The workout has three recommendations of pushups per day based on your initial test. 21 pushups puts me in the highest column and I’m happy about that. Later today I’ll start things off. I’m really looking forward to this challenge. It’s a simple, easy way to build strength. It takes virtually no time to complete so there are no excuses.

I’ll be reporting back frequently on how I’m doing. I encourage you to join me on the challenge and share your results!

The challenge is simple, commit to a six week program and by then end of it be able to perform 100 consecutive pushups. The program requires about 30 minutes a week. I’m not sure about you but I have 30 minutes a week that I can spare to increase my fitness and strength levels.

There is a sister site to this workout Two Hundred Situps.

Today I’ll complete the initial test for each of these and on Monday I’ll begin the challenge. I look forward to posting the badge in six weeks.

I encourage each of you to try the challenge.

I have a 5 month old son and recently he’s decided that sleeping through the night is not something he wants to do. This has left me challenged about when to sneak in some time to exercise.

The funny part of it all, the reason exercise is so important to me is my son. I want to be healthy and be able to play with him as he grows. Yet, at this point in life he is one of the toughest obstacles blocking my ability to exercise.

What to do?

Well first, the gym is out of the question. I don’t have the money or the time to travel and invest in that type of a workout.

This leaves me with working out at home. I discovered a great workout at Men’s Health that can be done from home. The routine is simple enough and I have all the equipment required to perform it.

However, I still have my initial challenge and that is time.

Time is without a doubt our most precious commodity and my son and job require the prime hours in the day. When he’s in bed, I’m exhausted and a workout is not what I want to do.

So I have decided to adapt.

That’s right, I’m taking control of my destiny. Rather than struggle to maintain a routine around which I can exercise, I’m going to use my son’s routine to my advantage.

My son loves the Jolly Jumper. Normally, I use this as 30 – 45 minutes where I can take care of some odds and ends. What I’ve realized is that my son is exercising in the Jolly Jumper and I should too.

He loves it when we interact and bounce around while he’s jumping. So that’s what I’m going to do. For the 30 – 45 minutes he is in the Jolly Jumper I will be doing the following:

1. Crunches and other Ab exercises
2. Jumping up as high as I can
3. Heisman’s (more jumping)
4. 180’s (yet more jumping)
5. Prisoner Squats
6. Forward Lunges

In addition to this working my muscles, much of these exercises are aerobic especially when done as a circuit. This will allow me to gain a cardio workout as well. The other advantage is that many of these exercises focus on the large leg muscles which demand more energy, aka more fat burning.

Finally when the little guy is done jumping I begin my arm workout.

1. First I do shoulder raises with him
2. Then bicep curls
3. Finally push-ups

Rinse and repeat and my workout is done. My son will have had the joy of dad bouncing around making goofy faces. I’ll have found a new way to bond with him and will be getting the exercise I desire as well.

Of course, I need to keep up with him.

photo credit: greggoconnell

The New Year is here and with it comes all your hopes, dreams, and weight loss resolutions. 

As I mentioned on Tuesday’s post, I’ve tapped Tom Venuto from Burn The Fat to provide his predictions for the New Year.

I hope you enjoy the article and find it as inspiring as I do.

Happy New Year! In this article, I’m going to predict your future and forecast exactly what kind of results you’re going to get in the next 12 months. Sylvia Browne, step aside… I’m pretty good at this.

Several years ago, a public relations firm in New York City asked me to write an article for one of their publications about fitness trends and predictions for the coming year.

It turned out that my “crystal ball” was pretty darn accurate. I nailed most of the predictions I made about aerobics classes, yoga, core training, “holistic” approaches, online personal training technology, the baby boomer market, increasing obesity and many other subjects.

I do confess, it wasn’t that difficult, because instead of just guessing, I actually did some research on industry statistics and I also had some “inside insights” because I’d been a health club manager for so many years and was privy to fitness business trends.

This year, instead of making predictions for the whole fitness industry, what if I could take out my crystal ball again and predict with 99% precision exactly what kind of results you will achieve with your body by the end of the year?

