The nutshell version of the parable is that the son (after whining like a little bitch from what I’ve read) was given his inheritance early and then he blew it all on hookers and drugs and limousines.  Ok, the Bible doesn’t say that exactly.  But this prodigal son wasted all of his inheritance on extravagances (including but not limited to prostitutes) and then came crawling home when he was flat-ass broke.  This son, after wasting his fortune, repents and returns home where his father holds a feast to celebrate his return.

“But it was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for this, your brother, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.”  — Luke 15:32.

Like I said, I’m not a Bible reader.  But this story hits home as I’m no more than 6 months from returning “home”. . .

I encounterd no prostitutes in the traditional sense (not even when I lived in Korea for a year!), but I’ve definitely sold my soul and been lost a few times.

I may not have ever missed a meal like the prodigal son, but damn if I wasn’t close a few times.

Bankruptcy still grinds like salt in a wound.  And it’s not the money – it’s the fact that I failed at the one thing I always wanted to do with my life when everything else that I didn’t want came with ease.

So returning home – both to small town Steubenville, Ohio and to the practice of law – does leave more than a small taste of humble pie on my palate.  Yet it also feels right.  Dare I say it feels exciting.  New beginnings have a sense of adventure no mater how austere their surroundings.

I haven’t lived in Steubenville in over 20 years.

My law license has been inactive since 2007.

The last business I started (and make no mistake a law practice is a business) crashed and burned.

So why go back?  Why return after all of this time?  Below are 4 reasons why I’m coming home:

1.  Austin has been great but it ain’t home.  Austin really is a great city and I’d like to return each year around SXSW.  But damn if I don’t miss the four seasons.  And summer was brutal – I expected heat but Texas has HEAT.  I guess I’m just a midwest boy at heart.  But I don’t regret my short foray into Texas one bit.  I needed to get away from Ohio (and far, far away) to clear my head and plan the next step.  Oh, and the pizza sucks in Texas.

2.  I’m not Jack Lalanne.  I make my living online helping people lose weight and get in shape.  But I question how long I can pull this off.  I turned 40 this past November and I feel confident I can pull this fitness “guru” gig off for another 10 years.   Maybe 15 if I’m lucky.  But after that. . . who knows?  I’m skeptical enough that i want to start a second career.  And I’ve known many more lawyers than fitness gurus that worked into their 60′s and 70′s.

3.  I want to be close to family.  I don’t have a big family.  There’s my mom.  There’s my dad.  There’s my sister and her two kids.  And that’s it.  And they all live in Steubenville or damned close.  My parents have been divorced since I was 12 or 13 but over the years they have mellowed to the point that dad is invited and welcome to mom’s house for holiday celebrations.  Everyone gets along for the most part despite what ever shit went down in the past.  I hope my parents live long lives but even in the most generous terms of “long” their time is short when considered in the grand scheme of things.  I want to be close to them while they’re still active and healthy.

4.  I honestly think I can do some good there.  Call me crazy, but I still believe there can be some honor in the practice of law.  Especially if I’m still generating income online from fitness work, I like to think there is a chance I can be objective and do good work (help people) without always looking at how much money I’m generating with “billable hours”.

All of that being said, I wouldn’t be playing the good blogger role unless I gave some “action steps” for those of you who have read this far.  But today I only have one action step. . .

Ask yourself… Where do you belong?

It sounds like a simple question.  But often, it is not so simple.  If you think you know where you belong go there and find out if you are correct.  Whether “there” is a country, a city, or a damned basket weaving club.  Go.  You won’t know if you’re right until you give yourself permission to be present.  Go.

Where do you need or want to “go”?  Where is “home” for you?  Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Stay strong,

Vic

________________________

Ok, so that was a bit of a diversion from my plan of steering this blog toward fitness topics.  But what can I say, it needed to come out.  But I still want to keep this crazy idea I have of linking to other great stuff on the web for each week so here we go. . .

Let’s say you have an amazing recipe that requires wine as one of the cooking ingredients.  But you are an alcoholic or otherwise completely abstain from alcohol for what ever reason.  There is an amazing solution that is looking to break through via Kick Starter that you should definitely check out.  See what I’m talking about by checking out The Dry Gourmet.

The Fit Jerk has been publishing an awesome resource on How To Deadlift.  Seriously, if you go to the gym and you are not pulling weight what the hell are you doing there?

