I once wrote one of these a few years ago to help those that need it. I'm not sure what happened to that note but I'm back again to separate the facts from the popular fiction that has so many people struggling and clinging to drastic means to achieve their desired level of fitness.
I've been at this my present gym, LA Fitness, for whats going to be 4 years come spring. In that time, as well as the time before, I have seen countless people performing the wrong exercises, implementing the wrong form, believing the wrong things. So now I'm going to go through some of the false information/lies that you have been led to believe.
1. Sweat away those pounds!
NO! I'm sorry but despite what you would like to believe sweat is NOT a sign that you are losing fat. You can't jump into a garbage back and "melt" away those unwanted pounds. Fat does not melt down/liquify and leak out of your pours. The very thought of that is rather disgusting. Sweating is, and only is, a method to cool your body down when it begins to overheat. Lose to much water and you can do serious damage to your organs.
No sweating during your workout is not without its advantages. It is a good way to rid yourself of unwanted waterweight. Those, most cases women, that suffer from water retention can benefit from excessive sweating during workouts. However, for the majority of us that difference in weight we experience pre to post workout due to us sweating is and will be immediately replaced the moment we place that water/gaterade/powerade bottle to our lips.
2. Spot Reduction
Ask me about this about a year ago and I would have said HELL NO but from what I have been recently reading it turns out that there is some truth to this. Slight but still some. However if your problem area is your, for example, stomach area (which is the problem for most of us) you can't jump to the floor and bang out eleventy million crunches to get that coveted six-pack. Yes you will likely develop some strong abdominal muscles but unfortunately for you that will resie under a cloak of fat.
See the general rule is that to lose weight in any particular area your best best is to work your body completely. The more muscles you work the higher your metabolism. Higher your metabolism the more fat you'll burn off. More fat you burn off the more those sexy abs will start to show. See the body burns off fat evenly, head to toe, for the most part.
Now in the beginning I said there was slight truth to "Spot Reduction". Well here it goes. From what I have recently been reading it seems that working any particular area cause the body to draw, for energy, upon that fat in that target area at a slightly higher percentage then throughtout the rest of your body. What does this mean? Well it means that simply/only doing crunches daily, non-stop WILL NOT flatten out your stomach it is beneficial to hit target/key area during your workout routine.
3. Cardio vs Weight Training
I've been asked about this alot. Which is better to do if you want to get in shape, lose weight, gain lean muscle, etc. Well the fact is both are good and has an advantage over the other.
-Cardio (Cardiovascular Exercise) is primarily a means to better your fitness. Used to strengthen your heart, increase your stamina and vitality, as well as relieve stress. Cardio will also aid you in losing weight but it has its draw backs in that area.
-Weight Training is pretty straight forward in its uses. To build lean muscle, physical strength/power and explosiveness (mostly for athletic reasons). WT can also aid in losing weight.
Now which is better?
Well the truth is that on a scale the needle would swing towards the direction of weight training. Most women I've told did not like hearing that as it seem yall act like yall have an allergy to dumbbells and weight machines lol. But it works like this, while cardio will boost you metabolism higher then will straight weight training that boost is short lived. Minutes after you have completed your treadmill run, bike ride, step class, etc you metabo will return back to the same state/level that it was at prior to you beginning your cardio workout. In the area of weight training while your while your metabo does not reach the same "spike" as with cardio exercise, it will remain at that higher level then normal for longer period of time after your workout is complete. Reason being is that the muscles trained require more energy, burn more calories, to recover from the weight session.
Now this takes me straight into #4.
4. Lifting weights will make me bulky
Usually a comment heard from women. My response...."IF ONLY IT WERE SOOOOO SIMPLE". Lifting weights will not suddenly have you looking like Mr/Ms Olympia. It takes alot of work and specific weight training to add that kind of bulk to your physique. Fact is that lifting weights is not only the best way to get weight off but its the best way to keep it off. Think of your muscles like children. The more you have the more mouths, daily, you have to feed. Your metabolism will remain higher/faster to feed your body.
