goals. Partially, I think, because we have just experienced two major “eating” holidays back-to-back. With the exception of a few lingering Bowl games, January one is a great time to dial back the high calorie eating.

This year, if any of your resolutions are about health and fitness, be encouraged by the fact that it won’t take an entire year for you to make significant strides in changing your body. The human body changes must faster than most people think. But the changes begin on the inside, then given more time, begin to show on the outside.

Do you realize that whether you’re 6, 16 or 65, your body replaces 300 BILLION cells every day. Your body is made up of trillions of cells that live mostly for a few weeks or months, die, and are constantly replaced by new cells in an endless cycle. For example, your taste buds live only a few hours, white blood cells live 10 days, and your muscle cells live about three months. Even your bones dissolve and are replaced, over and over again. A few key stem cells in each organ and your brain cells are the only ones that stick around for the duration. All of your other cells are in a constant state of renewal.

People think of their body as a fairly permanent structure but most of it is in a state of constant flux as old cells are discarded and new ones generated in their place. Each kind of tissue has its own turnover time, depending in part on the workload endured by its cells. The cells lining the stomach last only five days. The red blood cells bruised and battered after traveling nearly 1,000 miles through the maze of the body’s circulatory system, last only 120 days or so on average before being dispatched to their graveyard in the spleen.

Here’s where it gets really exciting! 

You replace about 1% of your cells every day. That means 1% of your body is brand-new today, and you will get another 1% tomorrow. Think of it as getting a whole new body every three months. Though not entirely accurate, it’s pretty close. With that in mind, you are walking around in a body that is brand-new since three months ago – new lungs, new muscles, new skin, etc. Take a look at your legs and realize that you will have new ones in another few months.

The key to staying younger longer is to keep producing healthy cells. Whether your “new body” is functionally younger or older is a choice you make by how you live! You choose whether those new cells come in stronger or weaker. Your cells don’t care which choice you make, they just work with what you give them.

Exercise, and your cells get stronger; don’t exercise, and they decay. When you exercise, your muscles release specific substances that travel throughout your bloodstream, telling your cells to grow. Sedentary muscles, on the other hand, let out a steady trickle of chemicals that whisper to every cell to decay, day after day after day. An active lifestyle can tip the balance in your body toward growth and renewal.

Here’s the bottom line: You can restructure how you look, how you feel, how you perform, how you think, and how you age. It’s not a miracle or a mystery. It’s the biology that God has given you, and put you in charge of! But if you’re like most, you have slacked off in a number of areas that are critically important to the production of new and better cells. You can change that! And there’s no better time than the turning of a new year.

Make S.M.A.R.T resolutions

Begin thinking about what you can do, or stop doing, that can fundamentally change your body in only a few months. Then write down your goals (resolutions). Be very specific with each change you plan on making.  When setting goals use the word “Smart” as an acrostic for structuring resolutions. This is not something I came up with. It has been around for a long time. “S.M.A.R.T.” stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound. This will help you better write goals you will stick to.

Specific   – your goal should answer the What, Where, Why and How questions, written as simply and clearly as possible. Use action words to explain WHAT are you going to do? WHY is this goal important? HOW are you going to do it, etc?

Measurable –  If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Choose a goal with measurable progress so you can actually see the changes you are making, otherwise how will you know when you have reached your goal?

Attainable – an attainable, agreed upon, achievable goal involves realistic goals that consider your current situation, financial and personal resources, as well as time available to achieve success. Set your goal to challenge and “stretch” you slightly, but don’t go too far out of your reach setting unattainable goals, otherwise you’ll become discouraged and give up, again.

Realistic – a realistic goal is a goal you can control and achieve, requiring effort on your part, a positive mindset, positive action, determination and consistency that will enable you to achieve and accomplish goals you set. Each time you achieve a goal, enjoy the satisfaction that goes with goal achievement, rewarding yourself appropriately.

Time-bound – a time-bound goal includes realistic time-frames, using dates and times as measurement towards successful completion of each goal. Setting a time frame for goals set gives you a clear and precise target to work towards. Without a set time limit, your commitment is too vague, open-ended, lacking a sense of urgency to take action now to accomplish goals.

Resolve to make 2010 the year of the NEW YOU!

It is difficult to stay fit and healthy in the sedentary world we live in today. When I see someone who has managed to stay fit, especially in their later years, I do not take it for granted. I know it is a major accomplishment. Oh sure, for some – based on great genes – it’s easier than for others, however, that only applies to a very small minority. I know this because the experts are predicting that by the end of 2010, eighty one percent of American’s will be obese. Ouch!

To maintain your fitness you must set a goal, and then work diligently (I maintain daily) to make that goal a reality. It takes desire and commitment. And when achieved, it is quite an accomplishment. Mark Twain said, “There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.”

If you need to get-in-shape but are finding it difficult to whip up the desire to accomplish that goal, one of the best things you can do is to make an appointment with yourself to do something physically that you really want to do but cannot achieve unless you’re fit. And, I’m not talking about losing 15 pounds for the wedding you’re attending next month! Losing 15 pounds on some fad-diet has nothing to do with fitness, the proof of which comes only a month after the wedding when you discover you’ve gained all the weight back.

Recently, a friend of mine (Charlie Ehrmann) set out to do something that would test his status-quo level of fitness, as well as push him to new levels of physical accomplishment. At 67 years of age, he climbed Mt Whitney – the highest mountain in the U.S. – in only 18 hours! I interviewed him, hoping that his accomplishment will motivate you to step out and achieve something out of the norm. Something that will challenge you physically, and teach you what your body is capable of, at any age.

Q: Charlie, what inspired you to climb Mt. Whitney at age 67? 

A: The challenge and an adventuresome spirit I guess. I knew a Doctor in Oregon that has led a group of 15 to the summit for several years. After about 13 seconds of consideration, I asked him if I could join them if he had an opening. While waiting for a slot to open up, believe me, I had cold feet many times wondering if at my age could I really make it to the top. I felt I was in great shape at 67, but was it good enough? After extensive online investigating, I came to the conclusion that I could do it if I focused the next few months on getting my lung capacity increased and increase my workouts. After several weeks of waiting, word came that there was an opening. Now there was no turning back, I was committed. I was even more inspired to make the trip when my son Vick was also able to join the group of 15.

Q: What are some of the unique particulars of the climb?