I love podcasts.  I usually listen to them while I’m cleaning the kitchen or sweeping up all of Coda’s damned dog hair.  And a new podcast that just came out is from Roger Lawson and JC Deen and you can check it out by clicking here.

That’s it for this week!  You made it to the end of the article so go ahead and sign up for email updates of future articles.  Come on. . . all the cool kids are doing it.

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So you want to join a gym?

Awesome. 

Welcome to my church…

But are you looking for a church with 50 foot high ceilings, stained glass windows, and an ornate steeple?

Or do you like a simple yet beautiful patch of earth where you can kneel and pray? 

The choice is yours.  Allow this article to be your guide on selecting a gym that suits you.

Location

As a former fitness facility owner, I can tell you that the vast majority of a gym’s clients live or work within a 3 mile radius of where the gym is located.  Especially if you are new to fitness training, you want to make going to the gym as convenient as possible.  But if you are a die-hard fitness freak (I use that term with much love), you may be more than happy to travel extra miles to find that obscure kettlebell class, Crossfit box, yoga studio, or dungeon-style powerlifting mecca.

Something else to consider is parking availability.  Most large corporate gyms will have plentiful parking.  But your small independently owned gym might be a bit sparse (parking sucked at my first location).

Atmosphere

Call it atmosphere, vibe, energy, or style.  Every gym has an intangible quality that makes it feel like your home away from home or being caught in hell somewhere between standing in line at the post office and waiting to get your driver’s license renewed.

A big part of the atmosphere is the number of people training.  Some people like a packed gym and feed off of the energy.  Other people like the crowd sparse (that would be me) and love it when they are the only one in the gym.  The important thing is to visit the gym at the time of day you will be using it.  Also try to see what it’s like on a Monday, as that is usually the busiest day of the week for gyms.

If the gym you’re considering has a website, checking it out can give you a hint of the atmosphere.  But nothing beats checking it out in person.  When I moved to Austin, I selected my neighborhood specifically because it was close to a gym that had great reviews online as being known for no-nonsense training and they had all the equipment I could ever want (several power racks, Olympic lifting platforms, lots of dumbbells, and very few machines).

But when I went there for a week on a free pass, I hated it.  The “vibe” there made it a common occurrence for people to talk to me between sets and offer unsolicited advice on my technique.  Don’t get me wrong, no one was rude or condescending – I just didn’t feel comfortable with the vibe and culture of that gym.

Admittedly, I am one anti-social mofo when it comes to my gym time.  I ended up signing up with a national corporate chain gym that I absolutely love in large part because when my earbuds are in and I’m standing in the power rack, nobody says a peep to me.

Equipment

Speaking of power racks, does your gym have one?

If not, run like hell!

I’ve previously gone as far as saying that if you are not using a power rack at the gym, you might as well stay home for training.  That’s not me being “hardcore” or a “meat head”, that’s me being practical.

You can get a set of dumbbells and a door frame pull up bar that will cost you much less than a year’s worth of gym fees and train at home.  But a power rack, barbell, and plates can get a little pricey.  And even if you are willing to drop the coin or scan Craig’s List and find a killer deal (very possible), many people will not have the space in their home to have a rack and barbell set-up.

I suppose another reason to use the gym even if you don’t use the power rack (cringe), is because it really is your “church” of sorts. . . It’s a place where you find some mental, emotional, or spiritual clarity.  It gives you a much needed gap between work and home.  It provides a space where you can’t access the computer.  It’s your place of moving meditation.  You find solace there that you haven’t found anywhere else.  If that’s the case, great. . . But still consider stepping into the damned power rack.

If your gym does have at least one power rack with a barbell and plates, other pieces of equipment to look for include dumbbells and. . . dumbbells.

I’m only half way kidding.  But a pull up bar (often attached to the power rack), kettlebells, medicine balls, jump ropes, and boxing equipment are also nice to have around.  I’ll even admit to using cables on occasion and I think they can definitely have a place in a well rounded program.

But what about the cardio machines? 

Ahhh yes. . . treadmills and stationary bikes and ellipticals, oh my!  Believe it or not, there are actually a few “cardio” machines that I do like.  My requirements for a cardio machine are that it uses both the upper and lower body and it can stop and start on a dime.  That means I want to be able to go from a dead stop to an all out max effort with no lag time waiting for the damned machine to catch up.

