Using a personal trainer this year?

There's no longer any point in 'what if-ing' about your health and fitness results from 2008. If things didn't go as well as you hoped, try to think back and identify what went wrong and why, and figure out strategies to deal with the roadblocks better this year.

Immersing yourself in the right environment is crucial. Exercising with friends, or around people who have achieved the kind of results you want is important to keep you accountable and focused. If you are using a personal trainer they need to do the same for you.

Do they have these qualities:

-A personality that works with yours.
If you don't get on with your coach, you will only grow to resent them. I'm not saying you need to be best friends, but at least be on the same wavelength.

-Knowledge about effective exercise.
If the programs your trainer prescribes you has less than 80% compound exercises, find a new trainer. A compound exercise is one which uses more than 1 joint. A bicep curl (elbow joint) is not a compound exercise, but a pull down or pullup (elbow, shoulder joints) is.
Multi-joint movements are neccessary to ensure the most bang for your exercise buck, and to prepare you for whatever life throws your way.

-Keeps records
Do you have any idea about how much improvement (if any) you've made with your trainer? If they aren't documenting your progress in some form or another, they are just lazy. At the least it's always motivating to achieve a new PB. But if you can see that progress has plateaued through accurate recording, your programming can be adjusted immediately.

Kick 2009 off well by getting the right people on your team. Your coach/PT is one of the most important ones, so keep the above qualities in mind.

The Hierarchy of Fat Loss

I went for an easy 3 km jog this morning.

Those that know me, or have read some of my articles/posts on exercise would probably be amazed. I'm the guy who hates jogging, who doesn't allow his clients to jog, who tries to cut down on the miles his endurance clients run.

Yet, I went jogging today and have been doing the odd jog for about a month now. I've also been riding my bike to the gym and going for after dinner walks. Why? I'm increasing my level of fat burning in anticipation of summer holidays.

And again, those of you who know my stance on exercise must be shaking your head - 'I thought you didn't believe in slow, steady cardio for fat loss Darren?'

Well I don't.........at least not as a stand alone solution. The problem is that slow, steady cardio is usually the ONLY thing people do when they want to lose weight. Once the weather warms up, it's like the wildebeest migration down at Mission Bay.......power walkers as far as the eye can see. But the fact of the matter is that steady cardio should be the LAST piece of your fat loss puzzle.

If all the things you could do to burn fat were ranked by effectiveness, you would discover what Alwyn Cosgrove calls The Hierarchy of Fat Loss.

1. Nutrition - I'm sorry, but you can't out-train a crappy diet. It may have worked when you were 20 years old, but nowadays if you can't get your nutrition sorted, all the exercise in the world will only go so far. Make a healthier diet your priority when getting into shape.
2. Weight lifting - Whether you are a mother of three, an endurance athlete, or a grandparent; if fat loss is your goal, then lifting weights will turbo charge your efforts. Without the metabolism boosting effect of lean muscle mass, your system will go into hibernation during a diet, in order to hang on to every last bit of fat it can.
3. High intensity Intervals and Circuits - Sprints on the bike, rower, treadmill and outdoors; kettlebell work, complexes, and Crossfit style workouts. This sort of exercise not only burns a ton of energy, it increases your rate of fat burning for up to 36 hours after you finish exercising!!
4. Steady cardio - Finally now you can add in the slow, boring stuff. If you've got the first 3 components in order, then a little extra activity can be the icing on the cake; whittling away at the last couple of kgs, to reveal the six pack you always suspected was there, but had never seen before. Also once you're lifting weights 4-5 days a week, and running sprints another 2-3 times, steady cardio is about all the extra work your body can cope with and not break down.
   

But stick to the correct order! Mess with the hierarchy of fat loss and you're messing with your progress.

Holiday Reading

I love to read. I used to average 3-4 books per week, but with university study and now being in business, it's more like 1-2. Because of that, I've had to think harder about each book, and so the quality of reading material has tended to rise.

These are some of the books I plan on getting through this summer.







Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes
An argument amongst nutritionists for years; is a calorie a calorie? Taubes says no, and delves into the misconceptions about dietary fat and health.







In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
Unfortunately missed hearing this guy speak at the University of Auckland this year. He promotes the return to the eating of 'real' food, not all this processed garbage so many people live on today.







Tribes by Seth Godin
This guy has a legendary blog, covering all manner of topics relating to business, marketing, customer relations, and worldwide trends.

Bang For Your Buck

I must have written hundreds of workout programs over the years. These programs were for people from all walks of life, and with many different goals, yet more often than not, the same few movements made up the bulk of all the programs.

• squatting
• pulling
• lifting
• pressing

Within those 4 movements and their variations is almost all that is needed to build muscle, burn fat and improve your athletic performance. Only a minimum of extra exercises are necessary to individualise it to a specific desired outcome. These movements give you the most bang for your buck - the biggest improvements for the smallest time investment.

It seems very hard for people to accept this though. The number of times I have spent valuable time putting a program together, only to find 2 weeks later that the client has added bicep curls, lateral raises and leg extensions, because they felt 'it wasn't enough work'. But on many occasions the very exercises I prescribed are getting left out.

