A Resolution For All of Us

Okay folks it's that time of year again. Everyone takes stock of their health and their appearance and decides January 1st to take on the health quest. It's time to lose that unwanted weight, build that sought after muscle, quit smoking, cut out the drinking, shy away from the desserts and pick up the weights and hop on a treadmill. Well good for you and I wish you the best.

This isn't your standard resolution write up. While I want everyone to succeed at their fitness goals, this is directed at the already dedicated and initiated fitness buff. We are about three days away from the annual influx of well intentioned fitness newbies and hopefuls embarking on their journey in every gym across this country. For some if not many this will be their introduction into the world of resistance training, weight lifting, bodybuilding, and it is important that we as fitness enthusiasts, gym rats, bodybuilders, power lifters, strong men and women welcome them with open arms. 

Remember back, if you can that far back, to your first day in a gym. You probably felt a little out of place, unsure where to start or what to do. And if you were lucky maybe somebody pointed you in the right direction, or you had someone you could watch and learn from. We are going to see all types of people entering our sacred grounds. Those who are uninitiated to the ways of the gym, those without athletic prowess, people who are heavy, and really heavy. Realize that in all these instances it takes a lot of courage to walk into that environment and try not stand out and attempt to succeed. Help them, offer assistance, offer information - and if it's met with a negative reaction, be nice, smile and go about your training. You can't help everyone.

Please realize that any snicker you make, any sigh, any under your breath snide remark you direct at the awkward or heavy...they've heard it all before.  Why do you think they are trying to make a change? You will add nothing original to the dialog by being negative. Smile, be helpful to these new folks and think bigger than, "they are in my way and I can't complete my superset". Understand that this is not only the right thing to do, but it also helps our image. 

Sure, there are negative inferences with being heavy, but there just as many negative connotations with being overly built and big. Muscle heads are dumb, they are all on steroids, they fly off the handle cause they roid rage, they are narcissistic, they are all fighting an inferiority complex of some sort, etc.  Believe me when I tell you that if these newbies first experience with an overgrown, shaved gorilla of a human being is that he smiled and offered a helping hand, or that an attractive fitness female complimented something they were wearing, that it will leave a lasting impression. If that person never steps foot in a gym again after March 1st they will always remember the muscle bound guy who smiled and was nice to them, or the nice fitness girl who was complimentary. 

So please treat all these newbies with respect and patience, it's the right thing to do and will in turn help more people maybe be a little more understanding and open to our culture as well. Thank you, have a wonderful New Year and lift hard.

- Ty

Why I Love Bodybuilding

Bodybuilding is an endeavor I fell in love with almost 25 years ago. Oldest story in the book, skinny kid wanted to be bigger, I was strong and fast, but not big. How could I be?  My mother is 5' and 90 pounds soaking wet, and my dad was around 5'9" and 170 pounds. Plus, I've had Ulcerative Colitis since I was 5 years old, and with that my appetite has always been small. Being big wasn't in the cards for me.

But when I got to high school, I had begged my mother enough and finally got her to give in to letting me play football. There I was introduced to the weight room. A place full of guys not much older than I was, but these "kids" looked like full grown men to me. These guys looked huge, had muscles and veins popping out everywhere, and were way stronger than I was. I wanted to look like these guys, so I started watching what they did and how they did it. I tried to emulate it, and at first it worked like gang busters. My muscles started popping, my veins were poking out everywhere. That was mostly 'cause I was so skinny in the beginning, my veins had no where to go but up when my muscles got bigger. Then admittedly after a while my progress halted. 

This is where most people give up. This is where I sat down and tried to figure out what happened. Why did my gains slow down and even stop? I was doing everything the same as before. So I changed my food. I changed my water. I wasn't savvy enough yet to know to change my training. And that worked a little. But not like I wanted. 

I lucked out in my early 20's and had the opportunity to meet some uniquely qualified individuals that taught me a lot about power lifting and bodybuilding, and how the two were so different and yet how one could assist the other. I learned more and grew more. I learned that food was more important than I had once thought to growth. So I started to eat more, but I always ate so clean that I could never put down enough calories to really grow like I wanted. 

As I got through my 20's and into my early 30's, I really started reading everything I could find on general health, weight training, nutrition, and (yes) steroids. The ugly word in bodybuilding that most don't like to discuss publicly. So let's tackle it. I will start with, I don't use steroids. Not for some 'holier than thou' moral stance. I don't have anything against steroids - they are designed to help people. I don't see a need for them for me because I don't cash a check off my body's look or performance. Sure, I am a personal trainer and a certain look comes with that moniker, but I have that look through hard work and proper nutrition. I don't need to be jacked through the roof to acquire clients. I believe that if you have the opportunity to have a professional career in sports, modeling, or as any public persona, there is a look associated with it. DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO. I defy anyone to turn down 1.5 million a year for the next 5 years guaranteed. But, you had to utilize a substance that made you bigger, faster, stronger, feel younger and recover quicker, and the catch was there might be side effects down the road that lead to health problems. You also might get off scott free and be health problem free after your use, it's simply a gamble. I doubt most would put down the pen and not sign that contract. 

"Bodybuilding is this introspective personal journey into what you find artistically pleasing, and figuring out how to build that into your body and present that to the world."