So what machines meet those qualification?  The Concept2 Rower for sure.  I had one at my old gym and loved it.  I also like the Airdyne Bike and the VersaClimber.  And that’s about it.  Treadmills are for gerbils.

Payments, Contracts, And Upsells

I see nothing wrong with a gym requiring a contract.  I used to do it.

Same goes for automatic withdrawals.  I required it.  Just because the gym owner has solid business practices in place that increase the likelihood that they get paid does not mean that they are only interested in the money.  Money is the lifeblood of any business.  If you like your gym, pay the damned fee.  The lights might just stay on and the roof might not leak.

If the gym does require a contract, be sure to know what happens when the contract expires.  If you sign a 12 month agreement, what happens on month 13?  Does the contract go to a month to month agreement that you can cancel at anytime?  Or does it renew to another 12 month agreement?  Personally I would not sign a 12 month contract that rolled into another year at the expiration.  But the point is to be aware of this part of the contract, and be sure that you agree with the terms.

But how much should you pay?

It’s easy to throw around the old maxim of “you get what you pay for”, but that’s not always the case.  Any reputable gym should give you a free or extremely low cost trial period where you can use their facilities for a limited time and then make your decision on whether their fee warrants the benefits prior to signing a contract.

If the gym you are considering does not have a free or low cost trial, that usually means that they are only after your wallet.  But occasionally this means that it is a truly exclusive group and they don’t want any half-steppers – but that is the exception to the rule.

I pay $43.30 per month for my gym, and to me it’s worth every penny.  Other gyms can be close to $200 per month and some community centers or YMCA’s can be less than $30 per month.  The bottom line is that if you use it, and it improves your health, it’s tough to put a dollar amount on the value.  Personally I think anything less than $200 per month can be reasonable (not to include personal training).  It just depends on your use and the impact it has on your health and fitness.

One thing to keep an eye out for are aggressive sales tactics for personal training services, tanning packages, and other potential upsells.  When I joined my gym I asked the manager directly, “If I sign up here, am I going to be constantly pitched for personal training services?”.  He said no and I signed on the dotted line.  And I’ve never once encountered a sales pitch at this gym since I signed up.

But this is not always the case, especially in some of the larger corporate gym settings.  Trainers or sales people may have to report daily to management how many members they approached about training upsells, how many packages were sold, and/or how many referrals they received.  I’m not opposed to selling or marketing – in the proper context.  But when I’m at the gym for 30 minutes of “me” time is not the proper context.  If you don’t want to be bothered with the newly certified ACE fitness trainer practicing his sales skills, ask what the protocol is before you sign the contract.

Amenities

Personally the only amenities I care about are the equipment.  But I live less than a block from my gym, work from home, and don’t care about the shower facilities of my gym.

You on the other hand may be getting your workout in over your lunch break and have to be back in the office in a suit and tie (or skirt and heels as the case may be) for the afternoon.  If you will be using the locker room, be sure to check out the cleanliness but also be conscious of how many people are using the locker room.  Are there enough showers to accommodate the busy lunchtime gym blitz?  Are people courteous when they lay their stuff out on the benches or do they take up as much space as possible.  How many old dudes are walking around naked with their dingle-dangle wagging while their towel rests uselessly over their shoulder?  You know your personal preferences for cleanliness, personal space, and umm… showmanship – make sure the locker room of your gym meets your preferences.

Child care services are another bonus that parents may appreciate.  If you’ll be bringing children to the gym, be sure to stop by the child care area to meet the people responsible for watching the kids and to see how the kids interact with each other.

Other amenities your gym may have include free towels, sauna, swimming pool, cafe, 24 hour access, massage therapy, or chiropractic services.  Then again, you might be in a cinder block warehouse with concrete floors that has zero amenities.  It all comes down to your personal preferences.

Action Steps

If you’re ready to start the process of finding a gym, here are the steps that I recommend:

1.  Find gyms within a 3 mile radius of your home or work place.  Maybe you already have a few gyms in mind because you’ve seen their storefront signage on your drive to work or you already know people who train there.  If not, Google Maps is a good resource to use.  Type your address into Google Maps, click on the red icon that designates your address, and then click “search near by”.  Type “gym” in the search box and the map will show the location of the gyms near your home and have a corresponding list in the left hand column.

