Knee replacements would be virtually unnecessary if people would stop forcing their joints do what their muscles were intended to do, but hey, in order to do that you'd actually have to have some muscle, right?
Our joints —all of them— are simply hinges. No joint in your body was meant to bear weight or act as a shock absorber or brake. Yet 95% of all people are so weak from muscle atrophy that they must stress the joints to accomplish any given task.
If your knees hurt when climbing stairs it's because you are not using your butt muscles or your quadriceps and hamstrings efficiently to do the work of propelling your body up those stairs.
Watching most people perform squats or leg presses at the gym makes me cringe because of the extreme and completely unnecessary and counter-productive stress they are putting on their hinges.
If your elbows, shoulders, knees etc. hurt at the gym, it's because you are doing your exercises wrong. Flex your muscles immediately before commencing the movement, and keep them flexed throughout. This takes concentration, so block out whatever is happening around you.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
What Is Your Definition Of Sacrifice?
People who think that it's a sacrifice not to eat whatever they want, thoughtlessly and whenever, and it's a sacrifice to go to the gym instead of sitting in front of the TV "relaxing after a hard day" have an odd idea of what sacrifice is. Looking great and feeling great is a sacrifice only to those too lazy to actually do what's required. EVERYONE would like to look fantastic. EVERYONE wants to feel great, and be filled with confidence and high self esteem. But most can't keep their mouths closed or get their feet moving, so they delude themselves into thinking that achieving the above requires sacrifice.
I've trained non-stop except for time off for the flu or colds for 25 years. And as you go, you become motivated by your successes, even though I was never happy with my own progress. No matter how good I looked I always thought I should look better considering my diet and exercise regimen.
Progress will ALWAYS seem slower that what you anticipate. You just need to celebrate the gains you make and keep on track. As I always say, looking this way and feeling this way is so superior to any food or time that others think I am "sacrificing" —that their not getting it just makes me chuckle. I know any negativity from others is just an expression of their own disappointment in themselves and their lack of will to go after what they really want.
When it just becomes part of your lifestyle rather than some sacrifice or challenge it's far easier than the couch potatoes want you to believe. diet and exercise regimen.
I've trained non-stop except for time off for the flu or colds for 25 years. And as you go, you become motivated by your successes, even though I was never happy with my own progress. No matter how good I looked I always thought I should look better considering my diet and exercise regimen.
Progress will ALWAYS seem slower that what you anticipate. You just need to celebrate the gains you make and keep on track. As I always say, looking this way and feeling this way is so superior to any food or time that others think I am "sacrificing" —that their not getting it just makes me chuckle. I know any negativity from others is just an expression of their own disappointment in themselves and their lack of will to go after what they really want.
When it just becomes part of your lifestyle rather than some sacrifice or challenge it's far easier than the couch potatoes want you to believe. diet and exercise regimen.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Bodybuilding.com and Other Forums: Yikes!
A few people have asked why I'm not very active on the bodybuilding.com forums. Honestly, it's because the forums are 90% populated by guys who should be at the gym rather than wasting their day in front of the computer. "Would you rather have big shoulders or a big penis?" is a great example of the brilliant ideas and exchanges found there.
Most forum posts are repetitions of posts made last week, but the posters are too lazy to scroll through to see if their dilemma has been hashed out previously (I can guarantee it has). One guy emailed me because he looked and felt terrible and wanted me to take the time to help him by detailing a comprehensive workout and diet plan just for him, even though I have written a book on the subject. How someone who by his own hand looks and feels terrible has incongruously developed such a sense of entitlement at the same time is one of the great mysteries of psychology.
The problem with most people who hang out on fitness or fat-loss sites is that they flat out refuse to do the research or take any action. They want to "talk" about it instead, and think that somehow that counts as progress. I feel sorry for the posters on forums who do the work and who do ask intelligent questions, because one has to sift through a torrent of junk before ever encountering them.
Monday, May 17, 2010
GREAT INSPIRATION
Comment:
Greetings from the UK.
I found your profile on bodybuilding.com and you have been an inspiration to me to train... @ 45 I was in terrible shape and my health was not good. I used to body-build in my twenties and thirties but injuries and having kids kinda put the spanner in the works. But finding and listening to your philosophy on training helped me train the right way and without the baggage that I see younger men bring to the gym, and the gains this time are much better and I look better for it...as a fellow trainer who's in it for the long haul ..many thanks for just being...
