Inside A Champion’s Mind

Michele Moulton pedaling through the pain.

Throughout the Tour de France, a Columbian rider on the Kelme - Costa Blanca Team, Santiago Botero, had been keeping a diary for his local newspaper. This submission offers a different perspective and is well worth the read…

“There I am alone with my bike. I know of only two riders ahead of me as I near the end of the second climb on what most riders consider the third worst mountain stage in the Tour. I say ‘most riders’ because I do not fear mountains. After all, our country is nothing but mountains. I train year-round in the mountains. I am the national champion from a country that is nothing but mountains. I trail only my teammate, Fernando Escartin, and a Swiss rider. Pantani, one of my rival climbers, and the Gringo Armstrong are in the Peleton about five minutes behind me. I am climbing on such a steep portion of the mountain that if I were to stop pedaling, I will fall backward. Even for a world-class climber, this is a painful and slow process. I am in my upright position pedaling at a steady pace willing myself to finish this climb so I can conserve my energy for the final climb of the day. The Kelme team leader radios to me that the Gringo has left the Peleton by himself and that they can no longer see him. I recall thinking ‘the Gringo cannot catch me by himself’.

A short while later, I hear the gears of another bicycle. Within seconds, the Gringo is next to me – riding in the seated position, smiling at me. He was only next to me for a few seconds and he said nothing – he only smiled and then proceeded up the mountain as if he were pedaling downhill. For the next several minutes, I could only think of one thing – his smile. His smile told me everything. I kept thinking that surely he is in as much agony as me, perhaps he was standing and struggling up the mountain as I was and he only sat down to pass me and discourage me. Not possible. The truth is that his smile said everything that his lips did not. His smile said to me, ‘I was training while you were sleeping Santiago’. It also said, ‘I won this tour four months ago, while you were deciding what bike frame to use in the Tour. I trained harder than you did, Santiago. I don’t know if I’m better than you, but I have outworked you, and right now you cannot do anything about it. Enjoy your ride, Santiago. See you in Paris’.”

It’s not about the bike  by Lance Armstrong – 1 May 2000 

The Science Behind CX30™

CX30 Revolutionary Core Training

Looking for a short, sharp workout that’ll inspire you to the next level of fitness, while strengthening and toning your body and assisting in injury prevention? CX30™ is for you! It really hones in on the torso and sling muscles that connect your upper body to your lower body.

How can something this good for you take only half an hour? CX30™ – our revolutionary new 30-minute core-training program, was unveiled to the world recently aad has already drawn rave reviews from pilot clubs. PT Gym will become one of the very first clubs in the Southeast to offer this program.

One of the really unique features of this new class is that it’s just 30 minutes long. It only targets one particular area of the body, so you don’t need to work it very long to reach fatigue. CX30™ is based on ground-breaking research that shows which exercises provide the most effective and efficient workout in the least time. It’s designed to tighten and tone your abs and butt, while also improving the functional strength of back, obliques and “sling” muscles that run diagonally from shoulder to hip. In short, CX30™ will help you run faster, play harder and stand stronger!

The Navy SEALs Workout

As our favorite terrorist Osama Bin Laden recently got to observe up close and personal, the Navy SEALs are recognized as the world’s most highly trained maritime warriors. Navy SEALs, named after the environment in which they operate (the Sea, Air, and Land) are the foundation of Naval Special Warfare combat forces formed in 1962. Training is extremely demanding, both mentally and physically, and initial training is based on three core pillars:

1.  Men of Character: Who will uphold the Navy Core Values – Honor, Courage, and Commitment.

2.  Physical: Physically fit and capable in every environment, especially the water.

3.  Technical: Finally, maritime Special Operations require SEALS who are intelligent and can quickly learn new tasks.

Following basic training, Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) Training begins.
The Physical Fitness Test is given to ensure that all applicants for the SEAL program display a standard level of athletic proficiency before arriving at BUD/S. You should be in a progressive physical conditioning program to best prepare yourself for the demands of BUD/S training.

The PFT is a competition with yourself and you are encouraged to achieve your personal best in each event. The PFT should neither be difficult nor demanding for the well trained candidate.

