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.]
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.
New site is UP at PassionateFitness.com!!!!!
A few things about the site -
It’s a community based fitness site meant to give total freedom to the users. You have a totally customizable profile, you can upload pictures, connect twitter updates to your profile, submit articles, use the forums, friend other users and more! It’s a really, really cool site and I will admit that I created something that I would really like to use too. 
I really, really enjoyed blogging here and I plan on continuing to post over at the new site, although the format is a little different. I have so much respect for every person who has commented and contributed here that I can probably recite every single commenters name from memory and even remember the comments!
I’m happy to say that The Fitness Adviser has really grown since June when I started the site. There’s a solid readership here and some awesome people who frequently comment. I honestly always looking forward to seeing what you guys have to say!
Because of this great response, I’ve decided to transform the site into something much greater, with a much bigger focus on the community instead of just a blog. I can’t go into it in detail right now, but the new site is going to be up within a few days and I’ll just tell you that you will be very impressed. The idea behind it is probably like no other fitness site that you’ve ever seen.
Anyway, that’s all for now and I’m looking forward to seeing all of you on the new site!
P.S. The Ten Dollar Store is going to be closed within the next couple of days. Sorry about the inconvenience.
Music is an amazing thing. It can make the mundane exciting, it affects your mood, it can make you dance, and occasionally give you a splitting headache. Just to show you how much of an affect music has on you, try watching a movie without the music one day and notice how an exciting montage becomes dull.
[Try watching this Rocky montage without sound and you'll see how big of an impact music has on movies.]
Now, a research study quoted by MSNBC has come out saying that music may be helpful to your workouts as well. Apparently, women who were listening to music during their workout were able to accomplish more repetitions before fatiguing than those who didn’t listen to music.
The Distraction Factor
Aside from getting your adrenaline pumping, music helps you workout harder because it distracts you from the pain of the workout. Interestingly, distraction plays a huge role in general in people’s pain tolerance. I remember distinctly reading about two studies on distraction increasing pain tolerance.
I’ve always been a fan of cross training for a few reasons. For one, I like the idea of being able to do multiple things and not just one and two, it always seemed more natural to do various activities instead of just doing one. It turns out that my like of cross training is well grounded, with this study on cyclists now coming out.
[Cycling is a great activity...but should be done in conjunction with other things as well.]
Basically, what the study says is that bone density in competitive cyclists is lower than a normal person. That means that the bones of these professional athletes that 100% concentrate on cycling are weaker than a normal person’s!
That means that while these guys might be amazing at racing the Tour de France, if you put a 50 pound pack on a cyclist and asked him to hike a mountain, he would, in my opinion, be at serious risk for a bone fracture. This of course, brings us to the point of this article:
Here’s the deal. Email me at rafi(@)thefitnessadviser(dot)com your name and your favorite workout meal. I’ll then post it on the site. Then we’ll have a vote on who has the most popular post workout meal. The winner will get a skype phone call from me personally (you have to have skype, I’ll email you for your skype information) where we can discuss anything from fitness to what you want to see on the site.
[Great news...you can win a skype phone call from me personally by joining the post workout meal contest!]
I know there are people who follow this site from all over the world, so I’m definitely looking forward to what you guys send. Submissions end on the 4th 10th so make sure to send in your favorite post workout meal as soon as possible (with a picture is preferable but not necessary). Good luck!
One thing that I really think is important for people to understand when they get into fitness is that there’s no “right” way of working out. Once you understand the basics of which movement targets which muscle group, and that you need resistance to build muscle, the sky is the limit on putting together different exercises and even creating new exercises to build strength.
[The core of the body is the what keeps the body stabilized, similar to what a trunk does for a tree.]
That means that while beginners might need workout programs made out for them to get started, once you gain more knowledge about working out you shouldn’t be afraid to experiment with different techniques and exercises as long as you do it with safety in mind.
