GRAND OPENING!

WORKING OUT ON THE WEEKEND




Saturday was the ‘Grand Opening’ celebration of the Old Market Anytime Fitness and I changed my training time to coincide with the celebration. One of the local radio stations did a remote and there were cold cuts, fruit and drinks, along with the owner, Laura Binetti, a former champion body builder and her husband, Larry. He thanked me for showing up and being a walking billboard, which was my intention. I had pictured that there would be a few women at the gym, doing treadmill and exercise bike routines and the gym would be other wise empty. That was the case, so my mission was accomplished. I figured I owed Laura for driving me home when I could not finish a workout as I was still suffering from the effects of being struck by a car in January.



The people walking around didn’t interfere too much with my workout and I did not mind answering questions. Another brother would eventually come and start working out and by looking at him I thought that I should have been coming to him for workout advice!! It was our conversation (he caught me at the end of my training session, so I did not mind talking with him) that motivated me to make this entry.








He was asking me about the Hammer Strength V-Squat machine as an option for helping to develop his calves more. From there I asked him how long he had been working out and he said he had been at it for three years. That is when he mentioned some other tips that anyone at home can take advantage of.


BEING FIT IS DIFFERENT FROM LOSING WEIGHT




Oprah makes a good example of the difference between the two. Two iconic moments in her weight loss saga have been the 1988 show where she rolled out a wagon full of fat and her finishing the Marine Corp Marathon in 1992. The former was the culmination of a liquid diet plan without a strong physical training program to support her weight loss and the latter achievement should speak for itself, as she completed the marathon in very respectable 4 and ½ hours.



I told him that currently I am on a program designed to add some muscle but it is more for strength. That was when he mentioned that he saw me performing squats (which made sense as he was asking about advice to work his calves) and how working the legs causes the body to release more natural testosterone. This is true for the ladies but of course, they produce less of this muscle building hormone.


We would discuss the merits of supplements and energy drinks. My new friend admitted to being economically challenged when it came to adding the various fitness drinks and powders to his regimen. For protein, he added servings of fish, peanut butter and oatmeal to his diet (since he wanted to get bigger, these foods would go a long way towards his goal of gaining mass without going broke. Also, instead of using of any of the manufactured products to boost energy levels, he told me he used honey instead. From there we spoke about the sports drinks and how much benefit they provide.


No matter what your physical condition your body is in, it is still a very efficient piece of equipment. The problem that I have with many supplements (vitamins are excluded from this theory) is that whatever you drink right around your workout, most of the nutrients will be flushed from your system before they do you any good. I remain unconvinced that any of the so-called ‘extras’ in these drinks, pills and powders really benefit anyone whose goals aren’t to be among the top .001 of athletic fitness. Other than Gatorade, I would not trust any other ‘sports drink’ that is not H2O!


If you are able to spend that kind of money and you do intend to prepare for an Ironman Triathlon, and you really do train like a top-flight athlete, then by all means, spend away! But I really believe that we much of what drives the supplement industry is the desire for a quick and easy fix. I don’t see where the cost of these additional products outweigh the benefits they deliver. Hopefully when I start classes for fall semester I will be able to confirm a lot of what makes up my training philosophy or find out what IS what when it comes to being fit.

For instance, I have operated under the idea that without some sort of fitness program that combines exercise and diet, weight loss cannot be permanent.  That is why Oprah's diet let her down after dragging out the wagon of fat.  Then, there are expectations from exercise that have to be measured before a person can expect to see any results.

Ideally, if you were to begin now with a 90-minute, 4 day a week program of cardio and muscle building exercise (either with body, free or machine weights) without change to your diet (including eating MORE because you have worked out so hard), you can expect to see around 2 ½ to 3 pounds of weight loss each week.  With dietary changes, you can expect more of course, but to start, I would plan on this being the minimum.  Usually after 6 or 8 weeks, you may plateau and will need to adjust both your fitness routine and diet accordingly.

This is very general and whatever you find comfortable as far as a diet and fitness regimen is often up to the individual.  So if you feel something is working, then keep at it!!