O.K.

So despite your best efforts, you over-indulged on all things Thanksgiving.

So how can you start burning off all the extra calories?

What if I told you there was a way to do it, which involved something that you enjoy doing.

So what’s the secret?

It’s called shopping.

O.K.

You might be thinking,

I love shopping

But how is this going to help me burn off any extra calories.

Simple.

You exercise shop.

By this I mean, incorporating more exercise into your shopping than you normally do.

For starters do not circle the parking lot for an hour looking for that ultra-close spot.

No.

Park some distance away so you have to walk.

Second when you get into the store or mall and are done, and are going to move on to another store, don’t leave the store until you’ve done a lap around it.

Then move onto your next stop.

Of course, if you happen to be in a mall, the perfect thing to do is to take a couple of trips around the mall, and by trips I mean serious trips, no slow walking.

Really put some effort into to it.

Next, you take the stairs whenever possible—stairs are one of the best workouts that you can do.

Finally, do not count out the workout you get from carrying around all those shopping bags.

Lastly, make sure you steer clear of food court at the mall.

So your Little Nudge for this week is.

To find ways to turn your holiday shopping into a cardio workout.

UNTIL NEXT WEEK

THINK FITNESS

That’s right women should not lose weight.

Before you think I want women to do nothing but gain weight let me explain.

When I say women should not lose weight, I mean women should not focus on just losing weight.

They should focus on losing fat—and not worry about what the scale says.

Why?

Simple.

And this leads me to my first reason:

MUSCLE EQUALS STRENGTH

And to me muscle strength means health, it means that I am in shape and I am strong and can handle things.

So why exactly would you want to get rid of the muscle that is on your body.

O.K.

You might be thinking,

Who said anything about getting rid of muscle?

Well, that is exactly what can happen if you focus on just what the scale says.

For example,

When someone has a special occasion coming up, like a reunion or wedding what happens?

They have to go on a strict diet right away.

So they starve themselves and sure they lose some weight, most of it probably being water and some muscle.

Exactly what you don’t want.

Reason Number Two

MUSCLE BURNS CALORIES

Muscle is the most metabolically active substance on the body—meaning it burns the most calories.

Please don’t let anyone tell you that fat does not burn calories because it does just not as many as muscle.

Some of those early numbers that showed that muscle burned like fifty calories per day pure pound were wrong and honestly I don’t know how many calories per day a pound of muscle burns, but I do know muscle burns calories.

So for instance if a women starts going to the gym and trains with the intent of actually gaining muscle and not using those super small pink weights and gains ten pounds of muscle, that means she will have ten more pounds of muscle on here frame actively burning calories twenty-four hours a day seven days per week—sounds good to me.

So again, why would you want to just watch the scale go down, when as it goes down, so does, chances are, your metabolism as well, which means it will be harder and harder to lose weight.

Next up is reason number three

MUSCLE BRINGS CONFIDENCE

By this I mean, let’s go back to the above example.

Say our imaginary women, before she started going to the gym, was well skinny, but was not happy with her body.

Flash forward, as the months progress, she see her body change, muscle comes on while body fat goes down.

Even though the scale does not register much of a change.

Now when she looks in the mirror she sees a totally different person, she sees a lean, firm body, that doesn’t look starved.

It looks healthy and better yet, she knows that she has control over her body; she can change her shape for example, by gaining more muscle in her side delts, to make her already small waist, look even smaller.

SOME COMMENTS

For my money muscle is way better for burning fat and totally reshaping your body than aerobics.

But building muscle, for both men and women goes far beyond the muscle you gain.

It is the confidence it gives you.

For example, you can open that jar or move that couch or lift your kids, basically just live a better life when you are stronger.

I am not saying that aerobics, like a nice brisk walk, does not have its place because it does.

And for being totally healthy, I always recommend both, brisk walks done for thirty to forty-five minutes four times a week, being my preferred form of aerobics.

Also, I would like to make a comment on the myth that women will become too muscular if they lift weights, not so.

So for any women reading this, please do not worry about gaining too much muscle.

CONCLUSION

I hope from reading this post, women and yes men too, can see that just focusing on the scale, is not a good thing, it can strip away the one thing you actually want on your body, which is muscle.

Oh sure, you might be able to get away with a crash diet for a wedding or reunion without too much damage but to me it sets a bad precedent, one that can eventually lead to trouble.

Until Next Time

STAY SMART

In this month’s Iroman Magazine Dave Goodin talks about sprinting for fat loss and why he doesn’t like it.

Since I totally agree with him on this I thought I’d give my thoughts on it.

The idea behind sprinting for fat loss is a good one; after all, we all know that weight training burns calories long after the workout is over.

And since doing things like sprints or interval type training for cardio closely mimics what we do in the gym, why wouldn’t it be effective.

As with all things, what looks good on paper does not always pan out in the real world and this is exactly what happens, for most.

Personally, I know from experience that sprinting will not work well for me because after a hard leg session my legs are gone and if I tried to do sprints the next day—my legs would be toasted.

One thing that never gets talked about when people try and integrate activities like sprinting into bodybuilding is this.

Those sprinters you see on T.V. both male and female have been training at this discipline for years.

This was not something that they just picked up overnight.

And even these elite athletes get hurt sprinting.

