Solo or Partner?

Training by yourself, solo, or with a partner is a decision that you will make on and off for as long as you work out.  There is no one answer as to whether you should have a partner or not because there are way too many variables that can influence that decision. And what you decide today may also not apply later on down the road.

What kind of person are you?

The answer to this question will be a good determining factor as to whether you go solo or with someone else.  If you are a self starter, can push yourself, can usually accomplish goals with a set game plan, do not like to be bothered by others, have a hectic and unpredictable work/family schedule, then more than likely, you will be more productive training by yourself.

If you need motivation, guidance on staying focused, are starting out for the first time, and/or need to develop discipline, then you will gain more by having a workout partner.

Whichever is the case however, EVERYONE must develop the skills necessary to train solo since you can not always guarantee that a partner will be available.

Challenges of training with a partner...

If you are one that prefers to train with someone, finding a partner can be as difficult as finding a spouse!  Here are some things to consider in choosing the right partner:

1. Same schedule. It is hard enough carving up time in the day to get a good work out in. With work, family and friend obligations, you have to fit training into your day. Sometimes, the time of day may change or even the days of the week.  Now double that if you have a partner. You now have to schedule around two peoples family, work and friends.

2. Same goal.  Your routine is based on your goals.  I am not saying they have to be exact but they have to be similar. Someone that wants to train to improve their swimming will have a different training program than someone that wants to become a better runner for example. Having a partner means having similar goals.

3. Same focus.  The last thing you want is someone with the same schedule and goal but loses focus constantly and you spend the bulk of your time keeping them on track. This is mentally and physically draining.

4. Compatible personalities. You will be spending a lot of time with your partner, you might as well have compatible personalities.  For example, two people with two completely different views of the political spectrum and who love to debate about who's right or wrong, will more likely than not, turn their training sessions into debates with little or no attention being given to what your goals are.

5.Same or different gender? I leave this as a question mark because it truly depends on the individual. Some people just find it more pleasant training with another gender as opposed to the same one while others would never train with another gender. It is a matter of preference.

Over the years I have trained with both and it makes little difference to me but I will note that when I have trained with females, they seem to have a more gung-ho attitude while guys tend to slack off and wander off in side conversations. Again, just my opinion based on my experience.

6. Age difference?  There are advantages to training partners that have a large age gap between them. The younger one may learn things that the older one has already experienced. The older one can get a boost in training by being with someone that has fresh motivation and energy. 

Personally I prefer to train with people much younger than myself. I find it invigorating.  Being 56 years old and been training for 42 years, I have a very hard time finding anyone at or near my age that can keep up. If I have a partner they usually have to be 10, 20 or more years younger than myself.  They learn from my experience and I feed off their energy. It is a mutually satisfying relationship.

When to train with a partner...

Even if you are a 'hermit' by trade, there are always circumstances where you should have a partner in order to get the most out of your workouts.

If you are going to start exercising for the first time ever, it is necessary to have an experienced work out partner, coach or trainer.  Learning the basic techniques, philosophies and training methods up front is invaluable for continued progress, avoiding injury, and learning new routines.

If you are going into some sort of competition, it is always an added benefit to have a training partner attempting to achieve the same thing.  Gearing up for competition in any sport involves going through training cycles. There are ups and downs in each cycle, you want to have someone with the same goals and focus in mind to push each other through those highs and lows.  It also helps to have someone that can watch your technique, tape it, and vice versa to give constructive criticism on how to improve.

You will also need a spotter that knows your exact strength levels in order to provide the proper spot. I have injured myself over the years 'grabbing' an inexperienced spotter in the gym when attempting a heavy lift.

 There may be certain training days that are more difficult than others. While you may be able to train alone most of the time, try to find a partner for a particular training session where you may need that extra push.

For example, I can blast any body part pretty good in the gym but I find training legs is the hardest body part to get motivated to do at the level that I normally train. Finding someone that is willing to keep up or even be more advanced in you in doing legs and also providing that mental push, can be very beneficial.

 Advantages of going solo...

While training partners has its' advantages, so does training alone. Some of these are:

1. No time schedule constraints. You train when you can based on your schedule and it doesn't have to be matched with someone else's.

2. Do what you want.  Each work out, each exercise, each set is done based on how you feel that day. It doesn't have to be voted on by your partner to add a set, change an exercise or change the routine.

