The Fitness Guru

YEA! HAPPY NEW YEAR!! WHOOO-HOOOOOO!!……YES!!!…… FIRST DAY!! NEW YEAR!!…. NEW DECADE!!!………YEA!!!!…… HAPPY….. NEW….. year……whoooo……hooo…. yes….. ya……. hmmm…..

With any luck, you are waking up this morning (or this afternoon) without a hangover. Food. Food will be on the list of things to do. And some stores and some restaurants may be open. But it is a holiday, so you can’t be sure. By Sunday, you’ll be a little discombobulated because it’s the second long weekend in a row and now all your internal clocks are way off. Monday: gather ’round the water cooler with all the NYE war stories and comments about “amateur night” (note: as my friend, Tom, was the only person I know who went to bed at 11:30 last night, he is, by default, the only “professional”). Within two weeks, you will have stopped screwing up every time you have to write the date on something. In four weeks, any reference to the New Year or New Decade will have gone the way of Tiger Woods jokes. And within six weeks, 80-95% of you will have given up on your New Year’s Resolution.

That’s right. By Valentine’s Day, the National Hallmark  Day of Chocolate and Cards, only a few Resolutionaries will be left standing. The reasons are simple: we create goals for ourselves without creating an effective strategy for attaining those goals. Sure, it seems like everyone has a strategy to help you, but, for the most part, that strategy is “Happy New Year……now let’s change”. The desire to change isn’t a strategy. It has to be met with a thorough play-by-play so that you understand the ups and the downs of the process.

So here are the five things to keep in mind to help you succeed this year and every year with your resolution. Now, I am the Fitness Guru, so I am going to help specifically with fitness and health related goals. But this ideas can work just as effectively with all your resolutions, personal or professional.

1. Take smaller bites. Yes, your grandmother was right. You take too big a bite and you’re going to choke. You have 40 pounds to lose? Start with the first 10. What the hell– start with 5. If you focus solely on the 40, and the weight doesn’t come off fast enough, that will lead to frustration, dissolutionment, and closing the door on yet another year’s resolution. That leads us to……
2. Patience. My god, if I had a dime for every person who walked through my door and thought that they were going to get it done in two weeks, I would be retired to an island in the Pacific by now. You have to understand that your train has been traveling with a great deal of momentum in one direction. In order to slow  down and change direction, you will have to patiently redirect your path. And the more momentum you have in a particular direction, the more focus and time you will need to redirect yourself.
3. Do not change direction too quickly. Ok, follow me on this one: your driving a Ferrari at 110 miles per hour down the highway. You want to make a hard, 90-degree left turn. My suggestion: slow down or your going to crash. You haven’t exercised in 10 years? Why on Earth are you going to go to the gym for two hours at a stretch, 6 days a week starting the day after the heaviest eating/drinking period of the entire year. Start slow and methodically. Go to the gym for half an hour, stretch, do a little cardio, maybe try a class. See how your body feels, how it reacts to the stimuli. If you feel good, up the ante. If you are sore and tired, keep it easy for the first week or two as you ease into it. You have time (see suggestion #2).



4. Don’t spend a fortune. Health clubs love this time of year. They see the panic in your eyes and they thrive on it. They will get you to sign up for 18 months of direct withdrawal from your checking account, knowing full well that by Valentine’s Day you will have forgotten you had a membership. Buy a month’s membership. They’ll sell it to you (they just want your money, after all). Make sure the gym is for you, that it is effective and you enjoy it. Then make the big purchase in February. Same goes for meal plans, exercise equipment, shoes, clothes, gizmos, late night infomercial products– the whole enchilada. The industry loves January because everyone throws their money at problems. Don’t be one of those people. But……
5. If you do spend money, spend it and spend it wisely. Spending money on your health and well-being is the wisest investment you can make. But, like financial investing, you want to be sure you are putting your money into an investment that will reap dividends. I am a trainer and I believe that an educated trainer is the Resolutionary’s best friend. Exercise is a science, not a crap shoot. I have yet to meet someone who couldn’t achieve their goals with the proper information and persistence. The problem is that the information is usually faulty. So Buyer Beware! Go about finding a New Year’s trainer the same way you would shop the rest of the year: get referrals from friends, interview the trainers, ask questions, find out specifically what they would do to help you, not simply someone who walks through the door to be “trained”. And keep in mind that most quality trainers have full schedules. You will need a little flexibility to find time in their schedules. If a health club is quick to offer you their “top trainer” who happens to be free five days a week during peak hours, take a good, long look at that person, their education, their work experience and their success rate.

This isn’t the end. This is the beginning. I wish there were only five things to keep in mind. This would be so simple if that were the case. But if it were that simple, the success rate would be higher than 10%. And it isn’t.

So buckle up and stay tuned. Let’s make this the best year ever! Whoooo-Hooooo!! Happy New Year!! Yea!!!!