Well, no problem, I can do that too!

I would claim that I have some kind of “gift” for this, but to be honest, you and I don’t need to be psychic to make predictions like these.

There are two things you can always count on: (1) Nature’s laws of cause and effect, and (2) human nature.

On that basis, here are my 20 fitness predictions for the new year:

I PREDICT that if you can reach into your pocket on any day this year and pull out a card or piece of paper with all your body and fitness goals written on it in vivid detail, the odds are 95 to 1 in favor of you achieving every one of those goals before the year is out.

I PREDICT that if you focus your thoughts on your goals and how you are going to achieve them, all day long, you will reach your goals so fast this year, it will make your head spin.

I PREDICT that if you focus your thoughts on health woes and body fat problems and if you think about what you don’t want, all day long, your problems will get worse than ever this year.

I PREDICT that if you made a new year’s resolution, but you didn’t turn it into a specific, written goal with a deadline and a strong reason why you must achieve it, you will freely abandon it the moment the going gets tough.

I PREDICT that if you can tell me all the reasons why achieving your health and fitness goals are important to you, you will be motivated from within to stick with it when the going gets tough.

I PREDICT that at times, the going is going to get tough.

I PREDICT that if you can tell me today what is your life purpose and what is your lifelong vision for your body and your health, you will still be as motivated and driven at the end of the year as you were at the beginning.

I PREDICT that if you don’t have long term goals and a “big picture” vision for your life that you will lose your New Year’s enthusiasm and motivation in a matter of months or even weeks.

I PREDICT that the way you see yourself in your mind’s eye today will be an exact reflection of what you see in the mirror at the end of the year.

I PREDICT that if you have a setback that seems to get in the way of you reaching your health and fitness goals and you tell yourself “this just is temporary; this too shall pass,” then it will pass and it won’t set you back.

I PREDICT that if you believe the way your body looks today is out of your control and you feel helpless or powerless to change, you won’t even make much of an effort this year.

I PREDICT that if you accept complete responsibility for the way your body looks today and you believe that you have the power to change, that you will take action and keep taking action, even through the tough times.

I PREDICT that if you’re unhappy with your physical condition and you say, “it’s not my fault” or you blame it on genetics, hormones or age, then your body will look pretty much the same at the end of this year as it did on New Year’s day.

I PREDICT that the more you have patience, a long term perspective and the ability to postpone immediate gratification, the more likely you are to be a success one year from now.

I PREDICT that the more you seek “miracle pills” or “quick fixes,” the more likely you are to be a failure one year from now.

I PREDICT that you will be tempted by many quick fixes this year.

I PREDICT that if you hang out with losers and negative people this year, you will become just like them.

I PREDICT that if you hang out with winners and positive people this year, you will become just like them.

I PREDICT that you will run into more negative people and losers this year than positive people and winners.

I PREDICT that if you recruit just one friend or support partner that stands behind you and the lifestyle changes you want to make this year, you will double your chances for success. If you surround yourself with numerous support partners, you will become virtually unstoppable.

So how does your future look for the year ahead?

Based on my “predictions,” if it doesn’t look as bright as you’d like it to be, then don’t worry, because a prediction is not predestination.

You can’t do anything to change the past, but by changing your thoughts, attitudes and actions in the present moment, the future is yours to create.

Your friend and coach,

Tom Venuto

To see a complete fat burning system that takes you by the hand, step by step and shows you what to eat, how to exercise and how to stay motivated, all year long, visit:Burn The Fat

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified personal trainer and freelance fitness writer. Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: Burn The Fat.

This revelation can be frustrating and extremely discouraging. To shed some light on the issue I’ve tapped my affiliate partner Tom Venuto from Burn The Fat to explain how going another year with no results can be avoided.

Be sure to read on Friday when I’ll provide another great article by Tom where he predicts your fitness future!

QUESTION: Dear Tom: I’ve been going to the gym for the past year now, but I have only lost 2 pounds. I eat about 1800 calories a day and I do 3 cardio and 3 weight training sessions a week. I am 5 feet 5 inches and 128 lbs. I would like to be at 120 lbs.

