The Fitness Guru

When last we left the Kardashian mega-opus, Fit Into Your Jeans By Friday, I felt I had said my fair share by applauding the professionals who helped Kim look good in the video, while at the same time, rallying against the marketing machine that feels the need to slap her…..face…..on the cover of a video box.
Evidently, someone named Wes in the Kardashian camp, didn’t feel that it was best left alone. He penned me this note:

I agree with Jennifer Galardi, give Kim a break. Are you dumb enough to think Kim Kardashian actually came up with all this on her own? Not that I’m taking anything away from her, but like Jennifer said, Kim is a marketing tool. Come on man, lighten up.

No Wes. You are the marketing tool. Kim is a very nice, well spoken young woman who has no business being the face of an exercise video. And my problem, young Wes, doesn’t stem from the fact that I can’t “lighten up.” It comes from the fact that, in a tough economy, people are going to spend their hard earned money to watch Kim exercise. If it ain’t about the money, then let her make it part of her TV show and people can get it for free. But the fact is that its all about the Benjamins. Jennifer and Patrick keep her together. Don’t believe me? Check her out on the View (best to fast forward to the 5 minute mark):

She is a lovely young woman but obviously has NO IDEA how communicate in fitness terms. Oh, she looks nice. And folks will want to look like her. But that’s the Emperor’s New Clothes, little Wes. And that is what has me all up in arms. Though I appreciate you taking the time to share your insight.

Meanwhile, not that it’s “pile on Kimmie” time, but I’m not the only one who had an issue with the View. Check this out from our friends at Fit Celeb.

Beaming

David Mesirow

My friend, David, came up with a great new idea– Beaming. A little yoga, a little Pilates, a little balance and stabilization, all on your your own personal balance beam…. a great workout.

Check out the website.

Twinkie–friend or foe? The Fitness Guru speaks with Steve Ettlinger, author of Twinkie Deconstructed, about the history, development and fascination with America’s cult snack cake.

The Fitness Guru

www.fitnessgurunyc.com

The Fitness Guru

www.fitnessgurunyc.com

Great podcast, I’m intrigued to learn more. Unfortunately, the article isn’t that clear. Can you break down an example of a Hurricane workout we could do at The Fitness Guru studio?- Animal

Ah, Animal. It is the pain of trying to capture the visuals of a magazine with the nuances of audio recording. The Hurricane is meant to shake up, stress, and push the system. It is a series of five exercises. Each exercise is performed for one minute with no rest in between. The idea is to get the entire body to work in the course of five minutes. Consequently, five variations of push ups probably wouldn’t be a good call. But you would want to mix up the exercise. Here is an example:

1. Push Ups
      a. Classic exercise for the upper body. Form is key. Try to keep an even pace as you both lower and lift. And don’t underestimate a full minute of push ups
2. Plyometric Squats
     a. With your feet parallel and should width apart, bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor. In one powerful motion, spring up and jump as high as you can. Repeat for aminute
3. Treadmill Sprints
     a. On the treadmill. As fast as you can. For a minute
4. Alternating leg scissors
     a. Lying on your back with your hands behind your head and your head and shoulders lifted, lift both legs straight up to the ceiling. One at a time, lower and raise each leg, maintaining abdominal activation
5. Bench Jumping
     a. Standing on one side of the weight bench, take hold of the sides. Using your arms for support, jump over and back across the bench

I’ll have a video up tomorrow for more specific details on how to best utilize the Hurricane in your workout.

Welcome to 2009 and welcome to the First Annual Fitness Guru Webolution!  Our brand new site is going to be dedicated to helping you achieve your New Year’s Resolution by offering workout ideas, tips, recipes, pod casts and video demonstrations. Each day for the next month we will be offering new information to keep you motivated and involved in attaining your goal. More than that, we are working to bring the tremendous spirit that thrives in our Studio to the Internet. We are expanding our Guru Community into the Web so that, if you should happen to stumble, you will have a place to turn to in order to get back on track. And if you are getting bored or lost, you have a place to turn for inspiration and answers.