5. Carbs are the Devil. Avoid them at all costs!
ROTFLMBO!!!!! Listen, CARBS are your Friend. Yes I said it....YOUR FRIEND. But thats only if you know what carbs to eat at which times and in what amounts. Too many of these fad diets have people completely cutting carbs all together but doing so can have a very bad effect; fatigue, depression, and a breakdown of body protein for energy just as an example.
See you have 2 types of carbs; Fast Burning and Slow Burning. Fast buring would be those found in foods such as; white/wheat bread, potatoes, pastas, white rice etc. Slow burning; oatmeal, whole grain bread, brown rice, sweet potatoes, etc.
Most people ingest large amounts of fast burning carbs throughout the day....WRONG! Fast buring carbs basically cause your insulin levels to spike triggering your body to store fat. Now its not necessarily wrong to eat fast burning carbs but the best time to do so is immediately post workout when your body is in heavy need of energy to replace your depleted Glycogen levels.
Your best bet: Throughout the day and pre-workout eat Slow Burning carbs as they have a lower glycemic load and will digest slower in your system helping to carry you from meal to meal. Immediate pst workout ingest a fast burning carb to re-energize your system.
6. Don't eat after 7:00PM
What is 7pm supposed to be magic hour? What if I'm a NY resident but fly to Cali on vacation? Does that mean that I now can't eat after 4pm? Does my stomach recognize the time change? LOL....foolishness. Listen 7pm is no magic time slot where all food needs be finished before the deadline. I can only imagine that this "rule" came about because peoples bed times were alot earlier then us night owls today.
What you should not do, however, is eat within 2, maybe 2 1/2 hours of the time in which you are going to sleep. Its not that your body will convert whatever food you ate into fat simply because you are sleep. This is something highly debated but as of yet there is no medical proof to support that idea. Now, as I understand when you sleep your body releases a hormone called GH (Growth Hormone) which basically serves to repair muscle cells, strengthen your immune system and also increase fat-burning. However eating foods before bed that can be converted into sugars (mainly carbs) inhibit the release of GH therefore robbing you of its effect.
Well these are the main myths that I have been presented with. I hope me writing this has helped someone in their desired to reach physical fitness goal for '09. And as always I'm willing for discussion or debate.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
U.S.A
(The Unified Stupidity of America)
For as long as I have known myself I have known that I have very very....VERY little patience for stupidity. Not just ignorant people but stupid questions in general. And yes THERE IS a such thing as a stupid question. This subject is probably the one thing in my life that can bring me to the point I will refer too as Zero Barrier. Time after time I find myself in situation after situation where I am forced to be subject to the stupid inquiries of one stupid person after another. I have often pondered about how so many of these moronic meatbags get through there day to day lives when they seem to have so little common sense? Sometimes it just astounds me....I'm truly baffled. Truly! It is my belief that everyone should be required to have a certain level of common sense before they are allowed to venture out into the world. Common Sense 101...it could be a required college course. Something...please!
Now I understand that I probably sound very mean and insensitive. Alright but you need to stand in my shoes to really understand what I'm talking about. So walk with me for a minute down Stupidity Lane:
-5 days ago: I currently work customer service at Jetblue. Occassionally I get question involving the location of a flight, gate changes, transfers, etc. All sensible questions. But this day I'm standing INSIDE the Jetblue terminal, eatting INSIDE Jetblue's food court why are you coming over to me to ask me "Where is Jetblue"? What!?!?!
***ZERO BARRIER REACHED***
You're kidding me right? You arrived AT Jetblue's terminal, CHECKED IN for your Jetblue flight, WENT THROUGH Jetblue's security and now you find yourself standing inside in the center of the building where damn near EVERYTHING around you is BLUE and you are asking for direction to Jetblue. You can't possibly be so stupid can you? GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!
-Lil over a week ago: I am on my way to work. I come out of the Airtrain and begin to walk, on a straight path mind you, towards my terminal to punch in and begin work. This dude rushes up too me asking me where Jetblue is. Alright, its a brand new terminal and the name isn't on front. So I politely point out the new terminal. Mind you its a huge building. A huge building that was DIRECTLY infront of him. The ONLY huge building DIRECTLY in front of him. Yet still this fools asks me "Where at I don't see it?"
