700 WLW Fitness Correspondent and Fitness Coach P. J. Striet would like to welcome all of the 700 WLW Morning Show with Jim Scott Listeners!
"Fitness Guy" Segment #15: Last Minute Christmas Gifts for the Fitness Junkie!
The Gymboss Interval Timer *Click on Image Above to Order
This is my favorite new little fitness gadget. Interval training-alternating very intense bouts of activity with bouts of complete rest or low intensity activity-is a great way to train to enhance both conditioning and fat loss.
The Gymboss allows the user to easily organize and customize interval workouts.
The user can set one or two different time intervals from 2 seconds all
the way to 99 minutes and the intervals automatically repeat for the
desired number of intervals the user wants to do in a workout.The Gymboss is about the size of a book of matches, runs on a AAA battery and clips to the user's waistline. The Gymboss has audible alarms which beep when an interval or rest interval is complete. At around $16, this is perfect little gadget and can be used for any type of physical activity.
JC All Purpose Exercise Bands*Click on the Image Above to Order
JC bands, in my opinion, are the most durable and versatile exercise bands on the market. The bands allow for dozens and dozens of exercises to be performed which target all of the major muscular structures in the body. The bands come with a comprehensive exercise sheet and are available in 6 different levels of resistance, which will challenge the beginning exerciser all the way up to an elite athlete. At around $20, these bands are a great value, can be anchored to any secure object and can easily fit in a suitcase which will suit the needs of a fitness enthusiast who travels a lot.
Foam Rollers*Click on the Image Above to Order
Recently featured in the NY Times, foam rollers are used for Self Myofascial Release (SMR) or, more simply, what I like to call "poor man's massage". Self massage techniques, with the use of a foam roller, have become part and parcel of the programs of both recreational exercises and elite athletes alike. Foam rolling exercises improve the quality of your soft tissue, break up adhesions in the muscles and connective tissue, and generally just make you feel great! Self massage with a foam roller is great for recovery between hard workouts, for preparing the body before a hard workout, and for long term injury prevention and performance enhancement...and, at $20, is a heck of a lot cheaper than seeing a massage therapist.
TRX Suspension Trainer *Click on the Image above to Order
Although significantly more expensive than the other items listed, the TRX is the most popular fitness related gift out there this year and has been featured on the reality show The Biggest Loser. The TRX® Suspension Trainer™ uses an easily adjustable strap system, and is a bodyweight-based,
performance training tool that delivers an effective and efficient,
total-body workout that builds strength, balance, flexibility, and core
stability for people of all fitness levels and can be used indoors or out.
The TRX
leverages gravity and your bodyweight to enable hundreds of exercises
for every fitness goal. It's Built with industrial
construction, weighs less than 2lbs., requires minimal storage
space and can be easily set up anywhere. The TRX® is currently being used
by teams in the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and the NCAA, by every branch of the
US military and by top training centers across the US.
"Fitness Guy" Segment #15: Tips to Control Your Appetite
These days, you can't turn on the TV for more than three minutes without being inundated with ads for fattening fast foods, salty snacks and indulgent desserts. So how are we expected to stay on the straight and narrow when our lives are chock-full of temptation?
If you're constantly being driven to diet distraction, these five tips will help you overcome your eating impulses and keep your appetite under control.
Protein and Fiber, a Perfect Pair
Foods high in fiber absorb water and expand the stomach, creating a feeling of fullness. And your body needs more time to digest protein than it does carbohydrates or fat. Choose foods high in both, like beans and lentils, and some protein-rich, whole-grain cereals.
Learn to Love Vegetables
According to nutritionist and PARADE contributing editor Joy Bauer, " nonstarchy vegetables (anything but peas, corn, acorn/butternut squash, and potatoes)…a re low in calories and packed with water and fiber, vegetables fill you up without filling you out."
Anticipate Your Cravings
If you crave a sugary or carbo-loaded snack at 3 p.m. every day, chances are that craving isn't going to go away just because you've decided to change your eating habits. Try reaching for something high in protein (nuts or cheese), or try a snack of fruit or veggies 30 minutes before your anticipated afternoon hunger pangs.
