Do you think it’s a coincidence that obesity is at
an all time high, rising in lockstep with these lackadaisical
attitudes?
Even with all these “new” exercise programs,
training routines, scientific “breakthroughs,”
diets, books, websites, and of course, all the “cutting
edge” supplements, AMERICANS ARE FATTER AND UNHEALTHIER
THAN EVER BEFORE IN HISTORY!!!!
And if you’re not from the U.S., don’t laugh
at us, because your country is probably not far behind!
I’m not implicating laziness as the sole reason for
obesity. That would be over-simplifying a complex problem
with multiple causes. However, laziness and aversion to
exercise are certainly major contributing factors.
Human beings are capable of reaching breathtaking heights,
but they also have a lazy side hard-wired into their natures.
We need a push to overcome inertia. We need motivation.
We need to be inspired to look up and reach for the stars,
instead of settling for a little clod of dirt.
And now, the very diet and fitness industries that are
supposed to be helping and motivating are actually making
it worse by making silly promises in the name of getting
the sale and appealing to our inherent slothfulness.
BUT WAIT! It goes even deeper! Could it be possible that
even the world's most respected health, fitness and medical
organizations are reducing their recommendations so as not
to discourage the public from even trying? Lyle McDonald,
Diet guru and Author of the Ketogenic Diet thinks so. In
Lyle's forum, he wrote:
"From a public policy standpoint, there's that huge
tradeoff: Get a small improvement in health (and presumably
decrease health-costs) by getting folks to do something,
or risk a much larger dropout rate by telling them to work
harder. They keep scaling back their recommendations and
they still can't get the majority of people to do it. Something
is going to be better than nothing, I suppose."
Just how far has this down-sizing of exercise trend gone?
All the way to zero in some cases: Some “experts”
tell you that you don’t need ANY exercise at all…
Just take this youth-restoring hormone therapy, a once
per week injection, rub on some crème, take a handful
of pills, get a nip here and a tuck there, have some fat
suctioned, drink a few specially formulated shakes three
times a day, eat these special foods, staple the stomach,
stick on a patch, and there you have it: A perfect body
without almost no expenditure of energy!
Many people who have been struggling with weight loss want
to believe these claims so desperately, they take the bait
every time, even when it sounds too good to be true and
defies common sense.
Remember that classic courtroom scene in the movie “A
Few Good Men” when Jack Nicholson says,
“You want the truth? … YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE
TRUTH!!!”
Well, if you can’t handle it, then stop reading now
because here is the truth that almost no one else wants
to tell you:
Your body is BEGGING for DAILY exercise!
The human body-mind is the most remarkable creation in
the universe and it was designed and engineered to be used
often and vigorously. The mind and body atrophy and weaken
if not used frequently.
Your body isn’t going to fall apart by getting your
heart pumping every day– YOUR BODY WILL THANK YOU
FOR IT!!!!! In some cases, using material things wears them
out faster. Your car only has a certain number of miles
on it, right? Your body is the opposite: It wears out when
it’s NOT used.
Have we forgotten all the incredible benefits of REGULAR
exercise – both strength training and aerobic training
- to keep us young, vibrant and healthy?
Have we forgotten that exercise can feel good and give
you a natural high that’s better than drugs or alcohol?
Have we become so vain and ignorant that all we want is
to look good on the outside for a short while and do it
with the least amount of effort, using the path of least
resistance?
Do you realize that you grow against resistance –
physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually?
Why not have a helicopter fly you up to the summit and
drop you off? You’d get the same view as those blokes
who risked life and limb lugging 60-pound rucksacks up the
steep mountain side for days, wouldn’t you?
Why do CHAMPIONS climb?
The answer is: There’s no personal growth without
the journey. Reaching the top without the climb leaves you
unfulfilled. The journey is the greatest reward, not the
destination. Champions understand this. The other 95% of
the world hasn’t figured it out yet, so they remain
stuck in self imposed bogs of quiet desperation.
Do you really want to go to the store and just buy the
trophy without the competition? How would you feel seeing
it on your mantelpiece? It would make great conversation
at a party, right? Your friends and family would be so proud
of your “bought” trophy… (or would they?)
If you would stop for a minute and think about the great
rewards of training and understand that the training IS
the trophy, then the entire attitude of exercise avoidance
would disappear, obesity and disease would plummet, you
would be working out and loving it, and your health, your
body, your attitude, your energy and your outlook on life
would shift so dramatically, your friends and family would
hardly recognize you. They would be inspired by you too,
so the “exercise fever” would spread.
So HOW MUCH exercise do you REALLY need? What are we talking
about here?
I’m not talking about training two hours a day like
Jack Lalanne has for the last ¾ of a century, or
doing hours of high intensity weight training like a competitive
bodybuilder, or an hour and a half of cardio a day like
an endurance athlete, unless that’s called for to
reach a certain goal, or unless that’s what you enjoy.
I’m not talking about lifting weights every day.
You need recovery time from intense forms of training.
I’m not talking about never taking an entire week
off for rest and renewal.
And I’m not talking about never taking any days off.
What I AM talking about is doing some form of moderate
exercise – enough to break a sweat, get you breathing
heavy and bring your heart rate up - almost every day of
the week, most of the year.
It could be the popular six day program alternating weights
and cardio every other day with Sundays off. It could be
two days a week of lifting weights, two days of aerobics
classes and two days of hiking or mountain biking (six days
total with one rest day). If it’s fat loss you want,
then cardio every day with a few days of strength training
works like magic.
