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Dodging the Exercise Roller Coaster

Training, Weekly Motivation

Fun Workouts, No Matter Where You Are

— By Mike Kramer,

Have you ridden the Exercise Vortex? It’s the most popular fitness roller coaster of all time.

You go up, you go down. Fast fitness climbs are interrupted by burnout and steep drops in activity–until you bottom out and start another cycle. And in the end, you’re right back where you started. Half the time, it just leaves you with a headache. If you don’t like what you see, you can always get on the latest and greatest fitness coaster. But you’ll still be taken for a ride.

You can stay off the coaster and get into consistency. All it takes is a little planning–and a lot of fun. The key is to build an exercise program that’s not stale, boring or disruptive. Now–while you still have momentum–is the perfect time to set up some smart, convenient systems and motivating reminders. Here are some smart strategies:

Combine Exercise With Other Goals
Most exercise programs fail because they work against instead of with your current goals. Instead of competing for time, perhaps your goals could share it.

IDEAS

  • Read while on the stationary bike
  • Play with kids
  • Hold a work meeting at the gym or while jogging or walking outside
  • Work out or play sports with friends
  • Do a home workout while watching a basketball game or movie you want to see.

    Take Exercise Out of The Gym
    Which is easier to reschedule, a two-hour meeting or a series of five-minute chats? Take advantage of all those chances throughout the day to stay on your feet and stay active.

    AT WORK

  • Find a few sturdy, thick phone books and do some step aerobics.
  • Close your door and shadow box for a few minutes.
  • Lift 1-3 packs of printer paper in each hand. Curl them like weights or lift them over your head.
  • Jumping jacks. Simple, quick, and pumps you up.

    AT HOME

  • Get out the rake and shovel.
  • Try some gardening.
  • Walk to your neighbor’s house to visit instead of calling.
  • If you must watch TV, do a quick exercise during commercials.
  • Sprint – don’t walk – to the mailbox.
  • Walk up and down the stairs while on the phone.

    Create an In-Home Workout
    Smaller workouts can take the pressure off of those more intense visits to the gym – and without all that expensive equipment. Just 20 minutes a day is all it takes, which just happens to be the same amount of drive time you’d probably save.

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    15 Fired-Up Foods that Burn Away Pounds

    1 Comment / Nutrition

    By: Brian Good

    The shortcut to losing weight? Fast food. Not the kind the clown and the King try to shove down our throats, but rather, edible amphetamines-foods that act like speed for the fat-melting motor known as our metabolism. Eat these foods and you’re guaranteed to burn more calories…just by sitting there and listening to yourself digest.

    Only one catch: Like any good buzz, this boost is temporary. “The only way to alter your resting metabolism permanently is to gain or lose weight, or to build extra muscle,” says Janet Walberg-Rankin, Ph.D., a professor of exercise physiology at Virginia Tech. But look at it this way: If you have a few of these supercharged snacks and drinks throughout the day, for enough days, you will lose weight.

    And that’s if you’re doing nothing. Imagine if you were to stop listening to your stomach serenading you and actually begin exercising, too? The blubber-busting possibilities are endless. So grab a fork; it’s time to add fuel to the fire.

    And for more great ways to and lose weight and stay slim for good, pick up a copy of The Men’s Health Diet today! It combines the latest findings in exercise and nutrition with practical how-to-advice that will transform your body into a fat-burning machine.

    Milk, Whole Grain Cereal, Oats

    Secret Ingredients: Calcium, complex carbohydrates, and fiber

    How they work: Complex carbohydrates and fiber pump up metabolism by keeping insulin levels low after you eat. That’s good, because spikes in the production of insulin send a signal to the body that it’s time to start storing fat. And in order to stockpile fat, your body has to slow down your metabolism, causing you to burn fewer calories, says Margaret McNurlan, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition and medicine at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Since oatmeal breaks down slowly in the stomach, it causes less of a spike in insulin levels than foods like bagels, she says.

    Besides helping to keep insulin production down, eating breakfast can also help stoke your daily calorie burn. When the U.S. Navy studied the metabolisms and eating habits of a group of its personnel, it found that eating breakfast helped raise the men’s metabolisms by as much as 10 percent. “By skipping meals, you slow down your metabolism and prime your body to store fat,” says McNurlan.

    The calcium in milk is a metabolic trigger as well. A University of Tennessee study found that dieters who consumed between 1,200 and 1,300 milligrams (mg) of calcium a day lost nearly twice as much weight as dieters getting less calcium.

