Mind + Muscle = Money

For many people who frequent the neighborhood LA Fitness,(read the Southern and Mill LA Fitness), the sight of someone hoisting a load that is too heavy for them is commonplace. Whether one of their frat brothers is yelling in their ear "YOU GOT THIS BROZILLA!!" and lifting the barbell off their chest, or if it's the washed up old guy doing a partial rang of motion movement, slamming the weight down with vigor, and then getting up and glaring at everyone else as if we were all responsible for killing his childhood pet with a flamethrower. Every so often I also see someone wildly gesticulating out of the corner of my eye, and I think, "wow, I must help that person, because I know CPR, and it appears that they are drowning." I quickly remember that their is no water to speak of near the dumbbell rack, and this person is just doing some form of heavy curls meets jazzercise. Jazzercurls. There's an article in Men's Health about it I think...

When I see these things, I swallow my hatred (it has about 80 calories) and move on, but not before thinking that I would love to sit these fellows down and teach them a good lesson about the mind muscle connection.

One of the most overlooked and important parts of lifting weights is establishing a link between the movement you're doing and the muscle you're working. This does a variety of things. First of all, it helps ensure that your form is correct, which is a big deal, but only if you're interested in being fit, strong, and staying healthy. Secondly, it helps more directly target that muscle, which increases the activation of the muscle fibers, and increases blood flow to the area, which helps with the healing process after the workout.

Now, how to do it. Get down on the floor and lay on your back. Bring your feet up and plant them near your butt. Put your hands behind your head, and do a crunch. Feel good? Do 9 more.
When you get done, take a second before you do another set. For you second set, get down in the same position, dig your heels into the floor to take your legs out of the picture, and squeeze your abs. Squeeze them like you think I'm hiding in your closet, and at any minute I could jump out and hit you in the gut. Got it? Now that you're squeezing hard, repeat those 10 crunches, and concentrate on how your abs are pulling the entire time.

There should be a distinct difference in how your abs feel at the end of this 10. Unless you're some kind of super stud and in that case, do 100 crunches. It's really easy and self explanatory, but it's something a lot of people gloss over in their training. Want toned legs? Think about them and squeeze during your lunges. Toned butt? Do the same when you're squatting. It's easy to get lazy and just push through the movement, but if you do that, you're no better than the guy with a face tattoo who's singing "Black and Yellow" and benching with his homies. Think about that.

Your muscle has no idea how much weight you're lifting, and it doesn't care. That's why you see some guys who are ripped off of nothing but bodyweight exercises, and how someone else can bench their weight but have no visible muscles at all. Also diet is a teeny tiny factor, but that's a different article.Channel Bruce Lee while you're exercising, and you'll never go wrong.

Fast Food News

Since labeling them "Natural" and "With Sea Salt", Wendy's fries sales are up 17%.

Have Back Pain? Thinking About Getting Some?

For those of you who are among the 100% of Americans (false statistic) with some sort of low back pain, sciatica, hip tension, office job, or no real flexibility regimen, you should keep reading. Not only that, but you should bookmark this page, take a screenshot and save it as your computer background, suggest it to your friends and family, and print out 1000 copies at kinkos and leave them at restaurants as a tip. Servers love that kind of thing.

USATODAY says that 8 out of 10 Americans will deal with some sort of back pain in their lifetime. (source) Due to this 80% statistic, Americans pay out almost 25 BILLION dollars every year for medical expenses and drugs to help alleviate the pain. Another 25 billion is spent on worker compensation for time lost due to surgery and/or time out of work. I know time off is great, but it gets hard to enjoy even incredible quality programing like "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" when you've seen the episode 17 times already and your recliner is covered in cheez-it crumbs. Not to mention that your whole family is really not impressed with your "my back hurts, and therefore I can't take out the trash/bring you to cheer practice/stop drinking heavily"

If only you had heard the phrase "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" sooner! If only you had this blog as your home page! If only you had asked that cheerleader to prom back in '81! Well, too bad, you didn't, and now look where your life has taken you.

