Alfonso Moretti of Angry Trainer Fitness

You know if you had asked me this question a few years ago, I would’ve lied – but I promise it wouldn’t have been intentional. For those of you who don’t know me, my roots are in weight lifting and amateur bodybuilding. The truth is that all those years I thought I was working out to be healthy, but honestly it was really just for the “look”. And I did look fit, but was I?

The honesty of the situation is that nearly no one exercises for health or to improve his or her functional fitness. What’s the main reason for starting a program or following a crazy diet? The answers are simple- reunions, weddings, get-togethers or just to fit in skinny jeans. Seriously, who reading this post started a program based on its cholesterol lowering effects, or because it would reduce your risk of injury throwing the trash out, or even just because you wanted to feel better? Ok, now how many of you started a program or follow certain workouts or diets because you want bigger arms, a rounder butt, slimmer legs or a flatter belly? I’m guessing there’s a lot more people raising their hands in the second group.

But have you ever thought about what exercise really is? Here’s a tip – it’s not designed to change how your body looks. Yes I know that’s how we approach it and what we’ve been taught to believe. What it is then? Again the answer is super simple. Exercise is a replacement for the natural activity we would be getting if we didn’t have supermarkets full of food and had to hunt and gather meals to eat. If we didn’t have homes to live in, we’d need to build shelter and upkeep it on a daily basis. And without modern transportation, we’d have to walk or run everywhere to get anything done. In essence we’d be calorie burning – fine tuned mechanical machines. We NEED to exercise because none of those things are necessary anymore, and as consequence our bodies get no routine maintenance. Well, unless you workout of course.

Now, with that said, I too like to workout to change how my body looks. I enjoy having a toned body and looking like I’m fit. But I’ve also changed my training to be sure that I am actually fit and healthy. So I use a variety of training protocols including use of kettlebells, weights, calisthenics, resistance bands, balance training, stability and core conditioning and everything in between. In fact I even go to the playground with my kids and use the monkey bars, slides, swings and everything else there. It’s a great functional workout. What good is looking fit if you can’t balance on one foot or have a cholesterol level of 300? Looking fit and wearing skinny jeans isn’t enough- you must be fit and healthy or it means nothing.

I always suggest people to choose big exercises and modalities that give more bang for the buck. When you train for health and fitness improvements, a better looking and feeling body is inevitable. But the reverse isn’t necessarily true. Sure biceps curls and butt lifts may make muscles appear to be fit, but in actuality they don’t do jack for your fitness or health. Do you see my point? I’d rather see you perform step-ups, one legged squats and modified pull-ups or Swiss ball roll outs to build real, functional strength and conditioning. This is a key point that most trainees miss out on, mostly due to the fact that they’ve never really thought about it. They don’t see exercises for what they really are, which are questions. Each exercise provides you with a unique answer as results, so the more questions you ask, the more results you’ll get. The fitter and more well – rounded you’ll be. Get it?

At its core, exercise is a stimulus that’s designed to force your body to change for better health and fitness. So next time you think about trying a new exercise, program or diet, ask yourself “ What am I asking of my body”. If your answer is better health, fitness and functionality, you’re good to go. If the answer is to get you looking good for a reunion in 10 weeks or beach ready for an upcoming vacation, you may want to re-evaluate your thought process and exercise selection. Remember, your body is miraculous and will oblige your requests if you nourish it properly and give it enough rest. But you need to ask it the right questions, understand?

 

Alfonso Moretti, aka The Angry Trainer is a 20-year personal trainer and owner of Angry Trainer Fitness, a website dedicated to spreading “Fitness Fact Not Fiction”.  He’ a regular contributor to Men’s Fitness and Discovery Fit & Health, is a Sears Fitness Advisory Board Member and proud FitFluential Ambassador. More recently, Shape Magazine online named one of his exercise videos a Top 10 on YouTube

Find him on Facebook or Twitter to get regular updates and tips on fitness, health and nutrition.

I wonder what motivated THIS guy --- Wikipedia Author: Otto Acron

Last night I was unable to sleep, which is unusual these days. I was thinking of all the things I needed to do this week. Some felt only like tasks. Like errands and bill paying and appointments. But then there was other stuff.

If you live much of your hours online there’s the updating and posts to tweet and pictures to pin. Seems we’re always documenting our every moment. So I started to think about why.

Some of the things that came to mind made me feel I needed to ask myself some questions.

