Author: Ian Hart

Ahhh, stress. Who wants some more? Anyone? Well, the kind of stress that I’m going to be talking about, you absolutely need more of. There is a basic principle that your body naturally follows when demands are placed on it. The S.A.I.D principle is one of the most important fundamental concepts in training. It stands for “Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands.” Basically what that means is when the body is under a form of repeated, Specific stress, it Adapts to withstand the increasing Demands placed on the body, so you can better deal with the stress. This stress could be physical, as in heavier weights, increased running mileage, increased running speed, or improved coordination. For example, a golfer needs finely tuned motor skills, explosive power, concentration, and patience as well as many other mental and physical abilities during an 18-hole round.

In the last article I ranted about technology making us fatter. While I still hold this point of view, not all technology has a negative impact. In recent years some amazing strides have been made to help people track their fitness. This is the technology that I fully support. There are heart rate monitors and tracking devices with GPS that can tell you how far you have run, how many strides you have taken, your maximum and minimum heart rate per workout, calories burned, and much more. Some devices even allow you to upload the information to your computer, graphing your entire training session for you.

Technology is a great thing. It has allowed us more freedom, time, productivity and efficiency than ever before. We are a “button-clicking” society, clicking the mouse, the remote control, the garage opener, etc. (It lets us save our energy for our stressful “desk jobs.”) As a matter of fact, I barely even have to work to brush my teeth anymore because my electronic toothbrush does most of the work for me. All I do is click a button and gently move my hand. We have robotic vacuums and microwaves, and are mesmerized by revolutionary fitness equipment claiming that, with a simple click of a button, presto! you’re in great shape. Yeah, right.

One thing I know everyone desires is to be able to eat and drink what he or she wants and still lose weight. Think about it- wouldn’t it be amazing if you didn’t have to worry about what you put into your body and were still able to watch the pounds fall off? Every expert in the fitness industry knows that you cannot train yourself out of a bad diet – meaning that taking in more bad calories than are burned in training sessions will never promote weight loss. 

I am devoting this article to women because a common issue that comes up consistently with them is their frustration with not getting the results they desire. The truth is, no matter what you do, if it doesn’t incorporate progressive resistance training, you are wasting your time. Progressive resistance training is a method in which overload to the muscle is an absolute requirement in order to see progress.

Do you have a fitness road map? If so, do you plan on sticking to it throughout the summer? I ask because many people have goals they want to reach when it comes to life and fitness. My goal is to help as many people reach their goals as possible. In order to reach them you must have a detailed plan of action or at the very least, a road map. I often hear that many want to lose 20 to 30lbs, desire toned arms and less fat on their hips, thighs and belly. While I love hearing specific goals, I find that many people don’t have a specific plan of action and are unwilling to stop for directions or figure out the truth about how to get there. They want to believe that there is a magic potion. Although weight loss can be achieved very rapidly if using the proper formula, these magic potions don’t exist and never will.

Our minds are an interesting thing. Everything we do comes from our brains, including our movements, actions, habits, speech, etc. It is where patterns in our lives are created. One pattern common to many of us is that we internally keep score for every action we take, which dramatically affects our entire lives. We know when we do something right or wrong, and we always pay for it – or get paid for it – in one way or another.

Do you ever go to the gym and work out your triceps in attempt to burn the fat off your arms or do crunches to make your belly fat disappear? There is a common misconception called spot reduction, which is belief that the area you are working out is where the fat will burn off. Spot reduction seems logical, but in actuality it couldn’t be further from the truth. In order to burn fat you need to burn a lot of calories. Doing single joint exercises and abdominal exercises burn very few calories and are inefficient if you are trying to burn fat. Examples of single joint exercises are arm curls, tricep extensions, shoulder raises and leg extensions. In an arm curl for example you are just using your elbow joint to stimulate your bicep, which is a small muscle that will not burn many calories. Whereas if you do a row (where you are pulling weights to your chest similar to the action of rowing as in a row boat) you are using your elbow and your shoulder joints and working large muscles in your back and your biceps simultaneously, burning more calories and moving you closer toward your goal of burning fat. Do you follow me?

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