Chapter III: Motivation for Change

Motivation is the biggest and most important part of achieving the physical fitness that you have always wanted. I always tell others who seek advice in fitness “Motivation is everything,” If you can’t stay motivated, no matter what you are doing, you will not be a productive individual. If you look at people who are very successful at what they do you will often see that they are very motivated. Some are motivated by money, success, power, or just being the best that they personally can be.

In the fitness world motivation is everything. How successful you are in achieving your personal fitness goals all depends on how you keep yourself motivated. If you can’t get yourself motivated to go for that walk or say no to that second piece of pie you ultimately will fail. No fitness supplement, workout machine, or even diet, will supply you with motivation to achieve your fitness goal. A person has to find what motivates them by his or her self. Once this source of motivation is discovered almost nothing can keep you from obtaining your goal.

The best part of motivation in the fitness world is that it is like a spark to a firework. Once you get the motivation to workout (Spark) you start to see results that you have been working towards. The more results the better the positive reinforcement of the motivation/ fitness goal will be. As in the firework analogy, once the firework is lit via the spark, there is no stopping you!

There are many ways to get and keep a person motivated. The way I kept myself motivated to lose weight and transform my body from fat to muscle has been to visualize myself at the beach with all the people I love and care about. The people in my vision make comments on how good I personally look with a swimming suit on. All this positive attention makes me feel good. When I come out of my trance I always look in the mirror and realize that I still have work to do in order to ALWAYS look and feel that good.

This is just one of many scenarios I put myself in. The point again is to find someone or something that gives you that intrinsic motivation to get the job done. Getting off the couch isn’t always easy to do.

I have heard wonders about dieting/working out with a partner. I personally never have used this technique for obtaining my own goals, but I have used this technique to help others. Having another person to go to the gym or simply go for a walk with is a great idea. This concept is what the personal trainer is based off of. A personal trainer is not right for everyone and often can be expensive. This is why I stress self motivation even though I am a personal trainer. Don’t get me wrong I love my profession, but I believe that anyone can be self motivated and obtain their fitness goals by their self. I am living proof! There are many self motivation books that are available online, and at local bookstores as well as libraries. I suggest that you check a few out.

Well that about wraps up this chapter, motivation is the backbone of this article and will be stress in almost every chapter in this guide. Remember in the fitness world, “Motivation is everything.”

Chapter II: Setting Obtainable Goals

After realizing that there needs to b a change implemented into your life, you must now set long term and short term goals for yourself. This applies to any sort of change that you want to undergo. For example, If you want to lose weight, you might want to set a short term goal such as two pounds a week or 10 pounds a month etc.

This is truly a huge step in the achieving total fitness. If you choose obtainable short and long term goals you will be able to actually see and feel the hard work you are doing. Each small goal you achieve is like a tiny battle you have won. The more battles you win the more likely you will win the war (Achieve your overall long term goal).

A fitness goal should be comprised of a few different parts. The first part of the goal should be what you want to change (lose weight, tone, build muscle etc.) The second part of the goal should be the amount of time that this goal should be done by (days, weeks, months.) The third and final part of goal planning is how you are going to do it. That is what the remainder of this guide will focus on.

Not everybody’s goals are the same so it is quite hard to generalize a typical goal. I will give a few example of unattainable and poor goal planning so you can see what to do and what not to do.

EXAMPLE #1

My name is Laura and my goal is to lose 40 pounds in two months. My short term goal is to lose about 3-4 pounds a week. I don’t really know how I am going to do this because I haven’t read the rest of the “Beginners Guide to Total Fitness”

This is an example of poor goal planning. A general rule of thumb that I tell people that work with in the gym is that you should never lose more than 2 pounds of weight a week. Now you might be wonderinig about shows like “The Biggest Loser.” The contestents on the biggest loser are under DIRECT medical supervison. After every workout they have they are montered by a medical personal. The medical community generally agrees with my “rule of thumb.” So in that being said the 40 pounds in one month is out.

EXAMPLE: 2

A more reasonable goal would be as follows: I would like to lose 40 pounds in 4 months. I will conquer my long term goal by setting a short term goal of 10 pounds a month as well as 2 pounds a week. As to how this will be done will be shown in later chapters in this guide.



Setting long and short term obtainable goals will help in the total fitness process. So far we have covered two critical steps in the total fitness transformation. The first was discovering a need to change lifestyle habits. This is all that this step required-just needed to realize that a change was needed. The second step was setting long and short term obtainable goals.

In the next chapter we will explore the motivation aspect of aquiring that physique that you have always wanted!

