CategoriesFemale Training

The (New) New Rules of Lifting for Women

I’ve stated this in the past on numerous occasions, but I’ll say it again:  I (and the fitness industry in general) owes a huge debt of gratitude to Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove for writing The New Rules of Lifting series.

I believe there are five books in total; two more and JK Rowling will have to look over her shoulder.  But it’s the second in the series – The New Rules of Lifting for Women – co-written by my good friend, Cassandra Forsythe, that holds a special place in my heart.

You see, the fitness industry is kind of funny.  Not funny “haha,” but rather, funny in the sense that its done a fantastic job of confusing the hell out of people.

It seems every week another fad diet or workout gadget or gimmick makes a splash on television or on the New York Times best seller list, and does nothing more than throw more fuel on the “who’s right/who’s wrong, and what the hell am I supposed to be doing?” fire.

Or, maybe the more appropriate analogy would be throwing more napalm on the fire.  Heck why not go for broke and just say it’s a nuclear bomb of bulls***!

Yeah, that works.

For example, here are some doozies I “stole” from personal trainer Nate Palmer from his Definitive Guide To Weight Loss:

Rule 5: On day 8, 14, 19, and 27, it’s important to recover vital minerals by eating 32oz of nut butter. However, to maximize electrolyte intake and to put your body into “fat burning mode” the nut butters must be eaten by hand.

Rule 8: To keep oxidants at bay, blend 1 dark chocolate bar and 2 cups of blueberries into a bottle of red wine. Apply generously to the skin before going outside. This will dispel the suns harmful rays and eliminate cancer causing radiation from your cell phone.

While you and I know better and understand Nate’s being a bit facetious with his tone, I have to say:  I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there are people out there who are that gullible and would take such advice to heart.

Furthermore, it wouldn’t surprise me if there was some website or book or DVD out there that would advocate such things.

It’s the nature of beast nowadays with information so easily accessible.

By that same token, training is no different.  There’s certainly no shortage of opinions out there as to what’s the ideal way to train:

Should we train on an empty stomach, and will doing so turn us into an Olsen twin?

Is CrossFit really the bees knees?  I mean, not being able to feel the right side of your face after completing a circuit of 47 clean and jerks followed by a 2-mile jog while holding a 25 lb plate over your head (for time) is normal, right?

Are body-part splits better, or is it more advantageous to perform full-body or upper/lower splits?  How about right leg, left arm days?

Is it better to bench with the arms 16 inches apart using a 5321 tempo, or 14 inches apart with a 4442 tempo?

It’s crazy talk, right? What ever happened to just keeping things simple?

See that barbell over there?  Go pick it up.  Repeatedly.

A few days later, add a little more weight.

Hell, why not live life dangerously, place the barbell on your back, and squat it!

There you go.  Simple.

But that’s the rub: The water gets a bit murky when you start talking fitness with women.  While many out there “get it,” and understand that there’s really no inherent difference as to how a man should train opposed to a woman, it’s dumbfounding how many people cater to the fears that many (not all) women have towards fitness.

In a weird, ass-backwards kind of way, it’s almost like we live 100 years in the past where women we expected to stay in the kitchen and weren’t allowed to vote.

What’s next……allowing them to read!?!!?

Heresy!!!!!

Lets Turn Off the Stupid

We all know there’s no shortage of gurus out there who seemingly “specialize” in training women, but really do nothing but placate into the fears that many have towards strength training – telling women that they shouldn’t lift anything over 3 lbs or else they’ll grow an Adam’s apple, for example.

Which is why I feel I’m indebted to Lou, Alwyn, and Cassandra for writing The New Rules of Lifting for Women.  No other resource, in my opinion, has done a better job at giving women no-nonsense, infalible, researched (and real world) based information that works.

In more ways than one they turned off the stupid, muted all the chaos and noise, and brought people back to the middle where things make sense.

And with that, today I’m stealing a page from their book (figuratively, of course) and starting a new “series” where I provide some of my own “Rules of Lifting” for women.

Although to be fair – and to provide a bit of warning – there will be times where I won’t be so “nice” or careful with my words.  I believe everyone needs a dose of “tough love” from time-to-time.

The idea of this series stemmed from a conversation I had recently with a current client who, upon getting engaged, wanted to up the ante as far as her training is concerned.

A woman’s wedding is kind of a big deal. Akin to a young boy dreaming of the day when Optimus Prime comes blasting through the front door and making him an honorary member of the Autobots, a young girl dreams of the day when she finally starts planning for her wedding.

I can’t say this is the exact case for my client, uhhhh, Kate Upton, yeah, that’s who it was, Kate Upton, but I’m going to play the law of averages and say that she’s been waiting for this day for a while now…..;o)

After congratulating her on her engagement, we started talking “game plan” for getting her into rocking shape for the big day.

Not like it’s any surprise, but in the time that she’s been training at Cressey Performance (about a year and a half), she’s done her fair share of deadlifts, squat variations, push-ups, Prowler pushes, med ball throws, and a litany of other stuff most people hate.

She’s made phenomenal progress in that time, and in many ways, I’ve made her a gym snob.  On an almost weekly basis she’ll come to train at CP and tell me some story about some trainer at her gym doing something asinine or how she saw the most god-awful squat technique.

It’s enough to bring a tear to my eye.

Which is why I was caught off-guard when she told me that she had started adding in some quick 10-15 minute bicep/tricep circuits with ten lb dumbbells throughout the week.

Perplexed, I asked “why?”

“You know to get my arms in shape for the wedding.”

More or less this was my reaction.

I kinda gave her “the look,” as if to say, “really, did you just say that?”

Of course I was understanding.  On one hand I couldn’t knock her for wanting to do more.  I was proud of her, actually.  This is someone who, when she first started, wasn’t sold on this whole strength training thing, and it was a struggle to get her to buy into doing the OPPOSITE of what she’s always been told to do.

“What do you mean running on the treadmill for 45 minutes, four times per week isn’t the best way to lose fat????”

But on the other hand, I asked her “do you really – I mean really – think performing those cute arm circuits with something that weighs less than your purse is going to have any effect?”

Again, to reiterate:  I was proud of her. Here she was asking me my advice on what she could be doing to get more exercise in, and of course I told her that doing something was better than nothing.  I understood where she was coming from. I was just bummed that she reverted to her default setting of “light weight, high reps for long, sexy, lean muscles.”

Which brings us to one of my (New) New Rules of Lifting for Women:

1 Chin-Up, 5 Push-Up Rule

Until you can perform one, clean, dead-hang chin-up AND five, clean, chest-touches-the-floor push-ups, you have no business performing isolation bicep and/or tricep work.

The way I explained it to “Kate Upton” was that the total muscle involved, calories being burned, and overall work being done by the body to get to the point where you can perform a chin-up or push-ups for reps trumps ANYTHING you would ever be able to do with a pair of pink dumbbells.

Put another way:  the EFFORT it takes to do a push-up or chin-up (or work up to that point) is where it counts.

That is what’s going to make those arms smokin hot!

And I know there will be some women reading who can’t even come close to performing either.  That’s fine!

Like I said, making the appropriate adjustments and fine tuning things to implement the proper progressions would be a far more valuable use of your time.

Chin-Up Progressions for Women: The One Rep Hump – Part I, Part II, and Part III.

As well, I’m not opposed to tossing in some TRX (or any suspension training apparatus) into the mix here.

And as far as push-ups are concerned, I’m not a big fan of “girl push-ups” where someone performs them off their knees.  Instead I’d rather elevate them so that we can get the full benefit and then progress as needed:

Taking things a step further, you could also use THIS cool push-up progression using a resistance band.

There’s really no excuse that can be used here.  You can do push-ups anywhere.  And you can easily hook up a chin-up bar or TRX in the doorway in your house or apartment. Or, if you’re really a badass – in your office at work.  But that’s contingent on whether or not you have the coolest boss in history. Like someone who doesn’t filter your web access, lets you wear cool t-shirts to work, or lets you leave early on Fridays.