***ZERO BARRIER***
I maintained though. I didn't snap, though in my head I insulted his stupidity in atleast 2 languages and 3 dialects. I pointed out on more time and told him, "Right there. The building right in front of you." Dumb-dumb replies "Alright are you going that way? I'll follow you so I don't get lost." *Slow head turn right followed by the stupid stare* So I begin walking, I couldn't bring myself to utter the words "okay" for fear that when my lips parted something else might have vocalized. Mind you, again, between us and the terminal was one straight line path. No lefts or right...just straight. So this dude is following me to the terminal. Most people would probably say that there is no harm in him following me. Hell I was going that way anyhow, but allowing him to do so somehow made me feel as if I was encouraging the stupidity. I felt within me an overwhelming desire to run so that he could no longer follow. I could feel the tension grow in my legs as the prepped themselves to take flight. I didn't but oh my God did I want too.
- Fall 2003: I am working for 42nd Street Port Authority. Its some point in the afternoon not to long before the beginning of rush hour. I found myself standing in the South Wing, main concourse (for any that are familiar with the terminal thats the area with most of the stores). I was standing directly infront of the main escalators when this man walks up to me to ask me "How do I get outside?"
***You already know....ZERO FREAKING BARRIER***
In actuality it took me all of about 2 and a half seconds for his question to register in my head, me to look at him and then proceed to answer. And when I did my response was simple, "Turn around." Yes you read that right, "Turn Around" thats all he had to do was look behind him. But mentally, in that 2.5 seconds of real time, about 2 minutes of thought; straight bewilderment and rude commentary; had taken place. How completely oblivious of everything a-freaking-round you must you be? We are standing less then 200 feet from the exit. Do you not see that big ass glass wall behind you? How does the 4 dozen people exiting and entering not grasp your attention? The loud ass taxis, delivery trucks, commercial vehicles...none of this grasping your attention at all huh? Hell you just came from that direction. Are you serious you complete idiot?
"Turn Around"
-Some time while an undergrad: I use to get my e-pimpin on heavy! Well I was talking on the phone with this one female I met from blackplanet. We had numerous conversations by this point; some plain, some sexual but thats not the point of this story. One night I'm speaking to her but I'm on a limited time frame cuse my chapter had a 3-on-3 Basketball tourny that we had planed. So the convo is beginning to come to a close when I bring up that I have to get going. I tell her what my frat has planned and replies about how thats nice but then proceeds to ask me about it. Well I understand that not all females are into sports so its an honest question. I explain it is a little basketball tournament, which should be obvious by the name but I let that one go. She proceeds to ask me a couple more questions that are dancing around the barrier but I'm still maintaining. Its not till the final question, or maybe it was the final question because after that I was DONE, when she asked me "So how many guys play on a team?"
***The hell with ZERO BARRIER...she just knocked me minus 32 degrees***
"IT'S CALLED A 3 ON 3 TOURNY!" 3 on 3! Common sense please! Whether you follow sports or not it can't be that hard to grasp. Honestly I don't think I have ever in my life lost so much interest in a female quite so fast. Needless to say her number appeared on my phone bill never again after that day. (Prob should clarify that this particular female had a history of saying stupid things. The pursuit of p-u-s-s-y brought me to overlook much of it. But there comes a time when enough is ENOUGH!
Now I could go on and on with example after example. I'm sure I'll be blogging again on this same subject. But for now I shall lay it rest, sit back in my chair and continue to ponder....I am a citizen in the USA (United Stupidity of America)
-The Hunter
Now I understand that I probably sound very mean and insensitive. Alright but you need to stand in my shoes to really understand what I'm talking about. So walk with me for a minute down Stupidity Lane:
-5 days ago: I currently work customer service at Jetblue. Occassionally I get question involving the location of a flight, gate changes, transfers, etc. All sensible questions. But this day I'm standing INSIDE the Jetblue terminal, eatting INSIDE Jetblue's food court why are you coming over to me to ask me "Where is Jetblue"? What!?!?!