But, I'm here to tell you that if you have not had your lifetime dose of recommended back pain, if you're here to learn from the mistakes of others and accept my perfect guiding wisdom with a smile, than I will gladly impart upon you dear readers, the tricks, nay, the skills that it takes to save yourself a lifetime of pain, disappointment and two and a half men reruns.

The two biggest muscular issues that I see that deal with low back pain are tight hip flexors, and a tight glute complex. The hip flexors are an interesting muscle group because they tie in at your back, to your thoracic spine, and then attach at the front of your body at the pelvis. So stretching, strengthening, or otherwise thinking about these muscles is not something that the average gym rat does, let alone the non-fitness minded person. They don't even have a machine at the gym that targets these elusive creatures! (But they do have 97 machines for working the small head of your biceps).

If you've ever experienced a pinching or tightness in the front of your hip, if you've ever felt your hip joint "pop" or "crack" of if you find yourself sitting for a long period of time during the day, this is for you. Take 30 seconds on each side, and lean into the stretch without your front knee going too far over your toe. Leg warmers will DEFINITELY help the effectiveness of this one. You don't need to extend your arms over your head like shown here, simply at your side or on your hips would be just fine. 3x a day, in between long lethargic periods, or while at your desk. Or on top of your desk. Especially if you've got leg warmers.

The second problematic area is the glute complex. This amalgamation of different muscles can get tight for various reasons; swinging a golf club, standing with most of the weight on one foot, getting out of your car wrong etc. Mine sometimes even tighten up spontaneously when I say the word 'Jumanji'. So, there's just not telling what kind of harm you've been doing to your body when your perform your pre-shower ritual of standing on one foot, repeating all the lyrics to Kid Rock's "Bawitaba" and cleaning your ears.

Good news though. Here's how you prevent this from causing problems.
Lay on the ground with your knees up and your feet on the ground close to your butt. Take your right leg and put your right ankle over your left knee. Take both hands and grab your left knee now, and pull it in towards your chest. You should start feeling a good stretch in the butt region. 30 seconds on each side, then switch.

Do both of these a few times per day for 30 seconds. If you don't, you'll most likely be walking around one day, thinking to yourself "wow, I'm too awesome for stretching" when all of the sudden, your legs will both fall off, and you'll need massive reconstructive surgery, and end up getting metal rods realigning your spine and have an ultra sweet scar on your back. So I guess at the end of the day it wouldn't even be that bad.

Craft a Glorious Behind.

When I talk to a lot of women, and ask them about what they would specifically like to change about their bodies, most of the time it revolves around three problem areas; butts, guts, and legs. Here's the bad news about that. Fat stores in genetically predetermined places. If you're super unhappy with your pick in the genetic lottery, blame your parents. I mean, they take the blame for everything else in life, from the bad attitude and mohawk you were rocking in 9th grade, to your career as a copy paper salesman and your 1992 Ford Taurus. Just blame it all on mom and dad, and move on. Easy enough. The other piece of bad news for the ladies is that it's not only genetics that play into it. A big part is also gender determined. So ladies, that problem will never go away, your fat will always go right back to those hips and thighs. Sad face!

Ready for some good news! Smiley face! You're lucky because the hips and thighs have some of the largest and most powerful muscles in the body. They're your prime movers, and some of the stars include your gluteus maximus, your semimembranosus (hamstrings), and quadriceps femoris.

And even though by and large spot reduction is not possible, there are some ways of pulling fat from specific areas. Yes, this is hearsay in many fitness communities and secret health blog societies, but I'm here to educate you dear reader, even though I may burn on the same fires that consumed the shake weight and the thigh master. One of the main reasons that stubborn fat sticks around in certain areas is because of A) twinkies and B) lack of blood flow to the area.

Increase blood flow to the area, and you'll increase the rate of fat reduction from that spot.

That's all well and good, but how is it done? Well, if you're really interested in reading a lot about it, Dr. Lonnie Lowry has a great article about it here. If you want the short version and dislike the thought of being redirected to a site that features pictures of shirtless heavily muscled men lifting cars and phrases like myo-facial release, read on.