2.  Select a gym that appeals to you, and go visit.  Do not call and set an appointment.  You want to catch them off guard so you can get a taste of their customer service when they may not be expecting it.  When you get there, ask for a tour of the facility.  If you like what you see of the equipment, amenities, and atmosphere, ask for a trial pass.  If this is not free or costs more than $20.00 leave immediately.  Ideally the trial pass should be for at least a few days if not a full week or two.  Also be aware of the sales tactics.  Are they trying to pressure into a sale right there on the spot, or do they get you a trial pass with minimal paperwork and hassle?

3.  Train at the gym.  I know it’s an obvious step, but be sure to use the trial pass.  Make sure you go on the days and times that you will be using the gym if you sign up.  Be aware of the things that will weigh on your decision to join.  Is the equipment clean and in good service?  Are you comfortable with the crowd at the time you train?  Are you satisfied with the locker room, child care, and other ammenities?

4.  Ask for the contract.  Two days before your trial expires, ask for a copy of the enrollment contract.  Take it home and read it.  If there is a “corporate policy” against taking the contract out of the facility before enrolling and you otherwise like the gym, ask if you can come in the next day and sit in their lobby and review the contract (this is why I recommend asking two days before the trial expires).  If they won’t let you do that, then be prepared for hard-sell tactics and consider looking into a different gym.

5.  Review the contract.  You should not need a lawyer to decipher the agreement.  It should be written in plain language, ideally with subheadings that let you know what each paragraph is about.  Look for what happens at the expiration of the contract (does it roll over to month to month or renew for the full term of the original agreement).  Also look for what happens if you move away from the area, become injured (not necessarily through training) and can’t use the facility, or miss a monthly payment.

6.  Sign up and train!  If you are happy with the terms of the agreement and you like everything else about the gym, get signed up and start training!  You may need to bring a voided check if you are going to have the payment automatically withdrawn from your checking account, otherwise bring your credit card.  Something else that I didn’t mention is that many gyms, especially independently owned gyms, may be open to receiving payment in full for an entire year at a discounted rate.

So there you go!  Not a bad guide for selecting a gym, eh?  If you enjoyed this article many thanks for spreading the word on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+.  And if you have any questions about selecting a gym, let me know in the comments below.

Stay strong,

Vic

___________________

Since I’m now only posting once per week to this blog, I want to start including some great links from around the web at the end of each article.  This week we have a free book, a poetry contest about bacon, this blog going mobile, and an amazing weight loss transformation. . .

Joshua Millburn of TheMinimalists.com has an excellent work of fiction available for your favorite price – free.  I’ve read the book and it’s top notch.  Click the link to get your free digital copy of Falling While Sitting Down.

Doug Grootveld of WellnessRenegade.com has an awesome tribute to beloved bacon.  He’s created a pretty funny video about the health benefits of bacon and is hosting a poetry contest about bacon where you can win… bacon!  But you’ll have to beat my Jay-Z themed ode to bacon which you can read in the comments of the post by clicking here.

You can now read this blog on your smart phone and I know you can’t wait to do so while you drink a cup of coffee, eat a sandwich, and drive a stick shift.  If you are looking to have your site go mobile or need other web marketing services, be sure to contact Jessee at www.fresnowebmarketing.com.

Steve Kamb of NerdFitness.com published an amazing weight loss transformation story this week.  How amazing?  128 pounds lost in 10 months amazing.  Be sure to read all about it by clicking here.

That’s it for this week!  If you made at this far, you might as well sign up for future updates.  Heck, I’ll even throw in a PDF that shows exactly what I ate and how I trained to lose over 17 pounds in a month.  Go ahead and submit your email address below.  I double dog dare you.

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But before we get any further, let me come clean. . . I’ve never been very strong.  The most I’ve ever pulled on a deadlift is 315 lbs and the most I’ve ever squatted is 265 lbs (at a bodyweight of 160 lbs).  To those new to strength training, those numbers might sound solid.  But to the well initiated, those numbers are not impressive.  What I’m getting at is that if you’re new to strength training, I have good experience helping people get started and ensuring proper technique.  But if you’ve been at the strength game for a while, you might want to check out some other resources such as those from Roger Lawson and JC Deen.

OK, so assuming you’re a newbie – where do you start?  If you are new to fitness training, then you may not be sure what exercises to do or what pieces of equipment you should use when working on strength.  This guide will help you navigate your journey of getting stronger from beginning to even intermediate stages.  So go ahead and bookmark this page right now.