But, if YOU’RE the boss then it won’t matter now will it?  Get it done!

In any case, hopefully most reading can appreciate my logic.  Do you agree?  Have any of your own “rules” to add or want me to expound on in future installments?  Share your comments below.

And, if you could, “Like” this post and share it on your social media.  The more we get this kind of message out there, empower women and give them confidence, the less likely I’ll want to swallow a cyanide pill.

CategoriesFemale Training Strength Training

What To Expect (In the Gym) When You’re Expecting

Okay, I know what some of you may be thinking: What does someone who burps out loud, hates The Notebook1, and pees standing up know about the female body, let alone guiding and training someone through what’s arguably the most precious, magical, and delicate time of their life?

Well, first off:  Not for nothing, I took health class in 9th grade, so I know were babies come from Mr. Smarty Pants.  For those who don’t know, when a man and a woman love one another they place a note in a bottle and throw it into the sea.

Eventually a mermaid reads it, sends her pet seahorse to the Galapagos Islands where he then relays the message to Henry the stork. And wah-lah……a baby arrives nine months later.

Don’t argue with me, it’s science.

Secondly, more to the point (and a bit less tongue-in-cheek), in the ten years that I’ve been a strength coach I’ve worked with and trained a number of women through their pregnancies, and since two of my female clients are currently less than three weeks away from “go time” I thought I’d share some of my own thoughts on the topic (as well as those from people who reached out through this blog).

Admittedly I have a strong viewpoint on this topic and recognize that not everyone will agree with me (and that’s cool). But it’s my hope that this post at least opens up the conversation and helps encourage people to think outside the box.

For me there’s a massive dichotomy between what I do and what most (not all) of the research says we should be doing.

Obligatory disclaimer: every pregnancy is different; each woman needs to consider her own specific situation.

No one should be made to feel guilty or lazy if they need to take it easy; the health of the baby and mother are paramount.

While it definitely comes down to the individual, their comfort level, listening to their body, as well as their past training history, I find it somewhat disheartening that there are health professionals out there (both primary and tertiary, as well as many of us in the fitness realm), and even more articles, that suggest that “training” should revolve around light walking and what mounts to folding laundry.

For me, when I’m working with someone who’s expecting, it’s about preparing them for something a helluva lot more significant than lifting pink dumbbells, or for that matter anything I’ll ever have to do.

I mean, I think it’s an accomplishment when I can shave my head without missing a spot.

In my eyes, if they’re able to grow and push a human being out of their body, they’re capable of lifting a barbell off the ground.

Sometimes even over their head.  Repeatedly.

But let me be clear, and this is going to serve as the proverbial umbrella of the entire conversation:

It ALWAYS comes down to one’s comfort level.

Regardless of one’s experience in the gym, whether they’re a seasoned veteren or a newbie, I always tell them to listen to their body.  After a few hundred thousand years of evolution, the human body is pretty smart and will let you know when it’s pissed off or doesn’t like something.

Now, I’m not insinuating that every expecting mother out there should go out and try to hit deadlift PRs on a weekly basis or snatch a mack truck over their head.  But I’m certainly in the camp that feels we can offer a lot more than simply telling them to “go walk on the treadmill” or what mounts to playing patty cake for shits and giggles.

As an example, here’s CP client Whitney G performing some heavy(ish) deadlifts at roughly 32 weeks out.

And I say “heavy(ish)” because the weight in this video is no where near her best effort, but is still a heckuva lot more impressive than what many non-pregnant women throw around.

 

To that end, because this is a gargantuan topic, and because my head is spinning at several different directions, and it’s something that I couldn’t possibly cover in one simple blog post, I’m just going to shoot from the hip and list things out in random order.  I like lists, so whatever.

1. Before I begin I’d be doing a huge disservice to the discussion at hand if I didn’t point people in the direction of Cassandra Forsythe and Julia Ladewski, both of whom are two very strong (and very smart) females who have written extensively on women training through their pregnancy.

Just do a search on both their sites (linked to above) and you should have no issues finding quality information.

On that same front, if anyone reading has any high-quality websites, blogs, or general information they’d like people to know about PLEASE link to them in the comments section below.

Julia Ladewski

2. Just to give you a little insight into the type of information being regurgitated out there:  one of the females that I’m training right now has a friend who told her that when she was pregnant, her physician recommended that a great way to get more protein in her diet was to pound milk shakes.

Many women fall into the trap that, “well, you’re eating for two!”  Granted, there’s no doubt the metabolic demands of the body increases when another human being is growing inside of it, but lets not get too carried away here.  Most of the research and material I’ve read says that an increase of 400 kcals per day is more than enough to cover one’s bases, and to ensure adequate fuel for the body and the growing fetus.

Giving that a little perspective, 400 kcals mounts to roughly four (standard) tablespoons of peanut butter. That’s it.

No need to go crazy with a quarter-pounder with cheese, a baker’s dozen from Krispy Kreme, and a liter of Coke. Don’t try to disenfranchise yourself into thinking that just because you’re preggers, means you can go bonkers with the calories.

Just a little dose of “tough love” there to get things started.

3.  While the topic of nutrition is HIGHLY individual, when in doubt stress protein. But really, I don’t care what side of the fence you preside on:  low carb, Paleo, Vegetarian, Vegan, or whether you only eat foods that start with the letter Q (I can’t of more than five off the top of my head).  The important thing to remember is to provide adequate calories, and try to keep them to as many whole, nutrient dense, un-processed foods as possible.

4.  Take your fish oil.  If you’re already taking fish oil, take more of it – but be sure it’s a HIGH-quality fish oil.  If you choose not to participate in strenuous exercise just to be safe and to keep your mind at ease, that’s perfectly fine.  But it doesn’t make much sense (in my eyes) to do that, only to nonchalantly buy some generic fish oil brand that’s sky high in mercury levels and other toxins.

The nutrients you take in are the same one’s your baby are taking in, so if you’re going to go out of your way to supplement with fish oil – and you should – you might as well do yourself a favor a buy a high-quality brand that has a potency of 50% or higher.

5. If I’m going to be honest, I’d have serious reservations working with someone who has limited experience in the gym or is new to me.  Having a sense of rapport is crucial in this context, as both parties involved have to have quite a bit of trust in one another.

But that isn’t to say I’d turn my back on someone whom I’m not familiar with.  I just wouldn’t go crazy with the programming and would keep things as simplistic as possible.  In keeping with the above mantra:  it all comes down to what THEY’RE comfortable with, but that doesn’t mean we can’t introduce new exercises and drills that are going to have many more far-reaching benefits down the road.

In this scenario, I’d maybe stick to more basic exercises like Goblet squats, TONS of core stability work (think Pallof Presses), teaching a proper push-up pattern, single leg work, and the like.

It’s not like I’m going to throw them to the wolves and have them performing heavy singles and triples.

Putting things into context, Whitney G (from the video above) has been training with me for three years, and I KNOW she knows what she’s doing – so I feel completely comfortable throwing deadlift and squat variations (and she can still do pull-ups!) into her programs.

Someone with limited experience or that I don’t know very well:  not so much, and I’m going to be much, much more conservative.

6.  Likewise, the same can be said for Cara L, another mom-to-be who’s still training and getting after it 34 weeks into her pregnancy.  Here she is deadlifting 200 lbs for eight reps:

 

Cara’s been training at CP for well over two years now, and she’s been coached very well.  As such, we had no problems staying on task with her training.  Which is to say: while certain “tweaks” and modifications were made trimester to trimester, we were still able to maintain a significant training effect.

And while she’s definitely an exception to the rule, despite being a first-time mom, she never experienced any morning sickness – something she attributed to not flaking on her training.

From Cara herself:

It was hard to find information specific to heavy weight lifting. Most “advice” given about exercise has to do with cardio, probably because that’s what doctors expect most women are doing. In general, there’s an attitude that if you are already fit, you can continue what you are used to. So I made my own decision to continue what I was doing, to the best of my ability, just paying attention to what felt comfortably to me personally. Taking longer breaks, adjusting weights and positions as needed.

