The Fitness Guru

We all try to do the right thing. Time and again, I will ask people, “which is healthier, an apple or a Snickers bar?” There isn’t much confusion. As tempting as the Snickers bar might be, we all know that the apple is the healthier choice. The problem is that we are offered so many choices throughout the day that, if we’re not careful, we can be making bad choices without even knowing it.

Take, for example, heading off into a restaurant. There are certain words that we recognize as healthy: salad, smoothie, grilled etc. We hear those words and immediately think, “ah, that’s a healthy choice.” And we try to teach our kids to recognize the same words as being preferable food choices.

So what happens when it turns out that one of those “healthy” buzz words is actually packing more sugar than you know what to do with? All of the sudden, a healthy snack could turn into two or three days worth of dessert.

Diets that are high in sugar can lead to weight gain and various weigh-related diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. To address some guidelines, women should probably keep their sugar intake to 25 grams per day; men to 37.5 grams per day; and children to roughly 6 grams per day.

So MIchael and Elle decided to have a look at a very popular smoothie to see how much sugar is in each serving. As Elle mentions, smoothies are drinks with fruit and vegetables– sounds healthy, right? But have a look and see just how much sugar can be found in these smoothies…… and before you watch, take a little guess, knowing what you now know about recommended daily intake.

For more healthy ideas, join the Fitness Guru community on Facebook. And if you have any questions about family health and fitness, shoot me an email at Michael@fitnessgurunyc.com and Elle and I will try to answer it in an upcoming video.

Rock on!!

As many of you may have heard by now, Paula Deen, the celebrity chef known for her Southern menu of high-fat cooking, has come forward to announce that, not only does she have Type 2 Diabetes, also known as “adult onset” diabetes, but that she is also partnering up with Novo Nordisk in a campaign to promote their diabetes drug, Victoza.

Hmmm…..where to begin?……

We could begin with the fact that Ms. Deen has kept her condition quiet for a few years. Certainly, it is a personal issue and need not be discussed publicly. That is, until it is time to collect a check from a major pharmaceutical company.

We could begin with the fact that she continued pitching her brand of cooking– high-fat and high-sugar– when her condition could have prompted her to come forward and help create a change in the way many people view their plates and indulge their palates.

We could start by saying that she is the victim here and that the diet does not necessarily cause diabetes, that there is a genetic factor that must be taken into account.

Here’s where I’ll start: yes, there is a genetic factor and it is unfortunate when people develop this illness later in life. But serving up a menu of buttermilk fried chicken is beyond irresponsible. If there are individuals, Ms. Deen included, who are genetically predisposed to type 2 diabetes, then her manner of culinary expertise is the equivalent of a loaded cross bow– may not kill ya, could kill ya but maybe not. And her response to the accusations of irresponsibility? “I always preach moderation, y’all!” As if adding her li’l southern “y’all” is just going to make it so damn cute, well, hell, let’s just drop the whole thing. We’re talking about high fat and sugar contents. Moderation is pretty tough with these substances that our brains crave. And once our taste buds become trained to seek these foods, it becomes even harder. So the idea of a great frisee salad with a side of buttermilk fried chicken is pretty amusing.

No, this irresponsible individual decided to keep right on serving up her Southern cuisine, avoiding the high road and the ability to initiate change. That is until she is given the opportunity to make some money pitching Victoza. Hey, anybody mention that FDA has warned about possible thyroid cancer in animal studies? I know, I know– the animals were probably going to get thyroid cancer anyway so a little bit of the old drug, in moderation y’all, ain’t going to do all that bad, will it?

Anthony Bourdain, another celebrity chef with no shortage of opinions, went off the deep end about Deen. “I would think twice before telling an already obese nation that it’s okay to eat food that is killing us,” he told TV Guide in an interview, calling her “the worst, most dangerous person to America.” I love Anthony Bourdain. But it’s a bit much. I don’t think she is the worst. In an age of ponzi schemes, it seems like she has stumbled onto a culinary cash cow– selling the poison and the cure.