Here are the minimal standards for the Navy SEALS’ BUD/S training program,  Are you up to it?

a. 500-yard swim using breast and/or sidestroke in under 12 minutes and 30 seconds
   10-minute rest
b. Perform a minimum of 42 push-ups in 2 minutes
   2-minute rest
c. Perform a minimum of 50 sit-ups in 2 minutes
   2-minute rest
d. Perform a minimum of 6 pull-ups (no time limit)
   10-minute rest
e. Run 1 ½ miles wearing boots and long pants in under 11 minutes and 30 seconds.

The BUD/s PFT is a tough workout. If you’re tough enough, give it a try!

Calories Count

Great Start!

With this first PT Gym Blog post for 2011 and the launch of this year’s ‘I Lost It at the Club’ 8 week weight loss challenge I thought it appropriate to review the first and most important requirement for weight loss. As a matter of fact, this is the only proven way to lose weight and no substantial scientific evidence exists to disprove it. Controlling your weight comes down to one thing – managing calories. You must create a calorie deficit to lose weight. A calorie deficit means you’re burning more fuel than you’re taking in. This forces your body to use stored fuel (body fat). You have to eat/drink less or move more or ideally a combination of both. Even if you don’t count calories, calories do count.

Hundreds of diet and weight loss programs have you eat and avoid certain foods or consume special pre-packaged foods or supplements. Many of these diets claim that calories don’t count, yet ironically if any of them are successful it is always done by reducing calories.

When it comes to good health, energy and performance, there is more to consider than calories. For these reasons we should limit refined and processed starches and grains, sugar and soft drinks and fried saturated foods. These foods do contribute to the surplus calories that lead to obesity but it is only the total sum of calories that need to be considered for weight loss.

Fats don’t make us fat. Carbohydrates don’t make us fat. No specific class of food makes us fat. It is only excess calories that make us fat. If we’re not losing weight it is not because our slow metabolism, because we are putting on muscle weight, not because of genetics, or any of the many excuses we come up with. It is only because of an improper caloric balance.

In the coming weeks we will look at the other factors important in a successful weight loss program. But remember, it all starts from having an ideal caloric balance.

The Magic Pill

Is injecting yourself with human pregnancy hormone a good idea? HCG is the ‘newest’ dieting craze. The HCG diet combines daily injections with a very low-calorie diet (500 calories per day).

The hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) may be measured in the blood or urine. Most commonly, this is done as a pregnancy test. HCG signals the hypothalamus (area of the brain that affects metabolism) to mobilize fat stores. In pregnancy, this helps the body bring nutrients into the placenta, fueling the fetus. As a diet aid, it is also marketed in sublingual (under the tongue) form. No scientific tests of sublingual HCG have been published.

In the world of performance enhancing drugs, HCG is used in combination with various anabolic steroid cycles. It is commonly used during and after cycles to maintain and restore testicular size as well as normal testosterone production. As a result, HCG is included in some sports’ illegal drug lists.

Are you surprised that anyone eating only 500 to 800 calories per day as this diet prescribes would lose substantial weight? 500 calories per day is not enough calories to support normal brain function. Your body will compensate by using stores of glycogen, some fat, and protein (muscle). Regardless what rogue diet marketers claim, this lowers your resting metabolism.

Why do we actually hate exercise so much and are so irrationally inpatient that 1 to 2 pounds of fat loss a week (50 to 100 lbs a year) that can be obtained through healthy lifestyle changes is too slow and unacceptable? We fall prey to claims of fad diets and scams that promise to have us lose 1 to 3 pounds per day.

The HCG diet is not really new. One of the advantages to being in the fitness business for over 30 years, is that I have witnessed literally hundreds of fads  come and go. I remember when the old Atkins was new in the 70s before the New Atkins of today. I also remember doctors prescribing injections to their obese patients with a ‘wonder drug’. When I ran the Hickory Health Club  in NC (1978-1982), I remember a young member that told me his father was a ‘fat’ doctor. I told him to tell him to come see me  and I’d help him lose that fat. He just laughed and I didn’t understand what was so funny.

At one time, HCG was the most widespread obesity medication administered in the United States. Some doctors liked it because it assured them of a steady clientele. Patients had to come in once a week for an injection.

Negative studies and government action virtually eliminated the use of HGC injections for weight control until recently. The 2007 book, The Weight Loss Cure They Don’t Want You to Know About, by Kevin Trudeau, claims that “an absolute cure for obesity was discovered almost fifty years ago  but was suppressed  by  medical establishments throughout the world.” In October 2007, the Federal Trade Commission charged Trudeau with misrepresenting its contents in infomercials.