Many thanks,
Ray
Response:
Thanks Ray. Unlike a business, or relationships, where you may not see any appreciable results for the time and effort you put in, improving your body by cutting back on fat and nutrition-poor foods, and working out, lets us experience success fast, and it looks good and feels good 24/7. As a trainer you probably wonder the same thing I do...how can so many people not want this?
Greetings from the UK.
I found your profile on bodybuilding.com and you have been an inspiration to me to train... @ 45 I was in terrible shape and my health was not good. I used to body-build in my twenties and thirties but injuries and having kids kinda put the spanner in the works. But finding and listening to your philosophy on training helped me train the right way and without the baggage that I see younger men bring to the gym, and the gains this time are much better and I look better for it...as a fellow trainer who's in it for the long haul ..many thanks for just being...
Many thanks,
Ray
Response:
Thanks Ray. Unlike a business, or relationships, where you may not see any appreciable results for the time and effort you put in, improving your body by cutting back on fat and nutrition-poor foods, and working out, lets us experience success fast, and it looks good and feels good 24/7. As a trainer you probably wonder the same thing I do...how can so many people not want this?
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Shopping In Order To Lose Fat
Whether you're a regular person trying to lose love handles, or a bodybuilder trying to refine your abs, what you eat can either give you the results you want, or remove you farther from them.
Nutrition is a big mystery for most people. But the truth is, snacks and fast food will keep you from reaching your goal. So what can you eat instead?
Buy the biggest and best calorie and fat gram counter book you can find. Search on Amazon.com and on the right side of the book page you'll find real bargains in the "Used and New from" section.
Sit down after you have eaten a meal, so you're not hungry, and go through the book, highlighting all the foods you love that are low in fat, low in calories, and low in carbs. You will find scores of foods that fit these criteria, or even hundreds. Most people love a juicy ripe peach or mango, but all too often pass these up at the market in favor of a bag of cookies.
Make up a shopping list of favorite foods from the book, and buy only those. Remember, these are foods you really like, so there's no need to feel deprived. It's simply about substituting one food you love for another.
Nutrition is a big mystery for most people. But the truth is, snacks and fast food will keep you from reaching your goal. So what can you eat instead?
Buy the biggest and best calorie and fat gram counter book you can find. Search on Amazon.com and on the right side of the book page you'll find real bargains in the "Used and New from" section.
Sit down after you have eaten a meal, so you're not hungry, and go through the book, highlighting all the foods you love that are low in fat, low in calories, and low in carbs. You will find scores of foods that fit these criteria, or even hundreds. Most people love a juicy ripe peach or mango, but all too often pass these up at the market in favor of a bag of cookies.
Make up a shopping list of favorite foods from the book, and buy only those. Remember, these are foods you really like, so there's no need to feel deprived. It's simply about substituting one food you love for another.
You Can't Eat What Isn't In The House
Eating Better means Shopping Better, and I always check out others' shopping carts in line at the check out stand. Obese people's carts are piled with snack foods and prepared foods from the deli, and all kinds of frozen meals, but then again, so are skinny people's. The fact is, only we control what we eat, and ground zero is our own kitchen.
Open your kitchen cupboards. If you see packages of crackers, chips, cookies or other easily ingested grab foods, then your goals are being sabotaged.
When I come in the house, starving, I will grab whatever is available and appeals to me. If I had potato chips or other no-prep foods in the house, I would attack those. If I don't --and experience has taught me not to keep them around-- then I have to prepare something else.
One solution is to cook more food than I want for dinner so I have leftovers to grab the next day. And because I cook healthy foods that I enjoy eating, this is no sacrifice.
Some people feel deprived when they can't eat exactly what they want whenever they want it. Others feel deprived because they don't have the kind of body or level of health and mobility they long for.
You have to decide which of the two you are, and shop accordingly.
Open your kitchen cupboards. If you see packages of crackers, chips, cookies or other easily ingested grab foods, then your goals are being sabotaged.
When I come in the house, starving, I will grab whatever is available and appeals to me. If I had potato chips or other no-prep foods in the house, I would attack those. If I don't --and experience has taught me not to keep them around-- then I have to prepare something else.
