Category: Exercise

"The Basics" Might Not Be Fancy, But They WORK

1/23/2017

Supersets, drop sets, giant sets, single leg pistol squats, bosu ball standing shoulder presses, backwards lunges, burpees, handstand pushups, German volume training, blah blah blah! I could go on for an entire blog post just naming all the "fancy" shit I see trainers doing with clients on a daily basis, both in real life and on the internet.

And you know what, I totally get it. People want to be entertained by their workout, and many people think if they're not in the fetal position on the floor at the end of the training session, they've not had a good workout. Workout program ADD and punishment by workout are all the rage these days, and for the life of me I will never understand it.

You want to know the secret to getting really strong and in REALLY good shape? "Bookmark this page and prepare to be blown away by this secret that trainers don't want you to know." Do some form of these exercises, and do them on a regular basis:

Squats
Deadlifts
Bench Press
Overhead Shoulder Press
Chin-ups or Pull-ups (assisted if need be)
Rowing exercises
Heavy carrying exercises
Occasional sprinting, battle rope work, sled pushing, etc.
Walking

There may be a few more I'd add in there if you were an athlete or someone who wanted to do bodybuilding, but if you're a regular person who wants to get lean, have some appreciable muscle, and just be generally awesome, that's pretty much all you need! You don't need to do endless sets of torturous and oftentimes awkward exercises. You need the basics, you need to learn to properly perform the basics, and you need to get stronger at the basics on a weekly/monthly basis.

Should you squat on a balance ball? Hell no, that's dangerous and stupid. Do you need to know how to perform a perfect sumo deadlift? Nope, a regular deadlift will be fine. Do you need to do curls to get bigger biceps? Chin-ups work just as well, and work your back and core in the process. I'm going to keep saying it. YOU JUST NEED TO LEARN THE BASICS.

If you were to go in the gym with me and watch me workout on a typical Monday, my workout would go something like this:

Barbell Squat- 3 sets of 5 at 85% of my maximum weight
Bench Press- 4 sets of 4 at 90% of my maximum weight
Barbell Deadlift- 5 sets of 2 at 95% of my maximum weight
Dumbbell Carry- 3 sets of 50 steps
Walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes

The next week on Monday, I would do that same exact workout, except I would try to add in the neighborhood of 2.5 up to 10 extra pounds on each lift from what I did the last time. I'm not going to be doing endless sets of sit-ups (they're awful for your spine, and heavy barbell lifts work your core just as well). I'm not going to do burpees until I throw up. I'm going to do the basics, I'm going to get stronger at the basics, and I'm going to get in better shape. Period.

If you simply want to exercise, go in the gym and do random exercises that serve no purpose to achieving some kind of end goal. If that's good for you, that's your prerogative and that's just fine. If you want to TRAIN, you go in the gym knowing exactly what you're doing that day, how heavy and how many reps you're going do of it, and improve upon those numbers on a consistent basis. Training can be monotonous, it can be boring at times, and it can be brutally hard. But there are few things more gratifying than training smart and doing things in the gym you never thought you could. Exercise might be entertaining because it's always different, but it only serves to make you sweat, not get better at something. What's the point of that?

If your current gym routine is just "exercise" and you want to learn to do something more measurable and effective, please feel free to visit my services page and fill out a consultation application. One more time, if you can competently perform the basics, they will serve to make you a better, faster, stronger human being every time. Or just keep exercising. I guess that's fine too!

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How to Deadlift in 5 Steps

1/19/2017

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If you're working out with me, and you're a healthy adult without major joint or spine issues, you WILL be deadlifting. Forget what your doctor or your friend who "broke their back" deadlifting tells you. If you deadlift properly, you will actually strengthen your back and many of your back ailments will go away. I speak from personal experience on this topic because I've hurt my back deadlifting the wrong way before. Once I cleaned up my form, my back has never felt better as an adult. Here's a helpful video from Mark Rippetoe about properly deadlifting in 5 easy steps!

