Category Archives: Health in the News

The 10 Best Fitness and Nutrition Blogs You Should be Reading

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There’s one thing about fitness (and nutrition) that you need to understand right away; there’s seldom only ONE black-and-white, 100% concrete answer to most of the questions you may have. Based on an individuals’ personal experiences, their interpretation of study results, or any other multitude of factors, it’s only natural that fitness “authority figures” have varying opinions on different issues.

Some people have a hard time accepting this.  When they have a question, they want a definitive answer.  To an extent, I can sympathize.  It’s a bit confusing when two professionals have completely conflicting views (each sounding completely well thought out and plausible) on a topic.  When I first really started getting into fitness, I found this to be overwhelming; to the point that I didn’t want to listen to either opinion, for fear of going with the wrong advice and wasting my time.

As I’ve grown older, I’ve realized the importance, and value, of my OWN opinion.  My own opinions are formed by reading content from a wide-range of sources, researching different studies, and going with what I’ve seen with my own two eyes.  After taking all of this information in, I feel I’m in a pretty good position to evaluate what’s in front of me, and form my own opinion about a specific topic.  This opinion is then typed out, edited, and published to this very blog, for your enjoyment and education.  But again, it’s only MY opinion and interpretation.  While I think my methods, workouts, and tips are effective and beneficial (and a few hundred thousand of our happy readers would probably agree), that doesn’t mean my way is the ONLY way.

With that in mind, I’d like to introduce you to 10 of the very best fitness and nutrition blogs on the web.  These are my go-to sources when I need a little inspiration, or would like another point of view on a specific issue from a fellow industry expert.  Sometimes I agree with them, sometimes I don’t…but the point is, becoming as informed as possible is the only way you’re going to be able to form your own opinions and feel confident in what you’re doing.   And the funny thing is, once you have confidence in what you’re doing, your motivation increases, your intensity increases, and soon enough, your progress follows suit.

In no particular order…

Workout Nirvana

Workout Nirvana is a great blog, geared towards women, that provides dietary and fitness advice.  Blogger Suzanne has dedicated her life to fitness and has first hand experiences dealing with physical limitations and set backs, making her a great source for those of you who aren’t ready to enter your first Ironman race just yet.

Project Swole

One thing I absolutely love about Project Swole is the face they regularly provide sources to their information.  Whether it’s a study or another blog, they back up what they preach.  Although they are geared more towards men/fitness competitors/body builders, their information is great, especially if you’re looking for muscle-building specific advice.

Jason Feruggia’s Renegade Strength and Conditioning

When I want a highly respected professional’s take on a matter, I immediately go to my bookmark tab and click Jason Ferrugia’s blog.  Jason has worked with hundreds of real-life clientele throughout his nearly 20 year fitness career, which puts him in a great position to provide a very practical point of view on fitness topics. Often blunt and to the point, Jason caters towards a male audience, intent on building muscle and increasing strength.

Tone it Up

Led by fitness partners Katrina and Karena, these girls have been preaching their methods for a while now.  With a large and dedicated fan base, they’ve definitely become one of those “authority figures”.  Their workouts are geared towards your every day woman looking to “tone it up”, feel better about themselves, and lead a healthier lifestyle.  They produce a lot of video fitness content which adds another layer of interaction to their methods.

Blogilates

I admit, there’s a special place in my heart for fellow fitness bloggers who are as committed to producing great video content as we are.  It takes work, extra time, and determination, but author Cassey Ho does it so very well.  In addition to her pilates-focused fitness videos, Cassey touches on tons of other healthy living topics, recipes, and workout ideas. She’s definitely a great source of information and one of the blogs I most often read.  She gears her stuff towards women, but really, anyone can benefit from the knowledge she shares.

OhSheGlows

Authored by Angela Liddon, this has slowly but surely become my go-to recipe blog.  With constant updates and on point vegan recipes, Angela contributes oh so much to the online nutrition community.  Having overcome her own eating disorder, she provides great perspective and an amazing role model for so many others.  She’s got a rather unique and engaging writing style that makes other recipe blogs look just a little….bland.

Daily Cup of Yoga

In my opinion, this group blogging effort is perhaps the best yoga blog on the web.  Covering a wide range of topics within the yoga world, these guys and girls dish it out in an easy-to-understand way, that doesn’t take the holier-than-thou approach found on so many yoga blogs these days.  Led by blogger Brian, Daily Cup of Yoga has provided a lot of great perspective to me personally, which I think comes across in many of my own blog posts.

Fit Bottomed Girls

Founded by Jennipher and Erin, Fit Bottomed Girls has slowly transformed into a healthy network of female fitness bloggers writing towards, you guessed it, a primarily female audience.  I especially love the fact I’m able to get so many different opinions in one place.  Fit Bottomed Girls provide an unusually high dose of motivational content as well as first-hand accounts from those who understand the struggle to get fit.  Reading their stuff really helps keep me grounded and keep my focus on who it is I’m trying to help.

Mark’s Daily Apple

Authored by Mark Sisson, this blog is an absolute gem of fitness information and news.  Mark’s Daily Apple has a slight trend towards nutrition/healthy living content, which he writes about so amazingly well.  Less focused on actual workout routines, this blog is the perfect complement to my daily round-up of fitness reading.  Not only that, the 57-year-old, and still extremely fit, Mark Sisson shows his readers they DON’T have to follow the same path the majority of Americans take as they age.  Being fit, healthy, and happy simply boils down to the personal choices we make…and Mark shows you how to make the right choices.

Share It Fitness

C’mon, don’t hate me for giving myself a little shout out here.  I truly care about giving you guys and girls, enjoyable, effective, and well-informed workouts and fitness advice.  This is the reason we do so much research and actually test out each and every workout on ourselves, friends, and clients BEFORE it hits the web.  I try to give you guys the best of what I have to offer in hopes of helping all of you realize your own personal fitness goals.  Our massive OnDemand library of full-length video workouts sure doesn’t hurt either.

 

 

 

5 Ways to Trick Yourself Into Working Out (Without Hating It!)

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While we all know exercise is good for us, sometimes we just aren’t feeling it. OK, maybe it’s a little more than sometimes…or maybe you’re in a downright slump (think: over-extended winter hibernation).

Whether it’s too cold, it’s too hot, you’d rather sleep in (seriously, your bed is the comfiest), you don’t have time, you have dinner plans, it’s raining, or you’re tired, we can pretty much think up every excuse in the book to prevent us from getting up and moving. The good news? If we can talk ourselves out of it, you bet your bottom dollar we can talk ourselves right back into it!