Others might think I lift “too much” or let my heart rate get “too high” but I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all limits on what pregnant women should be doing. We’re all accustomed and able to do different things when not pregnant, and I think the same can apply during pregnancy.

7.  By that same token, I don’t want to give the impression that every woman who’s pregnant has to lift heavy things.   There are quite a number of other things to pay close attention to.

Shedding some light here are some thoughts via my blog provided by Laura DeVincent, who’s Pre/Post Natal Certified through FitForBirth:

The first 10 minutes of a session are spent diaphragmatic breathing, which I think is vital for keeping connected with the core. Although kind of awkward to coach, kegals are also important to prevent problems down the road. The next 30-40 minutes are spent on corrective exercise and strength training, and the last 10 minutes are spent interval training.

8.  Expounding a bit further, something else to consider is stretching. Does it have a place? Many women (and fitness professionals) are under the assumption that stretching is an important factor, but I’d actually caution against it in this case.

In fact I’m actually not a huge fan of stretching in general – as most people suck at it, and you’re not actually “stretching” anything anyways (only increasing the tolerance to stretching).  But that’s a debate for another time.

As the pregnancy progresses the body produces more of a hormone called Relaxin, which, as the name implies, makes the tendons and ligaments (soft tissue) more “pliable” as the body gets closer and closer to the due date.

Mirroring our thoughts, Laura notes:

In my experience, most women that are used to doing group ex classes feel nervous doing intense plyometric and cardio workouts, so they love the fact that they can get intense with weight training!

What most women deem “intense weight training” can be left to interpretation, but it stands to reason that contrary to popular belief, weight training can be argued to be SAFER than most other options.

9.  Taking it a step even further, and touching on the whole heart rate issue, my good friend Dean Somerset offered his insight as well:

The big cautions come from not wanting to have large blood pressure fluctuations early on in the pregnancy or having too much of an anaerobic load that would cause stress to the fetus. If the muscles are pulling all the oxygen and not enough is going to the fetus, it can cause some issues, so most cardio is best performed beneath anaerobic threshold, or in short bursts where fatigue isn’t a major factor.

Loading tends to have to be decreased over time due to changes in core stability, pelvic dilation, presence of lumbosacral ligamental laxity, and increasing pressure on the bladder and bowels. It’s cool to deadlift in the second trimester, but something to avoid in the third trimester in favour of squatting, moving from a conventional stance to more of a sumo stance as the pregnancy goes on.

I’m not going to sit here and dis on CrossFit – because there is plenty about CrossFit that I like.  And yes, plenty that makes me throw up a little in my mouth.

All I’ll say is that if you’re someone who’s pregnant and you’re still adamant on going to CrossFit every week (and that’s completely fine), please, please, PLEASE use some common sense and recognize that it’s okay to tone it down a bit and not feel like you’re going to cough up a spleen when you train.

10.  Shedding some more light on this topic, here are some sage words from strength coach, John Brooks:

The problem with training pregnant women is no two pregnancies are the same. With our first born my wife hit rep PRs into the early third trimester, did chins, and lots of unilateral leg work deep into the pregnancy. This latest (due in march) had some complications and bleeding early on, so she was on pelvic rest (which means you can pretty much do somewhere between jack and crap) now she’s back up to some basic body part split stuff. Totally different response to training stress in those conditions.

I’ve worked with a couple other women who didn’t have complications and for me the HR monitor was the key, Keep their HR down below threashold, keep a training effect going, and (especially if this is the second+) no movements that abduct the legs either quickly or under load (if you don’t know why ask your mother).

11.  And bringing everything to a nice succinct stopping point, I want to share one of my former distance coaching client’s, Laura M (whom I trained through her second pregnancy), perspective on things:

I was one of those lucky women you trained through a pregnancy. During this time, I also regularly attended kettlebell classes in preparation for my RKC certification, which I passed 7 month after delivery.

With solid programming Tony that included a lot of heavy compound lifts and modifications where necessary (no barbell glute thrusters), I was fitter at the end of the pregnancy than I had been at the beginning, with a slew of new PRs in my pocket as well – including squats and deadlifts.

My daughter presented in a posterior position (sunny side up), but I only had to go through 20 minutes of pushing — believe me that’s rare. With doctor approval, I was back swinging kettlebells in the gym the day after I was home from the hospital, and I healed like a champ.

Now, I’m not trying to blow sunshine up my own butt, but how many women do you know who are back in the gym a mere day after returining from the hospital?

There’s no way Laura could have done that – let alone even think about doing it – if she had only resorted to yoga classes and basing all of her training sessions around weights that are lighter than the purse she carries around on her shoulder.

12.  Something else to think about is the fact that Laura had a very progressive MD (which is rare, but a breath of fresh air) and midwife, who, according to her, understood that pregnancy is not an illness.

As well, according to her, “I also took a lot of comfort from the wonderful book Exercising Through Your Pregnancy by James Clapp, which examines study after study showing the value of continuing to engage in strenuous exercise during pregnancy.

The book also provides advice for people who go into pregnancy in more of a deconditioned state.

So there you have it:  while not an exhaustive list, and certainly a topic which deserves one taking a more proactive approach into what’s the right course of action for HER, I feel this post provides a rather unique (and dare I say:  anti-status quo) approach to how women should go about exercising through their pregnancy.

I’m in no way saying that my opinion is right or should be considered the gold standard. But I am saying it’s something that needs to be discussed.

But coming full circle, isn’t it funny how people will often scoff or give double takes and question a pregnant woman who’s lifting appreciable weight in the gym, yet not think twice about those who crush a bag of Doritos as a snack?

While there are definitely cases where women have to use their own discretion and recognize what’s best for them (and their child), I’m not one to fall into the overly recognized notion that women (and by extension, pregnant women) are these delicate flowers who need to limit themselves to drying the dishes as a form of exercise.

Weight training and strenuous activity have been around a lot longer than Doritos the last time I checked. And plenty of women have came out just fine.

CategoriesFemale Training Motivational

Want To Really Earn Your Cake?

My sincerest thoughts go out to all of those who live in the NorthEast (particularly New England), and it’s my hope everyone made it through Snowmeggedon 2013 safely and without much incident.

I’m not going to sugarcoat anything: Boston got its butt handed to it, with roughly 30+ inches of snow. We woke up Saturday morning, looked outside, and both Lisa and I were like “whoa!”  After a few cups of tea, about a lb of bacon, a pep talk, and Lisa dressing me up like the little brother from A Christmas Story (I can’t move my arms!!!), I eventually made the trek out to do my fair share of the shoveling.

But being a central New Yorker at heart, and having grown up in the lake effect snow capital of the world, the storm paled in comparison to some of the doozies I experiences growing up.

However, just to give a bit more scope of how much snow we actually got, here’s a picture we snapped of someone’s car completely buried.

I spent a good hour digging out my car, and also did the good samaritan thing and shoveled out the two cars parked next to me as well.  It never hurts to earn some quality karma points in my book!

Anyways, the city was pretty much shut down for two days – no public transportation as well as a ban on driving (and parking) – while plans were made to remove all the snow.

By late yesterday morning (Sunday), all the main roads were cleared, or at least drivable, and most of the side streets were passable (albeit most were one-lane only), which is a testament to the city and all the folks who worked tirelessly to clean things up.

Well done, everyone.  Well done.

My only point of contention – and I realize I’m setting myself up as the ornery jerk here – is that I really wish the recreational runners of Boston would have some freakin common sense.

Now, I have absolutely nothing against runners, and I think any form exercise is better than nothing.

Having said that, while driving to work yesterday, on more than one occasion, I had to swerve to avoid someone running IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STEEET!!!!

As it was, the roads were narrow enough due to the mountains of snow everywhere. And it certainly didn’t make things easier to have to maneuver my car Jason Bourne style around human beings.

What really irked me was the borderline cavalier attitude many (not all) of them had. As if it was perfectly normal to be running in the middle of the street the day after one of the biggest winter storms in more than 20 years.

