Eight Mistakes Beginning Fitness Enthusiasts Make

 I am often asked, “If people have never done a fitness program where should they begin?”  This article will get right to the point and list eight mistakes that fitness enthusiasts make when they begin exercise. 

1. Pick ONE Goal to Focus on at a Time.  When beginning exercise programs people usually have lots of enthusiasm – especially beginners.  It is common for them to want to do everything at once.  For example a person may want to do a marathon, lose thirty pounds, participate in the Alpha Challenge, complete the LTF Triathlon and win the 90-Day Challenge all in the same year or less.  While I appreciate their enthusiasm (And used to be like this when I started) it is much easier and effective to pick one goal that is the most important and focus on only that.  Once it is met, add a new goal to focus on.
2. Look at all Options and Tools That Are Available to You to Improve the Goal.  Once you have picked a goal to focus on, look at the options that are available to help meet it.  For example, if you want to run a marathon you will want to consider purchasing a Heart Rate Monitor, do Metabolic Coaching and join the Running Club.  If you want to lose over thirty pounds, TEAM Weight Loss, a Heart Rate Monitor and Metabolic Coaching are some options.  Whatever the goal, make sure to do your homework and try to find what can make achieving the goal easier.
3. The Most Boring Programs or Equipment Are Usually the Most Effective.  Americans are very visual people and this can get them in trouble, especially with fitness.  Often the craziest looking exercise equipment or fitness programs are perceived to be the best.  However in my experience the most boring equipment and programs usually get the best results as long as there is initial buy in to using them.  For example when it comes to resistance training the barbell and programs that use it can get very good results.
4. Pick ONE Program to Meet Your Goal.  Just like people like to have multiple programs, many times they suffer from exercise ADD.  Avoid this problem by picking one program to follow that is proven to meet your goal.  In addition to picking just one program make sure you follow it the way it was designed (make sure you don’t change it) and use it for at least 28-days before you switch to a different program.  Many fitness enthusiasts don’t like to go this long on a program but if you follow the 28-day rule you will have twelve different programs used in one year.  You will find out within six months which programs work the best for you at this information will help you speed up your progress in the future.
5. Make Sure the Program You Pick is Progressive.  New exercise enthusiasts often think if they just show up to work out it will be enough to get results.  While this may be accurate for the first month or two, progress will stall after that.  If you are using a resistance training program make sure to either increase the reps, resistance or both.  If you are following a program to improve cardiovascular fitness, make sure the intensity is gradually increasing (Metabolic Coaching takes the guesswork out of this).  By constantly finding ways to progress the exercise program fitness levels improve and getting the results you want becomes more realistic sooner.
6. Keep Track of Progress.  This is VITAL for tips four and five.  I have said it in past articles and I will keep saying it, “If everyone properly used a workout journal (or app) and tracked their progress they would have much better results.”  Regarding step four you will find out what programs work the best for you.  Regarding step five you will have records of what you did in your last workouts and know exactly what intensity, resistance or how many reps need to be done in current and future workouts.
7. Community Support.  As much as I dislike social media because it feels like you are “Turned On” all the time, it works really well for getting results in fitness (More and more research is proving this).  Often people don’t meet their goals or drop their fitness program because family members, friends or co-workers do not share the same goals.  However if you can surround yourself around like-minded people with similar goals either at the gym or on a social media site like Facebook, it can make progress much easier and enjoyable.
8. Hire a Professional.  Fitness is the only field I know of where a person thinks they can read a magazine article or book and immediately think they can easily have fitness success on their own.  Unfortunately they don’t realize that the human body is extremely complex and don’t consider factors like the effects of previous injuries, conditioning levels, training environment, etc. can have on different exercise programs.  Looking for the proper fitness professional to help mentor you can save lots of time, headache and money (Ask any Triathlete who tried to do it on their own how much extra money they spent because of purchasing wrong or faulty equipment) and help you get results in a much more efficient manner.

In conclusion many people like the challenge of trying to apply the “Do It Yourself” motto to beginning fitness programs.  I hope this article makes that journey much easier.  If anyone has had success or glitches when they began their fitness journey feel free to share your experience.

Self-Experimentation to Get Great Results With Your Nutrition Program

Image retrieved from:  http://dietwebreport.com

It is not a lack of information in nutrition that keeps people from getting results but too much information.  Because of the overabundance of information, fitness enthusiasts often run into “Paralysis by Analysis” and either don’t get started on a nutrition program in the first place or bounce from different diets more rapidly than a pinball.  To prevent this problem this article lists ways you can use yourself as an experiment and figure out what works for you.  Here are ten steps to get you started.  Nine of the steps are from an e-book by John Berardi on his Precision Nutrition site found here.  Step four is one I added in because it is important.
 
Step 1:  Define Your Goal.  What is the specific goal you want to achieve?  Is it weight loss, fat loss, strength gain, muscle gain, etc.?  The key rule here is to focus on only ONE goal.
 
