Eating a healthy diet with the appropriate number of calories and good nutrition and doing regular exercise works. It works. Unless you have a medical condition (not typical) that prevents your body from processing fuel (i.e. the food you eat and fat stores) properly.
Why then are there hundreds of weight loss programs available and at the same time an overwhelming number of obese people in the US? It's not that there aren't any programs out there that work. Many of them work just fine... if you stick with them.
Why is it that most people don't follow the programs long enough for them to work? The real problem is that no diet or exercise program can overcome the psychological and emotional issues that caused us to become overweight in the first place. It's rare that being overweight is truly about loving food and hating exercise. These are really just excuses. All the programs and pills and even the weight loss surgeries are only addressing the symptom not the cause.
If you take a pill that's supposed to make you feel full physically but, you're eating comes from things like stress or loneliness then no pill can make you feel full enough for long. No amount of will power can make you stick to a weight loss program. Those emotional triggers will come up and you'll be eating comfort food, laying on the couch watching TV, or finding a million little ways to procrastinate until you're out of time to exercise, before you even know what happened.
The trickiest part of all this is that a lot of times it's not conscious. Your emotional eating and avoiding exercise is a way your mind thinks it's protecting you from something, taking care of you. The key is to get the conscious and unconscious parts of your mind on the same page. One way to start is to become aware of when you are thinking about food or reaching for food when you're not physically hungry, when you know you've already had enough to eat. When you notice it happening, stop and take a deep breath and ask yourself what you are feeling. What were you thinking about or doing right before you got the urge to head for the fridge.
Make sure you answer the questions "what is this really about" and "what would make me feel better about it" before you proceed. You may still proceed directly to the fridge or to veg out in front of the TV, especially at first. Over time, if you keep at it, you will find more and more that you can come up with better ways, more effective, more satisfying ways to feel better.
There are other methods for working on the underlying causes of emotional eating and inactivity but, the one just described is a simple one you can start with right now. Unlike all those diet and exercise program commercials I won't promise speedy results. Working through the underlying issues can be a long process, just like healthy weight loss. The important thing to remember is that you're not in it just to look good for swim suit season you're in it too look good and to feel good for the rest of your life.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Getting in Shape with Your iPod
The iPod is truly a revolutionary invention. Its genius is in that it didn't re-invent the wheel, it just made the wheel better. It took something we all were already using and made it easier to access, easier to use, more portable, more reliable, etc. Like it's predecessors the Walkman and the portable CD player this gadget initially designed for entertainment can be a valuable fitness tool.
The obvious use is as a light weight, compact, way to have your music, podcasts, or books on "tape" with you where ever you workout. Music in particular has been shown to help exercisers burn more calories in their cardio sessions and keep the intensity up in their weight training sessions. There's nothing like a great song with an energetic beat to inspire you to pick up the pace on your run or crank out a few more lunges.
Now, with the ample storage capacity and flexibility of what you store the fitness industry has found it's way onto the iPod. There are a number of companies that offer audio workouts that you download and take with you. You can take your workout to the gym, outside, or use it to workout at home. These iPod (actually any MP3 player will do) workouts are especially great when you're travelling.
The workouts may be set to music. Some are voiced by fitness celebrities. The great thing is that they tell you exactly what you need to do, which exercises, how many reps. The audio trainer will give you encouragement and tips on proper form as you go along.
This form of workout means that you do not have a visual reference in front of you as you do the exercises. So, when they say to do a lunge you kind of have to know what that means. Now they will typically give you some setup instructions but, they can only communicate so much verbally. You may find that you will want to do a trial run with the workouts, taking notes on the moves you're unsure of.
Companies that put out these audio workouts will likely provide online support where you can get an animation or a short video clip of the exercise being done properly. If they don't provide this resource then there are plenty of places you can find what you're looking for online. For example, my online personal training site provides this kind of visual demonstration of exercises as do most online personal training programs. In fact, you might discover that the audio workouts are a great add on to working with an online personal trainer.
One company which I'm familiar with is iTrain. They have sample audio clips so that you can try a few minutes of the workouts and see if this style of training is right for you. They offer a wide variety of cardio, strength training, yoga, pilates and more. This is one company that does provide video demonstrations so that you can get a visual on the exercises in your audio routines.
Again, iTrain is not the only company to offer MP3 workouts but, it's one I'm familiar with and a great place to start. You just might find that these workouts are the key to getting you out of a fitness rut and back on track to reaching your fitness goals.
