Opening the Gym…

If you’ve read the post on here about my friend opening a new gym, here’s an update. I called him the other day to see how it was coming along.  He was telling me he has more than enough capital saved up, so even though many of the banks are having a tough time in this economy and a little timid about handing out loans, they’re pushing him along because of so much that he had saved over the years.

I also had to ask him about the advertising book that I had given him since I had yet to read it.  He said it was helping him out a lot.  He said it’s easy to read and there’s a lot of great insight on how to market a plethora of businesses, not just an entity in a given sector.  He also apologized in advance because he might be keeping my Christmas present for himself….bummer…

A Fitness Blog for Fitness Addicts

As you know, I’ve been championing LifeSpan Fitness products for a long time now. Not only are their treadmills and exercise bikes some of the best on the market, as they’ve won all kinds of awards, but their accessories and overall fitness instruction is top notch! Even though LifeSpan’s fitness tips and solutions are mainly aimed towards the middle – aged and senior fitness demographic, I’ve spoken to many people who I’ve recommended it to, including my own mother, and they’ve all said that they’re very happy with the products and programs, and that they actually see results.

This brings the topic of LifeSpan Fitness to the point of their new fitness blog. Yup, they’ve started a blog! I have no idea when, but I just happened to find it the other day. Anyway, it has about 10 articles up there already about the company’s new products and fitness tips. I’m one of those people that loves to immerse themselves wholeheartedly into something that I personally endorse and LifeSpan Fitness is no different, so of course I’m very happy with their adventure into blogging. Check it out!

LifeSpan’s Fitness Blog

A Friend is Opening a New Gym!

A buddy of mine who I work out with from time to time has always said he wanted to open his own gym. I’ve known this guy for years and he’s been saying this for a long while now, probably the last six or 7 years or so…He always brings it up from time to time, how he wants to be as big as Gold’s Gym or something like that and I always blew him off because he never talked about starting small. It’s great to have lofty ambitions like that, but even Gold’s Gym started out as one little rinky dink gym on the edge of town somewhere in America. This is something that I didn’t think he understood the concept of…or so I thought.

So, the other day he calls me up and I’m assuming he just wanted to talk about things in general, stuff I usually don’t have time for. I was cooking dinner for myself and I’m running around the kitchen holding the phone to my ear with my shoulder, only uttering incoherent one-word answers…yeah, no, maybe, uh huh…I clearly didn’t have time for this small talk and I figured if I did this enough, he’d get the hint. Nothing gets in the way of me and the food I think I so richly deserve. But then, he dropped the bomb:

“So, I think I have enough saved up to open my own gym…”

“Huh? You’re actually gonna do it? For real? I thought that was just something you talked about?!”

Obviously he didn’t like hearing that little jab of mine, but decided to keep talking to me about it anyway. Apparently, unbeknown to me, he had been saving up A LOT of capital over the years and he’s been mapping it out all this time! From what he told me, he definitely did his research. From what he was saying, the gym is going to encompass the usual fair you would expect from a gym: free weights and machines, treadmills, elliptical trainers, etc., but also yoga and pilates classes, karate seminars and boxing classes after the first year, which is something none of the small gyms around here offer.

“So,” I asked, “what are you going to do to attract people to come to your little gym when there’s that huge gym (name unmentioned) across town”? I’m a business major and this is an important question and something I’d personally like to know…how well did he really do his homework?? He rambled off a couple things to me that he was going to implement during the first 6 months of the establishment’s life, which I was quite impressed with and he then asked me if I knew of any other ways since I’m Mr. Business Degree and all. I told him I didn’t really know much about how to market a new workout gym, but I handed him an early edition brand marketing book by James Connor, that someone had given me for a Christmas present.

So, it looks like I may be attending a new gym sometime in the next coming year if everything gets off the ground for him, I wish him the best of luck, and a major apology for not taking him seriously!

Tamarindo Beach, Costa Rica

Hey All,

Here’s an update on my Tamarindo Beach excursion that I”m taking.  It seems my friends are even closer to buy their condo in Costa Rica and I’ll be going down hopefully in February to celebrate their housewarming (condowarming?).  I told my brother, who’s much more well-off than I am, about these and I showed him the place they purchased and he immediately scoffed at the price, until he found out about how many things there were to do there!  So now he might purchase one…So between my friends and my brother, I’ll be basking in the glow of Costa Rica luxury a couple times a year!  Which reminds me, I should really dust off my elliptical trainer in the next few days to get some extra cardio in in the comfort of my own home before I leave.

Anyway, I’ll keep you guys updated with the vacation details.  So much stuff to do…Also, somebody remind me to call my litigation lawyer in PA before I leave…yours truly has a bit of a wild streak and without knowing Costa Rican law, I might push it a little too far!