    Jalapenos, Habaneros, Cayennes

    Secret Ingredient: Capsaicin—the chemical in peppers that gives them their bite

    How it works: By speeding up your heart rate.

    A study from the late ’80s found that eating a single spicy meal can boost your metabolism by up to 25 percent, with the spike in calorie burning lasting for up to 3 hours after you finish eating. More recently, a study from Laval University in Quebec found that men who consumed coffee plus red pepper-packed snacks and meals were able to burn nearly 1,000 more calories a day than a control group.

    Small snacks can also help keep your body from running out of fuel-preventing those 3 p.m. office blahs. “When you restrict the number of calories your body has for fuel, your metabolic rate can drop temporarily,” says Susan Roberts, Ph.D., chief of the energy-metabolism laboratory at Tufts University in Boston. That makes it easier to pack on the pounds and harder to burn them off again.

    Green Tea, Coffee

    Secret Ingredients: Caffeine and a chemical in the tea called EGCG

    How they work: Caffeine helps speed up your heart rate. The faster your heart beats, the more calories you burn. EGCG works in a similar way, but instead of revving up your heart, it causes your brain and nervous system to run more quickly-again helping you burn more calories.

    In studies, researchers found that a combination of caffeine and a 90-mg dose of EGCG taken three times a day can help you burn an extra 80 calories a day. And that’s just when your body’s at rest. A study conducted by the Canadian government found that soldiers who consumed caffeine in the 12 hours prior to a physical-fitness test not only were able to work out longer before becoming exhausted, but also consumed more oxygen while working out. The body’s oxygen requirements are directly related to the speed of-guess what-your metabolism, so the more oxygen you use, the more calories you burn during your workout.

    Lean Beef, Pork, Chicken, Turkey

    Secret Ingredient: Protein

    How it works: It takes more energy for your body to digest the protein in meat than it does for it to digest carbohydrates or fat, according to Doug Kalman, R.D., director of nutrition at Miami Research Associates, a nationally recognized pharmaceutical-research facility. “That means that the more protein you eat, the harder your body has to work to digest it, and the more calories you’ll burn in the process,” he says.

    When researchers at Arizona State University compared the benefits of a high-protein diet with those of a high-carbohydrate diet, they found that people who ate a high-protein diet burned more than twice as many calories in the hours following their meal as those eating carbs. Even better, researchers in Denmark found that men who substituted protein for 20 percent of the carbs in their diets were able to boost their metabolisms, increasing the number of calories they burned each day by up to 5 percent.

    Salmon, Tuna, Sardines

    Secret Ingredient: Omega-3 fatty acids

    How they work: By altering levels of a hormone called leptin in your body. Several recent studies suggest that leptin directly influences your metabolism, determining whether you burn calories or store them as fat.

    Researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that mice with low leptin levels have faster metabolisms and are able to burn fat more quickly than animals with higher leptin levels. The best way to lower your leptin? Eat fish.

    Mayo Clinic researchers studying the diets of two African tribes-one of which frequently ate fish and one of which didn’t-found that fish eaters had leptin levels nearly five times lower than the levels found in tribes that primarily ate vegetables.

    The good news, if you don’t like fish: Fish-oil supplements may work just as well as the stuff with scales. French researchers found that men who replaced 6 grams of fat in their diets with 6 grams of fish oil were able to boost their metabolisms and lose an average of 2 pounds in just 12 weeks.

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    55 Awesome Things About Working Out

    Weekly Motivation

    if someone ever ask you why you workout, here are 55 reasons..pick one, two,  or go for all of them

    1.  The first time someone strong says “good job.”

    2.  Tight sleeves from training…not wearing an XS shirt.

    3.  Opening a jar with ease.

    4.  First 225 bench press.

    5.  When someone else helps you unload your deadlift bar.

    6.  Always finding something new to accomplish

    7.  Getting a heavy dead lift

    8.  Seeing someone else get a big lift.

    9.  Watching hardwork pay off.

    10.  Having to lean toward the doors when you and a buddy are in a normal car.

    11.  Walking into a commercial gym and having everyone wonder what you are doing when you squat.

    12.  Protein shakes.

    13.  Carb loading…

    14.  …and “Dirty bulking”

    15. DOMS <= sometimes!

    16.  Learning something new every week.

    17.  Nightly pose downs in the mirror…yeah you do it too!

    18.  Black and blue muffin top marks from flexing your belly during a squat

    19.  The first time you lift enough to get light headed

    20.  The pump.

    21.  Knowing what a curl…er I mean squat rack is for.

    22.  Becoming the proud owner of a new vein popping out.

    23.  Seeing the value in a good sweat.

    24.  The fact you are always better when you leave than when you got there. – Chris

    25. the fact that youre part of the minority who gives enough of a shit to take positive action to prolong your life expectancy/quality etc. – Jennifer