The obvious use is as a light weight, compact, way to have your music, podcasts, or books on "tape" with you where ever you workout. Music in particular has been shown to help exercisers burn more calories in their cardio sessions and keep the intensity up in their weight training sessions. There's nothing like a great song with an energetic beat to inspire you to pick up the pace on your run or crank out a few more lunges.
Now, with the ample storage capacity and flexibility of what you store the fitness industry has found it's way onto the iPod. There are a number of companies that offer audio workouts that you download and take with you. You can take your workout to the gym, outside, or use it to workout at home. These iPod (actually any MP3 player will do) workouts are especially great when you're travelling.
The workouts may be set to music. Some are voiced by fitness celebrities. The great thing is that they tell you exactly what you need to do, which exercises, how many reps. The audio trainer will give you encouragement and tips on proper form as you go along.
This form of workout means that you do not have a visual reference in front of you as you do the exercises. So, when they say to do a lunge you kind of have to know what that means. Now they will typically give you some setup instructions but, they can only communicate so much verbally. You may find that you will want to do a trial run with the workouts, taking notes on the moves you're unsure of.
Companies that put out these audio workouts will likely provide online support where you can get an animation or a short video clip of the exercise being done properly. If they don't provide this resource then there are plenty of places you can find what you're looking for online. For example, my online personal training site provides this kind of visual demonstration of exercises as do most online personal training programs. In fact, you might discover that the audio workouts are a great add on to working with an online personal trainer.
One company which I'm familiar with is iTrain. They have sample audio clips so that you can try a few minutes of the workouts and see if this style of training is right for you. They offer a wide variety of cardio, strength training, yoga, pilates and more. This is one company that does provide video demonstrations so that you can get a visual on the exercises in your audio routines.
Again, iTrain is not the only company to offer MP3 workouts but, it's one I'm familiar with and a great place to start. You just might find that these workouts are the key to getting you out of a fitness rut and back on track to reaching your fitness goals.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
A Trainer's Take on Wii Fit
What do you think of the Wii? That is one of the the questions I hear a lot these days. I don't own a Wii but, recently I had a chance to give it a try. There were some things like really liked about it and some I didn't.
The Wii Fit program starts you off by taking you through a setup process in which you pick an avatar called a Mii and then it weighs you, calculates your BMI. It puts you through some tests and evaluates your balance, calculates your "Wii age" and tells you what your recommended weight is. All in all I thought the set up was pretty cool. I also like that the Wii will keep track of your progress over time, an accountability element that can really help people stick with a workout program.
There are some programs that will get your heart rate up. The Wii gets you moving with boxing, a step routine and an obstacle course that was super fun. I was so focused on getting through the course I didn't even realize how active my body was until afterward and I realized my breathing and heart rate were up a little. The only issue was that after about 30 seconds or so I would find that I was starting to walk off the platform. Maybe I would learn not to "travel" over time but, it seemed like it would be nice if the platform had some kind of guide or bumper to keep you from walking off the platform. Maybe next version.
I only got a quick look at the Yoga section but, it looked like they had a good selection of basic exercises. I did try doing Plank. It keeps track of whether you're centered as you do the exercise with your forearms resting on the balance board. Tyring to keep the red dot in the center brought a little bit of a fun, game aspect to the exercise.
I got to try the easy and hard versions of one of the strength training programs. I saw a couple of the instructional segments on how to do specific exercises with proper form. It was good to see those and I thought they were well done, covering the important form points. I went through some squats and some side lunges. I thought the exercise where you do a side lunge and then touch the floor was a questionable choice. Doing a side lunge is fine, but having people bend forward from that position could cause back strain.
I was a little disappointed in the hard level strength training program. I didn't go through the whole thing but it seemed to start out as pretty much the same as the easy program just adding reps. The deal real problem I found in the hard program was the pace which was excruciatingly slow. I could have gone out and run errands between lunges (OK, not really but, I think you get the picture). To make it worse, if you went faster than your Wii trainer it would pause even longer to stop and scold you for going too fast. I believe in doing exercises at a slow controlled pace but, this was ridiculous. Going as slow as they wanted was a definite loss in terms of calorie burn. Maybe there's a way to set the pace to go a little faster?
While I didn't get to spend a ton of time playing with the Wii, I do think I got the gist of it. I think it's a great start for people who are currently in the couch potato category. It may also be a good way for people who have never done any strength training to get a taste of it and learn some of the basic exercises. For exercisers beyond beginner level, this really isn't going to advance you in your fitness goals. However, the games are fun and anything that gets you up off the couch and moving is probably a good thing.