One solution is to cook more food than I want for dinner so I have leftovers to grab the next day. And because I cook healthy foods that I enjoy eating, this is no sacrifice.
Some people feel deprived when they can't eat exactly what they want whenever they want it. Others feel deprived because they don't have the kind of body or level of health and mobility they long for.
You have to decide which of the two you are, and shop accordingly.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Vickie: The Voice Of Experience
Have to tell you how much I loved your post and enjoyed your profile.
I've been active and thin my entire life, always enjoyed looking 10 years younger than my girlfriends. It never fails that my overweight friends always ask me "Vickie, how do you stay so thin". There's no magic here- I've just always stayed really active. I've been thru every fitness craze and always come back to lifting.
I took a few years off from resistance training- had a physical challenge that I was told I'd never come back from. As an athlete, I had to really dig deep to get past that, "I've always done everything right, why me" mind set but when I got to the other side of it, a much different girl emerged. Way stronger in the broken places and much more than 'just a great body".
So now in my early 50's I return to weight training. It's incredible how my body has responded especially because i didn't have a ton of fat obscuring my muscle.
I feel so much more 'magnetic' and attractive at this stage of my life than I did in my thirties or forties. Confidence in yourself, having your feet on the deck for a while and doing the most i can with my own tiny, mighty body has been like wearing a special perfume in my experience.
I hope you don't think its out of line to say this but i've seen guys in my gym in their 40's walk past women in their 30's to get to this 50 something woman even in age crazy Los Angeles. I've bet that you've had that experience.
Your inner game is soooo important. But you really can't explain that to someone who hasn't experienced that themselves.
I've been active and thin my entire life, always enjoyed looking 10 years younger than my girlfriends. It never fails that my overweight friends always ask me "Vickie, how do you stay so thin". There's no magic here- I've just always stayed really active. I've been thru every fitness craze and always come back to lifting.
I took a few years off from resistance training- had a physical challenge that I was told I'd never come back from. As an athlete, I had to really dig deep to get past that, "I've always done everything right, why me" mind set but when I got to the other side of it, a much different girl emerged. Way stronger in the broken places and much more than 'just a great body".
So now in my early 50's I return to weight training. It's incredible how my body has responded especially because i didn't have a ton of fat obscuring my muscle.
I feel so much more 'magnetic' and attractive at this stage of my life than I did in my thirties or forties. Confidence in yourself, having your feet on the deck for a while and doing the most i can with my own tiny, mighty body has been like wearing a special perfume in my experience.
I hope you don't think its out of line to say this but i've seen guys in my gym in their 40's walk past women in their 30's to get to this 50 something woman even in age crazy Los Angeles. I've bet that you've had that experience.
Your inner game is soooo important. But you really can't explain that to someone who hasn't experienced that themselves.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Water, Clean and Pure
Plenty of clean water for drinking and cooking should be everyone's goal. Bottled water is expensive and of questionable value. Costco has a killer under-sink filter that is cheaper and better than anything available, trapping pathogens as well as microscopic debris. And it comes with a year's supply of filters, and a really handsome chrome water spout for your sink, all for about $150.
The Pur or Britta water pitchers with filters are a far better investment than bottled water is, except the price of the pitcher itself is ridiculous, especially for a piece of plastic that breaks easily.
Paying someone to filter tap water and supply it to you in bottles is crazy when you can use a pitcher or the Costco filter to make your own.
Drinks lots of water, but 8 glasses a day is a little much I think, unless you have a job or sport that makes you sweat profusely. Water engorges your skin and muscle cells, plumping them up, making skin softer and smoother, and giving muscle a more toned appearance.
The Pur or Britta water pitchers with filters are a far better investment than bottled water is, except the price of the pitcher itself is ridiculous, especially for a piece of plastic that breaks easily.
Paying someone to filter tap water and supply it to you in bottles is crazy when you can use a pitcher or the Costco filter to make your own.
Drinks lots of water, but 8 glasses a day is a little much I think, unless you have a job or sport that makes you sweat profusely. Water engorges your skin and muscle cells, plumping them up, making skin softer and smoother, and giving muscle a more toned appearance.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Indespensible Workout Foods Increase Overall Attractiveness
I think you know that the best bodybuilder foods aren't just for bodybuilders.