3. Pair up on occasion with someone else in the gym. While training with a partner you may notice someone that trains in a way that interests you.  When training solo this is a perfect opportunity to pair up with someone for a single work out just to keep things different.

4. Creates mental toughness.  No doubt a partner can help you through a tough work out when you are feeling down. However, I have found training alone is a way to develop mental toughness. It's like the old saying 'mind over matter'.

Training alone helps you focus on getting through it one set or even one rep at a time if need be.  You learn to psyche yourself up.  This toughness will carry over into your life.

5. Problem solving. One of the biggest pleasures I get when training alone is that I can think freely about things and problems I need to take care of without being interrupted.  The blood is flowing through the muscles while working out which also makes the mind more alert. I have solved so many problems at the gym while working out.
 

Developing a soloist mentality...

Regardless if you train with a partner, there will be times due to scheduling or life events where you will be training by yourself.  The last thing you want to do is miss training sessions just because your partner can't make it or moved and you are trying to find someone else. After all, the purpose of training is for YOU to get or stay in shape, not to get someone else in shape.  It makes no sense to stop just because someone else had to.

If you want or need to train solo and are the type that always has to have someone around, you will need to develop soloist skills.  Like anything else you do in life that is not in your nature, it will require mental willpower and stepping outside your comfort zone.

One can take baby steps by training alone once a week.  Make it your easiest work out. 

Focus and visualize beforehand what it is that you want to accomplish in that work out and mentally show it complete as you finish each portion.

Spend the time between sets thinking about what you are going to do next. Prepare by psyching yourself up. Sort of your own self motivator. Keep reminding yourself why you are doing this and the consequences if you fail.

If you are tired and don't want to go in but normally would because you knew you had a partner waiting for you, find the will to drag yourself in the gym anyways. Just get in the gym. Once there, the environment will usually pick up ones energy level and motivation. Start doing something, anything! The key is getting blood in the muscle to wake your body up out of the slump and get it going.

Hope some of these very basic ideas help in determining if and when you should have a training partner.

 Would love to hear any comments or questions you may have...... Fit Forlife

Surviving Holiday Meals!

So you just finished your fourth Thanksgiving meal of the day, have a ton of leftovers to boot and another 30 plus days of gluttonous festivities to participate in.  Whether you always work out to stay in shape or watch what you eat or planning to start a training program for the first time, this is the time of year that can make you or break you!

Don't get me wrong, you want to have your cake and eat it too (full pun intended) but there is a difference between doing it in a methodical way or with reckless abandon!

Why should I care or worry...

For starters, the length of the holidays is daunting.  At the very least it is 5-6 weeks of total disregard to common sense where you are tempted in the office, home, or anywhere you go with an array of mouth watering and addicting sugar, fats, and junk carbs.  This represents 10-12 percent of the entire year!

 

Add to that the fact that you are planning or participating in additional events, are running around in search of that perfect 'gift', and leaving very little time to exercise (if you even do exercise) and you can see how someone can come out of this time period having gained everything that they fought so hard to lose over the past year...

Plan and think ahead...

Like just about anything in life, your best chance of success is to plan, plan, plan.  The old saying that 'having no plan is the best plan for failure' has never been truer when it comes to holiday feasting.
 

So in order to counter the temptations you are about to endure, I have developed these tips and found them to be very helpful:
 

1. Bring your own healthy tasty treats to work, at least you can control what you are eating rather than someone controlling it for you.

2. Be the one that plans the office party rather than just participating. Control the menu and you control the diet!

3. Form a pact with two or three co-workers as a support group in order to keep each other in check.

4. Eat before you participate! Whether it be at work or with friends, if you eat something healthy beforehand, you are less likely to indulge in the bad things. Never ever go to a party on an empty stomach.

5. Holiday beverages with or without alcohol are loaded with empty calories. This is not only bad for you in terms of calories but it also creates the tendency to munch or eat other things that are also bad for you. Control what you drink and you control how much you will eat overall. If you are going to have more than one drink, try to substitute one with water only. The key here is to be full.

6. Excuses, excuses, excuses...find them and use them! One way to politely turn down all the alcohol and/or food is to come up with excuses such as 'No thanks, I have my physical coming up and eating/drinking this will skew my lab work tomorrow'.