A: Base camp was at 8,300 ft. This is about a 13 mile drive into the mountains from Lone Pine, Calif. We spent Thurs night camping, took a six mile warm-up hike on Friday to a beautiful lake 3 miles up the Whitney Trail. We then spent Friday night camping, going to bed at 8 pm in order to get up at 2 am and start hiking at 2:30 am. The first 4 hours of the hike was in total darkness using headlamps to lead us along the narrow trail. It is necessary to start this early in order to reach the top by approximately 12 noon and start back down to reach base camp before dark.  Vick and I actually reached the summit at 1 pm and completed the round trip in 18 hours arriving at base camp at 8:30 pm – hiking the last 30 minutes in the dark with headlamps. It is a very long extreme hike that covers 22 miles round trip.

Q: What was the most difficult, or unexpected, thing you encountered?

A: The physical aspects of the climb was not our greatest challenge. What we were not prepared for was the effects of altitude sickness. We had studied online what altitude sickness was and how to prevent it, however, even with some preparation we still had several episodes of headaches, nausea and vomiting that slowed our climbing and descending pace tremendously. It was difficult to eat or drink anything without that nauseating feeling. The second thing was the narrow path and the fear of loosing your balance, with a 20 lb pack on your back, and falling off the side of the mountain.

Q: What do you normally do to stay fit, and what did you do differently to prepare for the climb?

A: For the past 15 years I have been doing a regular daily workout called FIT10 that takes approximately 10-minutes. This regimen provides an excellent cardiovascular workout, a strength training workout and a stretching workout. There are obviously many ways of getting in a workout and I own various other pieces of equipment, however, I have found that this 10-minute program works for me.  Additional benefits of this form of exercise is that it puts no stress on my aging joints; my muscles do not get sore by working out every day, and there is no pressure placed on my back or spine.

In addition, for a month or 6 weeks prior to the hike, I started hiking a local mountain that only has a 500 ft elevation gain. However, it is rather steep and rocky for several miles and I would do power hikes to increase my oxygen intake. It was obviously not as good as preparing at higher elevations would be.

Q: How do you think your particular regimen of regular exercise helped you overall on the climb?

A: Not only was my regular exercise regimen extremely beneficial for the stamina needed for the hike, it provided all the strength I needed in my legs, back, and arms to carry a 20 lb pack 22 miles over 18 hours. Ascending the 6,000 ft from base camp was like climbing 2 steps at time up your house stairs for 9 hours. But I must tell you, my regular exercise regimen helps me do all sorts of other things besides climbing an occasional mountain. It allows me to do other things such as play 8 rounds of golf in 5 days and not feel wiped out except for normal tiredness. I recently played a couple of hours of tennis without any side effects.

Q: How did you feel “the next day”, so to speak…were you as sore and wiped out as you thought you’d be?

A: This was the real puzzler. Neither my son nor I had sore joints or muscles at all after the hike. We were obviously exhausted and crashed immediately upon reaching our room. In fact, while I was waiting in the drivers seat with the engine running for my son to load the car with our gear after the hike, I fell asleep at the wheel.

Q: What did you learn about your body?

A: I was astounded that my body held up as well as it did. I had experienced a lower back problem for several weeks before the hike due to lifting heavy objects helping friends move. I was fearful that this would flare up again as I could still feel the aftereffects. However, it was only slightly felt during the hike and never a factor in completing the climb. Obviously, keeping yourself fit on a daily basis is well worth the effort when you are thinking about stepping outside the box to do something like hike Mt. Whitney. If I had to get my body in shape in 4 to 6 weeks to make this climb, I don’t think I could have done it.

Q: What did you learn from this adventure as it relates to the rest of your life? 

A: No one is limited by age from setting this type of goal. The key is to start thinking outside of your comfort zone. The only limiting factor for many is their health. Personally, I refuse to allow my body or my health to deteriorate to the point where I cannot do the things that I do now or would like to do in the future. My motto when it comes to the nutritional aspect of staying healthy is this; “Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels”. That makes it easy to turn down things that look and taste good, but you instinctively know are not good for your health.

Q: Would you do it again?

A: As we were coming down the mountain, I would look back up the trail and vowed “never again”. However, the old adage about “out of sight, out of pain”, or something like that, then comes into play. My son and I now talk about how we would do it differently to avoid the nausea and headaches, and cut the time by a couple of hours.

I would love to do it again. But honestly, I think that there are other challenges are out there that I would like to accomplish before hiking Mt. Whitney again – such as hike the 2,100 mile Appalachian Trail; ride a bike across the US from coast to coast; take another bike ride around Europe. In 1956, I rode a bike with 7 others for 3 weeks around Europe between my junior and senior years of high school and it has always been a desire to repeat that trip.

Q: Why would you recommend that people set a goal and do this sort of thing?

A: It is an exhilarating experience that builds your confidence to go accomplish other goals. Whether it is an fitness workout, climbing Mt. Whitney, losing weight, or whatever else you might have in mind. You must set a goal and commit in order to accomplish that goal. Once you make that commitment, it does something psychologically that forces you to do whatever is necessary to accomplish that goal. 

I hope Charlie’s accomplishment inspires you to get out there and push yourself to new heights of physical achievement! You never know what you will learn about yourself. Edmund Hillary said, “It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”

The secret to less stress and better success with typical holiday weight gain

You have undoubtedly heard the saying, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” The fitness equivalent to that statement is one of my favorite quotes by Jane Caminos; “A waist is a terrible thing to mind.” That is never truer than during the holiday season. A new study suggests that on average, Americans probably gain about a pound during the winter holiday season.¹ This finding runs contrary to the popular belief that most people gain from five to ten pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. New study or old, around our house, I guarantee the numbers on the scale move higher than one pound!

I believe I’ve actually put on weight just thinking about the Thanksgiving and Christmas meals my mother used to prepare. I grew up on a working ranch where we raised our own beef, milked the cows for fresh cream, butter and cheese; and grew our own vegetables. This was a life saver for my parents, having five mouths to feed. Meals were fresh and plentiful! We were a big family − in more ways than one.

My wife Melinda got the full impact of “plentiful”, the first time I brought her to meet my family for dinner. To this day she still talks about it. My mom just kept bringing out more and more food, as if having only one entree might be taken as an insult. What Melinda can’t even comprehend is the fact that the meal she sat down to, would have been considered h’orderves when I was a kid. So, if that was the case for a normal meal, you now understand what I’m talking about when I tell you that holiday meals were something special indeed!

Today everyone’s talking about the fact this holiday season will most assuredly be leaner − as it relates to  personal spending − because of the downturned economy. But I’ll guarantee you that a “leaner holiday season” will not apply to the opportunities we’ll all have to overeat. And that’s fine by me, I wouldn’t have it any other way! Yes, you heard that right, yours truly − America’s Fitness Coach − is looking forward to eating big-time during the holidays.