Okay, more power to them. And I respect anyone who will still go out of their way to not skip a workout.

But have a little feel!

La-la-la-la-la-dee-de-dum-la-la. Oh look!  I-95 is clear!!!  Fartleks!!!!!!!!!!

Likewise, the sidewalks weren’t much better.  Most were very narrow and very icy, yet when walking to the store to get some needed items, both Lisa and I (as well as all the other pedestrians out) had to dodge all the various runners zipping past as if they were getting any benefit for being out there in the first place.  I mean, it seemed like most were attempting to NOT break an ankle rather than trying to maintain a specific tempo.

Would it have killed them to skip one day, or, if they really needed to get their heart rate up, to I don’t know, shovel a sidewalk???

Okay, I’ll step off my soapbox now. Just talking about it makes me want to jump through a window.

Switching gears, the snowstorm served as an impetus for something else, too. Something a little less irritating.  It gave me the opportunity to catch up on some much needed reading.

I was sent a copy of Dan John’s latest book, Intervention, a few weeks ago and unfortunately it was relegated to my “to read later when I have time” pile.

Since I wasn’t going anywhere for the foreseeable future, I decided to hunker down and read a few chapters.

Not surprisingly, I loved it!  I pretty much love anything Dan John writes, and this was no different. And why not:  he has over 30+ year of coaching experience.

While I still have a ways to go before I finish it, there was one passage I wanted to share that really resonated with me and helped feed into my incessant campaign on why I continue to encourage women to turn to strength training in lieu of those lame cardio-pump classes.

And yes, sometimes even running.

Here’s the passage:

Recently, a woman told me her friends can’t make a mistake.

What? Well, what she told me was this: Since they were attacking fat loss with aerobic work and strict dieting, they didn’t have any wiggle room. The woman, who holds herself nearly year-round at a very impressive 19% bodyfat, told me she enjoys desserts, cocktails, BBQs and fine food. But, and this is a big but, she can also do 10 pullups. She is very strong in the weightroom. In other words, her glass is so big, she can afford to cheat a little here and there.

That made no sense to me. Then I watched her train and thought about some other women I work with. When she presses an impressive kettlebell overhead (half her bodyweight with one hand!), her entire system has to gather up resources, and then adapt and recover from the effort. When little Edna at my gym thinks the five-pound dumbbell is heavy, she isn’t going to tax her body very hard.

Edna can’t eat cake.

Ladies: read that again and let it sink in. I’ll explain a few things in a second.

I’m not kidding, read it again.

Now for most, you may be wondering what the whole ” her glass is so big, she can afford to cheat a little hear and there” means.

What kind of glass are we talking about here?  A standard 8 oz glass?  A wine glass?  An Optimus Prime collectors mug I got in a Happy Meal circa 1985?

Well, any glass really. The idea, though, is to make the glass bigger!

This is an analogy I first heard from Eric Cressey in his Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual, and again later on from Master RKC instructor, Brett Jones.

Think of strength as a glass, and the water inside the glass as all the “qualities” we train for:  endurance, strength-endurance, power, agility, speed strength, strength speed, having the ability to somehow take F.O.R.E.V.E.R in the bathroom getting ready, you know, those types of things.

The smaller your glass, the less “qualities” you’re able to express, let alone at a high level.  That said…..

Strength is the basis for everything. 

You can’t be “fast” without having some semblance of strength (or horsepower) in reserve.  You can’t improve your timed mile, or taking a bit further, your marathon time if you can’t generate more force into the ground to propel yourself forward.

The larger you make your glass, the more liquid your’re able to place inside said glass, and the likelihood your performance improves.  Whatever your endeavors may be.

If you’re weak, the glass is almost filled to the brim, and there’s little room for improvement.  And, I’d even argue for those more aesthetically minded:  you can’t even come close to getting as lean as you’d like if you’re weak in the first place.

If you’re someone who’s idea of “working out” is performing endless repetitions of arm circles, curls, and extensions with those cute, 5 lb pink dumbbells – and it’s hard – guess what?

You can’t have cake.

And that sucks.

Conversely, if you’re someone who places a premium on getting stronger (maybe working towards being able to perform ten solid push-ups, or one dead hang bodyweight pull-up, or maybe 1.5x bodyweight deadlift, or something as simple as learning how to squat properly), and you actually place a stress upon your body and force it to, you know, do something…… and do it hard……

……the more “wiggle room” you have when it comes to your nutrition.

While not a concrete train of thought, I think most people reading can appreciate the general tone I’m getting at here.

For example here’s Lisa this past Saturday afternoon while we were snowed in.  While she could have just as easily watched The Notebook or forced me to watch a Julia Roberts marathon, she didn’t.  Instead she spent part of the afternoon randomly walking up to the chin-up bar and busting out some reps.  Here’s her third set of five:

 

Not to brag, but I don’t think there are many women out there who could just casually walk up to a chin-up bar and start busting out reps.

Wanna know what else she can do:

– Bench press 160 lbs.

– Deadlift 225+ lbs for reps.

– Perform 10+ flawless push-ups.

– Teach 4 spin classes per week.

– Read the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy in one week (true story).

– Leap tall buildings in a single bound (less true, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she could actually do it).

Wanna know what else she does:

She feels no remorse when we go out to eat on the weekends and orders a steak (with potatoes) and dessert afterwards.

She also eats out of the bread bowl.  GASP!!!!!!!!!

To her credit:  she works her ass off, and has put in A LOT of hours in the gym to look how she looks.

As Coach John alluded to:  she doesn’t necessarily have to be as “on point” with her nutrition (even though she is) and can get away with a few cheats here and there because she’s STRONG!

This isn’t to suggest that every female reading needs to rush out to their nearest gym and commandeer the squat rack (although, that would be pretty cool).  All I’m suggesting is that it wouldn’t hurt to turn the page, turn off the Tracy Anderson DVD, and start lifting some appreciable weight.

I’m not saying all of this to be snarky, and I hope it’s not coming across as such.  In every sense, I’m saying all of this to EMPOWER you.

For some this should read as a profound epiphany.

At least, I hope it is.

CategoriesFemale Training Motivational

Why We Are the Even Weaker Sex

Today’s guest post comes from someone many who read this site regularly should recognize –  Kellie Hart Davis.

For those scratching their heads, Kellie’s essentially the female equivalent of me except for the slight distinction of being way smarter and much better looking than myself.

Plus, given she’s a copy editor and prolific health & fitness writer herself, she can tell you the difference between an independent and dependent clause, whereas I’m the king of run-on sentences.

So I guess we’re nothing alike- except for our affinity to lift heavy things and to encourage (and to enlighten) women all over the world on why they should do the same.

Nevertheless, this post was inspired by and serves as an adjunct to last week’s post by Emily Socolinsky.

While this is a phenomenal stand alone article in its own right, I’d highly encourage anyone who didn’t read Emily’s post from last to click on the link above before proceeding. Trust me it will be well worth it.

*Cue Jeopardy music*

All caught up?  Good.

Why We Are the Even Weaker Sex

As a kid, I didn’t put much thought into how my grandmother lived.  But now I sit here marveling at the very thought of it. How she accomplished so much in a given day without ever making mention of the work involved.

My grandfather passed away the year I was born. He left her with a modest 3-bedroom home and a backyard garden that would gain approval from Martha Stewart. It hosted an expansive 20 x 5 meter vegetable garden, an apple, cherry, plum, and apricot tree. Bushes of various berry varieties and other types of edible plants.

Below in the basement she stored the finished products of her agricultural ventures.  A cabinet filled with jams, pickled vegetables, and canned sauces and fruits all made with her hands. The freezer held prepped vegetables, potatoes and cuts of meat to get through the winter.

And this was just a hobby. She worked at Colorado State University everyday up to her forced retirement at age 66. Until she was in her late 50’s she rode her bike to and from the printing press on campus (weather pending). This wasn’t the flat terrain of the Midwest. It was Fort Collins, for heaven’s sake. That’s no easy ride.