7. Don't skip a workout, reduce the duration instead. If you exercise, many people that skip a workout will double up the next one. Frequency is more important than duration.  You want to be in a routine and rhythm.  As an example, skipping a one hour workout then making up for it by doing a two hour one next time is not as effective as substituting the skipped workout with a 30 minute one instead, then doing a one hour workout the next time.

8. Pick your parties wisely and use excuses to not participate in other ones. Just like in 6 above while at an event, you can also use excuses to not attend a party completely. Say you have a conflict with a client, a friend, a family member, etc.  You control the calendar, you control your destiny.

9. Start making New Year's resolution just as the holidays start.  This little 'guilt trip' trick, will more than likely help deter some of the things you may eat and/or drink. Committing to losing x amount of weight starting in the New Year but making that commitment before the holidays, will help your will power in turning down things that will hurt your commitment.

10. Be healthy year round and people will respect that and won't 'push' junk on you.  I have found that people know I eat a pretty clean diet. So during the holidays they won't push junk on me as much as they may with someone else. After all, someone that wants to get drunk will seek another drinker for company instead of a teetotaler.  The same is true during holiday events for binge eating.

 

So enjoy your holidays in moderation, it's the best gift you can give to yourself...Old Fart Training

Variety is the spice of life!

Define Variety

Per Webster, variety is defined as the quality or state of having or including many different things.  When it comes to training, there can be a lot of variety in the variety itself if that makes any sense to you!

 

Most people would interpret variety in training as doing different exercises but it is so much more than that.  For starters, here are some forms of variety just for weight training alone:

 

1. Change the sequence of the same exercises that you perform

2. Change the set/rep combo of the same exercises

3. Change some of the exercises

4. Change all the exercises

5. Change the rest interval between sets

6. Perform combo exercises

7. Incorporate High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) either during your weight program, i.e. monitoring heart rate within a target range between rest intervals then performing a set increasing the heart rate into cardio mode for short bursts of time.  Or you can incorporate something as simple as jump rope every second or third set for short 20 second bursts of high revolution jump roping

 

 



Variety even with the forms described above can be different depending on whether you are bodybuilding, strength training, lifting for a particular sport or just to stay in shape.

 

Note some of the more popular programs out there now like P90X, P90X2, Insanity, T25, Crossfit, they are all based on variety, variety, variety.

 

Why change anything?

 

 

A lot of people ask, why should I change anything if I feel I am making progress or I am happy at where I'm at in my exercise regimen?

 

Imagine a world where we never change anything.  You wear the same clothes every day. You eat the same meals. You watch the same TV show or movie over and over.  It wouldn't take long before your life becomes stagnant. The same is true with exercise.

 

It has been my experience based on over 40 years of training which included competitive weightlifting, that after a period of time the body becomes a master at adapting to any stimuli you present it.  This is especially true the longer you have been training. This is why it is imperative to throw variety into your exercise routine. It keeps the body on guard, fresh and learning new and different motor skills.

 

If everything stays exactly the same, your body will get 'efficient' at going through the motion of the same ole same ole.

 

Even if you are making progress, eventually it slows down or even regresses.

How much change is necessary?

 

 

 

While the body has an amazing ability to adapt to anything you present it over and over again, the great news is that the body can also be easily confused!  As mentioned above, something as simple as changing the exercise sequence totally throws the body out of kilter.

 

So those that are reluctant to make drastic modifications to their workout routines, can take 'baby steps' by starting out with sequence and set/rep combo's without changing anything else.

 

As you start to notice a difference, i.e. 'good' soreness, strength improvement, overall better well being, etc., then take bolder steps and try some of the other suggestions above. 

 

I always say that your body is like a lab. Experiment with it, see what works and what doesn't. Exercise is not a 'one size fits all' routine.  Every body is different which means every workout should be different and always changing.

 

Take the plunge, what's the worse that can happen? You can always go back to doing the same ole routine over and over again, sort of like the movie 'Ground Hog Day'!

How long should I stay with this change?

That question reminds me of an old TV show called F Troop.  The cavalry was looking for a fort and they run into a bunch of Indians familiar with the area.  The cavalry leader asks the Indian Chief how far to the fort. The Indian Chief says three stone throws away.  The cavalry leader then asks how far is a stone throw and the Chief replies I don't know, how far can you throw a stone?

 

The  moral of that story is that when it comes to exercise and how long should you stick with the change it all depends on the individual, how many years they have been training, when was the last time they changed their routine and how much change are you planning to do next.