Before You Dine Out, Eat In
If you're serious about eating healthier, dining out can be tough. Even if you didn't feel all that hungry before sitting down at the restaurant, chances are that the smells coming from the kitchen will stoke your hunger. Try eating a handful of nuts (especially walnuts or almonds) before leaving the house; the protein will help curb your appetite and make it easier to resist those fattening menu items.
Stay Strong—And Distract Yourself
Even the best-kept secrets to appetite suppression don't come close the effectiveness of shear willpower. Your decision to change your eating habits—in combination with your commitment to getting healthy—is your strongest defense against temptation. If the urge to splurge does overtake you, get out of the house. Go for a walk, take a ride or visit a friend. Removing yourself from the situation will help keep your health goals in perspective.
"Fitness Guy" Segment #14: Tips for the Middle Age Individual Returning to Exercise After Many Years of Inactivity
Once many people graduate from college, they venture out into the “real world”, begin working 40-60+ per week, get married, start a family, etc. The problem with all of these new and exciting life circumstances is many people neglect themselves, find themselves strapped for time, and their health, fitness level and appearance deteriorates over the next 10, 15 or 20 years. One day, many people wake up and barely recognize themselves: they are 20-50 lbs. heavier, have little energy, are breathless when walking up a flight of stairs etc.
To make matters worse, once someone realizes it is time to start working out again and paying attention to their fitness and nutrition, they jump back in with both feet and engage in activities which they “used to do back in high school and college”. This is usually a recipe for disaster. From years of inactivity, most people in this situation will have developed a great deal of muscle stiffness, shortness, and/or imbalance. Jumping back into an exercise program and expecting their body to perform as it did 20 or more years ago will more often than not result in injury and dissatisfaction. Furthermore, the motivation to continue exercising will dwindle.
If someone wants to get back into exercising after years of inactivity, it is important they take the right approach. Here are some tips:
1. Get a Thorough Fitness Assessment and Joint by Joint Screen and Hire a Personal Trainer for a Few Weeks to Prescribe an Appropriate Introductory Program
2. Don’t Start off by Hitting the Pavement and Trying to Jog or Run (you have to be fit to run…don’t try to run to get fit)
3. When Strength Training, Work the Back Side of the Body
4. Give Proper Attention to Warm-up, Flexibility Work, Mobility Work, and Soft Tissue Work (this cannot be overstated for a middle age person who has sat a desk for the last 20 years and has otherwise done nothing)
"Fitness Guy" Segment #13: Decoding Green Food Lingo
Overview
With the popularity of the “go green movement”, many consumers have chosen to “eat green” as well. As we walk through supermarkets, we are bombarded with green food lingo like organic, natural, free range, etc. All of this green lingo can be awfully confusing, and, often times, misleading. It is important consumers understand common “green food language” in order to make informed decisions, not waste their money and actually receive value from their green purchases.
Let’s look at the following labels commonly found in supermarkets and on packaged foods:
1. Organic (the gold standard)
This is a USDA regulated label that says no pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, antibiotics, or growth hormones were used. Produce, meats and dairy products with a USDA Organic seal are 100% organic, while other types of foods may use the designation if 95% of their ingredients are organic
2. Natural or “All Natural”
This label is only regulated for meat and poultry and signals that no artificial ingredients have been added. However, don’t necessarily confuse this term as nutritious when, for example, reaching for the “all natural” cheese puffs.
3. No Hormones Administered
This is an unverified certification that a cow was never given hormones in its lifetime. However, this stamp on either pork or poultry is entirely irrelevant since, by federal law, chickens and pigs cannot be given hormone injections.
4. No Antibiotics Administered
Another unverified term that purports to tell you that meat or poultry has not been given any antibiotics…don’t count on it.
5. Cage Free
This egg carton label means absolutely nothing nutritionally and not much ethically either. Cage free hens can still be packed wing to wing in a windowless indoor space.
6. Free Range
This is USDA defined, yet unregulated, term. It means a bird has had outdoor access for more than half its life. However, many free range chickens live in crowded barns, with access only to a cramped yard.