But what do you think? Time for a poll…..

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‎“I hated every minute of training, but I said, “Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”"- Muhammad Ali

Today is Ali’s 70th birthday! A tip of the hat to the Greatest, a man whose athletic achievements are so famous that they need no mention on this page. He has been called by many the most famous person on the planet. If that ain’t the truth, it certainly is close.

In an attempt to celebrate the man, I searched for a quote to post on the Fitness Guru Facebook page and I came up with the one above. The man has had many, many famous quotes, but this one hi me hard this morning, I think, perhaps, because we are still in the midst of the Resolution Revolution.

Here’s the thing about working out: it just isn’t pleasant. Not in the traditional sense. Sure, there is the endorphin high (and my friend Chris writes about the biochemical effects of exercise brilliantly in his book, The Athlete’s Way). But for the little investment that you make working out on a regular basis, you will feel better. The effects of exercise on every aspect of your life are tremendous: more energy, less pain, even psychological benefits like…..what’s that word?…….joy!

So maybe you won’t be calling yourself Champion for the rest of your life (but you should). The quality of life will be improved greatly simply by exercising. So as we get deeper and deeper into the Resolution, and all your friends who started out the year with the very best of intentions start to drop by the wayside, remember the words of the Greatest. Have a workout or two where you don’t care about calories or burn or sweat. Do it just to get the blood flowing. Your body will thank you, your mind will thank you. And, most importantly, it will keep you solidly on track this year, making it the healthiest year of your life.

Rock on!!

Okay. Here we are. 2012.

What’s your Resolution?

I’m not going to bore you with the statistics on Resolutions and how many people drop their health and fitness Resolutions before the end of January. There really is no need: you all have friends who you have watched make and break those promises. You may have made the promises to yourself, only to decide in the first few weeks of the year that life was better without being burdened with all those chains.

But the start of the New Year is a brilliant time to turn over a new leaf. Here’s the catch: the leaf is delicate and if you turn it over with a big iron fist, it’s going to tear (oooooh imagery!). Most of us will come out of the gate way too fast and burn up just as quickly. We try to change everything we are eating, we try to workout far beyond our personal capacity, and the reward at the end of the day is exhaustion and a sense of defeat.

So enter Zen. We all know Zen. It’s that thing where you sit and stare at a stream.

Well, yes, but a little bit more. Zen is a school of Buddhism and the word itself is a derivation of the Sanskrit word for “meditation”. Part of the Zen practice is a voyage of introspection, discovering the nature of oneself. It is a slow and patient journey, one that leads the practitioner to enlightenment. Here’s the catch: there is no time line for enlightenment. If you wanted to enroll in a 12-week course in Zen meditation because the teacher promised enlightenment at the end of 12 weeks, I’d say stay away. That’s not the nature of the beast.

So how does that relate to your Resolution? We tend to attack our Resolutions like a hungry animal. We are driven by some sense that we are lacking something, some quality (think “thin”) and assume that if we take all our energy and throw it in some direction, we will attain that missing element. It’s firing a shot gun at a target while blindfolded. Some people who are patient enough will keep firing the shotgun and eventually hit something. But most of us lose our patience.

I had an interesting talk with a young woman the other night. She had just had a baby eight weeks ago and she and her husband decided to sign up for personal training sessions at their local gym in order to get in top shape for parenthood. Her husband wanted to take off a few pounds around his middle (let’s call it his sympathy belly) and put on some upper body muscle. She wanted to 1) recover from the physical exhaustion of pregnancy and childbirth and 2)prepare for her first half marathon she is going to run in May. Excellent goals for both of them. The trainer had them doing exactly the same workouts, which consisted of heaving around lots of weight.

What?

Yup. So she is tired and sore and ready to throw in the towel, while her husband, somewhat less frustrated, is hoping that he will get the results that he is paying a great deal of money to have.

