NordicTrack S22i Studio Bike

4.5

• Dimensions: 60" L x 22" W x 63" H
• Resistance levels: 24
• Available programming: Yes (requires iFIT subscription)
• Weight capacity: 350 pounds
• Type: Spin

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When I got an opportunity to review the NordicTrack S22i Studio Cycle, of course, I said yes. I had been shopping recently for an at-home option for cycling during the rainy winter months in Oregon, so trying out this cycle was an exciting prospect. Indoor exercise equipment has come a long way from when I was in my early 20’s and there are many affordable options for those who want to skip the gym occasionally or try a training program on their own.

NordicTrack as a brand has been in the business for a very long time. In fact, my 12-year-old treadmill is a NordicTrack (and it still works perfectly). NordicTrack has a history of creating long-lasting and quality products for gyms and for home use. From those I’ve talked to, NordicTrack is a household name and is commonly recognized from the average Joes to fitness enthusiasts. Most agree, there is a place for stationary equipment in the home.

About the NordicTrack S22i Studio Cycle

The S22i is a fully adjustable stationary bicycle. It has a 22” adjustable touchscreen that includes two digitally amplified speakers and an auxiliary port. There is also an HDMI option to use with a TV, but you may not need to because the monitor can tilt and also rotate 360 degrees.

The bike uses wifi to connect to NordicTrack’s iFit programming, where all the workouts are housed. You can track your stats, adjust the volume, and much more via the touchscreen. The monitor also includes an AutoBreeze adjustable fan, so when you are riding the hot mountains of Chile, you can feel the wind on your face.

The flywheel is inertia enhanced and offers SMR (Silent Magnetic Resistance) technology, so the spinning is very quiet. There are leveling feet installed on the base, so the bike remains stable during the workout. The frame is commercial-grade steel construction and is rated for riders up to 350lbs.

Every part of the bike is adjustable, from the saddle position to the handlebars, and it is easy to customize the ergonomics to fit a range of body types. The bike comes with regular bike pedals and straps, but can be changed to pedals of your choice.

The multi-position handlebars of the S22i start near the seat of the bike for closer hand positioning and go up to near the screen where adjustable OneTouch controls sit on the handlebars for manual resistance (24 levels) and incline adjustments from -10% to 20%. The handlebars have a non-slip grip, as well.

The saddle is adjustable vertically and horizontally to fit a range of inseams and comfort levels.

The studio cycle comes with a 1-year iFit membership, which gives you access to hundreds of rides of all types—studio, beginner, mountain bike, road bike—and includes off-the-bike training options. In addition, the S22i comes with two 3lb dumbbells that are used in some of the workouts that are guaranteed to make you thirsty, so it’s a good thing there are two places for water bottles.

The workouts include boot camp style workouts, high-energy studio sessions, trainer-led global workouts, incline cycling, yoga, and full-body options, among many others. There is just about every type of ride and difficulty level available along with varying options for length of rides, some as short as 20 minutes, others longer.

The frame of the S22i is 56.9” high, 55” long, and 21.9” wide, so it is small enough for apartment living or storage when necessary. The bike only requires a regular wall plug-in for power and can be easily moved when needed via small wheels attached to the frame. There is a 3-year parts warranty and a 1-year labor warranty included should anything come up.

NordicTrack iFit Programming

Once connected with wifi, and you are logged into your account, the user has a vast amount of programs to choose from. New workouts are uploaded daily and there are a wide variety of trainers to choose from depending on your mood, or your goals.

The programs all offer interactive training, so as the program moves along, the trainer adjusts the incline and resistance for the workouts. You can override this feature at any time during the workout, but you will most likely hit the calorie and watt goals if you are able to keep up with the cadence and allow the bike to adjust for you.

iFit programming uses Google Maps, so you are able to see parts of the world you might not normally during your training rides otherwise. With your login, your stats are tracked and will show weekly totals along with ride totals. The program is multi-user friendly, so four profiles per membership can be created so the whole family can track their statistics.

Pricing and Delivery

The S22i is $2999 (currently there a discount of $1000 applied to the cart) and includes a 1-year membership to iFit. There are financing options available, as well.

There is an option for White Glove Delivery and Installation for $249—this includes delivery, assembly, and installation. If you opt not to go with the delivery service, shipping is free and there is a 30-day return policy across the board.

So, What Did I Think?

This is one great looking bike. The quality of the frame and components are all very good. The engineering behind the design is well-researched and planned. Everything you need is within easy reach when you are spinning, so if you need to grab your weights, get a drink of water or adjust the resistance, it’s all quickly available.

I think the workouts available on iFit are truly fabulous—there really is something for everyone at every level. There is a wide variety of coaches, and some are former Olympic athletes. When you are riding, the experience is that you feel like you are there with them. All of the coaches are encouraging for the duration of each workout and all are excellent at communicating cadence and positioning during the ride so that you can get the most out of the workout.

The seat took a few sessions to get used to, as I expected. It can be easily switched with another seat type if it is not to your preference. By the third ride, I didn’t even notice the seat. My first few rides were with the pedals and straps included with the bike.

They are quality components, but for my preference, I switched those out for clip-in pedals and even though I got a lot out of the workouts, to begin with, the clip-ins made a big difference in my ability to keep up with the cadence needed on some of the workouts. If you decide to purchase an S22i, I highly recommend installing clip-in pedals—the swap was fast, just a few minutes.

The bike is stable while you are riding and does not feel flimsy or light if you stand up and sit down quickly. The handlebars provide a comfortable hold and grip whether you are standing or sitting. At first, I couldn’t get the handlebars to move up and down but realized that because the monitor is part of the handlebar assembly, it took more force to adjust. It is easy, but some pressure does have to be applied. The seat adjustment is much easier because there is no weight on the piece that slides into the frame.

The fan works well and the screen is very responsive to touch during the rides. The background music can be adjusted separately from the voice of the trainer, so you can get as little or as much of each of those as you would like during your workout.

The top of the screen tracks your stats during your ride, so you know where are you are at during the ride, and at the end of the ride your totals are calculated and displayed. There is a separate warm-up and cool-down before and after each workout at a few minutes each. Some of the workouts provide warm-up and cool-down instruction within them as well.

One thing that I did notice is that the first time the incline adjusted, the sound of it surprised me. It isn’t silent like the spinning is. It works very well and is part of the workout so after the first couple of times hearing it, I got used to the sound. Besides, I should be pedaling hard enough I can only hear the trainer’s instruction, right?

The bike can also be used manually, so if you opt not to do a workout, you can still use it as a regular stationary bike. One cool thing is that with the HDMI cable, you can play the ride on your TV. I have a separate good ol’ spin bike and my daughter sometimes hops on that and rides along beside me, and that makes it even more fun.

The Bottom Line

My opinion is that this bike is well worth the money. Along with the 30-day return policy, if you don’t like it, you really can’t go wrong. It is great fun and something that I look forward to using each time. This is an excellent purchase and I don’t see a downside to this bike. Everything works as it should and as advertised.

Two very enthusiastic thumbs-up from me.

We do not get paid to provide reviews. We may receive affiliate payments for links to Amazon for purchases. They’re not worth the price of selling your soul so, our integrity remains unsullied.

The post Everyone’s Bike: The NordicTrack S22i Review appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

I have a two-year-old son, a one-year-old baby girl, a beautiful wife who deserves my time, a book I’m finishing, a full-time job, and an online blog and lifestyle development business. In addition to these pursuits, I cook most of my meals at home and maintain a few self-development practices like gratitude, meditation, and reading. But the most important part of my routine is getting some exercise every day.

Every area of my life is amplified by my fitness habits, yet with so many pursuits it is harder than ever to find the time to exercise daily. I’ve found out the hard way that you can’t just keep adding to your plate and expect good results.

There is only so much quality work available to most people in a given week and we are all better off when we have space to sleep, play, and relax. So rather than trying to fit hour-long workouts on top of my already packed schedule, I shifted my fitness approach.

To my surprise, this past year I’ve maintained strength and endurance, lost a couple of pounds, and felt as good as ever while hardly ever having a formal “workout” that lasted longer than 25 minutes.

Humans lived with impressive strength and vigor for tens of thousands of years without any occasion to incorporate a regimented exercise routine. It was civilization that brought extensive chair sitting and compartmentalized our world into gyms where you work out and everywhere elsewhere you don’t. For most of us, there is no going back to those healthy nomadic patterns, but we can learn from them to start approaching fitness in a different way.

The two following principles have guided my shift in approach.

Principle 1: Exercise Every Day

“If it is important, do it every day.”

– Dan Gable

I exercise every day with a few sick-day and travel day exceptions. Even if it is just five minutes, I know that something is always better than nothing, so I do it. This consistency allows great results without having to exercise as long.

I never dread workouts because they aren’t a grand production. I get in an out and feel revitalized for the rest of my day. Even more, this allows me to autoregulate based on how I am feeling and take advantage of the science behind habits.

There is power in consistency. Habits tend to fall off when we allow ourselves to interrupt the pattern with days off. That is not a problem when you exercise every day. Maybe it is just your Monday to Friday workday routine, but consistency allows busy people to maintain their desired actions without requiring a massive expenditure of willpower.

You can accomplish this by setting a consistent block for exercise and be efficient about it. This can be made far easier if you embrace the kettlebell and bodyweight training approach. Portable modalities allow you to opt-out of inconvenient gym trips so you can exercise anywhere.

This approach does not lend well to strictly following most traditional exercise programs. If your goal is to do Wendler’s 5-3-1 or to follow each day’s CrossFit WOD, you are going to get frustrated quickly.

This is a more human approach to exercise where you drop the insistence on following a strict regimen and instead work on total body movements each day for as long as you have. You are practicing the skill of strength and better movements.

I tend to rotate variations of the following:

Option 1:

• 3/side heavy KB strict press
• 5/side heavy 1-leg RDL
• 10/side RKC rows

Circuit these for 3-4 rounds.

Option 2:

Pavel’s Kettlebell Simple & Sinister Program

• 5R/5L KB 1-arm swings
• 5R/5L Turkish get-ups

Option 3:

• Superset: 3×3/side 1-arm push-ups w/ 3×3/side KB full snatches w/mobility
• Superset: 3×1/side Turkish get-ups w/ 3×10/side 1-arm plank rows

Home Option:

• Strict pull-ups x40 throughout the day
• KB full snatches 3×3/side
• 1- leg squats 3×5/side
• Plyo push-ups 3×5

Or if you have time and kettlebells at home, you can choose any of the other options. Investing in a pull-up bar and a couple of kettlebells might go a long way to making your environment promote more daily movement.

Gut Check Day:

• 5 minute non-stop 1-arm kettlebell swings
• Push-up set to failure
• Tabata bear crawls

Often I’ll finish one of these options and have extra time. Depending on the day, I tend to fill that time playing with one or two of these movements:

• Bodyweight: airborne lunges, handstands, front levers, animal movements, muscle-ups
• Kettlebell: suitcase carries (switching arms at failure for as much time as I have); Turkish get-ups; KB full snatches

What about warm-ups? I usually do a round of:

• 5/side KB halos
• KB deep squat with knee distractions
• 5/side light KB 1-leg RDL
• 1/side light KB Turkish get-up
• 1xfail/side KB suitcase carry

By going heavy a couple of times a week, hitting big value movements, and maintaining a weekly gut check, I’ve made progress and had a lot of fun with these shorter workouts.

Principle 2: Move As a Way of Living

If this was the only movement I did in my day, my strength numbers might be okay, but I wouldn’t be as healthy, balanced, or effective in other pursuits. When you move as a way of being, this approach becomes a better way to live, rather than just a way to fit exercise into a busy schedule.

My formal “work out” block may only be 15-minutes on a busy Tuesday, but that is no big deal because I have other exercise built into my life.

Most days I hit four blocks of exercise:

• Wake up to a ten-minute flow/morning calisthenics routine

• Bike 20-minutes (five miles) to work
• 20-minute kettlebell-centric training session upon arrival at work
• Bike home

I do understand that I am lucky to live within biking distance of my workplace, to have an active job with access to a gym, and to have no social inhibitions about being the weirdo who doesn’t drive to work. Still, there are simple defaults that you can embrace to funnel yourself towards better health.

Suggested default behaviors:

• Wake to a movement flow, every morning.
• If there are stairs walk them.
• If the drive is less than a mile, walk it.
• Listen to podcasts or audiobooks while going on walks.

• Park at the furthest parking spot. (If you have two young children with you, don’t do this. It will piss off your spouse).

Be Present With Your Routine

Explore your life and consider other rules changes you can make to your environment that will funnel you toward more activity. For more help designing your life so that you automatically act like you’d want to, see my free ebook, The Essential Guide to Self-Mastery.

When you make movement a natural extension of your daily patterns, it is easy to fit exercise into every day.

The post How to Fit Exercise Into Every Day appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Before you start any fitness program or commit to a new way of eating, you have to really look at how you’ve been living and why you have been living that way. You can’t just turn the dial to awesomeness and expect change to follow. We are pulled by a lot more than just our New Year’s Day desires.

Take Jimmy, for example. He grew up “normal.” He’d go to school and check off the boxes on his way to graduation. He did the homework, passed the tests, and left each subject behind, never to inconvenience his daily life again. Most of his free time was spent playing sports or playing video games with friends and his diet consisted of predominantly soda, Frosted Flakes, Pop-Tarts, Cheetos, Funyuns, candy, pizza, and fast food.

This is the standard model of childhood. It’s the life our friends lived while we grew up and the life we saw on TV in everything from “Boy Meets World” to “Home Improvement.” If you’re a little older, it’s not much different. “Stranger Things,” “Billy Madison,” and “Ferris Bueller” show us just how little changed from the ’70’s and ’80’s babies to the ’90’s babies.

More recently, we’ve added the incessant pull of the iPhone to our children’s lives, but the story is the same. It is normal to eat nothing but processed, empty calories while hurrying through distant, isolated school curriculums so that you can get back to seeking pleasures and entertainments. This is normal.

So, at 30, Jimmy is wholly unsatisfied. Work is a chore and life is becoming bland and colorless. The video games, Netflix binges, and beers with friends are losing their luster. It isn’t that he doesn’t like his life or his friends, or even that he is depressed.

He’s just looking for something. He wants to do more, be more, and feel better. Having gained the weight everyone does in this standard model lifestyle, the next step seems obvious. He needs to start working out and eating better.

Don’t get me wrong. Eating well and exercising can change your life. They are the most common and obvious portal into self-development. But the way we typically approach them is far too narrow and this accounts for why the majority of people who start changing their lifestyle quit and fall back into their old patterns within a month.

Jimmy gets the gym membership and starts tracking his eating points. At first, he is excited for this novel challenge and the person he feels he can become. The boot camp class is hard but empowering and he’s excited to buy all that healthy stuff at the grocery store.

Conversations are filled with the standard affirmations: “Yeah, when you take care of your body, you just feel better all day.” But then it grows to be a chore. It’s tough getting up early enough to make it to the gym and after work he is very good at talking himself out of exercise and into pizza instead. Eventually, the self-improvement experiment ceases as he resumes normal patterns.

Why Lifestyle Changes Fail

There are many problems I could point to in this standard model approach to lifestyle change, but I’ll start with the most glaring. Jimmy tried to start behaving radically differently, despite not being any different or seeing the world with a different lens.

He did far too much and, yet, far too little. He tried to jump from level one to level five of training the body, all the while neglecting the other parts of himself that required training: the mind and the emotion.

Our world tends to categorize each concept and isolate it in its own little box. We do this in training as we put strength equipment in one area of the gym and cardio equipment in another. We think of ourselves as training the aerobic system or the anaerobic system, yet regardless of the activity we choose, both systems are always working together as a dependent unit.

Likewise, the body is not trained in isolation. We are more than bodies. At all times our mental and emotional systems are being utilized as well. And while training can help develop the mind and emotions, it usually can’t do the job alone.

We need to train the emotions so that we are able to understand what really drives our actions and we need to train the mind so that we understand the principles of our needs, our fulfillment, and how to get lasting success in our physical and emotional goals. You are body, mind, and emotion. Every pursuit calls on all three of these systems, yet we tend to only train the body.

Jimmy’s angst and sense of wanting was not purely a consequence of his poor physical health. There were far deeper roots that caused him to want to improve, but he only focused on the body. His failure wasn’t just a matter of demanding too much, it was a matter of demanding that he work his body at a higher level without raising his mental and emotional level in congruence.

A Better Way to Train

Rather than doing an hour of workouts three days per week and expecting to have the willpower to control all of his eating, Jimmy would have done better to invest a small daily effort in training his mind, body, and emotion.

He needed training that plays the long game. By training the mind, body, and emotion for only ten-minutes each day, Jimmy would build the foundation for far greater development in the long run and he’d create habits that allowed him to sustain that training.

For a long time I’ve advocated the three core habits. I co-authored an ebook to guide you through them and have written articles on what implementation might look like. But still, there is often something lost in the translation.

I knew that to really help people I needed to do more. So, Justin Lind and I got together and spent the last 6-months building the ultimate daily program for training the mind, body, and emotion in just 30 minutes each day. We call it the 30×30 Challenge.

This program is the ideal way for anyone to start their day. Maybe you are great with exercise, but you’d like to start moving a little in the morning to supplement your workouts and you want to begin training the mind and emotion.

Whether you are advanced or new to training, the 30×30 Challenge will supercharge your days and give you a new lens for creating a great life. I envision it as the ultimate morning program, but for people like Jimmy who are looking for lifestyle change, it fits conveniently in any 30 minute block within your day.

The IHD 30×30 Challenge requires no equipment other than your body and your internet connection. There is no gym and no prior expertise required. Each day for 30 days you’ll get a 30 minute self-development extravaganza featuring a daily mobility and exercise block, a daily lesson, and then a transition to our favorite emotional training practices, specifically gratitude and meditation.

Every feature of the program builds progressively so that the training of mind, body, and emotion support one another, gradually bringing you toward significant change. All you have to do is follow along as either Justin or myself take you through your daily development.

The 30×30 Challenge releases on September 15th 2019, but this is only a soft release. Justin and I will be offering four weekly webinar support sessions for the early sign-ups. You can learn more and reserve your spot on the list by heading to the 30×30 Challenge page.

I encourage you to challenge your friends to do it with you. We are social animals who will be far more consistent with our efforts when we enlist social support. You’ll love having someone to share your insights and thoughts after each day’s training.

The idea is simple. In just 30 minutes per day, you can create transformative change and initiate a sequence of positive momentum in your life. Accept the challenge and commit to a program that trains the whole you.

The post The 30-Day Challenge that Actually Works appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

By the time we have reached the age of thirty, the muscles used to straighten our spines (erector spinae) and keep our shoulders from falling forward (trapezius and rhomboids), have atrophied in the majority of North Americans largely due to a culture that avoids squatting at all costs.

From living a prosperous, sedentary lifestyle, shoulder and back pain are now common in our modern society which rewards us with paychecks for sitting at desks; keeping our arms out in front of us; work that involves mental rather than physical effort; and staring in front of computers for hours each day. Our twenty-first-century economy offers plenty of emotional, but not a lot of physical exhaustion on a daily basis—an unintended consequence of living in affluence.

The 10 Important Reasons to Squat: 1. Squats Correct Body Position

Muscles that hold our spines straight can be developed by putting enough weight on our backs for our erector muscles to strengthen naturally.

So many of us continue “going to the gym,” doing presses and pull-ups thinking that because we are in the accurate position for those particular exercises, our bodies are in the correct position—not true. Those exercises do increase muscle mass but are counterintuitive by creating muscle imbalance.

2. Squats Create a Boost in Human Growth Hormone (HGH)

When we start lifting heavier weights through squats, our large muscles exert tremendous effort which causes damage that must be repaired. As a result, our pituitary glands release natural human growth hormones (HGH) in order for us to mend.

HGH doesn’t just heal muscles; it stimulates bone strength, fat loss, increases energy, stabilizes mood, cell reproduction, and regeneration. The synthetic form of HGH was created in the 1980s and approved by the FDA. However, squatting releases these amazing hormones naturally.

3. Squats Burn Fat

Performing cardio will burn fat for up to two hours after completing our workouts. When we squat with weights, we will burn fat for 18 hours or more after we leave the gym.

Because the largest muscles burn the most calories, high repetition strength training creates what is known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), which is a term used for the length of time our metabolism elevates after exercise. If you want to build or maintain muscle while losing weight, squats is your answer.

4. Squats Slow the Signs of Aging

Squats increase the production of collagen, giving us a tightly toned appearance. An added benefit, by increasing our cardiovascular rate and blood flow, more nutrients are delivered to the skin cells all over our faces and bodies, which slows the typical signs of aging.

Collagen’s main function is to sustain tendons, skin, and cartilage thus providing integrity, and elasticity for our infrastructure, reducing wrinkles and fine lines.

5. Squats Prevent Osteoporosis

Squats improve bone density in our hips and spine. Bone health and strength prevent injuries. There are no warning signs before a first bone break. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you don’t need to be concerned with osteoporosis until you are over the age of 40. Promoting bone density at every age is essential.

6. Squats Reverse the Effects of Imbalances

Bones are held together by ligaments. Ligaments attach muscles to the bones. Unless we have strong muscles holding our bones in place, they will continue to move, causing pain. Squatting is the perfect symmetrical exercise, allowing the body to build the large muscle and ligament strength necessary to eliminate pain.

If you are like me, you go to a chiropractor. He or she pops bones back into place, but two weeks later, the pain returns. Why? Because we haven’t created the infrastructure to hold these bones in place naturally, one of the best ways to solve this issue is to load the body in a symmetrical way, which is squatting. I love my chiropractor, but I don’t want to have to see him or her every week to get pain relief.

7. Squats Strengthen Knees

Squats build the muscles (vastus medialis quadricep) that stabilize and protect the knee. Don’t buy into the myth that squatting is bad for knees. Done correctly, squatting is an excellent way to protect and support your knees. Like many of you, I bought into the myth spread by American culture that squatting is bad for my knees. My medical doctor told me I had chronic tendonitis and degeneration in my knees.

“So, what can I do about that?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he said. “It’s part of getting older. Eventually, you will have to have a new set of knees.”

Because I didn’t know any better, I accepted that answer. Then I started squatting. I noticed a little bit of new muscle growth above my knees after the first week of squats. More growth after the next week, more, and then a little more.

Now I have big teardrops (Vastus Medialis Quadricep) around my knees, and they are very stable, far more stable than when I was in my teens, and throughout my years of competition in Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling, and Grappling. Even if you have degeneration in your knees, squats will assist you in protecting what you still have for a longer period of time.

8. Squats Can Eliminate Chronic Pain

Finding our personal strength balance through squats is the answer to eliminating pain. The strength of our rhomboids and erector spinae muscles must match the strength of our pectorals to be pain-free.

Popular American weightlifting culture has evolved into an exercise of sculpting rather than balancing our muscles. We tend to constantly build muscles that show off our 6-packs while neglecting muscles that are doing the important work of holding our infrastructure in the correct position.

9. Squats Increase Flexibility

Squats increase flexibility in the hips, thoracis spine, shoulders, knees, and ankles. Flexible joints require less energy to move through a greater range of motion decreasing our overall risk of injury while increasing physical performance. This is a fancy way of saying that anything we do physically becomes easier.

10. Squats Increase Your Mind, Body, and Spirit Connection

Just as the rhomboid and pectoral muscles must be balanced in strength to be pain-free, the spirit, mind, and body must be balanced to achieve physical goals.

Please, Squat

Some days you are in so much pain that you may only be able to lift the bar. In life, 100% effort may just be getting out of bed and putting one foot in front of the other to get through the day. Emotional pain is as debilitating as physical pain. The approach is the same. Face it. Feel it.

Give 100% max effort, whatever that is for you, on any given day. Be proud of your accomplishments. Do it again tomorrow. The results will be incremental 1% gains adding up over time.

The post The 10 Most Important Reasons to Squat appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

“Looks familiar, doesn’t it? We’ve been here before, you and I, remember? I do. I think of nothing else.”

– Agent Smith (Matrix – Revolutions)

You’ve dedicated yourself to a training regimen. You’ve spent countless hours, days and years to forcibly change your physique. Then inevitability kicked in and you hit the wall. We’ve all been there before but we can do something about it.

“Looks familiar, doesn’t it? We’ve been here before, you and I, remember? I do. I think of nothing else.”

– Agent Smith (Matrix – Revolutions)

You’ve dedicated yourself to a training regimen. You’ve spent countless hours, days and years to forcibly change your physique. Then inevitability kicked in and you hit the wall. We’ve all been there before but we can do something about it.

Arnold Schwarzenegger explains it best in his BluePrint series. “I know what you’re going to do. You’re going to come into the gym at 5 am, go to the bench press, then do some push-ups, then some dips, then go do some chest press and finish with some pullovers. I know that routine—you can’t fool me. I’ve already adapted to that.” The problem idea here is adaptation.

The beautifully made machinery that is the human body is the ultimate adaptation machine and therefore its default setting becomes your worst nightmare. There is a bright side to this, so let’s get started.

What Is Adaptation?

The concept of the SAID principle (specific adaptation to imposed demands) is the preciseness to which our bodies can react and improve upon the response to an external stimulus. A common example is skin pigmentation in response to sun exposure.

The skin cells (melanocytes) which deposit color (melanin) are very specific in that only the areas exposed to the sunlight will “find a need” to increase melanin production in response to increased exposure. This can become permanent in the case of environment. Another example of this is eyesight.

Eyesight is popularly analogous to the camera in that in order to let in more light, one widens the lens, analogous to dilated eyes whereas restricting light requires a narrowing of the lens. Furthermore, distance and depth of field are analogous to zooming in and out on a camera.

This process is referred to as accommodation. Accommodation is typically the temporary result of the conflict between looking at a close or near object. In lifting, your muscles can both adapt and accommodate. This is the fundamental difference as to why your default may be causing you to regress, or plateau, instead of growing.

Muscle Accommodation Principles

During a workout, your muscles must respond to the imposed demands. However, shortly after exercise (an hour or two later), depending on the workout intensity, it may seem as if you never worked out at all (absence of the pump).

During the workout, it’s best to think of the work you put in like water and your muscles as a balloon or a stretchy reservoir with a valve. The more work you put in the more the balloon stretches and as you decrease intensity the balloon starts to return to its normal size. However, muscle can maintain its shape well after a workout if:

• Nutrition needs are met
• Versatility in exercise choice and tonnage forces delayed adaptation
• External stimuli and or assistance devices are implemented

Nutrition Defaults

We typically fall into the category of underfeeding or overfeeding. Very few of us consistently hit what is termed as “ maintenance calories.” Maintenance refers to the macronutrients (fats, protein, and carbohydrates) needed to sustain our present physique.

For instance, Mrs. Morris might be used to eating 1900 calories per day but based on her total daily energy expenditure (TDEE – also measured in kilocalories, unit of energy) she may need to be consuming closer to 3000 calories to maintain her workload and her body.

This becomes troublesome for Mrs. Morris because during her training period, she may want to implement two protein shakes in addition to her training once a week. The human body is so intelligent that, instead of demanding the body to obtain more calories on a regular basis, it will instead treat the two protein shakes as a simple surplus and allow the body to accommodate only for that day within the week returning to normal on the others days; maintaining homeostasis.

If we train under these conditions the body will not reset its caloric default, instead, it will call on the homeostatic powers of leptin, insulin, ghrelin, and a slew of helpful hormones to trick the body into satiation. However, what if we’re overfeeding? Glad you asked!

Say we have Mr. Sanchez, who is overweight and eats approximately 5000 calories per day. He decides to follow the latest trend on the renown ketogenic diet and sees remarkable results in the first month. Problem: despite the body adapting by breaking down fat through a process called lipolysis, the body also will begin to increase ketone bodies.

Like any process within the human body, there is always a level of catabolism and anabolism, oxidation and reduction. Ketone bodies provide energy during starvation periods, therefore, they are good but too much however, can cause Mr. Sanchez to become insensitive to insulin due to low circulating insulin levels while on this diet.

Another problem: insulin-like growth factor 1 which controls growth hormone levels, and ultimately muscle growth, is affected. The default for Mr. Sanchez with obesity and diabetes may be the reasoning for not changing his body composition despite his time in the gym. Therefore, despite his diet change, after three months he may complain of irritability, inability to maintain consistent weight loss, etc.

But there is good news! We can change our eating habits as we grow in our fitness journey. Customization is the spice of life. Learning to adapt your meals to your current goals and future goals is the ideal plan of action.

Following yo-yo diets and fads isn’t a recipe to fix a broken default button. Consult a registered dietician, health coach, gastroenterologist, and endocrinologist for example to find a very fitting plan. Resetting this default will be for the long term.

Intensity and Innovation Default

Intensity is the degree to which the respiratory, cardiovascular, and neuromuscular systems must work in order to respond effectively to a given stimulus. As a gym goer your goal is to stay on the linear progression train as long as humanly possible, such that you’re continuously increasing weight lifted which will ultimately increase tonnage, increasing neuromuscular efficiency (how well your neurons fire to stimulate your muscles) in addition to an increase in recovery time (reducing fatigue), and an increase in the efficiency of circulation and your breathing.

However, in order to prolong the adaptation process, powerlifters, for instance, include the principle of the deload week (season). This provides the body a moments reprieve (Kingdom Hearts pun not intended) in order to surpass a previous goal weight

In addition, deloads can be transitioned into different forms of training such as moving from power to strength to endurance. Perhaps changing the level of intensity and tonnage (weight x reps x sets) will provide a needed reset. Become innovative and seek a new high!

Innovation defaults typically occur due to a lack of self-knowledge. I don’t mean isolating yourself to find zen, I’m referring to how your body reacts to particular exercises. The default in this regard is a big trap to fall into because social media has in some way made the case for cookie cutter workouts and everyone has fallen victim. (Beating the dead horse here…but still.)

Your neuromuscular system will adapt and your musculoskeletal system will accommodate when you (for example) try to implement a different rep scheme in an attempt to “confuse” the muscle. I guarantee you, the only thing you’re confusing is yourself.

For example, push-ups (as basic as they may be might be) can add the complexity you need to a routine and by implementing different types of push-ups (such as Aztec push-ups or Hindu push-ups) you may get the change you need. In my own training, I haven’t done push-ups much, however, I can teach others how to do them.

My triceps simply do not get nearly as stimulated from push-ups as they do from dips or the Tate press. In order for you to reset this kind of default, find exercises that work and cycle out others that simply do not. Your physique and your endorphins will thank you.

As mentioned above, choose new things to implement. External stimuli are no different. There are many fads out there that claim to work and people are making millions suckering us out of money based on facts we never took the time to research ourselves.

The Waist Trainer

Believe it or not, the weightlifting belt can be used as a waist trainer. Before I get an inbox flooded with messages about research evidence. I got this tip from Mr. Olympia Men’s Physique Brandon Hendrickson and Starting Strength coach Michael Wolf.

The weightlifting belt is typically seen as a crutch in order to lift more weight. It is nothing further from the truth. In reality, the purpose of the belt is to increase intra-abdominal pressure through the provision of a rigid surface. This becomes important in lifting more weight as it reduces disc compression and provides an easier “bracing“ mechanism.

During my training, it makes me more cognizant to breathe out and into the belt. Over time it trimmed my waist. As a men’s physique competitor myself it helps me in many ways: I can lift more weight, lift safer, and have a slimmer waist. The caveat, however, lies in the ability to use the accessory breathing muscles, namely the internal and external obliques and rectus abdominis.

During breathing, most people are on autopilot. Most of us aren’t aware that the diaphragm is one of the muscles involved, as well as the intercostals and core muscles. Forced exhalation which is done during a sneeze or hard cough taxes these muscles indirectly.

However, during ab training, or even back training, this can be capitalized to make these muscles lean-machines. Go figure! I suggest that only the intermediate to advanced lifter attempt this technique, as it has room for abuse.

Blood Flow Restriction Bands

Blood flow restriction training isn’t new. In fact, it’s as old as the tourniquet. The goal is not to make this an actual tourniquet by cutting off arterial circulation, it’s to temporarily impede venous return i.e. restricting blood flow away from the working muscles.

Jessica my stretch coach presented me a gift of these a month ago and since then my training has been phenomenal and training without them is often subpar.

A Change In Your Grip

Woo! So, learning how exercises target your intended muscles groups is vastly important but if I told you that your grip plays an important role as well, would you believe me? Websites that sell fitness gear have tons of different barbells with different grips and machines have different attachments.

This is for the sake of attacking muscles at different angles of stress. A common idea is working your muscles in the direction they “run” (i.e. the lats are curved so a curved bar tends to accentuate the lats more than a straight bar in some cases). A fitted barbell may have closer grips to isolate the triceps better than the pecs. Utilizing FATGrips, for instance, may provide a useful resource in your training, as well.

Resetting your defaults will yield success and drive insanity out the door. I’m certain that implementing new strategies and making them work for you will improve you for the better. Keep on lifting my friends!

The post Reset Your Default to Force Adaptation appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Time seems to be the most important thing in one’s life, only behind family and religion. Being a coach, I see time and time again various things come up. From the kids getting sick, to work keeping you late day after day.

Regardless, there is always a way to get a workout in. Consistency will beat perfection every time. Even if the workout isn’t what you normally do, that’s not the point. The point of these workouts is to stay on track with your fitness, rather than making up an excuse to why you can’t do it.

The Workouts

One workout will be based on assuming you have access to a gym, and one will be assuming you just have your living room floor next to the couch.

Both workouts will be a total body workout, with circuit style interval training included. The workout will be three sets of each exercise, with a set being 35 second work time and a 15 second rest time. After you complete three sets of the exercise, you will move on to the next exercise. Follow the exercises in order as they’re listed.

Those who are curious, there is a method behind this. There is always at least one push movement, one hip dominant movement, one quad dominant movement, one trunk movement, and one full body movement.

This makes up most of the major movement patterns, contributing to the total body circuit. In the workout including the gym, there is a pull movement (the dumbbell rows). If you are home, you can use bands for this to get a pull movement if you have them. If not, again this is just to stay on track, so no need to stress.

These workouts will not only work your total body but also get your heart rate up as well. They can act as a bit of cardio, so you’re killing two birds with one stone, all in 20 minutes.

1. Workout with Gym Access

• Goblet Squat Jumps
• Reverse Lunge into Curl and Press
• 1 Arm Dumbbell Swings
• Dumbbell Flat Bench Press
• Bent Over DB Rows
• Burpee with Tuck Jump
• Leg Lifts with Hips Up
• Russian Twist with Weighted Ball

2. No Equipment Needed Workout

• Squat Jumps (bring your arms low to high as you jump)
• Alternating Lunge Hops
• 1 Leg Glute Bridge
• Close Grip Push Up to Wide Grip Push Up
• Plank (from your elbows up to your hands)
• Triceps Dips (off the couch)
• Burpees with Tuck Jump
• Mountain Climbers

You Can Find the Time

Whether you are not able to get to your favorite class because your meeting went late, or you are home with a sick kid, your workout can still go on. Use tools like the workouts above to keep you moving and build consistent habits.

The post The 20 Minute Total Body Workout appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

I’ve always dreamed of getting rid of my car—freeing myself from my over-convenienced stupor to reconnect with the very human act of locomotion. The majority of our millions of years of human history, humans have been hunter-gatherers responsible for covering many miles each day with nothing, but their two feet. Couldn’t I, so opulently assisted by a bicycle, make do without a personal vehicle. I mean, we’d still have my wife’s after all.

The limitations of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex’s extended metropolitan sprawl always spoiled this glorious rumination. Dallas consistently ranks at the top of least bikable city lists. Particularly with the addition of two children this past year, my fantasy seemed more unrealistic than ever.

The Bizarre Expectations of Modern America

It’s 2019. As virtually every person you ever meet will tell you, you have to have a car to operate in suburban America. The 2-car family has been a staple for over 50 years. It’s embedded into our lifestyles and with it the obligation for thousands of dollars each year in payments, gas, and maintenance.

According to AAA, in 2017 the average annual cost for one medium sedan and medium S.U.V. was about $8,171 and $9,451, respectively. If that seems large it is because AAA astutely factors in all annual costs including depreciation.

MMM (Mr. Money Mustache—not quite AAA, but, still) has calculated the 10-year savings you can expect from switching to a bike dependent lifestyle, factoring in the increased work productivity and decreased healthcare costs you can expect from the better health you enjoy.

If you were inclined to get rid of a car and invest the difference, you can plan on a 10-year difference of:

• $10,752 in reduced mileage expenses
• $30,000 in reduced car expenses
• $7,680 in cheaper leisure
• $37,500 in increased income
• $7,500 in reduced medical expenses

Clearly the car is an enormous expenditure. Most can’t afford this indulgence, but without it, they are unable to live and work in the modern world. Thus, outside of a few urban centers with good public transportation, every newly emancipated young-adult knows that their first order of business is to get in debt acquiring a vehicle.

The reason most Americans are in debt with no savings is not for lack of income, but ridiculous expectations about what is necessary to operate in daily life. We restrict ourselves from freedom and many more rewarding expenditures of our time and money. I’m no choir boy in all this. Entranced by the expectations of modern life, I’ve got more than my fair share of challenges to untangle.

Modern America has created some pretty bizarre expectations that envelop the masses into a world of debt, dependency, and poor health. It is an enormous luxury to sit while being effortlessly propelled, oblivious to the miles covered. We’ve conceived that something as luxurious as a car is a necessity, not just for each family, but for each human of driving-age.

The concept of being responsible for the bulk of our own locomotion, the most essential human movement, has become an incomprehensibly ridiculous notion. It’s moved from daily commutes to the way we navigate buildings, taking escalators up one flight of stairs and elevators to the third floor. At what point do motorized shopping carts become standard equipment for moving about the office space?

I’m sure some of you are shaking your heads amazed by my inability to grasp how the world works. Some work jobs that require them to drive constantly. If you’re into it, that’s great, I still think you should consider a bike for your time in town. If you loathe your commute and the soul-sucking hours spent in traffic, I’d think hard on how you might change that. This is your life after all.

The rest probably just think I’m crazy. There is one question I’m constantly asked, that I’m sure is also on your mind: “What if something happens. I mean you’re a parent.”

What If Something Bad Happens?

This question is the devastating nail in the coffin for most dreamers of the car-free lifestyle. It is especially potent, because it is wrapped in the veneer of guilt and suggestive negligence that shadows all of modern parenthood. The nature of living is for something to happen, often. Unlike most parents, I’m not afraid for things to happen. Still, I’d like to be a good parent. I just don’t buy that line of questioning—and here’s why

What nebulous “something” is it that I’m so terrified of happening? This is the same rationale people now give for the mentally destructive phone accessibility that they require of themselves at all times.

The world has never been safer. My wife can track me on a bike-ride by my smartphone, social media shines a light on any slight risk to children (while neglecting the larger risk of modern eating and media norms), an app allows entire neighborhoods to coordinate about any safety risk, and a single text could activate our entire massive social network in an instant.

Despite all this, I have no recollection of myself or any friend getting a call about a time-sensitive emergency that demanded they leave where they were to immediately swoop in and save the day.

On two occasions in my life there were instances where a family member or close friend faced a health scare. In both occasions I was only able to offer supportive cheer-leading and the response of my wife and I would have been no different had we only had one family car.

Furthermore, if a Liam Neeson, Taken, fatherly response is ever necessary, then absence of a car will not stop me. I have a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. But, seriously, if something that serious happens, I’ll have wheels within seconds.

We still have a family car. My argument is that most people would be far happier and healthier with one family car. If the argument is that we should stop at no length to procure a means to ensure the fastest possible emergency response, then I’ll have to go in even greater debt paying for helicopter lessons, leasing a helicopter and getting a new roof that can support such transportation.

A car is a luxury that is far less common outside of America. Very few families around the world have two cars. I don’t find foreign car-less people to be derelict in their duty as parents.

Let’s really dissect that question: “what if something happens?” When it is asked, the concern expressed is really in regards to how much longer it takes me to get places from where I work. Like most families, I live in a suburb of under 100,000 (mine is about 70,000). My work commute is 10-minutes by car—15-minutes at a few times during the day.

By bike the commute is 20-minutes. Would anyone asking this question be the type who turned down a job that was a 20-minute drive from their home? What if something happens while they are at work 30-minutes away?

How about all those sport coaches who are stuck in a town 45-minutes away, reliant on a big-yellow school bus to get back home. Do they say no to away games because, “what if something happens?” Do they ask the refs for a game break every five-minutes so they can check their phone to see if something happened?

I live in a good town where immediate needs are all available within a five mile, 20-minute bike ride. If I have to get a kid to the hospital and I’m at home, I’ll have access to the family car making my commute to the hospital 10-minutes. My work is less than a mile from a large hospital, our pediatrician’s office, and a pediatric urgi-care. By bike I’m there in less than 3-minutes.

In a worst case scenario, Uber is always available. Again, there has never been a safer, more convenient time to be alive. Likewise, if I ever need a truck I can just rent from Home Depot for hardly any cost. I’ll be able to pay for these random expenses with the thousands I’ve saved.

Our sense of risk analysis is totally backwards. The greatest risk to our children and culture is the patterns of eating, sitting, and tech addiction that run rampant while spiraling healthcare costs out of control.

A 2016 Harvard study predicted that of youth ages 2-19, 57% would be obese by the time they were 35. We feed our kids pop-tarts for breakfast, keep them seated all day at school, allow them to sit entertained all evening, and hand them a smartphone despite overwhelming evidence of their harm.

Still, I understand that everyone’s situations and level of comfort will be different. My message is not prescriptive, but intended to spark reflection. If you can see the principles in any method, you can apply what is useful.

Despite all my enthusiasm, even I was not fully successful in freeing myself from my car. My wife appreciated my desires, but felt overexposed by such a change. We compromised that I could get rid of my car for a beater that we kept in case of emergency.

But What About the Cold?

The next inevitable question is, “what about when it’s cold or rainy?” Mental Floss ranked the most bike friendly cities in the world. The top five were:

Copenhagen, Denmark

• January Average High: 38 degrees
• July Average High: 71 degrees
• Annual Rainy Days: 171

Amsterdam, Netherlands

• January Average High: 42 degrees
• July Average High: 71 degrees
• Annual Rainy Days: 185

Portland, Oregon

• January Average Temperature: 47 degrees
• July Average Temperature: 81 degrees
• Annual Rainy Days: 114

Boulder, Colorado

• January Average Temperature: 47 degrees
• July Average Temperature: 81 degrees
• Annual Rainy Days: 56 and 89 inches of snow per year

Montreal, Canada

• January Average Temperature: 24 degrees
• July Average Temperature: 79 degrees
• Annual Rainy Days: 123 and 82.5 inches of snow per year

*All statistics were via Google Weather Averages (search: average temperature by month)

The bike-dependent lifestyle seems to almost mock this objection. All five of the world’s most bike-heavy cities reside in far northern latitudes and experience exceptionally high rainfall, snow, or both.

What if weather happens? We are the most adaptable, resilient species in human history. We’ve crossed oceans and deserts, outlasted ice-ages, made it to the moon, and invented Amazon for any last minute weather-proofing needs.

As usual, the problem is the simplistic manner in which most see the world. The standard model is to assume having problems is a problem, expect no inconveniences, chase immediate pleasure, and always flee discomfort. This is why suicides, drug-overdoses, obesity, anxiety, and depression are all reaching epidemic proportions never before seen. Oh, and debt.

Problems are life’s juice, choose the right ones. Choose gratitude over expectations and, if you do nothing else, get moving. It is the foundation from which all other breakthroughs will come. The body is a portal to the mind and the present moment. If you are having trouble finding a way to fit exercise in, selling your car isn’t a bad place to start.

Everything is everything—if you are looking to make a change this new year your physical and financial health are probably the most broadly impactful places to start. The IHD Membership looks outside of our standard model to offer access to the most core lessons for human thriving.

Check out our course catalog and sign-up now to discover principles that give you the tools to apply successful strategies to your own life.

The post Goodbye Car: Dreams of Health and Wealth appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Change is difficult. We become so wrapped up in being comfortable that we forget that change is what creates the next level in our lives. On September 26, 2017, I received an email from an individual who was a bit hesitant to make the changes needed to create her next level, but she made those changes and one year later she is now an important member of my Warrior Body program and has become someone who has set an example for many. I want to tell her story because I hope that it helps others see that they are not alone in their struggles and that everyone can find a path to success.

Cassandra Hearns is a single mother to an active 14-year-old. Something many don’t know about her (so I hope she doesn’t mind me bragging on her for a moment) is that she is a former state champion in track and field and a former collegiate track and field athlete. Cassandra started her first training program with me understanding the dedication and hard work it was going to take to reach her goals.

About a month into the program I received an email from Cassandra. It was an email that made me say out loud, “this girl gets it!” Cassandra had been consistent, making healthy changes, and more importantly, learning about the bigger effect this lifestyle would not only have on herself but also those closest to her.

In her email, she stated that when she began the challenge she thought the biggest obstacles she would face would be physical, but she realized early on that the physical aspect was just one part of what would be a huge puzzle.

She went on to explain that she failed to consider not everyone would be supportive of her decision to live a healthier lifestyle and that the journey could get lonely. Her email went on to talk about her change in mindset because being strong mentally far outweighs being strong physically.

Fast forward to October 15, 2018–a post written by Cassandra on Facebook brought chills to many. Why? Because so many of us can relate to the struggles of change, the challenges of being a parent, and learning to balance both your life and your families.

Many women relate to what it takes to be a single parent and when we see one person showing that while yes, the struggles are real–they can be overcome. Based on Cassandra’s Facebook post, I decided to dig a little deeper because her story resonates with so many people that I see in my classes and in classes everywhere, no doubt.

The Progress of an Athlete

I have the pleasure of seeing Cassandra three days a week and I have been able to witness her growth throughout her training but I wanted to ask her directly to talk more about her mindset and experiences in the interview below.

1. Describe where you were in life before joining my Warrior Body classes both mentally and emotionally

Before joining your program I was more of an introvert by nature who focused on work, raising my daughter (who had more of a social life than I did) and was also involved in multiple sports activities for her. Being a single parent I put my all into ensuring she made it to each and every game, match or practice.

It was important that she got to do activities with her friends and that I was there to help out with every team function as needed. The day came when I got the phone call that she was at volleyball practice and had hurt her knee. A trip to the ER, crutches, lots of ice, and an MRI revealed that she would need surgery to repair the cartilage that was damaged when she dislocated her knee.

I was at a total loss as to what I was going to do because my world as I had known it had come to a screeching halt and I had no other plans on the horizon to occupy my time. For several weeks I was truly at a loss in regard to what I should do with the amount of free time I now had on my hands for the first time in eight years. My identity as I knew it was no more and that bothered me.

The thought of possibly doing something for myself made me feel selfish and also like a bad parent. Exercise was the first thing that came to my mind as I was trying to figure out ways to “do my own thing.” I wanted to learn healthier life habits, work on my body, have a stress outlet, and possibly make some friends. All of this sounded good in my head but putting the plan in motion turned out to be a bigger challenge until I contacted you.

2. Describe your hesitance of the email you had written to me before joining Warrior Body. How did our interaction through email make you feel?

I hesitated reaching out to you because I had emailed so many people before only to get a one or two-word answer or to get no response at all. I had even called a few places in the local area and I just felt like they blew me off and didn’t want to answer any of the questions I wanted to ask.

I also hesitated in sending an email because I knew if you responded and it was what I was searching for then it would put me on the clock for following through in wanting to start on this journey to a healthier lifestyle.

I asked a lot of questions once I got a response to my initial email and in return, I got the answers I was looking for and was even asked a few questions so that you could learn a little more about me. Our interaction through email made me feel like I wasn’t just a person inquiring about a service but that you had a service to offer me and you truly wanted me to be a part of it. You made me feel welcome from the start of what was a long email exchange and I knew I just had to check the place out.

3. Describe your first couple interactions in class? Who did you meet? What kept you coming back?

Before coming to Warrior Body I was an extremely shy person. I remember walking into class on a chilly Saturday morning October 7, 2017. You welcomed me with a big smile and I found a place off to the side in hopes that no one would notice my nervousness.

As I sat and observed those who were chatting before class I felt like an outsider because everyone seemed to know someone and they were just enjoying each others company. Class began and I immediately thought what the heck have I gotten myself into. You would check in with me throughout the circuits and ask if I was ok.

I was dying (or at least I felt like it), but I couldn’t be that girl on the first day who throws in the towel and walks out of class. After our workout was over I had a class member come up to me (Mandy) to ask if it was my first day and if I liked the class. We sat and talked for a bit and she encouraged me to keep coming to class and promised that it would get easier.

I left the workout that day thinking I was in over my head and that I needed to waive the white flag. Sunday morning, I woke up a little stiff and on Monday I woke up feeling like I had been sacked by Refrigerator Perry. Every inch of my body hurt. I kept thinking if I feel like this on Monday there was no way I could exercise on Tuesday. Thankfully I pressed on and managed to make it to Tuesday’s workout.

Everyone was so nice and encouraging throughout the duration of class and it helped take my mind off my sore muscles. I remember feeling like Warrior Body was unlike any place I had ever been. The support that I received in just two workouts immediately made me feel like I was truly part of an exercise family that had my back and wanted to see me succeed.

I kept coming back because of how each and every workout made me feel—like I could do anything if only I would just give it a try. No two workouts are the same and I was challenged with each class that I attended. I loved the energy I was experiencing as a result of Warrior Body and overall it gave me a sense of belonging to something that was beneficial to me.

Each workout gave me confidence that I had never seen in myself before. I was proving to myself that it was ok to step out of my norm and comfort zone, to change up my busy schedule to pencil some time in for myself and that it didn’t matter what others thought of me it only mattered what I thought of myself.

What kept me eager to continue coming to workouts were the Warriors. Hands down they are some of the nicest, caring, supportive, encouraging, and funny people that you will ever meet. Knowing that I was coming into each session to workout with such amazing people made me look forward to coming to class.

4. I received an email from you during the first couple weeks into the program. I will remember it as a breakthrough moment for myself as well because I thought, “yes, this girl gets it!” In it, you mentioned understanding this change is so much more than physical results. Can you discuss this email a bit more and the events leading to writing it?

Prior to coming to your Warrior Body classes, I had created a story as to how things would play out—I would come to class on a regular basis and end up having the body of a supermodel. I’d have toned arms and legs, killer abs and glutes, and look like I just stepped out of a magazine.

This body would cause people to take notice and compliment me on how good I looked, and all of this was going to happen sooner rather than later. About two weeks in it hit me that none of that was going to happen because the story I had created was unrealistic, had everything to do with everyone else, and nothing to do with me.

I was looking for that pat on the back from those around me but unfortunately, it never happened. Instead, you were giving me so much more than all of those things. My identity had been wrapped up in what others thought of me, my busy schedule as a single parent, and doing what everyone else wanted me to do. For once I was doing something for me, to benefit me, and the hot body was just an extra perk.

The is the email that I received, and it still holds true today:

When I began the challenge I thought the obstacles I would face would be physical but realized early on that was just one part of what would be a huge puzzle. I failed to take into account that not everyone would be supportive of my decision to live a healthier lifestyle. I failed to take into account that the journey could get lonely because some would not celebrate my victories or even acknowledge them. I failed to take into account that I am a single parent of a teenager who has put so much into her child that she doesn’t know how to balance her child’s activities with activities she wants to do for herself. I failed to take into account that balancing work, a child, life, workouts, doctor appointments, etc. takes a lot of planning. I failed to think of all the things that could hinder me along the way. As each of the obstacles came up in my journey it challenged me mentally. At times it challenged me emotionally, and at times I just truly wanted to kick, scream, and cry out of frustration—but I didn’t. I did my best, faced each challenge as it arose, and held my course. Once I got past those obstacles I was determined to make it all work and to not look back.

5. You have now been in the program for slightly over a year and whether you know it or not, you have become a key member and someone who people look to for encouragement. What are the biggest changes you have seen in yourself over the last year?

Changes I’ve seen in myself over the last year:

• I’m now ok with receiving a little attention.
• I’m not as shy as I use to be.
• I’m learning to be more of a people person and less of an introvert.
• I’m learning to accept compliments when given and know that I am worthy of receiving them.
• More and more I’m letting go of fear and not giving it place in my life to control me.
• I’m learning that I love to motivate people, encourage them, and support them in any way that I can. A year ago I would have remained in my little bubble and just cheered them on in my head.
• I’ve learned to love the skin that I am in and not allow society to dictate how I should feel about the way that I look or the size that I should be.
• I feel more confident in myself now than I have ever been.
• I’m more open to trying new things and activities as opposed to just shutting down the whole idea of something before I even give it any thought or consideration.

6. What other ways have you stepped outside your comfort zone?

Socializing outside of class was a struggle for me initially. I was so shy and self-conscious that being in crowds just overwhelmed me. Now when the Warrior Body crew are doing things outside of our workouts I love to hang out and socialize.

I recently participated in a softball league that some of my fellow Warriors were a part of that also consisted of their friends, colleagues, and loved ones. I met a lot of new people, made a lot of new friends, and truly enjoyed that experience.

I feel now more than ever that I’m more open to trying new things, going new places, or participating in activities that a year ago I would have never dreamed of doing.

Truly Embrace Change

Cassandra has truly embraced change and has taken full responsibility for her own health. It is about more than the way she looks. It is about more than just showing up. So many people have a gym membership or even attend some regular group exercises classes but they are not fully engaged.

It truly is so much more than just doing the workouts and eating the food. When you really have an understanding and appreciation for what a healthy lifestyle takes, everything will fall into place. You need commitment, community, and consistency.

It’s also important that your coaches are responsive to you. Find someone who answers your questions, gives you space when you need it, and is also interested in knowing more about you. If I don’t know the specifics of your life, I cannot give you the right instruction or support. Any good trainer or coach will know that and will focus on your highly personal situation.

Ultimately, you will continue with something if it is making you feel good and you feel that every step you take in a training program and every day you go is moving forward. It’s a lifelong commitment to be good to yourself so you can be in a good place for your family, your friends, and your community.

The post She Believed She Could and She Did appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Photography by Los Angeles, California artist Lauren Hillary

On the list of my ten all-time favorite movies the top two are comic book movies and half are mob movies. Growing up, if it had an inkling of the mafia, I watched them all. Sometimes, I had to suffer through a few for my sins, like Mobsters. Richard Grieco, Christian Slater, and Patrick Dempsey? Are they serious? It was Grey’s Anatomy with Tommy Guns, Tiger Beat Magazine in pinstripes—a complete embarrassment.

Thankfully, these films are in the minority. The Untouchables, The Godfather I and II, Goodfellas, and Casino; now those were movies. The only problem I have when re-watching these films is the sadness I feel when I think of how insane Robert DeNiro has become. Perhaps his fight scenes in Raging Bull weren’t simulations.

The Punch that Endures

Nevertheless, movies like these and others—like The Departed—packed a punch that will forever be remembered. I knew I made it when my uncle let me sit on the couch to watch Scarface. I had to pretend to be appalled by the violence to keep up the appearances of innocence. My mother would yell at my uncle for letting me watch “that filth.” For some reason, she wouldn’t turn off the television.

Better to watch it at home with family than with the neighborhood kids, I suppose. Otherwise, I may get the wrong idea and think it was acceptable to cut a man in half with a chainsaw and snort piles of cocaine. If you’re a lady reading this and wondered if the men in your life have ever used the phrase, “Say hello to my little friend” in a horrible Cuban accent, the answer is yes.

Who could forget Michael Corleone grabbing his brother Fredo by his face, kissing him on the mouth and saying, “I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart.” Or, Joe Pesci trolling Ray Liotta with the “funny how?” scene from Goodfellas. Although I know how it ends, it’s a tense exchange that makes you question the outcome—masterfully done by Joe Pesci.

If you are in the mood to view one of these classics again, or for the first time, I don’t recommend watching any of them on FX or any other cable network. Testosterone-fueled movies involving organized crime have a penchant for colorful language and violence that always get edited for mainstream audiences.

I remember one day I made the mistake of watching King of New York on television from a hotel room. I was horrified. It felt as though I was watching King of the Hill, not the Christopher Walken classic. Every other word was replaced with “sucker.” Do yourself a favor and watch the uncut versions.

The real-life people that inspire unforgettable characters and movies are fascinating. Think Al Capone, Frank Costello, and Arnold Rothstein. One man, in particular, was Benjamin Siegel. Siegel was born February 28, 1906, to a Jewish immigrant family, and wasted no time getting his hands dirty.

He was a tough, rough-and-tumble kid who would extort pushcart merchants on the Lower East Side. Before young Jewish men went into medicine, law, and business, they used their fists. Most escaped oppressive regimes in Europe and wanted a fresh start in America. But, it wasn’t going to be handed to them.

Siegel would befriend another young Jewish hoodlum, Meyer Lansky, known for his gifted mathematical mind, and formed Bugs-Meyer Gang. Meyer Lansky doesn’t have the number of on-screen reproductions as Al Capone, but his name appears in every other rap song made in the 1990’s.

Benjamin became known as “Bugsy” to his fellow gang members due to his hot temper and violent disposition; crazy as a bedbug. Using violence to get their way was the modus operandi of the gang, affectionately known as Murder, Inc.

Organized Crime

In the roaring 20’s, Charles “Lucky” Luciano gave us what we now refer to as organized crime. He created a national syndicate, comprising of a network of crime families and organizations across the country, with himself as the head. He wasn’t formally referred to as “The Boss of Bosses,” but that’s who he was.

Bugsy played a significant part in establishing the new regime, including executing the old guard. With the three of them at the helm, organized crime reached a new level of power and profit. No one is above the law, and federal agents eventually nabbed Luciano.

Lansky could see the writing on the wall and surmised he and Siegel were next. He suggested that Ben move west to Hollywood, and institute operations there. Lansky went down to Florida and eventually Cuba.

Bugsy went to the City of Angels and quickly got to work. Between running prostitution rings and narcotics, he found time to hobnob with Tinseltown’s finest. It seemed as though he found his niche. No one in Hollywood was going to match his muscle, so his authority would remain unchallenged, and his affinity for the high life made him feel at home.

In 1945, he and his girlfriend Virginia Hill moved to the desert—Las Vegas. Siegel had a vision of a desert oasis, filled with lights where the wealthiest from around the country would flock with bags of cash. In the mid-1940’s, there were scatterings of saloons and casinos, like the El Rancho, where Clark Gable was known to have stayed. But, there was nothing like what Ben had in mind. It all started with the Flamingo Las Vegas.

William Wilkerson, the founder of the Hollywood Reporter, started the project in 1945. Since no hotel of the Flamingo’s scale had ever been attempted, Wilkerson quickly ran out of money—Bugsy Siegel and the New York syndicate to the rescue. Siegel was given a budget of 1.5 million dollars to complete construction. Just as a reference point, The Bellagio was built for 1.6 billion—with a “B”—dollars.

Unfortunately, Bugsy did not rise to prominence in the mob for his business acumen. That was Lansky’s strength. Bugsy was muscle, sharp-dressed muscle, with a short fuse. Expenses on the Flamingo ballooned to 6 million by the time of its opening on December 26, 1947.

If the unforeseen expenditures were attributable to development, licensing and so forth, perhaps New York would understand. It was not, and they would not. Bugsy stole many of the funds and mismanaged a lot more, even announcing that he would return the loans in “his own good time.” In the mob, loyalty is a life-saving attribute.

On June 20, 1947, Siegel visited Los Angeles and stayed at Virginia Hill’s Beverly Hills home. While he sat, reading the newspaper, nine shots erupted through a window. The display was gruesome. Newspaper headlines read:

“Bugsy Siegel Murdered – Rubbed Out In Beverly Hills In Hail Of Bullets”

Photographs from the murder scene appear as though he was shot through the eye socket. He was not, but that didn’t stop Hollywood from memorializing it in the Godfather. Moe Green, a character based on Siegel is shot in the eye while getting a massage, dubbed the “Moe Green Special.” It is worth noting that Warren Beatty, who played Bugsy in the lackluster film by the same name, has been riddled with bullets twice.

Once in Bugsy, and the other as Clyde Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde. The day after Siegel’s death, representatives of the Las Vegas mob, backed by Lansky, took over operations of the Flamingo. Decades of mob rule had begun in Las Vegas. To this day, the Siegel murder has not been solved.

The Risk of Gambling Your Fitness

When you think of Las Vegas, what comes to mind? Buffets and Cirque Du Soleil? What about gambling, a Nevada staple since 1931? When we think of gambling, we think of James Bond playing poker to save the world, or maybe Robert Redford and Paul Newman swindling Robert Shaw in The Sting. Even if you’ve never seen The Sting, I’m willing to bet you’d recognize the theme song after six seconds. Don’t believe me? Look it up. Gambling has a larger role in our lives than we think, particularly in fitness.

Gambling: taking risky action in the hope of a desired result.

When we gamble, the longshot, the biggest risk of them all, has the most appeal. It’s dangerous, reckless, and you tell yourself you shouldn’t. You repeat it in your head, even as you place your chips on the table. The more you put down, the more electric the feeling. The unsafe bets give us a primal adrenaline rush, hanging on to the thread of hope that we’ll strike it rich.

Every day, we take gambles on our health and fitness, but without the tuxedo and martini, shaken-not-stirred. We subconsciously know we are gambling but do not call it by that name. Look at where people spend their money and their energy. The Weight-Loss Industry rakes in 66 Billion dollars per year. Akin to Feds chasing bootleggers and hooch, the NIH spent 913 million to “study” why weight loss is hard. Let’s all collectively facepalm.

Each new diet book, fat burning tea, “bio-hack,” all resemble luxurious casino tables. Each one, promising a massive payoff, like the brand-new Jaguar rotating on display. But, the payoff never comes. No huge jackpot. The house always wins. We must know that these get-fit-quick schemes are bullshit. Don’t we? We must certainly be aware that there’s no shell under the cups.

But, it’s the rush. It’s the faint sense of “you never know” and “maybe.” We talk ourselves into it. The oiled-up fitness guy pops up on your Facebook feed, encouraging you to “burn fat” and “get photoshoot ready” in six weeks, and you can’t help but think, “this is garbage, but what if it works?” You step up to the high-stakes casino table thinking, “what if,” and give up the cash. The what-if ends the way it always ends, with you going home empty-handed and the only thing that leaned out is your wallet.

Is safe boring? Is the dependable bet the one we don’t want to make? If you knew you’d win, does that make you less likely to play? Does it make us pass by those tables, favoring the sparkly ones, with bikini-clad ladies standing on either side and a gentleman sporting a six-pack standing behind?

“Take a seat, play a while, and all this can be yours.” The dealer flips a card—a hundred burpees. He flips another—an hour on the treadmill, first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. A cocktail waitress walks by, to refresh your drink. It’s not whiskey, but a multi-filtered, ultra-premium, muscle-building, fat-destroying protein powder, infused with vibranium-coated BCAA’s from Wakanda.

It’s getting late, you’re falling asleep. You’ve only eaten 800 calories. The waitress comes by again. This time, with coffee. But, not just any coffee. There’s a stick of butter in it, formulated to transform your gut into the leanest and sexiest stomach this side of an Instagram filter. It’ll make you a mental genius, and launch you to the top of the Forbes list, and the cover of Sports Illustrated. Eventually, it gives you the runs, and you’re still losing money. The house always wins.

After eighteen years in the industry, I was not immune to the big wagers. If there was a new gizmo guaranteeing results, I owned it. If there was a seminar promising the latest, cutting-edge methodology, I was on the next plane.

I remember staying at a roach motel in Queens for a week, where I’m pretty sure there was a dead body under my mattress. Why? To attend a seminar that claimed they could identify altered hormonal patterns by pinching someone’s fat. I’m not a victim, I was a big boy and made my own decision to go. It was an exciting gamble. It was also bullshit. The next time I grab your stomach fat, I’m analyzing your thyroid hormone—or something.

Bet on the Reliable

Don’t go all-in and sink your money, effort, and emotions on the big tables that offer much and never deliver. Bet on the reliable, again-and-again. Win small, but win. Accumulate the small winnings into a large pot. By the end of six months or a year, you’ll need to exit the casino with a briefcase and security detail.

Notice I said, six months—not six days, and a year—not a week. That’s the thing with the safe, dependable fitness gambles. They take effort. They take time. They also bring out the best in us and don’t cater to our gluttonous and greedy natures. There’s nothing wrong with a little gambling. However, it’s never a substitute for good, old-fashioned work. So, step right up and place your bets. Win a little and win often.

I do wonder, sometimes, would Bugsy Siegel have survived the shooting if he was drinking Bulletproof Coffee?

The post Gambling on Fitness appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Drink Some Caffeine

If you are struggling to motivate yourself, drink some coffee before you workout. The boost in energy will help you train harder and give motivation.

Dress Appropriately

This first thing you should do is dress in whatever way makes you pumped. This may seem like a minor detail, but it does help. People feel how they dress. However, make sure you abide by gym rules if you training at one. If you train at home, wear whatever you want.

Have A Plan

Make sure you plan your workout before you start. People who just show up to train with no plan waste too much time wondering what to do next. It only takes a minute or two to do this, but it’s well worth it. You’ll have a much better workout.

Have a Goal For Every Workout

It is important to have a small goal for each workout. This will challenge and motivate you. The goal should be reasonable and specific. It should push you to do just a little more than what you normally do. For example, your goal could be to do 25 total squats with 225 pounds if you usually only do 20. Have goals set for every workout and your training will be more interesting and you’ll improve.

Bring Your Own Water Bottle

People sweat a lot when they train. You will need water. The last thing you want while working out is to be thirsty. Even if your gym has a water fountain, bring a bottle. This will save you from having to walk to the water fountain every time and wait in line. Plus, you can flavor your water.

Do An Easy, Fun Warm Up

Another way to have a better workout is to do an easy, fun warm up. After all, the hardest part of working out is starting. Dancing is great for this. However, if you’re in public, you may have to something different. I like to jump rope because you can dance but it doesn’t look like it. Whatever you do, make sure it’s easy and fun. Warm for 5-10 minutes.

Do The Exercises You Like

You can also improve your workouts by doing the exercises you enjoy. Believe it or not, no particular exercise is mandatory for fitness. Running, back squats, or even deadlifts are not necessary for fitness. There are alternatives to each that you can do.

Listen to Music You Like

Music can have a powerful effect on people so use it. Download the songs you like onto your phone. Pick songs that pump you up, and then listen to them while you train. This way you won’t have to hear the same six pop songs your gyms plays.

Train Where You Like

You should also train where you like the most. For me, I like to train in my backyard and listen to the birds chirp in the breeze. You may be different. You may like the hustle and bustle of a gym. Find whatever place you enjoy and train there. Then you’ll like exercising more.

Train with The Right People

Another way to improve your workout is to exercise with the right people. They should be serious about training. Avoid people who want to chat about television shows or what they did last summer. Working out is training time. No time for foolishness. You don’t need to do the same workout as your partner. Each of you can do your own thing. You just need to both train hard.

Train Efficiently

You will also have better workouts if you exercise efficiently. There are several ways to do this.

• Do compound exercises instead of isolation exercise.
• Do supersets. Supersets are when you perform two exercises in sequence before resting. For example, do a set of push ups, then a set of pull ups, rest for 120 seconds, then repeat 3-4 times.
• Do circuit training. Circuit training is when you perform three or more exercises in a sequence. For example, do a set of push ups, then a set of pull ups, then a set of squats, then a set of sit ups, and then rest for 120 seconds. Circuit training is better than supersets for cardiovascular training but not as good for strength training.
• Avoid exercises that require a lot of set up. Stick with bodyweight exercises, dumbbells, or resistance bands.
• Time your rest periods so you don’t rest too long.
• Turn your phone notifications off so you don’t get distracted.
• Train movements instead of muscles.
• Do density training. Density training means you don’t do sets. Rather, you complete as many reps of an exercise within a time limit. For example, do as many reps of front squats with 185 pounds as you can in 15 minutes.
• Train at home. You won’t waste time driving to and from the gym.

Do these things and you will get more training done in less time. This will improve your workout experience.

Try One New Training Technique

Another way to improve your workout experience is to do something new. After all, it’s boring doing the same thing over and over again. I like to try one new thing every workout. Sometimes I get ideas from other people at the gym, on YouTube, or Instagram. Don’t let working out become mundane or you’ll quit.

Try Mental Techniques

You can also enhance your workouts by using some mental techniques. Here are some of my favorites:

• Pretend you’re great while you exercise. Imagine you are an Olympic athlete.
• Verbally encourage yourself. Tell yourself “you got this” and “push it” and “one more.”
• Imagine you are in a competition.
• Visualize yourself doing more than you usually do before each set.
• Working out is not just physical. It’s a mental matter too. Use your mind and your training will greatly improve.

Workout At Your Best Time

Another way to improve your workouts is training at the best time for you. Many people wait until the afternoon to work out, but that is a mistake. In the afternoon you are tired from work or school. Too many things can cause you to skip working out.

Most people should train in the mornings. It will make the rest of your day better. If it’s too hard to wake up early, start going to bed an hour earlier. Also, improve your sleep by making your room pitch black and cool, not freezing. Don’t forget to put your workout clothes right by your bed.

Reward Yourself After

Finally, reward yourself after your workout to top it all off. I’m not saying eat a whole pizza or gallon of ice cream. There are other ways to reward yourself for working out. It can be having lunch with a friend or watching a movie. Reward yourself right after the workout if you can. It is a powerful motivator.

You Don’t Have to Dread Your Workout

Working out doesn’t have to be and shouldn’t be a hassle. Make it more enjoyable by training at the right place, with the right people, and with the right music. Do the exercises you like the most. Always have a workout plan before you start and have a goal every workout.

Then you’ll be more engaged and train harder. When you do these things, you will enjoy working out more and improve more.

The post How to Better Your Workout Experience appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

“Humans have dragged a body with a long hominid history into an overfed, malnourished, sedentary, sunlight-deficient, sleep-deprived, … and socially-isolating environment with dire consequences.” – Sebastian Junger

“Humans have dragged a body with a long hominid history into an overfed, malnourished, sedentary, sunlight-deficient, sleep-deprived, … and socially-isolating environment with dire consequences.” – Sebastian Junger

Fossil records indicate that humans have walked the earth for about 200,000 years, but we’ve only recently developed the need to work out. Even 10,000 years ago, as agriculture made specialization and large cities possible, people rarely, if ever, sought out structured exercise regimens. Until the advent of the luxuries that typify our modern existence, simply living life made humans throughout history healthier and more capable than we are today.

Our standard model of modern living actively eliminates the need for physical exertion, while interjecting cues that prey upon our impulses. Our world is one in which we are perpetually seated, trudging from one chair to the next, while slowly eliminating opportunities for movement. Drive-throughs allow quick, seated access to food. Lawnmowers are self-propelled, if not seated. Home automation precludes the need to get up and write down a grocery list, let alone prepare a meal. Voice-activated entertainment devices have eliminated the need to even roll to the other end of the couch to retrieve the remote.

We sit through more and more of our days, staring at a computer, trying to make more money so that we can purchase more things that reduce our movement. The cycle seems to never end.

The Role of Exercise

This is where exercise comes in. After a few scary doctor visits where the ramifications of our physical decline are made vividly clear, we buy that gym membership we’ve been meaning to start. To be clear, I’m a big fan of this decision. Over and over again, I’ve watched exercise change people’s lives, and I know the benefit of having some qualified help to cut through the massive industry of gimmicks.

Still, I can’t help but be bothered watching the masses repeatedly fail. Some dabble, get bored or confused, and fizzle. Others never bring themselves to address debilitating physical deterioration in the first place. The cultural pressure to sit and eat is so strong, the pace of life and demand on everyone’s time is so great, and the depths of the general ignorance of health and movement is so vast, that most feel trapped by an inability to adopt healthy lifestyle patterns. How do we offer more constructive avenues to offset these growing trends?

Let’s reimagine our daily routine and re-insert human effort to accomplish essential tasks. Tribal living made our ancestors unbelievably adaptable, resilient, and physically capable beasts. No one struggled to “stay in shape.” Cronk never met privately with Gru to create a training regimen and carve out a weekly schedule where Gru trained Cronk in exchange for wicker baskets. Life required physical vigor, and that itself made Cronk and Gru strong and healthy.

Take a Look At Your Own Habits

Similarly, we can explore our own lives and create habits or routines that spur movement. This past year, I’ve made it a priority to take the obvious, easy opportunities life presents to move more. My office is in a school building, but all my training sessions are run in the athletic facilities, about a 600m walk from the main building. In my six years here, I am the only coach I’ve ever seen walk, rather than drive down.

The social pressure is a real factor. We tend to do what our peers do, particularly when that means saving effort. Being different takes a lot of energy, at first. Consequently, more often than not, I drove. It was easy to convince myself I needed to squeeze out every possible minute of office work and would need to drive the 600m stretch, saving three precious minutes. This year I finally dispensed with this absurdity. I make the daily walk, down and back, three times. I’ve suffered no loss in productivity, but find the sunlight and fresh air are a refreshing interjection into my work day.

When I get back to my office, I stand and work. Thanks to a $20 laptop stand, this has become a portable and adaptable daily habit. According to standupkids.org, normal weight kids burn 15-25% more calories at standing desks and obese kids burn anywhere from 25-25% more.

The Benefits of Creating Movement

When you examine your life, it is amazing how much seat time can be exchanged for standing or moving time. Why would you hunt for the nearest parking spot, when the furthest one is wide open, and you’re upset with your lack of physical fitness? Why pay for a housekeeper and lawn maintenance, when you have the time and you desire to be healthy?

The take-home message is that daily life can promote movement. Take advantage of the low-hanging fruit. Take the stairs, every time you are going less than six or seven stories. Walk across the office to ask people questions, rather than shooting off emails. Have walking meetings or business calls, rather than sitting and talking. Drink more water, so you are forced to walk to the bathroom. The more we leverage daily tasks into activity, the healthier we will be, and at hardly any cost.

We also have to confront our excuses. As long as she’s known me, my poor wife has listened to me rail on about how much I wish I could walk or bike to work. This is usually followed by a diatribe about cultural laziness and the messed up value structures of local communities. She pretends to have an emergency to tend to, and I realize that I’ve beaten this subject to death.

Recently, I decided to explore the limits I’d perceived surrounding my daily work commute. It is a 10-minute drive, stretching 4.3 miles, according to Google maps. The main roads I take have speed limits between 35 and 50mph, and drivers who’d be shocked to see a bike attempting to share their road, assuming they saw me at all. But I had been ignoring the vast web of sparsely-driven neighborhood streets. As I explored the possibilities, I was able to determine a route where I would never encounter a speed limit above 30mph. Rather than 10-15 minutes of sitting in the car, my commute became a 20-25-minute bike ride. I rarely see another person until the very end of the route and arrive at work appreciative for the fresh morning air and the slight surge of endorphins.

Explore Your What-Ifs

Imagine what your health might look like if these routines were part of your life. What if you biked to work each day, worked at a standing desk, and had a daily walking meeting? Add to this a twice-weekly racquetball game with a friend, a Saturday morning resistance workout, and a Sunday morning hike on a local trail. Without a lot of extra time, you’d see a tremendous increase in overall physical vigor.

What if this was normal behavior in your community? Imagine parents who habitually walked their elementary kids to school, before they grew old enough to walk or bike on their own. What if communities prioritized this to such a degree that clearly marked bike paths were featured on every street and were traversed by packs of middle schoolers each day? How autonomous and healthy might a generation be if they felt empowered to transport themselves across the community, after finishing a day’s work?

In Dan Buettner’s book, Blue Zones, he investigates communities around the world where life expectancy is highest and where centenarians (those 100 years and older) are most capable. These communities, he finds, are not littered with gyms and gym memberships, but prioritize moving naturally. As he puts it:

The world’s longest-lived people don’t pump iron, run marathons or join gyms. Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it. They grow gardens and don’t have mechanical conveniences for house and yard work.

Anecdotally, this has been my experience. My mother’s great uncle lived late into his 90s. When I was in college, we visited him one Thanksgiving. I remember sitting around the table, stuffed, and watching as he came by to clean up everyone’s dishes. He’d been going all day. I put up a token resistance as he shooed me to relax. I commented to my father how inappropriate it was for me, an able-bodied 19-year-old, to sit back while this elderly man cleaned. My father’s response stuck with me. He said, “that is why he’s lived so long, and that is why he’s still so strong and vital. Because he’s always kept himself active. He’s never stopped doing the menial tasks most people look to avoid.”

Take Every Opportunity to Move

Perhaps there is a life lesson here that transcends just the physical. Why do we consider washing dishes such an inconvenience? Why are we always rushing from place to place, convinced that one of the perks of adulthood is that quick, air-conditioned car ride to work? Your commute may not allow your to bike to work, but there is ample opportunity to work more movement into accomplishing the tasks of daily life.

Let’s choose not to rush from seat to seat, and instead embrace the joy of moving as a way of life. Being healthy takes some guts. Not only do you have to exert yourself a little more, but you have to fight the social tide propelling you away from what is best for you. It is worth it for you, and worth fighting for in your community.

The post Try Finding Strength and Fitness in Everyday Life appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Most people attempting fitness improvements are relatively inexperienced exercisers or have had a significant hiatus from consistent exercise. Still, the overwhelming impulse is toward brutal, exhausting workouts. They see the images portrayed on TV, and look at the fitness enthusiasts who haven’t missed a day in years, and assume that is what they have to do to meet their goals.

Rather than approaching this as a lifestyle change which can only be accomplished over time with intentional habit formation, they attempt to overhaul the patterns they established over a lifetime. Then they become overwhelmed when this painful work doesn’t bear fruit in the first few weeks.

The Concepts and Constraints That Keep Us Unhealthy

The media and the fitness industry has fed the public a model that doesn’t work for most people. To create lasting change, a few essential concepts must be properly understood:

• Goals don’t drive success. They provide a vision, but motivation waxes and wanes. Achievement comes from lots of tiny, consistent actions. It comes from habits. While the concept is about as sexy Jim Gaffigan eating Cheetos in his underwear, it remains the truth.
• Willpower is like a muscle, which means it can be grown. However, it is also like a muscle in that it grows gradually. It’s far more effective to start small, gain momentum, and then increase intensity, time, or difficulty than to bite off too much early on.
• Everything has a cost. Most people think they will just add in the time to work out at the end of the day. Never mind that the day has drained a lot of their willpower. More importantly, they don’t factor in what they may have to give up: time with family, space to accomplish necessary household tasks, or maybe just rare freedom from responsibility. Every decision is a tradeoff.
• The 21st century has too many distractions and pulls on your attention to not have a systematic process of prioritization and attention management. If we don’t clarify priorities, establish boundaries, and take deliberate steps to set habits and shape our environment, then we are doomed to fail. This is the focus of my work with clients in my Inspired Lifestyle consultations.

These understandings led me to create an adaptable workout program that works for even the busiest people. Most people seeking to begin exercise should start with a plan like this. It can be scaled to any level and should become a staple of most people’s lives, whether they grow a passion for fitness or not.

Sneak In Your Daily Workout

Here’s how it works. You will pick five times each day to take a three-minute movement break. For example, you could choose 9 am, 11 am, 1 pm, 3 pm, and 5 pm. Set daily alarms on your phone for these times. Each time the alarm chimes, you will do the same 3-minute circuit.

Create a balanced circuit that suits your personality, your fitness level, your work attire, and your environment. Preferably you would need no equipment, although throwing a couple resistance bands in your work bag significantly increases options. I recommend something like this:

• Side plank: 20 seconds/side
• In and out squat, pulsing split squat, reverse lunge, or mountain climbers: 30 seconds of work
• Bent-over y-raise (thumbs up, no equipment) or band pull-apart: x20
• Donkey kick backs or x-band walks: 10/side
• Push ups, push up position plank or break dancers: 30 seconds of work

Done seamlessly, that will take less than three minutes. There is no need to waste time setting up music. Consider it a mindfulness break as well, freeing yourself from the digital leash to be present for a minute or two.

Say you are concerned about sweating too much or messing up your clothes. Planks and wall sits are a great combination to hit most the body. Doing a circuit of isometric holds requires no noise that would call attention to yourself, little movement that will mess up hair and clothes, but a tremendous metabolic demand that will vastly increase fitness. For people in this category I recommend:

• Wall sit (knees at 90°): 30 seconds
• Push up position plank: 30 seconds
• Right leg forward split squat: 15 seconds
• Left leg forward split squat: 15 seconds

Any of these exercises can be advanced or made easier. Play with the times to fit your needs. If this is too many exercises, simplify. Most people can see tremendous results from something as simple as five circuits a day of the following:

• Right arm side plank: 30 seconds
• Wall sit: 30-45 seconds
• Left arm side plank: 30 seconds

I like to make the first alarm a wakeup movement circuit. This sets the intent for the day and is a reliable cue. If you have kids to handle first thing in the morning or have some other responsibility that precludes you from working out upon waking, that is fine. Set alarms for later in the day, or even let your infant’s nap schedule become your exercise schedule. Innovate, adapt, and overcome.

If you’re feeling more adventurous, I suggest you try either my at home workouts – The Will and The Way – or my workouts for any gym – Push, Pull and Thrive. Depending on your choice of where you want to workout, you can see how I integrate this philosophy of a commitment to movement into more structured routines. The great part is that I have designed the programs to deliver results whether you’re a beginner or more advanced like myself.

Less and More Than You Realize

Not sold? Does this seem too easy? Follow even your most committed gym rat around with a stopwatch. Chances are, they don’t do more than 15 minutes of exercise during their 45-minute gym session. Five 3-minute breaks make 15 minutes of solid work. You aren’t going to turn into a runway model doing just this, but it will increase strength, metabolism, and work capacity, decrease back pain and mobility restrictions and create a jolt of energy. You’ll feel steady progress and with consistent efforts, you will make huge strides over time. Of course, a balanced approach to nutrition will make your efforts far more fruitful, but this plan alone is a tremendous first step.

This approach to fitness might feel awkward at first. You might be worried that passersby will look into your office and see you planking on the floor. My suggestion is to own it. Own the fact that you are taking control of your life. Following the masses is a certain recipe for physical decline and mental anguish. The masses normalize sitting all day and staring at a screen, eating chemically engineered creations rather than actual food, and knowing more about the Kardashians than the principles of a republic. In the 21st century, it’s become weird to stretch after a 6-hour flight, and weirder not to check work email on a weekend. I implore you to be weird for you own sake.

What makes this plan possible and effective for anyone is the portability, adaptability, and ease. It is only three minutes or less. Habits require consistency. Guard the habit all costs. I have to opt for brutal honesty when it comes to people falling off the habit because they aren’t in the mood for planned exercise breaks. Health is everyone’s number one priority when it fails. Families drop everything to rush to the hospital and, however briefly, the hospitalized resolve to begin taking care of themselves.

Don’t fall in this camp of the overly reactive. Allow yourself no wiggle room. We are talking about three minutes. Plan the times, set the alarms, and make yourself do it. Take the weekends to refresh if you feel burdened, or if inspired use them to go hike, bike, or explore more creative movement options.

Even consistent exercisers can see improvements from breaking up the workday with a little more movement. Many regular gym-goers punish themselves for an hour, four days a week, just to spend the other 164 hours in uninterrupted sitting and lying. Furthermore, fitness lovers would benefit from implementing the principles of this program with more challenging exercises. The best way to improve at pull ups, handstands, push ups, or any such movement is grease the groove style training. So regardless of level, lifestyle, or goal, you can utilize the concepts of this program to create a more movement-rich lifestyle.

The post The Five-Alarm Method to Sneak In Your Daily Workout appeared first on Breaking Muscle.