To lose 8 more lbs isn’t a lot to ask, but I’m really frustrated. I’ve been VERY persistent, and I rarely cheat except once each weekend, but at this rate, it will take me another 4 years for me to reach my goal! Please help!

Vicky

ANSWER:

Don’t worry, it won’t take another 4 years! In fact, you can reach your target weight within the next month if you start getting feedback, charting results and making some strategic changes to your program.

First, it’s important that you understand how a year could go by with almost no progress.

Have you been doing the same nutrition, same calories, same cardio, same weight training and the same intensity for the entire past year with no changes? If so, then you shouldn’t be surprised if you’ve continued to get the SAME results (very little).

If you do more of the same, you usually get more of the same.

Caloric intake, for example is not something you calculate once and then never pay attention to again. Calories have to be calculated and customized for each individual in the beginning and then adjusted continuously in “real time” during the course of a fat loss program, based on actual results.
Just because you start at 1800 doesn’t mean your caloric intake should stay there. Calories may need to be increased or decreased depending on whether your goals, your body weight and your activity levels change and based on your weekly progress (or lack of).

Which brings me to another point. I am a huge fan of using progress charts. There is a saying in business management and sports coaching:

“What gets measured gets done.”

When you start “keeping score” and tracking performance right down to the numbers, it’s almost miraculous how this awareness of how you’re doing translates into improved results.

When you track your body composition results every week, if a week or two goes by with no results, then you don’t continue with more of what got you no results, you change some variable in your program immediately!

An old Turkish proverb that says,

“No matter how far you’ve traveled down the wrong road, always turn back!”

Of course, you don’t have to throw out your entire program, you can simply “tweak” ONE or maybe two variables within the same program.

Also, when you measure, track and analyze muscle versus fat (body composition), instead of just scale weight, you might even discover you’ve gained some lean body mass and this offsets the drop on the scale (which means it’s possible you made more progress than you thought).

Now, back to the calories. To break a plateau, you can take a reduction in calories, or an increase in activity, either of which will create a deficit if you are currently in energy balance, or increase your existing caloric deficit.

1800 calories may not provide a large enough deficit for some women, and in fact, the majority of women your height, weight and activity level usually are losing fat safely and successfully on 1500-1600 calories per day. (for men about 2200-2500 calories, avg.)

At the end of the day, fat loss boils down to calories in versus calories out, so if you plateau, you may need a simple calorie reduction, provided you don’t restrict too low for too long (which tends to trigger your body’s “starvation response.”)

As for your cardio program, 3 days a week of cardio works for many people, but usually, I would consider three weekly cardio sessions a maintenance workout or at best a starting point for beginners, NOT a “maximum fat loss” program.

Example: this week, you could increase your cardio from 3 sessions to 4 sessions. If you combine the decrease in food intake with an increase in calories burned through activity, that will almost certainly get you burning fat again.

If it does, then stay with 4 days a week of cardio. If not, the next week go up to 5 days a week. Repeat this simple “feedback loop” process as many times and for as long as necessary.

Also remember that more (often) is not always better. You can also increase the intensity and get more calories burned in same amount of time. This feedback loop process can be used to make decisions about your training intensity, duration and type, as well as frequency.

Whichever strategy you choose to break the plateau, remember Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity:

“Insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”

Although this seems like common sense to some people, what happened to you is really quite common because it does appear that you’re doing everything you’re “supposed to be doing” with perfectly good intentions.

You have all the key elements there: You’re exercising (weights and cardio). You’re watching your nutrition, and you’ve been disciplined and consistent in following it.

The trouble with many popular programs – even good ones – is that they are too dogmatic. Their entire program may revolve around “X” number of calories, “X” days per week of cardio and “X” days a week of weights….

And you’re not allowed to “tamper” with that “holy grail” formula.

I can understand the rationale for a simple diet and exercise prescription for a beginner in order to not confuse them with too many choices, but what if it doesn’t work after a month, three months, six months, A WHOLE YEAR? What if there are no options, what then?

