The Zoni Fitness Training

Running outside in the winter… NOT a fan.

I was on my way to the gym today, and I saw 6 people running outside, (in PA, it’s about 20 degrees outside). They all donned sweat pants, shirts, hats, gloves, and some had scarfs. Despite all this winter gear, the 6 of them had one area that was NOT covered which should have been: their mouths and noses.

Of course, they would suffocate due to lack of circulating air. But obviously their health isn’t of much concern.

Advocates of running outdoors in the winter always say: “It’s a mental workout more than it is a physical one”, and to that I say: “Try running in 100 degree weather, THAT is way more of a mental feat than running in the cold, plus I don’t risk the chances of pneumonia. And yes I am aware that there are dehydration risks associated with hot climate running, so of course it’s not a recommended long term program. I used it merely to illustrate my point.

Another problem with winter running is the myth that you don’t worry about body regulating heat (over-heating) in a winter run. This.Is.Not.The.Case. The reality is that sweating is an EXTERNAL means of regulating the body temperature. However, since the winter runner has thoughtfully wrapped themselves in five layers of clothing, the reality is that overheating is actually more likely than not. Sweat works by evaporating off the skin once the heat becomes too great, this is what cools the body off. However the clothing prevents this evaporation from happening. (And I’m not going to go into the obvious application of using “thermal” clothing.)

Here’s the most sinister problem with winter running, which I had alluded to earlier in the post: Cold air inhalation in the warm, moist recesses of your lungs.

Science says that hot air+cold air= moisture. This is true, especially in your lungs.The implications? We have to consider that during bouts of extreme stress, the immune system is compromised to regulate normal body functions (core temperature), now you’ve exacerbated the issue with added moisture and constriction of alveolar sacs in the lungs. This is a recipe for pneumonia if I’ve ever heard of one.

But if we can talk muscular issues: now running under normal circumstances usually require a warm-up of some sort. Now my readers know I’m not a fan of stretching pre-runs, but more of a dynamic sort of warm-up. Why do we warm up? To promote blood flood and acclimate the muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments for the exercise ahead. However, being LITERALLY cold will cause your “warm up” to take longer than normal, hence increasing the likelihood of injury on a muscular level.

One final caution. It’s winter, it’s icy. It’s more than likely going to be slippery, and more than likely darker than normal in the afternoon. IT’S JUST NOT SAFE! Get a gym membership, buy a treadmill. There are better and safer ways to go running outside.

I am welcoming feedback.

Do you run outside? Would you consider my warnings unnecessary?

What’s your favorite workout?

Which day of the gym going week is your favorite? Just curious to know what your trend is. Any reason is a good reason to go, share if you dare!

High Fat/Sugar foods make you want them more! And my story

Some people are painfully aware of this fact, and some are not.

The concept at it’s core is from the reward center of your brain. The limbic system sucks ladies and gentleman. And it’s also very very great… very very very great very very very very great. (Joke)

The body eats a meal high in fat and sugar (let’s assume we know that it’s because it tastes really good). I’ve had ice cream folks! I’ve had cheese-fries! That stuff is delicious! However, some people have learned to hijack their limbic systems and utilize this awesome feeling as a reward for ACTUALLY doing work. We know these as “cheat days”. (Cheat meal for me).

This is a concept that was not solidified by the obese. They took the shortcut to get to the cheese (pun!). They know as we all do that it’s as simple as picking up the phone and ordering in and BOOM! Pizza is on it’s way with brownies! It’s the single worse thing to happen to society since (really bad thing). The deliciousness is a reward to your brain. It sees this as a good thing. Since being fat isn’t technically a distress, the brain won’t respond to fat gain in a negative way unless you ASSOCIATE it with being negative. We have a tag team battle here: the work you make toward getting the reward, the “cheese”, and the avoidance of pain (Denial) of your realization that you have gained a bunch of weight and are getting very unhealthy. This versus your motivation to DO something about it (work out, eat better, etc.) As a side note: Denial is like the dipping sauce for your cheesey bread. Back on point; eventually the battle has to be decided: will the tag team of cheesey bread and dipping sauce (stay with me) be victorious, or will your motivation to better yourself and the TRUE reward of being the best you possible win? Here’s something to consider: it doesn’t have to be 2-on-1, I can help you ( if you let me).

Some people don’t have a problem with food, some people gain weight through adversity…. Here, I enter the picture….

At one point, and I remember miserably, being very sick for several months eating this-that-whatever, being so sick all I could muster was sitting on my ass playing video games for hours at a time.(Ok that was fun, get off me!) However, what I do NOT recall fondly was what my body looked like; bloated, jiggly, undesirable.

