Finished my first year of grad school!

Hey everyone! I’m officially done with my first year of grad school! I wish I could say I’m going to have a lot more posts coming up soon, but summer school starts next week, so I won’t be posting as often as I like.

I have been able to keep up with my workouts, however. I’ve become quite fond of working out using rings such as these. I’ve noticed a great increase in strength, and the physical changes aren’t bad, either. I’ve just been doing exercises such as pullups, levers, and flips. I add in dips every once in a while, but I can only do a few on the rings.

I left you all off with a post on figuring out if you are ready to make a change. Have you been contemplating making a major change lately? If you think you are ready to make a change, what do you do after you’ve made the decision to change?

First, I would suggest creating your support group and getting people behind you in your effort. Studies have shown that social support is a huge determinant in sticking to major changes, especially those changes that involve losing weight. Trying to cut down on your calories? Maybe you and your friends can agree to meeting up at healthier restaurants, or agree to not get desert after meals. You will not stick to a plan, no matter how great a plan may be, if those around you are not supportive or still engage in the behavior you are trying to change. Just ask a smoker how well they are able to stick to their goal of quitting when standing around a bunch of buddies under a cloud of cigarrette smoke.

Second, I suggest getting any materials you will need to see your goal through. If your goal is to learn how to swim, how can you do that if you don’t have a bathing suit or access to a pool? If you need new sneakers to start running, you should get them. A lot of people complain about the cost of changing a behavior, but, seriously, how do you expect to stick to your goal of learning to run if the shoes you run in hurt your feet or are not made to run in? You won’t!

Third, mentally psych yourself up to do it. Post reminders and motivational quotes around where you can easily and frequently see them. A person needs to see a message about 16 times before they even start to really think about what the message is saying (this is something that marketing geniuses know, and that’s why you see the same commercials over and over again). Listen to motivational songs first thing in the morning; what we see and hear within the first 20 or so minutes of waking up has the power to really determine the direction of our day. My songs, in case you’re wondering, are Closer to my Dreams by Goepele and Someday by Flipsyde.

Fourth, just friggin’ do it! Stop giving excuses. Focus on what you can do, not what you can’t do. You’re just going to hold yourself back.

Have any more ideas of what you should do once you’ve made the decision to change?

Oh, I also started a new blog called Beyond the Hoodie that focuses more on academic topics and current events. Check it out and leave feedback!

Don’t Fall Back on Training

I’m sick, and have been that way since Friday, so I haven’t been training.

That doesn’t mean that I’m not thinking about fitness, or taking care of myself so I  can get some training in before Christmas. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be training either (only if you’re sick, too).

This is the busiest time of the year, no doubt. Again I say, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be training.

When you get busy, you should work out more.

What? Why?

I can hear some of you grumbling about how can I work out more when I barely have time to go to work, go shopping, eat, watch tv and eat junk food all weekend?

When you get busy, it’s easy to neglect your health. You tell yourself, “Well, I just don’t have time to workout,” so you don’t. Then you get sick.

I was busy with finals and didn’t work out much. Then I got sick. See, it even happens to me.

You have to keep yourself strong during times of stress. Of course, you have to balance that with periods to relax.

I’m not saying that you should go into exercise overload and work out for hours and hours at a time. You all know I’m not into that.

Just make sure you’re still exercising, and don’t give me that time excuse.

Don’t have enough time? Email me and I’ll whip you up a 10 minute workout you can do at home. Seriously.This is not a time to fall out of habit.

On a lighter note, 2009 has a lot in store for me and this blog. I’m going to join the modern age and start putting up weekly videos, demonstrating exercises and answering fitness questions you all email me.

Leave a comment or send an email.

PS…don’t forget to download your Getting to Action in 2009 by Dec 31 before it goes on sale on my website and let me know what you think!

What’s Jay doing now?

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I bet you’ve been wondering where I’ve been.

I’m here. In DC. Where I always am.

Everything’s the same. Except, it’s midterm time!

So, that means I’ve been writing papers and studying instead of entertaining you all with my words.

I’ll be back with a new, real post soon. Promise.

More bike accident stuff

So yesterday I got the police report from the PA  State Trooper who took the report.

In the envelope was the report. And a warning citation.

What?!

I got a citation for “following too closely.”

Since when is riding parallel to a car in the shoulder of a road “following” it?