“If that’s the case”, you ask, “how on earth are you going to avoid putting on extra pounds?” Well, actually, I will put on a few pounds. It’s practically unavoidable. However, the whole situation is quite manageable if you know what you’re doing.

Now, I realize that my method runs contrary to most of the tips and techniques you’ll be reading over the next few months. The advice of most experts runs along these lines; avoid over-eating treats at parties…if you can’t have just one, don’t have any at all; avoid processed carbs…hit the veggie tray, the protein offerings, and the calorie free beverages at parties, etc..

But hear me out because my holiday-eating-fitness-management-principles were painstakingly developed over many years of trial and error. If you’re really interested in my priceless secrets to success regarding how you can stress-less over holiday eating, and come out on the other side without needing to buy larger clothes in January − listen carefully.

My winter season fitness survival theory stems from my holiday hypothesis:

The more you increase family, friends, fun and parties (the holidays),
the more you will increase your calorie intake and gain weight!

Fran Lebowitz said, “I’ve done the calculation and your chances of winning the lottery are identical whether you play or not.” In my opinion, the same holds true for “holiday dieting”. Chances are, you’re going to put on a pound or two during the holidays regardless of how careful you are − it just stands to reason. That being the case; if your goal is to weigh the same on January 10th as you do now, you have two choices: (A) Don’t go to any of the extra-eating opportunity parties (or if you do go just suck on ice cubes), and try like crazy to actually eat less than you normally would for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. To which I say, “Good luck with that!” Or, (B) begin now to adjust both your eating and your exercise to compensate for the inevitable.

The key to surviving the holidays without putting on weight is to gradually start eating less and exercising more in anticipation of what you know is coming − then relax and enjoy your holiday eating without making everyone else feel uncomfortable because you refuse to eat the desert that’s to die for − then after it’s all over return to eating less and exercising more until everything’s back to normal.

Here are the keys to success:

1. Estimate how much weight you typically gain between Thanksgiving and the New Year, and write that number down. (let’s say it’s 3 lbs)

2. Make it your goal to lose 3 lbs between now and Thanksgiving

3. Begin now to increase either the intensity of your workout, the time you spend exercising, or both, and continue this throughout the holiday season.

4. Stay motivated by thinking about how wonderful it will be to relax and enjoy holiday eating without stressing over weight-gain

5. Enjoy the holidays!

Here’s the best part of this plan: Because you disciplined yourself to eat less in anticipation of “the big meal”, your stomach will have actually shrunk. You will eat less than you normally would have and feel fuller! Plus, when it comes to resetting your exercise goals for the New Year, you’ll be way ahead of the game.

Finally, don’t make the mistake of thinking that because you lost a few pounds and are exercising more you can overeat during the holidays. In other words, be smart, using the same common sense you normally do about what and how much you eat. After all, as someone said, “Brain cells come and brain cells go, but fat cells are forever.” And that’s why the waist is a terrible thing to mind!

¹This conclusion was reached by researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). The results of their study appear in the March 23 New England Journal of Medicine.

The value of healthy activity as exercise

You have undoubtedly heard that childhood obesity is rapidly on the rise. It now outranks all other health problems as the number one concern for children in the United States. Obesity rates among ages 12 to 19 have more than tripled since 1980.¹ Equally disturbing is the fact that stress now ranks among the top ten child health problems in America. WOW!

I’d be willing to bet that the rise in childhood obesity and stress directly corresponds with three things: 1. The decline in physical activity−the once obligatory recess and P.E. class−in schools. 2. The invasion of technology. 3. Fast empty calories.  

Kids today are simply not moving like they used to. Of course neither are their sedentary parents. Elevators, escalators, computers, cable TVs, video games, cell phones, push button this and push button that−has produced kids that can navigate the internet with ease but can’t skip rope or do a chin-up to save their life!

Add to all that the fact that children today are eating three times the number of calories they actually need, and you can see why we’ve got an epidemic on our hands. Children should consume only around 1,300 calories a day, or about 430 calories per meal. But kiddie combos at the top fast-food chains far exceed that recommended limit. One meal from a popular fast food restaurant −chicken fingers, cinnamon apples and chocolate milk −delivers 1,020 calories. You can do the math from there.

Turning things around

I’m convinced that the only one’s capable of turning this obese-kids-cruise-ship around are the parents. A wise man said, “Parents often talk about the younger generation as if they didn’t have anything to do with it.” But we know better. And, it’s our responsibility. But before we coach our kids we best coach ourselves. As C.G. Jung said, “If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.”

Never forget that we are creatures of habit. “Don’t worry that children never listen to you, remarked  Robert Fulghum; worry that they are always watching you.” In other words, if you’re not watching what you eat or how much you exercise, you can be certain your child is. What a child observes he puts into practice. At least that’s what my wife told me when the children where all picking their nose in the back seat of the car.

A different generation

Don’t make the mistake of assuming that your children are getting enough exercise. Most are not. We reminisce, as parents, back to what it was like when we grew up, and figure the whole exercise thing will work itself out with our kids. But times have changed!

I can’t tell you how often I hear mom’s today say, “I just need some time alone, my kids are driving me nuts!” What a difference a half century makes. My mother’s biggest problem was that she could never find us. After walking or riding our bikes two miles home from school, I stormed through the house while removing my clothes, grabbed a snack (usually fresh fruit verses the kind you roll up), and hurried outside. I know, I was a bizarre little kid! Then I quickly found a friend, and spent every last ray of sunlight running, wrestling and playing.

Of course the difference for me growing up, from so many kids today, was that I lived on ten acres in the country, with nothing electronic to play with, and with neighbors who weren’t serial killers. Even if I did have permission to watch TV, which I didn’t, there was nothing on that trumped the fun to be had outside.  

For far too many kids today, especially in or near a city, their lives don’t remotely resemble my childhood experience. They’re lucky if they get any physical activity to speak of. They’re shuttled to and from school, and after already sitting for 6-7 hours, once home, they plop themselves down yet again to surf the internet. Later they move in front of the TV to eat their dinner−a pizza!

With all that said, I do not recommend trying to make your children exercise! Trying to convince kids to exercise is an exercise in futility. On the other hand, coming up with a physical activity that you and your children can participate in, and enjoy, is very doable.

How do I know? Because we did it. Admittedly, at first it seemed like an inconvenience to us as parents, after all, we were stuck in our habits too. But once we got over the cries of, “Oh please, you’ve gotta be kidding!”, we had such a great time they never wanted to stop. What did we do? What was this fun-for-all-activity that became so addicting? We drew big squares with big chalk on the driveway, and played four square with a big rubber ball−for hours. How great is that!