    26. The rush from owning a lift. The boost you get from breaking a PR. – Kris

    27.  The high. – Chase

    28. The hate you have for the weights right after you just smashed a pr. That feeling of nausea you get when you are working so hard that the pyruvate is barely able to keep up and it changes the ph of your blood. – Kenny

    29.    the aggression, stress relief.  Yasaf

    30.  The feeling you get when you break another PR.  Yasaf

    31.  Endorphins.  Yasaf

    32.  DOMs a few days later and the feeling that you earned it.  Yasaf

    33.  …general well being.  Yasaf

    34.  but to me the greatest is when i DL.  that quiet zen moment- just you and a lump of inert metal and the knowledge that you will lift it through sheer concentration and will power – and it’s all you.  just perfect.  Yasaf

    35.  Pushing your body to it’s limits and at the same time releasing your physical potensial. Martin

    36.  Knowing that your opponent is doing what you’re doing.  Darragh

    37.  Seeing yourself make improvements over time.  Christopher

    38.  Getting STRONG! The feelings, both physical and mental, that come with crushing goals and in the process making yourself and those around you better. Aaron

    39.  The way the blood rushes to your muscles and for a little while (I admired my legs and arm in the shower after last nights workout.) they are pumped up and swollen. icon smile 55 Awesome Things About Working Out Michael

    40.  The fact that you can leave your problems/issues at the door. You can block them out and work on REAL physical/mental(or internal)problems rather than the bullshit modern life throws at you! Also ,knowing that you have something great to look forward to each time you train rather than the people you deal with on a daily basis! e.g., Stupid complaints like: My food is 10mins late, Your driver forgot my pepsi! Stupid clueless people don’t know what they are living for!! Sorry to rant!!! Ken.

    41.  Getting stronger feels awesome… conquering new PRs, waking up knowing you have moved forward and added years to your life, I train at 5 am so… feeling energized throughout the day after a good trainin session…Franco

    42.  You get to know yourself and inner workings very well.  Emilio

    43.  Your health becomes a practical part of your daily life.  Emilio

    44. You learn how to conquer your worst enemy, yourself.  Emilio

    45.  Training is an opportunity to focus the mind and visualize the things you are going to dominate and own in your life.  Josh

    46.  results!  Ray

    47.  Training helps to obliterate self-limiting thoughts. When one realizes the power they possess their mindset changes from “I can’t” to “I will”.  Michael

    48.  I think it’s one of the very few activities in this world that allows you go beyond your last effort almost every time you go there. At most other sports/activities ppl turn up and just do the same thing each week – tennis, squash, running, cycling, soccer, football, etc. Unless you are highly motivated to improve yourself. In the gym if you don’t increase your weight, you feel like you shouldn’t be there.  Matt

    49. The victory of acomplishing something that a week, month or year ago you couldn’t do.  Pierre.

    50.  whats NOT awesome about it?im not an athlete, i am not a strongman,i am not a bodybuilder,although i strive for results..i am a 37 year old father of 1 that feels good, looks good and OWN any task presented to me. as Nate Green would say-”i am my own hero”. its a lifestyle. Coach.

    51.  Busting Chops. –  and killing a big deadlift)

    52.  You are your own boss.  Dynamic Duo

    53.  The Adrenaline rush that make you feel UNSTOPPABLE!  Rob

    54.  Taking hundreds of pounds on your back and making the guys you train with look like crap. Then telling them about it.  Quick

    55.   Going beyond your limits, beyond what you think you are capable of doing. Juanita & Keith

    Add you quote in the response section

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    4 Things Women Should Be Doing in Their Fitness Training—But Aren’t

    1 Comment / Training

    By Chelsea Bus

    If your workouts consist of doing light weights and steady-state cardio, you might be in for some bad news: These things alone won’t likely get you the results you’re after, say experts. To increase your fitness level, burn fat, and improve muscle tone, you’ve got to step up your game.

    Here are four things women tend to skip that can deliver serious results.

    1. High-intensity training.

    All that time coasting on the elliptical at a comfortable pace probably hasn’t done much for your body, says Panama-based trainer Belinda Benn, creator of the Breakthrough Physique home fitness system. In fact, the biggest mistake women make in their training is not exercising with enough intensity, she says.