Use these 5 Little Tricks When You Need An Extra Boost:

1. Get Real About Your Intentions: When you exercise “just to exercise” or because you know you should be exercising, it’s easy to fall off the bandwagon. Hop right back on by getting clear about your intentions. Dig deep, asking yourself questions like “How do I want to feel?” or “What do I want to get out of my exercise routine?”

Maybe you strive to feel energized so you can have the stamina to keep up with your kids, or you want to tone your arms so you can feel like a shining star on your wedding day. Or perhaps you’re just looking for a change of pace, a way to step outside your comfort zone and make some new friends along the way. The point is, everybody’s intentions are different and once you get clear about your own, you’ll have more of an incentive to break the rut.

While it may sound silly at first, I often have my clients write their intentions down on a post-it or notepad and keep it somewhere they can see it every day (like the mirror, fridge or your work bag). Every time you feel an exercise excuse coming on, look at your intentions (your “WHYs”) to give you that extra motivation!

2. Grab an “Accountability Buddy”: I get it; it can be reallyyyy hard to force yourself to do something you really don’t want to do, or at least you think you don’t want to do. Well fortunately for you, you don’t have to do it alone! If you’re the type that can talk yourself out of almost anything, you may want to snag an accountability buddy to act as your very own cheerleader.

This can be anyone from your coworker to your significant other to your best friend. The only “rule” is they need to be someone who supports your goals and will give you a little tough love every now any then. Even better, find someone who has similar goals and intentions as you, so you can exercise together and keep each other on track!

On other notes, you may even want to invest in a Health Coach, who acts as a positive mentor to help you reach all your secret health and wellness goals, while holding you accountable along the way. You can check out my bio below if this is something you may be interested in!

3. Take Advantage of Technology: In this day in age, there are so many cool apps and tools on the market to keep you motivated and inspired to move! If you’re a runner, you can track your miles with Map My Run or RunKeeper, which acts as a “personal trainer in your pocket.” Others love Fitocracy, an app that essentially transforms your exercise routine into a fun, challenging game.

Do a quick search on your Smart Phone, and you’ll be amazed by how many apps out there have your back. Plus while you’re here, be sure to take advantage of Share It Fitness’ very own SIF OnDemand. With 200+ full-length HD workouts ranging from Yoga to BodyFit Challenges, you’ll never get bored!

4. Plan Ahead: We often plan ahead when it comes to our weekend plans, so why not plan ahead for your fitness? For starters, add your workouts to your calendar, especially when you’re just getting back into it. When you see it penned in right in front of you, you’re much more likely to stick to it.

On other notes, do the prep work ahead of time! Just as we attempt to pack healthy work lunches the night before, you can start prepping for your workouts early too. Maybe that means packing up your gym bag the night before, keeping an extra pair of sneakers at your office for afternoon runs, or scheduling dates with your favorite Personal Trainer a few weeks in advance. This way, the only thing left you need to do is show up for yourself!

5. Make Your Workouts Fun Again: Last but not least, you want to make sure you’re enjoying your exercise, rather than dreading it. After all, what’s the point if you’re not having a little fun along the way? That’s not to say it should be easy for you, but more so ensuring that you are challenging yourself in a fun and exciting way! In order to do this, you need to find an exercise (or a series of exercises) that make you feel your best self. And  remember to do what works for you, not your best friend, your fitness idol or your boss.

If you’re looking to shake up your cardio routine, give Zumba or Spinning a go! Bored with your at-home fitness DVDs? Join a group exercise program or invest in a Personal Trainer who has your best interest in mind! Been skipping out on your solo runs because you simply can’t find the motivation? Break out of your shell (and perhaps make some new friends) by joining a local run club! As you can see, there is something for everyone out there so be sure to find an exercise that makes you shine.

How do you trick yourself into working out when you’d rather hit the snooze? What motivates you to get moving? 

 

The Smart Fitness Plan: The Revolutionary New Way of Getting in Shape

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FitPlan is like getting a new exercise DVD that’s been produced specifically for you and your goals.  Everyday.

 

So you need some help reaching your fitness goals.  Where do you turn?  What do you do?  Who do you ask for help?

If you’re like most people, you probably seek out various websites and blogs like this one, to get your fitness tips and workouts.  Maybe you even hop on YouTube looking for fitness videos to follow along with.  Perhaps you even jump on a fitness forum and ask questions of the community.

Whether it’s a pre-written workout viewed by thousands of people a day, a YouTube tutorial on how to work your abs, or questions answered by anonymous people in a forum, they all share one thing in common.  They LACK personalization.  And as we know, fitness isn’t an exact science – just because one workout works for one person, doesn’t mean it’ll work for someone else.  What you really need, if you’re going to make the life-changing transformation you want, is something that is completely customized to you and your goals.

Related: Get notified of the FitPlan launch by clicking HERE

This is where the idea for FitPlan was born.

What is FitPlan?

FitPlan is the new online fitness program unlike anything else currently available.   It is a completely customized fitness plan based on YOU and YOUR GOALS.  By using workouts specifically tailored to you, you can expect better and faster results.  And since FitPlan is a “smart” plan, it is actually able to adjust the difficulty of workouts as you progress – more on this below.

How does FitPlan work?

Each day, your FitPlan calendar delivers a daily workout.  Your daily workout is delivered in both video and text format. You simply follow along with the trainer in your video, much the way you would an exercise DVD or an in-person training session.  Or if you’d rather complete the workout at your own pace, follow the text-version.

What are FitPlan videos like?

We’ve teamed with some of the best personal trainers and group fitness instructors in Southern California to produce full-length video training sessions that are as close as it gets to training with a real-life personal trainer or attending an in-person group fitness class.  The best part is, these video training sessions were developed specifically for YOUR goals – pretty much the exact opposite of randomly browsing YouTube for workout videos.

What kind of workouts will I get?

Workouts vary and follow our body diversity training methodology.  We take a well-balanced approach to your fitness plan.  In addition to traditional strength and cardiovascular workouts, we incorporate elements of yoga, pilates, and a variety of other disciplines to ensure you’re building a well-rounded and healthy body.  FitPlan really is like using a new (and customized) exercise DVD or attending a different group fitness class, each day.  Of course, if you just want the standard meat and potatoes (strength and cardio), we can do that for you too.

But how does FitPlan adapt to my workouts?

This is what makes FitPlan head and shoulders better than anything else out there – it actually adapts to you over time.  From time to time, FitPlan will give you a workout challenge to gauge your progress.  Based on your performance, our proprietary algorithm is able to increase or decrease the difficulty of your entire fitness program – ensuring your workouts stay as effective as possible.  Hence, the “smart” fitness plan.

What if I have questions about my FitPlan?

The customization and support of FitPlan doesn’t stop there.  Each FitPlan user is additionally paired with a real-life personal trainer.  Should you have any questions or concerns along the way, an actual human being is there to assist.

Can I use FitPlan at home?