My point is simply this; getting kids fit is not complicated, and it certainly does not have to be expensive. I think Wii fitness is a great idea but I guarantee you’ll have more fun outside. After all, isn’t the idea to get the kids away from the TV?

Get out there!

Here are several things you can do to get fitter kids…

·  Do everything you can to get your children involved in sports.

·  Plan a time every weekend to take a hike as a family. Pick different interesting places in and around where you live that you’ve never visited before.

·  Since you can easily record favorite shows, make one night of the week a “no TV night”. Then use that time to do a healthy activity together.

·  For dinner, at least one night of the week, prepare a meal that consists of no processed food. Everything must be natural and fresh. Get the kids involved with the recipes.

·  When out together as a family, make a point of choosing the less sedentary option whenever possible. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, etc.

Finally, don’t be the parents that Edward, Duke of Windsor, observed when he said, “The thing that impresses me most about America is the way parents obey their children.” Remember, you’re the boss! They want you to take charge. You’re the only fitness coach your kids have right now. So pump up the  big rubber ball and go for it. Who knows, it may become a habit.

¹”Obesity Trends among U.S. Adults between 1985 and 2007″, CDC; “Overweight and Obesity: Economic Consequences,” CDC; Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, CDC; National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; “Kids’ Meals: Obesity on the Menu”, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, Yale University; “Excess Deaths Associated with Underweight, Overweight, and Obesity.”

Think carefully about each of the of the following true statements: 

·  Americans are eating much less today than they did fifty years ago.

·  Current trends now indicate that by the end of next year (2010), 81% of Americans will be obese.

·  Shortly after the birth of our nation (220 years ago), 95% of the energy output of this country was from the human body−today it is less than 1%.

I believe there’s a direct correlation between all three of those statements. Everyone knows that eating too much fast and fried food leads to obesity. However, one of the biggest things often overlooked, as it relates to why obesity in America has steadily increased, is as follows: We have become a sedentary society−we’re not moving enough! Our evolution as a society from agricultural, to industrial, to technological, has left our bodies behind.

Even when given a choice most people will choose to move less. Think I’m exaggerating? Next time you’re at the grocery store, watch someone wait five minutes to park fifty feet closer! Elevators, escalators, automobiles, golf carts, remote controls, gas fireplaces, etc., etc.. All these things make life easier but they’re leaving our bodies behind.

I remember when I had to physically pull the garage door open, get in the car and back it out, and then get back out of the car and pull the garage door closed. Then when I got back in the car, to cool off, I had to crank a handle to roll down the window. Today I can do everything I just described by pushing two buttons! Though they may seem like little things, they all add up. Walking isn’t a lost art:”, said Evan Esar, “one must, by some means, get to the garage.”

Statistics today show that sixty percent of Americans are sedentary, meaning they don’t move unless they have to. Thirty percent are sporadic, meaning they exercise when they get a chance, but not often enough. Only ten percent are physically fit! Which category do you fit in?

It is precisely because we’re not moving like we used to that we should make it a habit to exercise everyday! We hear all the time that everyone should get a minimum of 30-minutes of daily exercise. But with only 10% physically fit, clearly that formula’s not working. Why is it not working? I believe it’s unrealistic for most people to successfully set aside 30-minutes a day to exercise. There’re simply too many things that get in the way too often.

If you’re struggling to move more and fit in fitness, here are two keys to turning things around:

1.  Become more aware of how many times each day you take the easy way out, and take the alternative. In other words, how often do you opt for the sedentary solution, (ex.) taking the elevator or escalator verses using the stairs, or taking the car to do something where you could have walked instead, etc..

2.  Set a goal to exercise every day but for only ten minutes. This will annihilate the excuse of; “I just don’t have time today.” Are you kidding me? You’ll spend more time watching commercials in a half hour TV program than if you just got up and did your ten minute workout!

Over the years, I’ve proven with my clients that people are far more successful at reaching their fitness goals when they increase the frequency (develop the habit of exercising every day), increase the intensity (workout more vigorously), and decrease the total time spent working out (to as little as ten minutes). To demonstrate why this is the case, let’s look at the following simple comparison between Dorothy and Bob. 

Dorothy decides to take the conventional approach of exercising 2-3 times a week for 30-45 minutes. Dorothy started out great. Then the second week things got really busy and she missed a-day. The next week things got even busier and she missed two workouts. Her total workouts for the month? (11)

Bob decides to try the new approach of exercising for only ten minutes every day. Bob’s first week started busy and things stayed busy all month. But at only ten minutes a day he managed to stay much more consistent. His total workouts for the month? (26)!

If you find yourself in either the 60% (sedentary), or the 30% (sporadic) category, then I challenge you to take my 21-Day Challenge. Studies have shown that it takes a minimum of twenty-one days to establish a habit. I challenge you to change your habits by committing to; (A) becoming less sedentary, and (B) exercising every day for 21 days straight.

Write a brief comment on what you did each day to; (A) move more throughout the day so as to not take the easy way out, and (B) exercise for at least ten minutes. When you’re finished taking the 21-Day Challenge−whether you stick to that method going forward or not−at least you’ll have a better understanding of how valuable it is to exercise daily, and increase how often you move throughout the day. I’m betting it will have a lasting impact on your future fitness. And who knows, maybe you can start eating a bit more and not have to worry about putting on extra pounds.

If insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, then what is it called when you do the same thing over and over again expecting the same result, and never get that result?

Fact #1: Most people do not know the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise, or understand the results of one verses the other.

Fact #2: Most people’s exercise is predominately aerobic, and the little anaerobic exercise they think they’re doing is not really anaerobic at all.

Fact #3: Because of facts 1 and 2, many people give up on exercise because they never experience the results they’re hoping for.

Aerobic means with air! Aerobic exercise is a rhythmic movement of major muscle groups of the body, in such a way that you begin to breathe harder, taking in lots of oxygen (i.e. walking, jogging, cycling, etc.). The benefits of aerobic exercise are usually emphasized as cardiovascular, and burning calories.

I strongly urge people not to make burning calories the goal of their exercise. Why? Because doing so can be very frustrating and confusing. You’ll replace most of the calories you burn in a moderate aerobic workout by eating a bran muffin. If your goal is to lose weight and keep if off, you need to build muscle.

