What it is:

This movement is designed to increase glute activation and develop posterior chain strength. Why, you ask is that important? Well, the prime movers in most sports that involve running around and explosive movement (LIKE TENNIS!) are the glutes and hamstrings. Look at an NFL running back – massive, thick legs and rear ends. It’s no accident that these guys have solid cabooses, either – they train the muscles that enable them to move fast as well as accelerate and decelerate properly. This is a great exercise for anyone who does not have good glute activation, is learning to deadlift properly, or is recovering from a low back injury and wants to train the posterior chain without any compressive or shear forces on the lumbar spine.

How to do it:

Set up on a cable station with a rope attachment, move the cable to the lowest setting near the floor. Face away from the stack with tension in the rope about 4-5 feet away from the stack. You want to ‘sit down’ into the movement while keeping tension on the hamstrings and maintaining a neutral spine. You will then extend the hips and stand back up by only contracting the glutes and hamstrings. There should be no pulling through the arms, and absolutely no lumbar spine extension.

Who I stole it from:

I first saw this over in Eric Cressey’s Maximum Strength program and loved the way it taught posterior chain extension, and here’s a video that the guys at Cressey Performance put together to show you how it works.

Why you should be doing it:

As tennis players, one of our main focuses is on speed and quickness of the first step, and that primarily comes from pushing off using the glutes and hamstrings. This movement teaches you how to fire these muscles correctly and efficiently, while safely strengthening them. Give it a shot and let me know what you think.

The Farmer’s Carry

What it is:

Carry heavy objects from point A to point B. Rest. Repeat.

What it does:

Basically works all of the muscles of the upper body. The arms, shoulders, and traps must isometrically contract to keep the weight up. Grip strength is challenged. Resistive forces from the core must be applied to prevent abdominal flexion (bending forwards at the waist) and lumbar flexion (bending backwards). The obliques are also challenged with maintaining an upright posture. The legs must work hard to keep moving, and the added weight makes it a great cardiovascular conditioning exercise.

How to do it:

Start with two identical dumbbells on the floor beside your feet. Pick them up and draw your shoulder blades back and down – maintain this posture throughout the movement. Walk in a straight line, holding the weights by your side, for 40 to 50 yards. If you have limited space, you can make a few u-turns to make the distance. Don’t swing the weights and try to maintain a high chest through the walk. Don’t forget to breathe. If the weight starts to slip, avoid any quick adjustment. With heavier weight this could cause a muscle tear of the biceps or forearm, which I’m guessing is not something you want. Three to four circuits of these at the end of your workout is plenty to make you hate life.

Variations:

For added challenge, you can use uneven dumbbells and then switch hands halfway through. This will increase the resistive forces that your core has to produce to maintain an upright posture, which is what it was designed to do in the first place.

For a real butt kicker, drop the weights, turn around and sprint the distance as soon as you complete your initial route. Try not to throw up a lung.

I’d love for you guys to try this and post the load that you used in the comments section!

If you’re like most of the country, you’ve been buried in snow, ice, or just sub-freezing temperatures for most of the winter. For those of you lucky enough to live in warmer climes, or with access to indoor facilities, your tennis frequency has probably been down with the holidays and the new year. So how do you get your body back in spring shape? I’d like to offer a few helpful suggestions to get you back on the road to prime tennis shape.

Soft Tissue Quality

No, I’m not calling you soft, Rambo. I’m referring to your muscles, ligaments, and connective tissues that make up your musculoskeletal system. If you’re like most of us, you have a job where you sit and look at a computer screen hour upon hour with pretty poor posture – caught you didn’t I? Does this look like you?

Thought so. Look at that cervical spine, all bent forward, back and shoulders hunched, and those hips! Oy vey, didn’t your mother ever tell you to sit up straight? This posture, repeated for days, weeks, and months can wreak havoc on your thoracic (upper back) and hip flexibility, which I understand are pretty important in tennis. Over time this posture can shorten the muscles we call the hip-flexors (the large muscles that raise your legs towards your chest), decreasing mobility and power through the area. The thoracic spine area also loses flexibility, creating more opportunity for injury when you start swinging a racquet again.

So, how do we overcome these limitations? Well, you want to start getting up and moving and stretching more often for one, and you need to work on gaining mobility in those areas. We can accomplish the latter in two ways.

