10,000 Steps a Day

We doubled our space at NPPT 1.5 years ago. The new space is laid out so that we are running from one area to another more often than we had been. Around 1 month after the expansion, I noticed that my appetite had increased dramatically. I asked around and the rest of the team felt the same way. A few of the guys were losing a little weight (not on purpose). Finally it hit me- we were now walking twice as much in a day than we had been prior to the expansion. Couple the extra steps with all of the lifting we do normally and there you have it. DUH!

The recent guidelines suggest that walking 10,000 steps a day is ideal for your health. The average stride length is 2.5 feet long. That means that 10,000 steps would equal 5 miles!

Based on the team's response to a few extra steps, I would encourage anyone to get out and just move a little more. All of the corny suggestions that don't seem to amount to many calories at the time can really add up over the long haul. Here are a few of the suggestions I was referring to:

• Take a walk with your spouse, child, or friend
• Walk the dog
• Use the stairs instead of the elevator
• Park farther from the store
• Better yet, walk to the store
• Get up to change the channel
• Window shop
• Plan a walking meeting
• Walk over to visit a neighbor
• Get outside to walk around the garden or do a little weeding

We just ordered some pedometers with the NPPT logo. I am interested to see exactly how many steps I am taking each day. Also, I would like to be able to track the lifestyle activities of our clients.

The Walking Site suggests:

A reasonable goal for most people is to increase average daily steps each week by 500 per day until you can easily average 10,000 per day. Example: If you currently average 3000 steps each day, your goal for week one is 3500 each day. Your week 2 goal is 4000 each day. Continue to increase each week and you should be averaging 10,000 steps by the end of 14 weeks.

I have mentioned before that high intensity weight training is the most effective use of your time for the goal of fat loss and general health. The fact is that this still makes up less than 3 to 5 percent of our weekly time. Your low level activity is going to determine a good deal of the rest of your calorie expenditure.

Just promise me I won't see you walking with these:

Bench Pressing Dwarves- I Kid You Not!

This article was brought to my attention by Eric Cressey.

We are always looking for cutting edge programming and techniques to keep our clients motivated. Is it time to look beyond kettlebells and ropes?

Hmmmmm.

Rick Mayo

The World's Most Expensive Clothes Hanger

I read an interesting article in the New York Times regarding home exercise equipment.

People with a home exercise machine were 73 percent more likely to start exercising. But by the end of the year, they were also 12 percent more likely to have quit than people in the study who did not have home equipment.

I would have to agree. A large percentage of our clients have home exercise equipment and they NEVER use it! Even Joe, one of our trainers, bought a treadmill a few years back with the hopes of running on it early on the colder mornings. He did for a while, but a few months later he asked me if I wanted to buy it from him for the gym. This is the same guy that would run 20 one mile laps around his neighborhood while training for a marathon (stick a hot poker in my eye). He certainly does not lack motivation.

Dr. Williams said there were simple ways to increase the likelihood that you will keep exercising. Working out with friends or family members, mastering an exercise (like the proper way to use gym equipment), and working with someone who motivates you, like a personal trainer, all build confidence and bolster the chances of sticking with it.

I brought a few kettlebells home recently and planned on doing some early morning circuits a few times a week. Guess what? I hate working out at my house! I don't think you can overestimate how important environment is in deciding how/where to workout.

It appears that belief in your own ability to stick with a program is the most important factor in determining your success.

This does not mean a home exercise machine leads to less exercise. It just means that having home equipment is not the most important factor. What matters more is “self-efficacy” — a deep-seated belief that we really do have the power to achieve our goals. In the Annals study, those who scored high on psychological measures of self-efficacy were nearly three times as likely to be exercising after a year as those with lower self-efficacy scores, whether or not they owned an exercise machine.

It's no surprise that accountability plays a huge role. Heck, that's why we have been in business for 17 years! It's also why when we see clients that have not been in to NPPT in a few years, they have typically packed a few unwanted lbs.

“We’re not telling people to stop buying treadmills,” said Kurt A. Carlson, assistant professor at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke. “The question is how to get the right people to buy them. Everyone else should recognize they don’t have the motivation, and take the money and use it on a personal trainer or something else that’s going to get them motivated.”

The aforementioned doctors failed to mention that coming to NPPT is the only surefire way to guarantee your success! I'll shoot them an email.

Rick Mayo

Runners and Weight Lifting

Here is an article I presented to a local running group at Fleet Feet Johns Creek.

