Short Takes - Basics we need to remember!
Here are some
“short takes” that many of you need reminded of. Some of these are just my pet
peaves, but many are errors I see over and over again!
-Get your protein. Whether your goal is muscle gain or weight loss, lack of
protein and too many carbs are one of the top issues I see with my clients and
the easiest to correct assuming the client isn’t stuck to the old “protein will
make your kidneys explode” dogma that was disproven long ago.
-If you’re not squatting deep and doing some form of dead lift, you’re doing
yourself a huge disservice. Your body was made to squat down and pick things
up off the ground. Even if some misinformed doctor (without an MRI or other
reasonable expertise) told you not to do them because they’d hurt your knees
or back, chances are, the fact that you’re NOT utilizing your body the way it
was meant to be utilized is precisely why your knees or back do hurt!
-Lifting heavy weights will not make a woman bulky! Unless you’re on steroids,
the only thing that will make you bulky is eating too much! Confining yourself
to light weights will destroy your progress, whether your goals are weight loss
or toning.
-Your abs (and core in general) are important, but don’t overwork them with
hours of specialized ab work, especially if you’re a woman who likes a slim
midsection. It doesn’t take much size at all around the midsection to ruin a
woman’s hour glass look. Remember, a trim, cut, sexy midsection is more a function
of diet than anything. Everyone has a six pack, it’s just usually buried under
the fat!
-There is no such thing as spot reduction! How many times do the experts have
to tell you this before you will listen? Working a muscle in a particular area
of the body may preferentially build muscle in the area, but it WILL NOT help
fat loss in that area.
-Long, steady, slow cardio is one of the biggest wastes of your gym time. If
you’re a marathon runner or otherwise just love being in the gym for as many
hours as possible, then by all means, go ahead and spend a couple hours on the
treadmill. But if you’re like most of my clients, and time is important to you,
you’re far better off with short sessions of intervals (which burn three times
as many calories overall), and resistance training (which builds muscle that
holds everything firm and burns calories 24/7).
-I can’t workout for a couple months because _________ (you fill in the blank).
Every really fit person I know is always active. I’ve worked out with my leg
in a cast. I’ve seen paraplegics in the gym in wheel chairs. I know single moms
working two jobs, raising kids, going to school and still getting in their workouts.
When you give me an excuse why you can’t workout, please realize it’s just that,
an excuse!
-A machine is a machine and DOES NOT compare to free weights! The plate loaded
machines or smith machines in the free weight section are no less machines than
the traditional machines and although good for various assistance work, should
NEVER be the core of your program, and if overused will cause pattern overload
injuries.
-A vegetarian or vegan diet may be fine if that’s your thing, but don’t kid
yourself that it’s any healthier than the diet your omnivore body was meant
to eat. Studies that compare vegetarians who workout, don’t eat fast food, don’t
smoke, and lead otherwise healthy lives to your average American who overeats,
doesn’t workout, and smokes are misleading. A proper healthy diet that contains
healthy fish, chicken and even beef is far easier to stay healthy and fit with
than a diet that has you constantly searching for ways to replace the protein
and healthy nutrients we get from eating meat. I can’t count the number of out
of shape, chubby people who will argue with me that their purely processed grain
based diet is the way to go.
-Pilates, high intensity yoga, bosu balls, kettlebells, Bowfit, crossfit, etc.,
etc, are not the new and better way to get fit. There are a lot of ways to modify
working out to make it seem new and different, and you can rename the basic
exercises as many times as you’d like, but the buffest people you know are probably
fit because they were doing the same basic free weight exercises fit people
have been doing for a hundred years. If it works for you then great, by all
means keep it up, but I can’t believe the number of out of shape people who
just swear by the latest exercise fad.
-The reason you are not losing weight is NOT because you are “working out too
much” or “not eating enough”. There has never been a human being born that will
not lose weight when they are expending more energy than they are consuming.
If you aren’t losing weight, you’re getting calories somewhere that you are
not counting. Be honest with yourself about how much you’re really working out
and how much you’re really eating and you’ll figure out why you’re not losing
weight.