There are two keys to increasing blood flow. The first is warming the area. This can be done through bikram yoga, running/leg exercises, or something tight like compression shorts. It doesn't need to be tight to the point of cutting off circulation, and god forbid that it's as tight as Chazz (not for the easily offended or people who are not tight).

The second key to increasing blood flow is just working the muscle, causing vaso-dialation within the area you're working and causing your body to send blood and nutrients there to heal the muscles that you're ruthlessly tearing apart with your wicked wall sits and grueling goblet squats.

Boom, so that's it. Easy. An afterthought: If you continue to eat like garbage, or eat garbage itself, you will not lose fat. You will gain it. Then you will be mad at me for lying to you, when in actuality, I did not lie to you. I'm on your team here. So much so that I'm going to include a sweet workout for you to try at home today to build a beautiful bottom on your own. That's right! Plus it's only 2 easy payments of 19.95! Pay me later, it's ok.

Lunges.

Middle Position

Start/End Position

These are a great bang for your buck exercise. Whether you step out, or step back,or do them in place, DO THEM. Start with 10 if it's your first time. Make sure that you form a 90 degree angle with your front knee, and with your back knee. If you're getting any knee pain, stop what you're doing, go find a mirror and reevaluate your position. Or call me, I have magic hands, and not the magic hands that cost a quarter at seedy motels.

1-leg Hip Bridge
Lay on your back on a mat, bring your feet up and plant them near your butt, then extend your right leg out, so that it's at the same angle as your left thigh. Then, squeezing your butt and abs, lift your hips off the ground so that you're on your shoulders and right foot. Grunt and repeat.

The challenge for you today, is do 100 lunges on both of your legs, then 100 hip bridges on both legs. Do them all at once, in two sessions, 10 at a time as soon as your boss isn't looking, whatever. Just get them done. If you already worked out or have yet to do so, great! Consider it bonus points. Or make up work, depending on what you did this weekend. My lovely fiance has a rule with her students. The punishment for not doing the work, is doing the work.

Get it done.

Shelby Starnes

Some AM wisdom from Shelby Starnes; nutritional coach.

If it doesn’t scare you, it’s not heavy enough.

If it’s not a big enough goal (or weight), it won’t force you to become your best.

To accomplish the extraordinary, you must do extraordinary things.

Decide what you want, set your personal code of conduct, and get to work.

Becoming awesome is not something you do from behind a computer screen.

Wrap your mind around that this morning.

Eating Right is Easy.

A lot of stuff I talk about on here is based on stuff that I hear in real life, and want to say, but can't for fear of offending everyone. I even tone it down on here slightly, so that Mom's will let their rambunctious 6 year old's read my articles on the nuances and poetry of a proper deadlift.
However, when I have a client who tells me that they can't eat right because they are going out to dinner, or because they had a hard day at the office, I have to close my eyes, and go into a mental exercise where I visualize myself punching endangered animals until all my rage subsides. When I come back to reality, I can give them a good natured slap on the back and say something to the extent of "Oh you!", instead of destroying them with 1000 years of wall taps.
However, what I would like to say instead goes something like this:
"You're weak. Mentally and physically weak. Like Duke Basketball. Like the TV show Frasier. Like people who shop at Walmart. You most likely don't deserve to eat ever again. It's not hard to not eat donuts. You just don't pick it up. And if you do pick it up, kick yourself in the shin, and throw it in the garbage."
Ok, that could be a little harsh. After all, no one I know is as bad (read boring and meaningless) as Frasier was.
However, there are certain things that people don't realize about food, overeating, and eating processed crap. One of those things is that FOOD IS A DRUG. I don't care if you're Mr. Vegan, or you're on the wall at McDonald's for "Most Fake Animals Consumed in One Session". Food is a drug to both parties. The difference is how you react to that. Do you control your food intake, or does it control you? Are you the Charlie Sheen that is banging 7 gram rocks and finishing them? Or are you the Charlie Sheen that is bi-winning?
Fast food places spend millions of dollars per year chemically designing their food to make you hungry. That's right, it is not designed to fill you up. There are certain combination of sugar, salt and fat that causes a chemical reaction in the human brain which release endorphins to make you happy. That's great and all, but you know what else does that? Cocaine, Charlie Sheen, and morphine.
On top of all that, fast food is designed to be soft. Like baby food. So the good news about that is that you can feed your toddler a Big Mac! The bad news is that it's so soft that you don't need to chew it, which means that your body doesn't recognize itself as being satiated even though you've gorged yourself on a 1680 calorie "lunch". Knock off the drive through people. Your body will thank you. And if you must drive through a place, get the grilled (fake) chicken salad with oil and vinegar. And remember, for every fry you eat, you have to do around 12 pushups to burn off. That roughly correlates to 100 m of horse walks.
Lastly, just make good choices. This is me pleading with you. I don't know about you, but when I look back on my life I have certain regrets. I regret not playing football in high school. I regret the part of my life that I lived for other people's approval. I DO NOT REGRET NOT EATING A PIECE OF CHOCOLATE CAKE 2 WEEKS AGO AT A PARTY. That has never even crossed my mind. Skip the desert, you're sad for what, 3 seconds? Then you move on? Because you're an adult? I hope so.

