By BOH, on February 6th, 2012
I gave out some pretty simple advice early last year to a friend. I never realized how much of an impact it had until I caught up with him recently.
Let’s frame the question first. My friend, recently new to working out, asked me for some tips on what to include in his diet. He wanted to hit all food groups, had a grocery list of items that looked like an Arabic scroll and had a plan of what he was going to eat and when. It was pretty impressive. However, I felt he was over-complicating it.
Here was a guy who before that moment would skip breakfasts and maybe eat three meals a day and he wanted to all of a sudden start plowing 5,000 calories into his system. I had to control myself from laughing too hard when he told me this.
So what was the advice?
I called it the pasta and beans diet. I told him to leave his grocery list alone and just start stuffing his face with pasta and beans everyday as much as as possible throughout the day. And why pasta and beans? I’ll tell ya: because they’re both dirt cheap.And a great source of protein too!
See the problem is that most people try to do too much at first and than end up disappointed because their high expectations fell flat. So they stop.
But pasta and beans don’t stop. Pasta and beans keeps you going. Pasta and beans gives you gas. In more than one way. And once you begin to get sick of pasta and beans, that’s when you start adding variety to your meals.
Small achievements begin to add up. And they’re much easier to accomplish than a large, pie-in-the-sky goal. That’s what the pasta and beans diet goes to accomplish. Stop complicating your diet by having these grandiose plans of what you’re going to eat and when and just eat.
But back to my friend
So what was the impact? Well, the same guy who wouldn’t have three meals a day was now actually consuming close to his original goal of 5,000 calories a day. He was hitting the weights hard and had an impressive physique to boot. He credited the pasta and beans advice that I gave him a year prior with leading him down the path to finally achieve his fitness goals.
The key is that is that it lead him down the path. All you have to do is simplify what you’re doing at first. Ground yourself and ground your goals and simplify what you’re doing. Then once you feel ready, start to add on top of these goals.
So for any beginners looking for a good initial diet, try pasta and beans. And let us know the results of it after a few weeks.
(photo credit: Osvaldo_Zoom)
By BOH, on January 24th, 2012
There’s a lot of stuff that can go wrong when you work out. Obviously working out with incorrect form will lead to injuries. But what are some other things that can go wrong in a gym?
1) A barbell breaking on you
Maybe the bars defective. Maybe you tossed on more weight than the damn bar can handle. Regardless of the cause, you’re going to be in a whole heap of trouble if the bar collapses on you. There’s two things you can do to combat this, inspect the bar you’re using isn’t showing too much bend. Because let’s face it, the gym isn’t for your personal playground; there’s many other people. You can’t trust every bar you pick up. And what if the bar can’t support the stack of 45 lbs. you’re about to toss on it? Check the specs of the bar or ask a gym employee to help you out.
2) Too focused on the mirrors
This is why working out rocks. You can have the pudgiest body in the world, but the feeling of blood pumping through your aching muscles will give anyone the sense of being THE MAN. WHOOOOO!! So what can go wrong? While flexing your biceps or extending your arms to check out your physique, maybe you might accidentally smack the guy next to you. And maybe you might have interrupted his work-out. And maybe, just maybe, he’s about to have an episode of ‘roid rage. You’ll definitely want to start looking for the emergency exit at that point. Next time, be aware of your surroundings before you start trying out your best Mr. Olympia poses.
3) Distracted by the hot chicks
Let’s be realistic, most guys have wandering eyes. Especially with an attractive girl in the vicinity. You want to catch the eye of the hot girl at the gym so you’re either trying to catch her gaze or working out near her. Some guys will even work out in a girl’s personal space. Definitely a great way to scare her off. So what can go wrong with being too eager to meet a girl at the gym? Well, for once, while walking and checking out a girl, you might smash your head into a piece of gym equipment. I’ve seen it happen on more than one occasion. High comedy right there for everyone who catches it. Solution? Keep yourself focused on the gym, Don Juan.
4) A drive -by shooting
Farfetched? You bet. But this actually happened at the gym I go to. Now I don’t know the reasons for it, but I like to think that someone just got too jealous about another person’s physique that they felt like lashing out in a ridiculous way. Violence has no place anywhere, let alone the gym. But whether it’s a drive-by shooting or someone attacking you unexpectedly it’s best to be on your aware of your surroundings. When you work-out, people may begin to get jealous and either try and insult you or bring you down. Take it all in stride, because whose got the better body? Numero Uno. That’s who.