One day in a very dark state I resolved that it was as far as it was going to go. Hit the gym, got with my trainer, lost 80lbs (yes, of fat)! I was in the best shape of my life, lean mean and confident! Had the job, the career, the girl (now wife) and BOOM! Car accident.

Completely sedentary for months, on a budget, made compromises with food. Gained 30 lbs (yes, of fat), after 13 months slowly started exercising after excruciating therapies, my weight stabilized.

What’s the moral? The moral is that I had a ton of adversity in front of me. HOWEVER: the reward with what I looked like and felt like and my phobia of EVER returning to that dark place will be with me for the rest of my life. I’m back on tumblr hoping to reach people in their dark place and tell them that there IS an option to get back to where you need to be. I’ve written articles about my knowledge collected through college, self study, certifications, and life experience. Look through them. I’m learning constantly, there will be more to share.

Bending the Spoon

A week or so ago I posted an article on The spoon effect. Some of what follows is painfully obvious to some, and to others: I hope it’s a wake-call. I know sometimes I write in a little more “gruff” style than others, and this is article is no different. I get really passionate about this stuff, and unfortunately there are a lot of proponents for STUPID exercise gimmicks. I am one person who tries to live and lead by example, but it’s hard sometimes, ya know?

But now, what you’ve all been waiting for:

Bending the spoon!

How does one combat the spoon effect?

The goal for you would be to make specific quantifiable changes into your workout on a steady basis. What does this mean? I will offer this scenario.


Client A wants to lose weight, and will work out 4 days a week. Focusing on 2 times a week on a cardio protocol, and 2 times a week on a weight training protocol.
Client B wants the exact same thing and has the same exact program (to start)


Client A after several weeks will change the cardio workout in a simple fashion: will increase speed by .5 miles/hour.
Client B will not.


Client A will change the weight training protocol to decrease the rest period per set by 30 seconds. In an attempt to increase intensity, and ultimately do more in the single session.
Client B will use the same weights and rest period.



Client A realizing that continuing to do the increased speed protocol will cause injury, will then change the modality of their cardio protocol, perhaps jump rope, or maybe cycling. Then incrementally adjusting for speed/distance.
Client B likes the “same ol’ thing”



Which one is the spoon? It’s almost painfully obvious as I put two scenarios side-by-side. BUT THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS!  Everyday someone comes in and wants to do “an hour of cardio a day” and “some crunches”. That leads to success? Not really.

Why does one stick to the “same ‘ol”? Is it because it’s “safe”? Studies are showing that repetitive stress on the joints will cause more injury than prevent. Because it’s “easy”? Tell me how easy it is to have an older version of yourself a year from now with no added benefit? That sounds pretty tough to ME! Is it because of the alternative, hiring a trainer is too expensive? Even though after becoming obese, plopping down several thousands for lap band surgery, or even worse: orthopedic surgery from injuring yourself from improper training PALES in comparison to a one time 3 month program. We’re not sharks people, we’re not leeches…. We’re here to help you, but unfortunately, we have to charge just like every other business. A major reason why training turnover is so high is because people are reluctant to change, much less reluctant to offer money to what the feel is a “luxury” item. Sorry if good health is a luxury, I really am.

Intermittent Fasting is a hoax. It’s a hoax, and I can PROVE it!

What is Intermittent fasting? Well, it’s the next “thing”.

The “thing” is: everyone wants to be responsible for the newest trend in exercise. The problem is that no one has got it right. Atkins, paleo, intermittent fasting, it’s all at the whim of someone who has enough time and energy to promote the fad.

It’s a fad like “you got served” was a fad. It’s a fad like “yo mamma” is a fad. And guess what: the above mentioned are NOT as stupid as Intermittent Fasting because you’re not putting your health at risk saying them. Well, ok…. depending on the company you keep while saying them you might get a slap.

But WHAT is Intermittent Fasting??? It’s a concept that would have the dieter not eat for up to 36 hours straight. I cringe at the thought. I’ve read the articles and the proponents of this diet are the same people who bring you “alkalized water” and “the power bracelet”. Load you up with Junk science and everyone drools into the koolaide. “Eat whatever I want and I only have to starve for a day and a half?!?!” Awesome!!!

No, not awesome. Some people link studies to diabetics who are on intermittent fasting and met with “great” success. However, if you read these articles they’re not “intermittent fasting” they are eating less, instead of non restrictive eating every 3 hours, they are restricted to low carb meals for every 10 hours. Definitely not intermittent fasting, definitely works because their pancreas is so flipping burnt they need to do the low carb diets. Being 300 plus pounds is an excuse to carb REDUCE.

Then they talk about athletes who can run marathons at relatively same intensities with fasting for 24 hours. Well, to a laymen: that is pretty remarkable. To someone who knows glycogen storage systems, it become obvious that marathon runners have a greater capacity to store glycogen than the average person. Assuming this runner had been eating a normal diet up til the fast, s/he would be hard pressed to burn through the massive quantities of reserved fuels.