In NLP, there’s a principle, (borrowed from cybernetics), called The Law of Requisite Variety, which says,

“The person with the most flexibility is the person with the most power and the greatest chance for success.”

You need to know what to do when you’re not getting results… you need options and choices for breaking plateaus, and that’s important because plateaus happen to everyone – including me.

Some people think that hitting a fat loss plateau means there’s something wrong with them. But plateaus are natural and normal. In fact, you could look at it this way:

Hitting a plateau means your body is healthy and your body is functioning normally, because normal function of the body is to adapt effectively to stress, to protect you and to maintain homeostasis.
Exercise is a stress. Dieting is a stress. It’s natural for your body to adapt to them. When you adapt, you must place a new “positive stress” on the body if you want continued improvement.

If you want to learn more details about how to change your program to break plateaus and make continuous progress as fast as safely possible, then I recommend you take a look at Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle (BFFM).

BFFM has flexibility, feedback and performance tracking built right into it. Chapter 4 in BFFM teaches the “BFFM feedback loop method”, and shows you how to chart progress and adjust your diet and workouts on a weekly basis, to keep you making progress or get you back on track if your progress stalls out.

There is no reason to allow even a few weeks, let alone an entire year to go by without results. But you can’t expect to get different results if you continue doing more of what’s not working.

Keep after it! Be persistent… but also be flexible!

Your friend and coach,
Tom Venuto, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Burn The Fat

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and a certified personal trainer (CPT). Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using methods of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: Burn The Fat.

That’s why I’m glad I discovered Tom Venuto and his Burn the Fat plan. It’s a no no nesense guide to a healthier life. In the article below Tom shares the top 5 tips to keeping weight off for good. The reality is loosing the weight is the easy part, keeping it off is the daily battle. I hope you enjoy the article. 

Listen To Maintainers, Not To Losers: 5 Secrets To Keeping The Weight Off For Good

I have very little interest these days in all the media-hyped stories of dramatic, rapid losses of body weight. “Big losers” don’t impress me, for numerous reasons. For example, weight is not fat. “Weight” could be composed of mostly lean tissue, or it could be mostly water weight. In fact, I would go a step further and point out that rapid loss of bodyweight correlates very highly with a greater chance of relapse, weight re-gain and long term failure.

So what does impress me? What gets my attention?

I pay attention to what the “long term maintainers” have to say – those are the people who have maintained an ideal weight for over a year… preferably even 2-5 years or more.

The difference between losers and maintainers

As I was researching the subject of long term weight maintenance recently, I was surprised at the huge amount of research that’s already been done in this area.

One paper that caught my interest was published by Judy Kruger and colleagues in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, titled,

“Dietary and physical activity behaviors among adults successful at weight loss maintenance.”

This was not an experimental study, but a compilation of data from the “Styles Survey” which was representative of the U.S. population and asked respondents questions about strategies to aid with maintaining an ideal weight.

In this particular survey, only one-third (30.96%) of the respondents said they were successful at keeping their weight off. The researchers wanted to know the difference between the small group that was successful and the majority that were not.

Both groups reduced the amount of food they consumed, they ate smaller portions, more fruits and vegetables, fewer fatty foods and fewer sweetened beverages.

Not really any surprises there, but what we want to know most is not what losers and maintainers have in common, but what the maintainers did that the losers didn’t.

Some major differences emerged between losers and maintainers:

First, a significantly higher proportion of successful maintainers reported exercising 30 minutes or more daily, and they also reported adding other physical activity to their daily schedules (recreation, sports, physical work, etc). In addition, more of the successful maintainers included weight training in their exercise regimens than did the losers.

Reducing sedentary activities (TV watching, etc) was also a significant difference between those who successfully maintained and those who did not.

The next big difference that separated the successful maintainers from the unsuccessful was in their “self-monitoring behaviors” including:

• tracking calories
• tracking body weight
• planning meals
• tracking fat
• measuring the amount of food on their plate

Unfortunately, these types of self-monitoring behaviors, especially weighing and measuring food and counting calories, are among the most avoided and even criticized weight control techniques. Some weight loss “experts” even claim that it’s detrimental to count calories, weigh yourself or measure and weigh your food.

