Do You Need a Workout Plan?

Here's a great answer to the question Do you need a workout plan? 

It depends.

That's the truth,

If you need structure, maybe you do.

Or you crave variety and being surprised then having no set 'plan' may work better for you.

Either way, you need to show up and work your ass off consistently.

You can be one of those guys with the little notepad, writing down every set, weight and exercise. Or you can go into the gym and wing it all the way from your warmup to your workout and cooldown. You do a cooldown right?  I didn't think so.

I've had great training plans and made progress. I've also had no real plan and made progress.

Depending on what you want to get out of your training, you may need to track your workouts and stick to a plan. There's some flexibility here too. The best plans allow for changes to be made over the course of the weeks/months.

There are a million ways to structure a workout/plan so I won't get into that here.

I'll leave you with this.  You should try a program at least once. Stick to it for 3-4 months. If you hate it or just don't like being tied to a single program then you've learned some valuable information.

You don't always have to have a goal with your training. Fitness is good enough on it's own without a specific goal, but if someone has a burning desire for a goal, then I say go for it with all you have!

3 Times Per Week for 30 Minutes is all you need!

Have you seen the articles that say all you need is 3 workouts per week for 30 minutes each session? 

Is this just a bunch of bull?

Nope.

In my experience with clients, if a guy hasn't worked out in awhile 3 days per week for a half hour each will be plenty.

If you are starting up at the gym after a long break or if you've never trained vigorously in your life, then 3 days will be plenty.

On the other days you need to do some walking. Yes, walking. Outside, inside, at the mall. I don't care. Just get in a walk every day. Ideally you will walk an hour every day, even on days you train with weights.

But I get it. You don't have time as it is. How are you supposed to do something physical every single day?

You start small. 20 minute walks. 30 minute workouts.

Find a way.

How does anyone do it?

You make it a priority. It should be anyway.

Once you establish this healthy habit for a few months you are ready to take it up a notch. You will no longer be sore from workouts (not AS sore at least) and you have already 'made time' for your health and fitness. Now it's time to take it up a notch.

Shoot for an hour of physical activity every day.

This could be weights or cardio. But just messing around in the yard does not count. This is your time. Where you are working on improving yourself. An hour a day. You can dedicate this time to your most important asset- your health.

Start small. 30 minutes. Even 15.. but eventually you will need to do more. Embrace it.

Now get started. Go for a walk today.

Mobility is sooooo boring

If you only had 30 minutes today to do some type of physical activity, what would it be?

A quick workout with weights? Maybe focus on just one exercise or one body part. Or maybe do some circuits, followed by some high intensity intervals.

But I high doubt you would include mobility in your 30 minutes.

Had this talk today with a client of mine. We were talking about the benefits of yoga. He said he wished he had time for that. The classes at the studio where I train are 60 minutes.

I said you could pick a few yoga postures and do them for 10-15 minutes each day. Even right after your regular workouts.

But 15 minutes of mobility is just damn boring. I get it.

I have skipped it many times myself.

But lately I have been making an effort to do it daily.

Part of what inspired me was a post I saw from a coach named Max Shank- it was called '5 minute flow".  Look it up.

Basically, you start your day with 5 minutes of mobility work. He suggests to just do circles with all your joints, if you are lacking ideas. Then start to incorporate some other movements. Work on your tight areas. Usually the hips/shoulders/upper back are trouble spots.

So you set a timer for 5 minutes. Do the work.Then drink 2 glasses of water.

This is a great start to the day.

If you're like me, you may be thinking 'it's only 5 minutes, will that make any difference?'

But before you answer, just try it for a week. Every day.

It's a much better way to start the day than head down, scanning your smartphone before getting an overpriced sugar-filled drink from planet Starbucks...

5 minutes.

Try it.

I have been doing it for over a week and I've found myself doing some extra minutes here and there, in addition to this. (post workout is a good time)

You Got Hurt Again?