Costa Rica Here I Come!

I’m sick of the cold weather…as of right now I live in Northeast Pennsylvania and I can’t stand the cold. My mother recently moved down to North Carolina and she was going to come up for Christmas, but now she’s having second thoughts because of the cold weather as well…hence the reason for moving to NC in the first place. So I think a vacation for me is in order, and much needed anyway.

I’m thinking Costa Rica, specifically Tamarindo Beach!! A couple who are friends of mine just bought some Costa Rica luxury real estate and invited me down for the “housewarming”. I gotta tell you, this place looks so peaceful, and it’s right off a white sandy beach and a golf course! I keep thinking to myself, with all the hard work I’m putting in at the gym, I might as well go South for the winter so my efforts aren’t futile! So I’m thinking sometime in February, maybe I’ll post some pics!

10 Ways To Get Injured During Gym Workouts

There’s a lot more than 10 ways to get injured during gym workouts, but here are just a couple of them.  The article I’m referencing has more information, I’m simply just going to list them and add my own thoughts as I see fit.

1. Training With too Much Weight

This should be all common sense, but you’d be surprised at how many people don’t have that, which makes me think people are either ignorant or stupid, or both.  My general rule of thumb is if you can only do three reps of whichever workout you’re doing, DON’T try to push even more weight.  By the way, three reps is the LEAST, usually if you can’t get more than six, don’t be an idiot and attempt more.

2. Doing An Exercise With Bad Form

You usually know you have bad form when you feel something snap, but there are many signs beforehand if you actually listen to your body.  Pain and discomfort are two big ones…this is, again, a no brainer.

3. Using Crappy Equipment

Don’t use anything rusted, reeling, or sparking.  Also, stay away from that fitness machine in the corner that looks like it could double as laboratory equipment to splice the human genome.  They’re usually bad news…the simpler it looks, the better.

4. Not Stretching

I don’t stretch a whole lot before a workout, but I do like to get my muscles a little loose.  If you’re not running the Boston Marathon, a half hour of stretching is a little much, but a little bit of stretching goes a long way.

5. Not Eating Correctly/Enough

It doesn’t matter how much you can lift, how far you can run, what kind of yoga positions you can pull off, that’s only about 30% of it.  Nutrition is the other 70%.  If you’re not eating correctly, you will not see results as fast.  If you’re not eating enough, forget the Boston Marathon in #4, you’re going nowhere.  Here’s a short guideline for the right nutrition for strength training.

6. Not Taking Resting Days

You ever notice the muscle soreness the day after a workout?  That’s because when you exercise, you’re tearing all your little muscle fibers!  If you don’t give yourself a couple days for them to heal, you’ll just keep tearing and tearing without any gains, and eventually, a major injury….

7. Mimicking Others In The Gym

This reason is just plain stupid.  You see the ripped Neanderthal on the other side of the gym benching 700 lbs.?  Yeah, you’re not him…Stick with what you can handle.  Remember, even said Neanderthal started out as a skinny punk like you at one time.  You’ll get there, be patient.

8. Neglecting Muscle Groups

Many people have trouble with this…Here’s a little practicality to get you motivated though:  How are you going to go up in weight on your leg exercises if your lower back is neglected?  How are you going to move up on bench if you’re not doing any shoulder exercises?  That’s right, you won’t!

9. Spacing Out

I’m not saying much on this, if you’re spacing out you need to focus, if you can’t focus, you need to do something else that keeps your focus, or buy some Ritalin from the guy down on the corner

That was bad advice….go see a doctor before you buy Ritalin from the guy down on the corner.

10. Not Caring for Old Injuries

If you pull a muscle, don’t work through the pain, it’ll only get worse.  Make sure you stop what you’re doing and get it checked out.  Buy some muscle cramp relief lotion for a quick fix to dull the pain, and follow your doctor’s advice: However long he says to rest the muscle, just do it.  The weights will still be there when you get back to your workouts.

And go get pain meds for a cheaper price from the guy on the corner.

There you have it, I can probably narrow this down to one rule: #1. Don’t be an idiot, but people don’t really adhere to that advice too well.  Remember though, before you go and pull, strain, sprain, tear, or pop something, look at what you did wrong before going all sue-happy and getting your PA personal injury lawyer on the owner of the club.

Breakfast Before a Workout

Have you ever wondered what to eat when you’re in “workout” mode?  Well, the important thing is to remain on a low-fat healthy diet, that’s obvious….This means no box food either:  No mac and cheese, no Hamburger Helper, no TV dinners….you get the point.  Most of these box foods, what I call them, are pure crap.  There’s no nutritional value at all, and the only thing that gives it the flavor is the 700 tablespoonfuls of salt.  Plus, all the preservatives in that crap will make you feel sluggish, lacadaisical, and very rundown.