Fix your eating before I mentally burn down the rainforest because you like eggnog.

Top 10 Reasons to Start Working Out Today

10. It's never too late to start. - This can mean a variety of things. It could mean, it's not too late in the year to get your summer six pack, it's not too late in your life to finally be able to touch your toes, it's not too late to call and cancel the Domino's XL super-heart-destroyer that you have being delivered to your house.

9. Everyone wants you too! - Seriously. Not only do I want you to start working out, but the rest of society is pulling for you too. So jump on that bandwagon and head to the gym. You'll not only increase your energy levels, metabolism, and quality of life, but you'll have lethargy at night so you can hang out with your kids, be a better partner and lover, be better at your sport or other activity and if none of those get you, (which they should), the fact that your medical bills as someone overweight (not even obese) are 37.7% higher than that of someone with an 'average' build, costing the US and extra 93billion dollars more. USATODAY.com says:

"Overweight is defined as roughly 10 to 30 pounds over a healthy weight; obesity is 30 or more pounds over. People who weigh too much are at an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, many types of cancers and other illnesses."

8. Did I mention you'll feel better? - Come on, what's not to like about that? When was the last time you rolled out of bed happy and ready for the day? Most of the people I talk to equate waking up in the morning with getting a full body skin graft, then getting hit by a F150. When you start working out, you'll get more REM sleep, and wake up feeling rested, content, and dare I say...powerful? The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup? Hardly. The best part of waking up is pissing excellence and using your new mind powers to dress yourself.

7. There are a lot of hilarious people at the gym. - This one might not have been one you would expect to find, but it's true. Some of my greatest joy comes from watching the goofball in the sunglasses alternate between doing bosu ball dumbbell curls with the pink 7lbs, and punching the chair. Let's not forget to tip our hats to Treadmill bunnies, The washed up meatheads with the jeans on, Janice the cougar, the dusters, the overly tattooed guy, the crossfit hero with the goofy toe shoes, and the lady who just can't get enough zumba.

6. Make new friends. - Yep, this is a kinda dumb point. Most of you don't want new friends, I understand that. But just for the sake of having enough points, I promise that if you start working out, I will officially consider you my friend. You are welcome. Also, there's not a lot better than having someone else to laugh with about Dusty McTattooerson dropping 50lbs on his iPhone.

5. Two words: Zombie Apocalypse. - Listen pal, if you can't jump out of your easy chair and run to your nearest mall in just under 12 minutes, let's face it. You're gonna be undead too. And neither me nor my surly band of misfits are going to extend you any quarter just because we've seen you at the gym before.standing in the back of the step class and hitting on the soccer moms.