7. Grass Fed
Indicates only that a cow ate grass at some point during its life. This is misleading, as even cows raised on big commercial farms will eat grass at some point. Look for the “100% grass fed” label instead.
*IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER “EATING GREEN” DOES NOT GUARANTEE WEIGHT LOSS IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM!! I would rather see someone eat processed, non organic food in the correct amounts than “green” food in the incorrect amounts.
"Fitness Guy" Segment #12: Dining Out Without Derailing Your Diet
When trying to permanently change their eating habits, one of the biggest barriers people face is implementing effective and healthy strategies when dining out. When dining out, people have far less control over the calorie content of their meals, the nutritional quality of the meals, and the manner in which those meals are prepared, etc.
However, whether it’s for business or social purposes, dining out is an inevitable-and enjoyable- part of daily American life, and people need to learn how dine out in a healthy manner if they are serious about permanently changing their eating habits for the better. Here are some tips for dining out without derailing your diet:
1. Research Restaurant Menus Ahead of Time: most chain restaurants make their nutrition information available online. With blackberries and iphones, it is easier than ever for diet conscious individuals to jump online and easily access this information. Bookmark the nutrition information of your favorite chain restaurants for quick referral. There really is no excuse anymore for not doing this…it’s easier than ever. Also, http://www.calorieking.com is a tremendous resource for looking up the nutrition information of food offered by most national chain and franchise restaurants.
2. What to do at Fine Dining Establishments? Fine dining establishments are not required to post their nutrition information, nor is it practical for a number of these establishments to do so due to frequently changing menus. In these situations, where you are not able to access specific nutrition information, it is best to implement very general guidelines in order to keep you on the right track:
Tell your server not to bring a bread basket Minimize alcohol Ask to have salad dressing brought on the side so you can dip the salad into the dressing with a fork Replace starchy carbohydrates (mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, etc) with extra vegetables Ask your server about portion sizes…if they are very large, perhaps ask someone else in your party to split an entrée or ask the server to just bring half of it out and have the other half boxed up for you to take home If you are getting dessert, try to split one with one or more people in your party
"Fitness Guy" Segment #11: My Input on Output
Overview
Most people have probably heard that weight loss and weight gain comes down to “input vs. output”. While most people understand the input side of the equation-the food you eat-many do not appreciate or understand how your body expends calories on a daily basis. By understanding energy expenditure and metabolic rate, meeting and maintaining your weight and body composition goals becomes much more likely.
Components of Metabolic Rate
1. Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): the energy needed to sustain the body’s most basic functions (heart beat, respiration, all the processes on the cellular level, etc) and is responsible for 50-70% of the calories you burn on a daily basis. Many people don’t understand that even if they were to sit still all day long in a chair, their bodies would still be expending a significant amount of energy. To get a rough estimate of your resting metabolic rate, simply multiply your body weight by 10-11.
RMR is greatly influenced by the amount of lean muscle tissue you have: those who carry and maintain more muscle tissue will expend more calories than someone who has less muscle tissue. Bottom line: if you want to prevent a decline in resting metabolic rate as you age, don’t lose muscle mass. Consistent strength training is the best way to accomplish this.
2. The Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): the amount of calories used by the body while processing, digesting, and absorbing the food you eat. Generally, TEF makes up about 10% of the calories expended by your body daily if you are eating a typical mixed American diet. If you eat a 400 calorie cold cut sandwich, you really only take on about 360 of those calories.
Now, you can use TEF to your advantage when trying to lose weight and fat. Of the 3 macronutrients (protein, carb, and fat) protein has the highest TEF: of the total amount of protein you eat, 20-30% is lost in processing. So, if you look at your total calorie intake, if you increase the percentage of protein you are eating, your body will burn more calories. Over time, this can potentially lead to a few more pounds of weight lost.