Since when do cyclists get tickets when a car turns right suddenly in front of them, especially when I was already in the intersection?

I know things will work out as they should, but I’m appalled at the audacity of this officer. It’s complete bias, especially since I’m out-of-state.

No one got charged in this crash. So she has, as of now, gotten away with causing me injuries and my lost salary for the week I was forced to miss from work. How ridiculous is that?

PA doesn’t have pedestrian laws, unlike most states. I don’t really know what that means, but my mom told me that it’s not good. It doesn’t sound good.

You know, I just want what’s right. I don’t know if I would be able to let my insurance company screw someone over who got hurt as a result of my carelessness. The woman knew that it was her fault, yet I’m getting the bad end of this deal.

I’m feeling better each day, except my hand/wrist is still a bit swollen and sore. I don’t have a bike right now, so I can’t even take advantage of this weather.

This blows.

I’m Certified!

I just got back from taking the NCSF certification exam…and I passed, as you probably already figured out from my title I’m exhausted, been working hard at City Fitness. I’m going to take a nap, and should be writing regularly now.

Yay!

Guest Post from Dr. Andersen, Pt. 2

Here is another guest post from Dr. Andersen. You may remember his post last week on the glycemic index and its importance in losing weight. This week’s topic is the 6 steps of his fat loss method featured in his new book, Habits of Health. As usual, leave your thoughts and comments!

What are the 6 steps of BeSlim in your book Habits of Health and why
are they so important?

The six steps of ³BeSlim² are really just the beginning Habits of Health.
³BeSlim² is an acronym to help you remember the six main components of this
program.

The B stands for breakfast every day. You should get in the habit of eating
a healthy breakfast every single day of the week. This is very important
for long-term weight loss.

E is for exercise, which is incredibly important to this program. This
program isn¹t based around vigorous exercise for hours on end, but rather,
it is simply adding motion to your everyday tasks. Be active in all you do!

S stands for support. It¹s never an easy thing to try to change your
lifestyle, let alone doing it alone. Having some support will give you the
extra boost you need when you¹re having a hard time sticking to the diet.

L is for low-fat, low-glycemic, lower-calorie eating every three hours. If
you can have smaller meals more often throughout the day, it will boost your
metabolism and give your body the fuel that it needs throughout the day.

I is the individual plan. Reaching optimal health is up to you, and having
a plan that is made for you individually is very important. It needs to be
designed to fit your needs and goals, not someone else¹s.

M is for monitor. Track how you are doing with your weight, but also track
how your energy balance is doing to make sure you are eating the appropriate
foods that will help you become the healthiest that you can be.

What do you think of ³BeSlim?² Is it something that you could incorporate
into your lifestyle?

* BeSlim is Trademarked to Take Shape for Life

Dr. Andersen is a a board certified critical care physician, and he is currently Medical Director of Medifast, Inc., an innovative leader in the production, distribution and sale of weight management and health management products. He is also the chief architect of Take Shape for Life. His book, Habits of Health, does not advocate fad dieting or a miracle wonder cure; rather, it provides the knowledge and support to help people achieve optimal health. The book seeks to offer an easy guide to establish long-lasting, improved health. Habits of Health seeks to help people to be the healthiest they can be with what they have. Through his book and the accompanying workbook, Dr. Andersen provides a roadmap and an opportunity for people to choose a better life.

I’m loving it!

Enough said.

What I’m doing while I heal

So, per the advice that some of my readers (and the doctor too) have given me regarding my hamstring, I am actually taking time off from training. This is actually a first in my life. While playing competitive soccer, I think the most time I’ve taken off is about 3 weeks, and even during that time I would go for short runs. Now that I can’t do absolutely anything except walk to class and to work, I’m having a difficult time figuring out what to do with myself. I’ve actually become a bit antsy and grumpy because exercise is my stress reliever.

Well, since cardio is out for a couple weeks, I am still weight lifting, but not as heavy because I do not want to compromise my training by becoming too big. I am small, but for some reason I build muscle and strength very quickly. I guess I get that from my parents, who were both athletes in their day and still very active.

I’m still working on pull ups, especially towel pull ups. If you haven’t tried this variation of a pull up yet, I suggest you give it a shot. It is very helpful in developing not only upper body and back strength, but also forearm and grip strength. I will definitely need to begin developing grip and forearm strength as I plan to begin martial arts once I’m healed. I have also improved my 1RM max in the bench press to 105#. I am 10# away from benching my body weight, and I hope to get there in a few weeks.