So I made myself a little checklist to sort of check myself and my motives.

I asked…

Is this necessary for work?

Translated: Am I required to do this by the people that pay me or the people that I committed to doing something for?

Is this positive and helpful?

Do I feel that I’m contributing something worthwhile and purposeful?

Will it affect someone in a positive way and add good to the community?

Or is it really just about me?

Ouch.

Do I want people to think I’m awesome? Do I want people to tell me I am?

Ouch. Ouch.

Usually I find when I am wanting to self-promote it’s because I want to elevate myself. If I elevate myself, where does that leave others? It’s a something inside myself I don’t want there. What’s funny about it, even if it feels good for a moment, it sort of feels yucky afterwards. Kind of like eating too much pizza or cake. You almost can’t stop yourself in the moment, but it’s a bit nauseating in the end.

How is this related to health and fitness?

With a new year came new goals. Goals are awesome and necessary to accomplish important things in our lives.

But even health and fitness can be fueled by intentions that might not be so healthy.

Our insides motivate us to make choices for the outside. But fitness and health can be two very different things. Fitness can be just about me. How I look to myself and how others think I look. That can actually fuel unhealthy eating patterns to keep body fat low, and it can ultimately lead to health problems.

But health says I care.

I care about my health because when I’m healthy I can contribute, uplift, support, and motivate. Healthy means vibrant and energetic and full of life. When I see my health as something other than about promoting me, it becomes a lifestyle and part of who I am. It drives me to elevate someone else like the love of my life, my kids, my friends, and my peers.

I’m making a commitment to check myself every morning for motives. I know I’ll fall short at times. I’ll shovel in that greasy piece of pizza.

But I’m hoping that eventually it will become a part of a healthy lifestyle.

Do motives come to mind when you go through your day? Or does it really matter?

A great way to vary your workouts

The 28^th of February marks 19 years of marriage for me and the Viking, as he’s become affectionately known by a few of my online friends.

During the last 20 years we’ve spawned two daughters and have encountered, like most couples, a gazillion obstacles along the way.

Recently someone asked me how we’ve stayed together so long, and although the Viking might chime in with “it’s cheaper to keep  ‘er,”  I really think there’s a certain factor that’s gotten us this far.

What’s Fitness Got to Do with It?

There’s always that initial attraction in the beginning, right?

Twenty years ago we met in the health food store I co-owned on Maui at the time and I asked if I could help him find anything.

He said yes.

It was windsurfer/surfer girl meets hockey player doing security for one-half of the infamous duo Milli Vanilli.

Yes, I said Milli Vanilli.

He loved to watch me windsurf and I loved to watch him skate. Although we were from two different worlds, it was a common thread.

Sharing the Ups and Downs

Relationships seem to ebb and flow. Sometimes you can feel so connected with a person that you seem to share the same thoughts. When they hurt, you hurt; when they’re happy, you’re happy. Other times, you feel like you come from two different solar systems.

But for whatever reason, through all of it, we’ve become each other’s support system and biggest fan. We share health and fitness info, check to see if the other got in their workout, and make fun of each other when we eat crappy food.

We try to motivate each other to be as healthy as possible. Not perfect, but healthy. We realize that one day, one is going to hold the other’s hand while they leave this life. We want as much time here together as possible. Somewhere along the line the commitment to healthy living became much more than just how we look. It became who we are and what has weaved us together.

Taking Fitness Beyond the Mirror

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in ourselves that we don’t realize how much being there for someone else can be the catalyst for a lifestyle change. We can read all the articles and links on Twitter and watch vlogs everyday, but until we tap into something deeper, something that becomes intrinsic, every feeling and life obstacle will threaten to push us away from what is truly good for us to be whole and healthy.

So if you’re here reading this post it’s likely you are interested in your health or someone else’s health that’s in your life – your child, your friend, your parent, the love of your life.

If you haven’t really committed to a healthy lifestyle, what do think might be stopping you beyond time and money? Is it undervaluing your worth as a person, or maybe allowing someone else to undervalue you? If you have made a lifestyle change, what do you think caused the change of heart?

You might also find mildly entertaining : How Getting Fit is Like Getting Married

"Soooo glad I drank that hemp protein smoothie!" Image by greyloch via Flickr

Yesterday in the A.M., when I should have been working out like my pal MizFit, I was sitting on my duff watching the Today Show.