I remember thinking I needed to catch up to the bigger guys at the gym as fast as I could. I didn't want them seeing me benching the light dumbbells for too long.

So I got injured lifting too heavy.

The injury healed up and soon after I could bench again with no pain I did it again.

With dumbbells on an incline.

A lot of coaches out there will tell you to use dumbbells if you have 'bad shoulders' and that the incline is often easier on the shoulders also.

But even if that is true, you can still mess your shoulders up if you lift improperly.

And what do I mean by improperly?

I mean lifting in a way that is not suited for your body. It will wreck your joints. Maybe not that day. Maybe not that month.. but eventually.

So you can do things 'right' according to others on the internet or a trainer/coach but only you are inside your body. Only you can feel the movement, the range of motion, the resistance, the stress, the pump, the stretch and the strength of the muscles and joints.

Don't be afraid to try different ranges of motion. Mix in various exercises. Try all kinds. If you find a handful that work for you and you don't desire more variety then go with that.

It's empowering to know that your strength and fitness plan is really up to you. There is no right or wrong, no matter what anyone says.

Resistance Training- All That You Control

I was fired up.

Maybe it was the little extra calories I had the day before after being in a caloric deficit for a few weeks.

Maybe it was my first few clients that came in before the sun was up and worked their rear ends off.

Maybe it was just one of those day.

I was all set to squat a thousand pounds. Hit the weights with a passion and aggression.

Then I started feeling a little kink in my shoulder. Even with a good warmup. For a moment I got mad.

Again..? Come on! 

So I said ok, it's not my day for putting a bar on my back and squatting so I did some variations instead.

Worked the legs. That was the point anyway.

I had my mind set on doing the squats a specific way but I've learned to listen to my body as it gives clues to what is feeling right and what isn't.

In previous years I would just push right through that little pain and maybe nothing came of it...or maybe it got worse. That has happened many times over the years and I think maybe (finally) I have learned to take the signals and adapt on the fly.

Live to fight another day.

One of the only things we have control over, our fitness. And at my nice young age of 37, with almost 20 years in the gym and many years before that playing baseball, football, hockey.. I think it's a good idea to train in a way that builds my body/mind up, rather than snap up the joints.

So get in the gym and get crazy. But have the awareness to listen when you should hold back, or switch it up or adapt in some way to make progress rather than regress.

Quickie for Fat Loss and Mental Toughness

Back when I was working 2 jobs and 'finding time' was very difficult this is one quick workout I would do.

When? On my lunch break.

How long did it take? 15-30 minutes.

What equipment is needed? None.

Who is this for? Anyone who works in an office type job where you get an hour, or even half hour lunch break. And you have access to some stairs. So technically no equipment but having stairs will help. 

Yes, you can find a way if you don't have stairs, so don't ask.

First I would climb the stairs. Our building had 5 floors. I went from the bottom to the top. Then down to the bottom. That was 1.

I did anywhere from 5-10 of these. When I first started this I did maybe 3-4. Just walking stairs can be challenging when you aren't accustomed to it.

After that I was good and warmed up and I did some bodyweight work.

Usually I did pushups, squats and some form of plank or bird dog. Anywhere from 3-10 rounds performed. 

Change up the reps, the speed, pause and contract. Mix it up.

The no time excuse is just that, an excuse. You have a break at work. You have 15-30 minutes to do something physical.

Just get it done.

If you want more ideas feel free to email me and I'll help you out.

One more thing before I go.

This little workout may not seem like much. It may seem insignificant. Like what's the point?

If you can't get into a fancy gym, how effective can the workout be?

It's effective, trust me.

And even more than that, it's the little things you do consistently that will add up over time.

Every 15 minutes you do a workout is going to add up over the week and the month. Every one counts.

Don't overlook the simple, minimalist workouts. They can be very important, especially when you're a busy dude and you can't get to a gym or find hours to work out.