I have been improving my strength in essentially every body part except for my lower body. It’s pretty upsetting for me to be losing mass in my legs and seeing my pants sag off of me; as a sprinter, most of my power came from my quads and hamstrings (which apparently weren’t strong enough, although I focused on them twice a week…probably will need to fix that once I get better). Anyway, needless to say, I’m getting BORED and it’s killing me to have this gorgeous weather and unable to even walk beyond my classes. But, then again, I am thankful that I’m alive and that it’s just a hamstring injury that will probably heal sans surgery.

I should be doing schoolwork, but we all know that procrastination is a college student’s best friend. I have been reading a good book on the history of the ideas of muscle physiology; basically what we know now and how we came to find all this stuff out beginning with the ideas of Aristotle. If you’re a nerd like me, check out Prime Mover: A Natural History of Muscle by Steven Vogel. I am looking forward to my interview to be a personal trainer tomorrow though.

Any ideas for things I can do while I recover? Blog posting ideas count too, especially since I have more time to write! Exercise for me today

How did you get those abs?

Perhaps the number one myth in the fitness world, especially those who are new to the healthy lifestyle, focuses on how to get that much coveted 6-pack abs. If you watch television or flip through non-science-based fitness magazines, you would probably assume that you can’t get nice abs without paying 3 payments of 19.99, plus shipping and handling, for some new contraption that guarantees* 6-pack abs for only 4 minutes a day. Or you might think that you have to do thousands of crunches in order to look like the models in the magazines.

You’re smart, you know that this stuff isn’t true. But it may surprise you to find out that the most important factors in getting sexy abs are actually nutrition and cardio. What? You mean to say that the crunches aren’t what gives me the 6-pack abs? Indeed.

You can do as many crunches or other ab exercises that you can squeeze into your day; your abs will indeed get stronger, but they may not pop out how you want them to. Why? Because if your abs are hidden behind a layer of fat, you’ll never see them no matter how many crunches you do!

That’s where cardio comes in. Doing intense cardio 3-4 times a week will help burn off body fat. I don’t believe in doing long, boring cardio; see my articles on interval training to learn about cardio that trains your anaerobic and aerobic energy systems and blasts away fat. Once you burn off that fat, you will start to see the definition that has been hidden there all along.

To get your abs to pop, you also have to watch what you eat. But of course you’ve already been doing that, right? Be careful of eating foods with high fat content, as well as sugars. I remember reading something about which foods are ab-friendly, but I’ll have to post that in a follow-up since I can’t remember right now. I know that fruits and leafy vegetables, as well as lean meats, are ab-friendly.

To help your ab strength, you can do ab-specific exercises. I am a fan of Russian twists, V-ups, reverse crunches, lunge and twist, and floor wipers. However, those exercises where the abs are acting as stabilizers, such as push-ups, planks, rows, and even squats, are more effective than ab-specific exercises. That is because your abs are working hard to protect your spine, engaging them in a better way than ab-specific exercises do. Personally, I do a mixture of both, and I keep my abs tight during other exercises, such as when I do bench presses, one-arm rows, and deadlifts. I would suggest doing ab work 3-4 times a week.

So cardio and good nutrition will help you get the abs that you want. Please feel free to leave your suggestions, tips, and ideas that have worked for you!

66.3

People often ask me why I decided to change my academic direction from a promising career in academia to one focused on working directly with people on health and fitness issues. The reason: 66.3.

66.3 is the percentage of Americans that are overweight or obese. That’s almost 2 out of every 3 Americans. Wow.

I don’t know about you, but this number speaks to me. I always wanted to find a way to share my passion for fitness with others, with the goal of helping people develop healthy habits and live a healthy, happy, and long life. I thought that I could help people by working in public policy, developing better policies aimed at improving people’s health. But now I feel that I can better impact people by working directly with them. Besides, nothing really beats the feeling I get when I help people achieve their goals.

But back to 66.3. This number is just unbelievable to me and I want to do my part to help that number decrease. Think about all the money that would be saved from health expenses–billions of dollars. Think about how many more Americans would have better self-confidence, self-esteem, and just would be happier. That’s what I think about when I reflect upon my career decision.