Begin With Bodyweight Exercises

Most people would not think of the push up or the bodyweight squat as effective exercises for building strength.  But it all depends on your current fitness capacity.  If you can’t do a single full range of motion push up, then you have no business getting on a bench for the bench press.  If you can’t do a single full range of motion squat with just your bodyweight, then you have no business throwing a bar across your shoulders and stepping into the squat rack.  In my experience, this is a very common scenario – years of atrophy from having your ass planted on a couch watching television or a desk chair in your cubicle without any physical activity can lead to the necessity to take things back to basics.

If you are brand new to fitness training, spend a good deal of time working on becoming proficient with the basic bodyweight exercises.  Focus on proper skeletal alignment and joint angles, moving through the entire range of motion on each exercise, and efficient force output.  Don’t be in a rush to jump into the free weights – you’ll only be tempting injury.

As long as you develop clean technique, you don’t have to stick with a bodyweight-only regimen for long.  If you force me to give a set number of repetitions before you move on to free weights, I’d say to be able to do at least 10 push ups and 20 squats.  But in reality those are pretty arbitrary numbers – the important thing is to develop some skill and confidence moving just your body through various planes of motion before adding external resistance.

But what about the pull up?  I LOVE pull ups.  But they are often outside of the beginner’s fitness capacity, so I’m going to save the pull up topic for another day.  For now, I’ll just say that the pull up is my preferred exercise for developing upper body pulling strength.

Practice The Free Weight Exercises

Once you’ve developed some basic body-weight exercise proficiency, it’s time to move to the free weights.  I prefer the barbell, but dumbbells can also be used.  I recommend sticking to four basic exercises: squat, deadlift, standing overhead press (or push press), and the pull up.  Ok, so the pull up does not require a barbell or dumbbells.  But if you’re new to strength training, do your damned pull ups and don’t worry about adding extra weight at this point.  In fact at this point, I’m recommending using relatively light weight for all of your lifts and focusing on technique as opposed to strength.

Say Whaaaaat?  Hey Vic, at the beginning of this article I thought you said strength training was moving heavy weight for low reps?

‘Tis true, ’tis true.  But you are not yet ready for the big weights Young Jedi.

First you must focus on skill acquirement.  Just like learning how to tie your shoes or play the piano, learning how to do the basic strength exercises will require practice.  And it is only during this “practice phase” that I recommend the stereotypical glossy fitness magazine prescription of three sets of ten repetitions per exercise.

You’re working on getting into a groove of proper technique in this phase, not piling on the weight.  But you will get “stronger” – meaning you will be able to put more weight on the bar as this phase progresses.   Just realize that the increased weights will likely be due to technique improvements as opposed to an increase in force output capacity from a muscular standpoint.

So how long do you stay in this practice phase?  Until you feel comfortable and confident moving through each of the exercises with full range of motion.  Again, I know that’s not a specific answer but cookie cutters do not forge the human body. . . but two to four weeks is a good ball park range to shoot for before you start putting some damned weight on the bar. . .

Put Some Damned Weight On The Bar!

So you can knock out push ups and bodyweight squats with no problem.  And you’ve developed confidence in your technique with the barbell squat, deadlift, and overhead press by using low to moderate weight in a high rep range.  Well then it’s time to put some damned weight on the bar!

But how much weight?  This is where a training journal becomes crucial.  Be sure to write down the exercises you do, the weight used, and the sets and reps for each training session.  Start with a conservative estimate of a weight you feel you could life for 5 repetitions.  And then try to lift it for 5 reps.  Did you do the 5 reps?  Did you only do 3?  Did it feel like you could have done 8?  Write it down.  Adjust the weight accordingly for your next set.

But what about a specific program once you are ready to put some damned weight on the bar?  The 5 x 5 program (do five repetitions for 5 sets of each of the basic strength exercises) can be very effective and you can find out more about it with a quick Google search.  But my personal preference is for a rolling 1, 3, 5 repetition format and I’ve included a 6 week plan in PDF format below.

That’s right, all you have to do is right click the link below and then click “save link as” to get the complete six week program.  No purchase necessary and no email opt-in required.  Just remember I’m a hell of a guy and tell your friends where they can pick up this free strength guide.

FREE STRENGTH GUIDE

Right click the link above and then click “save link as”.