The Wii Fit program starts you off by taking you through a setup process in which you pick an avatar called a Mii and then it weighs you, calculates your BMI. It puts you through some tests and evaluates your balance, calculates your "Wii age" and tells you what your recommended weight is. All in all I thought the set up was pretty cool. I also like that the Wii will keep track of your progress over time, an accountability element that can really help people stick with a workout program.
There are some programs that will get your heart rate up. The Wii gets you moving with boxing, a step routine and an obstacle course that was super fun. I was so focused on getting through the course I didn't even realize how active my body was until afterward and I realized my breathing and heart rate were up a little. The only issue was that after about 30 seconds or so I would find that I was starting to walk off the platform. Maybe I would learn not to "travel" over time but, it seemed like it would be nice if the platform had some kind of guide or bumper to keep you from walking off the platform. Maybe next version.
I only got a quick look at the Yoga section but, it looked like they had a good selection of basic exercises. I did try doing Plank. It keeps track of whether you're centered as you do the exercise with your forearms resting on the balance board. Tyring to keep the red dot in the center brought a little bit of a fun, game aspect to the exercise.
I got to try the easy and hard versions of one of the strength training programs. I saw a couple of the instructional segments on how to do specific exercises with proper form. It was good to see those and I thought they were well done, covering the important form points. I went through some squats and some side lunges. I thought the exercise where you do a side lunge and then touch the floor was a questionable choice. Doing a side lunge is fine, but having people bend forward from that position could cause back strain.
I was a little disappointed in the hard level strength training program. I didn't go through the whole thing but it seemed to start out as pretty much the same as the easy program just adding reps. The deal real problem I found in the hard program was the pace which was excruciatingly slow. I could have gone out and run errands between lunges (OK, not really but, I think you get the picture). To make it worse, if you went faster than your Wii trainer it would pause even longer to stop and scold you for going too fast. I believe in doing exercises at a slow controlled pace but, this was ridiculous. Going as slow as they wanted was a definite loss in terms of calorie burn. Maybe there's a way to set the pace to go a little faster?
While I didn't get to spend a ton of time playing with the Wii, I do think I got the gist of it. I think it's a great start for people who are currently in the couch potato category. It may also be a good way for people who have never done any strength training to get a taste of it and learn some of the basic exercises. For exercisers beyond beginner level, this really isn't going to advance you in your fitness goals. However, the games are fun and anything that gets you up off the couch and moving is probably a good thing.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Getting the Most Out of Hiring a Personal Trainer
I am a personal trainer. So, I think hiring a trainer, especially this one, is a great idea. Seriously, hiring a trainer is an excellent step in reaching your fitness goals. However, I often find that people don't really understand how personal training fits in to an overall fitness program.
There is a definite mind set out there that if you hire a trainer you have done all you need to do for your health and fitness. Two workouts a week with their trainer and they think they're done. We won't even talk about the canceling appointments in favor of getting their nails done, to take their cat to the vet, to go to a routine doctor's appointment, or even to get a massage. Then, a few months into working with you they wonder why they haven't reached their fitness goals.
A trainer cannot be there 24/7 to make sure you are eating properly and exercising on the days they are not with you. You trainer does not know, although they probably suspect, when you are not honest about your habits outside of your personal training sessions. You have to take responsibility for your behavior, for your health, fitness and well being.
However, a personal trainer can be a great resource offering information, guidance and advice that go beyond the training sessions. It's up to you to take advantage of that resource. During your sessions, a trainer will give you a good workout, teach you new exercises, make sure you're working out safely and with proper form. They will customize workouts for you to strengthen your weak areas and give you alternatives to work around injuries and make tough exercises easier when you're getting started.
Beyond the workous they offer advice on nutrition and tips on keeping motivated and finding ways to fit workouts and healthy eating into a busy lifestyle. They can even help to keep you accountable when they are not with you by having you fill out logs or communicate regularly by email.
Unless you can afford to work with a trainer five or six days a week, you will need to workout some days on your own. Ask your trainer for advice on strength training and cardio programs you can do. Your trainer might be able to recommend some good work out videos or a local class you can take. They may offer to write up a program that they can walk you through in place of your regular session workout. For my clients I offer an online program that gives them custom workouts to do between our sessions.
Make sure to ask your trainer about diet. Your trainer can help you figure out how many calories you should be eating each day. They will often ask you to fill out a food log for a few days that they can then review and give you guidance on where you can make healthier choices. I often direct clients to fitday.com to fill out food logs. The great thing about this site is that there is an option to make the log "public" (the log can easily be switched back to "private" at any time). The client can then give their trainer the web address allowing the trainer to review the logs online. A trainer can also recommend a good nutritionist or some good books on the subject. After all nutrition is a subject on which it's worth getting some education.