By BOH, on January 4th, 2012
For those of you that are given company benefits, have you actually taken the time to flip through the pages of the benefits that you are entitled to? You would be positively aglow at the recent trend of what benefits companies are providing to their employees.
One company that I used to work for would offer up to $250 to use on massages, 80% dental, 90% off prescription drugs; really, stuff that you expect to see in your typical compensation plan. However, one day I was feeling more curious than a 12 year old boy so I began flipping through the benefits package when I stumbled upon a total gem: fitness club reimbursement.
I was floored. This company would actually pay up to $100 of your gym membership. Every. Single. Month. I couldn’t believe what I was reading at the time. They were advertising that they would pay me to work out at gyms. I didn’t need any extra motivation to exercise after that.
Employee wellness programs
It doesn’t matter if you’ve just got a new job or have been in the same gig for the last 5 years, take a look at your benefits package. The trend of companies for the last few years, and especially in 2012, is towards more in-depth health incentive packages and corporate wellness programs. This can include stress management, disease management, work/life balance education, health coaching. The list goes on. Check it out.
Follow the baby boomers statistics
With the baby boomers getting older and becoming more cognizant of the important of their health, more of their dollars are going to preserving a healthy lifestyle. As they go, so does our economy. So, if you were considering starting a business in health and wellness, 2012 might be the time to finally get on that horse.
By BOH, on January 2nd, 2012
What’s the easiest thing to do when a new year begins? Making a resolution.
What’s the hardest thing to do for that same year? Sticking to that resolution.
January is perhaps the most profitable month for gyms. Countless of out-of-shape people sign up for memberships at your local gym to fulfill their commitment to the age-old New Years’ resolution of staying/getting in shape. If you’re a gym regular you’ve witnessed these masses of out-of-shape people appear every January. And you’ve also know that the blubbery masses vanish 3 weeks later.
Gyms need to make money, too
This is how gyms stay in the black. Not because of the really serious champs that come to train but the out-of-shape chumps that sign up for yearlong memberships and stop showing up. It’s like a charitable donation without the tax break. Even those Nigerian princes you get elaborate emails from know better than to do that. All you’re doing is throwing money at the fake promise getting yourself in shape. Might as well buy Dr. Ho’s Ab Trimmer, it’s much cheaper and at least you can sit and watch TV while it builds you a six-pack.
The problem with these people is that they’re jumping into the deep-end of a pool without knowing how to swim. It’s a brand new year, they’ve got their “new” resolution and their gym membership and now they are ready to make some drastic changes to their life (see New Years’ resolution 2011, 2010, 2009…). So what happens? A few things, but it all ends the same: they give up.
They lose focus. Don’t see results fast enough. They revert back to their comfort of laziness. They don’t know what exercises to do or get intimidated by the true Training Sharks. The excuses are many but the end is the same. That’s why we only see these people show up to the gym in January. They’re like blue moons.
Take a moment and be honest with yourself. Are you one of “those” people? Do you make the same resolution year after year but give up before February rolls around? Just like Alcoholics Anonymous, the first step is acceptance.
You strolled into the gym, saw the exorbitant cost of a month to month membership, and allowed the sales reps to talk you into buying a yearlong membership because the monthly cost is lower so blindly signed on the dotted line. You see, they know you won’t come often. And since it is their job to sell memberships, why not take you for all you got?
You should have taken it easy, sailor
Instead of buying a year’s worth of a membership so that you can take advantage of the latest promotion, settle for going month to month. You pay less up front and if you stop going altogether you’re short around $70 for that one month. That sounds fair.
Or better yet, why not start off by working out at home. This works best because not only can you start getting into the habit of sticking to your New Year’s resolution of getting in shape, you can also avoid the crowds of January gym members. Once you’ve began working out a few times a week and turned it into a habit, you can go to the gym near the end of January when the crowds are back to normal and sign up for a membership then.
But what if you already bought a membership for a year and after doing some soul searching you’ve come to the sobering realization that you will give up in 3 weeks? Well, my friend, the time has come for things to get serious.
Because for 2012, it’s time for you to become a Training Shark.