It’s the calm before the storm. Do you feel it? That quiet expanse between Christmas and New Year’s. Friday? Very exciting! All sorts of new things happening with the Guru to celebrate the New Year– wonderful things that are going to help get all of us in the best shapes of our lives!

In the meantime, go out and have a very happy and healthy New Year. Take a few minutes to reflect on all the good things that happened for you in the past 365 days. And contemplate where you want to be 365 days from now.

This is not a New Year’s video. I love Cirque de Soleil and thought I would share one of my favorite pieces of theirs. Of course, it’s tough to capture the experience on video but it is amazing nonetheless.

Thank you all for being part of the Guru community for the past year. It has been a fantastic time and we are all looking forward to 2010!

It’s almost 2010, and for a lot of people that means New Year’s Resolution! And, though we try and be high-minded about it (“this year I will strive for Green Living and world peace…..though not necessarily in that order…”), most of our Resolution tend to focus on changing our health, well-being and fitness. Consequently, the gym industry makes a killing in January. And most of us end up frustrated that we have been unable to achieve the goals we set for ourselves.

So we have a plan– The First Annual Fitness Guru Makeover.

We will take one lucky person (though, who knows, maybe others) and we will help them hit the ground running in 2010– personal training, Pilates, yoga, fitness classes, weight training, nutrition– anything and everything that will help this lucky person achieve the goals that he or she sets for him/herself– all for FREE! The catch (there has to be a catch, right?): the whole process is going to be captured on film and video so that all the members of the Guru community can take part in the transformation, learn from it and become inspired by it. This way, we will all be working toward making 2010 the most successful Resolution year ever!! EVER!!!!

Still interested? Here’s what you need to do: first, read over the Rules and Regulations; next, write 150 words on why you feel you should be the winner of the Makeover. Try to be specific but not too long-winded, because, honestly, in an age of Twitter, do any of us have the ability to focus for more than 150 words? Finally, email your entry to makeover@fitnessgurunyc.com. That’s all ya have to do!

The deadline is December 30 at midnight and the winner will be announced on January 5th, 2010.

You may only enter for yourself and you may only enter once, so if you have a friend or loved one whom you think might like this, pass along the info and get them to write a little something.

Spread the word!

And Happy Holidays!!!

In just a few short days, we will be getting a brand new president. And because all the media outlets seemed to have changed course and are now reporting on important matters, like the economy and the Middle East, I thought I might share a few two-dimensional thoughts with you.

In between holiday announcements regarding staff and economic recovery, we as a people were given a brief glimpse of the POTUS-to-be’s torso as he frolicked in the surf in Hawaii. His abdomen made several glossy magazines as well as several papers. Editors seemed excited. Not only was this President bringing new hope for society, but perhaps he was also bringing new hope for the physique of America. In all honesty, when was the last time you got excited over the athletic achievements of a politician? Sure, John Kerry had his brief fling with a wet suit during his presidential campaign, but no one reflects glowingly on that. Clinton had a few brief moments as a jogger, but I seem to remember the Secret Service running to McDonald’s more often than not. W cleared brush (‘nuff said.) Aside from maybe Teddy Roosevelt who probably could have wrestled bears and Abe Lincoln who gave up a career as a power forward for the Bulls to follow his love of the law, very few presidents have ever presented athletic personae.

So now we have a president who is stepping up and showing off the fact that he works out several times a week. And given the fact that two out of every three adults in this country are overweight or obese, that’s a fantastic message to be sending out to the electorate. Does that mean that if we workout like the Prez, we too can have six-packs?

Yes, we can.

Well, actually, no we can’t. It’s not that easy. Most of us think that the six-pack is just a natural bi-product of an intense exercise regime. The truth is that for the abdominals to become so prominent that you can grate cheese on them, you need an eighth of inch or less of fat over your abdomen. Anything more than an eighth of an inch and its almost impossible to get that kind of definition. Now, we all have a certain number of fat cell and those are fixed in adolescence. As we get heavier and lighter throughout adult life, we are simply expanding and shrinking a certain number of cells. If the cells covering your abdomen are thicker than an eighth of an inch, all you can do is shrink the cells themselves, but you can’t make them disappear (well, ya can, but that’s a different entry.)

But I will GUARANTEE you that the President-to-be is not exercising so that he can be the first Chief Exec to make the cover of Men’s Health. He keeps up his fitness routine because that is what keeps him sane. Regular exercise is all about staying happy, healthy and focused. There is no way he could get as much done if he didn’t stay fit. Quite the opposite is true: he would become overwhelmed and lose focus.

As we move through the January Resolutions, its important to remember that the whole “getting back in shape” thing isn’t just about getting back into those jeans—its about getting stronger and healthier physically, mentally and emotionally. The media keeps reminding us that these are incredibly difficult times (like we need the media for that.) Strength in all its many layers is crucial. Perhaps the lesson, even before inauguration, is all about preparation. I had a wonderful friend years ago whose battle cry was “Strength and Faith.” We have learned a lot about Faith in the past several months. Now it’s important to stay strong.

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