4. Unreal health benefits. - Aside from the aforementioned mood improvement, you'll also combat a lot of chronic diseases, says mayoclinic.com. Osteoporosis, type II diabetes, heart disease are just a few of the many that keeping obesity at bay will help prevent. Stronger muscles means less falling when you're older, and stronger bones means that when you do fall and smash through the coffee table, you'll probably just pull a Chris Farley and be able to walk it off.

3. Prove that you can. - When was the last time you actually challenged yourself? Go on, get up and out of your chair and hit the weights. Sissy.

2. Get that beach body you want. - For most of us, we've all but given up on the prospect of looking good in a swim suit. We've exchanged that dream for the dream of cleaning up after children, being a good entertainer, having monogrammed napkins, and having our free time filled with reading smutty literature in our underwear while eating peanut butter out of the jar. Go on, admit it. You haven't done something for yourself in a long time. You deserve it! And it will give you a longer time on this earth to pursue your habits that due include Twinkies and jersey shore.

1. And the number one reason to start working out today? There are a lot of very handsome trainers at the gym. - Pretty self explanatory, and I bet if you never complained about doing squats or planks and brought them cookies, they would even show you their six pack. Just a guess though.




Get some.

The Greatest Workout Ever.

The title of this article might be false. Who am I to say whether one workout is better than another? For all you parents out there, it's like picking a favorite child. Not possible because they're all your favorite. (Yea right dad, I know you love Joey Schwegler more than me.)
However, I will now proceed to blow your mind and enlighten you with one of my favorite workouts, and one that you can do anytime, provided you carry dumbbells in your pockets. Now I know there is a raging debate about whether squats are good for you, or bad for you. Some fitness authorities maintain that you only need a steady diet of squats to become the leanest, most sexually powerful version of yourself that you can (See Peary Rader), while some people out there maintain that squats, while you're not looking, will sneak into your house with a baseball bat, and after destroying your knees and leaving you whimpering on the floor, they'll laugh in your face and walk out with all of your fine china. (See your pilates teacher)
Unfortunately, the reality is that Peary Rader looked like this:







And your pilates teacher most likely looks like this.







So, with that in mind, let's get a little more open minded about squatting. On the the workout.
One of the best ways I have ever found to light your metabolism on fire, get shredded, and lose that stubborn tire around your midsection is by doing a complex, or a circuit of exercises without putting the weight down in between exercises. This is especially true when doing complex movements, or exercises that use more than one joint. For example; squats! My favorite variation of squat right now is called the goblet squat. It's perfect for beginners because it forces you to keep your posture upright and your back straight. One of my favorite coaches, Dan John, has this to say:

Grab a dumbbell or kettlebell and hold it against your chest. With a kettlebell, hold the horns, but with a dumbbell just hold it vertical by the one end, like you're holding a goblet against your chest. Hence the name, "goblet squats."

Now with the weight cradled against your chest, squat down with the goal of having your elbows – which are pointed downward because you're cradling the bell – slide past the inside of your knees. It's okay to have the elbows push the knees out as you descend.

If you can sit on the toilet, you can do this movement. Now, just for now, just to start do 10 reps of these goblet squats, then instead of resting, press the weights overhead, and hold them there for 30 seconds. When the 30 seconds is up, bring the dumbbell or kettlebell back down to your chest and squat again, 10 reps.
Do this three times, see how you feel at the end. If you feel lightheaded, like throwing up, or like laying on the ground, congratulations, you're doing it right. If you don't feel like that, repeat until you do, or grab a heavier dumbbell

Just for the sake of organization, and for those of you who can barely read, but like to entertain yourself by looking at all the neat letters on this page, here's the condensed version:

Goblet Squat x 10
overhead dumbbell hold x 30 seconds
Goblet Squat x 10
overhead dumbbell hold x 30 seconds
Goblet Squat x 10
overhead dumbbell hold x 30 seconds

Go for it! Let me know how you feel when you're done.