Lastly I think it's important to know what your fitness goals are. Know what you're working toward. Just like your employer sets deadlines and performance benchmarks for you in your job, you need to set goals for your fitness program. Your trainer can help here as well in terms of guiding you toward realistic goals and time frames.
Taking responsibility for your own health, fitness and well-being is the key to getting the most out of hiring a personal trainer. A trainer can serve as a great resource but, ultimately you are in the driver's seat. The more you embrace this idea and make it a part of your lifestyle the better you will be, the better your results will be and that trainer of yours will be pretty impressed too.
There is a definite mind set out there that if you hire a trainer you have done all you need to do for your health and fitness. Two workouts a week with their trainer and they think they're done. We won't even talk about the canceling appointments in favor of getting their nails done, to take their cat to the vet, to go to a routine doctor's appointment, or even to get a massage. Then, a few months into working with you they wonder why they haven't reached their fitness goals.
A trainer cannot be there 24/7 to make sure you are eating properly and exercising on the days they are not with you. You trainer does not know, although they probably suspect, when you are not honest about your habits outside of your personal training sessions. You have to take responsibility for your behavior, for your health, fitness and well being.
However, a personal trainer can be a great resource offering information, guidance and advice that go beyond the training sessions. It's up to you to take advantage of that resource. During your sessions, a trainer will give you a good workout, teach you new exercises, make sure you're working out safely and with proper form. They will customize workouts for you to strengthen your weak areas and give you alternatives to work around injuries and make tough exercises easier when you're getting started.
Beyond the workous they offer advice on nutrition and tips on keeping motivated and finding ways to fit workouts and healthy eating into a busy lifestyle. They can even help to keep you accountable when they are not with you by having you fill out logs or communicate regularly by email.
Unless you can afford to work with a trainer five or six days a week, you will need to workout some days on your own. Ask your trainer for advice on strength training and cardio programs you can do. Your trainer might be able to recommend some good work out videos or a local class you can take. They may offer to write up a program that they can walk you through in place of your regular session workout. For my clients I offer an online program that gives them custom workouts to do between our sessions.
Make sure to ask your trainer about diet. Your trainer can help you figure out how many calories you should be eating each day. They will often ask you to fill out a food log for a few days that they can then review and give you guidance on where you can make healthier choices. I often direct clients to fitday.com to fill out food logs. The great thing about this site is that there is an option to make the log "public" (the log can easily be switched back to "private" at any time). The client can then give their trainer the web address allowing the trainer to review the logs online. A trainer can also recommend a good nutritionist or some good books on the subject. After all nutrition is a subject on which it's worth getting some education.
Lastly I think it's important to know what your fitness goals are. Know what you're working toward. Just like your employer sets deadlines and performance benchmarks for you in your job, you need to set goals for your fitness program. Your trainer can help here as well in terms of guiding you toward realistic goals and time frames.
Taking responsibility for your own health, fitness and well-being is the key to getting the most out of hiring a personal trainer. A trainer can serve as a great resource but, ultimately you are in the driver's seat. The more you embrace this idea and make it a part of your lifestyle the better you will be, the better your results will be and that trainer of yours will be pretty impressed too.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Tips and Tricks - Getting the Most Out of P90X Cardio
Cardiovascular fitness is an important part of an overall fitness program. In P90X cardio takes a little bit of a back seat to strengthening. However, even though you're only doing cardio twice a week, the workouts truly deliver results. These are not your standard cardio programs either. You will be doing things you may not have ever tried before. This is why it's worth going over some tips and tricks that can help you make these workouts really work for you.
The P90X plan includes three great cardio workouts. The first one you will encounter, if you follow the "Classic" plan, is Plyo X. Wow. This is an intense workout. Buy yourself a heart rate monitor for this one alone. You will get your heart rate up pretty high and you will burn a lot of calories. The heart rate monitor will show you how many calories, which is very satisfying. It will also tell you when your heart rate is too high and that you need to back off a little.
One thing Tony says throughout the workout is to hit pause if you need to. I disagree with this recommendation. It's cardio. The goal is to keep your heart rate in a certain range for a certain period of time. Hitting the pause button makes no sense. It just makes the workout (already nearly an hour) longer. If you feel like you're working too hard (feeling dizzy or nauseous are good indicators) or your heart rate monitor is telling you your heart rate is too high, then just march in place or pace around the room until you feel better and/or your heart rate is back to a reasonable level. You may be disappointed that you can't do all the exercises in the Plyo X workout. Don't worry about it. You will build up. Just keep moving for the duration of the workout and follow along with Tony and the gang when you can. As you advance through P90X you will be able to do more and more of the Plyo X program. And I can attest to the fact that all your other activities will be easier after you've been doing plyometrics for a while.