Chapter I: A Need for Change

Chapter I: A Need for Change

If you are reading this you may already have an idea that you need to make some sort of lifestyle change in order to be a fitter individual. That may be because you are slightly overweight, underweight, or maybe you even want to tone your body. The excess weight can be very unhealthy and often can be a source of many health-related problems.

Having a need for a change is the first step in becoming a healthy, physically fit individual. Without seeing this “need” to change, many individuals often do not make an attempt at making any sort of change. A need for change

I often hear people complain that they are over weight but have no idea where to start. This is where your journey begins. You must accept that you need to change in order to become a healthier better feeling, better looking individual. Realizing that you need a change is often the easiest step in achieving fitness. Physical appearance can be transformed through simple exercise. Here are some questions that help you realize what you want to change.

Am I over weight?

Am I upset with the way my body looks?

Do I avoid going to the pool or beach in fear of what other people think of my body?

Do I feel or look too skinny?

Is my lifestyle healthy?

In order to become a successfully fit person you must have some need or purpose to transform you body. Without reason, most attempts at becoming a healthy individual will fail.

Next we will explore setting goals that are obtainable and will promote your fitness.

The Guide to Your Transformation: Preface

I have decided to write a guide to help my readers become more fit. This guide will be updated everyday via chapters. Today we will start with chapter one and go for ten days until the guide is complete. The guide will contain items such as:

Supplements
Free Weights vs Machines

Dumbells vs Barbells

Big Gyms vs Small Gyms

Home vs Gym Workouts

Body Weight Exercises

Diet and Nutrition

Motivation

Keeping track of Progress

Achieving your goal

All of this plus much much more will be explained in detail every single post. Enjoy!

A Word on Supplements

Health supplements are both a blessing as well as a burden on the health/fitness industry. There are millions upon millions of dollars that are made off of supplements.

There are no Federal Drug Administration (FDA) regulations regarding supplements. This means that any company can put pretty much whatever they want into a pill and claim that it can build muscle, make you stronger, help you lose weight, or increase your sexual drive.

Some supplements are a great addition to a workout regiment. The problem lies when people take multiple supplements together that have no research when taken together. This is where many health problems may occur. My advice to the average Joe + Jane is to consult a doctor when taking any sort of supplement, whether it be a multivitamin or a testosterone booster.

I will go into more detail in over supplements in later posts.

The Basics of Diet

There is an abundance of bad information in regards to diet out there on the internet. This post is going to outline the basics of diet.

The first part about diet that we will cover is the caloric values of protein, carbohydrates, fats, and alcohols. They are as follows:


Protein - 4 Calories/Gram
Carbohydrate - 4 Calories/Gram
Alcohol - 7 Calories/Gram
Fat - 9 Calories/Gram



There is one basic concept in diet that needs to be introduced. If you burn more calories than you consume you will LOSE weight. If you consume more calories than you burn, you will GAIN weight. The trick of losing and gaining weight is finding out the RATE in which you burn calories. This is known as you base metabolic rate. The rate is the rate that your body burns calories to keep it functioning. It is the amount of calories you would need to basically be a couch potato. All conscious people burn more than their base metabolic rate.

There are many BMR calculators on the internet that can help you figure out what your BMR is. Once you figure this out you can adjust the amount of calories you eat to gain or lose weight.

It is recommended that people neither gain or lose more than two pounds a week. There are exceptions for severely obese or severely skinny people.

This is a very basic look at the diet. If you would like to know more feel free to e-mail and I will be more than happy to explain much more and hopefully answer any questions you have.

Good Workout Habits

Good habits provide the basis for great success. If you don't start off with good habits chances are that you are not going to be successful at what you do. This is especially important while trying to follow some sort of workout plan, whether it be to slim down or to bulk up and get stronger.

The first workout habit that I find the most important is..... Record,Record, Record! Write down what you have done for the day. Whether it is pedaling on a bike for 30 minutes or Bench Pressing 225 pounds 12 times. Creating a workout log provides you with a detailed history of what you have done. You can compare what you have done to what you were supposed to do. You can track how much improvement you have shown throughout your long hard weeks in the gym.

The next workout habit that is important is consistency. You must be consistent while working out. Everyone has their "off" days. That really isn't a problem unless your "off" days become a regular occurrence. This can easily be seen if you keep a workout log.

Another good habit to have while working out is a POSITIVE ATTITUDE! If you work out grumpy or sad EVERYDAY, you are going to make very little progress while working out. There are many other good habits to have while working out but these are the easiest and involve little to no effort.

Jake's Big Three

1)Create a Workout Log
2)Consistency
3)Positive Attitude

Myths, Lies, and Scams

I was searching the net and was sickened by the amount of bad information that it out on the internet. There are so many websites promising miracle pills, exercises, and advice that will give the reader instant gratification. The truth is that there are no quick fixes. If there is a pill that causes you to lose 10 pounds in two weeks its extremely unhealthy.