YES!  Everything about FitPlan is customized to you.  Whether you want at home workouts, gym workouts, or a combination of both, FitPlan gives you exactly what you need to succeed.

Why FitPlan?

Because it’s simply the best web-based training program on the planet. Exercise DVDs are the same workout, repeated endlessly, with no personal interaction.  Pre-written workout plans on websites and blogs have been created for the masses, with no consideration of your goals, history, or performance.  YouTube has a ton of content, but none of it is geared specifically towards you, nor can you be certain videos were created by a quality fitness professional.  FitPlan addresses all of these issues and then some, making it the best and most effective option to get in shape, save for hiring your own personal trainer.

Okay, but how much does it cost?

FitPlan is $14.99 month.  There are no contracts or long-term commitments – cancel at any time.

Sounds great, now what?

Since we’re still about a month out from the full launch of FitPlan, you still have time to get on our early sign-up list.  Follow the link below to reserve your own personal FitPlan and save 50% over the first three months.

Get notified of the FitPlan launch and lock in your discount NOW!

FitPlan: The Personal Fitness Plan That Will Change The Way You Look at Fitness Forever

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With FitPlan, it’s like having a different exercise DVD to work out with every day.

As anyone who even casually reads this blog has probably come to realize, we feature a LOT of different types of workouts.  We get so many requests for different routines, for different goals, that it’s often hard to keep up with you guys!  The goal from day one has always been to share fitness knowledge and experience with as many people as possible.  As such, these workouts and fitness plans you find on our blog are created for the masses.  It’s hard to get overly specific in a given workout plan when you’re writing for a few hundreds thousand people.  And as I just mentioned yesterday, what works so well for one person may not work very well at all, for another.

A Personal Fitness Plan for You

While this isn’t to take anything away from generic plans (hell, I’m currently using a Layne Norton weight training plan with great success), I’ve always been left with a feeling that we could do better.  My dream was to provide a personal fitness plan for each and every reader on the blog.  I wanted to create something that could provide user-specific advice and coaching to thousands of people, at one time.   Not an easy task to accomplish as I soon found out…

I started this blog and website because I wanted to help so many more people than I ever could as a traditional personal trainer.  Working 1-on-1 with a client is great, but as I’m only one person, my time is limited.  Starting the Share It Fitness blog and OnDemand workout library was the first step in my goal to reach a greater audience.  As things with Share It Fitness progressed, my desire for a very user-specific fitness plan that could serve many people simultaneously began to intensify.  The growing intensity of this desire eventually led to our latest innovation, FitPlan.

What Is FitPlan?

At its core, FitPlan is quite simple.  It is an algorithm-based online personal fitness plan that delivers a series of workouts geared specifically towards you and your goals.

You provide us information about yourself, your goals, and your fitness history.  Based on these responses, a completely customized and personal fitness plan will be created for you.  Workouts come in both video and text format, letting you workout exactly how you want.  Each workout has been designed by one of our real-life personal trainers, who will lead you through your workout…just as if you were training 1-on-1 in the gym.  Your trainer dictates the pace, intensity, and duration of the class.  Your job is to simply follow along.    If you’re not so big into working out in front of a screen, FitPlan gives you the text version of your daily workout to follow along with at your own pace.  Whether you want to work out exclusively at home or at the gym, the choice is yours.  Your personal fitness plan delivers workouts with your preference in mind.  Not only does FitPlan assign workouts based on your personal goals and abilities, it also evolves as you do….

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Here’s a shot from an actual FitPlan workout. Simply follow along with your trainer as they lead you through your assigned workouts.

Unlike pre-set workout plans, FitPlan is smart.  Part of what will make FitPlan so effective is the algorithm-based formula we’re currently putting the finishing touches on that actually adjusts workouts based on your ability levels.  When you get stronger and faster, your assigned workouts get harder.  If you’re having a hard time reaching a fitness goal, FitPlan can recognize this and deliver plateau-busting workouts to get you over the hump.  Every so often, FitPlan introduces a fitness challenge.  These fitness challenges show us where you’re at, and correspondingly help us determine when to bump you up to the next level, scale things back, or push you hard enough to get past a plateau.

Sounds good.  Now what?

As the full release of the Share It Fitness website, including FitPlan, is just a couple of months out, we’re starting to take email addresses for all of our early adopters.  For those of you who like the idea of a personal fitness plan and want to get on our early sign up list, we’re going to cut your FitPlan membership in half.  While we think the regular price of $15 per month is quite affordable, we’re dropping the early adopter price to $7.50 per month for the first three months.  For the price of one trip to the salad bar, we’re going to set you up with all the tools you need to change your life forever.  No more aimlessly browsing the web for workouts that may or may not even work for you.  FitPlan will become your go-to source for workouts and fitness instruction, because it’s designed specifically for YOU.  A fitness plan should be personal, and FitPlan is just that.

Follow the link below and you’ll be prompted to leave us your email address so we can notify you when FitPlan launches.  As always, your email is safe with us; we will NEVER give your information to a third-party.

Hop on the FitPlan bandwagon and get ready to watch your mind, body, and health transform like you never imagined.

Click here to sign up for FitPlan and lock in your early adopter discount.

Finding The Fitness Plan That’s Right For YOU

Posted on by Posted in General Health, Health in the News, Self Improvement 7 Comments

 

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A thousand fitness plans…where do you start?

The web is littered with choice.  With just a few clicks and a couple dozen keystrokes you can find pretty much anything your heart desires.  In this day and age, we’ve come to expect an almost limitless number of options for whatever we’re looking for.  Sometimes, this is a good thing.  A simple search for “vegan recipes with kale and broccoli” returns over 1.4 million options to click…enough to ensure you could eat a different kale and broccoli recipe every night for the rest of your life.  For those of you that are as food obsessed as I am, I’m sure you’ll agree this a good thing.  But at what point does this plethora of choice become a bad thing?  A Google search for “fat burning workouts” returns nearly 5 million results.  Where do you start?  What’s good, what isn’t?  Which workouts were created by a professional with a PhD in exercise physiology and which were created by some 35-year old meathead living in his mom’s basement?  And how do you know the anonymous PhD really isn’t a 35-year old meathead living in his mom’s basement?  At some point, the virtually infinite number of options we’re given becomes a detriment.  zzzzoverwhelmed, anxious, and confused are some of the most recurring themes I encounter when users talk about trying to find the latest and greatest fitness plan to help them ____________ (fill in the blank).  

Whether it’s Pinterest, Facebook, your favorite blog, Twitter, or any of the hundreds of other options we have to seek out new information these days, fitness is everywhere.  People are clearly more interested in, and more likely to seek out fitness information than ever before.  Unsurprisingly, the number of fitness content creators ready to fill this demand is increasing as well. 

