How 8-Minute Abs changed my life

I always enjoyed playing sports like basketball and baseball. In my teens, I would occasionally wander into the weight room at the local YMCA, but never with any sense of direction or purpose. Like many, the freedom of college paved the way for soda for breakfast and onion rings for desert. Needless to say, my lack of physical activity paired with uninformed food choices resulted in a body that I didn’t recognize in the mirror. Twenty years into my life, I decided I wanted to do something to change the pasty and pudgy guy I had become (spoiler alert- I’m still pasty).

Having no idea where to start, and too stubborn and embarrassed to anybody for advice, I did what any child of the 90's would do…I bought the 8-Minute Abs video. It’s hilarious, but that tape was my gateway drug to fitness. Aside from the fantastic spandex unitards, the video allowed me to try exercises privately. The tape was actually longer than eight minutes, and included body parts beyond the abs. While I didn’t get a washboard stomach, or even notice a difference in my appearance, working out at home made me comfortable with the concept of exercise. It was an important incremental first step.

Pictured above: The convict-inspired onesie is a timeless look. 

After spending a summer break flailing on my mom’s living room floor doing crunches, I realized I was ready for something different. I found Bill Phillips’ Body-for-Life book and was exposed to basic nutrition strategies paired with a structured full body resistance training program. After 12-weeks of following the program to a T, I knew I would never return to the days of junk food sporadic exercise. There are a million and one programs like Body-for-Life out there today, and I would guess that most of them work if you stick with them.

I like to reflect on how I get hooked on exercise, because it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that I was a helpless newbie not all that long ago. If you spend any time surfing the internet for fitness information you’ll quickly find out that gym culture can be odd and uninviting. If I had a penny for every time a bro in the weight room rolled their eyes at the puny dumbbells I struggled lifting, I’d be able to buy eight more 8-Minute Abs tapes. As I became more comfortable with exercise, I found myself conforming to the stereotype. Instead of helping the person struggling to figure out how to use a particular piece of equipment, I would chuckle at their ignorance. In a brief period of time, I had forgotten the pudgy kid struggling to do three minutes of the 8-Minute Abs VHS. 

Newbie

  

I tell this story for a few reasons. First, fitness geeks like me need to be more inviting to beginners. Nobody was born knowing what to do in a weight room, and we were all helpless newbies at one point. Every January people complain about the influx of new gym goers trying to stick with their New Years’ resolutions. Instead of complaining about having to wait an extra 30 seconds for your prized weight machine, try doing something to make an unfamiliar face feel more welcome at the gym. Be an ambassador, not an elitist.

Second, there is no right way to begin to your fitness journey. If you can afford it, personal training can be a good first step. For me, beginning in the privacy of my own home helped me feel more comfortable with the basics. If you’re looking for something more modern than Jane Fonda tapes, the OnDemand section of basic cable actually has some good workouts and yoga instruction. My only real advice is try to do something, no matter how small, to make yourself better each day.

Health hacks - Holiday edition

Since I actually saw some Christmas ornaments at the store last weekend, I think it’s safe for me to share some holiday health hacks that will help you close out 2013 strong. The tips below focus on nutrition, but I also suggest you log some physical activity on the days you’re likely to consume more food.

Halloween

You don’t have to be the wet blanket that gives out raisins or pennies. Instead, shower the kiddies with your least favorite candy. For example, I’m not a fan of shaved coconut so I’ll grab a bag of Mounds or Almond Joys to give out. If there are leftovers, I’m much less inclined to feast on them.

Does anyone really enjoy candy corn?

If you have kids, consider bringing some of their bounty to work to share with your coworkers. Frugal folks like me have a hard time throwing things away, but eating 5 lbs of candy alone is not recommended. Instead, spread the love with your colleagues. They’ll snatch up the free sweets and you’ll be a less hefty hero.

Thanksgiving

It would be un-American to suggest anything extreme on the day dedicated to belt busting bingeing. In fact, many of the staples in a typical Thanksgiving meal tend to be fairly nutritious. White meat turkey, sweet potatoes, and vegetables are solid choices. If you fill your plate with these options you’ll have less room for the heavier, less nutritious side dishes (I’m looking at you weird marshmallow casserole). If you’re mindful of your liquid calorie intake (beer/wine/soda), and you think twice before getting a third helping, you’ll still be able to fit into some discounted skinny jeans on Black Friday.

The pilgrims would be proud

Bonus tip - Most Thanksgiving meals end with a surplus of leftover desserts. Feel free to indulge on the holiday, but resist eating the sweets as the holiday weekend continues. If you’re hosting Thanksgiving, send your guests home with the sweets. If you’re a guest, politely decline taking home unhealthy leftovers. And if you both happen to take my advice, it’s going to be awkward.

Christmas

A challenge with this holiday is that you’ll have multiple opportunities to indulge in things you wouldn’t normally eat as part of your healthy diet. Depending on your family dynamic and popularity, these get togethers are numerous and can seriously derail your progress.

If you see this hunk at your event, ignore my advice about the chocolate fountain

If the event isn't a sit down dinner, I suggest you remove will power from the equation and pre-game. No, I’m not recommending chugging some Budweiser tallboys before you schmooze with your CEO at the office party. Pre-gaming means eating a healthy meal immediately prior to your arrival. If you’re full when you arrive, you’re much less likely to be huddled at the chocolate fountain. Make sure to limit the liquid calories and position yourself by the veggie and hummus plate. For sit down dinners, follow the tips from Thanksgiving and share those leftover cookies with your colleagues. If they stay in your house, you’re bound to eat them.

Sticking with it - my week 6 check in

It’s been six weeks since I started my new training plan with the goal of getting stronger and building muscle. Months of marathon training had made me fast and light, but I was noticeably weaker and a little too emo skinny for my liking. Instead of winging it in the weight room, I decided to follow a recommended routine called the “Max Muscle Plan” written by trainer Brad Schoenfeld. The plan is broken into segments with the first focusing on improving strength, and not necessarily muscle. The concept is that if you’re stronger, you can lift heavier things and lifting heavier things makes it easier to add muscle to your body in the later stage. You also go easy on the cardio during this stage since that extra effort makes it harder to gain strength.

Failed VP Candidate Paul Ryan: My inspiration for bro-dom

The strength workouts were a bit of an adjustment for me. They call for resting at least three minutes between each set of an exercise, which felt like an eternity compared to the 30-60 second rest periods I was used to. I had plenty of time to fiddle with my iPod and people-watch in the gym. I started to get bored, and was questioning whether the program was right for me. Just as I was ready to succumb to my exercise ADD, I noticed that the program was working and I really was getting stronger. I was piling more plates on to the bar and set personal records for the deadlift, squat, and military press. Forgive me for sounding like a “bro” but it’s an amazing feeling lift and lower heavy things (don't knock it 'til you try it). A few months ago, I never would have thought I could pull over 300 pounds off of the floor and now I was doing it with good form. Even though I don’t think powerlifting will become my workout method of choice, getting stronger has been a rewarding physical and mental challenge.

In order to get stronger, I’ve had to eat more food which is also an adjustment. I make sure to eat a consistent amount of calories, even if I’m not necessarily hungry which can be sort of uncomfortable. Between eating more calories and cutting down on cardio I’ve gained about ten pounds, but I’m definitely not as lean as I was before I began the program. I have a few more weeks of the strength program, and then transition to a routine that will focus on muscle building. The entire program will take six months to complete.
 
Change is never easy, but if I kept doing my old workouts, how could I expect to meet my new goals?
My new routine was initially uncomfortable, but powering through that period of discomfort helped me realize that my body is stronger than I ever imagined. Had I thrown in the towel and started with a new plan or goals, I would have robbed myself of the bro-tastic feeling I get now when I left heavy things. I also would not have allowed enough time for my body to begin to make the incremental changes that will eventually allow me to meet my goals.

Kittens = best motivation ever

No matter what your goals are, resist the temptation to change them. Change is uncomfortable, but that discomfort is a sign that you're on the right track. So stick to your guns and your goals and let me know if I can help. 

Some much needed perspective

I saw something a few weeks ago that was so powerful that I haven’t been able to shake it from my mind. I was sitting at a stoplight in my air conditioned car, sipping my dark roast, listening to NPR and I was peeved. I was six blocks from my house and I realized I left my work ID at home. The oversight meant that I had to turn around, sit at three more stoplights, re-park my car, unlock the house, retrieve my ID and start my journey to work all over again.

Just as my frustration level crept higher, an old white bus crossed the intersection in front of me. The bus was covered in burnt orange rust, a color that matched the jumpsuits of the men inside it. As the bus passed by in what seemed like slow motion, I made eye contact with one of the passengers. The side of his face was pressed against the metal-shielded windows. He was trying to get as close as possible to the free world that was now out of his reach.

The image was almost cliché. It was out of a movie, and it made me feel tremendously lame. I was frustrated that my commute to work would be five minutes longer than normal while at the same time, a few feet away from me, a bus full of men were on their way to serve long bids in prison. They will be far from their families and likely won’t taste freedom for years. And there I was, in a fully functional automobile, headed to a job that I enjoy and I was thinking the fates were against me. It was a slap across the face, and helped me gain some much needed perspective.

I am grateful for my early morning encounter with the rusty jail bus. The next time I catch myself thinking of all the ways life is out to get me, I’ll conjure the image of the man with his face pressed against the glass. He will never know it, but he helped me realize how lucky I am to be leading this life. 

Need a new hobby? Try being selfish

When I was a young lad, I was consumed by my love of cars. I spent all of my free time at auto shops, trolling online car forums, and constantly plotting the upgrades I wanted to make to my vehicle (I use the word vehicle because I did so much tinkering that it sounded more like a possessed refrigerator than a car). I spent a lot of time, money and energy on my hobby back in the day but I’ve since outgrown my grease monkey tendencies. I still like cars, but they’re more a way for me to get to work than a passion.

Okay, maybe my car wasn't this bad

Instead of focusing time and energy on hunks of metal, I decided to take up what I believe is the best hobby ever…building a better me. I now spend a significant amount of my free time improving my fitness through exercise.  It may sound selfish, but becoming passionate about fitness is arguably the best thing I’ve ever done and I recommend it as a hobby for everyone. In fact, I would pit it against almost any other hobby. Do your current hobbies:

- Make you physically stronger and faster?

- Build self confidence?
- Increase your life expectancy?
- Improve your physique?
- Decrease stress?
- Make you look totally amazing in spandex?

Pictured: Me and some buds chilling after a tough workout sesh'

Don’t buy into the stereotype that people who love fitness spend all of their hours alone in front of a mirror wearing a unitard. Whether you choose group classes, team sports, or going on a run with your spouse, fitness can be a very social activity. I have met great people participating in various Team in Training events and have developed friendships by playing pickup basketball. On the flip side, exercising alone can be extremely rewarding and meditative as well.

Another benefit of this hobby is that it is extremely dynamic.  You can train to lift heavy things, run marathons, hike up mountains or complete an adventure race. If you get bored with one goal or style of training, it’s easy to mix things up and try something new. For instance, after training to run long distances for several months, I’m now focusing on improving my strength which requires a completely different exercise and nutrition plan.

Building fast (and loud) cars was a lot of fun, but building a stronger and faster body is one hundred times more rewarding. Instead of investing in an inanimate object, I'm investing in myself. Improving my fitness not only made me a more confident and positive person, but helped alleviate some serious health issues as well. So go ahead and be selfish and make building a better you your new hobby.

Need help on where to start? Hit me up in the comments or tweet me @WilldoesWork

Pyramids and the President - The value of establishing a routine

Certain parts of your daily routine are non-negotiable. For instance, most people don’t question getting up in the morning and going to work. You perform this type of necessary daily activity without much thought or deliberation. The things we do automatically every day are determined by our priority pyramid. Whether we recognize it or not, we prioritize our activities based on what we deem to be most essential. If you think of all of your needs as a pyramid, food, water and shelter would make up the base. As you make your way to the top of your pyramid, you’ll find activities that you may like to do but can live without. The very top of my pyramid has things like waxing my car and reading the latest Nicholas Sparks novel. I’m somehow able to talk myself out of doing these things and can put them off indefinitely. Sadly, healthy eating and exercise finds itself sharing space with Mr. Sparks at the top of the pyramid.

This is what Nicholas Sparks looks like

So how do we make physical activity and healthy eating an automatic activity like getting up in the morning and going to work? You first have to recognize their amazing value and put them in their rightful place on the base of your pyramid.