The first is loosening up these tight muscles with some dynamic stretching and mobility work. Here are two great videos that address the hips.

The idea here is to open up the tightness in the hip-flexors using both static and dynamic movements that will activate the muscles and improve the range of motion over time.

The second method addresses the muscle fascia (the connective tissue  that surrounds the muscles) itself. These techniques improve the quality of muscle tissue by working out scar tissue and bunched muscle fibers while relaxing the fascia that surrounds the fibers. I nabbed this video from Eric Cressey, who runs a top performance facility for pro athletes. If you’re interested in getting smarter about lifting and sports performance, I highly recommend checking out his site: http://ericcressey.com/blog

Implementing these techniques even a few times a week will do wonders for your mobility and flexibility in the key areas that we as tennis players utilize most frequently. The myofascial release techniques alone are worth doing, either before or after a gym or court workout. I’ve been using these every time I go to the gym and I can’t tell you how much they’ve helped alleviate pain and improve my on-court functionality.

Check them out and let me know what you think!

Don’t have the time/resources for a gym membership? No worries, you can still get a great workout at home with a few simple, low cost items. Today I’ll try and give you some resources that you’ll need in order to go through a challenging, full body workout at home.

First Things First

One of the main keys to successfully working out at home is mastering many body-weight only exercises that are easily performed. Movements such as push-up variations, chin and pull-ups, burpees, squats, and hanging bar work are all important and are challenging enough to give you a great pump. If yo’re unfamiliar with any of these, use the handy search bar on the Google home screen:

Ok, now that we have the basics down, let’s look at the equipment we’ll need.

Pull -Up Bar

This should be your first shopping item. Nothing else will give you the bang for the buck that this device will. You can do chins, wide grip pulls, hanging leg raises, work on the front lever or other gymnastic moves, and many other things. Go get one. Now.

Ok, next up, resistance bands. Yes, big, oversize rubber bands. “What can I do with those?” you ask – what can’t you do with them? You can place them under your feet and do lateral shoulder raises, bicep curls, and squats. You can anchor one in a door and do rows, work the teres and infraspinatus (rear shoulder) muscles. You can wrap them over your back and increase resistance on push-ups. The list is endless. Did I mention the useful search bar above? Get a few different ones so you can double them up for some real challenging weight!

Now that we have our basic pushing and pulling implements, you are pretty much done! What, that’s it? I don’t need a Bowflex or that new fangled Ab-Tastic-Rip-O-Matic 3000? NO!!!! Al of the basic multi-joint movements can be performed with these basic implements. If there’s any room in your budget, you could invest in some dumbbells, an adjustable bench, or maybe even some kettlebells. Beyond that, if you really want to splurge, you could invest in a TRX, an excellent home workout device.

So What Do I do Now That I Have the Goods?

Ok, did I mention the simple, easy to use search bar? I knew I did. The name of the game at home is full body work. If you can dedicate three to four days a week and get in an hour of full body training, I guarantee you can increase your strength, endurance, and flexibility beyond what you thought you could achieve outside of the gym. There are endless things you can do with the above set up, so go nuts with the internet – it’s still free after all. Again, we want to focus on multi-joint, large muscle group movements and away from isolation exercises. Now, go out, er, stay in, and conquer! Good luck with your home fitness!

Ok, need a head start? Let me help you with the following linksies:

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/at-home-workouts-0

http://health.msn.com/weight-loss/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=100230172

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=home+workout&aq=f

Building and maintaining muscle is a key component in staying fit and maximizing your sports performance. The main ingredient in your muscle building efforts is going to be protein, and more specifically lean protein. Today we will examine some top protein sources and why you should incorporate them into your diet.

Tuna

For my money, and taste-buds, for that matter, fresh tuna is one of the best proteins out there. Besides it being extremely delicious, 100 grams of fresh tuna (about 3.5 oz) is packed with 27 grams of high quality, lean protein. I prefer eating it raw to maintain the essential unsaturated fatty acids (omega 3) which are good for your heart and can lower cholesterol levels. Good alternatives are salmon or mackerel. If you are on the go, canned products like tuna or sardines also pack in the protein and are great for post workout fuel.