The jumping in Plyo X may be a concern for some people. It's tough on the body. No question. I highly recommend you don't do this on a cement floor. I know a lot of people probably workout in their basements. Find a way to cushion the floor if your on a hard surface. They sell these flooring squares that may do the trick. They're designed specifically for athletic training environments and gyms. All that jumping is hard on your joints. Abuse to your joints is much harder to heal than the muscles. So, it's worth looking into.
Finally, for Plyo X there are several moves that have you reach down and touch the floor. When you do this make sure your head and shoulders stay higher than your hips. This will first of all keep you from getting dizzy and second it's better for your back. This is something you may not even realize you're doing wrong. You'll just get dizzy from these moves. I've seen it with my clients over and over. Bend the knees, lead with the hips as you lower, keep the head and shoulders up.
Moving on, the next cardio workout in the program is Kenpo X. It's kind of fun but, can be a bit tedious. The first segment especially is very repetitive. It can also be tough on the shoulders. If you have shoulder issues be careful when throwing punches in Kenpo X. Try not fully extending the arm in order to protect the shoulder and elbow. Like Plyo X this is a cardio program. So, the most important thing is to get your heart rate up into your training zone. The way to do that is not through aggressively extending on your punches it comes from using your entire body for each punch. Using your whole body, driving the punches from the hips, from the core not only gets your cardio vascular system going but it generates a more powerful punch and it will actually help protect the arm and shoulder joints.
Kenpo X does a good job of interval training in that there are definite high and low intensity segments. There are a couple of segments toward the end, specifically blocks and elbow series, where you really are at a low intensity level. I highly recommend getting low in your "horse stance" as Tony calls it. This will get your legs working more and will actually help keep your heart rate up even though you're not moving much. Probably the biggest thing to watch for in Kenpo X, unlike Plyo X, is making sure you're pushing hard enough to keep your heart rate in your training zone. Especially as your fitness level rises during P90X, you may find that you almost get too fit for Kenpo. So, make sure to focus on keeping the intensity up and keep and eye on your heart rate monitor throughout the workout.
Last up is Cardio X. I have to admit that I have only done it once. It is part of the P90X lean option but not the classic option which I have always done. I tried Cardio X because I was feeling low energy and thought I might do better at it than Plyo X that day. It turns out that it is a lot like the Core Synergistics workout. No aerobic dancing in this program. This is another case where you need to keep an eye on your heart rate to make sure you keep up your intensity. It is a good alternative to Plyo X if you really need something a bit easier. However, it's not a walk in the park either. You'll get your cardio training and some good core work too.
I hope you find this information on the P90X cardio workouts helpful as you make your way through P90X. As Tony would say... get out of your head about it, push play and as always remember to Bring It!
The P90X plan includes three great cardio workouts. The first one you will encounter, if you follow the "Classic" plan, is Plyo X. Wow. This is an intense workout. Buy yourself a heart rate monitor for this one alone. You will get your heart rate up pretty high and you will burn a lot of calories. The heart rate monitor will show you how many calories, which is very satisfying. It will also tell you when your heart rate is too high and that you need to back off a little.
One thing Tony says throughout the workout is to hit pause if you need to. I disagree with this recommendation. It's cardio. The goal is to keep your heart rate in a certain range for a certain period of time. Hitting the pause button makes no sense. It just makes the workout (already nearly an hour) longer. If you feel like you're working too hard (feeling dizzy or nauseous are good indicators) or your heart rate monitor is telling you your heart rate is too high, then just march in place or pace around the room until you feel better and/or your heart rate is back to a reasonable level. You may be disappointed that you can't do all the exercises in the Plyo X workout. Don't worry about it. You will build up. Just keep moving for the duration of the workout and follow along with Tony and the gang when you can. As you advance through P90X you will be able to do more and more of the Plyo X program. And I can attest to the fact that all your other activities will be easier after you've been doing plyometrics for a while.
The jumping in Plyo X may be a concern for some people. It's tough on the body. No question. I highly recommend you don't do this on a cement floor. I know a lot of people probably workout in their basements. Find a way to cushion the floor if your on a hard surface. They sell these flooring squares that may do the trick. They're designed specifically for athletic training environments and gyms. All that jumping is hard on your joints. Abuse to your joints is much harder to heal than the muscles. So, it's worth looking into.