However, these self monitoring behaviors are being identified more and more frequently in the research as part of “the difference that makes the difference.” I agree, and they have always played a major role in my own Burn The Fat program.

A final difference was that people who reported self-perceived “barriers” to their success were 48-76% less likely to be a successful maintainer.

For example, they said they had no time to exercise, they were too tired to exercise or it was too hard to maintain an exercise routine. I interpret this as: the unsuccessful losers were excuse makers!

THE TOP 5 STRATEGIES TO BE A SUCCESSFUL MAINTAINER

So let’s recap and turn these research findings into some practical action steps you can apply today.

1. Increase your total daily activity level, including formal exercise as well as sports, physical work or recreational activity. Exercise improves weight loss, but more importantly, it is critical for weight maintenance.

2. Decrease sedentary recreational activities by cutting back on TV watching, computer games and web surfing. Take up physical recreation such as sports, boating, biking, walking, hiking, gardening, physical hobbies and playing with your kids, if you have them.

3. Include weight training as part of your formal exercise program, throughout the fat loss phase and even more seriously during maintenance.

4. Track and monitor everything! Count calories and nutrients, measure your portion sizes, weigh your food, plan your menus in writing and monitor your body weight and body fat percentage.

5. Avoid excuses and maintain positive beliefs and attitudes towards your environment and what you perceive as “barriers.” For example, say, “I can always make time for what is most important to me” instead of, “I don’t have time to exercise.”

If you’re currently on a fat loss journey, and you want to know how good your odds are for being a successful maintainer, it’s pretty easy to predict using these 5 strategies. If you’re not using all 5 of them yet, then when would be a good time to start today?

There are limitations to survey results such as these, including the fact that they are cross sectional, and therefore cannot prove causality. However, I believe these findings are important and significant.

Not only do they confirm previous similar studies and agree with the findings of other groups of successful maintainers (such as the National Weight Control Registry), I found that these results match precisely what I’ve seen among my most successful “Burn The Fat” clients.

THIS is the type of advice I’d suggest you listen to the most: Advice about how to lose body FAT, not body WEIGHT, and how to maintain an ideal bodyweight and body composition over the long haul, not how to lose weight as fast as possible.

Your friend and coach,

Tom Venuto
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com

P.S. There was one more “difference that made the difference,” in this study, and this one may surprise you (although it didn’t surprise me). Successful maintainers were LESS likely to take over the counter diet products (pills, etc).

About the Author:

photo credit: Enid Yu

In the words of Brett from 6 Weeks “fail early, fail often”. That’s been the story for me these past weeks when it comes to exercise.

Now in all fairness I believe that Brett advocates learning from those mistakes. While I am in favour of that idea, I just haven’t been able to put it into practise. I just can’t get back on that horse.

It’s the most bizarre thing! I have a desire to be in better shape, I don’t want to be an tired old man when my son is ready to play ball. So I think it’s time to change things, yet I haven’t been able to put that motivation into practice. I don’t want to be a heart attack waiting to happen when I’m 50, yet I do nothing.

Now understand that I don’t eat poorly, my diet is fairly balanced. I have a weakness for snack food, but I try to limit myself. I’m also not in bad shape, I know people who are worse. However, I don’t want to slide down this slope. I fear that if I keep going things will only get worse and then it will be a truly monumental battle to fix.

I realize all of these things, yet I have done nothing.

As I write this I wonder, what type of a kick in the pants do I need?

I know what is required, I know how to eat healthy, what exercise to do. I don’t need to read a book to learn ‘how’. I know how.

I also know why I want these things, I’ve outlined it above.

I have come to the realization that I know where I want to be, I know what is required to get there. I have a road map if you will. What I need to do is break it down. I need to get very specific regarding the process.

What I need to do is set tiny goals. On his blog Brett lists his weekly objectives, one of them is “Exercise! Exercise! Exercise! daily”. He’s created a list. That’s what I need to do, create a list combined with small daily goals.

