The Fitness Adviser

I am doing an intense exercise routine in my apartment this winter. One of the days is such a pain in the butt that I really have to psych myself up to mentally prepare for it. The big challenge I have found with doing exercise at home is the ability to go easy on myself or finding an excuse to cut my workout short. It is much harder to justify cutting a workout short, when you drive to a gym. I'd like to discuss this a bit as well as get your comments and tips that you may have regarding exercising at home.

[The benefits of working out at home is the time you save. The downside is that you are the only person holding yourself accountable. It is so easy to simply find an excuse to cut your workout short, skip sets, etc.]

I'm sure you have all heard of the term skinny fat. This when someone is chubby but doesn't take up much space. A person who is close to their target weight, but is soft all over. To be honest, this is a super easy thing to fix, but a lot of people go about it the wrong way. Someone who is skinny fat is just 3 months away from transforming their body, they just need to attack this problem the right way.

[This isn't an example of skinny fat people. I just wanted to include a Halloween themed picture, since this holiday is approaching for a lot of us. I think it looks psychotic when people wear animal heads without the rest of the costume.]

Ab Circle Pro sells for $199, Body by Jake Ab Scissor Ultra sells for $159, and the basic "old school" Ab Wheel sells for $10. The ironic thing is that cheap little ab wheels are more effective than either of these over priced, yet wildly popular, ab machines. The crazy thing is according to the merchant, over 700,000 Body By Jake Ab Scissors have been sold to date. Who knows how many Ab Circle Pro units have been sold, but it has to be a ton judging by all the recent infomercials on TV late at night or early in the morning.

[Getting flat abs or a a six pack is mainly about diet. The Ab Circle Pro advertises that you do "Cardio & Abs at the Same Time". Technically they aren't lying, except that the type of cardio performed will do very little if anything to make a difference.]

I am sure you have heard the excuse of a slow metabolism as a reason for putting on weight as people get older. I remember being pretty thin as a teenager and older relatives telling me to "enjoy it while you can". They would say things like, "I was thin just like you until I hit 30, then my metabolism slowed down". I was told "just wait until you are 30, then you will understand what we are talking about". So I am rolling up on 40 and didn't put on any weight in my 30's. I waited for that big metabolism slow down to hit me, but it never really happened. Was I just lucky or is something else going on here?

[I love black and white photos, especially when they are well done. I chose this particular photo because I love the lighting and shadowing. Plus this older gentleman looks great!]

I am going to dissect a recent Time magazine article called, "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin". I do agree with parts of this article, but think a lot of this is bogus. The author simply isn't taking a strategic approach to exercise and seems to be complaining for his lack of results. That being said, I do agree with a few of his points. Let's dig in!

[While staying lean and losing body fat is largely about diet, you can magnify the effects of a good diet with the right types of exercise. Note: The photo above is a good example of eating smaller portions of your favorite foods.]

A Brief Overview of the Article in Time Magazine

Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin <---click here to read the full article (opens in a new window). In this article, the author John Cloud complains about how he has been stuck at the same weight his entire life. He claims that no matter how hard he exercises he just can't get rid of the gut that hangs over his belt. He believes exercising "makes" him overeat and does the same for just about anyone who exercises. The rest of the article shows studies that try to prove his point.

Some of the Problems With the Article and Studies He Cites

Ryan Kwanten is an example of a guy who stays extremely fit without going anywhere near a gym. He also keeps a normal amount of muscle mass for his frame, while keeping his body fat low. The result is a physique that looks great in nice clothes as well as on the beach. True Blood is an extremely entertaining show by the way, me and my girlfriend are hooked. So let's talk more about Ryan Kwanten's workout and how he stays so lean.

[The cool thing about being slim and muscular is that you can look great in stylish clothing. You certainly don't have to be as slim as Ryan, but there really isn't a big need to go out of your way to add a bunch of muscle. Being the normal size for your frame with exceptional conditioning, will create a better look than endlessly pursuing muscle mass.]

 

For decades, fitness experts around the world have been debating whether or not you should mix up your workouts. Those who are in favor of it claim that by mixing up your workouts, you’re challenging your muscles in new ways and forcing them to adapt and grow in response. Those against it say that the most important thing is consistency, and mixing up your routine ruins that consistency.

Like many people, I was never really into swimming growing up besides for leisure. Sure, I knew how to swim and took a few courses here and there in different summer camps. But in general, I never had a serious interest in it and by the time I hit high school age I almost completely stopped swimming (which is sort of funny considering I made time to sail).

[One of my dreams is to take a boat out to the ocean and just watch the most graceful and beautiful creatures to be found on the planet. I also think that anyone who ever wants to take a voyage out to the ocean is safer and better off if they're a solid swimmer as well.]

Who doesn’t know that person who seems to eat whatever they want, whenever they want, but never seems to gain any weight. The same person who drives you crazy as they stuff their face, guilt free, with that 400 calorie fatalicous donut while you’re trying to stick to a strict diet consisting of lettuce and some nuts with no dressing.

What if I told you, that by reading this article, you can learn how to BE that person.

[Read on to learn how she's able to eat like that without ever gaining weight...]

Why Some People Never Gain Weight

The first thing you have to understand about people who never gain weight is that they only eat when they’re hungry. Not the kind of hunger you get when you “crave” ice cream or a large piece of steak, but rather the kind of hunger you get when your body is telling you that you’re starving it and it needs food now. Which brings us to the next point…

Someone recently sent me an article that Time Magazine published that has been making a lot of waves. In it, the author contends that exercise isn’t helpful at all for weight loss, but that the most important part of weight loss is your diet. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

[If the mouse had been reading The Fitness Adviser instead of Time Magazine, he wouldn't be in this kind of bad situation to start with.]

“”In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless,” says Eric Ravussin, chair in diabetes and metabolism at Louisiana State University and a prominent exercise researcher. Many recent studies have found that exercise isn’t as important in helping people lose weight as you hear so regularly in gym advertisements or on shows like The Biggest Loser — or, for that matter, from magazines like this one.”

So Time magazine is saying your diet is more important than exercising for weight loss. I wonder where I’ve heard that before? Wait, I remember now. Here it is:

There’s only one thing that Rush Limbaugh is known for more than his political opinions, and that’s his ability to lose weight fast. In fact, he recently announced on his show that he has lost 80 pounds in 150 days using Quick Weight Loss Centers.

What’s Rush Limbaugh’s diet? Well, apparently it’s too complicated for him to explain, but has something to do with not combining different kinds of proteins at meals, taking supplements, and eating 1,500 calories a day. So if Rush isn’t sharing all the juicy details of his diet, how can you learn how to lose weight like Rush Limbaugh without spending thousands of dollars on a personal trainer to map out your day?

Learning From Rush’s Diet

Let’s analyze what we do know about Rush’s diet program:

1) His entire program focuses on his diet.

2) He’s taking supplements.

3) He’s not mixing proteins at meals.

My name may be Rafi, but I’m going to be “frank” with you, and tell you that this complete and total obsession among people with their body fat percentage has to stop. It was sort of amusing when it started, but now it has crossed the line. Like Jean-Luc Picard once said, “The line must be drawn here! This far and no further!”

[If I get over 100 comments on this post, I will reenact this scene and post it for the entire internet to see. Seriously.]

First, let me just state the facts. In general, women in their 20’s should have between 21%-32% body fat and men in their 20’s should have between 8%-19% body fat according to this. It goes up a few percentage points as you get older. That means that if you have 15% body fat and you’re active as a man or you have 26% and you’re active as a woman, that you’re doing great. In fact, you probably look pretty good too.