If aerobic means with air, then anaerobic means without air. I’ve discovered that there is a special group of people who understand the true meaning of anaerobic exercise, but are unaware of the fact they do. This group consists of any women who’s given birth. That’s anaerobic exercise − and boy is it ever! During the birthing process, she’s stressing virtually every muscle in her body with great intensity, usually grunting, groaning, and at times screaming. During this workout , if she’s not careful, she can pass out because she’s stressing her muscles so hard that she’s not taking in much air. That’s why they started Lamaze − teaching her to keep breathing.

When I ask people if they’re doing anaerobic exercise, I’ll often get a response similar to this, “Oh yes, I now carry 3-pound weights when I walk or jog.” Based on the previous paragraph I don’t think I need to comment on how far off the mark that is to actually understanding anaerobic exercise.

Anaerobic exercise is really any exercise done with vigorous intensity, or the maximum effort required to build strength. This can be anything from lifting weights, to peddling a bike, or running as fast as you can.

Here’s the sixty four thousand dollar question, what do you most want to accomplish with exercise? Do you want to (A) run a marathon some day, or (B) shape your body, build lean strong muscle, and lose fat? If you’re answer is (B) it’s quite possible you’re doing the wrong type of exercise. If so, it won’t be long before you’re standing in front of a mirror examining the results of your workouts, and say, “That’s it, I’m through exercising, I’m wasting my time!”

The key to fitness is building strength to speed up your metabolism. Studies show that metabolism stays elevated for 15 hours after high-intensity strength training. Muscle is more metabolically active than fat. Add 3 pounds of muscle to your frame and you can figure in about an extra pound of fat burned each month, without even trying.

Besides eating smart, the key to dropping a suit size, rediscovering your waist, and losing fat, is adjusting your workouts so that you’re doing primarily anaerobic exercise. In other words, short bursts with maximum effort. And, as science is now proving, that’s also a superior formula for cardiovascular fitness, to build a strong heart.

Try adjusting your workout to do the following, and watch what happens…

1.  Exercise at very high intensity: 80-100% maximum effort

2.  Exercise for a shorter duration:  5-15 minutes (Long duration exercise actually enhances the production of Cortisol − the stress hormone. Many people are “over-exercising” which can dampen weight loss, energy levels, and immune function)

3.  Exercise on an empty stomach, allowing your body to dig deep into its stored glycogen (stored carbohydrate) within the liver and muscle

4.  Adjusting your workouts toward doing primarily anaerobic exercise, can also play a key role in helping you to stay motivated with exercise as a habit in your life. Why? Because you’ll see better results, while spending less time working out.

It is said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. However, considering inflation and the cost-of-living-index, what is an ounce of prevention really worth today? After all, with the incredible advancements in science and medicine, there seems to be a cure for just about everything. “Better life though chemistry”… isn’t that the new saying for those living in the 21st century?

George burns once said, “If you live to be 100, you’ve got it made. Very few people die past that age.” It’s no secret that we’re living longer. In 1960 there were 3,000 “Centenarians” (People at or over the age of 100) in America.  Today there are over 70,000, and that number is rapidly growing.

If you were born between 1946 and 1964 you’re a Baby-Boomer. In the year 2050, the average Baby-Boomer, who is still alive, will be at or over 100 years old. When that happens, there won’t be 70,000, or even 100,000 Centenarians. There will be approximately one million!

Right now, 80 million Baby-Boomers are entering our healthcare system. All will live an average of 30-35 years longer than those who lived in America 100 years ago.

It’s the old good news - bad news. The good news? Due to modern medical advances, your body is going to last longer than you ever thought possible. The bad news? Due to modern medical advances, your body is going to last  longer than you ever thought possible. 

George Santayana said, “There is no cure for birth and death, save to enjoy the interval.” As a health and fitness consultant for over 20 years, I have long stopped talking about the benefits of good nutrition and exercise, as it relates to adding years to one’s life. Most of those I lecture to and work with are not really concerned about living longer. I’ve found that most in their later years are not afraid of dying. They’re afraid of losing their independence.

Your most valuable asset

Consequently, my primary focus in motivating people toward a healthier lifestyle, is all about helping them see the benefits of better maintaining their most valuable asset − their body. This safeguards their ability to enjoy the interval between birth and death.  It’s a simple concept called prevention.

The quote-machine, and king of common sense, Yogi Berra, once said, “Predictions are very difficult, especially when you’re talking about the future.” Many years ago, Tomas Edison made the following prediction; “The doctors of the future will prescribe no medicine. Rather they will concern themselves with the maintenance of the body and prevention of disease.”

It obviously made perfectly good sense to Mr. Edison as he predicted the evolution of medicine and health care in America − He believed the intelligent approach to good health, would be to do everything possible to prevent potential health problems from ever occurring in the first place. Certainly everyone knows that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

But once again Yogi wins the day… and it’s a good thing Tomas Edison couldn’t play the Lottery! No prediction, that I’m aware of, has ever been further off the mark. Today in America, without question, the prescriptions written by most doctors, are for medicine, not prevention. The result of this uncommon sense? America is now the fattest industrialized nation on the planet, and the cost of health care is off the chart!

Health care spending in America continues to rise at a rapid rate  seriously crippling the income of both businesses and families. In 2008, total national health expenditures were expected to rise 6.9 percent − two times the rate of inflation. Total spending was $2.4 TRILLION in 2007, or $7,900 per person.  Spending is expected to increase at similar levels for the next decade reaching $4.3 TRILLION in 2017.¹ 

I don’t blame the doctors, entirely, though they should know better. If you talk to any physician, you will quickly learn that 95% of their years of training is all about diagnosing and treating medical problems, not figuring out how to prevent them.  This truth  was made clear to me recently while sitting in the hospital room of a friend who had experienced warning signs of a heart attack. When his cardiologist walked in, I almost fell off my chair. He was at least 70 pounds overweight! Which begs the question, how could someone who’s livelihood consists of operating on people with cardiovascular disease, neglect doing the simple things necessary to personally prevent that disease?

Consider these facts; 70% of all health-care costs are the direct result of behavior. 74% of all costs are confined to four chronic conditions; (1) cardiovascular disease, (2) cancer, (3) diabetes, and (4) obesity. 80% of cardiovascular disease and diabetes is preventable. 60% of cancers are preventable. And, 90% of obesity is preventable.

I certainly don’t have all the answers to fixing health care in America, but I do know this much; there is no way someone like myself − who takes excellent care of his body with maintenance and prevention − should have to pay the same for health insurance, as my friend’s cardiologist!

Personal responsibility

Why are so many people so stubborn when it comes to the relatively simple task of taking good care of their most valuable asset − their body? Most people will spend more time and money on a good maintenance program for their automobiles and pets, than they will their own body.