Chicken Breast

Boiled or grilled, white meat chicken is hands down one of the highest sources of quality protein out there. It packs in up to 45 grams of protein per 150 gram portion. Chicken breast obviously has minimal fat, depending on how you cook it, so you need to supplement your meal with a source of unsaturated fat (olive or flax seed oil). Dark meat chicken is also high in protein, but also contains more fat too.

Cottage Cheese

Diary is the ‘mother’s milk’ of protein, but you need to be cautious in what you pick, as not all dairy products have the best protein to fat ratios. Cottage cheese has the highest ratio of protein per volume, with about 31 grams per cup of 2% milk fat product. I like pairing cottage cheese with acidic fruits such as pineapple, as it makes a delicious snack. Ricotta cheese is also very high in protein, but can be more challenging to incorporate into your diet. Make sure you stick with low milk fat products to keep overall fat intake under control.

Chicken Eggs

The incredible, edible egg. Prepackaged in a sturdy shell, this fantastic source of high quality protein contains about 6 grams per egg. Eggs place high because of the variety of ways in which they can be consumed. Fried, scrambled, boiled, poached, or combined in other recipes, eggs are easy to consume. Again, make sure you are monitoring the fat intake, as it is easy to sneak in some butter or cheese and blow your daily fat threshold.

Whey Protein

Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet, chugging a protein shake. Ok, that’s not how the rhyme goes, but it should. Whey is a by-product of the cheese making process. Whole milk contains about 87% water and 13% milk solids. These solids are comprised of 30% fat, 37% lactose, 6% minerals, and 27% protein. This protein is made up of 80% casein and 20% whey. The ‘curds’, or solids, in Miss Muffet’s bowl are the casein product, and the liquid is the ‘whey’ part.

Whey protein is consumed naturally in many dairy foods, but the best consumption is a whey protein concentrate product, such as protein powder or other nutritional supplements. The amount of protein varies in these products, but they generally contain 25-30 grams of protein per serving.

While last on my list here, Whey Protein is actually a top choice as it contains all the essential amino-acids that are necessary for building muscle. It is also low in fat and can be consumed in a shake or other liquid, making it the ultimate portable protein source. Remember, the athletic individual should be consuming approximately one gram of high quality protein per pound of body-weight per day in order to maintain or improve muscle mass.

Good luck with your training, and good eating!

Whether your goal is to slim up for summer just avoid going up a pants size, these tips will start you off on the right foot. They may even help you develop a new, healthier relationship with food.

1.       Eat Less, More Often
The main reason that we gain weight is that we take in more calories than we expend on a daily basis. In America, we don’t really know what it’s like to be hungry, we only know ‘less full’. Eating smaller meals has obvious benefits, but breaking meals into two portions and eating them several hours apart will not only decrease your total caloric intake, but keep your metabolism at a higher rate throughout the day, enabling your body to burn more calories.

2.       Drink Water – A Lot of It
Drinking water throughout the day has several benefits. You should be drinking about 64 ounces of water a day. That’s only four 16 ounce bottles, eight 8 ounce glasses, or about two liters. Water will help you feel more full and can prevent you from having a ‘dangerous snack’. Plus, it keeps you hydrated and ready for exercise.

3.       Activity – Do It!
A good strength training routine can raise your body’s metabolism for up to eight hours. Any kind of workout will elevate your metabolism and burn more calories than being sedentary. How much effort does it really take to get out for a walk after dinner instead of planting on the couch and hitting the internets or ‘Dancing With the Stars’? Heck, today almost all of us have wi-fi – take your PC with you on your walk if you have to! Any activity is better than none, but the BARE minimum should be 30 minutes three times a week.

4.       Don’t Drink Your Calories
Soda, beer, wine, juice, and other beverages all contain calories. Not to say that you can’t enjoy a glass of your favorite beverage, but keep in mind that it’s very easy to ‘sneak’ in extra calories. A twenty ounce Coke gets you 240 calories. 240!! Think of what good, nutrient rich food you could substitute in place of those sugar filled, empty calories…

5.       Keep a Food Journal
If you’re like me, you can mindlessly shove in food all day still wonder how that box of Cheez-Its disappeared. Writing down what you ate and when you ate it each day will not only keep you accountable, but you can start to recognize patterns that might help you see when you are overeating. Keeping a written log of what, where, and when can be a great tool to monitor your eating habits and can give you the ammunition to make positive changes.

