Success is No Secret

Pick up any health magazine and you will inevitably find some promotion of the next big health secret. The new exercise routine that is changing the game, the new drink that gives you endless energy, burns fat, and has no side effects, the new diet that “really” works. The problem with all of this is that every month, there are new secrets to be learned, half of which contradict last month’s secrets. If you or anyone you know has been highly successful, you have most likely already discovered that the secret to success is no secret at all. Success is the result of consistency, plain and simple.

Focus on the Fundamentals

Now we can argue about what things are important to be consistent with, but usually the details are much less important than taking the fundamental, big picture ideas, and being consistent.

Take weight loss as an example. We can argue about which foods to eat, when to eat, and what supplements to take, but in the end, those people that are most successful have found a way to exercise more and eat less on a consistent basis. The have made these things part of their daily routine and even when the holidays, birthdays, or vacations come up, they are STILL consistent. They find ways to get in their workouts and they find ways to limit their eating and drinking.

Is this easy? Not always, but there is never a “good” time to undertake building a new exercise program and eating routine. Life is busy, but if you have a goal that is important to you, there is no time like the present to get started.

The key is to keep going once you have taken the first step. It’s easy to stay the course if you are motivated and you have no major obstacles, but what about when life gets in the way? This is when consistency is MORE important and when it makes the biggest difference. This is where long-term change for the better is set or lost.

Look Back to Move Forward

If you have struggled to achieve a goal in the past and are looking to try to reach that goal again, it would serve you to look back and determine why exactly you were unsuccessful before. Undoubtedly you will find reasons why you failed and each of these will have impacted your consistency in some way. Success takes action, so the only way success is limited is when action is stopped.

So, what happened? What came up that impacted your consistency and what happened that kept you from getting back on track once you fell off? Only when you reflect on your past struggles will you be able to formulate a plan of attack. And with this plan of attack and your unwavering focus on consistent action, you will be prepared to not only achieve your goal, but surpass it. This is the secret to success, and luckily for all of us, it is no secret at all.  

Giving Thanks for Health

What makes Thanksgiving such a special day is that it is the one day each year that we take the time to really recognize and cherish all that we are thankful for. While we all have different things for which we are most thankful, I would like to propose that health or progress toward better health should be at the top of the list. Not to minimize the significance of friends and family, as it is these people that make life worth living, but without health, we may not have a life or at least a quality life in the first place. It is our body’s ability to sustain life, fight off infection and disease, and optimize brain function that allow us to enjoy our friends, family, hobbies, vocations, etc. Without our health, life may not be lived to its full potential, and when you only have one shot, it’s important that we cherish the health that we do have.

This is why I feel that for Thanksgiving this year it is worthwhile to really reflect on the impact that “health” has on our lives. If you are currently healthy, you can reflect on all the things that have been possible in your life because of your health. If you are currently working to improve your health, you can reflect on what is now possible that was not before. If you are feeling like you are at the bottom and there is nowhere but up from here, you can reflect on the opportunity that you have to make things better. This is one of the most remarkable attributes of humans: the ability to change. We can create the lives that we desire, and the fact that you are still alive means that you have an opportunity to improve your situation.

No matter what state your health is in, you can undoubtedly find something to be grateful for and find hope in the fact that even if things are not perfect right now, it could probably be worse, and you have the power to make things better. When you combine this with all the other things we have to be thankful for, we should come out of this year’s Turkey Day feeling pretty darn good. So have fun, enjoy each other’s company, and remember to give thanks for life, love, and happiness.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Holiday Survival Guide

It’s that time of year again…time for fun, food, and visits with friends and family. While this can be a joyous time shared with the ones we love, for many people it can present a tremendous challenge in keeping or building healthful habits. Something that we always talk about is the importance of having a solid routine, so that even if you do get off track, you have the habits built in to go back to your normal routine which keeps you looking and feeling your best.

What makes this time of year particularly difficult is that the “routine” can get thrown off from a number of different directions. Between holiday parties, family coming into town, going out of town, and leftovers, there can be a lot of stress and anxiety as we work to maintain all that we have worked for in the previous year.

That is what this article is all about; helping you to survive the holidays, not by locking yourself away to avoid all temptation, but by taking a practical approach and planning ahead.  Here is the plan:

1) Don’t expect miracles. This is not the time of year to focus on losing 20 pounds in the next six weeks. While that is completely possible, it is not likely, and you have to take a realistic look at  your situation. If you have a pretty slow holiday schedule and you can focus on your goals, then yes, continue to work toward your goals. But if you have 15 parties lined up and are traveling two or more times, then maybe just maintaining the progress you have made this year is the goal.

2) Be consistent with exercise. In the end, the holidays really only consist of three main days of celebration, with one or two days around each that may impact your normal workout routine. That means that over the next eight weeks, MAYBE seven of the days you would have normally worked out will be impacted. No problem--there are still 35 other days that you can get your workouts in! Add to this that there is time to at least go for a walk any day of the year, and you could still make staying active a priority (even 10 minutes can make a difference) and not be impacted by the holiday season.