Personally, any time I  make major changes to my routine I give it 4 - 6 weeks to see if any progress has been made.  Minor changes I may give 2 - 4 weeks.  Again, each person is different.

Go ahead, you have nothing to lose.  It's like getting a haircut that you end up not liking, your hair will grow back out. The same is true with changing routines, if you don't like it you can change it again or go back to what you liked before.

Comments welcomed!

Fit Forlife

 

 

 

 

 

Training one body part a week...

Why train one body part a week?

For anyone that has been training for any period of time, they quickly  discover that there are just as many training programs as there are stars in our galaxy.

Part of the reason for such variety is determined by each person's goal such as:

1. Each particular sport requires specialized training methods that best effectively utilizes muscles, motor nerve patterns, flexibility, speed and agility just to name a few.
2. Desire of the individual to either tone up, slim down, bulk up.
3. Special permanent physical conditions that may inhibit them to perform exercise(s) one way but can be done using other methods.
4. To rehab an injury to a particular part of the body.

What even makes this more confusing is that within each category above, you can further break it down into endless sub categories!

This post will deal strictly with training one body part a week, why, and two methods to accomplish this.

As you may have read when I first started this blog, I have been working out for over 40 years, initially in competitive weightlifting then lately, just to stay in shape.

As I have gotten older I started to notice that the body was not responding or recuperating like it used to.  I was on a three day on, one day off split and getting two training sessions in per bodypart within a seven day period.

I was on this program for many many years...

I noticed that the first initial training session for a body part would range from good to great and the second training session ranged from so-so to 'it sucked'.  This was even happening if I lightened the load and changed the exercises. I tried changing volume and intensity, that didn't work. I even went to a two on, one day off split but the same thing was happening.

Then one day I read about the one body part per week split.  At first I was very skeptical because I had never done this and I was relating it to how the week would look like based on how I had been training before.

Once I started using the program, however, and making adjustments here and there with set and rep count as well as always mixing up the exercises, I found that each and every workout was a great workout. The muscles are super strong because of all the rest they receive. You not only get a great physical workout, you also get a great mental boost and we all know that staying fit is just as much mental as it is physical.

The logic behind the system...

Part of the theory behind working the body part once a week is that you get plenty of recovery time before your next session. After all, if you do a part on Monday and you are training Monday-Friday, your next session for that part would be the following Monday. Wow, that's an entire week worth of rest or is it???

This is where the second part of the theory kicks in and is part of the beauty of it all. You can not train one body part without impacting auxiliary body parts with any exercise, all your muscles are interconnected with each other.
 

This means if you are doing bench presses for chest, as an example, you are also training some triceps and front delts.  The same is true if you were doing lat pull downs for back, you are also kicking in some biceps.

So the logic is that you are training each body part, hard core, once a week then hitting it very mildly at least one other time during the week.  This is part of the reason why you don't lose size and in fact can increase size, definition and tone because you are allowing your body plenty of rest, recuperation and restoration time!

So how do you break up the parts across the week?

First you have to determine how many days a week you are going to train then you have to determine the sequence.  Keep in mind that you can actually train more days in the week than you normally do for two reasons, first, you are only training a body part once a week and secondly, your workouts will be shorter if you split the body across more days.

It is my belief that how you split your body parts to train across the week must be carefully staggered in a way or sequence where you are not training the auxiliary body part the following day.

I will use myself as an example.  I have split up the week into five workouts, Monday - Friday.  Each workout is no longer than 60 minutes long.  This is resistance training. I also add 20 minutes of HIIT cardio training four of those days as well as abs when I perform HIIT training. The only time I do not perform HIIT or abs is when I do legs.

So my week would look like this and I have included the auxiliary muscles that is involved via parenthesis () when I work out a particular body part:

Chest (triceps, front delts), HIIT cardio

Back (biceps, medial and back delts), HIIT cardio

Legs (core)

Shoulders (triceps), HIIT cardio

Biceps and Triceps, HIIT cardio

So as you can see from the split above, I am giving each 'main' body part a full week of rest and each 'auxiliary' body part about 48 hours rest before making it my main body part, i.e. work out chest with auxiliaries being triceps and front delts which won't be worked out until two or three days later.