I’d love to hear from you if you have any healthy eating tips you’d like to share!

Let’s Talk Nutrition

Today I want to discuss nutrition and it’s role in maintaining a properly functioning machine. Your body is a calorie eating, energy generating organism that twill devour just about anything you put into the intake duct (your mouth), and is designed to use this fuel to generate energy, repair tissue, deliver nutrients, and even fight diseases.

Obviously we all have a different style machine – some are slim and fast, while others are larger and more powerful. The type of machine that you have is largely determined by genetics, but that is not to say that we can’t change out some of the rounder, less streamlined parts for more efficient, aerodynamic accessories by using nutrition properly.

The shape and performance of our machine is largely dependent upon the type and amount of fuel that we feed it. I want to give you some guidelines that you can use to properly fuel your particular machine and keep it running as efficiently as possible.
Let’s start with some basics. There are three basic types of fuel, or food that we have access to: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Let’s look at what each of these food types do so that we can understand how much of each one we need.

Carbohydrates

These hydrates of carbon are the main elements that the body uses to store and deliver energy. There are two types of carbohydrates, the simple and complex. Examples of simple carbohydrates are sugars such as glucose and fructose. The other more, complex carbohydrates we recognize as things like starches, cellulose, or glycogen. We get both of these elements in foods such as grains, flour, cereals, pasta, potatoes and other vegetables, as well as things like sugar, honey, syrups or candy. The body uses both to store and generate energy.

Fats

Fats, or more accurately, fatty acids, are basically chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms and are found naturally in most plant and animal compounds. There are three varieties of fats: saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated. Then of course we have the evil trans-fatty acids are basically chemically altered polyunsaturated oils like margarine and shortening. Saturated fats are found mainly in animal products like dairy and meats.   Polyunsaturated fats are found in vegetable oils (corn, safflower, sunflower) as well as fish oils. These are good and may lower total blood cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats are in other vegetable oils like olive, peanut, and canola, and can reduce LDL levels in the blood.

Proteins

Proteins are large molecules made up of amino acids and are found primarily in meats, dairy foods, and some vegetables such as legumes. Proteins are not only the building blocks of muscles and organs, but also create hormones, assist in blood clotting and keep fluids and pH levels balanced in the body.

Balance

So now that we have a basic understanding of the main food types, how much of each one do we need and maybe more importantly, what quality of each do we want to consume? You’ve heard it before, but we want to have a well rounded diet that combines all of these food groups in a balanced fashion. Although the exact ratios of these three food types is widely debated, I don’t think you can go wrong by following some basic guidelines. A balanced diet should consist roughly of 40-50% carbohydrates, 25-35% protein, and 20-30% fats.

First of all, eating high quality ingredients is the most important aspect of proper nutrition. Diets high in natural, unprocessed foods is best, as that is what the body was designed to process. The trend toward more organic eating in the United States is going a long way towards correcting some of the accepted trends that have come to characterize the food industry today. Limiting processed flours, sugars, and even meats is a good idea because it limits the extra, often unhealthy additives that accompany these ‘refining’ processes.

So what does this look like in real-life terms? Let’s take a sample meal for example. A typical lunch should be a good blend of whole grains, high-quality protein, and fat. This could be a nice tuna sandwich on whole grain bread with some mayonnaise, some raw vegetables or maybe nuts on the side, and a glass of water, juice or milk. The idea is to have an element of each of the food groups in the basic ratio outlined above. Does every meal or snack have to meet this ratio? No, but your total daily intake should. You don’t want to have a high protein meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner without adding in the proper ratio of fats and carbs throughout the day.

Caloric intake should largely be dependent upon your activity level. Did you hear that? LARGELY dependent upon activity. It’s real simple – we want to put in roughly the SAME amount of calories that we are expending. Active folks need more calories. Sedentary folks need LESS! Part of our problem as Americans is the ready, almost instant access to food. Pair that with the idea that if we are not ‘full’ we need to eat something, and you have a recipe for dietary disaster.