What questions do you have have about building strength?  What have you learned from your own strength building experience?  Share your thoughts in the comments below.

To receive future updates and a PDF report detailing exactly what I ate and how I trained to lose 17.6 lbs in only 31 days, enter your email address below:

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The truth is that you don’t need any equipment for fitness training.  Depending on your goals there are some pieces that can be useful, but these tools comprise a short list.  The list of exercises used can also be kept short and sweet.  Selecting one movement from each of the following categories is all that is needed:

Upper Body Push

If you are using body-weight training, the best upper body push exercise is the push up.  And I’m talking about the good old fashioned toes and palms on the ground back straight push up.  Sure, there are plenty of other push up variations available.  But if you focus on technique instead of banging out a bunch of sloppy high-speed repetitions that short the proper range of motion, the basic push up will be just fine for developing the pushing muscles of the chest, shoulders, and triceps.

If you are using free weights (either barbells or dumbbells) my preferred upper body pushing exercise is the standing overhead press.  To get even more particular, I tend to favor the push press as the slight dip and drive from the lower body allows for the use of heavier loads.

I favor the standing version over the seated, as standing involves more engagement of the lower back, hips, and abdominal muscles (how’s that for “core” training?).  I prefer the standing overhead press over the bench press as I’ve found the heavier loads of the bench press combined with the propensity for poor technique make it ripe for shoulder injuries.

I also like the “practical” or “functional” aspects of the overhead press when compared to the bench press.  You can see how the fitness developed with the overhead press could help you put a heavy box in your attic, but a situation similar to the bench press in “real life” is more difficult to identify.

Upper Body Pull

Earlier in the article, I stated that you don’t need any equipment for fitness training.  Well that’s not completely accurate if you are going to include upper body pulling exercises.  For upper body pulling you will need a tree branch, swing set, pull up bar, or some other stable object that will support your weight when you hang from it.

The pull up is the best upper body pulling exercise and  I prefer it over other free weight pulling exercises such as bent over rows.  Although I am a fan of using additional weight for the pull up (usually by suspending barbell plates from a weight belt) as long as sufficient volume has been worked up to with the body-weight only version.

One hiccup with the pull up is that it is outside of the current fitness capacity of many people, in particular those new to training.  In this situation I typically recommend the body row, although assisted pull ups using bands or a partner can also work.

Lower Body Push

Whether done with a barbell or body-weight only, the squat is the best lower body pushing movement.  Technique is crucial with this movement, especially if using free weights.

A common fear about squats is descending “below parallel”.  This refers to not going any deeper than when the thighs are parallel to the floor.  This fear is often misguided, as maintaining a strict one-size-fits-all rule for this movement cannot apply.  Squat depth will depend on a variety of factors including hamstring flexibility, core strength, knee health, and of course technique.  The guidelines I use for squat depth are twofold:

1.  Are you pain free during the movement?  If there is discomfort in the knees, lower back, or even ankles once certain depth of the movement is crossed, then the range of motion should be shortened to the point where pain is no longer present.

2.  Is there a point where the pelvis tips forward?  Some people are blessed and can do the “ass to the grass” full range of motion squat while maintaining proper skeletal alignment.  Most people will have a point in the bottom of the squat where the pelvis tips forward and the lower back rounds.  The range of motion should be stopped prior to this “tipping”.  Maintaining alignment through a greater range of motion can be improved through practice and often with attention paid to increasing hamstring flexibility.

Lower Body Pull

Training the lower body pull without using external resistance can be tricky.  For most people I recommend sprints as the hamstrings are highly engaged.  And as much as I love hill sprints, using a flat surface is probably better if your intent is to get some hamstring work.  Although sprinting more appropriately belongs in the heart rate acceleration portion of this post below.

Another option for a lower body pull body-weight exercise is what I call the single-leg bend and reach.  It’s basically a stiff-legged deadlift done on one leg without any additional weight.  This can be tricky from a balance standpoint, and even a hamstring flexibilty standpoint, and I rarely use it with clients.  Ideally training the lower body pull will be done with free weight exercises.

The best lower body pulling exercise is the deadlift.  The deadlift engages the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back like no other movement.  With proper technique and training, weights of two and even three times that of the lifter’s body-weight are achievable.  Lighter loads can also be used in a circuit training format such as doing ten deadlifts followed by 20 burpees and repeating for 3 – 5 cycles.