Fitness for Dummies pt. II

If you read my previous article and successfully completed the wall sit challenge, good for you. You're the best.
Now, if you want to get really crazy, go back to the same wall, assume the same wall sit position, and double your time from yesterday. It wont be easy, but I can guarantee that it is not impossible for anyone out there.
It goes back to the mental toughness, the dedication to pursuing something that is important to you.
Now I would be completely off base to assume that everyone reading this has the drive to be a bodybuilder or athlete. But I know that the majority of the people in the US today have a need to lose weight or gain function to improve what might be a health problem, or a quality of life issue. That should be all the motivation that you need to go about making a positive change, and pursuing something that looks like fitness.
Now, hypothetically, let's say that you're there. You've decided that you want to make a change, and you're going to do it, no matter what.
Congratulations, you've taken the first step. But be careful, lest you become like those who are always "starting p90x".
First things first, you need a plan. As the proverb tells us " He who fails to plan, plans to fail, and all of his crops will burn and the Visigoths will salt the his land and take his gold" (the extended version doesn't get much secular coverage)
So make a plan that suits your life. Workout 3x per week for 1 hour. Put it into your schedule, and don't miss. This is a good start. It's not going to turn you into a chiseled greco-roman decathlete, but it's a good jumping off point. For someone who weighs 200 lbs, 1 hour of just doing the stairs is going to burn around 800 calories. Over the course of the week, this is an extra 2400 calories burned, or 9600 per month. At that rate, without changing anything else about your diet, or lifestyle, even if you continue to stay at home, watch dancing with the stars on your couch, and eat pasta with your hands, you'll lose around 3 lbs per month. Not too bad right?
Now imagine almost tripling that number by using more advanced techniques, lifting weights, eating the proper macro nutrient ratios and changing nightly habits that we all have. Sound good?
Great, I'm going to assume you answered with a resounding cry of "YES!" while leaping onto your desk chairs and causing coworkers to stare, and children to cry. This is the right amount of enthusiasm.
But, hold on just one second grasshopper, what happens if you miss a day? What about if the kids are sick? The Bachelor is on? Can't find your pants? As the infallible Michael Gerard Tyson says: "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth". Don't let a slip up throw you off your game plan. Treat this just like you would any other appointment you have. If you're gonna have to miss it for any (good) reason, reschedule with yourself. Get your game face on and get it done next time.
I'll outline some different strategies for optimizing workouts in the next article, so you're not perpetually stuck on the elliptical next to Janice, the cougar who hasn't changed workout attire since '83, and talks on the phone to her ailing mother about her stool size, shape, and consistency.

Until next time. Do it, to earn it.

Fitness for Dummies

A lot of times, people assume that it's easy to get or stay in shape. That it comes naturally to people, or that some people are genetically inclined to have their "beach body" all year round. And while there are instances where this can be true, I submit that for the average Joe, the weekend warrior, the desk bound hiking enthusiast, the guy with low back problems, the lady with bad knees, fitness is anything but easy. It's an all out war, won not in a day, a week, or a year, but over time.
This is sub-optimal in our culture that demands results, and demands them now. We want the newest iPhone with the fastest network so we can watch Rebecca Black's latest superhit, the magic pill that strips the weight off and makes us look like a sexy cross between David Beckham and Megan Fox, cliffs notes versions of Twilight...The list goes on and on. I've never had a client tell me that they were ready to work through injury, puking, and frustration for months on end, we want our results now.
So what's a person to do?
Well, if you're among the 63.1% of overweight or obese people in America, the answer is easy. And hard. Well, mostly hard.
If I can instill two values in any given client, I can guarantee success. And I could choose between an average joe with these two values and a professional athlete without, I would take the Joe any day of the week.
Dedication.
Mental-toughness.
There it is, easy.
These two are the x-factor in anyone who is successful in their endeavors. Set your mind to something, and get after it. And keep getting after it. And when it sucks, stay after it. And while it may not seem like much to have those potato chips at your work potluck, and it seems like hell to have to do those last 5 pushups, these are the little battles with which your war is won.

So, if you're still with me at this point, try an experiment tonight.
Get home, find a nice wall in your house, and do a wall-sit

It should look something like this.
Time yourself, and see how long you can hold this position for. Record your time and forget about it. Come back tomorrow, or subscribe to see part II of this article, and go from there.









GET AFTER IT.