I hesitate to give anyone specific caloric guidelines, but I will say that virtually all of consume too many calories when we sit down to eat. Think about the average portion size at any restaurant you go to. Cut it in half, save the rest for later – you’ll still be full. I promise. Really. The key to maintaining a good energy supply is regular eating. If you were to eat a small meal or snack every few hours instead of waiting until mealtime to gorge yourself, your metabolism will be more well regulated and your digestive system will have the opportunity to break down all the fuel you just dumped into it.

I have recently made a concerted effort to cut down on my portion sizes, and I’m finding that I’m still satisfied after enjoying a smaller meal. It takes the brain about twenty minutes to get the message from the stomach that it is full, so eat slower and give your brain time to catch up.

I hope that this look at nutrition has been helpful. Remember, the body is a machine that produces results based on the quality and quantity of food that you put into it. If you want to have a well running machine, give it the right amount of good, quality fuel, and you will find that it runs and performs better.

I love playing tennis and working out – a lot. I supplement my on-court time with some serious time in the gym a few days a week so that I can continue to be at the top of my game. I am however, starting to cruise towards the forth decade of my life, and with that comes the normal aches and pains that accompany an active lifestyle. Despite my best efforts to maintain my body and ward off injury, I have developed some nagging injuries. I suffer few chronic back and neck issues that no amount of stretching or working at can seem to ease.

I’ve visited the chiropractor for years, but the issue isn’t spinal related, it’s muscular. I’ve visited my general practitioner on several occasions, the last time going so far as getting a cortisone shot to treat my neck pain. This helped for a few days, but after some on-court time and a few workouts in the gym, the pain was back. Neither of these injuries seem to affect my playing or lifting, but it’s gotten to the point that I’m in constant pain. I decided to give massage a try and sought out someone in the area that specializes in sports therapy and deep tissue massage.

I opted for the special they had running, which gave a discount to first time clients or an hour treatment. The young lady that worked on me was a big basketball player and was really into fitness – perfect match. Anyway, she worked me over for an hour, really kneading into my trouble spots. By the end of the hour, my rhomboid and trapezius muscled were like jello, and a majority of the pain had subsided. She told me I’d be sore tomorrow and to lay off my normal activities until the weekend.

Deep tissue massage has the same effect as stretching. It realigns knotted or twisted tissue in the muscle fibers, promotes blood flow into the area, and can flush toxins from the body. The therapist told me that I had some serious knots in my problem areas and recommended another treatment, which I’ll gladly sign up for. I really realized how much pain and discomfort I had been living with. I can’t wait to see how effective this new therapy is over the next few days – I’ll be sure to post an update.

There has been a lot of talk on the forums lately about endurance and being able to perform late into matches. I thought I’d take the opportunity to address some frequently asked questions and hopefully give you a game plan for taking your endurance to the next level. We all want to be able to go out and enjoy ourselves on the court, and part of that comes from being able to perform when we are on the edge physically.

Now that the temperatures have climbed across the states, we are seeing the results of the training we did in the ‘off’ season. You did train over the cooler months in preparation for playing when it got hot, right? You will need to supplement your on-court time with some off-court time in the slower months, depending on how seriously you take your tennis. If you want to be prepared to weather the heat of summer and wear your opponent down while not wearing out yourself, you need to put in some time to get your body properly prepared for the rigors of summer tennis.

Even if it’s not really hot where you live and play, it’s a good idea to be prepared in the event that you play someone who runs you or you get into one of those marathon matches.  “Chance favors the prepared mind”, they say, and if that’s true then tennis certainly favors the prepared body. You don’t have to train like you’re getting ready to compete in a triathlon, but there are some things you can do to make sure that you don’t run out of gas and hand your opponent the match. No one I know wants to do that!

Cardiovascular Endurance

While it’s certainly important to have strong and fit muscles, people often neglect the hardest working muscle in the body – the heart. The heart NEVER stops working – if it did, you would too. The heart controls the flow of oxygen to your muscles and tissues, which has direct impact on your performance abilities.

You’d be surprised how quickly you can improve your cardiovascular fitness. Fifteen minutes at your target heart rate only three times a week is enough to see improvements. See the chart below to find your target heart rate.

