For the past couple of years I’ve had the privilege of being a columnist for L Magazine.  I love writing that article every month and I’m very pleased that the good folks down at the Journal Star continue letting me do it.

In case you missed it, here’s my article from the March, 2010 issue…

Everybody Needs Rules!

One bad meal, one bad snack, one bad weekend – even one bad week – doesn’t ruin anything…so never give up.

I want you to keep that last sentence fresh in your mind the next time you find yourself mentally beating yourself up for eating poorly or skipping a workout…one minor set-back doesn’t matter.

Making those mistakes still stings a bit and I’m sure you’d like to stop making those mistakes.

Lucky for you, I’ve got a list of “sneaky tricks” that I fall back on whenever I find myself in a situation where I know I’ll mess up – parties, date night, family gatherings, etc.

If I know there’s a very good chance of my screwing up, I’ll dip into my bag of sneaky tricks and they help me from having the worthless feelings of guilt.

Remember last month we talked about sabotage, well these are more ways to keep you from sabotaging yourself.

1.    Eat a fiber-rich snack before a meal or going to a social event, along with a glass of water.

This trick is all about getting something filling in your stomach before your eyes and stomach do the thinking and you gorge on spinach dip.

If you eat something high in fiber before leaving the house, the fiber will fill you up a bit and mute your hunger alarm.

2.    Always have a “go to” food when you crave something bad, or for those times when you will turn to food for comfort.

This has to be a food(s) that is very simple, and healthy, and you will always have in your house.

For me, it’s pineapple and almonds – although not necessarily at the same time.

Those two foods are my crutch whenever I’m stressed and feel like eating something nasty.

More often than not, the craving is gone within a few short minutes of eating those foods.

3.    Learn to say NO!  Not so much a “trick” as it is a mentality, but it fits.

For some reason we have this mentality that if someone offers us dessert, we have to have it.

You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, so don’t let someone guilt you into eating their junk.

Saying “no” doesn’t mean you’re a jerk, so don’t allow yourself to feel that way.  Learn to politely decline and your body will be much happier.

4.    Have a couple rules you always stick to.

This one might sound a bit weird, but it does help.

For example, I don’t eat past a certain time.  Not because it’s magical, it’s because I understand my behavior and the type of food I normally eat at night.  But this is a rule I have and don’t break it.  I also have to start my day off with a homemade smoothie.  That’s a rule and I stick to it.

What rules can you come up with?  It doesn’t have to be something big, just a couple little things you know won’t be a problem, no matter the situation.

If you have anything special you’d like to share with everyone leave a comment below.

Have an awesome day!

Ed

Given that I actually train people on a daily basis, I can control (to a certain degree) how hard they work.

Granted there are situations when I don’t push someone very hard – goals, their mood, how they’re feeling, age, etc. are all factors in how hard I push someone.

But what’s for certain is how hard I push MYSELF in my own workouts – I always bust my butt and keep the intensity cranked up.  If I’m feeling tired or run-down, I’ll still keep the intensity up but I’ll cut the time down.  If I’m feeling good, I’ll crank the intensity up even more and lengthen the workout a bit (but never longer than 25 minutes).

Far too few people actually follow through with the “kick your butt” mentality when it comes to workouts and that’s a shame because it’s vital if you want to see results plus the higher the intensity the better you feel when you’re done.  There’s just something magical about a killer workout that sends your endorphins through the roof.

I made a quick video about the importance of busting your own ass in your workouts.

Like to see it, here it go…

So what do you think?  Am I off base or does what I’m saying make sense?

Have an awesome day!

And remember…

…Be A Superhero Today!

later,

The Fit Dad

I don’t know whether you receive “L Magazine” with your paper, or open it up to see my pretty face (with short hair) and read my articles but if you don’t, here’s my article from February.

The Saboteurs…

I love a good spy novel.   They shoot my heart rate through the roof, which usually means I stay up way past my bedtime.

The great books from that genre involve more or less the same thing – good guy must stop bad guy(s) before something very bad happens, BUT…

…There’s always a twist and it usually involves sabotage.

We’re not so different from those storylines, especially when it comes to sabotage when trying to accomplish something great.

Don’t believe me?

Think about the last time you’ve tried to make better choices with your diet and exercise and then think about some of the reasons you’ve failed.