3. The Thermic Effect of Activity (TEA): this is all the energy you burn outside of your resting metabolic rate through physical activity. Going to the gym to workout is TEA. Getting up from the couch and walking upstairs is TEA. Doing chores or yard work? This is also is TEA. So, basically, any bodily movement which expends energy. TEA is highly variable depending on the individual. Due to the sedentary nature of our society, and the large number of professional desk jobs, most people don’t burn up a lot of energy through TEA. People who work manual labor jobs burn a lot more calories through TEA: they are burning a lot of energy passively without having to set aside an hour to go to the gym specifically to burn calories.
4. There is also a sub-category of TEA which includes “fidgeting”, and other types of spontaneous movements which don’t really accomplish much. We all knew someone in grade school who had “ants in his pants”…this is what I’m talking about here. Those people who can’t sit still, who are always tapping their foot or bouncing their knee, etc. actually can burn very significant amounts of energy, up to 900 calories per day.
For more, and very detailed, information on this topic, please check out the link below:
Fitness Myth #1: Strength training will make you “bulky”
Fact: first of all, the difference between looking “bulky” and “toned” essentially comes down to how much body fat one is carrying. Regardless if you are male or female, you will appear “bulky” if you are carrying too much body fat on top conditioned muscle tissue. Conversely, you will appear lean or “toned” if you carry a low enough level of body fat for your conditioned muscle tissue to show from beneath the skin.
Secondly, putting on a significant amount of muscle mass is a very, very difficult thing to do. It takes extremely intense, consistent training over many years. The typical adult who engages in a basic muscular fitness program of a modest intensity 2 or 3 days per week need not worry about getting “too big”. Worrying about getting bulky from lifting weights for a half hour 2 or 3 days per week is about as logical as not playing golf too often because you might get “too good”…it just isn’t going to happen.
Fitness Myth #2: Cardiovascular exercise and aerobic exercise are the same thing
Fact: while all aerobic exercise is cardiovascular, all cardiovascular exercise is NOT aerobic. Cardiovascular exercise is simply any exercise which elevates heart rate, respiratory rate, and increases muscular work. If you understand this definition, it becomes obvious any number of activities, from brisk walking to weight training, can be cardiovascular.
Aerobic exercise is just the state-with oxygen-in which the cardiovascular exercise is being performed. Oxygen is being supplied to the working muscles, in the adequate amounts, to sustain the activity. You are using the aerobic energy system. Aerobic exercise is lower to moderate intensity. If the intensity of activity increases, and the aerobic system can no longer supply the demands of the activity, you begin to use a different energy system (anaerobic).
Fitness Myth #3: A pound of muscle burns 50 calories per day
Fact: while the above is thrown around by fitness trainers to promote the inclusion of strength training into their clients programs, in reality, a pound of muscle only burns between 6-10 calories per day. However, even though these figures are often exaggerated, muscle still burns 3-5 times more calories per day than fatty tissue.
Fitness Myth #4: Running on a treadmill is safer and just “as good” as running outside
Fact: While the decks of many modern treadmills have a lot more “give” than outdoor pavement, and is safer in this aspect, you have to look at things from a different perspective. When your foot hits the belt of a treadmill, the belt helps to pull the leg through. The problem with this is that it basically takes your hip extensors (hamstrings and gluteals) out of the exercise, making treadmill running predominantly a quadriceps exercise. When you place all the stress on the quadriceps, and if you run on the treadmill frequently, you can potentially end up with muscle imbalances and anterior knee pain. So, while impact forces may be less when running on a treadmill, the amount of stain on the knee can potentially be greater if you engage in this activity frequently.
Fitness Myth #5: To increase your endurance you have to perform longer workouts at a more moderate intensity
Fact: recent studies have shown high intensity, shorter duration interval training to be just as effective as much longer duration, moderate intensity exercise in terms of increasing endurance capacity. Researchers from McMaster University in Canada found 15 minutes of hard interval training spread over two weeks improved endurance capacity to the same extent as 9-12 hours of moderate intensity exercise. Time is a huge factor in one’s overall adherence to exercise, so, ramp up the intensity and you can get great results in a fraction of the time.
"Fitness Guy" Segment #9: Sarcopenia: what is it and how to avoid it?