Interval Training

One of the newest fads in fitness these days is interval training. It is popular for a reason – it works! Interval training basically works both the anaerobic (without oxygen) and aerobic (with oxygen) functionalities of the body, giving you the benefits of both methods. While there is a lot of science that can go into this type of training, especially for top athletes, the basics presented here can still be useful to us for our purposes.

One of the best ways to describe this balance is this: “During the high intensity effort, the anaerobic system uses the energy stored in the muscles (glycogen) for short bursts of activity. Anaerobic metabolism works without oxygen. The by-product is lactic acid, which is related to the burning sensation felt in the muscles during high intensity efforts. During the high intensity interval, lactic acid builds and the athlete enters oxygen debt. During the recovery phase the heart and lungs work together to “pay back” this oxygen debt and break down the lactic acid. It is in this phase that the aerobic system is in control, using oxygen to convert stored carbohydrates into energy.” 1

I’m not going to list or recommend any examples of interval training here, as you should consult a professional so that your specific physiology can be assessed before beginning this type of program. These are intense workouts and you should always ensure that you are approaching them with knowledge and safety in mind. Interval training can drastically improve your sports performance and overall health, but I highly recommend consulting a physician and a knowledgeable, certified professional trainer before beginning this type of training.

I hope these tips have been useful and that you will incorporate some form of off-court training into your tennis routine. Tennis is a great sport and is great exercise, but the more you play, the fitter you need to be in order to maintain your body’s health and increase your performance level. Be sure to incorporate at least some additional exercise so that your court time is more enjoyable!

Keys to Playing when it’s Hot

• Proper pre-hydration
• Continued hydration – day of event
• Frequent breaks – find some shade
• Stay covered up – even a white t-shirt provides a SPF of 15
• Add an electrolyte beverage after 45 minutes to an hour of exertion (Gatorade cut with water is great – about a 1:1 ratio)
• Watch out for the symptoms of heat exhaustion and STOP exercising if they present themselves!
  • Cold, clammy skin, paleness
  • Heavy sweating
  • Muscle cramping
  • Tiredness, weakness, dizziness
  • Headache or nausea, vomiting

Sources

1 – http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/tipsandtricks/a/Intervals.htm

Today I want to discuss one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of getting and staying in shape: motivation. It seems to me that this is one of the hardest things that we need to overcome in order to maintain this wonderful organic machine that we know as the human body.

By now, if you are not aware of the benefits of regular exercise, you must not have turned on a TV, read a magazine, or fired up your internet browser in over three decades. We all know that regular exercise can decrease the likelihood of many ailments that come from carrying too much weight on your frame. It also improves lung capacity and function and can aid in maintaining bone health, to name just a few. So why aren’t’ we a nation of extremely healthy individuals? We have ready access to proper nutritionally balanced foods, advanced exercise techniques, and gym access. You can belong to a gym where you can exercise virtually twenty-four-seven for the paltry sum of ten dollars a month. If you have a TV in your home, you can turn it on and get at least thirty minutes of quality instruction daily, if not hourly.

I am convinced that the issue is a mental hurdle that many fail to overcome. The simple fact that our lives are so packed with work, home, school, or familial concerns in our modern era is foregone. We are so adept at packing in so many things in the course of a day that we easily justify our lack of physical expenditure with claims of mental fatigue or exhaustion.

In comparison to times past, many of us in fact expend a mere fraction of the energy that our forefathers did in the course of a day .We for the most part don’t have to raise or harvest our own foods or make a living by the sweat of our brow. I would proffer in fact that our lives are exponentially more sedentary than even just a few generations ago, and our national obesity figures would almost certainly back that claim up.

Now that I have your attention, I hope to get you to take a realistic look at the hindrances that you encounter on a daily basis and how you can overcome them in order that you may ingrain in your psyche not only the desire, but the habit of regular physical conditioning.

Believe me, if I had this mastered, I’d be writing a book and raking in lots of dough. I certainly struggle with the issue of successfully motivating myself to get a workout in at least twice a week. I’m guessing that you and I encounter similar thought patterns when we begin pondering the issue of going to the gym, running in the park, or simply taking a walk after dinner with our families. I don’t pretend to offer a magic formula that will get you up and out the door or at least off the couch every time, but I do however think that I’ve learned a few things over the past fifteen years of hitting the gym at least a few times a week that can and will begin conditioning your mind towards that end.