This takes me back to my post the other week on SMART Goal Setting. I need to create specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time sensitive goals regarding exercise.

So here they are:

• Specific: I will be working out to Tony Horton’s Power Half Hour. I already own it so there is no capital to be spent.
• Measurable: I have some weight to loose, I’ll monitor this on a weekly basis (no I’m not sharing the numbers, at least not at this point).
• Achievable: I’ve experimented with this workout series in the past, I know it’s on a level I can handle.
• Realistic: Working out 5 or 6 times a week for 30 minutes each is realistic.
• Time: Thirty minutes a day, 5 or 6 times a week. I will continue this for a 3 month period and then I will review my progress to make adjustments.

This is achievable. With some perseverance I will succeed.

I may fail on occasion with exercise, but I hope that I am done with failing often.

If you want to burn off fat and keep it off permanently, there are a few things you absolutely must do, and a new study from Wake Forest University has just uncovered another one…

Previous research has concluded without a shred of doubt that high levels of exercise are one of the keys to keeping fat off and maintaining your ideal weight. In this new study just published in the October 2008 issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, researchers found for the first time, proof that the drop in physical activity that happens automatically during calorie restriction is directly correlated to weight regain.

We’ve known for some time that when you restrict calories, your level of non exercise physical activity (non exercise activity thermogenesis or NEAT), drops spontaneously, even if you don’t realize it’s happening.

Your physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) also tends to drop when you restrict calories.

Basically, when you cut calories, you get sluggish, you move your body less, you don’t feel like exercising and if you do exercise, you do it with with less “gusto.”

This means that unless you intentionally counter this tendency by pushing yourself to keep active and keep up the intensity, despite your low calorie intake, your weight loss will slow down automatically as you continue with caloric restriction. (can you say, “fat loss plateau?”)

The new twist to this story is that in this latest study the researchers followed up on the subjects through the maintenance period – with 6 month and 12 month checkups.

This is significant, because most fat loss “success stories” are reported immediately after the weight loss phase, but you never know what happened to them afterwards.

Not surprisingly, it wasn’t much of a “maintanence” period… almost everyone regained most of the weight.

The surprise was WHY they regained back the weight and WHO regained the most…

The drop in physical activity during the diet was directly related to the weight regain after the diet!

The researchers wrote,
“The greater the decrease in physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) during the energy deficit, the greater the weight gain during the follow up.”

“That won’t happen to me,” you say? Think again. That drop in activity usually happens unconsciously. It’s part of the “starvation response” (or “weight-regulating mechanism” if you prefer). Your body tricks you in countless ways, in order to restore energy balance and stabilize your weight.

If you believe that diet alone is the answer or that you can skimp on the training, you are shooting yourself in the foot and thinking short-term.

When you extend out your time frame to a year or longer, you get a whole new perspective.

For years, I have been imploring my readers and subscribers to “burn the fat” with higher levels of exercise – strength training AND cardio training – while “feeding the muscle” with a higher intake of clean food, instead of simply “starving the fat” with low calorie diets and little or no exercise.

“Eat More, Burn More”… “BURN The fat FEED the muscle.” those are the mottos you want to remember.

Can you lose weight without exercise? Of course. Just be sure you have a dietary-induced calorie deficit. Is it the best way? Not by a long shot.
Bottom line: If you want to MAXIMIZE your fat loss, and keep fat off permanently, it is imperative not only to keep up a high level of energy expenditure (BURN calories not just cut them), but also to make a conscious effort to make sure your activity level does not drop as you lose weight during the calorie deficit.

If you’d like to learn more about this effective and proven approach to fat loss: “eat more, burn more,” then please visit my “Burn The Fat” website at www.BurnTheFat.com

Train hard and expect success,
Tom Venuto
Fat Loss Coach
Burn The Fat

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified personal trainer and freelance fitness writer. Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: Burn The Fat

photo credit: kevindooley

I finally bit the bullet and started exercising. Since my son was born I’ve been living for him, which is how it should be. However, my own health has been suffering due to my eating habits going down the drain. Gone were healthy balanced meals and in was anything that came out of a box with zero prep. The effects were damning. My weight went up and my suits got tight. With a newborn in the house the prospect of buying new suits is not appealing. Nor is it in the budget.

