“Sorry man, I can’t hit happy hour with you. It’s Thursday which means I need to work my supraspinatus at the gym tonight.”

I am a firm believer that results can be very simple to achieve and the biggest thing that does not produce results is the lack of action. There are many trainers out there that are focused on trying to show you they know the human anatomy rather than showing you how to get results. I am sorry, but those exercises to work your rotators cuffs really are not going to get the results you need, unless you are an athlete or a bodybuilder. In the same manner, trying to work the 3 heads of the tri, or the 4 muscles of the quad, or the inner muscles of the abs, won’t really get you the results you need. Yeah, they will produce some results, but how many hours do you want to spend in the gym? Are you really going to dedicate a whole gym session to the quad? Unless you are body builder, the answer is no.

Most people don’t want to spend hours in the gym to get results. Let’s face it, if someone created a workout plan that got you in the best shape of your life in 5 minutes, you would buy that right now. Sadly, there are no plans that I know of that will do that (that work).

So what is the next best thing? Focus your weights on large muscles. These include calf, quad, hamstring, back, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps. That is really all you need to get a good workout.

And when you work out big muscles, just workout the big muscles! You don’t need to do an Arnold Press, lateral raises, front raises and bent over lateral raises to feel the burn in your shoulder. That is honestly just overkill. Grab a weight, and lift it 12-15 times over your head, rest, do it two more times. Move on to the next muscles. Like I have said before, it isn’t rocket science.

Get in. Blow up. Get out. Stop focusing on the little details and you will produce bigger results.

I am a firm believer in “aha” moments. Most times, it takes one instant to realize something big enough to make a lasting change. I had mine in college.

I was a sub 5 min mile entering into college. I didn’t keep up my working out when I entered college. The freshman 15 hit me a few times and I very quickly got out of shape and overweight (a little over 200 pounds for my 5’10″ frame. I was running late for a class one day and had to park in the bottom parking lot at San Diego State University. The only way up to the campus was climbing a significant amount of stairs. I finally found a spot to park, checked the clock and had approximately 2 minutes to get to class. I started running. I hit the first of many staira, no problem – I got this. Half way up I was walking. When I reached the top, I had to sit down because my heart was beating out of my chest and I couldn’t catch my breath. Needless to say I was late to the class. As I sat there trying to catch my breath and bring my heart rate down, I kept thinking “what am I doing? How did I get like this? I am a fitness and health guy and I can’t climb stairs? How am I suppose to preach health and wellness if I am overweight?”.

That was my “aha” moment. It was at the moment that I decided to turn it around. I start working out, eating better, dropped weight and changed my entire lifestyle so I can now talk the talk while I walk the walk.

Most people need that “aha” moment. Some people it is waking up and realizing you cannot see your feet because your belly sticks out. Others it is sitting in the doctors office with the doctor telling them if they don’t lose weight, they are going to die from Type 2 diabetes or heart attack.

It is my opinion that in order to make a lasting change, people need to have that “aha” moment. If people don’t have that moment, they just go through the motions. The implement changes that don’t stick. There is something psychological about an “aha” moment that makes you want to make a change. This is how you will make a change. Sure, you can make changes without an “aha” moment. Those people are determined to make a change. But I bet if you chat with most people that make drastic changes, there was something in their mind that clicked.

Dig deep down inside of you an find your “aha” moment. Find that one thing that makes you realize that you need to make life long changes in you life, whether it is to lose weight, live healthier, or change a bad habit. If you acknowledge the issue (the “aha” moment”) you will be able to find the determination to actually make the changes stick.

You hear it ALL the time in the media. “BEAT THE BATTLE OF THE BULDGE!”. I don’t give a crap about the battle, I want you to win the war.

A general doesn’t care the result of the battles as long as he won the war. The battles mean nothing, but the end result means everything. What is your end result?

Your end result should be a life full of health and longevity. One bad weekend isn’t going to lose the war for you. You may lose that battle, but who cares about that one battle? Focus on your end goal and know you can enjoy Sunday BBQs with the family. You can enjoy Super Bowl. You can enjoy the holidays. But moderate it. Lose the battle, don’t get massacred. Stay focused on your long term goals to live longer and be healthier.