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ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING: THE NEXT BIG THING

1/7/2014

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First things first. Your results with a personal trainer are only as good as the personal trainer themselves and your level of commitment. If you have reservations about hiring someone (I include myself in this), don't do it. Plain and simple. However, if you think you've found a trainer who is right for you, you now have a lot more options of how you would like to receive your personal training than you did in the past.

If the option is there, in person training is still a great route to go. However, we live in a fast paced world. We operate on different schedules, have kid's soccer practices, meetings, you name it. It can be pretty hard for some folks to lock down 3 or 4 dedicated times each week with a personal trainer. Also, from a financial standpoint, it can be a very pricey venture for some.

Enter online personal training. Flexible around your time, considerably more affordable than in person training, and the same great results if you put in the effort! Online personal training may indeed be the next step forward in the fitness industry. However, as with hiring any trainer, make sure you do your homework and make sure he or she offer you the services you're looking for. These are a few of the things every quality online trainer should offer:

Personalized workouts complete with videos: If this service isn't offered to you, find a trainer who offers it. Since you won't be in the gym with your trainer, you need to know how to properly and safely execute anything they are asking of you. This means your workouts should be delivered on a mobile friendly app or website that includes videos of how to do each exercise. I use a program called Trainerize, but there are many others out there. Also, make sure the workouts are PERSONALIZED to your needs. There are a lot of websites out there that offer personal training online, but you will only be given pre-made workouts. If you wanted that, you could just buy a magazine. If you're going to spend the money on personal training, make sure you're actually getting PERSONAL TRAINING!
Nutritional Coaching: The backbone of any solid personal training program is going to involve changing the way you eat. Does your potential online trainer offer nutrition advice as part of their program, or are they only giving you workouts? Assuming you have no prior medical conditions that require a dietician, your personal trainer can coach you through proper meal planning based around your goals and give you a general calorie range you should start out at.
Online/Phone Support: You're going to have questions, concerns, and sometimes the occasional emergency. Is your online trainer going to be around to discuss it with you? All trainers should be readily available to answer you if you have an emergency. If it's not an emergency, a quality online trainer will have you do a weekly email complete with any questions you may have thought of that current week as well as having you check in with your measurements. Depending on the program, a weekly or bi-weekly phone call or Skype session may also be a part of you package. If you sign up for an online program, don't get left in the dark when you need help. Make sure your trainer will be there for you.
Motivation and Education: Does your potential trainer maintain a strong online presence and provide motivational and educational materials that you can use on your fitness journey? Your trainer should be constantly updating their social networking sites and blog with information that is useful to you. Some trainers may even have a Facebook group for trainees to ask questions and exchange thoughts and ideas or a members only section on their website.
Different Levels of Membership: Not everyone needs $500 a month worth of training and diet advice. Your potential trainer should have different levels of membership for you to choose from. Don't get sucked into the most expensive package they offer if you don't need it. Find something within your budget that will give you desired results.

If you already have a gym membership and a general knowledge of how to get around the weight room, online personal training may be the perfect fit for your lifestyle, and more importantly your budget. Just remember, a quality online training program should include nearly everything an in person one does. Choose your personal trainer wisely, and you will both reap the benefits of a successful trainer/client relationship! Ready to START online training? Fill out my client application for a free online consultation now!

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CREATINE: NO, IT'S NOT A STEROID

10/18/2013

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Just the other day, I was telling someone about how I needed to buy some more creatine because I had run out. That's when they asked this. "Isn't creatine a steroid?"

To answer the question, no, creatine is not a steroid. Anabolic steroids are an illegal, synthetic version of testosterone. You can buy "testosterone boosters" at your local health foods store, however these are nothing more than some herbs and vitamins thrown together promising you a steroid-like experience. While some research has been done on many different muscle building substances, the most studied and so far most effective muscle building supplement that can be legally obtained is creatine.

So if it's not a steroid, then what is creatine? Creatine is actually an organic compound produced by the liver that helps supply energy to cells all over the body, most notably muscle cells. Around 95% of the creatine your body produces is stored within the muscle, and while your body produces it naturally, an excess of creatine has been shown to verifiably increase athletic performance and with it, muscle building potential.