The response then is to begin eating properly and to start exercising again! Last week began with a gradual shift towards healthier eating. You can read about that here. This week I began exercising. Right now I’m just using some old DVDs that I found around the house.

What I’m really looking for is a solid workout routine. Something that is simple, doesn’t require a large investment in equipment and can be modified. Sounds like a tall order, but I’m sure I’ll be able to track something down.

The other component I’m looking for is a good nutrition or eating plan. My thought is that 80% of fat loss is directly related to diet. I’m already working towards eating healthier, but I’m not a professional in this area so any expert advice I can find is useful.

Finally, if this is going to be successful I need goals. Without something to measure my progress against I won’t know how successful the program has been.

1. Shed my belly fat. I’ve been carrying around this spare tire for too long and it’s finally time for it to go.
2. Drop 20 lbs in weight, the healthy way.
3. Commit to exercising everyday.

How do I plan to reach these goals?

1. Start small. While I’ll be exercising daily, the intensity level will be low in the beginning. This will allow me to break into the routine and allow my body to adjust.
2. Consistency. I just need to keep at it.
3. Spousal motivation! This is my favourite part, my wife is on board. We’re going to be working out together. What’s better is I’ve shared my goals with her and she has promised to support me in achieving them.
4. Consistency.
5. Continue to eat healthy, eliminating the crap from my diet. I was fairly good last week, but fell off at the end. I need to stay strong and push past the cravings.
6. I need to remember that I’m not happy with my current physical condition. I’m out of shape and if i carry on down the path I’m on I’ll be at risk of heart disease and who knows what else. Not the future I want for myself.
7. I have a vision in mind of what kind of physical condition I’d like to be in.

Keeping these last two goals in mind will help to keep motivated and on track. I’ll keep you posted.

If you have any exercise tips or programs let me know.

photo credit: hoyasmeg

Exercise is the one area’s of my life that I know I need to improve on. I understand the benefits of it and I enjoy the results. However, I find I don’t enjoy the process and I make every excuse possible to avoid exercise. One of the sure fire ways to succeed with exercise is to have a partner. I’ve always found that having someone to motivate you and help track progress made it easier for me to get into the gym or go for that jog. However, having a workout partner isn’t always possible. While browsing Newsweek today I discovered the following article, Four Ways to get Physical – Digitally. It illustrates some of the new innovations with technology that allow us to bring our workout partner to us.

The Newsweek article illustrates four ways that technology has revolutionized the way we look at exercise. Increasing the Fun Factor, Connectivity, New Ways to Compete, and New Ways to Track. However, I feel the real success of these technology innovations is how they develop community while encouraging physical activity.

There is no denying that Nintendo’s Wii has revolutionized the way families view video game consoles. With Wii Sports and Fit families can play different sports and engage in activities which boost the heart rate, work on balance and hand eye co-ordination. The greatest part is it’s fun. While I wouldn’t recommend any of these as a serious exercise plan, they do encourage families and friends to engage in physical activity together. The great part is it helps build up the feeling of community.

In addition to exercising with family and friends, you are also able to compete! My wife and I play Wii Sports from time to time. We enjoy the playing tennis as a team, however my wife loves to knock me out in boxing! She usually does too! She has a really good left hook, I never see it coming. My wife is a very competitive person so the ability to beat me and have results tracked appeals to her.

The reality is that they develop community far beyond just the immediate family and friends. With the Internet we’re able to share results with a much wider community. The article highlights the Weight Watchers program that allows users to send in food eaten and exercise to supplement their program. This allows members of the program to share their accomplishments instantly with the rest of their group. It allows for a form of instant gratification.

The Newsweek article provides an interesting look at how technology is providing innovative ways to exercise. Now, if you’ll excuse me I think I’ll see if I can win a round of boxing!