Now I am not saying you can lose EVERY battle and still win the war. If you lose every battle, you lost. As long as you win more battles that you lose, you will win the war. Moderation in everything and everything in moderation. Go enjoy yourself, but know overall, you need to eat cleaner, healthier and get your physical activity in.

Having goals are the best way to get the results that you want. But most people do not set the right goals, which leads to most of the time not attaining your goals. New Year resolutions are a great example of this. People make goals in haste without actually sitting down and planning out what they want and how they are going to get there. Anyone can make goals. But can you make a plan to achieve your goals?

Here are a few ways that you can set your goals and accomplish them.

1. Choose your direction - Really think about what you want. Is it to lose weight? Be more active? Eat Better? Become an athlete? Drop your 5k time? Become more flexible?  Notice I said find a direction, This isn’t your final goal – this is the direction that you are going to be headed. Think of a direction and write it down.
2. Choose Your Goal – Now that you have a direction, choose your specific, attainable goal. If losing weight is your direction, how much? Make sure it is attainable. If you need to lose 70 lbs, setting your goal for 70 out of the gate may not be the best idea. Set it for 30, and then reset when you hit it. If you have to stare at that big number, you can get discouraged. If your direction is to be more active, set a goal to be active 5x a week. If is to drop your 5k time, set the time you want to run.  Make sure that for your goal, it is specific, and it is hard enoug that it will make you work, but make sure it is within reach. When you have your specific,reachable goal in mind, write it down.
3. Now Get MORE Specific: Ok so now you have a goal. This is your long term goal. This is the end result that you want to see. Now set a short term goal. Again – specific and reachable. Set a goal that is going to help you reach your long term goal. For example, if your long term goal is to lose 30 pounds, set a short term goal to lose 1-2 a week for 15-30 weeks. If your goal is to be active 5x a week, set a goal to go to the gym 2x a week and walk around your block 3x a week. If your goal is to run a sub-18 min 5K – set a short term goal of 2x long runs a week, 2x speed works a week, and 1x hill works a week. Again, once you have your short term goals, write them down.
4. Now Get EVEN MORE Specific: Now write your immediate goals. What things are  you going to do RIGHT NOW, day in and day out to help you reach your long and short term goals. If your goal is to lose weight, what things do you need to do day in and day out in order for your to lose that 1-2 pounds a week on your way t0 your 30 pound goal? If you want to be more active, what do you need to do day in and day out in order to hit the gym 2x a week and walk 3x times a week on your way to be active 5x a week? If you want to run a 5k, what things do you need to do day in and day out that will get you to hit your workouts everyday on your way to a 5k under 18 minutes? Again, get more specific and right them down.

What you should have at the end of this is a game plan on how you will accomplish your goals. Now go out and hit these goals! If you need more help or direction on any of these sections, feel free to email me at info@nintemanfitness.com and I will help you set your goals in motion.

In middle school, you more than likely took a health class. In that class, they told you that diet and exercise was the best way to stay healthy. That hasn’t changed over the years, regardless of how long ago you were in school. What does change over the years that people get confused about is how much physical activity you need. The requirement depends on which organization you look at. There are some that say 5-7 days of moderate physical activity and then there are others that say 3 days of low to moderate exercise.

I think the first thing that needs to be done is you need to define what Physical Activity actually is: From an earlier post, Physical Activity is any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that result in energy expenditure. In real life, physical activity is basically anything that you break a sweat doing. Walking the dog, playing with the kids, joining a softball team, anything!

But how much are you suppose to get? Really, whatever you can. 5-7 days of moderate physical activity, according to the ACSM, is optimal for great health benefits. But if you can do 3 days, that is better than zero days.

Honestly, though, you should not really say “5 days” or “7 days” or anything else. You should try to just make physical activity part of your life. If you put to much emphasis on trying to get enough days of physical activity in during the week, more than likely, you will say something like “I will just get my 5th day in tomorrow” or ” If I take today off, I will go the next 5 days”. And due to human nature, you more than likely will not hit what you want to. Instead, just make physical activity part of your lifestyle. Be active. Live active. Start walking every morning. Join a sport league. Start hiking. Whatever it is, just start living a healthy, active lifestyle and you will start living a healthier life. But if you must put a number on it, shoot for 5-7 days of moderate physical activity for optimal health improvement. But also make sure your diet is in check. A good, active lifestyle doesn’t mean anything if you are eating crap. But that is another post for another day. Have an awesome day.