And again, it’s not necessarily about maintenance and prevention  to live longer. It’s about spending as little time as possible, sick, at the doctor, in the hospital, on medication, etc. Especially in today’s economy, it’s about spending fewer dollars treating ailments and diseases that could have been prevented.

It’s amazing to contrast the difference between the approach taken with dental health care, and every other kind of health care. You can’t get out of the dentist’s office without being lectured on everything you need to do to prevent tooth decay and gum disease. Brush, floss, gargle, and get your teeth cleaned often, etc..

As soon as our children can stand at the bathroom sink without falling, we painstakingly show them how to correctly brush their teeth − teaching them that they only have one set of teeth so they best brush often. Then we keep up the pressure on them to make sure brushing becomes a daily habit.

My personal stimulus program

Thirty years ago I stepped out of the NFL feeling like I had exercised enough for several lifetimes. So I decided I really didn’t need to workout anymore. It wasn’t long before my health suffered. I began to get sick more often, stress levels increased, my resting heart rate and blood pressure climbed, my energy level dropped, and I developed furniture disease −  my chest fell into my drawers.

The difference for me was that I could remember how different things were when I was in great physical shape. I decided that I really didn’t like sitting in a doctor’s office, paying for prescription medicine, or feeling weak and tired. So I determined  whatever I needed to do to regain and maintain my strength, energy, flexibility, heart-health, and vitality, I was going to do it!

Because I had spent so many years exercising for hours a day, this time I took a very different approach. I knew the key was to reestablished exercise as a habit done every day, compared to when I could get around to it. So I decided on a daily workout, with intensity, for only ten minutes. 

I realized I was taking the same approach with my body prevention program, as  with my dental prevention program. I realized  exercise would only become a habit  I would stick with for the rest of my life, if I forced myself to do it every day. I considered it my daily multivitamin of exercise. A concentrated workout designed to give my body its daily requirement of strength, stretching, energy boost, endorphin release, heart health, and fat burn.

Was this daily 10-minute workout the only exercise I did? Often yes. It was all I had time for. But as I regained my health and strength I found it easier to get out and do all kinds of exercise that I really enjoy; tennis, hiking, canoeing, biking, etc.. Ultimately, it was this daily ten minute maintenance and prevention commitment, that got me back on track to good health. Even now, twenty years later, it is still my daily ounce of prevention.

Trust me on this, it’s been worth much, much more than a pound of cure. It’s kept me out of the doctor’s office, away from the pharmacy, and well on my way to enjoying every day God gives me between the interval of my birth and death.

So why not become a part of the solution to health care reform in America? Don’t wait for the government to bail you out. There’s no Washington stimulus program coming that will do for you what only you can do for yourself. It’s not as difficult as you might think. Start tomorrow morning, right after you finish brushing your teeth.

I have been motivating and educating people on exercise and fitness for almost twenty years. I enjoy teaching people the truth concerning how their body works—either for or against them—depending on how they exercise.

I believe it’s best to first exercise your mind before you exercise your body. Comedian Emo Phillips once said, “I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me this.” Very funny! But seriously, it is your brain that tells you what to do. So if you expect your brain to instruct you accurately, it must receive accurate information. 

Let’s begin this session of mind-exercise with the following statement of fact: As it relates to cardiovascular fitness—especially building a strong heart and lungs—aerobics is bad science!

Yes, you read that correctly. If your goal with exercise is cardiovascular conditioning to prevent heart disease, a heart attack, and to build a strong heart and lungs—there is a much more effective method of exercise than aerobics.

Most people don’t think about the fact that their heart is a muscle. Here’s a fact missed by just about everyone. To keep your heart beating longer and stronger, long duration endurance training is the last thing that it needs. You will do much more for your heart by exercising in brief spurts. 

Less is more: Conventional wisdom says that your heart needs endurance training to remain healthy. But heart attacks aren’t caused by a lack of endurance. Heart attacks typically occur at rest or at periods of very high cardiac output. Often there is a sudden increase in demand. A person lifts a heavy object, receives an unexpected emotional blow, etc. The sudden demand for cardiac output exceeds that heart’s capacity to adapt.

What you really need is faster cardiac output. By exercising for long periods, you actually induce the opposite response. When you exercise continuously for longer periods of time, your heart has to become more efficient. Greater efficiency comes from “downsizing”. You give up maximal capacity because smaller can go further.

A recent Harvard study examined middle-aged men, exercise, and cardiovascular health. Researchers found that men who performed repeated short bouts of exercise reduced their heart disease risk by 100% more than those who performed long duration exercise. 

In an article by Al Sears, M.D., titled “Aerobics is Dead!” he states:

The biggest mistake of the 1980s is finally over and done with… Jumping around for 45 minutes to an hour won’t boost your lung capacity, it won’t strengthen your heart—it won’t even help you lose weight. Even worse, aerobic training—the kind most doctors and even the federal government tout as the path to good health—can actually wreck your body. Do enough, and aerobics will make you sick, tired and old before your time.

If you only exercise within your current aerobic limits, you do so without improving your aerobic capacity. In other words, you never push hard enough to stop to catch your breath. This kind of aerobic exercise trains your body for endurance and efficiency.

That sounds great, right? But this kind of “logic” causes “shrinkage:” Smaller muscles, smaller heart and smaller lungs. What’s worse, it wipes out your heart’s and lung’s reserve capacity.

Your reserve capacity is what your heart and lungs use to deal with stress. Injuries or physical trauma, a shocking emotional blow [etc.]… these all demand reserve energy.

Reserve capacity means your heart has the ability to pump more blood, faster in times of stress. Reserve capacity for your lungs allows them to deal with high exertion like lifting, carrying, running or going up stairs. Without reserve capacity, you are much more likely to drop dead from a heart attack or pneumonia when faced with stress.

How’s your brain workout so far? In this mind-exercise session, that was your stretching!  I know at this point you’re saying to yourself, “Are you kidding me … all those hours of aerobic exercise have been counterproductive for my heart and lungs?” “Certainly that can’t be right!” But it is right. Let me ask you this; have you ever seen a Cheetah jogging? For that matter, have you ever seen any animal jog?

The animals that have the strongest hearts and lungs—and oh-by-the-way—the strongest leanest bodies, are those animals like Cheetahs whose physical exercise consists of; (A) short bursts of highly intense sprinting in pursuit of their prey, and (B) after pouncing on their catch, continue their short-duration-high-intensity-strength-training by using every muscle in their body in a wrestling match. After all that (it usually takes less than ten minutes), they settle down for a big meal.