Sarcopenia is the age related loss of muscle mass, strength, and function. Sarcopenia can begin as early as the 30's, and drastically accelerates after age 75, especially in those who are not physically active. It has been estimated that, after age 30, the typical adult can lose between 3-5% of their lean muscle mass each decade.
While some degree of sarcopenia is inevitable regardless of activity level, it can be drastically reduced by engaging in a consistent and progressive strength training program. Performing only moderate intensity endurance/aerobic work is not enough to prevent accelerated sarcopenia. Aerobic exercise only works the Type I muscle fibers, which are very fatigue resistant but are not capable of producing much force. One must work the higher level Type II muscle fibers, which are the larger and stronger fibers. These fibers can generally only be recruited through anaerobic exercise such as strength training.
Much of the muscle loss associated with sarcopenia is due to a loss of the powerful Type II muscle fibers discussed above. Bottom line: START LIFTING SOME WEIGHT! Please check out the link below for a resource I've put together for all 700 WLW listeners...this will provide you with detailed information on designing your own weight training workouts to prevent sarcopenia:
"Fitness Guy" Segment #8: Nutritional Supplements...helpful, harmful, or all hype?
Nutritional supplements are a billion dollar industry. They are aggressively marketed and manufacturers generally do not need FDA approval prior to producing or selling their products. The FDA and FTC will only step in if a product is harmful.
With a handful of exceptions, most nutritional supplements are a waste of money and do not deliver the results claimed by the manufactures. Many people look at these products as a “magic bullet” and buy into the exaggerated claims made by manufacturers in hopes of achieving the body of their dreams with little effort on their part.
While there are some supplements which are supported by both legitimate scientific research and anecdotally, it is important to remember even these supplements are progress enhancers…they are NOT progress starters. If you are not engaged in a regular exercise program and eating right, these products are going to be of little value to you.
The body is regulated by a tight system of checks and balances: any substance which can cause muscle growth, fat loss, or performance enhancement is more than likely going to have adverse side effects (steroids for example). Bottom line: if you can obtain a substance legally, chances are, it isn’t going to do anything in regards to improving your body’s appearance or performance.
Another group of products to be skeptical of are sports drinks, recovery drinks, protein bars, etc. While these products are generally fine to use, you can get the same benefits and nutrition from much cheaper sources.
"Fitness Guy" Segment #7: Sleep and Its Connection to Good Health
Key Points:
1. Sleep is a basic component of good health…not a luxury. It’s just as important as diet and exercise in regards to living a healthy lifestyle.
More and more evidence is accumulating showing that overall health is very much tied to sleep quality and quantity. When I start dealing with a new private client, I emphasize and assess sleep quality and quantity as much or more as diet and exercise.
2. There are many disturbing trends in sleep deprivation
By almost all measures, we are sleeping less than ever before. In 1960, a survey by the American Cancer Society asked one million Americans how much sleep they were getting a night. The median answer was eight hours. Today that number has fallen to 6.7 hours-a decrease of more than 15 percent in less than a lifetime.
During a normal night, we cycle through different stages of sleep, progressing from light to deep sleep, then into REM (Rapid eye movement), or dream sleep, and back again. As we age, though, the amount of time we spend in deep sleep decreases by as much as 50 percent between the ages of 20 and 60.
Some look at sleep deprivation as a badge of honor and point to how much they are able to get done in day. However, as researchers have pointed out, sleep deprivation is not a challenge our biology is wired for. There's no other mammal that sleep deprives itself other than the human. Our body interprets sleep deprivation as a stress.
3. There are numerous health risks associated with sleep deprivation
Boy, it impacts everything. A lack of sleep impacts our appetite, our metabolism, our memory, our concentration, our reaction time, our alertness, our mood, and our ability to cope with stress.
In regards to weight management, people who are sleep deprived tend to produce much lower levels of a hormone called leptin, which is extremely important in regulating appetite and telling your brain when you are full. When leptin levels are low, you can become ravenous, extremely hungry, even if you are getting plenty of food to eat.
The most disturbing adverse side effect is when we look at sleep deprivation as a risk factor for developing type II diabetes. Researchers at the University of Chicago found depriving young, healthy people of sleep (only 4 hours per night) for only six nights put them in a pre-diabetic state.