Let’s start with the facts:

One, we know that exercising is good for us.

Two, we know that it requires a physical expenditure of energy.

Three, we know that we always feel better after we actually work out.

Four, we know that there is at least 30 minutes in every day that we could devote to getting a quick workout in.

Five: Any activity that elevates the heart rate or challenges the muscles over a twenty to thirty minutes time frame is a GOOD workout!

Let’s now look at some perceptions: One, “I don’t have enough time to workout.”

How much TV do you watch in a day? An hour, two hours, thirty minutes? If we were to replace just one thirty minute show with the same amount of time exercising three times a week, we would be a long way toward reaching our fitness goals. Heck, you could even exercise while watching your favorite television program! I know this is a foreign concept to many younger folks today, but how much time do we spend reading? Yes, people still open paper books and read them. How much time do we spend plugged in to the internet weekly? Talking on the phone? The point is, we will make time in our lives weekly and daily to do what we deem important.

Perception number Two: “I don’t belong to a gym, so I won’t get the best results.”

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Many top level gymnasts train with nothing but their body weight and a pull-up bar. There are several new fitness videos out there that require nothing more than a set of cheap dumbbells or resistance bands. If you have a local park nearby, there are certainly trails, hills, and some even have fitness tracks complete with workout stations and even instructions! Push-ups, squats, or running require nothing more than a pair of tennis shoes.

There main challenge for most everyone, myself included, is how do we make exercise a priority for us? I’ve gotten some good feedback from some of you here as well as some folks that I know, and I am seeing a recurring theme. People either lack the drive or dedication to get up and participate in something beyond their favorite recreational pastime, whether it be tennis, running, cycling, or water polo. Most folks resort to the standpoint that they just don’t have enough time to exercise. That or they don’t feel the drive is pressing enough to get them up and out and doing.

Over the years I have seen many people in and out of the gym and in various degrees of fitness level and dedication. Some folks get in the groove for a while, see some results and decide that is enough for them. They then proceed to follow their old habits and negate all the work that they previously invested. There are those that take some fitness components to the extreme, getting into bodybuilding and building massive amounts of muscle, or finding other gymnastic pursuits including cardio, spinning, boxing, or other focused disciplines.

Making exercise a regular part of your weekly routine is going to take work. Early on in the process it may come easy as the muscle soreness and fast gains in strength may be enough to keep you going. As the days, weeks, and months wear on however, our resolve may weaken and you may find yourself slipping into those old, not-active habits. So what are some ways we can keep our drive to exercise fresh?

One: Find a fitness partner.

This is perhaps the single best (and most difficult) steps to being consistent in your efforts. If you can find a like minded person that can join you in your fitness journey, it will be harder to say ‘no’ to getting a workout in with them. Accountability counts for a lot, and having another individual who is on the same page with your goals is an invaluable way to stay on track. This may be a difficult task, but if you can develop that relationship, it will be invaluable for you both.

Two: Keep a fitness journal.

What is written and recorded is accomplished. If you can begin journaling your efforts, you can not only ‘keep score’ and feel good about the regularity or your efforts, you can start to recognize trends in your regimen that could allow you to plan your workouts around your life. Gains and milestones will be recorded and serve to motivate you towards the next hurdle.

Three: Make short term goals.

If you set the bar too high, it may seem unattainable and your drive may peter out before the goal is reached. By setting short term, achievable goals, you will begin ingraining feelings of accomplishment and success that will serve to keep the fire lit and fan the flames when turning towards the next challenge. Make the goal one more pull-up than last time, running one more tenth of a mile, making it to the gym one more day a month, or something similar that you KNOW you can do. Don’t be afraid to push yourself (within reason) to the next level, even if is it only a little farther! These small successes will keep you motivated to accomplish something new, and before you know it, you’ll be so far down the path of fitness that you won’t even be able to see where you started!

In closing, we want to make fitness part of our lifestyle; something that is one of our attributes; something that helps define us as a person. You will be healthier, happier, have more energy, and hopefully live a longer, higher quality life when you are in shape or at least getting there. Don’t take ‘no’ for an answer form yourself and don’t be satisfied with the status quo. Make the decision to make positive changes in your life that will constantly challenge you. Trust me, your results and victories will fuel themselves and you’ll be amazed at what you can do!