There I was mindlessly enjoying my coffee when on came a segment called “Celebrity Diet Secrets to Get Red Carpet Ready.”

I filled my coffee cup up again for this one.

Here’s the video for those with an attention hopefully longer than mine.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I liked the healthy food stuffs they talked about, so that wasn’t the issue for me. The issue for me was the connection they were making between the perfectly perfect celebrity in the gorgeous Vera Wang custom-made dress and the suggestion that, somehow, their love of juicing and hemp protein powder smoothies was how they looked so fantastically perfectly perfect.

It wasn’t the…

Personal trainers

Personal chefs

Personal assistants

Stylists

Spanx

Facials

Botox

Designer dresses altered to fit them perfectly

It was so unrealistic to me to suggest that the average woman with bills to pay, kids, and a full-time job that doesn’t afford them the luxury of most of those things, can look red carpet ready like the celebrities who do “just a few little things” to look that gorgeous. I get that being in the public eye as celebrities are requires them to invest a lot into presenting an image. But why are women who are not celebrities encouraged to shoot for some sort of ideal?

The more I thought about it, the more I thought about the images women are shown as an ideal. Who could ever measure up to it? Why would we want to? And who are we doing it for? Who decided what the standard of beauty was anyway?

So please tell me, am I off base here?  Or did I just roll out of the wrong side of bed as Negative Nancy? Am I taking it all too seriously, or do you think there’s an unrealistic expectation on women and the media tends to exploit it? And if there is, what can we do about it?

Paul Steele - BaldHiker.com

One of the people that inspire me most when it comes to achieving goals is my friend Paul Steele. Over the last 3 years I’ve had the pleasure of watching his adventures; but more than the adventure itself, I’ve been inspired by his heart as he accomplishes what he sets out to do. He has the uncanny knack for making you feel like you’re part of it all instead of just sitting on the sidelines.

From the desk of Paul Steele ….

I dream, I make them goals. I have a goal, I go for it no matter how long it takes or whatever tries to knock me down. If something does take me back a peg or two I like to readjust the goal or dust off and start again.

Let me take my passion, trekking, or more specifically a mountain climb. I have stood at the summit of many many mountains large and small. I have enjoyed each one equally whether it be in glorious sunshine, freezing rain, snow or whether it be over 20,000 or under a thousand.

(L) High on Aconcangua, Argentina (R) At the summit of El Teide, Tenerife

I have took this opportunity to think back and I sincerely realise that standing on the physical top is a brief moment in my memory. What I remember more vividly is the amazing things en route, for instance:

The people I was with.
The funny or learning conversations.
The smiles and laughs.
Wonderful sights.
The good it is doing my health and fitness.
Getting away from it all.
Being with myself.

This list can go on and on. I hold these memories close. Without the mountain top these things would not have happened.

(L) Well earned beer half way back down Kilimanjaro (R) TweetupandHike Team enjoying Northumberland

On a journey to another country, it was not just travel from point A to B. A trip to Australia showed me the huge and different experience of Dubai airport on the stop over. A trip to Norway introduced me en route to a person whom is now a great great friend. The chances and possibilities are endless, only because I was heading for something not because I was already there or had done this and that.

(L) Snow Scooter Safari - Alta, Norway (R) Treading across a glacier, the French Alps

It is always a pleasure to see someone with goals, of any form. They are on a journey, it could be a diet, it could be fundraising for charity or to finish a project by the weekend. As I look through the Twitterstream I see people aiming for allsorts. The caring, sharing, and honest of them will look back, smile and remember the journey fondly and regret they reached the top already.

More guest posts from Paul Steele on Freaking Fitness:

Climbing Big Mountains For Charity

Climbing Mount Fatty? How to Get to the Top

Image via Wikipedia

Somewhere years ago someone said to me, “If you expect nothing you won’t get disappointed.”  At the time I thought it jaded and negative. But now I see the wisdom behind it.

Thank you, whoever you were.

During the holidays we fret about all the unhealthy food, drinks, and skipped workouts. Gaining 5 pounds over the holidays would be horrible right? I’ve always been of the mind that focusing on the negative of what you can’t have during the holidays is an unhealthy way to deal with the onslaught of feasts. After years of experiencing all kinds of strategies to deal with the holidays, along with a gazillion suggestions from experts and gurus, I’m convinced all our indulging isn’t really the unhealthiest part of the season.