Supplementing with creatine isn't going to give you a massive strength increase like anabolic steroids will, but it will give your muscles a noticeable amount more energy. Medical journals have consistently found that maximum power can be raised up to 15% with steady creatine supplementation. If you're like me, the ability to do 15% more in the gym is a big deal. That can mean the difference between finishing your workout and falling a couple sets shy. And if you're serious about your workout, you should never want to quit before you're supposed to be finished!

"But I heard that creatine can make people sick?"... Side effects of creatine are usually few and far between. Some people may have some stomach cramping and the occasional diarrhea, but a cup of coffee is more likely to do that to you than creatine. The one exception to all this is people with kidney disease or diabetes. If you have any or both of those things, avoid taking creatine. Other than that, almost anyone involved in physical activity could benefit from it.

The next issue involved in starting creatine supplementation is figuring out which kind to buy. Let me make this easy for you. You're looking for the label or primary ingredient to say "creatine monohydrate." Over the years, supplement companies have tried to develop new supplements with "revolutionary" types of creatine in them such as creatine ethyl ester, creatine hydrochloride, or creatine nitrate. No legitimate studies have shown these to be anymore effective than the original creatine monohydrate. The only difference is the blow your wallet will receive. Creatine monohydrate is all you, me or your local professional athlete really needs. End of story.

If you think you would benefit from getting extra creatine with your diet, you have a few options. The first is through actual food. The main food source with the best amount of creatine is beef, namely "round" and "loin" type beef. You will get an average of 1 gram of creatine per 8 ounces of beef. While this is a good start, a general baseline on how much creatine to supplement with in a single serving is around 3-5 grams or the equivalent of 24-40 ounces of beef. If you're not involved in a lot of physical activity, this may not matter a great deal. If you're looking for an edge no expensive "booster" can give you, it may be time to supplement with creatine.

In conclusion, creatine is most definitely not a steroid. In fact, it is likely the most viable alternative to steroids currently available on the market. On that note, I'm going to have some right now and hit the gym. I highly suggest you do the same sometime! Everybody have a great weekend!

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FITNESS MYTHS REVEALED OCTOBER 6, 2013

10/6/2013

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"I want to lift weights but I don't want to get big like a guy.."

That's one of the very first things I hear from nearly every female client. The preconceived notion amongst many women that somehow lifting weights will make you look like Arnold Schwarzenegger is completely unjustified, but it's also a belief that runs rampant. This is definitely a myth I would like to clear up today. Not only is it completely false, but heavy weight training is most likely the key to success for nearly all men and women.

I get it. You don't want to look like her. Hell, even I'm not sure I want to look like her! While the internet has made it easier to see that not all women who compete in physique contests look like that, that image above is what many women get in their heads when thinking about lifting heavy weights. Well here's a spot of good news for you, ladies. The only way you're going to look like her is if you do anabolic steroids and synthetic male testosterone.

There are a lot of factors for why you're not going to get massive by doing heavy lifting, but first and foremost, it boils down to hormones. It is well known amongst scientists and fitness professionals that testosterone is one of the biggest muscle builders there is. It is directly responsible for how much protein a person can synthesize, which is just a fancy way of saying how much muscle they can build. Men can have as much as 15 times more naturally occurring testosterone than women. Simply put, and to drive the point home again, if you're not shooting up steroids and synthetic hormones, you're not going to get huge.

Physique Competitor Dana Linn Bailey

Figure Competitor Nicole Wilkins

Bikini Competitor Nathalia Melo

Stacey Alexander

Those 4 ladies above all have very different body types. All are professional athletes competing in different classes of elite competition. They also look vastly different from that large female bodybuilder I posted a picture of. What that has to do with is their training methods, genetic makeup, and in most cases their lack of drug (steroid) use.