You hear it all the time on the TV, Radio, from Doctors, around the coffee machine and throughout your daily life: Get physical activity in your life. But what exactly is physical activity and how much should you really get?

In science, physical activity is any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that result in energy expenditure. In real life, physical activity is basically anything that you break a sweat doing. Really anything. Do you work when you vacuum the house? That is physical activity. Do you work when you chase your grand kids? That is physical activity. Do you work when you go shopping and have to walk around the entire mall? That is physical activity.

What is NOT physical activity? Watching hours of TV. Sitting in front of a computer (reading killer articles on Ninteman Fitness is OK for now). Doing nothing is not physical activity. Physical activity doesn’t have to be hard to do. Just make

sure what you are doing is hard. Park farther at the mall. Do lunges when vacuuming. Race the kids around an obstacle course around the house. Do jumping jack during commercials through your favorite TV show. Walk up and down your stairs at your house. Find a step and do 20 min of stepping up and down your step. When you look around, you can really find ways to get in your 30 min a day 5 days a week of physical activity each week. It shouldn’t be a chore. Find things you are doing already and amp them up to get in your activity. Your health will thank you in the long run.

There are times in my life as a fitness professional where I come across someone who is so inspiring, talking to them gives me goosebumps. I had that conversation today.

I am taking a therapy class on how to work people back from injuries. I had a gentleman very close to the same age as me (mid 20s). He was in a car accident in his teen years and was the only one who survived out of the entire 5 people in the car. Even though he was alive, he was in really bad shape. Years later, he is making great strides in improvement and went from having no mobility through his entire body, to having complete movement in his entire body, except his lower legs.

I had a great conversation with him today on CAN’T vs. WON’T and how they are used in the English language. CAN’T is a shorten version of CANNOT. If anyone should say this word, it is the gentleman I am working with. However you will not find it in his vocabulary. WON’T is a shorten version of WILL NOT. Again, a word my client does not use.

However, too many people use the word “can’t” and “won’t” that should not use it. First, no one should use the word can’t. If a guy who physically CAN’T walk without help doesn’t use it, neither should you. In no way, shape or form.

Second, you CAN do anything if you are willing. Most people that say “can’t” really mean “won’t”. “I can’t run for 20 minutes on the treadmill”. YES YOU CAN! You just are not willing to. You will not. You won’t. You can do anything you put your mind you. You hear that over and over again. Don’t be afraid to fail. Try Try and TRY AGAIN! Remove Won’t and Can’t out of  your vocabulary. Try and Do. Those should be the words you use. If you try and do not succeed, at least you tried. Saying you can’t do something is a cop out in my mind.

Today’s post is by Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS. Craig owns a great fat loss product called Turbulence Training. Regular readers know how much I am against information product because in today’s day and age, everyone is an expert. Well, Craig is an expert. He holds a masters degree, high level certifications and writes for some of the most prestigious magazines on the markets. He stuff is legit and I highly recommend you heading over to Turbulence Training and check out his product. You will not be disappointed.

Why Cardio Doesn’t Work for Fat Loss

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Cardio exercise is such a strange thing. In theory, it should work
so perfectly well for all men and women, but as anyone who has
tried it knows, the practicality of it just doesn’t add up.

After all, some men and women do cardio 6 hours, 9 hours, or more per week, and still have belly fat to burn. On the other hand, it works just fine for others.

British researchers wanted to get more insight into this paradox, and studied 35 overweight men and women, who weren’t previously exercising.

(Reference: International Journal of Obesity 32: 177-184, 2008).

Subjects exercised 5 times per week for 12 weeks. That’s a lot of
exercise, but it helped the subjects lose an average of 8.2 pounds, which is great – I was positively surprised by the results.

So cardio will work for some people, however, in my experience, it works best in young men, who need the help the least!

Back to the study, the variance in fat loss between individuals was huge. Check this out…

The best subject lost a staggering 32.3 pounds in 12 weeks, while the worst subject actually GAINED 3.74 pounds.

The scientists think they know where things went sour. They
classified the subjects into 2 groups, called the “Compensators”
and the “Non-compensators”.

The Compensators were hungrier, and as a result consumed an extra 268 calories per day, all but wiping out their cardio efforts.