Ten things you may not know

1. Do NOT stretch before you run!

Now, before you have a coronary, let me explain. Studies support that static stretching (holding a stretch for 30-60 seconds) before physical activity can INCREASE your chances of injury and decrease your athletic performance. What should you do? Perform what we call an active warm-up prior to your run. This warm-up involves moving through ranges of motion that mimic athletic movements. See video for details.

2. Strength training makes you MORE flexible.

Forget about the giant bodybuilder who can’t clap his hands or scratch his booty because he is simple too developed. Weight training performed properly will promote flexibility by working your joints safely through a full range of motion. This is especially important for distance runners due to the limited range of motion that distance running requires.

3. Increase strength = Increase endurance

We all have fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers. Fast twitch fibers are used for explosive movements (jumping, weight lifting) and slow twitch fibers are used for endurance activities (distance running). There are times when both types of fiber are necessary (running up a short steep hill in the middle of a 10K). The better conditioned your fast twitch fibers, they slower they will be to reach fatigue, thus making you faster over a longer period of time.

4. Crunches make you slow!

We could all work on our posture these days. With all of the sitting we do, it’s no wonder that tight hips and rounded shoulders are not all that uncommon. Crunches, by nature, mimic poor posture. The last thing we want to do is include an exercise that will exacerbate poor posture. A far better choice is planks (front and side). Planks will make your abs look great and train your core to stabilize in the correct position. See this post for more.

5. The opposite game – contra lateral lifting

Running takes place on one leg with one arm forward. Try to train your body with weights in the same manner. Example: hold a weight in your right hand
and step up to a box with your left leg. This works your core musculature and builds coordination for running.

6. Stroke it!

Studies support that weight training can increase the stroke volume of your most important muscle. If your heart can pump more blood with each stroke, it won’t have to work as hard over the course of a race or run.

7. I like big butts and I cannot lie! It’s your most important muscle.

Your hips are actually part of your core! Also, your hip complex contains some of your largest and most powerful muscles. If you want to run fast and have healthy knees, back and feet, you need to build strength in your hips. This can be addressed with lunge and squat variations a few times a week.

8. Sitting stinks! Daily posture habits make a huge difference!

Like I mentioned in point #4, sitting can now be considered a dynamic activity. Tight hamstrings, short hip flexors, and rounded shoulders are all the result of excessive sitting. Armed with this knowledge, you can plan your intense runs around the days when you are not strapped to the desk!

9. Bodybuilding magazines are evil. Train movements not muscles.

This single biggest mistake I see runners make in regards to weight training is to design their workouts based on routines featured in bodybuilding magazines. You should aim to develop your weight training regimen so that it compliments your running. Bodybuilding program are design for one thing and one thing only- building massive muscles. The goal for runners is to develop as much strength as possible with little or no weight gain. Strength to weight ratios make all the difference in endurance sports. Just ask Lance Armstrong!

10. Bay to Breakers. Are you ready?

Would you be willing to run naked in front of thousands of cheering fans? No? Then you need to add some weight training to your weekly schedule. While running is a fantastic weight loss tool, nothing will change the shape of your body like weightlifting. Adding a little lean tissue to your body will elevate your metabolism and turn your body into a calorie burning machine. Would you like to burn an additional 50-100 calories on every 30 minute run? Hit the weights!


Rick Mayo

Stability vs Mobility

There are certain parts of your body that are meant to move and other parts that are not. Problems arise when the mobile bits that are supposed to move don't, which forces the otherwise stable areas of your body to compensate and become mobile.

Example: Your hips are one of the areas of your body that should be mobile. Your lumbar spine (lower back) on the other hand, is one of the areas that should be stable. If your hips become tight and immobile, your body is going to compensate by moving something close by, such as the lumbar spine. This chain affect can reek havoc on your spinal health and cause all sorts of pain and structural problems.

This same process can happen in other areas of the body such as shoulders, knees, and cervical spine (neck).

Here is s simple list of parts of your body that should be mobile:

Hips, Shoulders, Ankles, and Thoracic spine (middle of your back)

The following ares should be stable:

Cervical spine, Lumbar Spine, Knees, and Scapular area (shoulder blades)

Using the stability vs mobility model you can begin to design a flexibility program that will address your problem areas. You say your lower back hurts? Look at your hip mobility. Is that bad shoulder back with a vengeance? It's time to look at your scapular stability. Can you begin see how these relationships work?