Given the current landscape and the number of content creators pumping out the next “best” workout or fitness plan, there has become a dizzingy array of choices for the average exerciser to choose from.  As such, the choice to start a new fitness plan or try a new workout has become absolutely overwhelming for a lot of people.  Unlike walking into a grocery store and picking a can of soup from the 150 options on display, the decision to start a fitness plan is much more daunting.  If the soup sucks, you throw it out, pick something new next time, and don’t think twice about the buck ninety-nine that’s been wasted.  The thought of investing two months into a fitness plan, only to find out it was little more than a time-waster, on the other hand, is enough to paralyze even the most sure-minded individual. 

Herein lies the problem; rather than make the (perceived) wrong decision, many people make no decision at all.  They continue along doing what they’ve always done or bounce around from workout to workout, with no real direction or goal in place.  They rationalize by thinking a little of this, a little of that will assuredly get them to where they want to be.  Two months down the road, when they’re still not much better off than where they began, they assume they were using faulty workouts,  hit the proverbial reset button, and repeat the cycle all over again.   

What Makes a Great Workout Plan?

A great workout plan is designed with a specific focus, in my opinion.  Taking a shotgun approach and trying to burn fat, build muscle, increase speed, agility, coordination, and balance, while also getting a bubbilicious butt in the process is the fast lane to nowhere.  Sure, a fitness plan may help you in several areas, but it should almost always have a set focus.  Doesn’t matter if it was created by the personal trainer at your corporate gym, or the meathead in his mom’s basement; if it’s built on the basis of knowledge, experience, consideration of a target audience, while maintaining a clear focus or goal, it’s got the potential to be very successful for you.  Keyword in the last sentence is potential.

On the flip side, just because an “expert”  has a PhD after his name or has been on the last four seasons of The Biggest Loser, doesn’t mean everything they produce is the word of God.  Again, in my humble opinion, the best fitness plans on the web are generally those coming from content creators who have personally worked with a wide variety of people, approach each of their fitness plans with a clear focus, and don’t rely on gimmicks and/or fads to deliver results. 

Understanding the Fitness Game

Sadly, some of the biggest content creators in the game are delivering substandard workouts and advice….and know it.  They aren’t in the business of delivering results.  They’ve gotten to such a point that people automatically assume them to be an authority figure and will throw blind faith into whatever comes out of them. These authority figures are the fitness magazines that line the shelves at grocery stores, the fitness site with a six-figure monthly SEO budget, or the celebrity trainer who is simply trying to appeal to anyone and everyone, all at the same time.  Typically, when you’ve got advertisers paying you millions of dollars a month, your goals begin to change.  You start creating content that attracts the largest number of readers or viewers.  You write for the masses and forget about delivering specific advice.  You use buzz phrases like “lose weight fast”, “hit the reset button on your life!” “drop 3 dress sizes in 7 days!” that stop impressionable viewers in their tracks.  Think about it…how many times have you seen a fitness magazine make the same or similar claim on the cover of their magazine? 

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Wise up to the games a lot of the big content creators are playing.

It’s not only magazine who are guilty of delivering fluff.  Big online content creators hire cheap writers out of third-world countries to write articles targeting specific search terms so they shoot to the top of Google rankings.  The goal isn’t to deliver high-quality content.  The goal is attract the largest number of page views possible, and writing for search engines instead of people is what brings in the traffic (along with a hefty SEO budget).  Beware of the fluff.  Seek out blog writers or sites that speak to YOU.  Listen to your gut and if you feel a blog or site is simply trying to target a key word (does the phrase “lose weight fast” just happen to appear in the article about 37 times more than necessary?) instead of deliver actually beneficial information, you’re probably right.

Find What Works For You

This article isn’t my declaration that Share It Fitness is the best and everyone else sucks.  I’m also not saying all of the really big health and fitness blogs and websites on the web are delivering half-assed content.  I’ve got a handful of health and fitness blogs that I personally read when I’m looking for a new take on something.  These people are out there.  They are big and small.  They are writing to a videogamer audience.  They’re writing to a meathead audience.  They are coming in all shapes and sizes.  There is someone out there who speaks to you and whatever demographic you fall under.  You just need to learn to read between the lines when seeking out these sources of information.

As you sort through the hordes of information being thrown at you, in search of that next great fitness plan, a few things to be mindful of:

  • Does the author speak to me personally? 
  • Do I feel like I’m being sold something?
  • Does the fitness plan have a specific focus?
  • Do I have a specific focus or goal in mind?

Decide what your top two goals are.  Find a source that you can connect with and can easily relate to.  Examine the workout or fitness plan in question and see if it seems to align with your pre-determined goals.  Sounds easier than it is, but with enough practice you’ll develop an eye for this kind of stuff and may even turn into the informed authority figure in the process.

The Share It Fitness Way

I started this blog (and subsequent website) back in 2010.  I distinctly remember freaking out when we had our first 100 view day.  I also remember when achieving 1,000 monthly visitors was a huge deal.  Over the past 3+ years, we’ve grown quite a bit.  We’re now approaching 1 million monthly views, but really, nothing has changed.  We’ve been delivering the same type of content all along.  Personally, I feel the reason our fitness plans and workouts go over so well is because each one of them is personally created by myself or someone on our team, tested on our mostly willing supply of real-life clients, family, and friends.  We then take feedback, analyze any results, and tweak things as necessary before anything hits this blog.  Believe me, it’s often an arduous process, and there are probably more workouts and fitness plans that didn’t make it to the blog, than did.  The end result of course, is a library of workouts and fitness plans that actually work for real-life people, just like yourself.  

Of course, I’m always looking for ways to make things better and more effective.  General fitness plans can be great and work wonders for a lot of people.  That said, a fitness plan or workout that is 100% personalized towards you and your goals is always going to be better.  The problem is, this type of expert personalization is often expensive.  Hiring a personal trainer to do this for you a few times a week can easily cost more than your rent or mortgage.  Finding a way to deliver personalized advice and workouts while making it affordable has been something I’ve been working on for the past nine months. 

In the near future, we’re going to have something on the Share It Fitness website that I believe achieves this goal.  We call it FitPlan, and it uses an algorithm-based approach to deliver daily workouts designed with your goals and abilities in mind.  As your abilities improve, the workouts get harder.  As your goals change, so does your fitness plan.  Essentially, FitPlan is a newer and smarter version of the fitness plans you see on our blog now.  We’ve been filming, writing, and testing hundreds of workouts for the past year.  We now have a way that allows the system to pull from this database and tailor a specific plan to your specific circumstances.  If you’re interested in trying out our FitPlan, we’d love to have you give it a go and provide us some feedback.  Simply leave a comment below and we’ll put you on our initial list of beta testers when we release things in the next couple of months. 