The following foods promote glowing, healthy skin and increased muscle tone, for a more attractive you, whether you are male or female: here's a list of some of some foods you should be eating on a regular basis:
-salmon with the skin on: this kind of fat is awesomely healthy
-broccoli and asparagus
-sweet potatoes
-chicken/turkey breast
-beans / lentils
-oatmeal
-whole grain bread, rice, pasta
It goes without saying that the health benefits are decreased substantially if you add butter, cream, sugar or fatty ingredients to these, or any foods. Monosaturated oils, on the other hand, may indeed add calories, but are healthy: nut oils, olive oil, avocado oil.
The following foods promote glowing, healthy skin and increased muscle tone, for a more attractive you, whether you are male or female: here's a list of some of some foods you should be eating on a regular basis:
-salmon with the skin on: this kind of fat is awesomely healthy
-broccoli and asparagus
-sweet potatoes
-chicken/turkey breast
-beans / lentils
-oatmeal
-whole grain bread, rice, pasta
It goes without saying that the health benefits are decreased substantially if you add butter, cream, sugar or fatty ingredients to these, or any foods. Monosaturated oils, on the other hand, may indeed add calories, but are healthy: nut oils, olive oil, avocado oil.
Comment:
Worked chest today and I really felt the chest working. I have adopted the one-body part per workout deal. I wanted to keep training and training, but I had to force myself to stop. I wanted to do MORE! I love to train, so that was real tough; I had a lot of energy and power!
I really felt the pecs working. I was only pressing 60's, but man, the pec was working real nice.
Response:
60s are a good heavy dumbbell weight. When you see theses pro BBs doing 100 lb dumbbells, understand they are huge, have anabolic help, and are still taking chances.
Bob Paris was a major BB star in the '80s and he was questioned about his biceps workout and how he got away with doing preacher curls with a 60lb. barbell, yet he was huge and cut and the envy of all.
"If I can make a 60 feel like a 100, who's going to break the news to my biceps?", he said.
That quote was a turning point for me, as he was saying, it's not how much weight you use, it's how you use the weight.
If you watch the Charles Glass videos on bodybuilding.com, notice his instruction on posture/form when performing chest. Make sure there is no curve in your lower back: keep the entire back and shoulders completely in contact with the bench: this will force the pecs to do all the work.
I am glad to hear you are so motivated. There is nothing like seeing and feeling progress to keep you upping the ante. Instead of increasing weight, try to perfect your form, forcing the target muscle to take on more and more of the full stress of moving that weight, and also, try to rest less and less between sets for the aerobic benefit. Those two things will tire you and leave you less wanting to work out more. Put EVERYTHING, mentally and physically, into each workout, and you'll be very satisfied, and very tired. Your muscles grow while you're at rest. Don't rob your muscles of their full potential to build and shape by your taxing them again too soon.
Worked chest today and I really felt the chest working. I have adopted the one-body part per workout deal. I wanted to keep training and training, but I had to force myself to stop. I wanted to do MORE! I love to train, so that was real tough; I had a lot of energy and power!
I really felt the pecs working. I was only pressing 60's, but man, the pec was working real nice.
Response:
60s are a good heavy dumbbell weight. When you see theses pro BBs doing 100 lb dumbbells, understand they are huge, have anabolic help, and are still taking chances.
Bob Paris was a major BB star in the '80s and he was questioned about his biceps workout and how he got away with doing preacher curls with a 60lb. barbell, yet he was huge and cut and the envy of all.
"If I can make a 60 feel like a 100, who's going to break the news to my biceps?", he said.
That quote was a turning point for me, as he was saying, it's not how much weight you use, it's how you use the weight.
If you watch the Charles Glass videos on bodybuilding.com, notice his instruction on posture/form when performing chest. Make sure there is no curve in your lower back: keep the entire back and shoulders completely in contact with the bench: this will force the pecs to do all the work.
I am glad to hear you are so motivated. There is nothing like seeing and feeling progress to keep you upping the ante. Instead of increasing weight, try to perfect your form, forcing the target muscle to take on more and more of the full stress of moving that weight, and also, try to rest less and less between sets for the aerobic benefit. Those two things will tire you and leave you less wanting to work out more. Put EVERYTHING, mentally and physically, into each workout, and you'll be very satisfied, and very tired. Your muscles grow while you're at rest. Don't rob your muscles of their full potential to build and shape by your taxing them again too soon.
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