Finally, for Plyo X there are several moves that have you reach down and touch the floor. When you do this make sure your head and shoulders stay higher than your hips. This will first of all keep you from getting dizzy and second it's better for your back. This is something you may not even realize you're doing wrong. You'll just get dizzy from these moves. I've seen it with my clients over and over. Bend the knees, lead with the hips as you lower, keep the head and shoulders up.
Moving on, the next cardio workout in the program is Kenpo X. It's kind of fun but, can be a bit tedious. The first segment especially is very repetitive. It can also be tough on the shoulders. If you have shoulder issues be careful when throwing punches in Kenpo X. Try not fully extending the arm in order to protect the shoulder and elbow. Like Plyo X this is a cardio program. So, the most important thing is to get your heart rate up into your training zone. The way to do that is not through aggressively extending on your punches it comes from using your entire body for each punch. Using your whole body, driving the punches from the hips, from the core not only gets your cardio vascular system going but it generates a more powerful punch and it will actually help protect the arm and shoulder joints.
Kenpo X does a good job of interval training in that there are definite high and low intensity segments. There are a couple of segments toward the end, specifically blocks and elbow series, where you really are at a low intensity level. I highly recommend getting low in your "horse stance" as Tony calls it. This will get your legs working more and will actually help keep your heart rate up even though you're not moving much. Probably the biggest thing to watch for in Kenpo X, unlike Plyo X, is making sure you're pushing hard enough to keep your heart rate in your training zone. Especially as your fitness level rises during P90X, you may find that you almost get too fit for Kenpo. So, make sure to focus on keeping the intensity up and keep and eye on your heart rate monitor throughout the workout.
Last up is Cardio X. I have to admit that I have only done it once. It is part of the P90X lean option but not the classic option which I have always done. I tried Cardio X because I was feeling low energy and thought I might do better at it than Plyo X that day. It turns out that it is a lot like the Core Synergistics workout. No aerobic dancing in this program. This is another case where you need to keep an eye on your heart rate to make sure you keep up your intensity. It is a good alternative to Plyo X if you really need something a bit easier. However, it's not a walk in the park either. You'll get your cardio training and some good core work too.
I hope you find this information on the P90X cardio workouts helpful as you make your way through P90X. As Tony would say... get out of your head about it, push play and as always remember to Bring It!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Navigating the P90X Nutrition Plan - The Portion Approach
There are two main diet plans or "approaches" you can go with on the P90X program. The first is the meal plan approach which tells you exactly what to eat for each meal every day. It's nice in that all your decisions are made for you but, there are a lot of recipes, a lot of ingredients to buy and a lot of cooking to do.
The other main option is the portion approach. It's a little more work to get started but, once you do the ground work I believe it's a lot easier and less expensive than the meal plan approach.
First you figure out your nutrition level, using some simple formulas they provide to figure out how many calories you should eat each day. Based on your nutrition level the portion approach tells you how many servings of each type of food you should eat every day. Lists of food options are broken down into nutritional categories like dairy, vegetables, proteins, etc. The lists include information about the number of calories that constitutes a serving of each type of food and the quantities of each specific food that equals that number of calories.
The way to make the portion approach work is to keep meals simple and fairly repetitive. That will keep the effort and the cost in check. Start by writing down the number of servings you need each day of each type of food. Then look at the lists of foods in each group, noting foods that you like. Start putting together the puzzle, using the foods you chose to create meals and snacks and use up all the allocated servings for the day. Once you know which foods you'll eat at each sitting you can go back and fill in the quantities for each serving.
Just a quick example of how you might start to approach this. If your plan shows you are supposed to have three dairy servings a day you might look at the food list and notice that skim milk and low fat cheese are two foods that you like. You could then choose to have one serving, 1.5 oz, of low fat cheese in an egg white omelet and two servings, 8 oz. each, of skim milk to drink with dinner.
Be diligent about measuring your food throughout the 90 days. It is the only way to know for sure that you are eating the right amount of food and calories. This might sound tedious but, it won't be long before a couple of things happen. First, it will start to become a habit. Second, you will get really good at knowing the amounts of certain things by sight. Although, I do recommend that, even if you feel confident that you can eyeball the right amounts, check yourself periodically by actually measuring to make sure you're on target.
Sometimes the foods you choose will not match up exactly with the quantity and calorie requirements they specify. For example one carbohydrate block is supposed to be 200 calories. It says for oatmeal that would be one cup. When I checked the label on my oatmeal, one cup was actually more than 200 calories. Since the the number of calories is more important than the physical quantity, I calculated how much oatmeal would equal 200 calories and that was 2/3 cup. Differences like that do add up. So, it's worth it to double check if you're not sure.