By MD, on November 18th, 2011
Mmm there’s nothing more delicious than a Snickers chocolate bar or a BigMac combo from McDonalds. It’s a great feeling to indulge in some junk food. It’s so rewarding to have a big snack after a long day.
Then it happens. That feeling of guilt and shame. That feeling where you realize that your workout was a waste of time since you concluded it with a slice of fresh pizza or an order of fries. You spent an hour at the gym working your ass off to burn calories and now you threw it all away with a stupid snack. Isn’t that ridiculous? All of that hard work gone to shame. Eating junk food is and always will be a killer on your diet and your fitness goals.
We all know what we should be doing. The problem is that very few of us are actually doing this. We all know that junk food is bad for you. I’m not going to be some prick that tells you how bad it is because this won’t help. Cigarette companies have disclaimers on packs and people are still smoking. Eating junk food is an emotional move. It’s not something that we do logically.
Let’s at how you can destroy your junk food addiction. This is the ultimate guide for everyone out there that wants to stop eating so much junk food right now:
Understand that eating junk food is a time killer.
Do you really need to eat that crap or are you just killing time? The odds are that you’re just killing time by eating snacks. Whenever we don’t feel like doing work we do something random. Some of us will go for a smoke, some will stalk girls on Facebook, and most of us will have a snack. Having a snack is the easy thing to do because it doesn’t involve much effort and it tastes so damn good. Preparing a decent meal actually requires effort. Who wants to put in work when you’re avoiding work? Most of us have a snack to kill time.
How this can help you: understand that you’re snacking to kill time. Instead of snacking, bust out a few pushups or go for a walk.
Take pictures of what you eat.
Use your smart phone to take a pic of all the crap that you eat. Every time you have a bag of Doritos or eat some crap you need to take a picture. This way after a few days you’ll see how much junk you put into your body. This is the same body that you’re going to have for the rest of your life. Do you really want to treat it like that? Do you put sugar in the gas tank of your car? Didn’t think so.
How this can help you: actually seeing what you eat is a harsh reality check. You’ll feel worse and worse until you eventually destroy that annoying junk food addiction.
Take a picture of your gut and hang it up in your room.
You know that bulbous gut that you’re sick of? Post a picture of it in your room so that you have to see it every single day. At random times throughout the day you’ll be reminded of what you need to work on.
How this can help you: you need to visualize your goals. Seeing a picture of your big gut every single day will remind you that you need to get to work!
Have a cheat day every week.
This is key. This isn’t Alcoholics Anonymous were you pledge to never drink again. With your nutrition you need to remember that balance is everything. You can’t always eat well. It’s just not natural. I don’t know how anyone can eat perfectly every single day. Actually I don’t know anyone that eats clean all of the time. It’s just impossible (and BORING).
How does a weekly cheat day work? All week you do your damn best (I know you can do it) to eat well. Whenever you get a craving for junk food you need to write it down on your cell phone. After 5 days this list will add up. Trust me that this list will have all sorts of junk on it. Then when day 7 comes around, you can pig out. You can eat anything that you want. You get your junk food fix and your junk food craving out of the way. Isn’t that beautiful?
How this can help you: you get all of your junk food cravings out of your system. The goal is to completely pig out and indulge as much as possible. After a cheat day you’re not going to want to see a snack for a few weeks.
Are you ready to finally slap that junk food addiction in the fucking face?
By BOH, on November 15th, 2011
Tofu. I used to make fun of it and liken it to bird food. But what is it exactly?
Tofu is a soy based product that vegetarians used to supplement the lack of protein in their diet. It is also a very popular inclusion in Asian cuisines. This item is high in both protein and calcium. Consumed on its own it has a very bland taste, however, it has a great ability to absorb flavors.
I spoke about the high content of protein. But how high is it? As a comparison, here’s how a regular tofu brick (the kind you can purchase at your local supermarket for around $1) stacks up against other high sources of protein:
5 ounce sirloin burgers (8 per box)
Cost: $9.99
Protein: 26 grams per burger (192 grams total)
Protein per dollar spent: 20.8 grams per $1
250 mL egg white containers (2 containers per)
Cost: $2.67
Protein: 7 grams per 1/4 cup (56 grams total)
Protein per dollar spent: 21.0 grams per $1
Regular tofu brick
Cost: $0.99
Protein: 8 grams per 1/5 slice (40 grams total)
Protein per dollar spent: 40.0 grams per $1
As you can see tofu is a relatively cheap source of protein, but the next question is how does it taste?