A couple of things about our new site: right now, I sort of feel like David Byrne at the beginning of Stop Making Sense (for those unsure of the reference, see below for a visual aid.) I am standing on an empty stage with nothing but an acoustic guitar and a boom box. Slowly, the band grows around me, the music gets bigger, until finally, I am surrounded by a couple dozen musicians and I’m wearing a suit five times bigger than normal and the house is rocking like nobody’s business. OK, so maybe Psycho Killer is not the best theme to get this particular health and well-being party started……..

…..but you get the idea.

As you explore the new site, you will see the foundation of what we have built. All our studio information is on the left hand side of the page, and all our web info is on the right. You can easily ask any questions you like using the Ask The Guru feature, and we can get an answer back to you very quickly. We will be offering both video and audio segments on the pod cast page. And you can keep up with all things Guru on the events page.

If you’re new to the Guru, here is how we work: we never preach from the mountaintop; we are down in the trenches. There is a tremendous amount of health and fitness information out there and many people are willing to try to force that info down your throats, especially this time of year. We are here to help explain all that gobbledygook, and to help you find he path that’s right for you. “8 Minute Brazilian Funkilicous Abs” may not be the best choice for you, but it may work perfectly well for someone else. Think of it this way: in fitness, all roads lead to Rome. The Fitness Guru is your Mapquest. So take advantage of the opportunity. If there is a question plaguing you, be it about cardio-vascular work, weight loss, snacking on the go, post-exercise stretching, whatever, go ahead and ask. I guarantee you that there are probably dozens of people who have the same question, so by asking, you are helping the entire community.

Now let’s discuss the Resolutions. It’s the first of the year. Let’s keep it simple. Your goal for today is to clarify your Resolution for yourself. The clearer you can be, the easier it will be to stay true to your commitment. Here are some quick tips:

• Don’t overstep reality! If you are used to waking up at 10 am every morning and quietly reading the paper with a cup of coffee, then resolving to wake up at sunrise and run 10 miles probably is not the quick road to success. Try to find a path that works with your schedule and your lifestyle.
• Many of us make a resolution to lose weight. This can be a tough one psychologically. We don’t have all that much direct control over our weight. We do have control of various factors that contribute to weight gain. So if I say, “I want to lose 15 pounds”, my focus will be on the needle on the scale and whether or not I can get the damn thing to move, even a little. If that needle doesn’t move, or even if it does move but moves VERY slowly, that can be discouraging, especially if I am putting all this resolve into dropping pounds. And then, if I do lose the weight, the focus becomes “can I keep it off?” It’s a very tough dance to maintain. HOWEVER, if I focus on eating healthier on a daily basis and becoming more active, my weight will start to shift as a natural part of that process. Keeping track of weight loss is a fine gauge of success, but it is only one of several that we will discuss in the next couple of days.
• Create small steps for success. You can’t lose fifteen pounds without losing one first, and you can’t “eat healthy” without going meal-by-meal making better choices. Let’s face it: we spent December in a feeding frenzy and now we see this big mountain of HEALTH in front of us. It can be a little overwhelming. So start small: if you haven’t exercised since fourth grade gym class, don’t start by locking yourself on an elliptical machine for two hours at a time. You will burn out very quickly and you’ll be visiting Godiva.com by January 17^th. Take things day by day and seek out attainable goals that fall within your resolution. “I’m going to have a healthy breakfast” is attainable. “I’m going to go for a 20 minute walk during my lunch break” is attainable. And all these things will lead you to your goal.
• Take advantage of the community around you. Some of us believe that a resolution is like a dirty little secret. We don’t want to let anyone in on it in the event we seem weaker or in the event, God forbid, we should stumble and fall. But our Resolutions are just the opposite: they are commitments that we make to ourselves to improve the quality of our lives. And, right now, everyone around you is trying to make that commitment in ways both big and small. Reach out to your friends, family and the Guru community for support, understanding and inspiration.

That’s enough for now. If you have friends who are about to battle the Resolution, invite them into the community. There is room for all. This is a very electric time and we at the Guru are very excited about what is to come. Thanks for joining us.  It’s going to be a fantastic ride.

Rock on!

Michael