These women are at the absolute peak of what they can make their bodies look like, and have literally been training for years to achieve the look they possess. In my opinion, you couldn't label any of them "bulky," including Dana Linn Bailey. While she has a look that is considerably more masculine than the other 2 women, she still only weighs in the neighborhood of 130 pounds while still retaining very feminine features.

Whether you would prefer to look like Dana Linn Bailey or you would rather have a smoother look like Nathalia Melo or Stacey Alexander, one thing remains true. You are going to have to develop a training routine that is going to get you those results. All of them will involve lifting, in some cases, some pretty serious weight. Cardio and abs at the gym ever day and poor eating habits will never help you achieve these results.

Powerlifter Dana McMahan

When I am putting together a routine for a client, I don't treat women any differently than men. Women can do the same exact things men can do in the gym, and their bodies are going to react almost identical to each other, the exception being women won't build large muscle mass quite like men.

Those 20+ rep, very light weight workouts so many women (and some men) like to do are garbage. When you do 20 reps of an exercise with light weight, you may get a good pump in your muscles and feel like you're doing something good for yourself. However, you're really just building muscle endurance. Muscle endurance is obviously important depending on your goals, but let's be honest, most women want that toned and tight look.

If toned and tight is your what you want, put down those 5 pound dumbbells and pick up the 30's. Better yet, hire a trainer or go with an experienced friend to the gym and learn how to properly do squats, deadlifts, and other compound exercises. Stop doing 20 reps of dumbbell curls and start doing 5 intense reps of heavy squats. Do endurance type workouts once or twice a week, but make heavy lifting day your main priority. You won't get huge, but you will get strong, build dense muscle, and burn fat at an accelerated rate. Isn't that what you want, after all?

Ladies (and guys), if you have any other questions about this post or need help with a plan to achieve your goals, whatever they may be, feel free to contact me any time. I hope everyone had an amazing weekend and that you got in the gym at least once. If not, tomorrow is a new day. Get to the gym and pick up something heavy. You might just see the results you've been missing!

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CARDIO. HOW MUCH DO YOU REALLY NEED?

10/4/2013

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It's come to my attention that pretty much all my posts so far have been nutrition related and that I haven't written a great deal on exercise. Point taken. As a personal trainer, a large chunk of what I do for clients involves determining an exercise regimen that will yield the best results. Part of that regimen includes designated time for cardiovascular exercise. But how much, how often, and how intense should that cardio be?

I'm fully aware there are a huge amount of people, namely women (no offense), who subscribe the theory that cardio and ab exercises will yield maximum results for their physique. They're under the impression, for whatever reason, 90 minutes of cardio and crunches every day will have them looking amazing. Let's just nip this one in the bud right now. They're completely wrong. If all you're doing at your gym is cardio and abs, I would highly suggest canceling your membership now because honestly, you're going to eventually wind up doing yourself more harm than good.

There are at least a few cliched quotes that come to mind when thinking about cardio. "Work smarter, not harder," is one of them. The other is, "less is more." Let me explain.

Work smarter, not harder.

Working in the corporate world for so long, I bet I've heard that ridiculous quote a million times. However, it does apply to some things in life. Cardio happens to be one of them. Before you can work smarter, though, you have to at least have an idea of what is it cardio is doing for you. A lot of people do cardio without any set plan in mind, thinking they are somehow magically destroying fat. Depending on the circumstances, that can be partially true. But if you do it wrong, you may only be exercising your heart muscle, which is good, or inadvertently be contributing to the loss of muscle. Bad bad bad! Which one of these things are you doing? Well, that depends on your heart rate.

The first thing you must do when determining how fast your heart should be beating during cardio is to figure out your maximum heart rate (MHR). There's a lot of ways to calculate this number, but the easiest one to determine a baseline is this:

220- your age = MHR Example: 220- 31= 189

That would be my MHR, and what we'll use as an example for the rest of this post. Now that we've determined maximum heart rate, you have to choose a percentage of that MHR you want to be in to achieve certain goals.

Most people's goal with doing cardio is fat burn. Other people's goals are more conditioning related for sporting events. Whatever you goal is, there is an ideal heart rate you should be living in to achieve that goal.