I remember days as a kid when all my aunts, uncles, and cousin would gather at my grandmother’s house for harvest. The women would sit in lawn chairs shucking corn and beans for dinner while the kids dropped cherries down from the tree and the men pruned bushes.

That was her life for 70 years. She was as strong as an ox, but never made mention of it. She never made noise about how she activated her lats tilling soil or how she had to cut back on carbs in the winter because she was more sedentary.

She didn’t think about it. She just lived everyday knowing these were things that had to get done. So, when I read this recent article titled, “The even weaker sex: Faddy diets and fears that muscles aren’t feminine have left modern women weaker than their grannies,” I nodded in agreement.

Yeah, I can say that my grandmother was indelibly stronger than I ever will be. There’s no shame in that. She was pretty badass. I grow potted vegetables and bake bread in a $300 bread maker that does the work for me. There’s no way I would ever compare to Granny Hart.

What really struck a cord with me: faddy diets and fears that muscles aren’t feminine have left modern women weaker . . .

Is that really it?

My grandmother never thought about dieting or bulky muscle. But she was into Clean Eating™. Tosca Reno would be proud! Grandma was never overly muscular either. She was rail-thin even though she was totally Primal™.

I guess one could argue that modern women have all the luxuries that women in the past never did. Sure, when my dad was a kid they lived on a farm with no running water in the plains of Nebraska. They had to walk to the outhouse in the dark and milk their own cows.

But when I was a kid things weren’t so. Grandma had a washer and dryer, a vacuum cleaner, running water, a dishwasher, and many of the same luxuries that I have. Okay, so she wasn’t totally Primal by this point.

I don’t think it’s the fear of being bulky or eating too much that sends modern women fleeing to the couch with their iPhones so they can tweet their daily macro accountability.

I think it’s an innate fear of all things.

We are a society that is scared shitless of everything.

We’re scared of injury, disease, germs, dirt, robberies, getting hit by cars, concussions, aging, peeping toms, pederasts, guns, not having guns, too much real violence, not enough fake violence, loss of internet connection, Facebook hackers, identity theft, zombies, not having a hot vampire to love, too much carbsfatprotein, muscular arms, flabby triceps, bulky legs, fat legs  . . .

We think so much about what could possibly go wrong in our lives that we live in a state of paralysis. That is why we are weak and lazy. It’s safer to sit around and talk text and tweet about what we think we should do or aren’t going to do rather than unplugging so we can actually do something.

That is the generational difference.  Our grandmothers acted on instinct, doing what they must to make life possible. But now the female mind switches to making choices. We must choose to be active, to eat well. All instincts are gone because life comes in a ready-made package with automated systems.

It’s time to turn off automation.  It’s time to reach deep down in your belly to pull out those instincts. The ones that tell you to move and eat the way that your body was designed to do. To unplug from a world that you cannot touch or hear and get involved in the world that is tangible and interactive.

So be it if you pick up a barbell or plant an orchard. Just be present in your daily life.

Presence is what we are all missing. Never once do I remember my grandmother not hearing my voice because her mind focused on something arbitrary (she wasn’t around when Facebook and Pinterest launched). She was always there with us in that moment. She never talked about all that she had to get done. She just did things, and if she didn’t finish she did them the next day.

When I talk about presence it means to tune out the part of your life that is not actually happening and tune into what surrounds you.  Sounds a bit archaic, huh?

So, going back to faddy diets and fears that muscles aren’t feminine have left modern women weaker.

That’s just our excuse to live in this alter state of reality. To think about how doing these certain things will change our perception of an ideal body.

How we don’t want to do these things because we don’t want the perceived results. If this is so, then don’t do those things. Do other things. No one is saying that you have to deadlift or eat skirt steak. Yes, these two activities rank right up there with finding out Mark Cuban left you a fraction of his estate, but they aren’t for everyone.

That doesn’t mean you should sit in a stinking heap of fear either. Look where that’s getting you—smack in the headlines of a news article that goes on to talk about how you can’t even whisk an egg without hurting yourself.

Is that the legacy you want to leave in this world? Is this what you want your granddaughter to write about on the Internet 30 years from now?

I write all of this not to point a finger at society. I am just as guilty when it comes to not being present in my life at times. I’ve mastered the art of ignoring the world around me by shoving my face into a handheld device or opting out of a weekend activity because I downloaded 3 seasons of Boardwalk Empire.

I write all of this to evoke change within us. All women, including myself. May we finally adopt those skills our grandmothers and great-grandmothers tried to instill in us. A sense of pride in our homes, our bodies, and our lives.

If we take this back and own it, strong will always be sexy.

Author’s Bio

Kellie Davis is a freelance writer and blogger turned fitness coach living in Northern California. She published short fiction and essays in anthologies and literary magazines before starting a full time career as a health and fitness writer. She currently works as a contributing author to several online fitness publications including Greatist and Bodybuilding.com, and also runs corporate health blogs.

In addition to writing, Davis helps women all over the world achieve optimum health as a fitness and nutrition coach. She runs MotherFitness, is the co-owner of Get Glutes and the co-author of Strong Curves: A Woman’s Guide to Building a Better Butt and Body (with Bret Contreras) due out in stores April 2.

CategoriesFemale Training Motivational

A New and Better Butt? Why Not a STRONGER Butt?

Today’s post comes courtesy of my internet buddy, Emily Giza Socolinsky. Some of you might recognize her since I’ve linked to several of her articles in the past. She sent this one my way last week, and after reading it (and doing a few cartwheels down the street because 1) why not? and 2) this article was the bees knees and deserved it) I asked if she would be cool with me slapping in on my site for your viewing pleasure.

I mean, what’s not to love?  She talks about badonkadonks.  More specifically she discusses the outright pervasive attitude that much of our mainstream culture has towards women and how they “should” look, as well as its meager attempts at offering training advice.

To be blunt:  I trust the mainstream media with giving fitness advice towards women about as much as I trust a barber with a mullet.

To that end, this one is a doozy and sends an absolutely wonderful and positive message.  It’s my hope that you’ll read it.

I don’t get women into my gym by promising them a great ass. They acquire their awesome asses as a result of doing goblet squats, split squats, kettlebell swings, step ups, reverse lunges, deadlifts…you get the picture.

I don’t promise them “toned” arms. But they end up with awesome arms from push ups, rows, chin ups, face pulls, presses….you get the picture.

In fact, I don’t promise them anything. They come to me because they want to get stronger. They come to me because they want to move better. They come to me because as one of my clients said to me today, “Because I don’t want to be in pain. Because I want to be able to keep moving this way when I am 90.” And of course, I will not deny the fact that many of them also want to look better too. I am not going to ignore the fact that most women wish they had ______. (You fill in the blank.)

I just want other things to take priority.

Because if you promise a woman a better butt or if you promise weight loss or toned arms and after weeks of exercising, it doesn’t happen as fast as they like, she will be left feeling worse about herself than she did before she started.

I think that these type of promises encourage negative thinking in women. I think that when you focus on body image, you put a woman’s body image before performance, before health, before confidence.  These empty promises encourage a woman to feel bad about herself, not better and honestly, she has enough to feel bad about as a woman. Remember, it is hard enough just being a woman (I wrote about that recently here.)

So in my mind, these types of promises should not exist. It is easier and WAY more satisfying to build a woman’s confidence by introducing her to the deadlift (by the way, a great ass exercise), boost her self-esteem by teaching her how to do a proper push up (toned arms anyone?) or a barbell squat (another great ass exercise) than just help her fit into a pair of pants. Women do not need to be reminded of what they don’t have. They need to be reminded of what they DO have and they need to be coached how to use the body they DO have.

Just ask my ladies.

The other night, after watching one of my clients bang out a set of 10 push ups, my husband asked her if she started off at my place with such good push ups. “NO way,” she said. “This is what I am most proud of too. My push ups.” She told me that she has also been getting compliments right and left from friends about how awesome she looks and these friends just cannot wrap their heads around the fact that all she has been doing is squatting, pressing and rowing.