Heart Rate Acceleration

Nearly any jumping or bounding movement can be used to get the heart rate cranked.  As mentioned above, sprints are also an excellent option.  My three preferred exercises for this mode of training are burpees, jumping rope, and sprinting.

And to be clear I’m not talking about entering some “target heart rate zone” crap.  I’m talking about maximum effort until your lungs burn and your chest feels like it will explode.  I’ll pick 10 minutes of burpees over 30 minutes of long slow jogging for fat loss training and general conditioning any day of the week.

Putting It Together

Whether you are training with body-weight exercises or using free weights, you only need to select one movement from each category for your training program.  Over time you may want to change the exercises more for avoiding boredom than anything, but there is plenty of room for fitness improvement through only using four or five movements.  Here are examples for both body-weight and free weight training:

Body-weight Training:  Push up, pull up, squat, sprint.

Free Weight Training:  Standing overhead press, weighted pull ups, squats, deadlifts, jump rope.

For the body-weight movements, you could use those four movements in a circuit format 2 or 3 times per week and have a complete training program.  For the free weight exercises, I would try separating them into pushing and pulling days (overhead presses and squats on Monday and pull ups and deadlifts on Wednesday as an example) with a short but intense jump rope session at the end of each workout.

That’s it!  You don’t need a laundry list of exercises.  And you damned sure don’t need any machines.  Get stronger and leaner while keeping your workouts simple by following this minimalist guide to fitness.

How do you keep your fitness training simple?  Do you use any equipment?  Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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There are moments when closure occurs.  Many of these moments are relatively inconsequential – like the closing of this 40 Things I’ve Learned In 40 Years series.  But some of the moments of closure are life changing. . .  Divorce.  Bankruptcy.  The death of a close family member or friend.  And saying goodbye can be difficult.

But when the time comes, when all other alternatives have been expended, when you know that it must be done. . .  Say good bye.

It is that simple. But as I’m fond of saying in the fitness realm. . . simple does not mean easy.

Burn the bridge.  Cut the cord.  Delete their number from your phone.  What ever metaphor or real action that must take place for closure, do it.  Say good bye.  And mean it.

____________________________

Many thanks to everyone who followed this 40 Things I’ve Learned In 40 Years series.  It had its high points (Soldiers March, Warriors Dance was by far the most popular post).  But allow me to be honest – it had more downs.  Posting every day for 40 days is bound to lead to bouts of mediocrity and given the opportunity to repeat the exercise I would graciously refuse.  But I would not have the presence to pass on the hypothetical future opportunity but for engaging in this writing experience for the past 40 days.  So again, my sincere thanks to those of you who took this journey with me.

So what happens next?  What happens next is a short break.  I will not be posting again to this blog until the new year.  When I resume posting I have two courses of action planned:

1.  Effective January 1, 2012, I will resume daily posting to the Training & Diet page.  As you can imagine, posting everything you eat can become a bit tedious.  But. . . it’s also one of the most visited sections of this website so I know people are interested in my diet and training.  Also, it provides accountability to myself to get back on track after the holidays when I have no doubt indulged and strayed from my preferred dietary plan.   So I’ll commit to recording my diet and exercise sessions for January 2012.  After that, no promises.  But for January I’ll record my diet and exercise (the good, the bad, and the ugly).

2.  Blog posts will drop to once per week.  This blog has been up for close to a year now (April 2011 was the first post).  I’ve flirted with a variety of posting schedules, but as of the new year I’m going with the least frequent schedule I’ve tried so far – once per week.  Also, I will be leaning the article themes of this blog from general personal development to more fitness oriented topics. For the most part, I’ve skirted writing about fitness topics on this blog so as to not conflict with or duplicate my work with the 31 Day Fat Loss Cure.  But I believe there are plenty of topics within the realm of health and fitness that can be covered without overlap between the two blogs.  This blog will focus on the philosophy of training (such as here and here) as well as more practical “how to” posts on muscle building and strength.  I’ll reserve my fat loss advice for the 31 Day Fat Loss Cure blog.

Once again, thank you to everyone who followed the 40 Things I’ve Learned series.  Coda and I look forward to connecting with you in the new year!

Focus is simply paying attention to one thing at a time.  In our modern era of hyper-connectivity this is often a lost skill.  If you don’t already, consider trying some of the following:

When you eat, eat.  Put away your phone and don’t eat in front of the computer or television.