Notice that the preceding “exercise” description was void of aerobics. It was rather, a brief but highly intense anaerobic workout. Therein lies the secret, you do not have to do aerobic exercise to have a lean strong body and a strong stress-proof heart.

Good news: You can greatly increase your metabolism and lose weight by exercising in short intervals at a high intensity where the demand for oxygen is much higher than can be supplied. This type of exercising (Burst Training) creates a debt of oxygen in just one minute. As you resume normal activities, your body will repay that debt of oxygen. This repayment of debt means that your body burns extra calories throughout the day without any additional workout time.

Few people understand that when Nautilus exercise machines where invented (early 1970’s) the “big idea” was more than the unique cam shaft allowing for a more consistent and smooth motion with variable resistance. A big part of the “big idea” was “the program”. The program consisted of how all of the different machines were used in sequence and without rest in between sets. It was called circuit training.

The university I was attending, on a football scholarship, purchased all of the Nautilus machines, and actually built a separate room so that each machine could be strategically placed and used exactly as prescribed.

I will never forget my first experience with Nautilus. The entire football team was brought to the Nautilus room and each machine manned. The remaining athletes stood in line waiting their turn to jump into the circuit. The instructions where that on the coaches whistle everyone was to work as hard as they could on the machine they were on, for only one minute. When the minute was up the coach blew the whistle again and everyone hurriedly moved forward to the next machine, and the whistle blew again immediately.

When I finished my ten minute workout, as described, I ran out of the building and did what just about every other well conditioned athlete did—I threw up!

Many years later I stepped out of professional football and into a sedentary job. I went from pushing weights to pushing pencils! My playing weight as an offensive tackle in the NFL was 285. This, coupled with my lack of desire to exercise (I felt like I had exercised enough for two lifetimes), along with a serious back injury from a parachuting accident—produced a fitness crises.

I was thick and tired of it! Remembering my Nautilus circuit training experience, I went to work on figuring out a way to do a series of exercises that could be done in the convenience of my own home, at a very high level of intensity. I was determined to recreate my unforgettable Nautilus experience but in such a way that would allow me to get the same results without big expensive machines. 

The conventional approach of exercising 2 to 3 times a week for 30 to 45 minutes, was not working for me, and for that matter not working for most of my friends who were also busy professionals with families. I had an idea. Instead of working out a few times a week for long periods of time, what if you could get the same results by working out every day, but in only ten minutes?

The following statement had a profound impact on changing my attitude about how long and how often I exercised:

IT’S FAR BETTER TO BRUSH YOUR TEETH
FOR 2-3 MINUTES A DAY, THAN
FOR 45 MINUTES 2-3 TIMES A MONTH!

The key to your fitness success long term, is to exercise EVERYDAY, but at a very high intensity level. Get in, get out, and get it over with! If done correctly, you will have exercised harder, and at a much higher efficiency level then otherwise spending 30-45 minutes.

(1) Increase the frequency and intensity of your exercise, (2) Decrease the time spent doing it to between ten and fifteen minutes max. (2) Rest only briefly between exercises, and as you get into better shape eliminate your rest stops altogether,

Good bye aerobics…good bye jogging for hours on end…good bye feeling guilty for yet again missing my workout at the gym because my day got too busy. Hello lean strong muscles…hello strong heart and lungs, and energy to spare…hello satisfaction for having worked out like a Cheetah everyday this week.

It’s difficult, in this age of too-much-advice-from-too-many-experts, to know how to exercise smart. Plus, unless you are truly motivated to exercise for the right reasons, you won’t do it anyway. 

Here are four compelling reasons why you should be exercising:

1. We’re living longer

The miracles of modern medicine, and other factors have combined to keep us alive longer. With the aging of our “baby boom” generation, the senior population is growing ever larger. Currently, 31 million people, or 12 percent of the total U.S. population, are aged 65 and older. The Census Bureau anticipates that 62 million people, or almost one in five Americans, will be aged 65 and older by 2025. And by 2045, the elderly population is expected to reach 77 million.

Sadly, only 8% of American adults currently exercise at recommended levels. This is unfortunate because most chronic diseases and disabilities develop insidiously over decades, and are preventable by staying physically fit. As it relates to quality of life in the later years of life, the benefits of exercise are simply too great to miss out on.

2. Just because you’re not overweight, does not mean you’re healthy

There’s a big difference between fitness and thinness. Recent studies at Yale University School of Medicine, shows that even lean and healthy looking people are showing a higher incidence of fat buildup in their muscle. Fat builds in the muscle when muscle decreases. Far too many people today have lost their strength, having bought into the myth that getting to a certain weight on the scale means their healthy. Health has to do with far more than calories consumed. The only way to shrink intramuscular fat is to build and maintain muscle.

Why is decreasing muscle fat so important? Because high body fat has been implicated in the increased prevalence of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes that is rapidly rising in America.   A recent British study proves that rigorous workouts, only lasting a few minutes helps to prevent diabetes by helping control blood sugar. This exciting new research, published in the journal BioMed Central Endocrine Disorders, suggests that people unable to exercise [for the suggested 30-minutes a day, or several hours per week] can still benefit from exercise, by doing short bursts of vigorous high intensity exercise. They discovered that when doing tense muscle contractions during vigorous exercise greatly enhances insulin’s ability to clear glucose out of the bloodstream.

3. Exercise improves memory, concentration and brain function

Because we are living longer there is a great emphasis today on brain health. Although exercise is usually promoted for weight loss and better heart health, there is growing evidence that regular physical activity helps ward off mental declines as people age. Researchers found that the more a person exercised, the greater the protection for the brain. People with the highest activity levels were half as likely as inactive individuals to develop Alzheimer’s, and were around 40% less likely to suffer any dementia or mental impairment, according to recent research.

According to Dr. Daniel Anen, author of the bestselling book Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, as it pertains to your brain, exercise is literally the fountain of youth. Exercise consistently and you will change your brain. When you exercise, you think better, concentrate better, and your memory will be better. Exercise boosts blood flow to the brain, and boosts growth factors in the brain that actually helps grow neurons!

4. Exercise is the best, and least expensive way to look and feel young

One of the most widely publicized anti-aging hormones is human growth hormone (HGH). HGH is renowned for its ability to stimulate muscle development, bone growth, and fuel immune activity while switching your body into a potent fat burning machine. HGH provides many other benefits as well, such as enhancing skin repair (reducing wrinkling), restoring internal organs that have atrophied with age, and reversing cognitive deterioration.   