55% MHR is the "fat burning zone." This is generally recognized as the best place to be if fat loss is your desired goal. So, using that calculation above, 55% of my MHR would be around 104 beats per minute. This is a fairly low heart rate, and for that reason, this type of cardio has almost zero effect on the heart and lungs. Additionally, in order to achieve any substantial benefit from this type of cardio, you have to do it for longer periods of time. 30 minutes to an hour is a good baseline, but too much of it can weaken your muscle and sometimes cause muscle loss. When you hear the term "steady state cardio," this is the type of cardio that is generally being talked about.
When you hear the term "cardio," however, the actual definition of this means you're training somewhere in the 75-80% MHR range. Once again using the calculation above, that would put me at around 142-151 beat pers per minute. This type of cardio conditions the heart and lungs, and is a good way to better strengthen your VO2 capacity. That's just a fancy term for how well your heart and lungs use oxygen. The body's primary fuel for this type of cardio is the glycogen stores in your liver and muscles, which means you had better be properly fueled before doing it. As I explained yesterday, once the glycogen stores run out, your body starts looking to use free amino acids in your blood stream and if there are none, it will cannibalize your muscle. Yet another reason to make sure you include plenty of protein in your diet.

Reading what I just wrote, you may deduce that you should be doing either one or the other of those kinds of cardio. But wait, before you put your earbuds in and run off to do long form cardio at a lower heart rate, think about this. Your heart is probably the most important muscle you have. The obvious reason is that without it, you wouldn't be alive. The less obviously reasons are that a strongly conditioned heart makes nearly every other part of your body run better, from digestion to recovery from vigorous exercise. A strong heart also makes your body burn fat at an accelerated rate while at rest. This is the part where working smarter, not harder comes into play.

If you haven't read my Basal Metabolic Rate post, please do so now and determine yours. If you're eating correctly and getting the proper amount of calories for your goals, which I hope you are, you're almost completely eliminating the need for that 55% MHR cardio. In fact, if your calories are right and you're doing shorter durations of that 75-80% MHR cardio, not only are you strenghtening your heart and lungs, you're practically guaranteeing you'll be burning more fat than the person who is overly relaxed with their diet and does endless amounts of "fat burning" cardio.

I try to give all my clients the proper nutritional guidelines so at the most they only have to do cardio 2 to 3 times a week, and I rarely ever have them do long durations of it. It's boring, and unnecessary. Eat right. Lift weights like a beast. Condition your heart for optimal fat burning. Smarter. Not harder.

Less is more.

That picture above is a perfect example of "less is more." No offense to my long distance runners out there whatsoever. I know you work hard at what you do, and there's no way my joints would ever be able to take a 26 mile pounding on the pavement. That being said, I am sure a lot of you looked at that picture and decided you'd probably like to look more like that guy on the right. Well, endless bouts of 55% cardio aren't going to do that for you. Endless bouts of 75-80% cardio most likely aren't going to do that for you either. Enter HIIT style cardio.

HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. It's a method that's been around for a very long time, but is just in the last few years starting to catch on in a bigger way. HIIT is generally done for short periods of time, and involves bouts of all out effort at around 90% MHR followed by a designated period of slower pace or total rest, repeated for several intervals. In years past, it was used by track coaches who were trying to increase the performance of their sprinters. Back then, it was a known as the Fartlek method, which in Swedish means "speed play." Now it is being used in the fitness industry to literally destroy fat in training clients.

Some of the first studies on HIIT pitted interval cardio style training versus steady state cardio training. Despite the fact that over several weeks, the steady state people burned several thousand more calories than the people doing HIIT, the HIIT trainees lost significantly more fat. It seems implausible, but the reason it works so well is because HIIT increases your metabolic rate, even while at rest, for up to 24 hours after you finish. Other discoveries were that the HIIT trainees muscle fibers became extremely more efficient at burning fat as well as had a significant increase in enzymes that aided in the burning of fat. Definitely a win-win situation, even though these people were spending considerably less time on the cardio equipment.