No running? They ask. No cardio, she tells them aside from a few ball slams and rope slams here and there.  Of course, she said, she would rather them ask her how much she can squat these days than how she got her body.

This past summer, I wrote an article about my ladies and their feelings about strength training. You can read it here. The women speak about the empowerment they feel as a result of strength training, how much more confidence they have in their daily lives, how they are able to do things they never thought was possible.

They talk about the focus and concentration that goes into training, why they do it, what they get from it. And yet, I still find it difficult to get some women to believe in the power of the iron. I was recently on my Facebook News Feed and I saw a post by a friend of mine (a dancer) who was talking about building a new butt for the new year at Pop Physique. I had heard of this place (it’s a chain) and knew that it was just another type of barre class (They are popping up like mad all over the city. You can read about my feelings  in regards to barre classes here.)

Note from TG:  I actually linked to Emily’s article above in a recent Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work segment, and the feedback/response that it received was nothing short of awesome.  If you’re someone caught in the “dancing/yoga/pilates/pick your poison trap” and think such classes are the key to lean, toned arms, I HIGHLY encourage you to read it.

I checked out the website and the first thing staring at me was some woman’s ass. Ugh. Seriously?

Right there, I knew what this place was all about. With a little more digging, I found a YouTube clip from one of the classes. Take a look.

What bothers me the most (I was face palming so much I turned my forehead red – it was like hearing nails on a blackboard), was the fact that the woman interviewing the instructor in the video is seen at the beginning of the video standing in front of a squat rack with a loaded barbell. Loaded with 45lb plates and a couple of smaller plates.

A squat rack people.

The clip then goes on to show women pulsing with 3lb dumbbells and then humping a ball. WTH? Where did the squat rack go? Why was it there in the first place? To tease us women who believe in the power of the rack? For the love of…..where the hell did the squat rack go??? NOOOOOO!

Okay, okay….I get it. The point of these classes is to  build a better butt. How do you do that when you use no resistance?

Do you want to see what a butt looks like from a barre class? Cue picture to your right. Whoa. Now, mind you, during this time, I was also teaching cycling and doing some machine work at the gym. But this is my butt after two years of barre classes. Flat as a pancake. Non-existent. Is it even there, you ask? I just see wrinkles.

Yes, there is something beneath the pants. Not much though. And look at my chicken arms too. Hell, look at my breast. Where is the muscle????? Where is the butt? I thought I looked great…..until I saw this picture and saw my body and realized how pathetically weak I looked.

I had recently lost weight too (due to not eating as a result of my back injury – in too much pain to eat. This was the year I had my relapse.) But all the time I was teaching my barre class. I was squeezing and pulsing, squeezing and pulsing. Where was my ass to show for all that work??

Fast forward one year. ONE year.

Take a look at my ass now after a year of squatting, deadlifting, pressing, benching, doing chin ups, push ups.  Uh, big difference, wouldn’t you say? I was still teaching my barre classes (this was the year before I opened my gym), but what had I added into my program that was not there before? You guessed it. Heavy squats, deadlifts, glute bridges.

More specifically, weight. Weight, people. Weight. None of that 3lb bullsh**.  Real weight.

And more weight. And more weight. My goal was a stronger butt, not a “better butt. Hell, my goal was to just get stronger. The butt came as a bonus from all the hard work.

And I continue to work on getting stronger each and everytime I train. And consequently, my glutes get stronger too.

So, ladies, if you are looking to build a stronger, more able backside, please for the love of all that is humane in this great world, give up humping the barre while squeezing a ball between your thighs and grab a freaking dumbbell and start doing some goblet squats.

Or teach yourself how to do a kettlebell swing. Holy backside Batman! Or roll a barbell over your hips and thrust away! Your glutes will thank you and will appreciate the work. Because the work you do in your “build a better butt class for the New Year” will only work for some time then it stops working because nothing has changed. No resistance has been added. If you stick with 3lb dumbbells, you will end up looking the same. The body adapts. So, instead of working towards a cute ass, why not do yourself a real favor and work towards a stronger body and consequently, a stronger, maybe cuter ass.

Author’s Bio

Emily is a certified Starting Strength Coach, AFAA certified, USA Weightlifting certified Level 1 Sports Performance Coach, and cycle certified through Madd Dogg Athletics. Emily holds a Masters degree in Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance from the University of Maryland at Baltimore County. As a fitness coach and mentor, she has helped many clients explore their true potential through hard work and persistence. Emily has also been active as a professional dancer and teacher for over 20 years. During that time, she has focused on strength training and a variety of cross-training methods that helped her grow and develop as a dancer and athlete.

For more information, visit her website HERE.

CategoriesFat Loss Female Training Nutrition

7 Ways to Lose Weight Without Counting Calories, Tracking Points, or Going Crazy

I made an executive decision yesterday that with Christmas Eve and Christmas right around the corner (NINTENDO 64!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) I’d treat myself to a little blog-cation.

Now, don’t get me wrong:  I love writing this blog. But sometimes I just need to take a break, smell the fudge roses, take a dee breath, and chillax.

So with that said, you won’t be hearing back from me until the day after Christmas (Wednesday).  Thankfully my good friend, Sirena Bernal, reached out and wrote this spectacular guest post for the site.

Sirena and I have been chummy for a little over a year now, and we actually live in the same neighborhood, sometimes bumping into one another at the local Panera on a Friday night when we’re both trying to catch up on some writing or reading.

Yeah, we’re cool like that.

Anyways enjoy!  And Happy (and safe) Holidays to everyone!

Before we even knew what a calorie was, we survived by relying on instinct, on feeling, and on the wisdom that was passed down to us from our elders – from people like grandma. Meaning, before we started to read labels, we just ate food.

We didn’t rely on measuring, tracking points, or distributing macronutrients, and we certainly didn’t rely on counting calories.

In fact, the idea of the calorie that we are now familiar with, was originally a term derived to describe the combustion energy produced from a steam engine (1), not the metabolism of a homosapien.

Steam engine and human being? Not exactly in the same genus, and thus, in my opinion, one reason why it’s a flawed model to follow in regards to nutrition – for the long term health and well-being. Again, IMHO.

I am not saying that creating a calorie-deficit (expending more energy than you consume) will not lead to weight loss, as it most certainly will. However, I am saying it is not the only way to approach weight loss.  And as you will see in a minute, I’m going to share with you 7 others.

Why Calories Don’t Work for Humans

As beautiful and unique individuals as we are, so are our metabolisms and our body’s ability to digest, breakdown and utilize foods.

No two people are the same, and thus no two metabolisms are the same. However, most diet and nutrition literature will lead you to believe that a standard formula can be used to accurately gauge the amount of food we need to consume.

It’s easy to find an online calculator in which you input your weight, height, and activity level and in return get an arbitrary number that doesn’t take some of the most influential factors that affect our metabolism into play.

Factors such as the weather, temperature, stress levels, amount of sleep, hormonal fluctuations, prescription medications, supplements, thought-patterns and travel patterns can all affect our body’s ability to metabolize food, and thus affect the amount of “calories” we need to function at our best.

Thus, focusing on tracking calories without considering the dynamic flux of our metabolism can further create a hypometabolic state (low metabolism), which the majority of our culture suffers with.

You Are Not a Cyborg

Before you whip out the calculator and start crunching numbers, understand that it’s never a clear cut answer.

And for some, that may be frustrating to hear because we all just want to know exactly how much, at what time, and when.

But here’s the thing: life is not exact.

And neither is your schedule, or the weather, or your biology…unless of course you’re a cyborg, which I’m assuming you are not. (But if you are, I need to meet you).

If we allow it, our body will tell us exactly how much food we need, what we need, and when we need it, if we only listen.

Developing this skill does take time and patience but once we learn to listen to our body, we will begin to find the process of losing weight, much much easier than trying to calculate how many calories 30 grams of carbs, 20 grams of protein and 5 grams of fat equal.