In the meantime, continue seeking out fitness content that comes from genuine, original, and trustworthy sources.  Whether it’s here or someplace else is not what matters.  What matters is you continue to improve yourself, reach for higher goals, and earn the body and health you deserve.  Good luck and as always, please feel free to leave any questions, comments, or concerns and I’ll be happy to get back to you as soon as possible.

Your Grandma Knows How To Build Muscle….Do You?

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Now doesn’t this look better than those rail-thin “model” bodies?

Your grandma is stronger than you.

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Grandma can do it…but can you?

Okay, maybe not today.  But when she was your age, your grandma probably could have kicked your behind without even breaking a sweat.  Don’t think so?  Maybe you’re in the minority here, but recent evidence has shown a dramatic decrease in strength, lean muscle mass, and fitness ability among all humans, but especially noticeable in women. 

How can this be?  With a new fitness blog popping up every few minutes and a bevy of other sources telling us how to build muscle, how to lose excess fat, blah blah blah..it’s not for a lack of knowledge.  There has got to be something else that is making evolution turn backwards…. Let’s take a look….

The Issue Begins

You remember those fitness tests we all took as kids in gym class?  Sit ups, pull ups, shuttle run, maybe a mile run for good measure?  If you were like most kids, you probably hated doing them.  Well these things are still going on in schools across America, but it wasn’t until recently that Dr. Grant Tomkins, senior lecturer in health sciences at the University of South Australia decided to look into this data.  In the US, UK, and Canada, it seems kids are growing weaker by the year.  The ability to deliver repeated force (sit ups) has decreased roughly 10% since the 1980′s. 

In a similar study, Dr. Gavin Sandercock, a sports science professor from Essex University tested the muscular strength of 315 kids in 2006, then compared the data to similar subjects in 1998.  In just eight years time, the 2006 group of kids performed worse on arm strength (26% decline) and grip (7% decline).  Clearly, current generations of kids are building less muscle, losing their strength, and realizing the consequences of (you guessed it) the sedentary American (or Western) lifestyle. 

The Issue Perpetuated

The problem is two-fold though.  Generations of Americans losing their strength and muscle mass isn’t the sole results of video game playing and junk food eating.  Remember earlier I said the problem was particularly evident in women?  Take a look why…

grandma2

These magazines have a “best fitness program ever” on an almost weekly basis…

Make a run through the magazine aisle at your local supermarket.  It’s pretty impossible to not see rows of stick thin bodies on the cover of these magazines.  Every now and then you’ll catch a glimpse of a healthy looking woman and feel a bit better about yourself…until you read the caption: “Celebs who are letting themselves GO!”.  Our entire media culture has created a disillusioned version of what fit and beautiful really means.  By and large, women strive to be thin, not strong and healthy.  The idea that thinness is the epitome of beauty is the reason so many women a) don’t know how to build muscle or b)care to build muscle.  They associate muscle with bulkiness, masculinity, and everything a woman “shouldn’t be”, so there is no emphasis placed on building muscle, increasing strength, or building a well-rounded and fit body.

Many women these days seem to search for the best fitness program for weightloss…or the best fitness program to get burn stomach fat…or the best fat blasting fitness routine…you get the picture.  This current generation of women, more so than any preceding generation has placed such an emphasis on weight loss and caloric burn, that all other aspects of health and fitness seems to get lost in the mix.  In reality, the best fitness program isn’t one that simply focuses on weight loss or cardio, but takes a multi-pronged approach to helping you improve yourself.  As a general guideline, a great fitness program will:

  • Cardiovascular endurance through cardio exercise
  • Increase lean muscle mass through resistance exercise
  • Improve flexibility through stretching and/or other techniques.

In my opinion, these are the three pillars of health that any “best fitness program” should include.  If a fitness program isn’t helping or at least showing you how to build muscle, you should be showing it the door. 

“I’m not an athlete.  I’m not a dude.  Why do I need to build muscle?”

I’m realize I’m beating a dead horse here, but judging by the amount I still hear this, here comes my spiel again.  Weight training to increase muscle mass is vital to any human being, man or woman, athlete or not.  Muscle building workouts increase bone density as well as improve metabolism (more fat burn).  Since muscle serves as “armor” on your body, having an abundance will help protect your bones and joints against falls, as well as fight poor posture and accompanying back pain. 

Many women hang on to a perpetuating thought that lifting heavy weights will turn them into Arnold Schwarzenegger.  In an effort to avoid looking like a roided out bodybuilder, they forgo lifting anything heavier than a phone book.  To make matters worse, they think they’re “toning” by lifting these light weights.  Ladies, for the 247th time on this blog, lifting light weights won’t get you toned.  Toning or toned simply refers to greater muscular definition, which is achieved by having an adequate amount of muscle mass AND burning the fat that covers the muscle so they become more visible or defined.  That’s all toning is.  You want to know how to build muscle?  Put down the dinky weights, pick up something that actually causes your muscles to ache a little, and notice the difference between what you were doing and what you are now (hopefully) doing.  It’s like night and day..and so are the results.

The Diet Problem

Now, with all of these women wanting to be so thin, they often maintain a poor diet in an attempt to imitate their pipe cleaner-bodied idols on the cover of those celeb magazines.  More than lifting heavy weights, women seem terrified to actually feed their bodies the nutrients required to build muscle.  Think about it.  How can you expect your body to build muscle if you aren’t giving it the nutrients it needs to do so?  Muscle doesn’t grow out of thin air.  If you aren’t taking in adequate amounts of protein and calories, your body simply isn’t going to build new tissue. 

Bodybuilders and other bulked up guys are eating a massive amount of calories each day.  THIS is why they are so large and muscular.  You don’t need to eat anywhere CLOSE to what they’re consuming to make noticeable gains.  Don’t want to look like a bulky man?  Simple; don’t eat like a bulky guy eats.  Aim to consume roughly 13-14 calories per pound of body weight.  Of these calories, shoot for roughly .5-1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.  An average 130 lb woman who’s eating a (healthy) ~1,700 calories a day and ~100 grams of protein stands a good chance of adding lean muscle to her frame without experiencing unwanted fat gain and/or “bulkiness”.  Of course, each individual is unique and you may need to experiment with those ratios until you find what works best for your body type. 

How To Build Muscle Made Easy

So before you tell me you don’t have any idea how to build muscle because you don’t know what you should be doing, I’m going to make things easy.  Below are three Share It Fitness tried-and-true programs that have delivered great results in the muscle-building department.  Yes, we’ve got real-life women who have used these programs, ate healthy, and achieved the ”toned” look they’ve been after.  And no, they didn’t get bulky in the process.  Check out these three workouts that are designed to help you build muscle and improve your body and health in the process…

These are just three fitness programs we’ve put together that maintain a strong focus on heavy weights, complex lifts, and helping you add muscle mass to your frame.  Again, the best fitness program is one that takes a comprehensive approach to your body and health, so consider including these with some high-intensity cardiovascular work or plyometrics to ensure you’re taking the best approach possible.