With this five day split you can 'add' an extra day to do legs again if you wish. I do this almost every week. I have found that legs can take the punishment and also because they are not being trained as an auxiliary muscle in any of the other days. You also mix or lower the intensity on the second leg day of the week or use it to work on your weak points, i.e. hams or quads.

Now if you can't train five days a week you can do a four day split. I do not recommend a three day split because the workouts would be too long and there isn't enough rest period between main and auxiliary muscles. It just gets too congested if you are going to do it with intensity.

Four day split...

With a four day split I recommend two on one off or Monday-Tuesday, Thursday-Friday.  One program would be something like this:

Monday
Chest and Triceps, HIIT cardio

Tuesday
Back and Biceps, HIIT cardio

Thursday
Legs (core)

Friday
Shoulders (triceps), HIIT cardio

I also need to add that your workouts now go to 75 minutes instead of 60 minutes since you are adding one more body part to that session. HIIT cardio still remains at 20 minutes.

Final Notes...

I hope you enjoyed this article and would love to hear your feedback or experience.  This is a routine that will get you in fantastic shape.  I am not advocating this as a 'one size fits all' routine for entering a contest or improving in a particular sport.

Remember what I said in the beginning, there are endless types of routines based on what you want. This is just one method to stay fit, get good hard workouts in, and see great improvements in your body.

Stay focused.............. Old Fart Training

 

Food Prep, the secret to a succesful diet plan!

What is food prep?

Like in anything that you do in life, the chances of success increases based on the amount of planning that goes into it.  So there is no surprise that a key to sticking to a healthy meal plan (diet) will largely depend on how you prepare.
So food prep is the art of planning your meals a few days out in advance so some of 'life's unexpected schedules' such as work, family and friends, do not deter from what you need to eat throughout the week.

The biggest failure in ones health and fitness goals usually revolves around nutrition, the lack of and frequency.  This is due to not being prepared!

Starting the prep, break the week down...

So how does one even start getting ready for food prep?  It's like taking a vacation, you plan what to take with you. The same is true with food prep. You plan what you are going to eat in advance.

I have found one trick to make food prep easy is to keep it simple. Do not over complicate your meals. After all, you shouldn't be planning for a seven course meal every time you sit down to eat.

I break the work week down into two parts, Monday - Wednesday and Wednesday - Friday.  Some people try to go all out and prepare all at once, Monday - Friday. 

So for part one meal prep, Monday - Wednesday, I prep on Sunday. For part two, Wednesday - Friday, I prep on Wednesday night.

There are two things to be cautious of when you prep only once for the entire week, Monday - Friday. Food prepping will take a little bit longer doing it all at once, and you must place all your meals into separate containers because opening and closing the same container throughout the week as you serve out your meals you may find that the food will start to spoil by Thursday or Friday.

Another option is to freeze part of your food and take out the day before you are going to eat it.  I also recommend to use glass containers since they seem to keep the food better preserved.

What and how do I plan my meals?

Again, simplicity with nutrition is the key.  Since I break down my week into two parts, this means I perform two meal preps for the week. One is usually Sunday night and the second one on Wednesday night.

You need to plan how many meals you will make for each day first. This is predicated by your fitness goals, in other words do you want to lose weight and gain muscle, maintain what you have, etc.  Based on that, you determine how many grams of protein you want to consume and across how many meals over the course of the day.

Take me as an example. I weigh 180lbs and very lean, about 10% or less body fat.  I am in a maintenance mode. For me this means consuming between 150-180 grams of protein a day spread over six meals.  My calorie breakdown for protein/carbs/fat is 40-45% protein calories, 40-45% complex carb calories and 10-20% fat calories. Notice how I maintain an equal balance of protein and complex carb calories. I AM NOT A BELIEVER OF LOW CARB DIETS, then again, a future blog post!

So my six meals for the day are broken down as follows with the meal preps identified in boldfaced:

Meal 1, breakfast, half chicken breast, three egg whites/one yolk omelet, bowl of oatmeal
Meal 2, chicken or fish with wild rice and veggies
Meal 3, same as meal 2
Meal 4, this is a pre-workout meal, I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, yes you heard right, about an hour before workout I love this stuff!  My entire life I have always trained better with a quick meal before a workout.  I have tried training on an empty stomach, for me it sucks. After my workout I have a whey with water protein shake. The combination of the sandwich and the shake is considered a meal
Meal 5, same as meal 2
Meal 6, protein shake made with casein protein (long lasting digestive protein) with ground up chia, sesame, and flaxseed. The casein and seeds make for a long, all night digestion that the next morning will totally cleanse your digestive tract!   