On its own, very bland!
So while the easiest way to introduce tofu into your diet is to eat it as it is, like brick of cheese, there’s no fun in going about it like this. So here are two different ways for including tofu into your meals and diet.
1. Any salad
I like having big bowls of salad in the evening. Dress it up with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, and you got a great quick meal. I used to top off the salad with croutons or raspberries and avocado as well, but I found that tofu makes an incredible inclusion into the dish. It soaks up the remnants of the dressing that seeps to the bottom of the bowl like a little sponge so you get the most out of your meal.
2. Baked tofu slices
You can make protein slices to eat after a workout by slicing the tofu into strips, marinating them in a flavor combo of your choice over night in a plastic bag and baking them on a baking sheet in your oven (use 350 degrees Fahrenheit ) until they become crispy on each side.
There are many more ways of including tofu into your diet, simply Googling it will give you a variety of recipes to try.
Which one is your favorite?
(photo credit: sulamith.sallmann)
By BOH, on November 11th, 2011
There’s something about the fall weather that reminds me of Rocky running through Philadelphia in his layered getup.
And if you’re anything like me, you enjoy an outdoor workout every now and then. Whether it’s going for a jog in beautiful weather or using outdoor fitness equipment at a local park, switching things up here and there helps keep things interesting for variety’s sake.
If you live in an area closer to the equator you almost never have to worry about the change in seasons, but for the rest of us that do, the time is slowly coming upon us when fall turns to winter. When working out in the cold becomes more of a hassle than enjoyable experience.
However, there’s still a few weeks left before the cold truly sets in and people begin making excuses to not workout, before you begin to pack on the calories with the Holiday Season quickly approaching.
So what can you do during the fall?
Jogging
The time is slowly approaching when jogging becomes more and more out There’s almost never a time when jogging is out of the question (unless, perhaps, there’s a torrential storm. But I’m not here to make excuses for you). Wearing layers is key but so is having a reliable pair of sneakers. The crisp air is an added pleasure.
Hiking
Hiking through a local forested area is a unique experience. With all the beautiful colors of nature, it’s a great way to go for some sight-seeing and visual stimulation. You can even involve a companion or bring your dog for a walk.
Take up a new hobby
Some people may not enjoy the cooler temperatures, and use that as an excuse to stay home more frequently. But instead of kicking back on the couch, what about signing up for an activity that you’ve always wanted to do but didn’t have the time to begin? Rock-climbing? Salsa dancing? Muy-thai? The world is your oyster!
There’s many other ways to keep yourself active and fit during the fall season. Don’t let the colder temperatures begin filling your head with excuses to stop working out. Take a chance to try something new and exciting.
By BOH, on November 8th, 2011
We live in an age where we can find almost any piece of information online. Questions that might pop up in our heads can be entered into a search engine that will provide us with an answer. In this time we no longer need to reference a fitness magazine or ask our local fitness instructor questions (which isn’t to say these are not viable options).
Therefore, considering the alternatives, what can a fitness website do for you?
Health and Fitness Articles
Much like a fitness magazine, you can read quality articles filled with informative fitness tips for no cost. No topic is safe and everything can be covered. The best part is that you won’t have to wait a month until the next issue comes out. A fitness site will have updates multiple times a week (and I promise you this one is going that way, too).
Fitness Programs
Unsure of how to structure your workout? You can find suggestions for fitness programs to follow as well as results from people who have actually spent the time working out according to a specific program. This way you can gauge for yourself whether a workout is effective or not.
Fitness Videos
Instead of hurting yourself at the gym trying to find the proper technique for an exercise, you can go online and search for videos to help yourself in advance. I remember when I began training, I would go online, find videos and develop the motions at home before I hit the gym.
Online Personal Training
Some people are hesitant about spending $90 for an hour with a personal trainer to only come out feeling that the trainer spent more time texting and watching the clock then helping their client out. Online personal trainers can help with your fitness plan, fitness nutrition, motivation and much more.
What else do you look for from a fitness website?
By MD, on November 2nd, 2011
The other day I was having a conversation with a friend. This person was quick to bring up how he wanted to get into training but he just couldn’t find a gym near his home.
There are many free fitness programs all around us.
Here’s a free fitness program that I use all of the time when I’m away from the gym (usually travelling or when there’s a damn snow storm in Canada).