If only the holidays were like fantasy football

Unlike fantasy football, we don’t get to pick who’s on our team. Some get a team of just the loveliest of family members. But we all seem to have one of those stories to share about a get-together that went bad. But maybe the problem isn’t the family we have.

Maybe the problem is the expectations and wanting the perfect family.

My daughters and I had this discussion recently. We were doing the “wouldn’t it be great if” and “if only we could” conversation. I realized that probably most of my life I wished for things to be a certain way — the fantasy of the house filled with lots of family members, wonderful smells from cooking hearty meals, and loud laughter and boisterous chatting while everyone enjoyed each other’s company, grateful and happy. I kept looking for that holiday, waiting for it to happen. We try and try to make people fit our fantasy and we’re in love with the idea of a movie-like holiday experience. And when we don’t get it, we’re deeply disappointed.

Part of a healthy lifestyle is taking care of our emotional selves. Being unhealthy emotionally manifests itself physically in ways we might not even realize. We can make unhealthy choices in picking the wrong partner, career, friends, places we live — along with food and exercise.

Stress effects your whole being. Stress has negative effects on your

Brain

Emotions

Teeth and Gums

Heart

Lungs

Stomach

Skin

Hair

Muscles

Immune System

For me, when I avoid trying to change things I can’t and work on positive changes I can make in my own life, I notice I begin to experience peace. I can physically feel the stress leaving my body and a sense of well-being come over me. I notice I crave fewer unhealthy foods and feel energized to do physical activity. But it’s a daily exercise and a mental muscle that I need to work on continually. By giving up control and expectations, I begin to enjoy and be grateful for what I have, and I don’t find myself trying to fabricate the fantasy. That peace gained is contagious and spreads to the inner circle of family and friends.

The healthiest holiday is the one filled with peace inside us. Inside is the place where all positive change ignites and motivates us to make daily healthy choices that benefit our total selves. What’s inside, whether bad our good, will always manifest itself on the outside.

Is peace something you seek? Does it seem elusive? What steps can we make that create peace in our lives?

Our tree wouldn't be complete without our Surfer Santa

Like many of you, our family of four likes to make the most of the holidays. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday not only for the meaning it has to me personally, but also for all the local activities geared toward kids. We drive around in our jammies and look at lights, and I even relax my militant “no sugar” attitude. And it’s actually the one time a year I really don’t loathe enjoy spending time in the kitchen cooking.

But I’m finding each year as the holidays come back around and everyone’s hearts seem more open, it’s an opportunity to revisit what matters most. Yes, I know it’s something we need to focus on all year, but I admit, I get caught up in being too busy at times for the truly important things in life.

Over on the Attune blog - the sponsor of this post – I wrote about 5 Holistically Healthy Gifts That Don’t Need Wrapping. Writing that post was a heart exercise. I desperately needed to restore balance in my own life and shift focus towards the people I love and cherish.

I’m hoping you’ll join me and share what brings you and your family and friends joy and fills your hearts during the holidays. The more we share our heart gifts with each other, the less important the material ones will seem.

Aside from the drugs, alcohol, and unprotected sex, it was actually a healthy lifestyle.

Here at Freaking Fitness, we’re all about holistic health.

The idea of holistic health might give you visions of tie-dye, patchouli, and the Grateful Dead; but the definition according to the online dictionary is: “A concept in medical practice upholding that all aspects of people’s needs, psychological, physical and social should be taken into account and seen as a whole.”

This implies that if one part is unhealthy, we truly aren’t a healthy person. We might have a healthy body-fat percentage, eat a perfectly balanced diet rich in nutrients, kick some cross-fit butt, and complete marathons; but if we’re polluting our hearts and minds, are we really making healthy choices?

That takes me to the thought of drama.

There are different kinds of dramas. First, there’s the kind that happens to you and you don’t really have much say in the matter, and then there’s the kind that we choose to participate in.

Choose.

I love that word.

I can blame at least half of my life blunders on that one.

What we choose to participate in can undo all the healthiest of intentions we have for the other parts of our life. That’s especially true for a visit to

Dramaville.

5 Questions Before You Go

Like trying to decide if it’s a good idea to hit the Krispy Kreme drive-thu, a bit of self-searching can often save us from a decision we might soon regret.

1. What’s my gut telling me?

You ever had someone ask you to do something that in your gut you knew you shouldn’t do? You felt uneasy and maybe a bit scared? I tell my daughters to ALWAYS listen to your gut. If your gut says no, there’s probably a good reason.