So this means for meal prep, part one, I need to prepare for nine meals, three days times three meals during the day.  For meal prep part two, I would prepare six meals, two days times three meals a day.

Now, if you want to make something else at night for meal 5, then prep for six meals in meal prep part one and four meals in part two.

What do you eat?

We go back to simplicity.  Your meals should consist of protein and complex carbs. Keeping with lean protein sources I found that I don't have to worry about fat calories.

So I eat chicken one part of the week and fish the other part. Which half of the week goes first doesn't matter, change it up.

Complex carbs comes from wild rice, my favorite is Lundberg rice, high in fiber with some protein content, sweet potatoes, quinoa and/or pasta.

Along with that, I also steam broccoli and/or cauliflower to go with the meals.  I also like to add to the rice for a little more flavor, sliced avocadoes which I add on the days I am going to work so they don't go bad in the container.

How are they prepared?

That's a topic for another blog post since it involves cooking your meals to reduce sugar and fat content.  But just to add a little insight to it, I prefer as a first choice marinating chicken and fish in rubs rather than sauces. I know some will balk at the sodium content in rubs but I am not giving you a competition diet here, I am simply showing you how to prepare meals in advance and besides, like I mentioned, how to cook your meals is for another post which will take that into account.  In addition, if you are exercising hard, the extra sodium should not be a big deal.

I like grilling outdoors since living in Florida gives me that luxury year round.  For those not that fortunate to have perfect outdoor weather year round, you can prepare your food in the oven via bake or broil or like I sometimes do, in a wok. 

When using a wok I love to cut my chicken up into small chunks. I do about eight breasts at a time.  While stir frying it I add spices and herbs rather than doing a pre-rub.  When the chicken is almost halfway done, I add onions, scallions, mushrooms, broccoli, etc. Basically, any type of veggies that you like to eat.

The same goes with the rice.  Buy yourself a real good rice cooker, they usually are made to steam veggies as well.  This will be the best investment you have ever made.  Three cups (from what is provided from the cooker manufacturer) is perfect for three days of meals.

So how long does all this prepping take?

Once you get good at it, no more than 75-90 minutes.  You will actually find more time during the week to spend on more important things like family and exercising.

What about the rest of the family?

Ok, some of you are probably saying, this is great if you are a single person or live life as a hermit, what if you have a family?  Very good question!

The best way to accomplish this is to get the entire family involved in healthier eating and living. First of all, it would make no sense for you to be on one meal plan while the rest of the family is eating fast and processed foods. 

Secondly, part of parenting is teaching your kids. I have always said one of the most important things to teach your kids is to lead a healthy and fit lifestyle.  This is something that will carry over to them for the rest of their lives and they can pass it on to their kids.

When I go grocery store shopping I am deeply saddened when I see overweight parents with overweight kids. Looking at their shopping cart gives you the answer to their condition.

So you need buy in from your spouse to begin with. Once you have that, the entire family can help with the meal prep. This way, they can each add additional flavors or sides to what you are preparing over the next several days.  Special side dishes to add variety to meal 5 (typical dinner at home) can be placed in separate containers so each can choose what they want for that day.

As a special treat, include nutritious desserts such as different fruits or low fat or low sugar dessert. Watch out and read labels, many products that are low or no fat have high sugar and those with low or no sugar may contain high fat. You just have to find the balance between the two.

Believe me, it may be hard at first but it can be done. I did it so can you.  Once the entire family starts seeing the benefits of good nutrition such as more energy and alertness, it will just become a habit.

Healthy food leads to healthy bodies leads to healthier life for the entire family!

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Think outside the box but what about the circle?

Limits and boundaries...

Everyone always tosses the term 'think outside the box' to define creative thinking and risk taking, but do we really do that?

Whether its the corporate world or our personal life, one is always pushed to attempt challenges we normally wouldn't take.

However, when we do think outside the box are we really reaching or is there something like gravity involved that keeps us from going further?

Like the immovable object meeting the irresistible force, there are limits and boundaries that are either placed by corporate culture or societal norms that interfere with how far we can really go. 

Boxes and Circles...

The Box...

The picture below illustrates what I am trying to convey.
 