There are much easier ways to approach weight loss that does not require counting calories, and here are 7 of them:

1. Eat with smaller plates, bowls and spoons.

Research has shown that the bigger your plate or bowl, the more you end up eating – choose a smaller bowl and you end up eating less.  Participants in a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, served themselves 31 percent more ice cream when they were given a 34-ounce bowl instead of a 17-ounce bowl.

2. When filling your plate fill about 75% of what you would normally fill.

Our eyes are generally bigger than our stomachs, so prevent over eating before you actually eat.  The next time you plate your food, take a “normal” scoop, and then put 25% of it back (before you actually put it on your plate, because putting food back once it’s on your plate is just bad manners.)

After you fill your plate, follow the rest of the steps below, and then decide if you’re still hungry before going back for seconds.

3. When eating, stop when you are 2/3 full.

You know that point when you’re so full that your belly is pushing against your belt buckle? Yeah, don’t get to that point.

Before you feel the need to unbuckle your belt, stop yourself when you feel like your 2/3 of the way there, and take a few moments to ask yourself if you are really hungry or if you are just eating to eat.

4. Always eat a protein, a carb and a fat source together.

By combining a protein, fat and carb you optimize your hormonal response to your meal thus keeping your blood sugar levels balanced, which will keep you satiated longer, thus preventing you from snacking after a meal.

5. Eat in peace and not on the run and without the distraction of computers, t.v. or reading which will help slow you down and level up your digestive powers.

Eating on the run is as effective for your digestion as being in 2nd gear on the highway is for your car.  Not very.

When your brain and/or body is stimulated while you are eating, like if you are watching t.v. or eating in a rush, you end up activate your sympathetic nervous system which stimulates stress hormones.

However, being relaxed and calm while you eat, activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which, is responsible for digestion and breaking down your food to be absorbed.  When you break down food better, you absorb your meal better, and thus get fuller faster.

6. Chew your food thoroughly before swallowing and take your time with eating, putting your fork down between bites.

It doesn’t matter if you count your chews, count seconds, or meditate when you eat.  What does matter is that you take your time and actually chew.

Here’s a little challenge: Next time you eat, try to chew long enough until your food is liquefied. $5 if you can eat a whole meal this way.

7. SLOW down (or take your meal on a date.)

This is what I mean by this: when you are on a date, let’s say, a first date, or with someone you’re really into, you’re not gonna be checking your phone, or other people in the area. You’re in the moment, you don’t want to rush.

Now, with that same fervor that you would show your date, show that same attention to your food.  Remove distractions, take your time, appreciate the food, and take your time with the food.

The same attention you’d give to a date, give to your food. This will not only allow you to slow down and thus eat less, but you’ll actually enjoy what you’re eating, appreciate your food and the eating process.

Final Pearls of Wisdom

The idea of losing weight without counting calories is clearly not as tangible or concrete, and may take some time to adjust to.  However, if you can begin to practice these tips, it’s one of the most liberating and stress-free ways to approach weight loss.

The idea behind this process is to get you to a point where you can begin to listen to your body and just know, like Grandma did, when enough was enough.

This process does take more time and commitment on your part, but is very rewarding when you begin to tune in and know exactly what you need, when you need it, and how much you need.

References:

  1. http://jn.nutrition.org/content/136/12/2957.full
  2. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060803082602.htm

 Author’s Bio

Sirena is a nutrition and lifestyle expert in Boston, MA, and she holds her B.S. in Kinesiology from UNH.  She has been training clients in the fitness industry for over 8 years and runs the Lean Body Challenge, a 28-day nutrition program designed to help women lose weight without dieting and over-exercising.

Her clients consistently lose 8-15 lbs. during the challenge and maintain the weight loss without the need to count calories or rely on cardio. Her work has been featured in PTonTheNET.com, Greatist.com, and she is a regular blogger for BostonMagazine.com

 

CategoriesFemale Training Motivational

Is There a Fitness Double Standard?

When my girlfriend and I first started dating 3.5 years ago, one of the major attractions between the two of us was that we both had an insatiable appetite for fitness.  Well that, and we both had an insatiable appetite in the literal sense, too.

On our first date we crushed fajitas.

But fitness and living a healthy lifestyle – whether it be heading to the gym to get our swole on, making a cameo at Harvard to do stadium sprints on a Sunday morning, hitting up various local farmer’s markets, or trying our best to avoid gluten like the plague – has always been a “theme” in our relationship.

Funnily enough, when we first met, Lisa wasn’t that much of a hardcore gym rat.  Sure, she would go to the gym and do her thing following various routines she’d read about or come across in books or magazines, but more often than not the one’s she’d follow had the foo-foo body-part split, “Tone Your Abs in 17 Minutes,” or “Tighten Your Tush by Tuesday” vibe.

To her credit (and so that I don’t get the look of death from her after she reads this), she grew up in a very active family and was always highly encouraged by her father to lift weights. In addition, she was a volleyball player all through high-school and college – even being inducted into her alma mater’s Athletic Hall of Fame, thank you very much – and as such, understood the importance that strength training had on her success as an athlete.

Even as a non-athlete after college, she carried with her the drive to be active and fit, and still made weight training a priority in her life moving on into adulthood.

When our paths crossed back in 2009, Lisa had already established herself as a very popular spin instructor in Boston (she still is) and she supplemented that with her training routine – which, admittedly, and at the risk of being sent to the doghouse tonight, resembled one of those foo-foo routines I mentioned above.

Well maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but suffice it to say, she wasn’t routinely lifting heavy stuff…..;o)

Anyways, during my courting of her (you know, dates at Chipotle, Star Wars marathons, and me bringing her containers of protein powder instead of flowers – true story) I’d occasionally go to the gym with her and show her a few new exercises here and there.  I also had her read The New Rules of Lifting for Women, and just tried my best to support and educate her along the way.

Trust me:  this wasn’t a damsel in distress scenario by any stretch. Lisa knew her way around the gym floor – I just had to nudge her a little bit towards the squat rack and the deadlift platform.

Needless to say, I created a monster.

Not to brag or anything, but Lisa routinely deadlifts 1.5x her bodyweight for reps, can bench press 135 lbs for multiple reps, can perform multiple sets of unassisted chin-ups, and I’m pretty sure if she arm wrestled a tank, she’d win.

And she looks goooooooooooood.

I write her programs on a monthly basis, and while she and I will sometimes butt heads (you’re going to do box squats and like it!!!!!!!!!!), it’s been fun to see her make so much progress and enjoy her training.

Because she follows a bit more of an unconventional program compared to most, she’s constantly getting questions from random people and remarks from trainers.

Most are just curious about a certain exercise she’s doing and wondering what muscles it targets, while others just stop to give her some praise – which is always cool, and Lisa is more than happy to stop and talk some shop.

But I can’t help but notice the massive double standard that exists.

For like the 18th time some random dude approached Lisa at the gym the other day in between sets of deadlifts and asked her what she’s training for.

“Are you training for some kind of sport or something? ” the man asked. To which she replied, “nope, just training for fun. What are YOU training for?”

“Uh, well, football I guess, ” he replied. “But, you know, I don’t play now, I used to back in high school. I’m 30 now, so I just train to train, ya know?”

I find it interesting that guys never ask other guys the same question. Well, it happens it’s just A LOT rarer.

Guy #1:  Hey dude, you’re pretty ripped.  What are you training for?

Guy #2: I’m heading to the club in like an hour, I gotta get me swole on.

Guy #1:  Right on.  Okay, nice talk!

While the above example is a bit facetious, just think about it: when many of us see a ripped or jacked or yolked (or whatever brospeak verbiage you want to use here) dude getting after it in the gym we generally don’t think anything of it. He’s just training.

Yet, when many (men AND women) see a strong female lifting weights they automatically assume she’s training for a sport or some kind of figure show or something.

I’d love to hear other’s thoughts on this.  Am I just over-analyzing, or do others notice the same thing?

CategoriesFemale Training Motivational

A Girlfriend’s Response To the Atrocity That Is Women’s Fitness Marketing

UPDATE: said girlfriend who wrote this post is now my wife. Holla!