***ZERO BARRIER REACHED***
You're kidding me right? You arrived AT Jetblue's terminal, CHECKED IN for your Jetblue flight, WENT THROUGH Jetblue's security and now you find yourself standing inside in the center of the building where damn near EVERYTHING around you is BLUE and you are asking for direction to Jetblue. You can't possibly be so stupid can you? GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!
-Lil over a week ago: I am on my way to work. I come out of the Airtrain and begin to walk, on a straight path mind you, towards my terminal to punch in and begin work. This dude rushes up too me asking me where Jetblue is. Alright, its a brand new terminal and the name isn't on front. So I politely point out the new terminal. Mind you its a huge building. A huge building that was DIRECTLY infront of him. The ONLY huge building DIRECTLY in front of him. Yet still this fools asks me "Where at I don't see it?"
***ZERO BARRIER***
I maintained though. I didn't snap, though in my head I insulted his stupidity in atleast 2 languages and 3 dialects. I pointed out on more time and told him, "Right there. The building right in front of you." Dumb-dumb replies "Alright are you going that way? I'll follow you so I don't get lost." *Slow head turn right followed by the stupid stare* So I begin walking, I couldn't bring myself to utter the words "okay" for fear that when my lips parted something else might have vocalized. Mind you, again, between us and the terminal was one straight line path. No lefts or right...just straight. So this dude is following me to the terminal. Most people would probably say that there is no harm in him following me. Hell I was going that way anyhow, but allowing him to do so somehow made me feel as if I was encouraging the stupidity. I felt within me an overwhelming desire to run so that he could no longer follow. I could feel the tension grow in my legs as the prepped themselves to take flight. I didn't but oh my God did I want too.
- Fall 2003: I am working for 42nd Street Port Authority. Its some point in the afternoon not to long before the beginning of rush hour. I found myself standing in the South Wing, main concourse (for any that are familiar with the terminal thats the area with most of the stores). I was standing directly infront of the main escalators when this man walks up to me to ask me "How do I get outside?"
***You already know....ZERO FREAKING BARRIER***
In actuality it took me all of about 2 and a half seconds for his question to register in my head, me to look at him and then proceed to answer. And when I did my response was simple, "Turn around." Yes you read that right, "Turn Around" thats all he had to do was look behind him. But mentally, in that 2.5 seconds of real time, about 2 minutes of thought; straight bewilderment and rude commentary; had taken place. How completely oblivious of everything a-freaking-round you must you be? We are standing less then 200 feet from the exit. Do you not see that big ass glass wall behind you? How does the 4 dozen people exiting and entering not grasp your attention? The loud ass taxis, delivery trucks, commercial vehicles...none of this grasping your attention at all huh? Hell you just came from that direction. Are you serious you complete idiot?
"Turn Around"
-Some time while an undergrad: I use to get my e-pimpin on heavy! Well I was talking on the phone with this one female I met from blackplanet. We had numerous conversations by this point; some plain, some sexual but thats not the point of this story. One night I'm speaking to her but I'm on a limited time frame cuse my chapter had a 3-on-3 Basketball tourny that we had planed. So the convo is beginning to come to a close when I bring up that I have to get going. I tell her what my frat has planned and replies about how thats nice but then proceeds to ask me about it. Well I understand that not all females are into sports so its an honest question. I explain it is a little basketball tournament, which should be obvious by the name but I let that one go. She proceeds to ask me a couple more questions that are dancing around the barrier but I'm still maintaining. Its not till the final question, or maybe it was the final question because after that I was DONE, when she asked me "So how many guys play on a team?"
***The hell with ZERO BARRIER...she just knocked me minus 32 degrees***
"IT'S CALLED A 3 ON 3 TOURNY!" 3 on 3! Common sense please! Whether you follow sports or not it can't be that hard to grasp. Honestly I don't think I have ever in my life lost so much interest in a female quite so fast. Needless to say her number appeared on my phone bill never again after that day. (Prob should clarify that this particular female had a history of saying stupid things. The pursuit of p-u-s-s-y brought me to overlook much of it. But there comes a time when enough is ENOUGH!