This is a situation where the trainer is blindfolded and firing a shotgun at the clients, hoping that his particular pattern of training will help them achieve their goals.

Ain’t going to happen.

Back to Zen. The first step is patience. It doesn’t take any sort of thought or plan to get out of shape. We can do that very easily. But to get yourself in shape takes a great deal of thought and knowledge, both of the science itself and of your own body. You don’t have to enroll in any sort of graduate program, but you do have to become more introspective. Most people will say that they eat healthy, but when pressed, have no idea how many calories they consume daily; rarely get their recommended intake of fruits and vegetables; miss out on all the joys of fiber; and tend to snack as though the snacks don’t count. Workouts are an all-or-nothing affair that leave them depleted and drawn to all the wrong foods when they sit at the table.

So the three steps to the successful Resolution:

1. Journals. Keep track of what you eat by writing it down. Yes, there are apps you can use to track your food, but most of us will never open the app as often as we open our mouths. Go the old fashioned way and write it down in a notebook with a pen. Then seek the advice of a nutritionist who can help you sort out the patterns you have created and give you a little guidance as to how to change course. Don’t get involved in someone who wants you to visit every week for the next 400 weeks. That isn’t necessary. What you need are some simple steps to get you on the right track. It’s all about a little education.

2. Spend some money on a skilled trainer. And buyer beware. You know that uneasy feeling you get when someone is trying to sell you a car and it just doesn’t seem right? Do you buy the car? Well, just because someone has pumped up biceps and a wash board stomach doesn’t mean that they are a quality trainer who can help you with your personal situation. Ask question, take a trial session. And if it doesn’t feel right, speak up or move on. Otherwise, you’ll end up deflated and depressed like my new mom friend.

3. Patience. I can’t stress this enough. It took you a while to get out of shape. It’s going to take a while to get into shape. Don’t expect huge changes in a few short weeks. In fact, if you have huge changes in a short period of time, you are far more likely to snap back like a rubber band and find yourself in exactly the same position next January. Create a three month fitness schedule for yourself. Try to vary the workouts across the board: take a class, throw a frisbee…..it’s not just logging mindless hours on a treadmill. Place the workouts at times when you know there is little chance you will have to reschedule. But set it up for yourself in advance, so you see the path that you are going to follow. This is going to make it far less likely you will consider each workout an all or nothing event.

And if you have questions, hit me with them, sooner rather than later. Nothing worse than fitness frustration. michael@fitnessgurunyc.com

Rock on!!

Maybe you’re just starting an exercise program or maybe you have been at it a very long time, but in either case, the idea of hiring a personal trainer may have crossed you mind. It is always great to have a personal trainer, for two main reasons: technique and motivation. A well-educated instructor can help you develop an exercise program that is geared toward helping you attain and maintain your goals, teach the program in a way that is efficient and specific with regard to safe technique and motivate you to help inspire you past obstacles that might otherwise stop you dead in your tracks.

Though opinions may run from “uncertain results” to “unnecessary luxury”, both of which I understand, there are many instances when hiring a personal trainer may be in best interest.

• Starting a fitness program.

If you have decided that now is the time and you want to get going, but you are not too certain as to how to begin, a trainer can help you create a program that best suits your needs.

• Plateauing

If you’ve been working out for a while, and at the outset you saw fantastic results but now you are sort of coasting, a trainer can help you with new ideas and insights that can help lift you off that plateau.

• Training for something sports-specific

If you’ve decided that it’s time to run that half-marathon or marathon, or maybe a triathlon is in your future, a trainer who specializes in these sports can help you train safely and efficiently for best results.

But buyer beware! There is a very low barrier of entry into the world of professional personal training: there is no set state or federal criteria that dictates who may call him or herself a trainer. Therefore be very thorough when starting out looking for that special someone.