Therefore, the Compensators lost the least amount of weight, and scientists believe that was due to the huge “compensatory” increase in appetite experienced by this group.

Does your appetite increase when you do slow cardio? If it does,
research shows it will ruin your cardio efforts.

So if your cardio program is not working for you, check your
appetite and calorie intake to see if you are “compensating” for
your efforts. If you are, you might be better off using a program
of high-intensity resistance and interval training (i.e. Turbulence Training) for your weight loss efforts.

As Australian Professor Steve Boucher has shown in research,
interval training increases hormones called catecholamines. And
increased catecholamines can reduce appetite, among other fat-
burning benefits.

In the real world, few people lose 33 pounds after 12 weeks of
cardio. Heck, few even achieve an average weight loss of 8 pounds with aerobic exercise.

So again, check your appetite, and consider giving high-intensity
exercise a go for your next workout program.

Beat the curse of cardio with high-intensity Turbulence Training.

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training
About the Author

Learn about the “Dark Side of Cardio” in the free report from Craig Ballantyne at www.TurbulenceTraining.com. Craig is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

One of the easiest, fastest, best workout you can get is at your home using your own body. Body weight workouts are a great way to get in shape. They are quick and easy and need no equipment. Here is a quick workout you can go that will give you great results.

WIth this workout, do about 10 reps of each exercise, moving right on into the next exercise as a super set. Once you finish all 5 exercises, rest for about 2 minutes then do it again. Depending on your fitness level, try to get 3-5 rounds of the super sets done for a workout.

Exercise 1: Tuck Jumps

To do this exercise, Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and  your knees slightly bent. Jump straight up in the air as high as high as you can and bring your knees toward your chest. Land on the balls of your feet with your knees slightly bent and quickly go into your next jump. Again, do about 10 of these then jump to the next exercise.

Exercise 2: Squat Jump

Stand with your feet slightly more than shoulder width apart and your finger laced behind your head. Bend at the knees to lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the floor, ten jump up as high as you can. Sink directly into the next squat without stopping. Do 10 reps.

Exercise 3: Power Skip

This is similar to your traditional skip, but you are generating more power and you are not moving. Propel yourself up as high as you can  with each skip by driving your knee up into the air. As you punch each knee up, swing your opposite hand upward t get as much vertical lift as possible.

Exercise 4: ZigZag Bound

Think about lengthening your stride as much as possible. Drive one leg into the ground to push of forcefully and lift your opposite knee high in the air as you surge forward. Propel youself upward, forward and slightly laterally o that you bound forward and to the outside.

Exercise 5: Stick Landing

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, hands beside your thighs. Jump and land with your knees bent and your butt and hips back. Try to land on the front two thirds of your feet, with your heels just off the ground. Hold for 2 seconds before standing to perform your next lunge.

Again, perform all the sets a few times and you have a great workout.

Fitness is like any other industry. It is effected by trends and fads. One of the most recent trends coming about are bootcamps. Similar to the boot camp that military would go through, these workout consist of most body weight, or lightweight workouts, done at a park or beach or something similar and usually have quite a few people participating in the activity.

Boot camps are a great way to get in shape. They are not only fun, but you get to meet new people and that helps to hold you accountable to show up everytime. They usually are not cheap, so paying that much money is also quite a motivator to get you out the door and workout (although that is not the case for all people).

But I do have some words of warning when looking for boot camps in your area: Make sure the person who is running the boot camp knows what the hell they are doing!

It is really easy now for someone to go spend $97.95 and get a “certification” to run a boot camp. Worse yet, are those people who are trying to run boot camps with no education, certification or training! Not only are those people ripping people off, but they could potentially hurt one of their “clients”!

If you are thinking about joining a boot camp, ask the instructor about their background. Do they have a degree? Do they have any certifications? How long have they been doing boot camp style workouts? How many clients do they currently have? All these things will show you if this person is worth giving your money to and getting your money worth back out of it.

Remember: YOU are the client. YOU are the one paying. It should be YOU getting the best experience of your life. Anything less is a waste of your money, and a waste of your time. If you are not happy with the trainer or instructor, there are literally hundreds in your area probably.

If you would like more questions to ask a trainer, or would like to see what answers to your questions would suffice in my opinion, or for recommendations on bootcamps in your area, as always, my email is always open for you to drop me a line: Zach (at) nintemanfitness.com.