Everything inside the box is our personal beliefs or departmental rules that we normally live under. They usually evolve to a comfort level that makes personal or departmental controls easy to manage. From a personal level it's 'being a follower', from a corporate level it's being like a 'flock of sheep' where everyone does the same thing just because everyone does the same thing! Very little risk taking and decision making, after all, one can always blame the leader or the flock!
But like a warm blanket on a winter morning, it creates a comfort level we are unwilling to shed.

The Circle...

The circle is like gravity. It's the constraint we all face when thinking outside the box. It is the force that keeps us from soaring through the skies. 

From a corporate standpoint we have departmental rules but also within a corporation we have the culture. This culture is created over time and becomes the foundation of what every company tries to mold their employees to. 

My observation is that the older the company, the more that this culture becomes constrictive. This causes the circle to start tightening up around the box where eventually there are just small areas of outside the box thinking that one is allowed to reach otherwise you are going against corporate culture! 

Since cultures take time to develop, young start ups like Google and Facebook have a huge circle allowing plenty of freedom to think outside the box. In many cases there may not even be a box! This allows for complete freedom to innovate and take risks. 

As companies mature, and get 'burned' for some of the risks they took, the circle starts to be defined more clearly and starts surrounding the box closer and closer. This is the pitfall of many companies.

Look at every industry and you see examples of companies that strangled themselves to death. A prime example right now is Microsoft who at one time was an innovator but over time has turned into a dinosaur as they let their culture of PC based services be eclipsed by cloud computing. They are starting to reinvent themselves now but it may be too little too late. 

How does the circle apply to personal constraints? Well just like companies, people grow too. They also evolve within a society or culture. Additional influences on this circle is religion and family. When you are young and 'inexperienced' you take risks and question a lot of those influences. You are indestructible and  somewhat a rebel to the culture or society you live under. Your circle is HUGE because you are still developing it.  You have very little constraints.
Some of the biggest innovators of our time created their success at a very early age such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, Mark Zuckerberg, etc.  They obviously not only thought outside the box but outside the circle too. They were doing things that people, society, culture was saying couldn't be done or never been done however, they achieved it!
But as time went on they stopped being innovators.  Again, the constraints that the circle places on the box.  Zuckerberg is starting to experience some of those constraints as Facebook becomes more formal like all other large corporations. The key to staying an innovator is to not let the circle constrict the box!
World class athletes fall into this category too.  They ignore the norm, what is expected, and go beyond that. They don't see world records as something that can't be attained but rather something to shoot for and exceed. Their circles, just like business startups, are HUGE.
The beautiful thing about this is that EVERYONE can learn to think like startups, innovators and world class athletes in their personal lives.  It's not a matter of being the best of the best in whatever you are doing but rather to be better than what you have become comfortable with.
This requires taking risks, going beyond the comfort zone and reaching for the outer boundary of the circle.

Another wonderful thing is that whether you are a mature company or an adult, you can change your boxes and circles through reinventing yourself. It isn't easy but it can be done and has been done plenty of times.
A great example of a company reinventing itself is Apple.  In the 70's and early 80's it was the Google of that era. Then restrictions and corporate rules stifled the company almost to the brink of extinction. Enter Steve Jobs to the rescue again, and Apple is now considered an innovative and forward thinking corporation.
People also reinvent themselves every day. Many factors can trigger going outside your comfort zone, the box, such as job loss or promotion, death in the family, marriage or divorce, or a major illness.
The bottom line is this, it can be done, as long as you recognize the boundaries that are constricting you and are willing to go beyond that!

The Forbidden Territory...

So what's beyond the circle? I don't know it all depends on many factors such as how large is your circle or basically, how much of a risk taker are you?

The forbidden territory can be good or bad.  It is good if your circle of risk taking is small and you need to push it further into this territory.
It is bad if you are already taking high levels of risk within the circle.  This territory can include chaos, total anarchy, recklessness, life threatening risks.  For example, rock climbing with ropes (within the box) to rock climbing without ropes (into the circle) to rock climbing without ropes and going for speed records (forbidden territory, one mistake and you die).

Limits and Boundaries conclusion...

Once someone realizes the concept of boxes and circles, and is willing to change, feel discomfort, and go through growing pains, this is when they will experience their full potential and capabilities.
Many people never get to that point, the fact that this post has made you think about it, puts you ahead of the crowd already.

Good luck, be brave and soar!