3) Focus on portions, not food items. Yes, there are benefits to avoiding certain types of food, and if you have an allergy or sensitivity then by all means skip the gravy or potatoes au gratin. If not, when the day comes and you sit down to eat, forget all the rules and enjoy your meal. Again, Thanksgiving and Christmas are only two days, and even if you have a post Turkey-Day brunch, or a Christmas Eve dinner, that is still only four meals. Enjoy the food! Just be conscious of how much you eat. The best way to do this is to truly enjoy your food. Eat slowly and savor every bite. Extend the meal not by going back for seconds and thirds, but by slowing down and enjoying the first plate more! By doing this, you will get more out of the meal while feeling full faster, and won't end up feeling like a stuffed turkey all night.

4) Pace yourself. While you will most likely drink, you do not have to have two glasses of wine finished before dinner even starts. Just as it is beneficial to slow down as you eat, slowing down your drinking can be helpful. You could start with a drink, sip on it for a while, have a glass of water once you’re done, sip on that for a while, and then go back for your second drink when you sit down for the meal. You can continue alternating drinks and water through dinner and the rest of the night, or, even better, switch to something else after dinner. If this sounds like it is a huge change from your usual holiday drinking routine, then just think about how much you usually have throughout the night and cut it down by a reasonable margin. Your body will thank you for each drink you pass up, so even one less can make a difference. 

5) Take time for yourself. While it can be wonderful spending time with friends and family, we can easily forget to find time to just be. Taking five to ten minutes to relax, quiet the mind, and just breathe can provide energy and a mood boost when things are getting a little crazy.

6) Life is not a game of perfect. No matter how hard you try, there is no such thing as perfect. You will not be able to stay on your diet 100%, you will not be able to prepare the perfect dinner, your Christmas lights will inevitably have that one bulb that has gone out, and whatever you have planned for this holiday season will not go exactly as you have it pictured. This is just how life is and it is important to be okay letting things go and seeing the best in everything. There will be good times and there will be stressful times, but in the end what is important is that you are with the people you love and that you are able to keep yourself feeling good. If you can focus on these two things, you will be setting yourself up for a great holiday season and giving yourself a head start in the New Year. 

The 4-Minute Workout

In a recent conversation with a client, it became apparent to me that a new style of training has been gaining popularity in fitness programs. Many gyms are now starting to incorporate what they call “Tabata” type workouts into their group classes. Based on the Tabata Protocol studied by Izumi Tabata, and originally used by the Japanese Olympic speed skating team, this study has been sighted as one of the most influential pieces of research done in the field of interval training and cardiovascular capacity. The study that Izumi put together involved college athletes doing eight 20 second rounds of an all-out sprint on a stationary bike, with 10 seconds of rest between each round.

While this workout did result in significant gains in cardiovascular capacity, there are two important differences between what they did and what “Tabata” classes are doing: duration and intensity. You CANNOT have a 45-minute “Tabata” workout. The study was based on eight rounds of 20 seconds of work to 10 seconds of rest. If you are working for more than four minutes, you are not training within the Tabata structure. More importantly, each of the 20-second bursts was ALL-OUT. All-out means that at the end of each burst, you literally have nothing left. This is exactly why the Tabata is so effective…but incredibly brutal. Most people are not capable of pushing themselves to their limits, let alone eight times in the course of four minutes. This is why Izumi went to college athletes to do the test and not your average weekend warrior.

I don’t mean to say that attempting this method will not be effective, or that other circuit/interval training is ineffective, but it is not right to claim to be providing the type of results that the Tabata Protocol produced when there are probably very few classes that do the program exactly as it was intended.

Another important point is that other than a stationary bike, there are almost no other pieces of equipment or exercises that you can truly go all-out on for eight straight rounds. If you were to do squats, you would have to load yourself perfectly so that right at 20 seconds you would fatigue, then change the weight so that it happened at the exact right time for the next round, and so on. The only other exercise that might work is sprinting, but this is not recommended for most people, as injury can occur.

All in all, I love the idea of a simple 4-minute workout; you just have to keep your expectations realistic and adjust it for your abilities. If you want to add in a Tabata type workout into your workout routine, I would recommend a few things:

1) Do only 4 minutes of intervals.

2) Build up. Even though the work to rest ratios may not be Tabata approved, starting with a 10/20 or 15/15 work-to-rest ratio is much more practical for most people.

3) Do just one exercise for a greater cardiovascular effect. Pair two exercises for a greater metabolic/fat burning effect.

4) If you have access to a stationary bike, start there. This will be the easiest on your joints and allow you to regulate your intensity.

5) Take time beforehand to do a dynamic warm-up, work on your movement patterns and posture, and do an exercise-specific warm-up as well (if you are about to use the bike for your 4-minute workout, take 1-2 minutes to ride the bike before your first all-out burst) .

6) Cool down after your last round, do some stretching, and finish with foam rolling of the muscles that just got worked.

If you follow these steps you can still get great benefits using the Tabata template even though you may not be doing it exactly. Just remember, the results from doing this or any of the classes that claim to use this method will not be the same as if you were to actually follow the program. This does not mean that you will not see results; they will just be reduced. If you can build up to a true Tabata, then you will have found one of the most effective workouts around; just be careful, it’s a doozy!