More often than not you have either sabotaged yourself or let someone else sabotage you and the worst part is you may not even realize it.

Where’s Jason Bourne when you need him?!

The sabotage stops here and now and I’m going to help you by giving you a few of the most common saboteurs.

The most obvious saboteur is the social event.  When you’re at a party, the host usually does everything in their power to help you enjoy yourself and all too often that means drinks and lots of food.

If you are trying to avoid the fatness, you won’t have a plate in one hand and a drink in the other and the problem is the host and/or other party-goers will take that to mean you’re not having a good time and will pressure you into eating and drinking.

They think they’re helping you, when in actuality they’re sabotaging all your hard work.

The best action is to have a response already prepared and I’ll even let you lie if necessary.

Tell them the food was wonderful and you just put your plate down or that you have plans after the party and you don’t want to ruin your appetite.

Or if you really want to make some enemies, tell them you’re trying to lose weight and not be so fat…like them!  I don’t recommend that course of action if you fear the person or value your nose, lest they punch you.

One of my favorite saboteurs is the attempt to be perfect.  Being perfect with your workouts and diet won’t happen.  Never has and never will, so stop trying.

Plus everyone around you will hate you and that’s no fun.

My all-time favorite saboteur is the spouse who either knowingly or unknowingly sabotages all your hard work.

Sometimes when you set out to better yourself, your spouse isn’t on board or may think your route is silly.  Hopefully this only leads to a lack of support (which is pretty crappy in itself) but it can lead to that person making it nearly impossible for you to succeed.

I’ve known husbands who make it extremely difficult for their wives to come to boot camp.

I’ve known wives who stock the cupboards and refrigerator with their husband’s favorite junk foods – the foods he’s trying to avoid.

It’s pretty sad, but all you need to do to fix it is sit down and have a conversation about why your goals are important and ask for their support.  If they love you, they’ll give it.

Don’t let yourself become the prey of those common saboteurs.  Prepare yourself and you will succeed and maybe take out some bad guys along the way.

Have an awesome day!

Ed

There are a couple things I want to talk about today.

First, there’s still time to sign-up for the first class of Superhero School!  It all begins this Tuesday, March 2 at 5:15pm (at my studio) and there’s still room, so if you’re interested shoot me an email and I’ll give you the specifics.

Remember, once the 6-weeks begins, you won’t be able to start until the next 6-week class…so if you’re still mulling over whether or not to enroll, decide fast or you’ll be left out!

If you need more info on Superhero School, click here and watch the video.

Okay, now on with the show!

A couple weeks ago, we went over one of my favorite “Edisms”, which was “Keep it in, keep it tight” (If you missed that one, click here to understand what the heck I’m talking about) and today I want to go over another one of my favorites…

…”Squeeze Your Cheeks!”

And I’m not talking about squeezing the cheeks on your face to give them that nice, read glow; I’m talking about squeezing your other cheeks – your butt!

I know this may sound odd, but for most of us, our butts are asleep.

The muscles don’t fire the way they should.

We sit way too much and don’t move nearly enough.

When this happens, our butt muscles don’t work the way they’re supposed to and it’s very apparent when I watch people do squats and lunges.

They don’t bend from their hips; they bend from their knees.  Bending from the knees will put too much pressure on the knee joint and will lead to knee pain.

This is why I tell everyone to start the movement by sticking out their butt – which usually ends up in some confused and strange looks…I’m not a dirty old man!

So to correct this, whenever we do any lower body movement like squats, lunges, hip extensions or any of the other various goofy exercises that involve your legs, I am often heard yelling “Squeeze your cheeks!”

Anytime you raise yourself up out of a squat, lunge of hip extension you should focus on driving your heel(s) into the floor and squeezing your butt like you’ve never squeezed before!

Doing this takes the pressure off the knee joint and puts it back where it belongs – the muscles, and more specifically, your butt.

When you put the pressure and focus back on the muscles and off the knee joint, you’ll work more muscle, which also means you’ll burn more calories, which also means you’ll lose more fat and sculpt a sexier, stronger and more toned legs and booty.

So remember…

…Squeeze Your Cheeks!!!

Have a great day!

