Archive for exercise
It Takes Two to Tango and Exercise!
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“It takes two to make a thang go right. It takes two to make it outta sight!”
If you are from the “old school” like me, you know the lyrics to the song. Why am I quoting a song from Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock? I wanted to talk a little bit about exercising as a couple. Do you think this can help or hurt your fitness goals?
Play Together…Stay Together
I’m sure you heard this before, “couples that play together, stay together”? I have heard it many times and always wondered if it was true. I think it is true to a certain degree and I’ll explain my reasoning for saying it. It’s good for couples to spend time together but spending all their time together can be detrimental to the relationship. We all need our guy and girl’s night out to clear our heads and “shoot the breeze” with members of the same sex. It also gives you space and everyone needs it at one time or another, right? I have witnessed many couples who choose to exercise their “me” time when they go to the gym. You’re probably asking yourself, “what does he mean by that?” See if this sounds familiar: you enter the gym with your significant other and she/he goes to the treadmill section while you go to pump iron. You meet up when it’s time to leave. I see this all the time when I enter gyms and it’s very discouraging because you might be sabotaging your fitness goals! On a different note, if you don’t like your “sig” then you might be wise to separate when going to the gym just to keep the peace. 
So why don’t couples like to work out together?
Ego Trippin’
The couple who play together stay together!
I have heard male friends complain constantly about their girlfriend or wife and the gym. The guys complain the women don’t like lifting weights or they don’t know how to use the machines. From the perspective of a male, I can see these are valid points. There are hordes of women out there who still believe strength training makes them look bulky and muscular. A very small percentage of women who are genetic freaks build too much muscle when they lift, but as a whole this doesn’t happen. In addition, men have a distinct advantage in the weight machine category because we are a little bit more mechanically inclined than women. Guys look at the weight machine and it looks just like one whereas it may look like a contraption with gears and gizmos to women. I can see how women can get confused, can you? If you can’t, think about this. Most guys can’t cook and don’t know their way around the kitchen like a woman. This is exactly the way most women feel when they enter a gym for the first time and you don’t help them by “ego trippin”. I have seen some men load up the bar with heavy weights and then command their wife or girlfriend to “lift” and in that instant she is scarred for life. She never wants to lift weights again because the weight was too heavy for her and she failed on her first attempt. You have to start light before you can go heavy but the “ego trippin” boyfriend didn’t know this.
Toward a Common Goal
Its easy to achieve a goal if you have support and hard as hell if you don’t! If you want to eat right, but your wife wants you to buy cakes, cookies, and other junk food it defeats the purpose. I have read numerous articles on weight loss and the people who are successful are the ones who have a support system. It’s easy to reach your fitness goals if both of you are on the same page. This is why couples do great in weight loss transformation contests…both are moving toward the same goal.
Challenge Challenge
When I started working out with my girlfriend, it was a new experience with a new person. I had a bad experience in a past relationship working out as a couple and I didn’t want to repeat it. I quickly realized it had nothing to do with working out but it was the person I was working out with at the time. I no longer have the hesitation I had in the previous relationship because I really enjoy the person and that makes a big difference. If you work out with someone you really enjoy, it makes it easier and you can challenge each other to become better and more fit in the process. It also keeps you motivated as you are feeding off each other. If you have to spend time with the one you love, why not spend it getting fit and having fun ????
Darren McDuffie
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist
Exercise Training: From Pain to Pleasure
Posted by: | CommentsHave you ever experienced pain? I know that is a silly question, so I might need to be a bit more specific. Have you ever experienced any body pain? When I say body pain, I mean back and knee pain. Did you know back pain is the most common reason people miss work? Experts say 80% of the population will have a back problem at some time in their life.
How much you get for a slip and fall in a store?
If you have ever seen the movie Friday, you might remember a character called Ezal. In one of my favorite scenes, Ezal asks , “ how much you get for a slip and fall in a store?” The scene from the movie is funny, but what if this happens to someone for real? It can happen at anytime to anyone, but what about back pain which isn’t the result of an accident? Have you ever experienced that sort of pain? I have. I am approaching the ripe age of 40 this year and from time to time, I have what I like to call “old man pains”. These pains come out of nowhere and seem to leave as quick as they appear. I am glad they leave as fast as they come, but years ago I wasn’t so lucky.
What the hell is wrong with my back?
After my basketball career was over, I sat around and became a slob. I ate tons of food and exercise consisted of lifting the remote to change the tv channel. I was stilI an athlete in my mind, but my body was showing me something very different from my thoughts. I looked like hell from the excessive weight I picked up and my body started throwing me hints. The hints consisted of back pain and knee pain which kept me in physical therapy for a couple of months. It took some time, but I finally realized my back and knee pain had a direct correlation to my weight gain. I immediately committed myself to dropping weight and soon after my back and knee pain vanished.
What is your ideal weight
I know what my ideal weight is now. How do I know? I can tell when I am gaining too much weight when I start feeling it in my weight bearing joints which are my back and knees. I make it a habit to consciously be aware of what I am eating and start to make adjustments. Are you having any back problems or knee problems which might be related to weight gain? I would like to hear about it. Please leave a comment on the blog!!! See you on the lean side… Darren
Exercise Training: Quantity vs. Quality
Posted by: | CommentsI happened to be reading a book the other day. The author said something quite interesting which I never gave much thought. He questioned the quantity of the food versus the quality. Have you noticed the quantity of food has gone up, while the quality of food has gone down? What does that mean? I don’t know if you have looked around lately but there are an abundance of places selling bad food. Oh yeah, I’ll be doing a review of this book I’m mentioning, so look out for it.