Step 2:  Decide How You’ll Measure and When You’ll Measure It.  What are you going to measure to make sure the experiment is working?  For example if your goal is weight loss select a scale to use and then select a consistent day/time of the week to measure your progress
 
Step 3:  Collect a Baseline.  What is your true starting point?  For example, for the weight loss goal from Step #2 stick to the current exercise and nutrition plan you were previously using and get two weigh-ins on the day/time that you decided on.
 
Step 4:  Make Sure Your Path is Clear.  Something many people forget is to consider if their lifestyle or schedule allows them to consistently do the first two steps.  When choosing a goal ask yourself on a scale of 1-10, “How confident am I that I can do this every day for thirty days and get the appropriate measurements?”  If it is a “9” or better proceed to the next steps.
 
Step 5:  Test Your Ideas.  Start with small tests and test one thing at a time.  For the weight loss example if you have not been journaling food, that might be a good goal to start with.
 
Step 6:  Follow Your New Plan for at Least 14 Days.  Give your test at least a two week change and collect the data.
 
Step 7:  If It’s Working, Keep Going.  This is pretty self-explanatory but people often get in trouble because they get impatient.  Remember, we want to find what specifically works for you.  Learning one variable that works is better than getting a result with five new changes and not knowing which one worked the best.
 
Step 8:  If It Isn’t Working, Make Small Changes.  Don’t ditch the whole program if you don’t see the changes you want, just change one thing.  In the case of journaling, if it isn’t working, maybe choose another idea.  For example, ideas could be eating a protein based breakfast, drinking three liters of water or finishing your last meal 2-3 hours prior to bed.  The key here is to pick just one of those three ideas.
 
Step 9:  Work With a Coach.  This is where I can come in.  A coach can give you direction, implement new or different ideas for your program, assess your progress and hold you accountable to reaching your goal.
 
Step 10:  Repeat Until You Reach Your Goal.  Keep trying new ideas based on the above nine rules.  Start with your goal, take consistent progress measurements, and add or adjust the ideas as you go along
 
I hope these steps help you.  They may take time (Two weeks each) but in a twelve week time period you will choose six ideas that can help you and test them accordingly to see if they work for you.  Most people, talk about ideas to improve their fitness but never implement them and go nowhere as a result.  However, you will be taking action and learning what works for you.  In addition you will probably get some nice results without frustration (As you only do one simple idea at a time).

Quick History of Fish Oil Supplementation

Here is a brief history of Fish Oil supplementation.

• The first recorded use of fish oil supplementation was 1775 in London England.  Cod livers were laid out on the streets and the oil that oozed out of it was collected (This was the first Cod Liver Oil use).  Believe it or not this was considered a cure for arthritis[1].

• In 1973 Danish researchers discovered that a big reason why Eskimos who ate very high fat diets and had little cardiovascular disease risk ate a large amount of omega-3 fish oil[2].

• Since Cod Liver Oil was high in Vitamin A, in the 1980’s fish oil was able to be taken out of the flesh instead of the liver[1].

• Eventually because of the bad taste of the early fish oil, manufacturers encapsulated fish oil in Gelatin Capsules to mask the taste.  The only problem was people would have to take eight capsules to get 2.5 grams of EPA/DHA[1].

• In the 1980s Fish Oil use was suggested but it quickly went away for three reasons.  First, people were not getting close to taking even 2.5 grams of EPA/DHA.  Second, high carb diets were popular and caused additional inflammation because of high insulin (Fish Oil works best when carb intake is moderate or low).  Finally, the early fish oil was high in Vitamin A, PCBs, DDT and organic mercury compounds[1].

• Vitamin A was eventually removed from fish oil and some PCBs were removed in a process called molecular distillation[1].

• Fractionized fish oils removed saturated fat and contained slightly increased levels of long chain fatty acids[1].

• Finally pharmaceutical fish oil was developed by using more advanced distillation techniques.  Most saturated fat is removed by fractional distillation.  Nearly all PCBs are removed by molecular distillation.  With these new distillation methods a concentrated amount of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids could be made without unwanted by products like chemical contaminants or harmful fatty acids[1].

• Regarding sports performance Danish Physiotherapist Soren Mavrogenis successfully used a combination of Omega-3, GLA and antioxidants to rehab athletes[1].
• Sometime in the early-mid 90s strength coach Charles Poliquin used omega-3 supplements with his athletes[I can't confirm the exact date].

Hope you enjoyed this history lesson!

References:
1.  Sears, B.  2002.  The Omega Rx Zone.  New York, NY:  Harper Collins.
2.  Challem, J.  2010.  The Inflammation Syndrome.  Hobeken, NJ:  Whiley. 

Question of Nutrition #3: Can You Get Enough Omega-3 From Eating Fish Only?

12 oz of Wild Salmon

Question:  Can you get enough omega-3 fatty acids from eating only fish?

Answer:  The answer to this question has good news and bad news.  I will start with the good news and that is you can get enough omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) from eating fish.  Unlike flaxseed, the fish doesn't have to convert ALA to EPA/DHA as discussed in this post.  However, the bad news is you have to eat a half-pound or more of fish to get the minimum 2.5 combined grams of EPA/DHA daily (The image on the right is 3/4 of a pound to give you a visual idea of that portion)[1].  So unless if you like eating this much fish each day, it is probably more convenient to take Omega-3 supplements. 

References:
1.  Sears, B.  2002.  The Omega Rx Zone. New York, NY:  Harper Collins. 

Question of Nutrition #2: Enough Omega-3 From Flaxseed?

Ground Flaxseed (Flaxmeal)

Question:  Can you get enough omega-3 from flaxseed or do you need to use omega-3 supplements?

Answer:  The omega-3 fatty acids found in flax are short-chain fatty acids.  Alpha linolenic acid (ALA) is an example of this.  The omega-3 fatty acids found in most of the supplements and fish are long chain fatty acids.  Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are examples of long-chain fatty acids.  Barry Sears, PhD said the following about the conversion of short-chain to long-chain fatty acids in his book The Omega Rx Zone:

Short-chain omega-3 fatty acids, such as alpha linolenic acid (ALA), which is found in flaxseed oil and other seed oils, have the potential to be made into their longer-chain relatives, such as EPA and DHA.  The trouble is that the biosynthetic process is incredibly long and difficult, so you can't really get much long-chain fatty acid from short-chain fatty acid.  In fact you would need to consume nearly 30 grams of ALA to make 1 gram of EPA and 0.1 gram of DHA.  This is not a very good return on your dietary investment.

My suggestion is if you aren't a strict Vegan, use at least 2.5 combined grams of EPA and DHA/day from high quality omega-3 supplements.  It is easier to take four omega-3 capsules or a TBSP of omega-3 than to consume 9+ TBSPs of ground flaxseed.

References:
1.  Sears, B.  2002.  The Omega Rx Zone.  New York, NY:  Harper Collins.

Fixing a Broken Nutrition Plan Part 5: Nutrition Guidlines for the Ectomorph (Type I)

Sheldon from Big Bang Theory[1]

The next three posts will explain the differences in nutrition regarding body types (Somatotypes).  This post will discuss the Ectomorph (Type I):

This body type is thin with longer limbs and usually has a hard time putting on weight.  Regarding television actors, Sheldon from Big Bang Theory would be an ideal candidate to represent this group.  As far as athletes, endurance athletes would fall into this group.

John Berardi has said in articles and pod casts that this group can tolerate more carbohydrates than most people as they have a higher metabolism due to increased T3 Thyroid hormone[2].  This is similar with what Charles Poliquin has written about and teaches his students.  Based off his BioSignature Method they usually have very lean upper backs and their scapula skinfold is very low meaning they can tolerate carbohydrates very well[3].

 The "I Type" as Berardi likes to call them usually can eat around 55% of their daily calories from carbohydrates, 30% from protein and 15% from fat[2].

As far as training protocols, these people are usually more suited for endurance sports.  If they enjoy lifting they usually have a higher amount of slow twitch muscles.  As a result they usually have to be trained with higher rep ranges and their training blocks need to be 4-weeks long in most cases [4].

The next post will discuss the Mesomorph somatotype (Type V).

References:
1.  Image retrieved from:  http://the-big-bang-theory.com/characters.Sheldon/
2.  Article retrieved from:  http://www.precisionnutrition.com/fix-a-broken-diet
3.  Poliquin, C.  BioSignature Modulation, Scottsdale, AR 2009
4.  Article retrieved from:  http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/384/The_Five_Elements__A_New_Training_Paradigm.aspx

Fixing a Broken Nutrition Plan Part 4: Four Additional Assesments

Some tests need more blood than others[1]

The last post went over non-invasive assessments to get a much closer look at metabolic function.  This post will go over different blood tests that can uncover metabolic issues.  Here are tests that can be helpful for people who want optimal health and fitness:

1. Basic Blood Chemistry:  This is the standard test that is usually used at doctor appointments/physicals.  This includes LDL Cholesterol, HDL Cholesterol, Triglycerides, and Blood Glucose.  At Life Time Fitness these markers are measured in the myHealthscore assessment.  It is a good first step for people that should be done yearly.
2. Food Sensitivity Test:  Two good ones are the Alletess 96-Food Allergy Test and the LEAP MRT Test.  If a person has high extracellular body water levels one of these tests will tell the user which foods are causing inflammation in the body that can slow fat loss.
3. Gender Specific Hormone Test:  At Life Time Fitness this is called the Longevity & Vitality Test and it measures Thyroid Hormones, Sex Hormones (Estrogen and Testosterone), Inflammation Markers (C-Reactive Protein, Homocystine), Vitamin D, etc.  This test will uncover lots of potential issues that people don't realize they have.
4. Fatty Acid Tests:  These are tests to make sure people are getting enough/not getting too much Omega-3 in the diet.  One good one for measuring this is an EPA/AA Ratio.

The next post will look at different nutrition plans for different body types.

References:
1.  Image retrieved from:   http://www.lifesafer.com/blog/supreme-court-review-dui-dwi-blood-draw-laws/