Now actual science I have several articles that will help shed some light on this matter, relative to ACTUAL intermittent fasting, relative to actual real world scenarios.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21996045

This article says that after intermittent fasting, the body’s ability to store white adipose (fat) tissues are INCREASED after intermittent fasting and will be upregulated and food eaten after a fast will INCREASE fat storage. Good job.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22041177

This article says that being on an intermittent fasting protocol will stunt fetal growth into birth. Lowering bone density and thryoid function of the offspring of females who undergo the fasting on a regular basis. So not only bad for you, but bad for baby.

I also found an article related to male runners and their fasting performances for running found here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21857506

Note this is not a slam against religion, they just have a self-imposed fasting protocol and I respect their ability to put their bodies through the fast at the sake of their believes. However, empirically speaking: your performance will suffer as a result of fasting. This is a fact.

There unfortunately has been NO medical breakthroughs in body composition shortcuts. It’s hard work and dedication. I actually will go through what needs to be accomplished in my second installment of “The Spoon Effect: Bending the Spoon” Stay tuned!!!

Spoon Effect

I haven’t written in forever. Long story short: bloodthirsty lawyer looking in to my personal life. Time consuming former job made me so despondent I didn’t have the inclination to write. So let’s forget all that and I’m just going to write. HAPPY READING!

The “spoon effect”


I find myself crippled with writer’s block. It’s been months since I’ve written ANYTHING. I’ve decided to write based on experiences I’ve had in the course of my gym career. People of interest shall remain anonymous. If you think this is about anyone you know, do both of you a favor and keep it quiet, because nobody else does. That being said:

The spoon effect. And no, it’s not about diet (this time).


IF you ever experienced graphs in high school/college, you’ll remember the x, y axis graph. Well, if you didn’t I just caught you up. Variable x will be time, or the horizontal axis, and y represents you and your results on the vertical axis.

 

Now, we’ve all heard of the plateau effect, but is this really what happens to the body over the course of training? Actually, no it is not.


To reach a plateau represents that you, over the course of time have not improved or regressed in your results. This.Is. Not. True. I need you readers to understand that we are not time exempt individuals. We don’t have the luxury of TRUE “maintenance”. As humans, we are in a constant state of degradation. So to be more accurate one does not plateau. In actuality you decrease over the course, and looks more like a spoon than a true plateau.

What this means: That unless you ARE challenging yourself in a specific, regimented, and  progressable way there is little hope of you avoiding this spoon effect. This is what I have noticed from members at EVERY gym where I have ever worked. I actually hear on a consistent basis: “I like this routine, I’ve been doing it for [insert arbitrary number of years], and it works OK for me”. OK?!? That’s what your shooting for with your ONE life and ONE body? Ok?!? Hope that works out for you. I am in this business to break people of the mediocre goal setting disease that has befallen us. Realize this: you are older than what you were than when you started reading this article. Every choice you make you can’t re-do. This is what we have. The time and ONE choice. Make both count!

How to avoid this effect? Stay tuned…

So happy I bought a bike (bicycle)

It only takes me 12 minutes to get to work, BRUTAL hills though. The only thing is I keep getting stuck with head-winds. My hair looks like a blowout when I get to the gym, which is NOT a look I’m going for. Maybe I’ll blast my calves yet!

My brain and heart hurt today

I trained a woman today, the age of 23. Had a bad attitude from the door… “Why do I have to eat breakfast, I never eat breakfast! I just want to lose weight, what does eating MORE have to do with exercise?” After explaining what “metabolism” is, I asked her to get on the scale so I could conduct a weight assessment. She said “No”.

Me: No? Why not?

her: I already know what I weigh and I don’t want to get on the scale again.

Me: I understand it is discouraging to look at the number, but I NEED to know the weight so I can conduct a bodyfat test, and then determine how much weight you can lose SAFELY.

Her: I don’t want to.

Me: ::shaking my head, and screaming on the inside::

After I showed this lovely young lady some exercises, she kept insisting that everything was “too hard” and would quit after 1 rep, grunt in frustration, and do it again. And again, she would work for 1-2 reps, and repeat the cycle. This went on for 45 minutes.

For you readers, I can assure you I have been doing this for quite many years, so I am positive the exercises were within her realm of do-ability, but refused to work hard from the beginning (hence why she’s overweight).

Obviously she did not want to continue training, which is really sad. She needed the help more than anyone I’ve met in a long time, due to her really skewed mental and physical outlook. I can help just about anyone do just about anything they set their mind to, but I can’t help this one…. I’m just frustrated is all.

I had GREAT training sessions today though, it just gets ruined when I experience things like this, and this has not happened to ME in a very long while (years).