Few activities provide the kind of return on investment that physical activity does. Think of all of the ways you spend your time instead of being physically active. Are they essential? Are they improving your body, mind, and increasing your longevity? Are they helping you relieve stress, sleep better and build confidence? Do they make you a more pleasant friend/spouse/dog owner? When you recognize the multi-layered values of exercise, it becomes much harder to talk yourself out of it.

The same can be said for healthy eating. It’s easy to come up with excuses for why eating healthy foods is something that can be set aside for another time. Is preparing a healthy meal too time consuming? What other things are you doing with your time instead of cooking? Does investing your time in that activity make you a healthier more energetic person? Is eating healthy too expensive? Take a look at a past credit card statement. Was all of that money directed at items needed for the bottom of your pyramid? Can you rearrange items in your pyramid to make room for proper nutrition?

Best use of spandex in a pyramid, ever

Solidifying a healthy routine takes time and you’ll have to make seemingly significant sacrifices. Your schedule and priorities may need to be rearranged, but I swear it’s well worth the effort. It has taken years for me to build nutrition and exercise into my almost automatic daily routine, and I’m still very far from perfect.  There are plenty of days when I would rather zone out on the couch after work than go for a run and I sometimes envy the line of cars at the drive-thru getting their dinner in mere minutes.

On those more challenging days, I think about my old gym buddy President Obama*. I know it’s weird, but I think of the President because even though he’s the busiest man in the world, he still finds time to exercise. If he’s able to find room in the base of his priority pyramid for physical activity, I know my excuses are pretty weak. I've regretted spending my time doing plenty of things, but I've never regretted the time I've spent being physically active.

The beauty of establishing a healthy routine is that the longer you adhere to it, the more automatic it becomes. You'll see results and it will become something you just do (and enjoy), and I guarantee you’ll be better for it. 

POTUS has fitness fortitude

*Gym buddy may not be most accurate term for a guy who I saw at the gym a couple of times before he became President

Let's talk pie

A few years ago I saw this clip of a guy sprinting on a treadmill while a man stands next to him shoveling half a pie into his mouth and washing it down with a root beer. The purpose of the video was not to torment the poor guy on the treadmill, but to point out how it’s impossible to out train a bad diet.  The man on the treadmill sprinted for three minutes and burned about 40 calories. In that same period of time, the pizza man consumed 900 calories of junk. Unless you plan to spend your entire day on a treadmill, you can’t get those calories back. A poor diet decision can derail your body composition goals in a matter of minutes.

The reason I find the video interesting is because it reminded me that when training for body composition goals (lose fat, gain muscle etc.) about 75% of the strategy involves proper nutrition. Even if you train like a madwoman in the gym, if you eat junk, you won’t see the results you’re looking for. Working out gets a lot of attention from the media, which makes sense because they want to sell you exercise products.These outlets won’t see a dime if you start eating more fresh produce and lean proteins, so there is less incentive for them to promote the biggest piece of the wellness pie – nutrition. Moreover, a workout typically lasts about an hour but healthy eating a much more difficult and less glamorous 24/7 endeavor.

Mmm meat pie graph

I experienced firsthand the 75% principle when I was training for a century ride a while ago. Thanks to consistent training and great coaches in the Team in Training program, I saw my biking abilities improve each week. Long rides over the weekend would test my muscle stamina and get my heart racing. Given the amount of time I spent training on the tarmac you would expect me to look like I was in the best shape of my life. But instead of looking like Lance Armstrong, I looked less in shape than I did before I started training. Did all that saddle time on my bike stymie my circulation and prevent me from burning fat? Nope, it’s just that my nutrition sucked. My workouts made me hungrier and I thought that all of the calories I burned gave me license to eat whatever I wanted. It’s a pretty common occurrence when training for endurance events. So much so that Team in Training now warns participants that their programs will not help you meet weight loss goals.

Yes, that is a Capitol dome on top of my helmet

None of this is to say that you should ditch exercising as a method to meet body composition goals. That 25% of the pie is absolutely essential. It helps you build muscle, which helps burn fat and calories throughout the day. Plus there are tons of overarching wellness benefits from working out like improved heart health, increased bone density, greater strength and boosts in energy. Exercise multiplies the effectiveness and results of your healthy eating. So don't lose sight of either parts of the pie and you'll be well on your way to getting better.