When you drive, drive.  Put your phone in the center console or glove box.

When you train, train.  If you listen to music on a smart phone in the gym or record your workouts on an app, that’s fine.  But turn the phone function on “air plane mode” when at the gym.

When you are with someone, be with someone.  If you are expecting an important call or checking website statistics on a new project and you tell me this at the beginning of our engagement, I don’t have a problem with your phone on the table.  But if you are otherwise compulsively looking at your phone during our attempted conversation, the attempt will be short lived on my end.

OK, I admit it – I have a disdain for our cell phone culture.  So much so that I have not owned a phone for nearly a year.  The cell phone has been ubiquitous for only the last 10 years or so – do you remember the moments of peace, quiet reflection, focus, and true engagement before then?  Please put away the phone.

Why not try going without the phone for just one day?  Read more about that at my friend Matt Madeiro’s post “Forget Your Phone”.

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In the 4 Pillars Of Achieving Any Fitness Goal, rest is the third pillar.  In my experience, it is also the most neglected.

Check the magazine rack of your local super market and you’ll see the headlines blaring some derivative of “Top 10 Exercises For Flat Sexy Abs” and “The #1 Diet To Lose 10 Pounds This Month”.  But you’ll never see “How To Maximize Your Hormone Profile, Increase Muscle Recovery, And Improve Focus And Energy By Getting A Good Night’s Sleep.”

Sleep is not sexy.  You can’t slap a celebrity endorsement on it and sell it as the latest program, potion, or gizmo.  And rest in general is pushed aside for either always being on the go or filling the void with mindless entertainment and distractions.

Eb and flow, wax and wane, reap and sow.  Nature dictates that periods of effort be balanced with periods of renewal.  Growth does not happen during the pushing and pulling but during the recovery after action.  Rest.

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This is #37 of 40 Things I’ve Learned In 40 Years.  To see a list of these short daily writings, click here.

In my first session with my new coach, he told me a story about Gandhi.  Now I make no claim as to the historical accuracy of the story and that doesn’t really matter.  You could just as easily insert any figure into the story from the Dali Lama to your beloved grandfather.  Just think of someone wise whom ever that may be for you.  Anyway, here’s the story. . .

A man came to Gandhi and asked him how to stop eating salt.  Gandhi said, “come back in two weeks.”  Two weeks later the man returned and again asked Gandhi how to stop eating salt.  Gandhi replied, “just stop eating salt.”  The man, slightly irritated, asked Gandhi why he didn’t say that two weeks ago.  Gandhi replied, “because two weeks ago, I was still eating salt.”

The internet is ripe with armchair experts.  And offline as well, we often hide behind “do as I say not as I do” because knowing what to do is the easy part.  But actually doing is where mastery evolves and leadership is earned.  Walk your talk.

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Moderation? It’s mediocrity, fear, and confusion in disguise. It’s the devil’s dilemma. It’s neither doing nor not doing. It’s the wobbling compromise that makes no one happy. Moderation is for the bland, the apologetic, for the fence-sitters of the world afraid to take a stand. It’s for those afraid to laugh or cry, for those afraid to live or die. Moderation…is lukewarm tea, the devil’s own brew.  “The Way Of The Peaceful Warrior” by Dan Millman.

It’s easy to get soft.  To get lulled to sleep by a steady paycheck and routines and rituals that maintain the status quo but don’t do much else.  We exercise, but not very hard.  We watch television, but not very much.  We watch our diet but eat what we want on the weekend.

There is no commitment.  There is no excitement.  There is no fire.  There’s no pain or suffering but there is also no joy or passion.  There is only comfort.  Comfort kills.

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This is #35 of 40 Things I’ve Learned In 40 Years.  To see a list of these short daily writings, click here.

I’m a fan of the “ready, fire, aim” approach to taking action.  Admittedly, it’s gotten me into trouble a few times.  But I’ll take a few lumps along the road over wondering “what if” any day.

Too often we get lost in research and analysis when the fastest way to find the answer is to try and see what happens.  If we miss the mark or fall off course, at least we have some feedback to gauge a response that is more likely to succeed.  And what’s really the worst thing that can happen?  Nearly any unwanted result, no matter how catastrophic it appears initially, can be recovered from.  Risk, fail, adjust, repeat.

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