Those above 4 movements are DEFINITELY enough work. Exercises derived from them should make up the bulk of your training program if you want it to be successful. I'm talking at least 80% ......and preferably 90%. If you have and energy and time left after training these 'money' movements, feel free to work your guns, or add in some crunches, but what ever you do, don't substitute squats for leg extensions, or pushups for pec deck, or pullups for bicep curls. You know you're just avoiding the real work that is necessary to achieve notable results in your physique.

Travel Workouts

Some workouts for the holidays



You don't have to keep up the most punishing regime, relax a bit. But at the same time, its likely that you will be indulging in good food, and possibly being a bit more inactive during the day than you normally would be, so if you don't want to take too much of a backwards step on your 2008 progress, the odd workout would not go amiss.

Stick to something that doesn't require too much thinking, or too much time. After all, what will give you the most benefit - a full body 40 minute strength and conditioning workout that you put off all day and eventually don't do at all; or 4 minutes of sprints on the beach, or 100 pushups for time that has you done and dusted before you even have a chance to talk yourself out of it?

Here's a few simple workouts to try that require no equipment. Make sure you spend at least 5 minutes warming up though ok? Injuries are no fun on holiday........

1.
10 vertical jumps, 10 push ups, 10 sit ups, 4 rounds...for time.

2.
10 squats every 1 minute of a 1.5 km run.

3.
100 burpees for time.

4.
Run 3 km as fast as possible.

5.
10 push-ups 10 squats 10 sit ups 10 rounds.

6.
spend a total of 3 minutes in a handstand. Rest, then 10 vertical jumps, run 400 meters, 5 rounds.

7.100 squats for time. Rest 5 mins, then 100 situps for time.

8.
100 jumping jacks, 75 air squats, 50 push ups, 25 burpees. For time.

9.
Sprint 100 meters, Walk 100 meters, 10 rounds. Rest 5 min, then jog home the 2 km you just covered.

10.
100 push ups for time.

Losing fat does not have to be this tough

Sure he's probably going to lose weight on this regime, but it's amazing what he could turn that fish into with a few herbs, spices, veggies and a pinch of imagination.

Remember that - A diet doesn't have to be DIE with a T.

12 Days of Fitness starts today

The 2008 12 Days of Fitness Promotion has started today! It’s looking like this year will be the biggest promo yet…… ...and all of it is FREE.

Make sure you get on over to: http://www.12daysoffitness.com/ and update your details into the form set up over there.

Today's gifts include:

• 6 Fat Loss Gifts


• 2 Female Specifc Gift


• 1 Nutrition / Recipes Gift


• 1 Rehabilitaion and Injury solution Gift


• 1 Mindset and Goals Gift

Remember to forward the link onto anyone you know that might be interested in educating their selves more on health, nutrition and exercise. The aim is to help half a million people improve their health this year, and the only way to accomplish that is to get the word out through everyone we know.

http://www.12daysoffitness.com/

Are you going uphill or downhill?

Jack Lalanne knew his stuff, even way back then. This advice is still good today......and so damn simple. The hardest part is deciding to do it.

12 days of fitness

With the end of the year coming rapidly to a close I'm noticing the awesome effort
that everyone is putting into their training at Crossfit NZ.

Everyone has earned a great break over Christmas, so I hope you all relax, eat some
cake/pavlova/etc and recharge the batteries. Of course a run down the beach wouldn’t hurt
either…… you don't want to relax too much. It hurts too much to get back into training otherwise.

It’s at this time of year that a bunch of fitness professionals around the world participate in a
promotion called The 12 Days of Fitness. It involves free information gifts with well over
a hundred exercise programs, diets, nutrition plans, videos, audios, reports and tons more.

We're just 5 days out from the startof this Year's www.12daysoffitness.comand it’s looking like this year will be the biggest promo yet…… ...and all of it is FREE. It won't cost you a cent! All of the contributors (myself included)are really looking forward to sharingtheir gifts with you, but first, you need to get on over to:http://www.12daysoffitness.com and update your details into the form set up over there.

This will make sure you don't miss out on the gifts when they are released on the tenth. Second, if there is anyone you know that might be interested in educating their selves more on health, nutrition and exercise, then please forward this on to them.
The aim is to help half a million people improve their health this year, and the only way to accomplish that is to get the word out through everyone we know.

Thanks in advance!

How did 2008 treat you?

Did you gain the muscle you wanted?

Did you lose the fat you said you were going to lose this year?

Did you follow the sensible nutrition plan you stuck to your fridge?

If you made great initial progress at the start of the year, but lost momentum in the last 6 months, what was it that affected your progress?

Here are a couple of ideas of where you could have gone wrong. Fix these and get off to a better start in 2009 as well as maintain your progress through to 2010 and beyond.

1. Not enough emphasis on weight training. If fat loss was your goal, don't be fooled into thinking that that aerobic activity is the only route. You MUST stimulate your muscle mass through weight training, as muscle is the engine that fuel (your fat) is burned in. More muscle = more fat burned.