But let’s talk about breakfast!  It’s the most important meal of the day, and it’s also my favorite!  For a guy that likes eating, maybe a little too much, there’s nothing better than waking up and tasting food.  Many of you will now think I’m overweight LOL, but I’m not.  If you go for your workout in the morning, the best foods to have are high carb, low fat snacks.  Nothing too much or you’ll feel sluggish during your workout.  Some snack combos to eat are:

• banana and yogurt
• whole wheat bagel (toasted) with a fruit spread
• instant oatmeal

This should get you pretty well energized for your workout.  After the workout, when your body needs to replenish, I recommend these foods:

• peanut butter sandwich
• some almonds or mixed nuts
• fruit smoothie with a shot of protein

This will recharge your body and give it a quick, sugary jolt to start your day.  Believe me, it’s better than coffee in the morning!  Speaking of coffee, I would advise switching to green tea in the morning or throughout the day.  Green tea is rich in anitoxidants, and it boosts your metabolism along with that treadmill run or exercise bike!  Don’t forget to order the muscle spasm lotion either.  There’s plenty of links to the ointment on the site, so click one and check the product out!  Oh yeah, and another shameless plug:  If you’re working out on grass, get these Monroe lawn care professionals to fix all the divots you’ve made over the summer.

Great Workout for the Beach

Hey guys and gals,

I found this new workout on Men’s Fitness online, it’s called the Eternal Beach Body Plan.  I’ve changed up my workout routine to this and it seems to be working great!  Right now I’m in the middle of Phase 2, on week 7, and I’m already seeing results.  I wanted to try this workout initially before I posted this and so far I’m very happy with it!

Here’s a tip…for a warm up to get your muscles loose, take a run on a treadmill for 10 minutes.  After your workout, put some muscle cramp ointment on any of your sore muscles.

Simple Summer Workouts

With the summer here and the weather being 85 degrees +, is there anybody that wants to work out in a gym?  I really don’t….a gym can get hot and really humid in the summer, and barely any of them have air conditioners, except if you’re one of those huge gym-spa-yoga class franchises.  But nobody said that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with training outside.

There are many things you can do outside to keep in shape.  Right now, Men’s Health has a couple workouts you can do outside that don’t require much much equipment, like the sandbag workout, or the Seize Your Saturdays workout.  You can even just go run around at the local high school track, or do windsprints on their football field.

If your high school’s football field is being redone by a Connecticut landscaping company like mine is, by Westport Lawn Care, go ride your bike in the mountains, or take a long hike in the woods.  It all just takes a little creativity to enjoy your summer instead of spending it indoors.  Chances are, you probably already work indoors, so why would you want to work out indoors?  Go outside and enjoy yourself for once!  Working out shouldn’t be considered work, so don’t make yourself feel like you’re doing manual labor.

The Right Nutrition For Strength Training

There are a lot of people out there that train to get bigger when they lift, but just can’t seem to reach their goals.  First, they start spending more hours in the gym, piling on the minutes until their about two hours into their workout and they’re tapped out for the rest of the day, or they just give up completely.  I’ve known a lot of people like this and it’s always the same.

For the most part, though, it all comes back to what you eat.  When you want to bulk up when strength training, about 70% of the process is what you eat.  Well, so I don’t come off as a complete idiot, I did my research first and I found the most simple and effective solution to help you.  They are very simple formulas to balance your carb, protein and fat intake throughout the day.

About.com Sports Nutrition Full Story Here

Carbohydrates

Carbs are important because they give you energy throughout the day…they’re the most efficient source of energy for your body.  Carbs are especially good for energy in short bursts, like lifting.  To measure how much your carb intake should be use this formula:

3.6gr carb x body wt(lbs)= grams carb/day

Protein

Protein contains amino acids, the essential building blocks of muscle.  In order to build more muscle, you need more protein, common sense huh…At the same time, though, you can’t overestimate your intake.  Here’s a formula to follow:

0.6 to 0.8 grams per pound of body weight

so if you weigh 165 lbs., you should take in 132 g of protein a day (.8 x 165)

Fat

Not all fat is bad, fat is actually healthy for you, in very small doses, specifically unsaturated fat.  Your fat intake should be no more than 30% of your caloric intake a day…nuff said.

There is also some other very good information on the site about creatine and energy drinks, I would read up on them too.

I hope this helps, and don’t forget to pick up some muscle spasm and muscle cramp lotion!

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