The idea of more is better 
When I was kid, I would beg my grand mother to take me to McDonald’s. I would usually beg her on Friday because that was the only time she would take me. I would “hound” her countless times until she finally agreed. Once she agreed, we would pile into our big yellow car nicknamed the “yellow goose” and off we went to Mickey D’s. I can remember going through the drive thru and within minutes we had our food. In the words of my good friend Riley from the Boondocks, “it was the best thing ever,” or was it? As I think back, it may very well have been the worst thing to ever happen. Why do I say that? In the old school days the burgers were much smaller and there was no “supersize it”, go large, or buy one get one free. Did that make the food worse? The food was already bad for you but now you just have more of it. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see if you eat more you gain more weight, right? Is the idea of more really better?
From a boy to a man
Some of our food choices are dictated by the money in our pockets. Do you think that’s true? I certainly do. If I had ten bucks in my pocket in high school or college, I would more than likely be at the latest fast food joint getting the cheap stuff. I had done this countless times in my evolution from a boy to man, until I realized you have to pay for quality. Quality is the nutritional dense food your body needs to heal itself and get rid of disease. I never looked at food in this manner, until I became passionate about fitness. I always thought food was something I just threw into my mouth because my stomach was growling, and I needed to satiate it. I realize most people still think this way and this is why there is an obesity problem in America. There are far too many of us who think cheap food is better food. Is that solely based on the lint in our pockets?
Food observations
Do you realize you always get more cheap food? You can go to any fast food spot to prove it to yourself. If you have ever dined at an expensive restaurant, you know you don’t get a whole lot of food, but it tastes much better. You enjoy the food more, but you might get hungrier a bit sooner. Why? If you noticed, you get less food and its balanced with healthy things like salads! This seems to be a hard idea for our society to understand and many of us are paying for it with our health. What do you think?
Exercise Training: 3% Rule
Posted by: | CommentsI am sure you heard about the 80/20 rule, right? If you haven’t, I ‘ll lay it down to you from a sales standpoint because that is how I came to understand it. In case you’re wondering, I have been doing sales the better part of my life since graduating from college. Ok… here is what the 80/20 rules states: 80% of your revenue will come from about 20% of your prospects. I thought this was all a hoax, but in my years of sales it always holds true. Now…I mentioned that because I came across another rule the other day. I never gave this rule any thought, but upon reading more about it, it certainly holds true.
Welcome to the 3% rule!
I heard of the 3% rule some time ago, but it is just now hitting home with me. I’ll tell you my experience with the “3”% and see if you can relate. A long time ago, I bought one of those real estate courses from an informercial. It finally arrived in the mail and I was happy to get it because I thought this would make me a real estate millionaire! I had dreams of finally quitting my job, buying an expensive car, and “jetsetting” to a Caribbean Island. Sound familiar? “Yeah Mon,” I bet it does. I know I am not the only one who has had this dream, right? If I am, I’ll be very surprised. Anyway, after my daydreaming I jumped back into reality. I opened the course and began to read it. There was a ton of work involved before you made any money. The course expected you to negotiate with people and make deals to get the real estate with little or no money down. I thought to myself, “they made this look so easy on tv.” I didn’t know it was that much work involved to be successful with the course. I thought it had to be easy based on the testimonials and the number of people who succeeded with it. Was it believable or just a hoax?
What is 3%?
Do you know someone who’s an over achiever? You know what I am talking about, right. It is the person who graduated at the top of their class or that nerd who spoiled the grade “curve” in your algebra class. Everybody had one of those people in their class. Some of you reading this might still be in school, and have someone in your class like this right now! Please don’t ridicule them because you can learn something from these folks. So what is 3% because I know you are wondering, right? It means 3% of the population will be successful with any endeavor they undertake. When you view weight loss informercials guess what you are looking at? You’re looking at the 3% who were able to complete the diet plan and now they have the results to show for it. When you buy various fitness dvds out there right now, they advertise the 3% who were able to complete the plan. They never advertise the guy/gal who buys it and uses it once or twice, then ends up quitting after a week.
How do you become the fitness 3%?
Here is how to become the 3% in fitness and in life:
- Be Committed— Too many people aren’t committed. At the first sign of adversity they are ready to quit. You need to jump in the pool and swim or get out of the pool. There is no halfway. You are either in or out.
- Beliefs–- Change your beliefs. Some people think it works for others but it won’t work for me. It will work for you but you first have to think it will.
- Be persistent— Results might be slow at first but keep on keeping on, and you’ll get there.
What has been your experience with the 3% rule? I would love to hear your comments.
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist
Exercise Training: How do you know when you’re ready?
Posted by: | CommentsAs a trainer, I have people coming to me constantly asking questions. What do I eat? How do I get this physique or that one? How did the latest celebrity get in such great shape for that role? The list goes on and on. If I am allowed to be completely honest right now, I get really tired of answering questions because the answers fall on deaf ears. What do I mean by that? I’ll elaborate.
The Answer and then what?
I can provide answers all day to fitness questions. I love to answer them, but why don’t people take action once their question is answered? It drives me crazy! I am under the impression most people are
‘in love” with the idea of being fit, but few want to be fit. I can tell people countless times, “eat this” to lose weight or concentrate on this amount of reps to build muscle, but many never do. Why is that? I’ll be the first to admit its hard to change and I think it is the deal breaker for some. Am I right? I think I’ll quit giving advice to people until they are ready for it.
How do you know when you are ready?
How do you when you are ready? I can tell you right now:
- Working out becomes priority
- Eating right becomes priority
- No more excuses
Here is the difference between the people you see on weight loss success stories and those you don’t: Successful people do the things failures don’t like to do.
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist
