A couple articles ago I wrote about the benefits of a fit body. I followed that up last week with an article about keeping your mind “fit” as well. This week I’m going to be talking about what is quite possibly the largest obstacle you, as a motivated gym-goer will have to overcome if you really want to achieve your goals — BURNOUT.

What is burnout? Burnout catches up to us just when we think we’re getting somewhere. We start off a new program really psyched and feel that burn for the first time in a long time (or the first time ever), and can’t wait to get back in there tomorrow and shed some more poundage, right? You end up working out hardcore almost every day the first couple weeks before starting the downfall of your motivation. In plain, you throw too much at your body all at once and it turns around and tells you, “No more.” You stop losing weight and/or gaining muscle and hit a plateau.

Really, what it comes down to is patience. People get really motivated and just think they can go crazy in the gym for a few weeks, lose 10 pounds, and keep it off. If you can accept the fact that you simply CAN NOT lose and, most importantly, keep off the weight with a gnarly butt-busting workout routine that you kill yourself with for 2 weeks non-stop because you think you can pack it all into that amount of time, THEN you’re heading in the right direction. Now that I’ve created the longest run-on sentence ever, let’s move on.

Starting new routines need to begin slowly and increase intensity with time. Don’t flip through a magazine to find a bunch of exercises you think look awesome, and go do them all at once. You should start off with the most basic of basic exercises like pushups, crunches, jumping jacks, squats, lunges, etc. After a couple weeks of waking up those muscles you forgot you had you can start throwing in exercises that require a little more balance, stability, and technique. Never do the same routine for more than 4 weeks at a time. Your body adapts from doing those same exercises over and over before what’s called plateau-ing — basically hitting a point where your body stops progressing. I prefer no more than 2 weeks of the same routine to keep things interesting and never come close to plateau-ing, but generally your body takes about 4 weeks to hit that point.

So, take things slow. Keep it interesting. Substitute a day in the gym for playing a basketball game with your friends or a hike in the mountains every once in a while. Be patient. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… Rome wasn’t built in a day.

-Patrick McCandless, ISSA-CFT, EMT-P

If you were subscribed to my newsletter for my previous article you read how important it is to stay active and keep your body fit and healthy. I talked about advantages such as more energy, more confidence, disease prevention, disease control, etc. But what about keeping your mind fit and healthy? You may not realize how big of an impact your mind has on keeping your body fit; better sleep, lower body fat, more energy, better attitude, etc.

Think about your day to day life and all of the stressors involved. Would you say that your amount of daily stress is average compared to the general population? Low? High? Well, the “average” population live their lives with way too much stress so if you consider yourself average, you’re probably in the red.

What people also don’t realize is that the majority of the stress comes from things that they brought upon themselves and have the ability to change. I’m talking about monthly bills, your job, your sleep patterns, your cluttered house, etc. All of the above have been proven over and over again to raise your level of stress.

I understand that some things can be harder to change than others, but the fact of the matter is that if you caused it, you can stop it. Keep it simple. Start with your home. When you walk in to your house after a day of work do you breathe a sigh of relief or a sigh of grief? Your home should be your comfort zone. Somewhere that you can relax. It shouldn’t be cluttered and unorganized.

Do you have a jobs or chores around the house that you’ve been meaning to get done for a long time? Are you absolutely so busy that you can’t possibly get to it? Probably not. Think of the chores as calorie-burning exercise. Minimize that “to-do” list and stop feeling like you always have something to get done.

There are so many other things in life that contribute to your stress level and only you can figure those things out and take charge. It doesn’t have to happen overnight so take your time and make changes gradually because gradual is better than no change at all.

Patrick McCandless ISSA-CFT, EMT-P

www.MACFitnessOnline.com

When you find yourself reaching for a candy bar, bag of chips, or any other sweet or fatty food–STOP! Ask yourself, “Am I really even hungry? Or am I simply eating out of habit?” Next time you find yourself gravitating toward a junk food fix do a short burst of physical activity instead. A dozen jumping jacks, 15 crunches, a walk around the block… you get the idea! By the time your heart rate returns to normal you might find that your craving has passed–and not only did you save yourself from empty calories, you burned extra calories as well!

Age creeps up on you in the form of lowered metabolism, easier weight gain and aching muscles and joints. I know, you can’t wait. In fact, at the age of 50 most people begin to lose about 12% of their muscle strength and 6% of their muscle mass with each passing decade. But did you know the real culprit behind age-related ailments? Disuse. That’s right – your body feels the effects of aging most when you don’t use it! Makes sense, doesn’t it? In youth we are generally active and vigorous, and as the years pass by we tend to be more cautious and less apt toward physical activity. This disuse ends up taking a tremendous toll on our bodies.

