Man Up!

Ian Thiermann is everything that is right with this world. Aside from having a great name(I couldn't help myself) he has a great outlook on life. Watch the video and read the rest of my thoughts.



Now how does that relate to fitness and weight loss you ask? Well his kind of thinking and the outlook he has on life is exactly the kind of outlook you need to be successful at losing weight. How easy would it have been for him to take on that victim's mindset. He very easily could've gone on blaming Bernie Madoff for robbing him of a time in life when most people are not obligated to work for a living, but instead he is just doing what needs to be done.

The same is true in weight loss. When your trying to lose weight many times people get in that self-destructive mindset of "I'm destined to be fat" or "I'll never succeed". So instead of being a victim or engaging in negative self talk just pick up and do what needs to be done!

What Fuels Your Fire!

My Freshman year in High School I weighed 122 pounds dripping wet. I was skinny, weak, and had little confidence in my ability to do anything. I at some point in my first year of undergrad decided I wanted to change that and hit the weight room. As I started lifting I found the results I got in terms of strength and size was a direct result of how hard I worked. I was determined to not be the skinny kid anymore and began to fall in love with the weight room and the ability it gave me to change my body.


Ever since my I started working out there probably hasn't been more than a few weeks where I haven't done at least some sort of physical activity each week. I now weigh around 190 pounds with approximately 15% body fat. Now I'm not the most fit trainer you'll ever meet but I work hard to keep myself fit and to be an example for those I train.

So I was determined to change my body and I used my insecurities to fuel the fire. To really change your life and your body I feel you need to find the true reason you want to lose body fat. For me I didn't feel comfortable in the skin that I was in, but for you it might be that your family history stinks and you want to be sure your doing everything you can to avoid the inevitable heart attack or cancer.

So leave a comment and tell me what your goal is and the real reason behind reaching it! And remember don't let anything get in your way of achieving your goals.

The Immortal Cheesburger!

If you have only 5 minutes to spare today be sure you spend it watching this video! After you finish watching it leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Why Cardio Alone Doesn't Work.

Have you ever heard someone referred to as a skinny fat person? Maybe you've seen someone who fits that description. A skinny fat person is someone who is not fat in the typical sense of being large in size, instead this person is small framed yet has no muscle tone. These skinny fat people believe that pounding away on a treadmill, or doing the elliptical for hours a day will get them the dream body they've been searching for, but have probably never picked up a weight in their life. Cardio certainly has it's place in every fitness program but it should be a part of a balanced program including cardio, strength training, and a healthy diet.

The key to losing body fat and keeping it off is strength training. Lean muscle is the driving force behind your metabolism and the only way to increase your metabolism or burn more calories at rest, is to increase lean muscle through strength training. For the women that are afraid to get “too bulky” from strength training that is simply a myth. When most people think of strength training and the results it yields, they think of the heavily muscled bodybuilders that plaster the covers of magazines such as Muscle and Fitness. The models that grace the covers of those magazines are simply models who are hired to sell magazines and not a realistic result of someone who strength trains a few times a week to get healthy. So in order to truly rev up your metabolism and get rid of body fat once and for all, hit the weights!

Circuit Training The Workout!

The last post touched on the benefits and science behind how one particular circuit training workout called a peripheral heart action(PHA) circuit works. Here is an easy beginner's circuit.

Chest Press
DB Row
Pysioball Squat
Physioball Crunch

Lat Pull Down
Shoulder Lateral Raise
Stationary Lunge
Oblique Crunch

Perform each exercise in succession with a short rest in between circuits. For beginners start with 2 sets of 12-15 Repetitions of each cicuit. If your more advanced shoot for 3 sets.

Email me ian@essentialfitnessstl.com with free workout in the subject line for a free PHA circuit workout called the "9 Basic Movements" that comes with full color pictures and exercise descriptions.

Circuit Training Does It Work?

The Fat-Burning Secret
A lot of the woman-only fitness centers in operation work on the principles of circuit training. Have you ever thought to yourself why circuit training? And is it really effective? The short answer is yes it works, but in order to get the most out of your circuit training workout you need to understand why and how it works in order to get the most out of your workouts.
Circuit workouts typically consist of grouping 3 or 4 exercises together in order to get maximal work done in a short period of time. Depending on which muscle groups you work and the order you group them in can have a significant effect on the level of intensity of your workout. One particular circuit that is effective is called the peripheral heart action circuit(PHA). The basis of this circuit is to alternate exercises between four different muscle groups in order to force the heart to pump blood to each muscle group, therefore not being able to fall into a rhythm of pumping blood to the same working tissue. The idea is to keep the heart rate high throughout the workout in order to get cardiovascular benefits as well as the benefits of strength training. By keeping the heart rate elevated and doing resistance exercises you will turn your body into a fat burning machine.

Cardiac Rehab

Cardiac Rehabilitation is a very comprehensive program that can be found in many clinical hospital settings to help those who are at risk or may have already had a cardiac event. Most cardiac rehab programs will target control of cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, stress, nutrition, weight loss, stopping smoking, as well as integrating exercise. By focusing on theses lifestyle factors that can all contribute to many different diseases of the heart you can significantly reduce or reverse many of the signs and symptoms of heart disease.

For more information about cardiac rehab programs available in the St. Louis area check out the links below.

http://www.stanthonysmedcenter.com/healthcareServ/heart/cardiacRehab.asp

http://www.stjohnsmercy.org/healthinfo/adult/pmr/cardiac.asp

http://www.barnesjewish.org/cardio/default.asp?NavID=32

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