I came across a website http://www.fireyourfat.com/?gclid=CKLhxqfN85UCFQOuFQodeWlwjQ I was very surprised that apparently Opera and many other celebrities endorse such a product. There are many, many others available on the internet that promise quick and easy results. The only Drug that has been FDA approved is ALLI.


I want the subscribers to my blog to understand that most of the information on the internet is not academically based and often is there to make some sort of profit. I have visited too many "fitness" websites that look good when they first are looked at, but when closely examined the website ultimately was there to sell a product. The only websites that I have found as of right now are those created and maintained by the federal government.

So, I would like to forewarn my readers to be careful and closely examine all of the information that you receive from the internet.



Here are some good websites that give you a good guideline on how to do that!
http://www.virtualchase.com/quality/checklist_print.html
http://www.library.jhu.edu/researchhelp/general/evaluating/
http://www.rbs0.com/credible.pdf

Fast Food Nation

Look around, in almost every single township in the United States of America there is some sort of local fast food joint. In cities they are everywhere. You can get almost anything from burgers, tacos, to ice cream. Its quick, cheap, and very convenient for people to make a stop at a fast food restaurant. Really there is no problem with the occasional stop at the local fast food joint as long as it remains fairly infrequent. The occasional stop becomes a problem when it no longer becomes an "occasional" stop but rather a repetitive action.

Okay, I know what you are thinking, what does an occasional stop actually mean? When does this become a frequent and repetitive action? Well, what it essentially comes down to is this, how healthy do you actually want to be? It is common sense but needs to be said-If you want to be a healthy individual, you need to stray away from "convenient foods" such as candy bars, chips, fries, fast food burgers, chicken, etc.

There has been a period of my life where I believe I had a psychological addiction to fast food. I used to go at least 4-5 times a week to get all sorts of foods. Whether it was burgers, roast beef, chicken, fries, onion rings, tacos etc. In a period of 3-4 months I went from weighing 190 pounds to 220 pounds. I had no concept of nutrition, exercise, or even just being an active individual. I craved the food when I wasn't eating it, and was absolutely in heaven when I was consuming it. It really didn't hit me until I looked in the mirror one day and realized that the hard work that I had done in getting my body in good shape was in vain.

I realized that the blame was solely on my shoulders. I sat down and reflected on how I got to that particular point. I was overweight and out of shape. I still lifted weights on a regular basis and was still physically strong but, I lost all of my definition due to the extra fat that was deposited around my muscles. I had gained very little strength and actually noticed a drop in energy when I was eating fast food frequently. I promised myself that I would change my ways and begin eating a healthier variety of foods.

My words of wisdom in regards to fast food are as follows: Use fast food only as a rare substitute to a meal. Remember that most fast food restaurants offer almost no nutritional value besides calories. I'm not saying that fast food restaurants are to bad or evil. I think that they are a nice way to go out and have a social meal with someone, or even to grab a bite to eat when you are in a pinch. The problem is when people become frequent visitors. So, stop and think, How often do I frequent fast food restaurants. Then ask yourself what are my health goals? If you realize there is a contradiction between those two questions, there needs to be change...

Any questions or comments please e-mail me at JakeSternBower@yahoo.com

Workout Programs Catered to YOU!

I have voluntarily began to start making workout programs for patrons at my local gym. After a couple of months, many people have come up to me and thanked me. For the most part, they have seen positive results. I can research and draw up the best workout program in the universe, but if you don't follow it correctly, it will ultimately fail. In saying that, If you would like to request a workout program please copy and paste the form below, fill out the information and send it to my e-mail address: jakesternbower@yahoo.com


Name:

Gender:

Height:

Weight:

Fitness Goal:

Approx. Body Fat %

Access to a fitness center/gym: y/n

Days a week you can workout:

What This Website Is All About

This website was created to help individuals become healthier, stronger, and more active. There are so many myths in the world of exercise/health that it is truly disgusting. Look at the amount of "Fad diets" that are out on the market compared to ones twenty years ago? Yet, the USA is still one of the fattest nations in the world and there really is no end in sight.

I have studied health and wellness along with anatomy, physiology, and have read countless books on nutrition, weight lifting, as well as exercise science.

I hope after reading each entry you will have learned something new about becoming a healthier individual.

Also, if you have any questions regarding anything I post, please feel free to e-mail me at JakeSternBower@yahoo.com. I will respond by posting the question and answer on the website. (changing the name)

Thanks,
Jake Sternbower