Hope on the Horizon

With the whole “fitness is a sport” campaign and the countless pictures of inspirational athletic looking women making their way around Pinterest and the like, mentality is beginning to shift.  The idea that being strong and toned is sexy is slowly overtaking the rail-thin model look that has dominated (and still does) the media since the late Seventies.  More and more, you’ll find women hitting the free weight section of their gyms or performing Crossfit-esque workouts in their homes or gyms.  Slowly but surely, women are learning how to build muscle, seeing through the gimmicks and trickery of some of those “authority figures”, and understanding that the best fitness program probably isn’t one that’s been recycled umpteen times over by People magazine. 

Remember, if your workouts aren’t pushing you outside of your comfort zone, it might be time to re-examine things.  Shoot for a fitness program that focuses on helping you build a lean, limber, and athletic body.  You’ve only got one body, so don’t let it waste away and succumb to the mold you think you should fall into.  Go hard, go strong, and show a little work ethic that would make even grandma proud.

A Death Wish: The American Lifestyle and Its Effect on Life Expectancy

Posted on by Posted in General Health, Health in the News, Motivation, Self Improvement 2 Comments
Hos Room 2

Anyone else want to spend the final years of their life here?

As I was browsing the web last night looking for a little inspiration into today’s post, I stumbled across this CNN article which really struck a chord.

For those that don’t want to read through the article, I’ll summarize:

  • America’s life expectancy is growing at a slower rate than other high-income democratic countries.
  • Researchers reviewed health studies from 16 “peer countries” (Australia, Japan, Canada, etc) and compared them to American health  studies.
  • Americans, on average, die younger and develop more disease and illness than international peers.

Let’s reflect on that a minute.  America, the country which, per capita, spends more than any country on the planet on healthcare, is dying younger, and living less healthy lives than our peers.  Shouldn’t the inverse be true?  Shouldn’t America be the beacon of health the entire globe looks to as its role model?  In theory, this might be the case…but in reality, we know this couldn’t be further from the truth.

The American Life Expectancy

One particularly interesting factoid illustrated just how behind we actually are in terms of life expectancy.  An average life expectancy for men is 3.7 years shorter, and 5.2 years shorter for women, than in leading nations – Switzerland and Japan, respectively.  Not only that, this is a gulf that is getting larger, not smaller.  Since 1980 this is a trend that has been continuing, and recently has been continuing at a faster rate.  If this trend continues, there may come a day when the difference between life expectancies in America and other peer countries is similar to the current life expectancy difference between America and sub-Saharan African countries.

Not only are we living shorter lives, but we’re living more disease-plagued lives and spending our final years overcome with illness, disability, and a diminished quality of life.  Anyone else want to spend the last decade or so of their lives being shuttled from doctor appointments, to pharmacies, to hospital beds, all the while living in pain and sickness?  Sounds absolutely miserable.  Yet, when we look around the globe there are plenty of nations and communities within nations, where individuals are showing old age and disease don’t necessarily need to go hand-in-hand.

Why Is America Dying Young and Living Sick?

I know what a lot of you may already be thinking.  America lacks universal health care, which the other peer countries, do not.  If only poor, less educated, and under insured Americans were facing shorter lives and more disease, this argument may have a bit more ground to stand on.  But researchers found that even “white, insured, college-educated Americans are sicker than their peers in Europe”.  Yes, these are the people who actually have access to our health care system and aren’t falling through the cracks.  These people are still dying younger and facing higher rates of chronic disease.  What gives?

While I do agree that access (or lack thereof) to health care plays a part, it would be a cop-out to heave all of the blame on our health care system.  Many experts believe (and I strongly agree with) that more than our health care system, our shorter life expectancies and poorer health are the result of the American lifestyle.  The very (perceived) lifestyle that millions around the world envy and strive to emulate is doing us in…and it’s doing us in at an alarming rate.  Let’s see why…

The American Lifestyle: The Ultimate Killer

As Americans, we have a very”right now” mindset to our daily dealings.  We expect immediate gratification and when we want things, we want them immediately.  This type of living pervades all aspects of our lives…

The American Diet

Much has been written about the American diet.  We eat high fat, carb heavy, salty, highly processed foods.    Roughly 32% of all meals were not prepared at home.  We’re a society that is always on the go and regularly opt for fast food, frozen meals, and quick delivery options.  These meals are almost always high in sodium, fat, bad carbohydrates, and other empty calories.  To compound the problem, we eat fewer fruits, vegetables, and fiber than other nations.  On the subject of calories, Americans on a whole consume more calories than individuals in peer countries. As a result, we have higher rates of obesity and heart disease as well… no surprise there.

Related Article: How Intermittent Fasting Can Save Your Life

The findings in this study demonstrate how decades of poor (and increasingly worse) food choices can catch up with an entire nation.  We are literally eating ourselves into bad health and an early demise.

Americans and Exercise

American society is designed around the automobile.  For hundreds of millions of people, walking, biking, or another form of physical transportation is not an option.  We move less (yet eat more) than other nations, for which our waistlines are suffering.  Americans have higher rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other lifestyle related illness because of our lack of movement. The majority of Americans that do in fact exercise, do not do so regularly enough to reap any real benefits.  Other Americans are simply unable to find the time to exercise given their busy work/life schedules…which leads to another point.

Americans and Work

Compared to other countries, Americans are given far less time off work over the course of a year.  In addition, Americans on average work longer hours each week and have less time to themselves and their families.  We are an over worked, over stressed nation, focusing on all of the wrong priorities.  The American lifestyle dictates 50 weeks of work a year, 40 hour work weeks (or more for many of us), and a sedentary, Office Space-esque existence. Is it any surprise Americans are having a hard time finding ways to fit in an hour of exercise each day?  Granted, laziness plays a large part in this, but the American work schedule is slowly doing it’s part to ensure our early mortality.

How do you spend your average day?  For many, the average routine looks like this: wake up, eat, work, eat, work some more, eat, sleep.  Repeat for 40 years.  Next, spend your Golden Years plagued by disease and disability. After spending the next decade or so going to doctor appointments instead of doing what you always said you would “when you had more time”, it’s time to die. How’s that for a miserable existence?

Is anyone ready to stop spending the prime of their lives overweight, sick, and cooped up in a small box 40+ hours a week…every week….for the next 10, 20, 30+ years….?  Well, the good news is, you can change the course you’re on.