It can be tough to keep track of your servings, especially when you are just getting started but, also when you advance between the three nutrition plan phases. One tool you might find useful is a white board. One with grid lines is ideal. Write down each food type and the number of servings you're supposed to eat each day with that number of open squares next to it. As you eat each meal check off the servings you've eaten. At the end of the day all the squares will be checked off. In the morning you can erase the checks and start over. This strategy can really help make it easy to keep track of your intake, avoid over or under eating, and also to avoid obsessing by getting it on the board and out of your head.
Nutrition is critical to getting the results you want from the P90X program. Don't put in all the hard work during the workouts only to ruin it by not paying attention to your diet. Commit to the whole program. The nutrition plan is an extra effort but, the results you get when you follow the nutrition plan will be significantly better and well worth it.
The other main option is the portion approach. It's a little more work to get started but, once you do the ground work I believe it's a lot easier and less expensive than the meal plan approach.
First you figure out your nutrition level, using some simple formulas they provide to figure out how many calories you should eat each day. Based on your nutrition level the portion approach tells you how many servings of each type of food you should eat every day. Lists of food options are broken down into nutritional categories like dairy, vegetables, proteins, etc. The lists include information about the number of calories that constitutes a serving of each type of food and the quantities of each specific food that equals that number of calories.
The way to make the portion approach work is to keep meals simple and fairly repetitive. That will keep the effort and the cost in check. Start by writing down the number of servings you need each day of each type of food. Then look at the lists of foods in each group, noting foods that you like. Start putting together the puzzle, using the foods you chose to create meals and snacks and use up all the allocated servings for the day. Once you know which foods you'll eat at each sitting you can go back and fill in the quantities for each serving.
Just a quick example of how you might start to approach this. If your plan shows you are supposed to have three dairy servings a day you might look at the food list and notice that skim milk and low fat cheese are two foods that you like. You could then choose to have one serving, 1.5 oz, of low fat cheese in an egg white omelet and two servings, 8 oz. each, of skim milk to drink with dinner.
Be diligent about measuring your food throughout the 90 days. It is the only way to know for sure that you are eating the right amount of food and calories. This might sound tedious but, it won't be long before a couple of things happen. First, it will start to become a habit. Second, you will get really good at knowing the amounts of certain things by sight. Although, I do recommend that, even if you feel confident that you can eyeball the right amounts, check yourself periodically by actually measuring to make sure you're on target.
Sometimes the foods you choose will not match up exactly with the quantity and calorie requirements they specify. For example one carbohydrate block is supposed to be 200 calories. It says for oatmeal that would be one cup. When I checked the label on my oatmeal, one cup was actually more than 200 calories. Since the the number of calories is more important than the physical quantity, I calculated how much oatmeal would equal 200 calories and that was 2/3 cup. Differences like that do add up. So, it's worth it to double check if you're not sure.
It can be tough to keep track of your servings, especially when you are just getting started but, also when you advance between the three nutrition plan phases. One tool you might find useful is a white board. One with grid lines is ideal. Write down each food type and the number of servings you're supposed to eat each day with that number of open squares next to it. As you eat each meal check off the servings you've eaten. At the end of the day all the squares will be checked off. In the morning you can erase the checks and start over. This strategy can really help make it easy to keep track of your intake, avoid over or under eating, and also to avoid obsessing by getting it on the board and out of your head.
Nutrition is critical to getting the results you want from the P90X program. Don't put in all the hard work during the workouts only to ruin it by not paying attention to your diet. Commit to the whole program. The nutrition plan is an extra effort but, the results you get when you follow the nutrition plan will be significantly better and well worth it.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Tips and Tricks - Getting the Most Out of P90X Strength Training
As a P90X customer who is also a personal trainer I am always watching and listening for proper cuing durning exercise classes and videos which helps people make the exercises as effective as possible and also keeps them from injuring themselves. This is a tall order for P90X trainer Tony Horton, considering how packed this program is with challenging, limit pushing exercises that are considerably less common than your standard biceps curl. All in all he did a great job. However, I did catch a few spots where I felt that I could add some additional pointers.