• Education

There are many different forms of trainer education, from weekend internet certifications through PhDs in exercise science, and everything in between. Find out as much as you can about your potential trainers background and then go home and do a little research: what criteria did they have to fulfill to become certified? How much time was spent in the education process? Do they seek out forms of continuing education and further certification to learn more about how to help you? Remember: you’re trusting your physical well-being to this person. Make sure they have understanding of how the body works.

• Discussion

Have a talk with this person before the session. Tell them what it is you want to accomplish and find out how they work. Remember: you are interviewing, not just being interviewed. It’s important that they ask questions to learn about you, but it is just as important that you also ask questions about their background.

• Game Plan

Once you have had the conversation, discuss what the course of action will be. And listen to what they have to say. Do you feel that they are proposing a game plan that takes into account both your present condition and your goals? The key to a personal trainer is the word “personal”. If you feel you are simply being sold a bill of goods, this person may not be right for you.

Keep in mind that when you sign up for training, you don’t have to sign up for an indefinite period — such a thing can be costly in terms of time and money. But even two or three sessions with a really good trainer can help you get started, get out of your rut, or start out on a whole new experience that you had never even considered.

And lastly, remember: when you do hire the trainer, you are hiring them to educate and motivate you, not to do the exercises for you. Learn all that you can and put that knowledge to work for you. No brain, No gain! And that will take you where you want to go.

If you have any questions about trainers, or anything fitness or nutrition-oriented, shoot me an email at michael@fitnessgurunyc.com.

Rock on!!

I mentioned several times that broccoli is good for you. But, odds are, you could guess that means that you shouldn’t switch your diet to one of just broccoli. Everything in moderation……right?

I’ve also suggested, on occasion, that exercise is good for you. But is there such a thing as over-exercise? A new study that appeared in The Journal of Applied Physiology and mentioned in The New York Times, suggests that you can go a little too far.The researchers studied a group of subjects who had all trained very extensively for Olympic and National competition as well as members of a group known as the 100 Marathon Club– membership, as the title suggests, is reserved for individuals who have competed in 100 marathons or more. The subjects were divided by age categories and compared to a group of older subjects, none of whom were endurance athletes.

Using MRI technology, the researchers found that the older group of endurance athletes showed some heart muscle scarring, known as fibrosis, that none of the younger athletes or older non-athletes had shown. The fibrosis can lead to a hardening of the heart muscle which can, in turn, create irregular heart function and heart failure.

In a related study, another group of researchers found that they could create the same results in mice. They also found that when they removed the mice from their training regimens, their hearts returned to normal and the scaring disappeared after a matter of weeks.

So does this mean you should stop exercising Absolutely not. The results are for endurance athletes who are training, over many years, for one endurance event after another. Casual exercise, two or three times a week, will still provide heart-healthy benefits.

I think the lesson to be drawn from the study is that, while cardiovascular exercise is beneficial for the heart, it is also necessary to rest and perceive rest as part of the normal training cycle. Think of it as a cardiovascular Yin and Tang effect– if you go in one particular direction, it is also necessary to go in the opposite direction in order to achieve balance. Rest is good.

Too much of a good thing isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Rock on!!

If your goal is to lose weight and improve your health, what’s going to be better for you, walking or running? Like most fitness-related questions, this one takes me back to a joke I heard in third grade:

What weighs more: a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks.

Just as you may be tempted to shout “bricks” (as I would often do right up through eighth grade, when the subtleties of this riddle and “no soap radio” were finally explained to me), you may be tempted to assume that running is the greater “burn” of the two exercises. And, like all questions in fitness, I remind you that nothing is ever as simple as it seems.

Let’s break it down.