At NPPT we use the massage therapy, foam rollers, active mobility, and static stretching to promote and maintain flexibility. For more info on how the foam rollers work, check here.

Fat Loss Tips- Part 2

As promised, here are my top 5 nutrition tips for maintaining and or gaining body fat. Disregard the goofy face in the frame!



Rick Mayo

Awesome Chili

I found this recipe on Mark Sisson's site, Marks Daily Apple. Chili is one of my favorite winter foods! Enjoy.

It’s the middle of winter and - in most parts of the country - it’s bitterly cold. Whereas most people turn to “comfort” food like heaping bowls of mashed potatoes or platters of mac and cheese in the winter months, those of us living Primally must approach things a little differently. We can’t take solace in the grains and beans that fill so many stomachs with empty calories and regressive nutrition, and that provide the “full” feeling that people seem to enjoy (I don’t know about you guys, but it just makes me feel bloated and useless).

But don’t assume eating junk food is the only way to stay full, happy, and warm. We have plenty of options. Spicy food, for one, leaves me feeling warm and sated. And I’ll put a hearty stew full of meat, veggies, and spices up against any modern carb fest. Or even better: make a big pot of beanless Primal chili! It’s unquestionably hearty and spicy, it’s full of healthy protein and fats, and it’ll make plenty of leftovers for later use.

I made this recipe on Tuesday with the kids. It was incredibly easy, and I’m actually eating a big bowl of leftovers as I type this (like with most stews and chilis, it’s actually better after marinating a couple of days in the fridge). There’s a fair amount of prep work, but once it’s simmering you’re basically trying to kill time until it’s ready to eat (the amazing smells permeating your kitchen don’t make this any easier).

Primal Chili Recipe:

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions, diced
3 pasilla peppers, seeded and diced
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
3 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cinnamon stick
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, crushed
1 dark beer, such as a porter or imperial stout
2-4 tablespoons canned chipotle chile, diced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Grated queso fresco, for garnish
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
Lime wedges, for garnish

Method:

Heat a large heavy bottomed pot over medium heat; add 3 tablespoons olive oil, the onions, pasilla peppers, and red pepper. Cook until everything is soft and the onions are beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes.

Pat the beef dry and season it with salt and pepper. Add it to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until it has browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.

Add oregano, paprika, coriander, cumin, chili powder, garlic, cinnamon stick, tomatoes, beer and chipotle (add as little as one teaspoon to the whole can depending on how hot you’d like your chili).

Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the meat and shred it with a fork.

Return it to the pot, and cook for another 10 minutes, uncovered, to thicken. Right before you are ready to serve add the red wine vinegar to the pot and stir. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with the queso fresco, cilantro, and lime for garnish.

Makes 4 large or 6 small bowls.

Rick Mayo

A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action!

This may sound cynical, but I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. After 19 years in the personal training industry, I don't find that resolutions are really all that effective at producing results. Setting a goal is one thing, but reaching that goal is what matters. Forget about lofty promises to yourself and the "Come Monday" mentality. Only real action will produce results.

In a previous post, Read, Fire....Aim!, I wrote about goals without actions:

I thought about this theory the other day at the kick-off party for our 3rd annual Fall Back to Fitness Challenge. At the challenge I spoke about strength training and its benefits for weight loss. We even demonstrated a dumbbell workout that could be performed at home with little or no equipment. I was having a conversation with one of the participants and he said, "I can't wait to get started on my new workout program. I'm going out this week to purchase some new running shoes and then I am going to look at treadmills at the mall. Do you know where I can one of those multi station workout machines? I'll train every day once I get that stuff. I am psyched." The truth is by the time this poor guy receives all of his equipment the 6 week contest will be over and he will be stuck with some really expensive clotheslines in his basement and no fitness accomplishments.

I do think that writing down goals and action steps is important for your short and long term success. We use several different forms for goal setting at NPPT.

The key is to actually do the work. You have to pay it forward!

There is no way to "get motivated". Motivation is the product of hard work. At some point you have to just act. AFTER you see some progress on the scale, in your clothes, or in your strength, now you have your motivation.

More from Ready, Fire....Aim!:

A better plan--Quit waiting and take action. Even minor changes in your nutrition and exercise habits can result in great success over time. Walk for 20 minutes after dinner, drink three extra glasses of water....... Everything counts

Happy New Year!

Rick Mayo