The Corkscrew Biceps Curl is a biceps curl variation I don't do with my clients because I feel that it's ripe for injury in the elbow and shoulder. It is very important on this exercise, even more so than others, to stay in control of the weight. Go light on this one to start and really get a sense of how far you can twist before you feel any discomfort in your joints. Once you hit that edge of safe range of motion, back it off a half an inch or so. Learn that safe range before you increase your weights. If you try to muscle up too much weight right off the bat the momentum from the move can cause you to wrench your shoulder or elbow. It is never worth pushing yourself to the point of injury and since there are more than enough opportunities to build up some big guns in P90X it's more than worth it to be conservative on this exercise.
The techniques for doing assisted pull-ups are great but, I did come up with another variation. I borrow this from the assisted pull-up machine at the gym. Rather than having the chair in front of you, place it behind you. Rest your feet on the chair with your knees bent and just the front of your foot resting on the chair seat. Notice when they are doing unassisted pull-ups, a lot of times they'll bend their knees and cross their ankles behind them. This is basically the position I'm talking about, except, your toes are resting on a chair or stool and your ankles are uncrossed. I find this position more difficult than when the chair is placed out in front of me. This is a good thing because you are trying to build up to being able to do pull-ups without the chair. So, the more you can challenge yourself the stronger you will get and the closer you are to doing the exercise unassisted. If you rest only one foot on the chair and let the other leg hang, the intensity is increased. When you do assisted pull-ups, use your legs as little as possible and focus on doing as much of the work as possible with your back and arms.
Decline push-ups are a great exercise that I modify to make even better. Instead of putting my feet on a chair I use a stability ball. This is a great way to do it for a couple of reasons. First you can adjust exactly how far you are extended off the ball. This allows you to be able to do the exercise whatever your current level of strength and fitness and allows you to build up the intensity and difficulty over the course of the program. The second reason I love using the ball for this exercise is that it adds instability and forces your core muscles to engage even more than with your feet on a chair. This also offers an even higher level of difficulty to build up to. The further you roll out, the more unstable the ball is and the harder your core has to work to keep you on the ball and doing the exercise with good form. Once you're out to just your feet resting on the ball, that is a really tough exercise.
These are a few of the variations and adjustments that have made a difference for me in working out with P90X. I hope this will help you get the most out of your workouts. Following the P90X program closely is important for success but, there is still room for adapting the program to make it work a little better for you and to allow you to grow and progress.
The Corkscrew Biceps Curl is a biceps curl variation I don't do with my clients because I feel that it's ripe for injury in the elbow and shoulder. It is very important on this exercise, even more so than others, to stay in control of the weight. Go light on this one to start and really get a sense of how far you can twist before you feel any discomfort in your joints. Once you hit that edge of safe range of motion, back it off a half an inch or so. Learn that safe range before you increase your weights. If you try to muscle up too much weight right off the bat the momentum from the move can cause you to wrench your shoulder or elbow. It is never worth pushing yourself to the point of injury and since there are more than enough opportunities to build up some big guns in P90X it's more than worth it to be conservative on this exercise.
The techniques for doing assisted pull-ups are great but, I did come up with another variation. I borrow this from the assisted pull-up machine at the gym. Rather than having the chair in front of you, place it behind you. Rest your feet on the chair with your knees bent and just the front of your foot resting on the chair seat. Notice when they are doing unassisted pull-ups, a lot of times they'll bend their knees and cross their ankles behind them. This is basically the position I'm talking about, except, your toes are resting on a chair or stool and your ankles are uncrossed. I find this position more difficult than when the chair is placed out in front of me. This is a good thing because you are trying to build up to being able to do pull-ups without the chair. So, the more you can challenge yourself the stronger you will get and the closer you are to doing the exercise unassisted. If you rest only one foot on the chair and let the other leg hang, the intensity is increased. When you do assisted pull-ups, use your legs as little as possible and focus on doing as much of the work as possible with your back and arms.
Decline push-ups are a great exercise that I modify to make even better. Instead of putting my feet on a chair I use a stability ball. This is a great way to do it for a couple of reasons. First you can adjust exactly how far you are extended off the ball. This allows you to be able to do the exercise whatever your current level of strength and fitness and allows you to build up the intensity and difficulty over the course of the program. The second reason I love using the ball for this exercise is that it adds instability and forces your core muscles to engage even more than with your feet on a chair. This also offers an even higher level of difficulty to build up to. The further you roll out, the more unstable the ball is and the harder your core has to work to keep you on the ball and doing the exercise with good form. Once you're out to just your feet resting on the ball, that is a really tough exercise.
These are a few of the variations and adjustments that have made a difference for me in working out with P90X. I hope this will help you get the most out of your workouts. Following the P90X program closely is important for success but, there is still room for adapting the program to make it work a little better for you and to allow you to grow and progress.
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