Calorie burn is based on energy consumption over a period of time, and the best way to gauge that energy consumption is by monitoring your heart rate as you exercise. But heart rate itself is based on oxygen consumption. In other words, as your body increases its need for oxygen due to exertion, the heart has to pump more oxygen rich blood to the extremities and the heart rate goes up. One of the main reasons that the heart rate is elevated in running is that, ever time your foot hits the ground, that little bit of impact puts pressure on the diaphram, the main muscle that controls respiration, making it slightly harder to take a full breath. So as your foot strike knocks a little bit of wind out of you, the heart is trying to play catch-up and pumps harder to get the oxygen to the muscles that need it. Plus, depending on your running style, that repeated impact can lead to injuries down the road. (article continued below)

Walking is, by nature, low impact: there is significantly less impact as the foot hits the ground and, consequently, the lungs have a greater opportunity to provide the much-needed oxygen. Therefore, the heart rate does not get as high with walking.

But that’s the linear thinking I hate.

I love watching runners, real runners, because they make it look so effortless. Even sprinters try to relax their bodies as much as possible so that they may put the effort where it will best suit them and not energy is wasted through worthless tension. Running mid- to long-distance is, ideally, an opportunity to use gravity and and momentum to your advantage. It takes time and practice to get used to, but once you understand the effortless form, running becomes relaxingly meditative.

Walking can be a wonderfully leisurely pass time. Go for a stroll in the park, pause, watch the birds, pause, stroll some more. Certainly the calories burn is there, and, if you have been inactive it is a GREAT way to get started in an active lifestyle. But the burn is not as significant as running for the same period of time.

But let’s take a look at race walking. There is nothing low key about race walking and trying to maintain a rapid pace over a period of time and/or distance. Quite the opposite: the body has to work extra hard because, instinctively, we tell ourselves to break into a jog or a run when moving that quickly. The muscles of the legs, the glutes, the (gulp– help me) core, as well as the chest, arms, shoulders and back all have to work to create the momentum to move at such a speed. Increase the incline that you’re walking on and you will increase the exertion level. Increase the amount your work your arms, and again, the level of exertion, and consequently your heart rate and calorie burn go up as well.

A few of important things to keep in mind:

• Always warm up before you start race walking for exercise. You might think “walking….what’s the big deal?”. But it is a big deal and you should warm up to get the blood flowing.
• When you walk, think about standing as tall as possible, lifting the base of the skull to the sky and not the chin. Your chest should be lifted and your jaw should be nice and relaxed.
• As you walk, take small quick steps. Let the heel of each step fall just in front of the toe of the previous step. This will give you a much smaller, faster stride.
• Use a heart monitor to gauge your exertion level. If you want to increase your heart rate, try an incline, faster steps, or greater arm movement, even working to take the arms over head as you walk.
• If you are just starting out, be conservative. Try the small step, quick pace idea but move a little slower than you might like. You’re going to feel a whole bunch of muscles you never knew you had and you don’t want to shoot yourself out of a cannon.

Questions about all of this? Shoot me an email: michael@fitnessgurunyc.com

Rock on!!

Okay. This is a great way to end the week. A week when I battled infra-red calorie burning wraps, 60 minutes of exercise daily just for weight maintenance, and the size of Last Supper getting larger over the millenia. I should have seen this one coming a mile away.

The Good Folks at Honda, obviously already satisfied with the time and effort that they have put into their hybrid cars, have started developing Walking Assist Device with Body Weight Support System. Now I don’t want to be the stick in the mud and put down the development of a device that could help people walk who otherwise would not be able to. But that’s not who they are marketing to. They are marketing to people who have to stand for long periods of time or perform physically demanding tasks. The device could lead to “reduced fatigue and less physical exertion.”

Huh?

That’s right. Now when you get up to walk you don’t even have to get up and walk.

Have a beautiful and beautifully active weekend, everyone!

Rock on.

Hey Gang!

Check out Mandi with our Exercise of the Week: The Balance Lunge. Try it at home, in the gym, or on the subway at rush hour. It’s all good, ’cause it’s all FITNESS!!

Rock on!!

This quick, two minute film was produced by Matt Weckel and Blue Barn Pictures. They are doing a series of short films about members of the DUMBO community. I was honored to be tapped for their project, and shocked that, by way of brilliant lighting trickery and fine editing, they make me presentable.

Give it a look-see…….