Information Overload

I don't know about you but I get tired of all the information on diets, weight loss, the newest greatest pill that will burn fat while you sit on your couch and eat donuts all day.

Most of it is just garbage.

I love to learn and find new tips I can use in my own life and to help others, whether it's clients that I train or people I help over the internet.

But I like to learn and take action on what I learned.

Not just soak up endless information and never apply it. Just talking about it does nothing for me.

I'm an action man. I would rather get into the gym and try out a new method rather than debate if it will work or not.

How about you? Do you find there is way to much info, much of it conflicting?

One day there's a study saying coffee is bad. Next week it's good. It goes on and on with just about everything.

How do you sort through this mess?

Keep it simple.

You know what is good for you. What works for you and what doesn't.

You've tried different programs and failed or found success with them.

One thing people often overlook is the ability to listen to your body. To what the signals are. What it's telling you. If a certain food gives you problems. If an exercise keeps causing injury. If you feel one movement in the "wrong" area.

Take time to listen to your inner self. Whats going on inside. Really listen to it and forget about all the info on diets, fancy programs, supplements..

By all means, read. Learn. But take what is useful, apply it. And forget what is just taking up space in your brain.

Take action.

And if you find you still struggle, ask someone who has some experience dealing with the issue you are struggling with. Often, just one tip will make all the difference.

How Do You Get Motivated?

I'm fired up today. And I sure didn't wake up that way.

How do I get motivated? How do YOU get motivated? To train. To improve your fitness. To get stronger. To gain muscle, burn fat, get healthier, own your life, gain confidence, fill out a shirt, get better at a sport etc..

Regardless of what anyone else says, this is my opinion here. I believe that no one is 100% motivated at all times. And I also believe that motivation doesn't always have to come from within like some hardcore fitness gurus may say.

Example.

And I'll make this quick, because it's a blog not a novel and we all have like 5 seconds to spare so here we go.

Today I was exhausted. Spent. Almost hit the snooze this am. I never do that.

Fighting off some kind of sinus/allergy crap and it's annoying the heck out of me. Putting a drain on my energy. I can go on and on all the reasons why but here's what I did. The action.

I said I'm going to the gym to just do one exercise. Just 1. Then I'll sit in the sauna and sweat for a half hour. So that's what I set out to do.

Packed my gym bag, went to do my 1 exercise. It wasn't even going to be a really tough one. Just rear delts. But like almost every single time I play this mental trick on myself, once I get there, get going, warm up, feel some blood moving in the body, a bit of sweat, heart rate goes up.. then on to the next exercise... few reps, some sets later.. on to the next.. and then I'm revved up with some music that gets me going.

I had some old school Black Sabbath come on. Boom, I started hitting up the dips with bodyweight for high reps. Feeling awesome. Still tired yes. Same body. Yes. Same mind. But I found a way that worked FOR ME.

And that's the answer.

Find whatever will get the job done for you. Today. This moment. OR whenever you go work out. Find it. It's out there. Or in there. Either way.

Maybe you need to get stronger for your family.

Maybe you have a wedding coming up and need to look better.

Whatever it is. Just do one exercise. Just do cardio. Just walk.. etc.. start. And you will be surprised how much just getting moving will do for you.

Motivation is not some magical thing that only the select few possess and they have it all the time. Everyone has to find ways to get up early. To go to work and stay late and still go to the gym afterwards when all they want to do is go lay on the couch and eat chips and dip.

Find a way. Outside. Or inside.

The Best Program You're Not Doing

The grass is always greener on the other side...

What's that guy over there doing? He looks like he's doing better than me...

Maybe I need to try that new program I just read about.

Or join that bootcamp to get rid of my beer belly..

There are always going to be get-rich-quick schemes. And fitness programs that promise super fast results.

And while some quick results are good, and can be encouraging and motivating, it's more about long-term progress.

Whenever you try something new it's fun. It works. For a little while.