Fit Forlife

 

50 Shades of Natural...

I decided to write about what constitutes a 'natural' bodybuilder since there has been so much recent discussion on the subject. As the sport increases in popularity there is debate as to what is 'natural'.
This post is not meant to define 'natural' but rather provoke thought and commentary.
From a personal standpoint, I am ecstatic to see this form of bodybuilding since it leads to a prolonged and healthier lifestyle which is why most people get into fitness in the first place!

Why Natural Bodybuilding?

Fortunately there is a growing number of people that enjoy the bodybuilding lifestyle but do not want to get into the Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED's) that accompanies this when competing. This is especially true in certain bodybuilding governing bodies where to even place in a local event, your only chance is to 'juice'.

Just taking a look at the top competitions in the world like the Olympia or Arnold Classic, the competitors are becoming more and more like cartoon characters.  Now don't get me wrong, if that is your cup of tea, have at it. In fact I can say I've been there, done that, until I got smarter.
What annoys me though are people that try to deny that these contests are nothing more than who can take the most PED's without dying first.  What is even more annoying are those that say they have no long term negative effect on the body and will even defend the sudden deaths of so many past bodybuilding champions at an early age as nothing more than pure coincidence! 

Can you really tell the difference between cartoon and reality in these two pics?

 

The working out part is probably the easiest since you do it because you love it. From past personal experience, PED's make your workouts easier, not harder. Pushing yourself to do more is really not that big of a deal (pardon the pun!).

So back to the beginning; as a result of such PED abuse, unhealthy lifestyle and deaths, a grassroots group of bodybuilders calling themselves 'natural' has been taking hold.

What is a little amusing though, is that even amongst the natural competitors, there is debate as to what is cheating or not.  I see on FB posts and other forums some calling out others because they took a supplement that 'in their mind' was cheating and so on and so forth.

The definition of Natural...

Ok, if you are not going to allow PED's you have to define 'natural' right? More Natural Bodybuilding organizations have sprung up than Republican/Democratic debates on the economy!  You have the ABA, PNBA, INBA, NANBF and NPA just to name a few. Some of these are intermingled with each other in terms of sponsorships and promoting each other.

Most of the organizations follow the IOC banned substance list and all or some form of IOC testing.

So can you still cheat being Natural?

When you go to bodybuilding blogs and forums, there is heated debate on whether taking a natural substance that can stimulate your body is considered some form of cheating.

I find this amusing because where do you draw the line? Is it considered cheating if you took a natural supplement that helps your body produce xyz in your body in a natural way?

How far do you go in defining what cheating is? Is it cheating eating foods that have been pumped with artificial drugs and hormones? Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) is applied on most of our produce, is that considered cheating?  Should 'all natural' mean eating grass fed beef as an example,  and being 100% organic?  Should everything else that has been treated with some form of chemicals to enhance something be on some sort of banned list?! 

If that is the case, I guess everyone would be excluded from competing except the great Eugene Sandow, famous strongman from the 1800's?!

 

Why can the average Joe get on steroid therapy for an injury but a natural bodybuilder potentially lose their ability to compete if they do the same?

There are hormone replacement therapy clinics sprouting everywhere for those with low T counts as they age. The average person can take low T therapy with no problems but a natural bodybuilder can't?  Go to any gym in the country and you find men AND women that are juicing via hormone replacement therapy (wink wink).

 

Maybe testing in these natural events should involve what levels of T one can have in their body regardless of how they got to that level???  Maybe there should be 'T level' categories based on where you fall in your T count? Would that be a more fair way to compete since everyone is on the same level playing field?

In conclusion...

Regardless of what defines 'natural' amongst the governing bodies and participants, I am glad to see that they all strive to get away from the PED's that are prevalent in every sport today. It isn't just bodybuilding, it is everywhere. High school kids on baseball teams are even juicing just to gain a competitive advantage.

The tunnel vision of 'success' for many of our athletes today is to win at all costs and ignoring the fact they are role models for youths that will emulate what their heroes' are doing.

It is a sad state of affairs so I am glad that natural bodybuilding is out promoting their sport and serving to be true role models for those that are seeking a healthy lifestyle.

Although there is a definite difference in physique size between a juiced up bodybuilder and a natural one, in my opinion it is much harder and takes a lot more dedication to do it the natural way than it does via the drug induced method.

I tip my hat to those men and women doing it the right way...

 

Fit Forlife