Studies have been conducted by  many credible medical journals disputing claims made by HCG diet marketers.  The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported, “There was no statistically significant difference between those receiving HCG vs. placebo.

We all wish there were an easy way. But there is no magic pill for losing weight. Eating a healthy, calorie-controlled diet and getting plenty of exercise is a scientifically proven formula for weight control.

A Sad Irony

Don't Be a Statistic

Isn’t it ironic that two of the world’s biggest health concerns and societal problems are obesity and hunger?  It is estimated that over one billion people on our planet are undernourished. In contrast, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), well over one billion are also overweight. Over 300 million of those are listed as obese. That means nearly one third of the world’s population is either starving or overfed!

Worldwide over 6 million people die annually from starvation. Just in America, nearly 400,000 die annually from obesity related diseases and spend over $36 billion in medical costs trying to cure our gluttonous, sedentary woes.

Unfortunately we can’t save the world, but we do have control to not add to the grim statistics. So put down the doughnut and start moving!

It’s Just Baby Fat

I know you're cute baby but...

It is amazing how many excuses we find for not losing weight (bodyfat). Some examples are “I’m just big bone” or “I’m retaining water”, or “my metabolism has slowed down as I’ve gotten older”, or “it’s heredity, everyone in my family is overweight”. I think one on the best ones I heard was from a prospective client who said she was trying to lose her baby fat. When I asked how old her baby was, she sheepishly replied 12 years old!

The Weight Loss ‘Secret’

Body weight is determined by the balance between the energy you take in (everything you consume) and the energy you expend (metabolism, daily lifestyle activities and exercise).  In order for you to lose weight, you must create an energy deficit. This energy deficit can be created by either:

• Eating fewer calories
• Moving more

The Weight Loss Equation

1 pound of fat = 3500 calories

To lose 1 pound a week, you must eat 500 fewer calories a day, burn 500 extra calories by increasing your physical activity each day, or ideally do a combination of both reducing intake and increasing activity.

Any excuses?

Fat Chance!

New Gadgets, Same Old Scams!

The more things change the more they stay the same. I recently watched a documentary about fitness made in 1960 (coincidently the year I was born, if I must confess).  I found particularly interesting the concern about high technology (remember this was 50 years ago) and the effect and problems it had on our lazy, non-exercising, over-eating society. Even though fads have come and gone, and our knowledge and advancement of exercise and definitely technology has increased by a hundred fold, we still seem to fall for the same old scams and myths.

As I’m watching this 1960 documentary on my laptop, I’m also watching a 2010 infomercial on my TV about some Ab Lounging, Rolling, Circling, Vibrating Gizmo, Gadget of the week. It reminds me of the story I read as a child “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” If you don’t know the story, ask someone else born in the 60s. Just as in 1960 there still exist literally thousands of scams, useless diets, supplement pills, potions, cellulite creams, colon cleansing, wallet shrinking products we spend multi billions of dollars on every year. But for now I will briefly describe a few of the common infomercial themes and weight loss, muscle toning, ab gadgets and why they just don’t work. Most of the people who impulsively buy into these products intuitively know they don’t make scientific sense. But the desire for a quick fix is too much to resist for many of us.

Why don’t the ab gadgets work. The answer is they are all based on the false assumption that you can spot reduce body fat. Our body will preferentially store fat more in areas where most of us have more fat cells. Typically, the abdominal area and also the hips and thigh areas for a lot of women. You need to work all those areas to build and maintain your healthy lean muscle, but only through caloric expenditure do you burn fat. Fifty crunches will burn something like 9 calories. There’s 3500 calories in a pound of fat. You do the math. By the way, if you could spot reduce would someone that chews gum all the time not have a skinny face? And since we get fat by consuming more calories than we expend, every obese person would also have a skinny face from all the chewing!

In the 1950’s, people thought that they could use a vibrating belt and rollers to lose fat. This doesn’t work, but some weight loss scams just won’t die. They are reborn in today’s version. From whole body vibration to individual vibrating gizmos, people are falling for hocus pocus fitness. In the early 8o’s toning tables were a big hit and why not. You simply lie down and have the machine move you. Not any better, are the electro-stimulus belts and sauna suits.