As strength coach Dan John says "everything works for 6 weeks".. or was it 4 weeks? Either way.. Your body is not used to the stimulus. It must adapt. You get results. Often very quickly.

But this wears off. Now what?

Jump on another program every time the old one loses its novelty effect?

I find it exciting to program my own workouts. Tracking them on paper, changing things as I see fit. Finding new weakness and attacking them. Adjusting as I go along but sticking to a general plan. But I realize not everyone cares to do this or is as interested in fitness this way as I am.

So what should you do?

You can get a coach/trainer. Join a group fitness class. Find a training partner who can teach you something and you can bounce ideas off each other. Or get on legitimate program that you can tweak and use as a guide to follow.

Yes, the best program is the one you are not doing. But depending on what your goals are, and what kind of results you're after, maybe you shouldn't jump from one program to the next every few weeks.

When a program stops 'working'. Maybe you just need to make one or two small tweaks. Then go from there. Just don't change too many variables at once because then you won't know what worked and what didn't. 

Work hard and stay consistent. And find something you will enjoy!

Mondays are for Strength Training... or the Blues..

Are you ready for some Monday motivation?!! 

Yeah, me either.

Those posts are total bs as far as I'm concerned. No one reads them and goes out and dominates the day like they were suddenly shook from a daydream and now totally inspired to go get 'em.

I'm not a fan of the opposite either. The 'case of the Mondays' crew...   the ones who say "same shit, different day.. or "here we go again, another week..."

If that's you, find something to get fired up about.

I'm not talking just going to the gym either. Although for many of us, that is exactly what we need. What we look forward to. We crave it.

The challenge. The struggle. The sweat and the pain.

Get excited about something. 

In the gym or anywhere.

If you aren't excited about the day, or anything about it, pick one thing you can go dominate. Maybe it's some squats. Or sprints. Or taking a hike and going for a swim.

Do something physical that will get you going today. And every Monday.

It's not about being all "Monday morning motivation" rah rah.. but don't be the opposite either and say it''s just another lame Monday. Go set a new personal record. Hit one more rep than last time.

Get it. Today.

And tomorrow.

Regardless of the day, month, moon cycle..etc..

Quick Workouts

There will come a time when you just need to get in a 15-30 minute workout. You have no more time that day.

I used to think it was better to just take the whole day off to recover. And sometimes you need to do this. But honestly I think more people need to move more so an "off day" should still include some kind of "workout".  No, walking doesn't count here. It's good to walk. Do it daily. No kidding right? But as I go along in my life and my fitness journey I feel it's imperative to do something physical- with some kind of structure for AT LEAST 15 minutes a day.

Today I had about 23 minutes. Between clients that's all I had. The rest of the day just doesn't allow for it today. This is rare for my not to have at least an hour dedicated to my physical fitness but today was one of those days.

So what did I do?  What should you do?

Here's what I did and some ideas for you. I will keep it brief because I know our attention spans are what, 5 seconds or so?

So I did a mostly upper body- focused session.

Started with a warmup of bodyweight exercises- jumping jacks, reverse lunges, squats, pushups, trx facepulls.

Then I got into some circuits. I did pushups with feet elevated, chest supported rows, db cleans, lateral raises and db presses. High reps. No rest between exercises. I did this for a good 5-6 rounds then I mixed in some reverse lunges, trx face pulls and more pushups. Another 2-3 rounds and then I was done.

Not much equipment needed. And not much time.

You can find 15 minutes. It will make a difference.

Not only in your physique but in your mind. Your will. Keeping the habit of working to improve yourself daily is important. It's not just about burning fat but that's an element of it, for sure.

If you have no equipment you can do 15 minutes of bodyweight exercises. Start with squats and pushups. Do 5 reps and increase by 1 each set going back and forth until you reach failure. Then go to planks and reverse crunches, doing as many as possible then reducing the reps and/or time each set until you are done with 4-5 rounds.