Free fitness programs allow you to train anywhere that you find yourself.
What’s the best free fitness program?
Instead of wasting value time by looking all over the internet for fitness programs, why not create your own?
Below I share the exercises that you need to create your own free fitness program. Are you ready? To make things easier I’ve attached a YouTube for every exercise that I recommend so that you can figure out how to do it.
Jumping squats.
If you get bored of basic squats or if you don’t have any weights at home you can try the jumping squats. You simply jump on your way up. The burn starts to kill after about ten of these bad boys. If you want to challenge yourself even more you can do jumping squats onto a bench or any other areas at your local park or in the backyard.
Watch the jumping squat video.
Push ups.
There are a million ways that you can completely burn you chest with push ups. Let’s share my favorites:
- Two minute push ups. See how many you can do on your living room floor in two minutes. Keep track of the number and try to improve it every time you get it a shot.
- Go for a max number. I try to do 50 push ups every day before I go to sleep. How many will you do before sleep today?
Watch how to do push ups.
Hindu push ups.
When you want a little stronger burn I recommend that you check out Hindu push ups. These are much more intense than your ordinary push ups. Try starting off by doing ten in a row and move your way up.
Watch how you can do Hindu push ups.
The Beep Test (no video).
I highly recommend that you download the beep test and put it on your iPod. This is the best cardio exercise. All you need is a place to run with 20 metres apart. You set up two points and you run to the points. Trust me it’s not easy. If you make it to level 10 then you should considered yourself a stud.
This is a very basic free fitness program. It’s all good. If you stay tuned I promise you that we’ll impress you. We’re currently working on creating a killer home training program. Try this out and track your progress. I promise you that if you pull off these four exercises today you’ll be thanking me (well, cursing me when your chest is burning).
Instead of making up excuses and claiming that there’s no Bally Fitness locations near you, you can create your own fitness program and get your ass into shape before the year ends. What are you waiting for?
By BOH, on October 31st, 2011
Everyone wants to work out, some actually do it, but for those heavily focused on training sometimes an important element is missed: taking a break.
We are inundated with information about doing more in less time. Supersetting. Spending insane hours in the gym. Training every single part of our body. Etc. Etc. Etc. However, what we overlook is paramount to achieving our fitness goals. Our bodies will get tired and will get sore. We aren’t designed to push heavy weights continuously straight for hours on end and for that reason it is important to give yourself a break.
Staying fit is a long term project. If you are too concerned about the present moment, you will never achieve your results. Every push and pump, every meal will lead to a result that might not be seen for another few weeks, if not months. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your body.
Breaks are highly important to give your body time to recovery so it may build and strengthen the muscles you have challenged in your workout.
Now, what are the different ways you can give your body a break?
Breaks between reps and sets
The easiest break you can take involves time between reps and time between sets. Instead of going extreme and destroying your muscle groups with a workout that requires nonstop exertion, how about taking 3 minutes off to rest before beginning a new rep or set. This will allow your body time to recover and energize for an equally challenge weight rather than being forced to do less reps because you were fatigued from a 30 second rest cycle.
Rest days during the week
There are those of us who decide to endure a 7 day-a-week workout cycle. Those who can do this properly are to be respected, but for the most part anyone who decides to go this route is doing it with a fool’s blindness. Taking up a 3, 4, 5 day workout schedule allows us to include rest days (obviously). However, what’s important to discuss is what to actually do on those rest days. It will not help you in your aspirations of achieving a Herculean physique if on your rest days you are completely sedentary. You need to keep your blood pumping, so instead of sitting on your ass and munching on potato chips, go for a walk or brisk jog to increase your heart rate and blood to your muscles. There’s a science to why this works that isn’t important right now (but e-mail us if you are interested!), but trust us on this one.
Taking time away from your workout
I have always been a proponent of taking a week away from working out after some specified period of time. When to take time off isn’t so much important as ‘Why?’. You decide to take a break from working out to allow your body to have some obvious rest, possibly as a confusion technique, but also to help your mind to recharge itself. We will get mentally drained whether it is due to working out or some other occurrence in our lives. Taking a week-long sabbatical will not only help your body but also your mind to get back into the swing of things. However, during this week-off try and stay a little active by walking or jogging.
So take a break from your workout and let us know what you feel about these thoughts.
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