Aside from the fat burning qualities that HIIT provides, it's also proved to be very adept at helping sparing muscle tissue, which is of benefit to people trying to pack on lean mass. By doing HIIT instead of long durations of steady cardio, many subjects actually gained muscle. Slow, steady cardio makes your muscle fibers used to low intensity nature of it, which means you are giving them a reason to be weaker (read: smaller). All out, explosive bursts of sprinting on the other hand tax the muscle into becoming stronger and often times bigger.

While I do prefer this method of cardio over any other, fair warning. The first couple session will leave you sore and exhausted if you do them right. That is because both your skeletal muscle as well as your heart muscle are most likely not used to giving total effort. Fortunately, the body is amazing at adaptation, and after a few weeks you'll be on (relatively) easy street.

So how is it done? Well, there's a huge number of methods, but I generally have my beginners do it one of two ways. Keep in mind, you can do HIIT on a track, sidewalk, treadmill or just about any other piece of cardio equipment as long as the desire result is achieved:

Fartlek style: This is the old style of HIIT, but it's still very effective, and much less punishing on beginners until they condition themselves. 2-3 times a week for 30 minutes should be more than sufficient for most people following a steady diet and lifting weights. Fartlek is very simple. The interval is 5 minutes. For 4.5 minutes, you do nothing more than a steady pace, somewhere in the 55% zone we discussed earlier. For the last 30 seconds, you crank up the resistance on the cardio machine or take off at a dead sprint until you reach the 5 minute mark. At the 29 second mark, you're going to want to be somewhere in between "I can't breathe," and "I think I might die." Just then, 30 seconds is over and you're back to doing either a slow walk or a very low setting on the equipment you choose. Repeat this 6 times, and you're done. Simple.
Updated HIIT: After you've become fairly adapted to the Fartlek style (2 weeks or so), it's time to graduate to HIIT as we know it today. There are a number of different ratios you can do HIIT at, but for beginners, I prefer the intervals to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 seconds. So that's 20 seconds of all out effort, followed by 60 seconds of very slow pace or even complete rest if you prefer. You can do as few as 3 intervals all the way up to 10, depending on your fitness level. I also recommend bookending these intervals with at least a few minutes of steady state cardio to warm up and cool down. As with Fartlek, you can do this 2-3 times a week. After you've become a pro at knocking out 10 intervals as described, it's time to graduate, but I'll discuss that in another post or you can contact me about setting up a custom plan!

In conclusion, let me sum up what we've just learned:

Calculate your Max Heart Rate (MHR) by subtracting your age from 220
Doing cardio at 55% MHR for long periods of time is good for fat burning, but can weaken and shrink your muscles over time
Doing cardio at 75-80% MHR is great for conditioning your heart and lungs, but too much of it can also cause you to lose muscle if not done properly with sufficient nutrition
Doing HIIT style cardio is one of the ultimate tools for burning fat and preserving muscle in a much shorter time frame

I've provided you with enough knowledge in this post to hopefully decide which style of cardio is best for your needs, and help you decide which ones you can probably do without in your routine. Feel free to contact me at any time with further questions or for help setting up a custom plan. On that note, I'm leaving right now to go do some heavy squats and some HIIT. Have a great day, friends!

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COUCH SURFING. CALORIE BURNING.

9/23/2013

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No, unfortunately this isn't some exercise program where you can get ripped sitting on the couch. Today, I'm going to touch on Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). The most basic explanation for BMR is this. If you never left the couch like our friend above, no matter what, your body is going to burn calories. How many calories that is exactly depends on a lot of factors. Just know that if you spent the whole day watching television today or squatting 300 pounds in the gym, your body is going to burn something. Everything you do burns calories. Breathing, blood circulation, digesting food. You name it.