Stop Living Like an American

That’s right…stop living like an American.  Stop driving the 2 miles to the grocery store.  And while you’re there, opt for a bag of carrots instead of Cheetos.  Eat healthy.  Move more.  Ride your bike after work instead of watching TV.  Wake up a little early to exercise.  Make fitness a priority.  Maybe you can’t abandon the cubicle farm just yet, but work towards a career that allows for greater independence or at least a better work/life balance.  Re-prioritize your life and what’s important to you.  Understand more money will not buy you more happiness.  On the contrary, the crap you have to go through to make a few extra bucks at the end of the year may very well be sapping you of the happiness you seek.  Wake up to the game and do something to change it.

A quote from the Dali Lama that I absolutely love:

Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered, “Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

In today’s world, you have an abundance of information and health and fitness experts at your fingertips.  You can stream a live yoga class being held in New York City direct to your Lincoln, Nebraska living room. You can join a gym for less than a ticket to a movie and a large soda.  The web offers a host of health and fitness blogs with quality, daily information geared towards helping you build a happy and healthy life.  Don’t know what to do to improve your health or diet?  There are so many people out there encouraging you, telling you what you need to do to improve, and even showing you how to improve.  All you have to do is look for them.

You Are Not Alone

I encourage all of you to seek out sources of health and fitness information that appeals to you.  Follow these bloggers, websites, and industry experts.  It may take some searching, but you’ll find the ones that speak to you.  Once you’ve found them, keep up with them just like you do with your nightly reality shows.  Learn to integrate the information they disperse into your lives.  The web is abuzz with hordes of awesome people dishing out healthy recipes, workout ideas, meal prep advice….you name it.  Above all, they are imparting their knowledge to you, in hopes of helping you become happier, healthier, and more fit.  Best of all, most of these people are simply giving away their base of knowledge for free.  All you have to do is be open to receive the information.

There are tons of fitness communities on the web where you can connect with other like-minded people, directly speak to health and fitness experts, and build a network which helps motivate and encourage you towards self-growth.  Living a healthy life, eating clean, finding effective workouts you actually enjoy is not hard.  It is not expensive.  Yes, it takes some effort, but it has become increasingly easy in the Web 2.0 world we live in.  It’s a new year, and you’re starting with a clean slate.  Make 2013 the year you stop living like the typical American robot and reclaim a happy and healthy life now, and for years to come.

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Ready to Start 2013 Off With a Bang!?

Posted on by Posted in General Health, Health in the News 3 Comments
2013fitness

Get ready to experience BIG things for yourself in 2013…

So as a lot of you regulars have noticed, posting has been pretty light over the past couple of weeks.  With the holiday travel, shoddy internet connectivity, and everything else going on this time of the year, I’ve been slacking on my game a little.  But don’t worry – I’ll be starting 2013 off with a bang, and bringing you all of the great content you’ve come to know and love here at Share It Fitness.

In the meantime, if there’s anything you faithful out there would like to see me preach talk about, PLEASE leave a comment below and I’d be happy to do a little research into your topic of choice.

One BIG thing that we’re very much looking forward to in 2013 is the release of our full Share It Fitness website.  As some of you may know, we’ve been in beta testing since June, and are almost ready to release our upgraded, re-designed, and amazing new fitness site to the world.  The new site should be up in a matter of days, so stay tuned and let us know what you think!

For those of you who have been using our fitness plans or workouts during the past few years, we’ve got something we think you’ll be especially interested in…

Big Things in 2013

The new site is going to feature something we call FitPlan.  FitPlan really is the game-changer a lot of you fitness freaks have been looking for.  Instead of using one of our generic (albeit effective) fitness plans, like the Winter Warrior or Total Body Blitz plans, we’ve built an interactive online fitness program that is customized EXACTLY to your needs, your goals, and your progression.  Each day you’ll get an interactive video workout or fitness class to follow along with, (or a text-version if that’s your thing) led by your own Share It Fitness trainer.  It’s like having an unlimited supply of group fitness classes, exercise DVDs, and remote personal training sessions rolled into one amazing fitness program.  Whether you enjoy your workouts in the comfort of your own home, or need the flexibility a gym provides, your own FitPlan is based on YOUR needs.

Not only that, we’re using algorithm-based technology that makes it possible to deliver harder or easier workouts based on your progression.  This is finally the workout program that actually changes as you do…making workouts more fun, more efficient, and most importantly, more effective.

We’ve been testing FitPlan with a handful of select clients since October, and let me tell you….the progress they’ve been making has been nothing short of amazing.  Keep your eyes and ears peeled, and stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.

Thank You.

Lastly, thanks again for all of your support, comments, and well wishes over the past year – you’ve really helped make 2012 a great year for Share It Fitness.  It’s hard to believe it’s been three years since we’ve started this journey, but we look forward to continuing to help the nearly half a million (and counting) of you guys and girls who check us out every month with your fitness needs. Above all, we are excited to continue to serve you, be there to see you reach your goals, and get you closer to living that healthy and happy life you you all want and very much deserve.

Hope everyone has a safe, happy, and healthy New Year’s, and catch you in 2013.

Matt

The Great Push Up Challenge

Posted on by Posted in Health in the News, Motivation, Self Improvement, Strength Training, Training 2 Comments
Pushup Girl

Ready for a challenge that will transform your body and mind?

We’re always looking for new and interesting ways to push our readers, and this is yet another method to challenge yourself both physically and mentally.  Unlike other challenges, this isn’t really a work out, per se.  The Great Push Up Challenge is something we put together as a means to help increase everyone’s ability across all facets of exercise.  Whether you start small and end up big or start big and go bigger, it doesn’t matter.  Mastering the push up and using this challenge to push yourself is something everyone stands to benefit from. 

Why a Challenge?

A bit cliche, but true statement nonetheless; your mind will quit a thousand times before your body will.  Doesn’t matter if you’re brand new to fitness or a seasoned vet; overcoming mental fatigue is the greatest obstacle you’ll face when working to reach your goals.  It’s way too easy to skip a workout, quit before your last rep, or cut that HIIT cardio session just a little short because you convinced yourself you’ve already done enough.  Speaking from experience, the internal battle that wages during a workout can be quite intense, and winning that struggle is often what separates the extremely successful from the semi-successful. 

Challenges, in a variety of forms, will help you build the mental strength necessary.  It’s a misconception that becoming one of those extremely fit and healthy people is all about physical strength, or what you see on the outside.  The outside is simply a byproduct of what’s going on upstairs.  Exercising your mind and training it to be disciplined and persistent is MORE important than all the squats, bench presses, and hours of cardio in the world.  Until you develop that mental toughness and determination, you’ll perpetually live on the roller coaster of motivation; always taking one step forward and one step back.