But I digress.  The full steroid conversation will come later, I promise. With all my new found knowledge I am constantly reinvigorated in my training, and what I can teach people who want to learn. Bodybuilding is this introspective personal journey into what you find artistically pleasing, and figuring out how to build that into your body and present that to the world. And I'll be honest - the more I learn about the past, and the ancient history of this discipline, the more I find things that truly work for me. There is something to be said for the golden age of bodybuilding and what those people did to look good. What's that they say...'to know where you're going you have to know where you've been.'?  Take a look at the training methods of the 50's, 60's, and 70's, and try some of it. It may have some more pertinence than first thought. Back then the words "over training" didn't exist, at least not in the same sentence. Today's biggest concern is over training. 

"I am, and will always be a work in progress."

I know over training is a popular term thrown around today by guys who do a set, then take 5 minutes to update their Facebook status, snap chat a shot of themselves taking a drink and toweling off. The guys who hit arm and chest pump sets Friday at 6 pm before clubbing. But I assure you there is no such thing as over training, and certainly not those by guys. These are the same guys who quote science findings saying that training any longer than 45 minutes will kill your gains. I'm sorry, but bodybuilding is a personal journey and my destination is not to look the same as those guys. I don't see many guys who train for 45 minutes who have the look that I want. And yes, I say "I want" because there are still things I want to change, shrink,  grow on my frame. I am, and will always be a work in progress. That is what I love about bodybuilding more than anything else.  More than the science, more than the desire to push yourself so far past your perceived limits that you can't see what you thought was your ceiling. It's the ability to critique yourself objectively, and realize no matter how perfect you, or others, may perceive your physique to be, there is always room to improve. And then finding the information to help you in that next step and applying it. Bodybuilding to me is the ultimate exercise in observation, application of information based on said observations,  and self improvement through discipline. And the best part is everybody can do it, just get a picture in your mind and start striving to look like that.

-Ty

Is Traditional Cardio Necessary for Fat Loss?

Walk into your local corporate gym around 6 am or 6 pm and you will probably find about 50 or so people walking, running, step-milling, cycling, spinning, elipticalling (if that's even a word)  their way to leanness. Now take a good look at the bodies on these machines.  Do they possess a good amount of muscle?  Do things look taught as they move in that repetitive motion? Are they as in good a shape as you wish to be?  While traditional cardio has a place in achieving a fitness goal or look, it is mistakenly overused and misplaced in peoples programs.

What if I told you that skinny people should do cardio and heavy people should avoid it?  Goes against everything you have been told, but it is the truth. Take a look at the physiques that the bodybuilders had back in the 70's.  It is a look widely accepted today as "good looking" and "healthy". Now ask any of these guys what they did for cardio and they will laugh at you - there was no cardio.  Look at the vintage pictures of the Gold's gym at Venice beach, the Mecca of bodybuilding, and find a single treadmill or a bike - you can't.  These guys trained much harder, and much longer, and at a higher pace than is done today, and they watched what they ate. That's it. That's all you need as well.

"These guys trained much harder, and much longer, and at a higher pace than is done today, and they watched what they ate. That's it. That's all you need as well."

One more thing before I leave you to attack the weights with a new found vigor. The science of target heart rate and your VO2 max is really fancy, and there are a lot of trainers out there that will pitch you the numbers and the data. You want the truth. Walk into a gym with a full range of motion in all your joints and muscles, wearing dry clothes and full of breath. Leave the gym with out being able to take a step with out feeling like something might tear cause its so tight from the pump, soaked through with sweat and unable to catch your breath. Do this via resistance training and tell me you don't see a huge difference in you physique within 2 weeks.

- Ty

Let's Talk Chicken

So you're ready to bring some healthier food to the mouths of those you love.  Awesome!  Let's talk about chicken. Here are a couple of recipes to try, and where you can look for more ideas.

We cook a lot of chicken in our house. Especially according to my kids, lol.  If you asked them, they'd say the number one answer to 'what's for dinner?' is chicken.  Gone for me are the days of preparing chicken topped with rich, creamy (though delicious!) sauces.  But, I still want flavor.  I want all of us to enjoy what we eat, while keeping it healthy.  The most common chicken I make is probably also the easiest chicken dinner I make.  One baking dish, two ingredients.  Yes, it's that simple.

Cajun Chicken

Chicken breasts (I use boneless, skinless organic breasts)
Louisiana Cajun Seasoning

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat the chicken with the seasoning - vary it according to taste.  I use more for my husband and I, and less for the kids, since they don't like theirs so spicy.  Place chicken in 11x13 glass baking dish and bake for 35 minutes (or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees).

That's it!  It always comes out moist and delicious, and is good hot or cold. The seasoning is a little high in sodium, but I am very mindful of having very little salt in our diet otherwise.  I often bake a batch of this at the beginning of the week for lunches, or the times I'm looking for more protein in my day.  I serve this with vegetable/ grain sides, or it's great over a big, healthy salad. 

Another chicken dish we enjoy is Greek Chicken.  You can find the recipe here.  Again, a super easy and flavorful dish, made with chicken and spices you are likely to have in your pantry.

If you need inspiration or ideas, you can also look on Pinterest, blogs and the internet. Try searching 'clean eating', 'healthy recipes', 'family friendly recipes'. Pick up some healthy recipe cookbooks, talk to your friends, and talk to your TRAINER.  Look for recipes you're comfortable making. And I look for ones that require few ingredients (that I hopefully have on hand).  Eating healthy doesn't have to be hard. Like most things in life, it will take some effort, but if you have a positive approach to it, the results can be delicious. 

What are some of your favorite chicken recipes?

~ Bonnie