People want a quick fix, and that hasn’t changed in the last 50 years. The infomercials misguide the uninformed and fail to explain the laws of exercise physiology, thermodynamics and just plain old common sense.  We have six abdominal machines at PT Gym that cost between $1500-$5000 per machine. Not a one of them will spot reduce your waist line. Only a combination of whole body strength training, appropriate cardio/aerobic activity and most importantly proper nutrition will give you a flat stomach and if you’re so inclined, the ripped 6 pack abs of an infomercial star!

Fit at Fifty

Younger Next Year

The New Year always brings a fresh focus on life and allows us to start from a clean slate. Since my birthday is in January it is not only a new calendar year but also marks the beginning of another year of my journey through this life.  I turned 50 this year and gave pause to reflect on where I am in life, think of friends and loved ones that are no longer here, and reflect on what is really important. I hope that I am middle age, but we never know until the end, do we? If I die tomorrow, then middle age would have been 25.

My father died at the young age of 44. Technically that is a health risk factor for me, but I do take comfort in the fact that unlike him, I don’t smoke, don’t eat a lot of fried food and try to maintain a somewhat regular workout regimen. Now that I have reached this magical age, I am glad that fitness has been a part of my life since I was 14. I sometimes joke that I used to workout because I wanted to, but now I do it because I have to!

Relatively speaking, I think I’m in good shape. I don’t think I could be in the best shape of my life at this age since I trained fairly hard when I was in my 20’s and feel I was closer to my peak then. I can improve from where I am though and do intend to do that going forward. I think genetically we may be programmed to live a certain age, and we can improve or decrease our odds by our lifestyle choices and behaviors.

In my 20′s my focus was more on what I looked like whereas now it’s more related to health and wellness. If I were only concerned with keeping my body fat low I would eat Häagen-Dazs®, pizza, and cheese-burgers every day, because I know I can burn the calories if I am active enough. Doing so may even motivate me to workout harder in order to burn the excess calories. But I don’t eat like that often because I am concerned more now about what is happening inside my arteries, not just on looking good on the outside.

A great book I would highly recommend to anyone is “Younger Next Year – A guide to Living Like 50 Until You’re 80 and Beyond” by Chris Crowley & Henry S. Lodge, M.D. (2004). I read it in my early 40’s and it has even more significance now. Written by a physician and his patient, the book is not a medical journal or exercise book per se, but paints a vivid picture of what happens when we neglect our bodies. It’s a fun read with much practical information. If you’re not already exercising, after reading the first chapter you will be motivated to start moving!

From the book, I have listed below “Harry’s Rules” that I have adopted now that I have reached that golden year.

1. Exercise six days a week for the rest of your life.

2. Do serious aerobic exercise four days a week for the rest of your life

3. Do serious strength training, with weights, two days a week for the rest of your life.

4. Spend less than you make.

5. Quit eating crap.

6. Care.

7. Connect and commit.

12 Ways of Fitness

Research shows that individuals who follow most of these basic health practices will live more than 10 years longer, on average, than those who don’t. So for those who are contemplating what 2010 New Year resolutions to set, improving any of the following health indicators would be a good place to start. Staying with the theme of the season I present the 12 ways of fitness:

1. Body Weight. Maintain a healthy, lean bodyweight. Ideal is a body mass index (BMI) of less than 25.
2. Physical activity. Strive for 4-7 days per week of moderately vigorous exercise lasting 30+ minutes.
3. Smoking status. Smoking kills over 400,000 people annually. Do not smoke.
4. Consume less red meat and fried foods. Saturated fats are linked to coronary artery disease.
5. Whole grains. Consume 3+ servings daily.
6. Fruits and vegetables. Consume 5+ serings daily.
7. Nuts and seeds. Consume 5+ servings weekly for a good source of healthy fat.
8. Limit alcohol. Do not drink or at least drink in moderation.
9. Sleep. Get adequate sleep, for most people that means 7 to 8 hours each night.
10. Social support and a general state of happiness. People married or who have a significant other, make frequent contact with family/friends, and regularly participate in a faith group or a social club live longer.
11. Blood pressure. Blood pressure should be less than 120/80.
12. Blood cholesterol. Total cholesterol should be less than 200 and LDL  less than 130.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Happy, Healthy New Year!