Exercise is the only proven way to drastically combat aging and to regain your youthful body. In fact, most people are able to regain up to 1/3 of their muscle strength and mass after participating in an exercise program for just a couple of months. Many studies have also shown that seniors who exercise regularly live longer than those who don’t participate in a regular program. If thats not enough incentive to get off the couch, I don’t know what is!

Okay so you’re not 50 yet. Maybe not even 40. So should you simply sit back and relax, since aging is so far off in your future? No! If you are younger than 50, I still have one piece of advice for you – exercise! By making exercise a part of your daily life you are in the position to arm yourself against ever feeling the full effect of aging on your body. What a powerful thing! And guess what? Exercise brings you a variety of other benefits as well.

And you thought that exercise was only useful for losing weight! Not only will exercise increase your strength and muscle mass, check out this list of the proven benefits of exercise:

improved sleeping patterns

improved blood profile

increase in bone density

increased life expectancy

improved cardiovascular health

decrease in life-threatening conditions, such as diabetes, insulin resistance and heart disease

increased muscle strength

decreased blood pressure

improved psychological health

increase in mobility and flexibility

Did you know that exercise could do all of that for you? Crazy, right? It has been proven that regular exercise will help keep you younger even as your age increases. And we are talking about both physical and mental youth.

So now that you know the power of exercise, what should you do with this knowledge? Participate in a regular exercise program and feel younger and more vibrant than ever! Making the decision to get into shape will be the best one you make in your life, and I encourage you to contact me to jump start your exercise program. Online training is available and FREE to try today! You won’t regret it!

Patrick McCandless, ISSA-CFT, EMT-P

www.MACFitnessOnline.com

Read about other topics and learn more about what I offer at www.MACFitnessOnline.com today!

Work a Monday through Friday, 9 to 5 job? Take some time out of your Sunday to prepare your lunches for the week. Store them in a sealable container for easy transportation each day of the week and help work on portion-control. Here are some ideas:

-Grill or bake some chicken breasts to eat with sides or to go inside wraps, sandwiches, and salads.

-Prepare a couple cups of white rice to easily microwave later on.

-Buy a couple bell peppers to slice for those wraps.

-Make sure the tortilla wraps and bread are whole wheat.

-Slice up a nutrient-rich avocado. They go with just about everything.

-Use a vinegarette instead of fatty Ranch or 1000 Island.

-Stay away from mayo if you can. Mustards come in a lot of different flavors now and will keep things just as moist as mayo.

Get tips like these and much more at www.MACFitnessOnline.com

Now, I know there are a lot of websites and articles out there on the wonderful world wide web (say that 10 times, fast), but its the same stuff you can get from any magazine or book out there. Online personal training is just what it sounds like: PERSONAL. When you pick up the latest weight-loss book or fitness magazine from the store and check out the magical write-ups that read “Flat Abs in 2 Weeks!” or “Build Your Beach Body FAST!”, do you think that program was written up exclusively for you and your body? Guess again. If those articles were all true for everyone out there don’t you think everyone would look like Angelina and Brad? Everyone’s body, health status, schedule, and resources are different and demand a program that is designed just for them.

Patrick McCandless, CFT, EMT-P

www.MACFitnessOnline.com

I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and cut that 60 minutes to just 30 minutes. Not just because I’m a nice guy, but a 30-minute workout can be just as, if not more, beneficial as a 60+ minute workout if you do it right. There are some things to keep in mind as well as pre-planning, but it may be just what you need to get started in the right direction. Hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day, right?

First, I want you scout out the different pieces of furniture and other natural features in your house that can look like they could double as a piece of workout equipment. These things being dining-room chairs, stairs, stools, or even just a nice open space to perform exercises comfortably. Next, find all of the things that can be used for weighted hand-held pieces of equipment like water bottles, candles, etc. I know this might sound weird, but hear me out. Now, you just need to use your imagination and put those features that you wrote down together. For example, you can do a lunge with an overhead press (with the bottles in your hands), squats/arm curl combos, shadow boxing with the bottles in hand, dips on a chair, and the list goes on. Just be flexible, do whatever comes to mind, and move from one exercise to the next with minimal amount of rest. You will get your heart rate up in no time and won’t be given a chance to get bored. If you can’t think of another exercise right away do something like run in place or jumping jacks while you think of another one.

Quick workouts like this still release those feel-good hormones like serotonin, making it a great way to relieve stress, keep you level, and burn some extra calories all for a half-hour of your time.

Patrick McCandless, CFT, EMT-P

www.MACFitnessOnline.com

So, get out of your cardio-only workout routine that you’ve been on because you think it will only burn the fat off. It won’t. You’re burning your lean muscle off too which, in turn, lowers your metabolism even MORE! Start a program with the big three that I mentioned and watch your body change before your eyes.

-Patrick McCandless, CFT, EMT-P