4. How much sleep should we aim for and how do we ensure we get it?
7.5 hours is a good goal. Some can do just fine on a little less, while others need a little more, but 7.5 is a good goal to shoot for.
Make good sleep habit’s a priority; try to go to bed and rise at about the same time each day to develop a consistent routine.
Researchers also indicate you should use your bed only for sleeping and having sex…nothing else. No reading, watching television, etc.
Be careful with taking naps. The drive for sleep increases the longer you’ve been awake. It’s easier to get to sleep—and stay asleep—if you don’t break the time you’re awake during the day. If you have a sleep problem, “you generally want to confine sleep to one long nighttime segment.”
Most importantly, eat a healthy diet, maintain a healthy weight, and exercise regularly. All of these things will help ensure sound sleep and also reduce the risk for sleep apnea, a disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep.
For More Information on this topic, feel free to check out the link below:
One of the biggest barriers people face when trying to stay consistent with an exercise regimen is finding the time to train (we live in a busy world).
Luckily, there is ample research to suggest shorter, more intense workouts can produce the same benefits, in a fraction of the time, as much longer workouts at a moderate intensity . The key to this approach is not focusing on the volume or duration of your workouts, but, instead, the quality and intensity of your workouts.
One of the best ways to get a result producing yet brief workout is through the use of interval training: alternating short bouts (15-60 sec) of very intense work with bouts of complete rest or very low intensity work.
A study done by researchers at McMaster University (Canada) showed 7.5 minutes of hard interval training over the course of a week produced the same gains in exercise endurance as 4.5 hours of traditional cardiovascular exercise at a moderate intensity.
As long as you are in good health, and are willing to endure a little discomfort, you can get terrific results, safely, through the use of high intensity interval training.
Another key to making shorter, more intense workouts work for you is adjusting your mindset in regards to exercise: you must look at exercise as a method to enhance your fitness rather than a method to produce weight loss. People by and large exercise to lose weight…this is an approach doomed to fail. Proper diet and nutrition is the best, most efficient way to lose weight, and exercise is the best way to get stronger and increase your work capacity.
For more information on interval training, please feel free to check out the links below:
As promised, here is the video playlist of warm-up exercises for golf. Pick any 8-10 of the drills presented in the playlist, and perform 1 set of 8-10 repetitions. This will only take you 5:00 to do and will go a long way towards keeping you injury free.
"Fitness Guy" Segment #4: Understanding Food Instincts and Hunger Control
In this segment, I discussed the importance of understanding your "food instincts" and learning to acknowledge, accept, and control hunger. Check out the link to the article below for a detailed look at this topic:
Week of 3-30-09: Characteristics of People Who Have Lost Weight and Kept it Off; The Role of Social Support and Accountability in Successful Weight Loss
In this segment I mentioned the National Weight Control Registry, developed by researchers at Brown Medical School. The NWCR tracks the characteristics of those who have lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off over the long term. Check out the NWCR below:
I also discussed the importance of social support and accountability in successful weight loss. Check out a recent post on my blog regarding this topic:
Thanks so much for listening to my segments on 700 WLW! For more information about me, fitness, fat loss, performance, and corrective exercise, please check out the links below:
In this segment, I mentioned there are several resources available to make weight loss, calorie counting and tracking your food intake more manageable and a bit less tedious. Here they are...
This is the A-Z practical guide to weight loss. In this course, which I provide to all of my private clients, I cut through all the details, fluff, and minutia, and just get down to the important principles and strategies you need to understand and apply in order to successfully lose weight and keep it off. I cover everything from determining your weight loss calorie requirements (which you must do first in order to make calorie counting productive) to how stress and your sleep habits effect your weight loss efforts. This is a guide you NEED TO READ!
These are the online food databases and activity trackers which I have found to be extremely helpful when trying to lose weight and track your calorie intake.
Thanks again for listening to me on 700 WLW, and I'll be back very soon with more supplemental information for my future segments! Until then, feel free to check out the following:
