Fitness Friday Topic: Research

[pc747]

It's Friday and many of us are hypingbeasting the new Moto X. The main goal of our FF (Fitness Friday) articles is to provide the reader as much information as possible so they can make the best decision as regard to the health choices they make. Just like with android, where we post all the facts, pros, cons, myths, articles and reviews so that you are able to make a well informed decision on the device that is best for you, we will be doing the same thing here with FF. What it means to achieve a fitness goal will look different for each of us. For some it may mean losing weight and for others it could mean preparing to run long distance, put on size, or just get to a point where their body is performing at its peak. So we are not going to tell you what method to follow but provide articles and research on that day's topic that contains the pros and cons so the reader are able to decide how that will fit into their fitness goals.

Speaking of research that is what we want to lead on as that is very important. No matter what your goals are fitness wise it is very important to understand the path you are taking especially with regard to training and supplements. When it is about health and fitness everyone seems to have an opinion, heck we are an android forum and we have an opinion on the subject. As tough of a journey as achieving a fitness goal is you do not want to find yourself injured as a result of poor information. It never fails that when you are working out you will have some gym bro come up to you trying to pitch some awesome supplement or work out tip. Here is the approach I take when some one approaches with an "awesome tip":

• Judge the source: What credentials do the person have, are they an actual fitness expert or some dude in the gym?
• Do the person somewhat look the part?

They was opening up a new fitness club (not going to say the name) and the owner was outside passing out fliers and discussing their equipment. So I ask about the gym and she was talking about this is the 3rd one they are opening up and she, her daughter and her boyfriend was managing it. Neither one of them looked like they set foot in a gym ever as they were not in any kind of shape and were chowing down on burgers and fries. So I asked if they had people that I can ask for tips as I was serious about achieving some goals. When she pointed to them I kindly gave them the "Ill check back later when you open up" and did a 180. The gym I am at now the owner not only look the part but him and his family are certified and compete in actual events as well as will source where they are getting their information from. So judge the information from the source and then follow up by reading the articles and doing further research yourself.

• Don't just look for the pros take the time to read the cons as well: When someone give you a tip about a supplement or workout tip you can find yourself hyped and ready to fully commit so when you do research and you read about all the success stories it is easy to imagine you being one of them. But take the time as well to read the cons as you may find that a certain supplement could cause an unwanted feeling or side effect in your body, or a certain workout plan only works when cycled on and off with doing something else in between. Point being take the time to research what you are getting in to.
• Lastly: Set realistic goals: The tortoise wins the race every time you read the story "the tortoise and the hare". Set goals that you can meet and the build off of that. If you have not worked out in years start off by doing something easy that you can maintain. I started off on this journey by walking. I would walk 15-30 mins a day and that has built up to me working out 7-8 times a week (some days I work out twice), started out just cutting back on sodas and sugar here and there to getting closer to reaching my full goal dietary wise (lean protein, fruits, veggies, and low glycemic carbs). Remember the goal of you working out and eating is for you, as you want to become the strongest version of yourself and that is something you build upon every day. There are going to be days you slip and lose control on junk but do not get discourage get back in the race and stay steady. The mission here is to concentrate on living a healthy lifestyle first lose weight (achieve fitness goal ) second, many do the opposite striving to lose weight as a way to get healthy so they use the scale as their only tool to judge their success, which we will explain later why that alone could do more to harm than help.

So join us as we learn together, grow together, and achieve together our goals of becoming the healthiest and strongest versions of ourselves. As we actually have people here who quite frankly know their stuff to the point where when they talk I jot down notes as they are not talkers but living proof of what they say. And I am sure some of you are the same and as such we look forward to the conversations had over the coming weeks and months.

 

[jspradling7]

For some reason, after I passed my 50th birthday, my trips to 24 hour fitness turned into 12 oz curls with one hand and pushing the buttons on my TV remote with the other. My wife would be so pleased if I would just put together the Nordic Track that's still in the factory box in the garage. I'm in need of some intervention. lol

 

[BHuber09]

Great write up PC! There was some very good information in this!

But I'm going to try and go on this journey with everyone else here! My main goal is to get stronger without gaining much mass. Being a competitive runner mass wouldnt be good for getting faster haha.
But on top of that I would also like to clean up my diet, generally speaking I eat 1 solid meal a day (dinner) and for breakfast and lunch I just grab whatever I can find to hold me over.
So those are my goals. I look forward to seeing this next week. (I'll post what I'm doing to reach my goals next week)

Note'd

 

[94lt1]

Great info PC. Can't wait for the next installment.

 

[cr6]

Well done PC!

tap'n on my S5

 

[kodiak799]

Interesting point about the owners/managers looking the part. Although looking the part has little to do with being able to manage the business. I don't look the part (have started off-and-on for several years, but trying to make a serious effort finally) but I certainly did in my 20's...and now I know quite a bit about nutrition, also.

So I would make a distinction between ownership and personal trainers, the latter of which might know what they are talking about but if they don't look the part, how can they inspire dedication they themselves lack?

I think that guys who compete will generally take better care of their equipment and cleanliness, but also keep in mind they tend to be more, errr, "practical" in terms of maintenance to keep prices affordable - which can be a turn-off for beginners. The #1 thing for beginners, or anyone really, is a gym you like and feel comfortable at or you simply don't go.

 

[kodiak799]

Another tip from personal experience - 24 hour gyms can be self-defeating because you can always put off going to another time, until you just decide not to go that day.

Also, there's a balance between too crowded and dead - the latter can be seriously de-motivating. You want a balance between a healthy activity around you but without having to wait for equipment.

 

[94lt1]

Strange.. I see an empty gym and the heavens light up.. Sun shines through... And a smile covers my face.. This is just a personal thing.. Lol. Not waiting for equipment and having to look out for other people enables me to focus more.

But the reason i think he was so put off about them not "looking the part" is because they more or less said that if a person had any questions about anything.. Ask them. I'd be put off to

I agree that getting comfortable is important..

 

[pc747]

As we go forward I think the most important thing to grasp is the internal. I talk to people all the time who have success with major weight loss and the number one thing they said is the hardest but is a must to overcome is the mental. And I say the same to you. Find that "it" that grounds you to something bigger than yourself. For me I rely on my Christian faith but I am not here to preach to you or tell you how to live your life. What I will tell you is you have to find that something that grounds you and help you to deal with all the negative crap that can weigh you down. Some of the people needed counseling, sought mediation, or turned to religion as a means of finding that inner peace. We battle a great deal of depression in our culture weird given people in other countries would give a part of themselves to be where we are at. But we look at what society lift up as "successful" and "beautiful" trying to match up to a fake made ideal. So sad because the people who don't have try to be like the people who have and the people who have hate who they are. If you are going on this journey believing that at the end you will be this superstar celebrity without a care in the world then I challenge you to recalibrate your thinking. You need to be happy with who you are first and understand we all have flaws. Every person that walk this earth have something they are insecure about and wish they could change. But if we could start by loving ourselves first (not saying become self-centered) and think about the positives and stop listening to the negatives spewed out of the people in the world. That negativity they spew is only to cover the hurt they have within themselves and instead of uplifting each other and overcoming our own faults we choose instead to put down others thinking that will make us feel better. Reality is that it doesn't, all you have to do is turn on the news to realize that using negativity to overcome our own short comings do not fix our problems. So I challenge you along this journey with us to find that inner peace and understand that this is a journey that is going to be ongoing. Living a healthy lifestyle is not a quick race but a slow and challenging pace that will have good days and bad days. I know for myself there are days where I am on fire and am as disciplined as can be and other days where I have to ask myself what the heck am I doing. On those bad days do not beat yourself up but learn from them. When we talk about eating right we will discuss learning to turn your favorite foods into your strength and not your weakness. The same is true for those trying to get back in shape we want to find the things we love to do and use that to our advantage. So I say pick yourself up and talk positive talk in your life and avoid the negatives. Yeah you may not be there yet but guess what at least you are traveling the road and that is something worth applauding. Whether you take baby steps or giants leaps the journey is what is important. Along this journey learn about yourself, love yourself, and believe that every day you wake up you are on the journey to becoming a stronger version of yourself even if it means that day you can only take a baby step.