It could be virtually anything! Choose what you love to
do - just do something every day, include both strength
training and aerobic training each week and do it on a regular
schedule at the same time each day.
Ultimately, the amount of exercise you REALLY need is the
amount it takes to give you the results you want.
However, there are some very compelling reasons to exercise
every day…
Why every day? Because that makes it a HABIT.
Anything you do repeatedly (especially daily) will eventually
become a habit, and your habits, positive or negative, will
control your results and ultimately, shape your destiny.
Habits can be harnessed to your advantage, propelling you
downstream towards your desired destination, or they can
become your worst enemy, forcing you to paddle fruitlessly
upstream against their powerful currents.
Ninety-nine percent of the things you do each day are done
on “automatic pilot” – without consciously
thinking, deciding, choosing or exerting willpower. That
is the power of habit and exercise is one of the most positive
habits you will ever develop.
Why else is daily exercise a good idea? Because you develop
METABOLIC MOMENTUM.
Your metabolism is like a spinning top. You twist the top
and it starts spinning at maximum velocity, but not long
after your fingers leave contact with the top, it’s
already slowing down.
Eventually, the revolutions decrease and the top starts
to wobble. You have to spin it again before it loses all
its momentum and topples over. By spinning it more frequently,
the average rpm’s stay higher and the top never slows
to a wobble.
Your metabolism is the same way. Exercise “spins”
your metabolic rate. Many factors affect metabolism, but
nothing else cranks up and maintains your metabolic speed
like frequent exercise of sufficient intensity.
In Dr. Michael Colgan’s book, “The New Nutrition”,
Dr. Colgan writes,
“At The Colgan Institute, we have found that for
fat loss, five days a week for 30 minutes is much superior
to three days weekly at 70 minutes even though the total
weekly time of the three day people is an hour longer. In
order to keep the metabolic rate churning, frequent exercise
is the key.”
Amen Michael.
In “The Metabolism System For Weight Loss”
Exercise Physiologist Greg Landry writes:
“You won’t find many people telling you to
exercise daily. In fact, most “diet” programs
or weight loss books you read will not emphasize exercise
and that’s simply because so many people have a negative
reaction to exercise. You have to start thinking differently
about it. Exercise can be fun. The key is finding something
you can enjoy doing on a daily basis. Many people think
an hour of exercise every day is more than their body can
handle, but keep in mind that our bodies were made for and
are capable of many hours of physical activity a day. DAILY
exercise is absolutely critical to losing weight! DAILY
exercise is also very effective at changing a sluggish metabolism
into a super-charged metabolism!"
Bravo Greg.
Yes, I hear the grumbles and groans from the peanut gallery…
“You mean 3 days a week isn’t enough?”
But how am I supposed to find time to exercise every day?
That’s impossible because I have kids, a job and a
life, you know!
Impossible???
Here’s a novel idea: Get your butt out of bed 30
minutes earlier!
Are you really concerned about quality time with your family?
If so, then you OWE IT TO THEM to take the time to take
care of yourself so you’ll be around long enough to
enjoy their company.
We live in a society with more demands on our time than
ever before. But if you don’t make time for exercise
now, you’ll lose time to sickness and immobility later.
Psychologists tell us that most people will almost never
take action to PREVENT a problem, only take action to GET
RID OF a problem after it has already occurred. So true
isn’t it? Unfortunately for many, that may be too
late.
Your body is remarkably forgiving, but there’s only
so much abuse it can take. Abuse includes negative actions
like smoking, drinking, drug use and eating refined junk
food. But sometimes that abuse comes in the simple form
of neglect – it’s what you don’t do that
hurts you the most.
Can you exercise too much? Certainly. Is there a point
where you become overtained? Of course. Is there a point
of diminishing returns? Sure is. Can training become an
unhealthy obsession? Absolutely. Do you need to take time
off for recovery and renewal? Most definitely! Should you
maximize your workout efficiency to get the most benefit
in the least time? A resounding YES!
However, if I were you, I’d be far more concerned
about getting too little activity than getting too much.
So, my friend, if you want to go on believing in the hype
you read in the magazines and best selling books these days
about minimalist training, once per week workouts, (or less),
or the diet that doesn’t require ANY exercise, just
eat these special food combinations, take these supplements
or cut out all the carbs and get the body of your dreams,
that’s your choice… it’s your body, your
health and your life…let your results be your guide.
But when you’re unhappy with your results, and when
you stand in front of the mirror scratching your head trying
to figure out why you don’t look and feel the way
you want to look and feel… and when you start to feel
the downward pull of gravity and body parts are sagging….
and when the aches and pains strike, and the doctor’s
visits become more frequent…
…AND, when you see that there are others the same
age as you, in the same circumstances as you, with the same
number of hours in the day that you have, who have remained
lean, healthy, and muscular…
…THEN GET OFF YOUR GLUTEUS MAXIMUS AND GET SOME EXERCISE
EVERY SINGLE DAY! YOUR BODY WANTS IT, NEEDS IT AND IS LITERALLY
BEGGING FOR IT!
>>
Click here for Tom's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle program
About the Author
Tom Venuto is an NSCA-certified personal trainer, certified
strength and conditioning specialist, lifetime natural bodybuilder,
and author of the #1 best-selling e-book "Burn the
Fat, Feed The Muscle" (BFFM). Tom has written over
170 articles and has been featured in IRONMAN Magazine,
Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Muscle-Zine,
Olympian’s News (in Italian), Exercise for Men and
Men’s Exercise. For information on Tom's "Burn
The Fa Feed the Musclet" e-book, click
here.
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