2. Long slow cardio. While we're talking about cardio, do you really think that reading a magazine while pedalling at 60rpms for half an hour will give you a six pack? Up the intensity with bursts of effort. High Intensity Interval Training has been shown to burn up to 9 times more fat than steady cardio. Try pedalling at >120rpm for a minute, followed by a minute at 70rpm for 10-15 rounds. Once you get fitter, increase the resistance, and decrease the rest period to maintain progress.

3. Keep a food diary
You may have thought that your diet was on track, but the proof is in the written word. Recording every bite suddenly highlights missed meals, poor snack choices, meals that lacked key nutrients such as protein or healthy fat.
Every month, write down your dietary intake for at least 5 days. It'll keep you alert to any slacking and serve as an often needed motivation booster.

With those 3 tools in your arsenal you will kick off 2009 in style and fast track yourself towards your goals. And hey, why not start NOW if you wanted to?

Getting in shape for New Year

2008 is almost over. There is just four weeks left.

How did your nutrition and exercise efforts go this year?

If the answer is 'great!', then just keep doing what you've been doing, enjoy yourself occasionally this month at a few Christmas parties, and hit the beach with confidence that your hard work has been worth it.

If you have a different answer, don't despair, it's never too late to make a start. But what ever you do, start now. Don't make the mistake of putting it off till Jan 1st- it has been said that the average person gains 3-5 kg during December - why would you let it get worse before you start to make it better?

Who says you couldn't LOSE 3-5 kgs in December?! There's no reason why not. You just have to start now. Get your diet in check - that's most important. Eat regular, small meals of lean protein, veggies and fruit, with healthy fats; avoid breads, cereals and grains as much as possible, and do your best to take it easy at Christmas parties. You know you wont even remember what the pavlova tasted like in the morning..........

And get started on an effective exercise program today - functional strength training, high intensity cardio and lots of extra summertime activity - and then you can enjoy the holidays while actually losing fat.

If that's not enough, just remember; if you succeed in losing that 3-5 kg in December, you'll actually be 6-10kg ahead of the rest of your friends and family come January!!

Fat Loss and Fitness: Who's on your team?

There's a saying "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with".
I read it in reference to financial success - the idea being that if you associated mostly with wealthy people, you were much more likely to be wealthy yourself.

I think it works with physical fitness as well. If your family, friends and workmates are living on crappy food, spending their leisure time drinking, smoking and generally living an inactive, unhealthy life, then it stands to reason that you are probably doing the same thing.

And how hard do you think it would be to make a change to a healthy diet and regular exercise, when these same people are constantly tempting you to give up and return to the status quo?

If your inner circle are not the type of people that provide a positive environment, you must consider finding other people to associate with. It's about doing things that fit people do - with other fit people. There's plenty of options. For starters, group exercise programs are a great way to get involved. Fitness classes at your local gym, touch rugby over the summer, running groups, tennis, yoga, dance classes.

At CrossFit NZ we get results because we do the right exercise, the right way. But for the majority of our clients, their results are mainly attributed to the social environment of our group workouts. We've got people who have never exercised properly before, banging out pullups, bodyweight deadlifts, swinging kettlebells and getting in great shape. And they do it while giving and recieving a ton of support to and from the group.

Now you don't have to disown your family and dump all your friends, but if they are not interested in helping you get fitter, leaner and healthier, it's up to you to search out an alternative. Who knows, once you start getting in shape, you may influence your 5 people to do the same!

Thank you for hurting me......

I always have to laugh when after reducing themselves to a pile of quivering jelly on the floor, clients both new and old, once recovered enough to stand, will thank me wholeheartedly for a great workout! No really, the pleasure was all mine! Thanks Mike, thanks Rob for putting in a great effort.

We're in the life changing business

Fitness professionals are not in the training business, they're in the life changing business.

Think about it. No one really buys a power drill just to have a power drill. They buy a drill because they want holes.

Our clients may tell us they're hiring us for fitness or to lose body fat, but what they really want is to create a body they feel comfortable in. A body that they don't mind uncovering at the beach. A body that is strong enough to lift their kids and play with them.

I feel pretty lucky to be in an industry that gets to provide this to people. Unfortunately many don't follow through on their promises.

So while I get angry at the infomercials that promise the world and suck people in, I can't deny that they have a clever sales pitch. They are just promising to give people what they want. And that regularly results in unhappy people making 3 easy payments of $99 for a 6 minute abs program.

At CrossFit we can quite happily stand by our promise that your performance will improve. But looking good naked is also certain side effect. The one thing we emphasise however is that it's not easy. You've got to work hard. You already knew that though right?

Socialising with clients

Just got home from tackling the King of the Mountain 5km run in Panmure. A few clients also entered and we got together before and after the run for a coffee and a laugh.

There must be so many jobs out there where a person does not interact with others at all.
If they don't have a lot of friends outside of work that must nmake for a pretty lonely existence.

I feel like I've got the best job in the world. Not only do I get to meet a great bunch of people from a variety of backgrounds, but I get to meet their families and their friends; as well as getting to share in the awesome progress they make towards their health and fitness goals.

Next year we're going to do the wheelbarrow event......