Calculations for getting this number vary wildly depending upon the person. For example, a 30 year-old, 6 foot man who weighs 180 pound is going to burn in the neighborhood of 1900 calories a day no matter what. A 30 year-old, 5-foot-6 woman who weighs 130 pounds is going to burn an average 1400 calories a day, give or take. How is this number determined, you ask? There are a number of different equations to calculate BMR, but I generally use the Harris Benedict Equation. This is how the Harris Benedict Equation works:

Women: BMR= 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
Men: BMR= 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

I'm aware that's an awful lot of math, but you can always go HERE and get the number for yourself without having to break out the calculator.

Is this number 100% accurate? Yes and no. The only thing this formula really doesn't take into account is lean body mass (muscle) vs. total body mass (fat and muscle). That's why it's always best to be honest when assessing your activity level when using the calculator I gave you the link to. If you don't exercise at all, your calorie intake should only be your BMR x 1.2. If you are in the weight room or on the field 6 or 7 days a week, you could be looking at a calorie range of BMR x 1.9.

The number you're given in the calculator is assuming you're only interested in maintaining your current weight. If you want to lose weight, I would recommend subtracting no more than 700 calories from this number. If you want to gain muscle mass, add 700. Any more than that, especially when losing weight, you run the risk of losing muscle and damaging your metabolism. If you're trying to gain muscle, too large of a surplus and you could easily gain as much fat as you do muscle.

Got it? I hope so. If not, contact me HERE and I'll be happy to answer any further questions! I'll be back tomorrow with another post. Until then, here's some Motivation Monday stuff for you!

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7 YEARS TO A NEW ME (MY STORY)...

9/18/2013

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If you've found your way to my page, I just want to say first that I truly appreciate it. There are a million fitness pages, personal trainers, and "gurus" out there. I am but one of many, but I feel like I have a more unique perspective than most of the subject of health and fitness. "Why," do you ask? Well, because that picture above is of me in 2006.

I was 23 years old. I weighed 350 pounds, had a nearly 50 inch waist, chest pains, and felt completely hopeless. I had basically never set foot in a gym. Heck, I couldn't run up a flight of steps without getting completely winded. I could go into any number of fast food restaurants where they knew my name and what my order was. I drank 2-3 liters of soda per day. I would estimate my calorie intake at upwards of 5,000 a day.

I was also a walking heart attack waiting to happen. I used to have constant chest and jaw pains. The first sign you're in trouble is when your jaw starts aching horribly, and I'd say this was happening to me at least every other day if not more. I also can recall a few times getting up to go to the bathroom and nearly passing out. One night, I blacked out for a brief moment just long enough to slam my head into the wall. Scary? Yes. However, it still didn't get me to wake up and realize I needed to do something.

That moment didn't come until New Years Day, 2006. That's the day my grandfather died suddenly in the car on the way to eat lunch with my mom. He was in his 80s, so they didn't do an autopsy, but he clearly died from a massive heart attack. He had had a couple pacemakers and several heart related hospital visits in his older years, so it was just a matter of time before the "big one" hit. That was the day he died, and it was also the day I would tell people I was born for the second time. I would have never made it to 87. Hell, I am not sure I would have made it to 30, and I truly mean that. It was time to change my life before it was too late...

This is January 15, 2006. Starting weight: 350 pounds. I went out and bought the Atkins Diet book, read it cover to cover, and decided that was how I was going to lose my weight. This isn't necessarily an endorsement of the Atkins Diet, as my methods and ideologies about dieting have changed quite a bit over the years. However, that was the starting line for me, and I'm extremely glad it was the method I used.

I essentially quit it all cold turkey. Junk food. Soda. Everything. I look back now and I'm not sure that was the way to go because I had some pretty killer withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms, you ask? Yes. Junk food is a drug. Soda is a drug. Sugar is a drug. All as powerful as any illegal drug out there. A lot of professionals liken their effect to that of cocaine. I can't argue with them, because I felt awful for several days. My body had literally been running on sugar and bad dietary fat for so long it thought I was killing it when it went away.

However, I persevered. After 4 or 5 days, the headaches and craving subsides, but it was a long few days! Then something strange happened. I had more energy than I'd had in years. I slept better. I felt better. Eventually, I even started looking better. I'll skip the boring part about my daily meal routines and just fast forward to August, 2006...

