Its killer, but so much better than running on the treadmill for an hour or so.

At the moment I do 3-5 mins warm up, followed by 1min rest/30sec all out intervals for 20 mins, then 5 mins cooldown. All is done on the elliptical trainer (saves joints and YOU control the speed, unlike a treadmill).

Its not for everyone, but I initially started it because my knee was playing up from too much running, this type of exercise is less stressful for your joints (depending on the machine you use!).

Why bother ladies - they go around the machine circuit but only use the lowest weight - e.g. 30 lbs on the leg press - stop wasting your time ladies - you weight more than that and you can stand up to get out of a chair so I’d venture to guess that you can manage a bit more weight.

Actually, come to think of it, we do have ‘Scream, Grunt, and Yell’ guy, which at 5:30 in the morning is REALLY annoying.

I think the real problem (well, maybe one among many) is with the lack of standardized accreditation in the field. I know my gym requires a certification with either ACE, NSCA, or ASCA, but I also know that there are plenty of “certifications” out there that you can earn in 45 minutes (and a couple hundred dollars) on the internet. Which is terrifying.

To me, the key seems to be in education. Just because you see someone doing a certain exercise doesn’t mean that you should jump right in and begin doing the same thing.

It truly is better than TV.

Chris Melton

You are right on. I am a trainer and I see things like this all of the time. So many of the trainers have no clue what they are doing, but seem to get hired based on the way the look rather on what they know. It gets even worse when they seem to make things up as they go. Safety should always be the number one concern! Some of what you wrote about in your blog is not even close to a safe training routine.

The fact that your clients are able to share their grievances and challenges with you is definitely a testament to your business ethic!

The HIIT training followed by 5 minutes rest releases fatty acids into the blood stream. The steady state cardo then uses those fatty acids for fuel. It is kind of a “hybrid” approach to get the best out of both forms of cardio.

This method is especially effective for reaching low body fat levels and targetting “stubborn body fat”.

We have definitely become a nation of “portly” porkers. The sad part is that no one seems to notice.

I have been fit for most of my life. However, in the past year and a half I’ve become so busy with my business that I’ve neglected my training. Though my weight has stayed the same, my proportions have not. (I’ve begun the journey back to good fitness.)

The unbelievable part is that so few people think that the shape I’m in now is all that bad. We have become a nation of ostriches with our heads in the sand.

Great post - It should be a wake-up call to all of us when there are more jackets in the “portly” section than in the athletic section of the store.

What is amazing is that during a time of crisis, people do incredible things and then wonder how it happened. Everyone has it in them to do remarkable things, if they will just apply themselves and then let it happen.

I think that your three closing points are worth noting. I always make better gains when I’m training with someone as opposed to training alone.

That being said, I would say not to freak out about the suit thing. “Athletic fit” shares the same problem as women’s clothing; we all have different bust and hip sizes, and “athletic” might be any combination of narrow waist and broad, muscular shoulders. Because of that, it’s difficult to fit clothes to standardized sizes. For men’s clothing, it’s very common to have a suit tailored to fit you exactly, and it’s much easier to take something in that to let it out beyond the seam allowance. So I would estimate that this is the reason that all those suits run to larger stomach; easier to take a suit in than to let it out.

As I’ve become more and more athletic, one of my problems is that I need new clothes (the old ones don’t fit!) but can’t afford them.

By the way, if you ever post another picture like the one above, I’ll unsubscribe…yuk… ;-)

What’s the difference between HIIT and plyometrics? The more I read, they almost seem to be the same except HIIT’s done on gym equipment like circuits, whereas plyometrics requires no equipment, and is higher impact on the joints.

Can you clear this up?

I really liked the Rocky series,every movie has a messege that motivates you to do well and not give up.

At least he is trying to be friendly, right?

Great post, Keith!

You can never go into any competition believing that it will take anything less than your best to win. In their heart of hearts the Patriots believed the hype and did not respect the Giants. I have seen a million times kids think that they were going to win because they beat the kid before, or because he lost to a guy that I beat, or because he looks weak…whatever has happened in the past if you don’t prepare to bring your best and then bring it anyone can be beaten on any day.