This is why well-crafted challenges are so beneficial.  You may not think they are much, but accepting them for what they are, striving to meet the goals laid out, and pushing until you do is the perfect mental component to your physical exercise training.  That being said, this push up challenge is the perfect complement to any fitness plan you’re currently on.  Like I said above, don’t look at this like it’s a work out plan.  It’s a mental AND strength CHALLENGE.  Once you really get into this, you’ll see how mental this becomes, and how much you start benefitting from it when accept it head on.  The days where you don’t want to go to the gym, when you want to quit early, and when that Big Mac clouds your judgement will become fewer and fewer, until they cease to exist.  That is the power that continued mental training can have on you, should you choose to accept it.

Why the Push Up?

Before we get into the challenge, let’s discuss WHY we’re using push ups.  First off, push ups are a tremendous gauge and test of your total body conditioning.  Push ups are a great way to tax the muscles in your…

  • Delts
  • Pectorals
  • Triceps
  • Core
  • Back
  • Lower Body

You’ll have a hard time finding an exercise that will hit so many muscle groups as effectively as a perfect form push up.  Along that line, push ups demand strict form to unleash all of their benefits.  Check out the image below to get a good idea of what the start and stop positions should look like for a perfect push up.  Keep in mind, you’ll want a straight back, hips up, elbows in. 

push up classic

Want to perform better on military press?  Push ups will help.  Want to bench more?  Push ups will help.  Tighter abs?  Push ups have you covered.  Have a weak lower back?  Push ups will help improve it.  The physical benefits you’ll receive by accepting this challenge are too many to be denied. 

I Can’t Do a Push Up

Can’t even do one push up?  Don’t worry, I’ve worked with MANY people over the years who’ve struggled to complete just one push up with proper form.  I’ve found a pretty awesome solution which has helped virtually every single person develop the strength to go from being able to complete zilch to ten perfect push ups in less than a month.  Here’s how it works…

Alternate between a push up from your knees and holding a plank for 10 seconds.  Go back and forth until you complete 20 of each.  Continue this format, increasing the reps by 10-20% each week.  When you’re ready, start doing your push ups without the knees.  When you feel weak, go back to the knees.  Shoot for 3-4 times a week, and by the end of the month, you should find you’ve developed the strength necessary to complete the perfect push up, no knees required. 

The Great Push Up Challenge

So, you’re ready for the challenge?  Before you get started, make sure you’re fully committed to sticking with this.  Again, this is not going to take the place of your workouts nor should it interfere with anything you’re doing.  This is simply an add-on that will benefit you mentally and physically, in ways you never thought possible.

This challenge isn’t complex, but don’t mistake it’s simplicity for ease. 

  • For women: Your goal is to complete 50 perfect push ups, without stopping. 
  • For men: Your goal is to complete 100 perfect push ups, without stopping.

That’s it.  Nothing else involved.  In theory, seems pretty easy doesn’t it? 

How You’re Going to Accomplish This Goal

Some pointers and guidelines that should help keep you on track.

  • You need to attempt the challenge 2 times per week. 
  • Increase the number of perfect push ups performed by at least ONE each time, even if you have to stop and rest.
  • Chart your progress and hold yourself accountable.

End Result

I’ve been attempting The Great Push Up Challenge myself for the past three months.  I started at a high fitness level and am currently at 92 push ups continuous.  Success is close.  That said, I’ve seen people starting far less in shape than myself conquer this goal in less time.  Whether it takes you two months or two years, the important thing is sticking with your self-imposed challenge.  The transformation your body is going to undergo as you compete against yourself will be nothing less than amazing.  Almost ALL of your exercises will increase in strength, your form will begin to improve, you’ll look and feel fit and healthy.  Your mental toughness, determination, and motivation will all soar by leaps and bounds.

Despite the simplistic nature of this challenge, there are few things I have encountered in my many years in fitness that have made such a tremendous impact on my own health and mental discipline.  I challenge all of your to accept this challenge and incorporate it into whatever you’re currently doing.

Feel free to update us on how you’re doing and/or ask for help if needed.  Feel free to reach out to us on the blog or Twitter – be sure to use #thegreatpushupchallenge in your posts!

How Do You Eat Healthy When There Is No Food To Eat?

Posted on by Posted in General Health, Health in the News Leave a comment

children

Today’s post takes on somewhat of a serious tone.  Typically, our discussions around here revolve around why you can’t spot tone your stomach no matter how hard you try, making fun of the US Weekly readers on the ellipticals, and discussing what it actually means to be toned.  But today is a bit different.

It’s not often that I’m the one asking you guys for things, I think we’ve all gotten to know each other long enough that this request is at least somewhat appropriate.  A couple of years ago, Neil, a good friend of mine here in San Diego left the corporate world to start a non-profit down in Panama.  His foundation is called Give and Surf and it’s all about community empowerment and improvement through a variety of  development programs.  Each year, dozens of US college students come down for a week or more of surfing and giving back to Bahia Honda, the Panamanian community which Give and Surf benefits.  By combining two of his loves, surfing and humanity work, Neil was able to create an organization that is making a real difference in the lives of people seriously in need.

neil

Founder of Give and Surf, Neil Christiansen with some children of Bahia Honda

Just the other day, Neil brought to my attention something of utmost concern.  The government supplied food which sustains the children at Bahia Honda Elementary School has been completely depleted.  Most of these children were lucky to get one meal a day, but without the government assistance, many of these children are now at risk for malnutrition.  In an effort to help the school children of Bahia Honda, Neil sent out a request to several of his friends with strong contacts in the social media world.  This is why I am sending out this message today. 

We’re asking for simple donations to help feed these malnourished children and get them through this difficult time that they’re facing.  If you’re interested in contributing, please follow THIS LINK and know that your donation will be directly responsible for feeding hungry children stuck in an unfortuante situation they have no control over. 

A word from Give and Surf:

As of this week the government provided food supplies for Bahia Honda’s Elementary School has been depleted. We are asking for your help. Please contribute to providing our students with food so they can learn and enjoy school and their lives with full bellies. We need to pool together our resources and purchase food that will provide thirty students food. We have the cooks, equipment, and a brand new cafeteria, but not the food.

The children of Bahia Honda have very poor diets so we will be using this fundraiser to purchase and cook healthy food. With a successful fundraiser this misfortune will be a blessing.

Take a second to help us and support our community by sharing this message with your friends and family.

We are partnering our fundraising efforts with good friends from La Loma Jungle Lodge, Education is Power, Croft Global Travel, Share-it-Fitness, and The High Definite.

Huge thanks to our family of supporters!

 

 

Information on Give and Surf Inc.

  • Summary: Give and Surf is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose mission is to empower Bahia Honda through community and educational development.

  • Reports: Guidestar