It seems I ruffled a few feathers last week when I re-visited my 4 Things Your Girlfriend Should Know article.

For those who need to catch up:

1.  I wrote an article five years ago.
2.  It got sucked into some sort of internet blackhole, and no longer exists.
3.  I used part of the article for another blog post HERE.
4.  I had several people contact me to ask where they could find the rest of the article.
5.  Since I had the original draft saved on  my laptop, I decided to re-post the article on my blog.
6.  Apparently, to some, I’m a chauvinistic a-hole who thinks women are dumb, and don’t deserve the right to vote.
7.  Wait a second…..women can vote?????????
8.  Just kidding.
9.  See what I just did there?  That’s called sarcasm.

Anyways, even though it was a piece I wrote a while go, it was obviously new to a lot of people, and I was surprised at how extensively it made its rounds throughout the blogosphere.

All told, the article was received very well. But as to be expected, there was some backlash, and that’s cool.  I certainly don’t expect everyone to agree with me.

Some women felt I was insulting them and they didn’t like my tone. Well, to be honest, the article wasn’t originally intended FOR women; it was intended (as another reader commented) for the men who hear a lot of the same complaints from poorly-informed women all…the…freakin…time.

More to the point: my goal was to convey that, when all is said and done, lifting heavy things = sexy (or whatever adjective you prefer), regardless of whether you’re a Victoria Secret model or just someone who likes to train for the hell of it.

Nonetheless, my girlfriend and I had a really great discussion about all of this over the weekend during our Saturday “date night.” As far as conversations are concerned, it definitely ranked up there as one of our most intellectual (poop).

Afterwards, we kept the momentum and went and saw a subtitled film. Totally not kidding.

She’s kind of smart, finishing up her doctorate in sports psychology in a few short weeks, so I asked her if she’d be willing to write down her thoughts and share them here.

This is what she said.

[Smoke bomb, smoke bomb, exits stage right]

Unplugged From the Matrix

Women’s fitness is controversial. Women’s fitness is confusing. Women’s fitness may or may not even exist. Learning that women and men should be doing the same basic movements to be fit, healthy, and in shape is the same as being unplugged from the “Matrix”, if you will.

For those non-sci-fi-readers, it is the same as learning that the earth is round, when you have been told your entire life that the earth is flat. Tony’s article on 4 Things Your Girlfriend Should Know is controversial because it unplugs us from the Matrix – it exclaims that the earth is round!

The beauty of the article, aside from its truth, is the passion and controversy it provokes. I say bravo, in small part to Tony, but more so to the men and women who responded to the article – who have feelings about ‘women’s fitness’ – and who, most importantly, are insulted by ‘Women’s Fitness’.

To ‘Yuck’, I am glad that you are insulted…. Say more! What language does the industry have to speak to women? To educate women? To help women to be healthy and efficacious in their fitness endeavors? At present, and in my humble opinion, the language of bullshit. Women, and men, harangue us on television, in magazines, and on the internet with promises of “toned” “thin” “longer” muscles and body parts.

‘Yuck’, are you insulted by Strippercize? By Yoga Booty Ballet? By the Pussycat Dolls Workout? I am. I am insulted that the industry has tried to convince me all my life that steady-state, low-impact, sexualized strutting is the key to me becoming healthy, sexy, and thin.

I am insulted that I am bombarded with false information at my every turn, and I am angry that I believed and followed bullshit advice for so many years. What I love about your comments, and your message, is that it is insulting to be spoken to as if we are “stupid”.

What it means to be a woman, and what is acceptable for a woman to be, has changed dramatically in the eyes of both society and the fitness industry since the 1960’s. Unfortunately, not enough. We may not sit back and wait for popular culture to hand us true, evidence-based, ulterior-motive free information. We must ask for it. We must demand it. And we must make it known that we are pissed off, indignant, and insulted when we are given otherwise.

“NOBODY EVER TAUGHT US!” I applaud “Ambition” for putting it so plainly, and truthfully. In light of the language of bullshit that pervades the fitness industry, how can we expect the average American women to respond differently?

I agree with Kelsey’s suggestion that Tony submit articles to Shape and Fitness magazines – several sources that insist, month after month, that the earth is flat.

Note from TG:  I’ll actually be making my first cameo appearance in Women’s Health this Spring!

Indeed, there are more effective and nicer ways to unplug women, and fitness-ignorant men, from the Matrix.

Christine, I agree that Tony, boyfriends everywhere, and fitness professionals alike could all catch more fitness “flies” with sugar, than with vinegar – But that is another topic altogether.

Sweet or sour, women need to hear the truth

We deserve to hear the truth. How truth is served to us, is up to us, to flavor. “Yuck”, “Well”, Christine, and other readers, tell Tony and the rest of the fitness industry what you want – and how you want it. Don’t stay quiet. Influence the information you receive, and demand what you deserve!

One of the great blessings of my life is that somebody taught me. My father, a bodybuilding, protein-shake-drinking, Arnold Schwarzenegger-admiring man, taught me about and included me in his most beloved hobby for as long as I can remember.I loved him, and in turn, I loved lifting weights.

I was always interested in being strong, in looking strong, and in pulling, pushing, and pressing more. I was never intimidated in the gym, and was often labeled intimidating. I realize that my experience is outside the norm. Most women have never been taught how to take care of and strengthen their bodies, and that is a shame.

Lisa V. suggested that it is shameful for women to be intimidated to lift weights, but the reality is that many are, and that’s not their fault – it’s the fault of society and the fitness industry. We can judge intimidated women all we want, but until we influence them, and until we empower them, we are only part of the problem.

Judgment doesn’t make change… education, communication, and action make change. Bravo to Lisa V., and many other women, for getting to Cressey Performance to train (and Amen that many men are as ignorant as women about how to train!), but the fact remains that you are a beautiful, powerful, exemplary exception – not the rule.

 

 

 

For Lisa V., and “Ambition”, “Yuck”, “Well”, “Speed”, Kelsey, and all of the other women out there who are not intimidated by weights and strength training, who are hungry for the truth, and who are insulted by stupidity and Bullshit – I implore you to keep saying it! It is only through writing, talking, confronting and considering that we can evoke the evolution of the fitness industry – and in turn, of women’s fitness… Whatever that is.

Confront Tony, other fitness professionals, the media, and the images, programs, and bullshit that we are bombarded with.

“Well” expressed her belief that the pictures of the women on Tony’s article were horrible – and I think she may feel this way because these are thin, idealized models who do not appear physically muscular. However, the point of the pictures is to demonstrate that thin and thick women alike lift weights and strength train.

No matter what we look like, or what we want to look like, being fit and strong is elementary to our goal. Personally, I feel that Serena Williams has the hottest, sickest, most amazing body on earth. Will I ever look like her? Unfortunately for me, no. Do pictures of her speak to me? Encourage me? Inspire me? Hell yes.

Whether it’s Serena or Giselle, seeing images of women who weight train is important to women of every shape and size, who aspire to change their body into any shape or size.

Bodybuilders and others who make a career out of their musculature aside, in my opinion, there is no such thing as too muscular. If seeing lots of muscles on a lady is too much for you, than that is you. If a woman wants to kill it in the gym, build muscle mass, and create a physique “outside the box” of acceptable female appearance, good for her! I celebrate her. I admire her. I think she is a badass.

She is healthy, fit, and she sure as hell feels fabulous. As far as I am concerned, saying a woman is too much of an athlete, too masculine, or too far away from the societal standard is chauvinistic, and judgmental. It’s no different than suggesting we should all look like Victoria’s Secret models.

Prakash, and all the others frustrated by the topic of ‘Womens’ Fitness’ – don’t give up! We can create and change the language of the fitness industry – but only if we are active, only if we voice our opinions, and only if we are willing to say over and over again (sweetly or otherwise) that the earth is round!

There is so much more to say on this topic. Thank you for being some of the few who have unplugged from the American Fitness Matrix that is ineffective and insulting.  I hope we will all keep talking – and criticizing, comparing, and kvetching. It is the only way to make change. To make it better. To make us stronger.