2. Is the conversation productive FOR ALL INVOLVED?

Some people just like to hear themselves talk. That’s okay, if the conversation is generally beneficial. But beware the life-sucking convo that, as you participate, makes you feel your inner light going out. When your emotions start the downward descent, it’s best to bail. My friend @MizFitOnline wisely made that decision as an online drama unfolded. She couldn’t have predicted the negative behavior of some, and when she knew in her gut it was time, she stopped the about-to-be-downward spiral. From my perspective, it was not only wise for her sake, sanity, and emotions, but it was also a wise and compassionate decision that benefited her community.

3. What’s the ultimate purpose?

Is the conversation to illuminate an injustice, spark change, or just rant? Is it to be part of a crowd? Or is an issue you always have felt strongly about?

4. Will I take the high road under all circumstances?

Trolls. They’re part of online life. They’re not going to go away. Unlike a conversation with a few close friends via a phone call, texts, or even emails, once you put yourself out there it’s online forever. Would you be proud a month, a year, 10 years from now if you read it? Are you fine with your kids reading it, or maybe their friends telling them what you wrote? Imagine the “Dude,what’s your mom (or dad) been smoking?”

5.  Am I willing to live with the consequences?

Consequences come in only two flavors. Good and bad. If what you wrote gets turned around and interpreted in a way you didn’t intend, are you willing and ready for what may happen to your life, your brand, your relationships, and ultimately your health?

What do you do before you take on an issue? Do you think about it or do you dive right in?

Please share your wisdom!

Do your kids think they're actual members of the family? Image by Elliot Trinidad via Flickr

If you’re like many parents and caregivers of kids, you’re concerned about your kids’ eating healthy. It’s a daily battle for most of us. Throw in a busy schedule and you find yourself grabbing what’s most convenient. Convenient trumps healthy most of the time. We choose what we think is the healthiest option in the moment, or maybe, even worse, just anything as long as they eat it.

In our family there are more toss-together healthy salads and super simple recipes that take 30-45 minutes on most days. Like most of you, our family schedules are often unpredictable and family dinner together is now mostly just on weekends.

That’s why over at Attune Foods I shared my after-school special, a quick chicken recipe that my kids love and kicks any McNuggets . . .erm. . .nuggets! Along with a yummy dip for dipping, it can be a snack or meal. Add some carrot sticks and it’s dipping heaven.

My theory is that by making the healthiest food available at home, a quick not-so-healthy meal here and there will be the exception and not what my kids are living on. Sometimes kids will even surprise you and make healthy choices on their own by watching your good example. That’s the best reward we can ask for!

*** To help you make this yummy recipe, and others over at  Attune Foods, I’m giving away Attune coupons. Leave a comment sharing a healthy idea and I’ll send you five!! Each one is for one free product! Check out Attune Foods product page and Children’s Nutrition FAQ’s and  learn more about their great products including gluten-free and probiotic options.

** available to USA only

Coupon giveaway ends 11/20/2011 11:59pmCST.

Image via Wikipedia

Today I was over at @JackSht’s blog, seeing what shenanigans he’s been up to recently. If you don’t know Jack (sorry it was just too tempting) you can read his guest post 25 Ways to Improve Your Crappy Life here at Freaking Fitness and you’ll know why I would actually dare to use the word shenanigans.

What I read today on his blog was something that so deeply spoke to my heart about the struggles of weight loss. I read through his journal entries and felt his struggle.

It’s so true about walking in another person’s shoes. You just don’t know. You can’t know. You only know what your journey is like.

It made me think of all the advice we read everyday about weight loss. Even if we all read that advice at the same moment, we all filter it differently. Each day is you, me, waking up with an individual set of life circumstances – baggage we lug around and the voice in our head speaking to us. Sometimes it’s a “I’m gonna kick butt” day.

Sometimes it’s not.

Jack’s post reminds me that everyday is somewhat unpredictable, but that also means it’s full of opportunity. Opportunity to forget any of yesterday’s failures but still “ride that lightning bolt” of the day’s successes.

Waking up knowing that we can’t control every aspect of our lives is a little unnerving to me. But really it’s like a rainy day. You can wish that everyday be full of sunshine, but you’d never see a rainbow.

Each day we need to embrace our own successes, no matter how small, and use them for fuel for our own unique journeys.