    High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, is typically a 10- to 20-minute workout that alternates short, intense bursts of activity with moderate-exertion recovery periods. “High-intensity interval training  is the best way to improve your overall fitness, burn fat, and stimulate your hormones for a stronger body,” says Benn.

    How to tell if you’re training hard enough? Look to your body for clues, Benn says. Good indicators are sweating, increased heart rate, and lactic acid production (i.e., feeling the “burn”) during exercise. Moderate muscle soreness for up to a few days post-workout is also a good sign. “If you feel nothing,” Benn says, “you probably didn’t work out hard enough.”

    2. Heavier lifting.

    For most women, a typical weight-training session equals light dumbbell exercises, says Toronto-based strength and conditioning specialist Craig Ballantyne, creator of the Turbulence Training Program. But doing fewer reps with more weight—say, 8 reps per set with a 15-pound dumbbell, instead of 15 reps with an 8-pound one—will burn more fat, he says. Lifting heavier will also increase your strength and muscle definition.

    Start by swapping out your normal weights for slightly heavier ones, and gradually work your way up.

    3. Upper body workouts.

    Women tend to store body fat around the waist, hips, and thighs, so that’s where they typically focus their exercise efforts—neglecting their upper bodies, Benn says.

    But you can’t spot-reduce fat, and sticking with what’s easy can stunt your progress, says Benn. Because you may feel weak while attempting pull-ups for the first time, Benn suggests doing the hard stuff at the start of your workout, “when you’re freshest and feeling mentally strong.”

    “Focusing on underdeveloped muscles will improve the contours of your body,” Benn says.

    4. Training with a barbell.

    Think barbells are synonymous with back-breaking chest presses? Not so. “You can do a tremendous workout just with a barbell,” Benn says. “If you’re holding a bar rather than using two separate weights, it forces you to get your body  in sync.”

    Barbells are great for both upper- and lower-body exercises. Balancing one across your shoulders while doing squats, lunges, or walking lunges helps develop posture and balance, Benn says.

    If you’re flirting with a barbell for the first time, go as light as you need to. Even 10 pounds is a good start.

    Bonus tip:

    If you’re worried you’ll bulk up with any of these exercises, consider your body type. Benn says women generally fall into two categories: those who build muscle easily, and those who don’t. If you build muscle easily, she suggests emphasizing high-intensity exercises. If you develop muscle slowly, you’ll benefit from spending more time on heavy lifting.

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    10 Strategies for Successful Weight Loss

    Nutrition, Training, Weekly Motivation

    By: David Schipper

    The great ones have great strategies for success—Odysseus hiding in the Trojan horse, Ali using the rope-a-dope, Bugs Bunny dressing in drag.

    Your weight-loss strategy should be similarly inspired. Willpower alone won’t shrink your waist—you need facts and wisdom on your side if you’re going to maintain the resolve you showed in January.

    There are scientists who study weight loss so the rest of us can keep track of the important stuff, like spring training and Rotisserie drafts. These researchers regularly come up with good advice, the latest and greatest of which we’ve gathered for you. Pick a few tips, put them in your lineup, and get back in the weight-loss game.

    Weight-Loss Success Strategy #1

    Weigh Yourself Often

    Time was, experts said to stay off the scale—it can be discouraging. But after studying 3,500 individuals from the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) who’ve maintained 60 or more pounds of weight loss for at least a year, researchers found that 44 percent weighed themselves daily.

    Unhealthy obsession? No, says James Hill, Ph.D., NWCR cofounder and director of the center for human nutrition at the University of Colorado. “They use it as an early warning system for preventing weight regain,” he explains. “If your goal is to keep your weight at a certain level, you have to have feedback to see whether you’re successful.”

    Weight-Loss Success Strategy #2

    Turn Off the TV

    Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York recently determined that simply seeing food can trigger a physiological “feed me” response. In the study, visual food cues caused brain activity to jump by 24 percent—mostly in the orbitofrontal cortex, the area of the brain related to drive and acquisition. So a constant barrage of pizza-delivery ads on TV could test your limits. And don’t get us started on the Food Network.

    Weight-Loss Success Strategy #3

    Pray the Fat Away

    Christian men who report feeling greater intimacy with God through prayer are more likely to be physically active than other men, according to research from Cornell University. “Studies have shown that those who have more social support move more, and being closer to God may give men that support,” says lead researcher Karen Kim.

    Another possible reason: “General religion in the United States encompasses theological teachings about the body as a temple, which may also lead to the consumption of a healthier diet and increased physical activity,” she adds. Amen to that.