There are many ways to get it done.

You could do it outside with no equipment. Mix in some sprints with bird dogs. Go for 5 minutes back and forth with limited to no rest. Then rest 1-2 minutes and repeat 2-3 more times.

15 minutes is enough.

In my opinion it's better than taking the whole day off to "rest" just laying on the couch eating and watching tv. Sure you can do that, I'm not against relaxing and taking some time off when you need it but overall we need to do more work. Be more active.

So do it daily.

You won't regret the days you do it.

Go Hard or Go Home?

Hey I'm all for going hard in the gym. You get what you give, right? The harder you work the better your results will be... for the most part.

But you have a life. You don't spend all your time and energy on working out and your nutrition and getting enough sleep, massage, stretching, yoga etc..

So this is where I say let's get realistic.

How much work can you do in a week to make progress? Should you always strive to do more? Or should you do just enough?

As with anything fitness-related, there are a ton of opinions on this and many studies, of course.

Here's my opinion, take it for what it is. My experience and my opinion. Works for a lot of people, but not for everyone.

Keep in mind that this is for a general fitness-enthusiast. It's a funny term, fitness-enthusiast, but when reading articles and books about fitness, remember that the writer has a specific person in mind. For me it's not an athlete. It's not a competitive bodybuilder or powerlifter. I am writing for the person who wants to get in better shape, get stronger and look better on the beach but who doesn't want to spend a ton of time in the gym (if at all) and who has a busy work life, family life and fitness is not the number 1 priority.

With that said...I'm not going to give you a number of days per week to workout or anything like that. What I want to do is give you an idea of how I like to structure going hard in the gym and having more "park bench" days.

One way that is very effective is to have a very hard day followed by an easier day. You could go heavier weight one day and the next you could do just bodyweight exercises and some machines (if at a gym)

Another great way to structure high intensity days is to just get after it when you get into the gym and feel like you are pumped, full of energy etc..

Not every day needs to be one of those all-out crazy marathon workouts where you leave every single drop of yourself in the gym and you have nothing left. Those memes that say you have to go hard or go home and that try to be hardcore and make everyone feel like if they don't basically pass out by the end of the workout that it's useless.

Pay no attention to memes on the internet! Seriously, they are the worst.

Mix in some very hard days with days that you go in work hard and do what you need to do. Put together enough of those and you will get where you want to go. Consistency is the key.  Not going as hard as possible for every single rep, exercise and workout.

The Right Fitness Plan for You

With so much information out there, how do you know what fitness plan you should follow?

Before I answer the question let me just make it clear what I want to do with this blog. Since this is my first blog post on this new blog (I had hundreds on my old blog) I want to start out by letting you know that I like to keep things simple. I'm all about results. For myself, for my clients and for you, the reader.

With that being said, back to the question.

The best fitness plan and the best diet plan is the one you will follow. The one you will do. Where you will be consistent, make progress and it's something you can stick to long-term.

Now I could go many directions with this point but like I said, I want to make this simple. Let's talk results.

1- Be realistic. How many days can you see yourself committing to the gym? Be honest with yourself. Same for your diet plan. Can you see yourself sticking to whatever diet you choose for 80% or more of the time?

2. Find something you enjoy. If you hate to run then don't try to run yourself into shape. Or if you can't stomach going into a commercial gym then find a way to work out in your garage or find a small studio with a trainer to help you out.

3. Experiment. Try different programs. Give a program some time to work before changing it up all the time but if you dread going to the gym and don't look forward to your workouts at all then you may need to find something else. There's no hard rule that says you have to lift a certain way or only do certain exercises.  Find your own way!

That's it for now. 

In this age of technology and social media there's enough to read and videos to watch. We have short attention spans. How much info can we even hold in our minds?  So I will keep these short and to the point with the hopes that it will help someone. If you have more questions, feel free to email me.

I usually reply within a day with my honest opinion.