Now I could go on and on with example after example. I'm sure I'll be blogging again on this same subject. But for now I shall lay it rest, sit back in my chair and continue to ponder....I am a citizen in the USA (United Stupidity of America)
-The Hunter
New Years Resolutionists.....UGH!
Everyone with their damn New Years Resolutions. Fine if thats what you want to do....its pointless....but do you. There are many things I look forward to "for the '09", funny how quickly I've already grown to hate that statment, but unlike many I am not looking forward to them as some new chances at life as if the New Year is some magical transformation or reset button. No! Its just another day people...GET A GRIP! (stealing a comment from you Kim) These people with the "In '09 Imma being cutting some people off". Huh? #1 Why are you announcing it? What are you thirsty for attention? #2 Why wait for new years? Personally when I decided I've had enough then the cutting begins immeidately. I'm not waiting a month, a week, a day or even a minute. Matter fact when I've come to the decision that I no longer can stand your stupid *** I don't care if your in mid sentence. When I'm done I'M DONE! But I digress...
I have a real problem about the influx of people that crowd my gym from January to mid-February. I'm going on three years at this location and every year, like clock-work, new members rush in getting all in my damn way. Sitting on my benches and occupying my machines while doing absolutely nothing. Doing one sorry ass set, sitting for 5 minutes staring blankley at everyone around them and then attempting to do a second set.
OMG! I feel like kicking the crap out of them sometimes. I feel that as a person that is serious about being that I should get some kinda special priviledges card that permits me to remove anyone who is holding me up from completeing my workout. As it is I have no problem standing directly infront of anyone. Giving them that stare. That "Hurry up stupid" stare.
Oh how I wish I could somehow get around this coming headache. But by now I realize it is inevitable. I will have to deal with this crap from January to mid-Feb (maybe early March); as the New Years Resolutionists rarely last longer then that. Then it will empty out leaving only the real dedicated members till about mid-April/May when the summer, "I gotta look good in my bikini/beach shorts" people come running.
God....I'm getting frustrated already.
-The Hunter
I have a real problem about the influx of people that crowd my gym from January to mid-February. I'm going on three years at this location and every year, like clock-work, new members rush in getting all in my damn way. Sitting on my benches and occupying my machines while doing absolutely nothing. Doing one sorry ass set, sitting for 5 minutes staring blankley at everyone around them and then attempting to do a second set.
OMG! I feel like kicking the crap out of them sometimes. I feel that as a person that is serious about being that I should get some kinda special priviledges card that permits me to remove anyone who is holding me up from completeing my workout. As it is I have no problem standing directly infront of anyone. Giving them that stare. That "Hurry up stupid" stare.
Oh how I wish I could somehow get around this coming headache. But by now I realize it is inevitable. I will have to deal with this crap from January to mid-Feb (maybe early March); as the New Years Resolutionists rarely last longer then that. Then it will empty out leaving only the real dedicated members till about mid-April/May when the summer, "I gotta look good in my bikini/beach shorts" people come running.
God....I'm getting frustrated already.
-The Hunter
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The Introduction
I felt it was important, before I got to really letting loose and painting this site with the thoughts of my mind, that I set a sort of foundation. By nature I am a very silly person. Love to make friends, converse, laugh, have fun, so forth and so on. That is who I am 80% of the times you will ever see or speak to me. But still that is only one side of me. As you will soon find out dependent upon the situation you can see any one of many different faces.
Some of the things I will write about will likely paint me as a rude, arrogant, abrasive or just down right mean man lol. Please remember that is not who I really am rather that is just a part of me, likely my temperamental and/or impatient side, reacting to the ignorance and utter stupidity of the world and moronic people I am forced to continually encounter on a day to day basis.
With that being said I hope you all enjoy.......
Some of the things I will write about will likely paint me as a rude, arrogant, abrasive or just down right mean man lol. Please remember that is not who I really am rather that is just a part of me, likely my temperamental and/or impatient side, reacting to the ignorance and utter stupidity of the world and moronic people I am forced to continually encounter on a day to day basis.
With that being said I hope you all enjoy.......
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