    Weight-Loss Success Strategy #4

    Beware Tastebud Betrayal

    “Hunger increases healthy men’s taste sensitivity to sweet and salty substances,” says researcher Yuriy Zverev, of the University of Malawi. This means vending-machine snacks (which come in two flavors: sweet or salty—coincidence?) will taste even better when you’re hungry.

    You could trust that you’d savor the flavor by eating only a small amount. (Right.) Or you could sidestep this land mine altogether. “Eat offensively,” says Katherine Tallmadge, M.A., R.D., a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. “Eat regularly during the day to stave off cravings and the bingeing that can result.”

    Weight-Loss Success Strategy #5

    Snack on Almonds

    Seventy per day, to be exact. That’s the number that people in a City of Hope National Medical Center experiment ate daily for 6 months, in conjunction with a reduced-calorie diet, to drop 18 percent of their body weight.

    Study author Michelle Wien partially credits the satiety factor. “Almonds are a nutrient-dense food that provides healthful monounsaturated fat, protein, and fiber, which together contribute to feeling full,” she says.

    Go for whole almonds in their unsalted, raw, or dry-roasted state. Fifteen to 20 will do the trick for a quick snack. Try 50 as a meal replacement.

    Weight-Loss Success Strategy #6

    Grab the Day

    Long summer days can help you lose weight. “The best time to start a diet is in May, because the days are very long, which makes your energy levels go up and your food cravings go down,” says Judith Wurtman, Ph.D., a nutrition researcher at MIT. “You’ll eat less and exercise more.” So if you get home and it’s still light, go for that run.

    Conversely, resolution-crazed January is the worst time to diet—the short days knock your serotonin levels out of whack, causing cravings. An Apollo Health goLite P1 lamp can help your body adjust to the dark days of winter.

    Weight-Loss Success Strategy #7

    Pour a Bowl of Cereal for Lunch

    A study from Purdue University shows that eating cereal in place of meals helps you lose weight. Participants consumed an average of 640 fewer total daily calories and lost roughly 4 pounds during the 2-week intervention.

    According to study author Richard Mattes, M.P.H., Ph.D., R.D., the approach teaches portion control with a convenient, easy-to-use food. Stick to filling, high-fiber cereals, like All-Bran or Fiber One, and eat them with low-fat milk.

    Weight-Loss Success Strategy #8

    Go Under the Needle

    When Polish researchers examined acupuncture as a diet aid, they found that people who got needled lost 10 more pounds and ticked 2 additional points off their BMIs compared with those who merely cut calories.

    Marie Cargill, a licensed acupuncturist in the Boston area, explains that pressure points on the body—mostly on the ear—work as a switchboard to the brain, triggering electrical pulses that suppress appetite. “The ear system is very effective for addiction treatment,” she says.

    Weight-Loss Success Strategy #9

    Eat a Cow’s Worth

    Of dairy, that is. Reports of the benefits just keep coming.

    Recently, a University of Tennessee study found that people who ate a daily 1,200 milligrams (mg) of calcium from dairy lost an average of 24 pounds, or 11 percent of their total body weight. “When you don’t have enough calcium in your diet, you’re more efficient at making fat and less efficient at breaking down fat, causing a bigger, fatter fat cell,” says lead researcher Michael Zemel, Ph.D.

    Get the just-right amount by taking in two 8-ounce glasses of low-fat milk (699 mg), a cup of low-fat yogurt (338 mg), and an ounce and a half of cheese (287 mg).

    Weight-Loss Success Strategy #10

    Gamble on Yourself

    Take a cue from the poker craze and wager against a buddy to see who can shed the most pounds. “Men do really well when they make weight loss a competitive game,” says New York City nutritionist Joy Bauer, M.S., R.D., author of Cooking with Joy. “Have a 6-month and a 1-year check-in—none of that 2-week garbage.”

    Or try it in teams, as on NBC’s The Biggest Loser, and you’ll double the incentive—you’ll want to win the bet and avoid letting down your team. “Healthy competition can bring out the absolute best in people,” says the show’s red-team trainer, Jillian Michaels, owner of SkySport and Spa in Beverly Hills.

    She recommends that the team take on a swimming relay or a 5-K run. “That way, it’s not a scenario like ‘Who can lift the most?'” she says. “Losing weight is ultimately about better health. For $100, somebody might do a pulldown that’s way too heavy and end up tearing a rotator cuff.” It’d be a shame if, after you’d lost all that weight, you still couldn’t button your pants.

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