Ed

P.S. – Don’t forget, Superhero School starts Tuesday, March 2 and there’s still room in my inaugural class.  Let me know if you

want to sign up.  If you decide you want to do it on Wednesday…sorry that’s too late!

And don’t forget that current boot campers get a discount on Superhero School and if you don’t currently do boot camp, but want to do both…you’ll get a discount there as well.  Anytime I say that it always sounds confusing…

P.P.S. – I should also mention that I’ve been talking to many companies around Lincoln about doing Superhero School on-site and they’re very excited about it.  I’ve got 1 company all set to begin next week and 2 more should be starting within the next few weeks.  If you think your company would be a good fit for what I’m trying to accomplish let me know and I’ll shove my big foot in the door.

P.P.P.S. – Don’t forget to Squeeze Your Cheeks!

http://www.vimeo.com/9501369

Incase you didn’t watch the video (I highly recommend you do because…well, just because) here’s a quick snapshot of what I’m so dang excited about.

I’m excited about the inaugural launch of “Superhero School”…

…”Superhero School” is the latest program to pop out of my mushy thing I call a brain and it was born for a couple reasons.

1.  I wanted to be able to reach out to more people, but in a different way.

There are so many people in this city who don’t like to workout in front of others, don’t know what to do, are confused as h-e-double-hockey-sticks, or who can’t afford a personal trainer or boot camp and I understand that.

Plus there’s so much more to be taught than just exercise and workout information, but I’m limited in the amount of time I can teach it in a training session, in a boot camp or here on my blog.

2.  I have been receiving A LOT more questions over the past year about diet, exercise, workouts and health in general that I saw a need and a want for this type of program.

============================
So what the heck is “Superhero School?”

============================

It’s a 6-week diet, fitness and healthy lifestyle program done from a classroom setting.

I didn’t call it a weight loss program because it’s so much more than just a weight loss program.  However, if you need to lose weight, you will lose weight with Superhero School…it’s just not THE primary goal – it’s about living a healthy, vibrant and happy lifestyle.

It’s going to be a classroom setting which means that a small group of people (10-15) will meet with me at my training studio once a week for 6 weeks for around an hour (sometimes more, sometimes a little less).

In those 6 weekly classes, we will cover a range of topics that include diet, exercise, general health, supplements (good and bad), myths, lies and misconceptions and everything in between.

These classes will be interactive, which is why I am capping the number of enrollees at 10-15 – I want interaction. I want questions, I want conversation.  If the number is too large, no one will talk and it’ll be ungodly boring.

Then, at the end of each class you will receive a 2-part assignment.

You’ll receive a nutrition assignment and a workout assignment for the week.

The nutrition assignment will change every week and will include 1-3 items I want you to put all your emphasis on.

For example, I may give you an assignment of “Eating 5 fruits per day, cutting out liquid calories and not eating after 7pm.”

I want you to put all your energy into those 3 things for one week.

Then, the next week you’ll get a new assignment.

Make sense?

The workouts will also change every week and they will rock your socks.

They will be completely unique (I design all my own workout programs…unlike some other folks) and they will all be filmed and uploaded to a private website that will be password protected and can only be accessed by Superhero School attendees.

The videos will not be short – they will be filmed “follow-along” style so you can see the flow of the workout, tempo of the exercises and answer any questions you may have about the workout itself.  I’ll also give you tips and pointers so it’s just like having me in the room teaching you.

The workouts will not require gym memberships or expensive home gyms.

They will all be done from the comfort of home with limited equipment.

All I’ll require are dumbbells, resistance tubing and a stability ball – all of which are very inexpensive.

Oh yeah, on the first day of Superhero School, you’ll receive a binder preloaded with reports on exercise, diet and foods.  You’ll also receive a bunch of eBooks with sample meal plans, healthy desserts, smoothie recipes and additional workouts.

Your assignments will also be 3-hole punched so that at the end of the 6 weeks you’ll have a binder FULL of information that you can always rely on.

To say that I’m excited about this is an understatement.  I’m so unbelievably stoked about it and I hope it shows!

And I want you to be a part of my inaugural class in Superhero School!

To sign up all you have to do is either call me at 304-7858 or shoot me an email at trainer@elswellness.com and put “Superhero School” in the subject line.

The first class is set to start Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 5:15pm (or 5:30pm).

Will you join me?