This is me about 8 months later. I didn't have one single cheat day, meal, or anything else. I lost 100 pounds almost on the dot. I very literally felt and looked like a new man. My pants size went from a 50 in dress pants down to about 38. XXXL shirts became XL shirts. For the first time in years, I had confidence. It was amazing.

However, I was also at a point where the scale wouldn't budge another pound. Problem was, I didn't lift any weights during this time or really do much exercising at all except for the occasional walk. I was what you would call "skinny fat," and I literally had no idea what to do in the gym, or really how to even exercise. Thankfully, my friend Tony invited me along to work out with him at his gym and teach me some things about lifting and exercise.

Now picture this. A 6-foot-5, 250 pound man struggling to bench press 15 pound dumbbells. I had ZERO strength. I dieted away not only a massive amount of body fat, but also a massive amount of lean muscle mass. So here I am, 15 pound dumbbells, struggling for my life to bench press them. A few times, my left arm literally died and if it weren't for Tony I would have a black eye more than once. I also did my first time on the elliptical at the gym. I did 7 minutes. It was the worst 7 minutes of my life, and I literally couldn't stand up, sit down, or do anything without leg pain for a week.

I know this all sounds completely terrible, being sore and weak, but it lit a new fire inside of me. 15 pound dumbbells quickly became 25 pound dumbbells, which quickly became 40 pound dumbbells. People started asking me if I had been lifting weights. If it was possible, I felt even better about myself than I did after the initial 100 pounds. I became something I thought I'd never live to see the day it happened. I became addicted to fitness. That was 2007. Let's fast forward to 2011...

August 2007-August 2011.. It may not look like much. I don't have abs. I don't have hulking muscles. However the guy on the right weighs the exact same amount as the one on the left and instead of bench pressing 15's, he can bench press 80's. I had never been in such good shape, and frankly I would have never thought such a thing was possible. I felt (and still do feel) incredible, and wanted everyone to feel as amazing as I did.

It was about this time I started thinking about becoming a personal trainer. I had a wealth of knowledge I had acquired through Tony (I can't thank him enough), reading countless books and articles, and through my own trial and error. I wanted to share this with people and help them achieve the goals like I never imagined I would reach. So I asked my dad to help me pay for the program to get certified, and in early 2012, I got certified through the National Federation of Professional Trainers...

This is me. Right now, as I'm typing this. I'm in the best not just shape of my life, but in the best HEALTH of my life, both inside and out. 8 years ago, I never would have imagined I'd have my own fitness website and be doing something I love in personal training. I wake up every day happy to go to work, and I literally get to work out like it's my job, because it is!

However, had I never got off the couch and applied myself to this thing, I truly fear I may not be here to write this. If you're ready to get healthy, you don't have to do this alone. I've spent the last almost 8 years teaching myself everything I need to know to help YOU get in the best shape of your life. All you have to do is quit saying "tomorrow." Eventually, and unfortunately, there may not be a tomorrow for a lot of people because they didn't say enough is enough. You owe it to yourself, your family, and your friends to be the best you you can be. Are you ready? I am!

-Doug

P.S.- Contact me HERE with any questions or inquiries. I hope to hear from you!

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WORKOUT JOURNAL 101

8/12/2013

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If you aren't keeping a workout journal to track your progress... START! Above, I've listed an example of what I did at the gym today. As a rule of thumb, all workout journal entries should include:

Date
Exercises performed
Weight used
How many reps were completed

If you include these basics in your journal, you'll be able to look back at past workouts and see where you are, or are not, progressing. Also, unless you have a photographic memory, you may have no idea what weight you were using last time around. If you keep a journal, you can just look back at your last workout of that particular body part and there it is!

This is a very basic journal entry for me. If you were to look on other pages of my journal, you may see notes I've written, details of positioning used for exercises such as calf raises, or a simple star to symbolize a new personal best or an ideal weight for an exercise I haven't tried before. There's no wrong way to do this, as long as you're including the basics. Now start your own journals, friends!

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