Yet for some reason we think that we (bodybuilders) can just go out and start sprinting with no repercussions.

Bad idea.

SOME COMMENTS

Another thing that I don’t understand about sprinting is this.

Why in the world would you do this activity to lose fat if you are starting to cut calories?

The last thing you need to do is add in something as intense as sprinting at this point.

To me brisk walking has always been my cardio of choice and the reasons are numerous.

First it is low impact, second it can be done anywhere, and third it burns calories.

Plus, to be a little funny here, if you are dieting it will get you out of the house and away from food.

Another benefit of walking is that to me, it works for all types and by this I mean, even if you are one of those bodybuilders that has to eat and eat just to put on a pound of muscle you can still go out for a moderate walk three or four times per week.

These walks would be more for the cardio benefit that they provide, than for the calorie burning they provide.

Plus if you don’t overdo it they shouldn’t really tap into your reserves all that much.

CONCLUSION

To me sprinting goes back to what I said in an earlier post, you always need to keep studying and learning all you can about bodybuilding.

Then you must take what you’ve learned and make a decision.

For me, the benefits of sprinting do not outweigh the risks so I will not be doing this form of cardio any time soon.

Is sprinting right for you?

This is something only you can decide.

Until Next Time

KEEP SMART

I was watching a show on the world’s largest man the other day when I saw him do something that I thought was very interesting.

They had put him on a diet (I won’t say which) and his goal was to be able to walk again.

Now that was not the interesting part.

What was interesting was the ways he found to exercise.

Because he was confined to his bed, he would dance (I believe to music) by moving his arms and moving his upper body from side to side.

I know this does not look like much, but when you consider—according to what they said I the show, and what I remember—he hadn’t left his apartment in five years, this is a lot of exercise.

Later, they also showed him laying in bed and bringing his arms over his head and then back down, he was doing this quickly.

COMMENTS

I know, to most people this would amount to almost nothing, but, my point is that no matter what, if you truly what to get in shape it can be done.

I remember reading an article by Bill Starr in which (sorry Mr. Starr if I get this wrong as I am doing it by memory) he said that he didn’t like getting up early but since this was the only time he’d have—he did it in order to get his run in.

If you are dedicated you will find a way.

O.K.

You might be thinking, what that T.V. show has to do with me.

Well.

Let’s say you have been meaning to get in some more exercise, either to help you lose some body fat, or just because you want more exercise.

But you never seem to have the time.

If you get an hour for lunch, spend a half-hour of it going for a nice brisk walk.

If like most people, with nine to five jobs you work five days per week that would be two-and-a-half hours of brisk walking per week.

And hey, you have to take your lunch break anyway, so why not use it to do something good for yourself.

Another point is this:

If you feel that you are so out of shape (and you probably are not) that you don’t want to go to the gym, start working out at home.

Start with some slow walking, either on a treadmill or outside and gradually work up to a half hour of brisk walking three days per week.

Next work in some weight work.

Does not matter if you do not have weights, use soup cans and those plastic one gallon milk containers.

One of those filled with water equals seven pounds, I believe.

Or you say you are so weak you can only do one push-up, no problem, start from that point and work your way up.

Within a year you will be cranking out push-ups like crazy.

My point here being, it does not matter how little equipment you have, if you want it bad enough you will find a way.

CONCLUSION

Getting In shape is not easy, but don’t let anyone tell you that it can only be done with a gym full of fancy equipment.

Not true.

Plenty of people have started on the road to fitness by simply walking around the block and going from there.

So please, if you feel that you simply cannot get in shape, think again, just start doing something everyday and before you know-it, exercise will be something that you want to do—

Not have to do.

Until Next Time

NEVER QUIT

I know that weight training is the best way to reshape your body. Imagine yourself having gained ten rock hard pounds on your shoulders, back, and chest, along with a serious drop in body fat and you will have completely reshaped your body—in a good way.

However, I still am a firm believer in the benefits of doing some form of aerobic work, not just for fat loss, but for overall health as well.

There are tons of things you can choose from; however, for me there is only one—good old fashion walking.

Why?

First off, you can almost do it anywhere, anytime, and you really do not need anything more than a good pair of walking shoes.

Second, it is low impact. I know a few people who have gone through knee replacements and trust me it was not pleasant for them, so I’ll leave the running to other people.

I know some of you will be saying, “What about sprinting, I thought high intensity cardio was a great way to burn off fat?”

Yes, it probably is, however, I’ve read about too many people messing up their Achilles tendons and tearing hamstrings to really consider this option.

Also, if you are really doing some intense leg workouts, the last thing you need is more work for your legs, and that is exactly what you will get if you do some high intensity cardio, be it, sprints or interval training on a stationary bike.

That leads me to my third point about walking—it burns calories—without being stressful on the legs—meaning it does not dip into your reserves too much.

And last but not least, you can scale it up, meaning, if you really are dragging and you do not feel like doing any cardio you can just go for a slow walk. However, if you are really in need of some calorie burn off, you can go for a brisk walk.

CONCLUSION

Walking may not be the hot thing-of-the-month, however, that does not mean it is not effective.

So the next time you are looking to burn off some additional calories try a nice brisk walk.

Trust me you will not be disappointed!