After age 20, our natural production of Human Growth Hormone begins to decline at an average rate of 14% per decade. However, strength building exercise that’s done at high intensity for short periods of time, greatly enhances HGH secretion, and is the best way to look and feel younger.

The best way to maximize HGH secretion is to: (A) exercise at high intensity: 80-100% maximum effort, and (B) exercise for a short duration:  5-15 minutes. Long duration exercise enhances the production of the stress hormone cortisol, which has catabolic effect on the body. Many people today are over-exercising which can severely dampen their weight loss, energy levels and immune function. 

The plain and painful truth about exercise and results

The comedian Emo Phillips said, “At my lemonade stand I used to give the first glass away free and charge five dollars for the second glass. The refill contained the antidote.” There’s a huge correlation between the genius of Emo’s sales method, which I am certain resulted in huge lemonade sales, and how most exercise programs are sold today. I, of all people should know this since I had the dubious honor of being the personality selling fitness via both infomercial and QVC. And, although I didn’t use Emo’s slick sale method, others did. Trust me on this, the Emo method of selling fitness is alive and well!

As it pertains to selling an exercise solution, the Emo method goes something like this; “Buy XYZ for a quick and easy way to blast away those love handles!” In other words, “Come and get your FREE ice cold lemonade.” Then, unwittingly, before you can wipe away the fresh lemon juice from your lips, you hear, “Oh, by the way, though tasty, that glass was poisonous… I do have the antidote, but it will cost you!”

When P.T. Barnum famously said, in the late 1800s,”There is a sucker born every minute”, he was nearly 100 years shy of the onslaught of the over-the-top ridiculously sensational fitness advertising that reached its crescendo in the 21st century. Certainly if Barnum were alive today he would have said, “There’s a sucker born every second.”

If you Google “quick and easy exercise” you’ll find over 18 million links. That’s a lot of free lemonade! Clearly people are still looking for the holy grail of exercise:  The quick and easy, no sweat, little effort exercise program… that delivers huge results. Billions of dollars are spent yearly, convincing the gullible that the magic-fitness-formula has finally arrived, and you can buy it today for three easy payments of only $19.95!

But wait, there’s more

If you’re one of those still looking for this elusive new body miracle, I understand. As someone who has consulted and lectured on health and fitness now for over 20-years, I’ve seen my share of those who desperately want the gain without the pain, the payoff without the perspiration, the bikini body without the blood sweat and tears. But trust me, that’s not how it works. If you do take the free lemonade, you’ll pay big time for the antidote!

Do you really believe for a second, that the buxom blond with the beautiful biceps and the washboard abs, got that body using the machine she’s sitting on? Come on now, you know better than that. Generally speaking, when you see a body to die for, you’re seeing a body that someone nearly died for. It’s usually a combination of rigorous nutrition and exercise, and it didn’t happen overnight.

Over the last year or so there have been several TV specials where magicians reveal the secret behind how a particular magic act is performed. There was a big deal made out of this by certain magicians not wanting the public to see how it’s done. When I’m lecturing on fitness, and I tell the audience in no uncertain terms, that fun and easy fitness is a myth, and that when it comes to exercise, no-pain usually means no-gain, I feel like the magician taking the heat from his colleagues for revealing the big secret. “Dave, what are you doing!! Don’t you know that if you tell people the truth− that fun and easy exercise is not effective─ nobody will want to exercise?!”

Bill Curry, NFL great and collegiate head football coach, has a favorite saying, “There are only two pains in life, the pain of discipline, and the pain of regret.” I love that perspective. He’s absolutely right. Anything worth anything in this life takes discipline. If you set a worthwhile goal, and by discipline and perseverance you reach that goal, it’s a sure bet it was painful getting there.

You see, pain is a multifaceted word. Something can be painful without actually hurting you. Look carefully at each of the following words, all of which appear in the dictionary definitions of the word pain; distress, suffering, laborious, troublesome, penalty, anguish, excruciating. It’s true that nothing comes from nothing.

There’s an old illustration that I’ve used over the years to explain the value of pressure, stress and hard work. If you take a bar of steel that’s worth $10, and turn it into a horseshoe game it’s worth $30. Take the same bar of steel and make pocket knife blades, and it’s now worth over $2,000. Take that same bar of steel and make it into springs for watches, and it’s worth over $300,000. In other words, the more that bar of steel is pounded, heated, stretched, twisted, and pounded some more, the higher the value. It works exactly the same way with the human body, only substitute higher value with in greater shape physically.

Back in the day

When I played professional football I was in the greatest shape of my life. Trust me, it was painful! Was it worth it? You bet it was. Then a funny thing happened. I stepped out of pro ball and into a sedentary job. Which was fine by me, I was ready to sit down! But my body began to change. My clothes didn’t fit the same anymore− in fact some didn’t fit at all! This was because I was still eating like an NFL offensive lineman, and was no longer exercising−convinced I had already exercised enough for several lifetimes.

I discovered that many of my neighbors and friends where struggling with the same problem, also wanting to lose weight and get back in shape. But I found there was a huge disconnect, when it came to their ideas about realistically what it would take to accomplish that. Most of them were falling right into the free lemonade trap, and buying into the hype of quick and easy fitness. Most had purchased the latest fad machine or exercise program, only to quit two weeks later because (A) it was much harder than they thought it would be, or (B) they could not see results worthy of their efforts thus far.

Mickey Rooney used to say, “Always get married early in the morning. That way, if it doesn’t work out, you haven’t wasted a whole day.” Most people’s commitment to reaching their fitness goals are sadly very close to Mickey’s commitment to marriage.

In my subdivision, after the first of every year, it appears that the whole neighborhood is preparing for the Olympic games. Then three weeks later reality sets in and the streets are empty. They realize it isn’t going to be pain free, and it’s going to take much longer than they thought. So they do what every gullible body-beautiful-wannabe does, they replace their running shoes with their slippers and exercise their index finger searching Google for; “quick and easy exercise”.

You CAN handle the truth

The one thing I had going for me as an ex professional athlete, over my naive neighbors, was that I knew the truth about how the human body works when it comes to exercise and results. If you want to lose fat, shape your body and regain your strength and stamina, you’re going to have to grunt, groan and grimace every step of the long hard road. That is, if you really want to reach your goals.

The good news is that most exercise programs really do work. The bad news is that they only work if you really, really work hard at giving it all you’ve got, and never give up. It’s never easy. The FREE lemonade is poison, and the antidote is costly. No guts no glory; no sweat, no swimming suit; no breathing hard, no hard body; no pain, no gain!